Yours till the end/JJ Maybank story

Chapter 18

After we surfed we chilled out in JohnB's hammocks. Me, JJ, and Kie share a hammock. Me and JJ had one end and Kie had the other. Pope and JohnB share the other hammock, Char had to go home.

"You really think it's out there? Like, no bullshit" Pope asked JohnB. "My father thought it was" JohnB said. "But do you" Pope asked again. "After hearing his voice on that tape, I think I do" JohnB said. "Only one way to find out" Pope said as he and JohnB did our hand shake.

"Look, we're gonna find it, you know? Even JJ and Steph believe" Kie said excited voice. "Oh, my god do guys really believe" JohnB asked sarcastically. "Yeah" I said snuggled more into JJ's side. "Totally. Wait. Are we talking about six mil" JJ asked as he ran his fingers through my hair. "Six hundred mil" Pope and Kie said in sync. "Jinx" Kie said. "I'm gonna dream about ship wrecks and my bad ass girlfriend" JJ said cuddling up to me. "Goodnight, bird" JJ yelled at JohnB. "Goodnight, bird shit" JohnB yelled back causing all of us to laugh and JJ to shoot JohnB a bird. "Goodnight, baby girl" JJ said then pecked my lips. "Goodnight, babe" I said and pecked his lips.

The nexted morning we took Heyward's boat to find the Royal Merchant. "Alright, JJ. Pin it here" JohnB said. "Roger that! X marks the spot" JJ said. Pope was controlling the drone, JohnB was helping Pope. Char and Kie we're controlling the tether. JJ was driving, I had nothing to do. "Hey JJ" I said. "Yes baby girl" JJ said looking at me as everyone else was getting the drone ready. "I have lived in Outer Banks my whole life and I can't drive a boat" I said. "Really. Then come here and I will teach you" JJ said. I walked over to JJ, he grabbed my hands and put them on the steering wheel. Then he put his hands on top of mine.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. To going full Kook" JohnB said dropping the drone into the water. "Alright, JJ, we're right over it. Ten seconds northwest" JohnB said. "Got it! Ten seconds northwest" JJ repeated. "One hundred feet" Kie called out. Pope gasped "what? What, what, what, what" JohnB said in a panicked voice. "It's nothing" Pope said. "Don't do that to me, man" JJ said. "Focus Pope" I said. "My bad. I just thought I saw it" Pope said.

"And to quote The Hobbit " down, down, to goblin town. Down, down you go my lad"Pope said. "Four hundred feet" Char called out. "The tide's turning" Kie yelled as thunder starts rumbling. "Hey JJ" JohnB yelled. "Yup" JJ answered. "Ten seconds easy South, Southwest" JohnB orders. "Copy that" JJ said, as JJ turned the boat lefted, my hands still under his.

"JJ, 20 seconds mid-speed, all right? South" JohnB yelled. "Copy that! Aye, aye" JJ said turning the boat again. "Keep the tether out of the prop" I told Kie and Char. "We're trying" Kie and Char said in sync. "JJ keep going" JohnB said. "JohnB, is that good" JJ asked. "We're good" JohnB answers.

"Okay, 700 feet" Kie calls out as thunder continues to rumble. The waves start to get rough causing me and JJ to hit the wall on our lefted side right on my bruised ribs causing me to whimper. "You okay baby" JJ asked. "Yeah, are you" I asked. "Yes I'm fine" JJ said. The clouds ahead of us have turned black and coming our way.

"JJ hold it steady" JohnB yells. "900" Char yelled. "JJ, well turtle in this storm" JohnB said in a panicked voice. "920" Kie yelled. "Crank it north by northwest! Ten seconds" JohnB yells. "JJ am I in the way" I asked as, my hands are still under his on the steering wheel. "No baby, your not in the way" JJ answered. "There's too much current we're gonna lose it" Kie yelled.

"South, SouthWest, JJ! Hard" JohnB yells. "Half speed. Steady at this bearing, JJ" JohnB yelled again. "Kiara, Char" Pope yells to them because he wants to know how deep the drone is. "960" Kie and Char yelled in sync. "970! 980" Kie and Char yelled. "I'm at the bottom! I'm at the bottom" Pope yelled excitedly. "Okay, steady here JJ. Quarter speed, all right. You should be seeing something, man" JohnB said.

"I know, I know! Wait, wait. Oh, good god" Pope said. "See anything" me and JJ asked in sync. "It's the Royal Merchant" JohnB said excitedly. There's a moment in every kids life when you feel like anything is possible. When you feel like you've got the total mojo. You could, I don't know, free climb El Capitan, land on Mars, or uh... get elected president. The whole world's there for the taking if you've got the sack to go for it. And then, when you least expect it, some Kook shows up and tells you there's no eternal mystery. And then all that talk about free climbing and Mars and the president, bullshit. Magic gets cancer and dies.

"It's not there. Look, just pull the drone up" JohnB said his voice full of anger. "Look, we can do another pass. Recharge the battery. We can go back down" Pope said. "We've been through it three times. There's nothing, there" JJ said. "Shut up" Kie yelled. "Kie yell at him one more time and so help me God I will drown you" I snapped. "Guys chill out" Char told us.

"The gold could be buried. We don't know" Kie yelled. "If it was there, it would've been found on the metal detector, okay? Somebody beat us to it" JohnB said. "Or it was never there" JJ said but only I heard him. I moved my hands out from under his and wrapped my arms around his torso and Kissed his cheek then I buried my face into the crook of his neck. JJ kissed my jaw line as drove home. Everybody went home except me I went home with JJ. When we got to JJ's house he wanted to practice shooting his gun so I sat on a stump and watched him.