P4L, carpe diem (JJ Maybank)

007

After 50 seconds, Shoupe stopped looking at the water. "All right. All right."

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Shoupe asked.

"It's why we're out here on the water," I explained. "Let us know if you see anything on your way out," Shoupe said, getting back on his boat. "Will do," Pope said.

"We'll be gone soon, sir," JJ answered. "Yes, you will."

The police left and we all ran the bow of the boat. "He must be out of air by now," I said, my eyes searching for my brother. Suddenly, something popped up, and I knew it was my brother.

"There he is!" JJ shouted. "Oh, God! Jesus Christ," Pope said. "How'd it go down there," JJ asked John B.

"Did you find anything," JJ asked, rushing to help John B onto the boat. "Did I find anything?" John B mocked, laughing. He threw a bag to my feet and I looked at it, soaked.

"Yeah! That's my boy," JJ exclaimed.

"You okay?" Kie asked him. My brother, panting, answered, "yeah, I ran out of air." I laughed at him, helping him up. "You scared the shit out of me," Kie said. "Yeah, the cops were up here, but, uh, took care of em'."

"My bad," John B said. "Yeah, you missed the show, brother. Dylan was doing her 'answer a question with a question' thing," JJ told him. "Hey, guys, bogey, two o'clock," Kie told us as we all looked to our right. A boat was coming at us, full speed.

"Shit," I mumbled. "What?" JJ asked.

"Do you recognize that boat?" Pope asked.

"Never in my 16 years of being on planet earth," I answered. "What the fuck are those guys even doing back here? Marsh is closed," I said.

"I don't know. But let's not stick around and find out," Pope told us. "I second that."

"JJ, Dylan, get the bowline," John told me.

"Yes, Colonel," I answered, grabbing the rope to the anchor. As time went on, we realized the men were coming for us. "Don't wait on us!" JJ said.

"Go, go, go, go!" I shouted, throwing the anchor onto the boat. "Act natural," Pope said.

"Yeah, we're acting natural by staring these guys down," I said, sitting down. The men behind us began going faster, so we had to speed up too.

"John B, they're going faster!" I told him. He began to speed up, but not enough. "Gun it!" JJ yelled over the motor.

Then we heard a shot. A gun shot.

"That was a gun! Shit!" I screamed, flopping to the floor. The gun kept firing and something had to happen if we were to get away, but Kie beat me to it.

"Dyl, help!" She yelled, grabbing the bowline. "Help me throw it into the water!"

I grabbed the other side. "Kie, Dylan, get down!!" John B yelled at us. We threw the bowline into the water, and it got tangled up in the rudder of the boat behind us. The man with the gun kept firing until we turned.

"Wooh!!" JJ yelled. "Pogue god, man!"

"That was insane!" I yelled, excited and nervous about what just happened.

-|-

"The anticipation is fricking killing me," I smiled, as John B began to open the bag he had found in the wreck. "What do you guys think it is?"

"Money."

"Money."

"Yogurt," I said, holding my stomach. Everyone gave me a weird look.

"What the hell, guys?! I'm hungry," I shouted, and everyone chuckled, knowing I was kidding.

"Can we please just open the bag!?" Pope yelled. "Wow, Pope," John B said. He was right, Pope never has a sudden outburst of emotion.

"That's one hella' outburst of emotion," I added, laughing. "You guys are killing me with anticipation. We almost died over this."

John B scoured the bag, feeling every pocket.

"Inside, douche," I said.

"Then why don't you do it, assface," John B bickered with me. "Fine," I said, shoving him out of the way. I opened a bag inside of the bag to have a thermos, which I obviously opened. I looked inside of it, but it was too dark to see. I flipped it over to dump it out. I looked at it for a long time, then I realized what it was.

"Oh, wow. Yup. That's about right. Good job, everybody. We found a compass," Pope's sarcastic ass said.

"Dylan, what? It's not worth anything," JJ asked, hovering over me. I opened it.

"This was my fathers." I handed it to John, who smiled. "She's right."

"Always am."