what now? | outerbanks

• forty-two •

Sarah

John B. opens the door for me, which is already unlocked, and I walk into the house, being met by our four friends. They're scattered: Kie and Cleo sitting with their legs dangling over the kitchen countertops, JJ sprawled out on the sofa, throwing a ball up into the air, and Pope pacing back and forth with something in his hand.
"It was probably a mistake giving Kiara a spare key to our house," John B. whispers in my ear as we leave the entryway. I snort, but catch the laugh in my throat when I realize Kie's expression.
"I heard that," she warns. "And, Sarah, you know you love having me around."
"Got me there," I admit with a smile, hugging the girl around her neck.
    "And JJ, you better not be on that couch with dirty shoes. I swear to God you will never be invited to my house ever again," I chastise, walking to the kitchen and opening the fridge for something to drink.
"It's my house too, you know?" John B. lilts, but he trails off when he realizes he's fighting a solo fight.
"Oh shut up, bitch," Kie laughs, the two of us now on a team against my husband.
"Yeah, John Bitch. That's what the "B" stands for." Pope can hardly form words through his laughter, and we're all equally impressed with his joke. They're typically overcomplicated and so esoteric that none of us can understand what he means, so finally having one to laugh at is nice.
"Okay, I'm feeling really attacked right now," John B. cowers, and it's almost like he physically weakens.
"I think that's the point, captain," Cleo adds, winking, and her lean body rests against Pope's. JJ stands up from the couch and walks behind John B, rubbing his shoulders.
"Don't let 'em bother you, bro. I got you." JJ then leans forward a little and presses a fat kiss to John B's cheeks. He cringes and swats JJ away, forcing him back to his girlfriend.
"How about we do what we're actually here for?" Pope suggests, and a few of us groan at his ability to ruin the fun. I make wide eyes at him and shake my head a little, like, "get on with it!" He does, happily. "So, Kie and JJ went into the cove today, and they found this."
JJ forcefully slams something onto the counter with dramatic flourish. "There it is. A whole ass doubloon."
"But not just any doubloon," Cleo adds, turning the coin to its other side, pointing to the picture on it. John B. and I both lean in to see what it is.
"This is a family seal. So, fisherman's compass leads us where? A secret island. Secret island to... eerie cove. Then, what's hidden in that cove? This." Pope's voice is abuzz with excitement, the boy totally in his element.
"What family's crest is it?" John B. asks from beside me.
"Glad you asked," Kie charms, smiling and walking closer. "We figured if anyone knew, it'd be Heyward, so we stopped over there, and lo and behold, he didn't let us down." I arch a brow, impatiently waiting for them to tell us.
"It belongs to the Morgan family, with its roots in Jamaica. Old money. Like, big-time old money. There's a legend about a Morgan ship that vanished centuries ago, and rumor has it, it was carrying a priceless jewel—the Siren's Tear."
    JJ grins. "Which, surprise surprise, is exactly what we're looking for."
Rubbing his jaw, a pensive look on his face, John B. admits, "Alright, that's actually huge."
I pick up the coin, running my fingers along the sharp, raised crest that's engraved in the metal, and I can't help but be floored. There's definitely still a piece of me that's the skeptic I was before, but something about this feels real. "So, where does this lead us next?"
"Look at the side of the coin, along the rim," Cleo says, pointing to the thin height with her pink finger. "It says something, but none of us can make it out."
I hum in concentration, my eyes straining over the tiny scripted words, and John B's presence hovers over my shoulder as he tries to read as well. "Where the Siren's tear is," John B. starts, his words sporadically pieced together as his eyes focus on one word at a time.
"... drowned by thunder," I make out, spinning the coin ever so slightly between my fingers to read the other half of the sentence. "There you shall find her tear."
"Where the Siren's tear is drowned by thunder, there you shall find her tear," Kie repeats, lip wrinkled deep in thought and eyes trained into an abyss ahead of her.
"Super cryptic," JJ breathes out with enthusiasm.
"It's... not that cryptic."
"Hater." JJ rolls his eyes at his girlfriend, and she hits the back of his head.
"Dumbass," she insults in return, and while the two fight, Pope catches back our attention, analyzing the message.
"It's the story- the one we read as kids," he blurts, like he's found some eureka.
"Wait, yeah. Captain Red Morgan and his deal with the devil."
    "Well, yeah, but it wasn't with the devil. It was a siren, a sea witch," Pope clarifies.
    "This sounds a little crazy. Isn't this just a kid's story?" I ask, skeptical of the story's verity.
    "No one knows," Pope shrugs, but he doesn't stop the story. "The sea witch guarded the Siren's Tear, which has the power to summon the seas. Morgan thought the jewel would bring him power and fortune, so he raided the witch and stole the jewel. She warned him, telling him he'd be sorry if he took it, but he greedily fled the scene. That same night, Morgan and his crew faced a deadly battle with the sea, capsized by walls of waves. Her voice spoke through the storm,
'May the sea claim those who dare possess it. May the depths drag them where no light can reach. May their fate be written in water and their names lost to time.'
The only thing left of that night is the boat. It's halfway buried on a beach off the coast of Jamaica. Super dangerous territory, hardly anyone dares to go."
"I don't know, Pope. This sounds kind of made up," JJ falters, running a hand through his hair.
"If that guy cared that much about this compass, it's gotta be something, man."
"And, we won't know if we don't look," John B. says, tapping his fingers against the wood of the table. "This might be something."
"But doesn't it scare you that it's a curse? We've only ever dealt with real life. This is like, magic and shit." Kie's eyes are colored with worry, her inquiry clouding the excitement she once had.
"A little, but I guess we'll find out the truth sooner or later."
There's a moment of silence, my words hanging in the air like a weight. We all feel the danger this brings, but I think there's something in each of us that knows we're going through with it; it'd be too safe to pass it up.
"So, Jamaica?"