riptide- outer banks

seventy-one | blunt force trauma to the head

〰⋅〰⋅〰

SARAH: i'm fine. i went to mase with some old friends. had nowhere else to go. talk to u later, bubba. i promise.

Logan stared down at the text he'd been sent just under an hour ago, unable to think of a response back. She'd met up with 'old friends?' What the hell did that even mean? And she went to Mase? If she went there, that definitely meant she was with Kook friends. And if she was with Kook friends, that very well could've meant Topper.

He chewed on the inside of his cheek, guilt brewing in the bottom of his stomach. He could've helped her yesterday. He could've been there for her when she needed him. But he hadn't been. And although it hadn't been intentional—a dead phone meant no contact—it didn't mean that he wasn't the reason she'd had no one last night. He was her little brother and when she'd needed him most, he hadn't been there.

Logan shook his head, fingers slowly typing out a message to her. He would've tried calling again, but considering he'd already tried three times, he wasn't going to bother her if she didn't want to talk to him.

LOGAN: sarah, I'm so sorry. my phone died and then a lot of shit went down. Please call me. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I know I screwed up, just please call me.

As he slid his phone back into his pocket, he couldn't help but feel tense. The way she'd texted him, the way she'd explained where she'd been— something wasn't adding up. He couldn't pinpoint what it was, but he just knew something was off.

JJ opened the map, lengthy paper taking up half the front seat of the twinkie. Kori leaned forward, eyes pinned down on the landmarks. "So where is he again?"

"There." John B answered, pointing to the continent itself. "Right there. That's where they're taking him. That's the site of the idol."

"Oh, just right there?" Kori quipped as JJ lifted his head.

"You pointed to just South America, you understand that, right?" He asked.

All John B could do was nod. "Yep."

JJ blinked once. Then twice. "That's all you know?! That he's just somewhere in South America?"

"Listen, that's why we're going to the professor's house." John B explained.

He continued talking, but Kori's focus had already shifted to Logan. To his far off stare, mind presumably racing. She leaned forward, lightly hitting his knee. "You okay?"

His head instantly lifted. "Yeah. Just worried about Sare." He murmured.

"Alright. We're here." John B announced, stealing her gaze momentarily before it was back on Logan.

"We'll find her. We'll make sure she's okay." She reassured him, turning as the back door was pulled open for them.

"Let's go see a dead body." JJ retorted, eyes rolling into the back of his head.

Logan could feel his heart pick up, pulse quickening as he got out of the twinkie. JJ was pretty spot on. Not only were they looking for a needle in a haystack, but they were also looking for a needle in an enormous haystack that happened to have a dead body in it. They were literally about to enter the house of a dead man. That thought only made him feel anxious.

John B was at the front of the group, slowly opening the backdoor for them. It creaked open, the only sound being heard in the entire house being their shoes on the floor. He walked into the kitchen, eyes slightly rounding. "His body's gone. Sowell was right here." He vowed, gesturing to the space just in front of the table.