Stolen Waters (Descendants Jay x OC)

Chapter 26

Night fell over the Isle of the Lost as the limo rolled to a stop in an empty warehouse.

Jay, Syl, Carlos, Evie, and Ben jumped out of the vehicle and slammed their doors. Around them were splintered wooden shipping crates, old sheets in a stinking pile, walls of corroded corrugated metal, and slimy barrels.

There was also a huge rusty metal pipe turned tunnel going into a rock wall.

"Ben," said Carlos, running to the pile of sheets. "Help me with the tarp."

Ben and Carlos carried the tarp to Evie and the five of them started to cover up the limo. After all, the car stood out like a shiny new penny in a garbage pile, and the friends didn't want to rouse any suspicious looks from possible passerby. that was the last thing they needed.

Evie looked around uneasily. "Its really weird being back," she told Jay.

"We'll get in and out," he assured her.

"Jay," Carlos got his attention and tossed half of the tarp over the top of the limo to his friend.

Jay, along with Evie, took it and they finished making sure the limo was completely hidden. Meanwhile, Ben wandered to the giant rusty pipe tunnel. He peered inside it for a good long moment. "Hey! What's in here?" Ben called back to the others.

Carlos, Evie, and Jay rushed to Ben's side, dragging Syl with them.

"You don't want to know," said Jay.

Carlos pulled Ben away from the opening.

"Hey guys." Carlos turned to the whole group. "Keep it chill, all right? Last thing we need is our parents finding out we're here."

His friends nodded in agreement as they all took off, away from the limo and around a dark bend. As they left, Jay tucked his arm around Syl's waist protectively. She looked at him, a question in her eyes.

He stared back at her. "Just stay with me, all right?"

She nodded, but inside she was silently cursing him. It was going to be hard to leave her friends when Jay was constantly holding onto her. Although she was frustrated, she leaned into him, soaking up his warmth, and unnoticed by her, he smiled.

They entered a seedy alleyway where tattered sheets hung from rickshaws and covered dirty entryways. Two unkempt children in shabby coats ran up to Evie, and one of them tried to pickpocket her.

"Hey," said Evie. "Hey! What are you doing?" She gripped an arm of each child.

They struggled against her, wriggling like eels.

"Stop!" said Evie. She released them, then reached into her pocket and held her tiny coin purse out to them. "Here. Just take it," she said, extending it to one of the children.

The little kid grabbed it and scampered off.

Evie turned to Jay, Carlos, and Syl, realizing that Ben was nowhere in sight. "Ben," Evie said, sighing. The four marched down the alleyway to find him, Jay's arm tightening around Syl as they progressed. She stared curiously around at the alleyway, never having seen anything quite like it.

Ben had wandered ahead of his friends into a crowded marketplace: Low Tide Lane, a remote alley where pirates sold their decrepit wares. He looked around at the clutter of barrels, lanterns, and splintered pieces of wood. Signs advertised crabgrass, grit, pond scum, and worms, and a black street sign with a double sided white arrow pointing in opposite directions read NO WAY. Haggard pirates dozed behind their busted makeshift carts while others carried buckets of trash.

Ben was in awe of the Isle, which until then had been a place where he had only ever heard about.

Syl was entranced as well. It was as bad as she had thought, but she found that there was an unexpected beauty to the Isle.

Ben's sights had landed on a scraggly pirate, and Ben waved at this and smiled. The pirate glared back at him. Ben extended his arm and offered up a handshake, but the pirate only lunged at Ben and growled.

Evie appeared with Jay, Syl, and Carlos, and she gripped Ben's arm. "Stop it. Just stop."

Carlos stepped between Ben and the disgruntled pirate, ready to fight, but Jay yanked Carlos back, and Syl grabbed hold of his arm, her face calm but pale. Now wasn't the time to be starting something. Luckily, the pirate wasn't interested in Carlos anyway.

Ben looked at his friends. "What?" he asked with a shrug, unsure of why they were so concerned. After all, Syl knew that he believed there was good in everyone-even there.

"This isn't a parade. This is the Isle," said Evie.

"Just keep your hands in your pockets unless you're stealing," said Jay.

"Yeah, you either slouch or you strut," said Carlos.

"And never, ever smile," said Evie.

Ben nodded. "Okay, thank you guys-"

"No!" Evie motioned for silence. "Forget the thank-yous! And no please either! Just... chill."

Evie, Carlos, and Jay went on to explain how Ben was meant to act, but Syl only half payed attention, her eyes flickering about, trying to figure out when she could slip away from her friends.

When they had finished, Ben was able to act the part of an Isle kid, and the group headed through an alley.

"Should I, you know, try to chill?" Syl whispered to Jay, unsure whether she should do what Ben was doing.

He leaned his head down and guided her by a man in a dark long jacket. "No. It's fine. You're better than Ben."

Suddenly, in front of them, a muscled boy ran into Ben.

"Hey, man," the boy said angrily before doing a double take.

"Hey man... I know you!"

"Nope!" said Ben, shrugging and turning away. "I don't know you either, so-"

"No, no, no! Yeah, you definitely know me! C'mon! C'mon, man, you know me. Okay, okay. I'll give you a hint, al right?" He grinned. "My dad is slick, quick, and his neck is incredibly thick."

Ben looked at him blankly, then exchanged glances with his friends.

"Nothing?" asked the boy. "Come on, man. You're-" The boy, in his fingerless yellow gloves, pointed at a poster of King Ben on the alley wall that had RIDE WITH THE TIDE spray-painted over in black paint. Then the boy pointed to Ben. Then he did that a few more times until it all began to sink in. Syl stared at him dryly, waiting for him to make the connection. "Whoa, you're King Ben!" he exclaimed.

"Uh, let's go," said Evie, guiding Ben past the boy, Carlos standing on his other side while Jay shielded Syl.

"Yeah, no, you totally are King Ben!" cried the boy, watching as they passed. "And you're Evie, Carlos, Jay, and- and that hottie Uma is always interested in! Hey guys!" he said cheerily. Then his expression set into a huge oafish grin. "Uma's gonna love this!" He could barely contain his excitement as he quickly left.

Before long, Jay, Syl, Evie, Ben, and Carlos arrived at the foot of the bridge hideout where they knew they would find Mal. Jay, who hadn't left Syl's side, stooped down, grabbed a rock, and lobbed it at a sign above them. The gate glided up, and Carlos steered Ben towards the stairs. Ben peered into the darkness of the staircase that wound its way to the top of the hideout; then he looked back at his friends.

"Wish me luck." Ben started up the stairs.

Watching him vanish, Jay, Evie, Syl, and Carlos leaned and sat, prepared to wait.