The soft breeze from the ocean kisses my skin and calms my racing heart. Truthfully, I don't know why seeing those cards has me so freaked out, maybe it's the reality of my Dad's disappearance hitting me. Before, he still had the chance to one day show back up in my life but now, the chances are awfully slim.

    "You're fine," I tell myself, the ocean breeze pushing me over the edge to stability. I let the air leave my lungs and fill them back up, feeling myself shake off the previous feeling. To further calm myself, I reach for JJ's THC Juul, clutching it in my hand and walking down the steps of the front porch, leaning against the wooden structure and taking a puff.

    I'll buy him a new one.

    Just as I release the smoke from my lungs, feeling the weed variant taking over my nervous system, a noise alerts me to a car coming close to the Chateau. I watch the tinted car for only a second, tucking the Juul into my front pocket. 

     The closer the car gets, the more alarming it looks. I quickly turn, jogging over to the side of the house and ducking down out of view, not taking any chances. Considering the last few encounters I've had, this car is more likely than not bad news.

    My suspicions are confirmed as the black car parks and two burly men climb out of it. Their clothes and features are dark, a vast contrast to the still-shining sun. 

    The men get to the porch, unaware of my presence as I peak through the fence. I look through the open door, making eye contact with a flustered JJ. His eyes widen when he sees me, my head shaking as I mouth for him to go. Just as I do, the men both yell, "John Routledge!"

    Oh shit.

 JJ drops and turns, the strange men not spotting him as he runs back into my Dad's office and shuts the door. "Come on out now!"

    If it weren't for the weed hitting my system, I'm sure my heart would explode as the men enter the house and begin tossing shit everywhere, all while shouting out things to John B or whoever they think is in the house.

    Thinking fast, I sneak back around to the porch, not knowing for sure what the hell I'm going to do. But, I need to do something to get the pogues out of the house. Just as I'm about to pass the porch, I spy a black piece of metal sitting on one of the chairs.

    I flick my eyes up to the men in the house, making sure they don't see me as I reach my arm through the gaps in the fence, my fingertips grazing the cold metal of the gun. I clutch the barrel in my palm, carefully pulling the gun back through the gap of the fence. Once I have the weapon in my hand, I duck and walk around the house to where the windows of the office are.

    Why there's a gun on John B's porch? I don't know. But, I'm not about to ask.

    I reach the glass square, the pogues inside trying to pry open the window despite it being painted shut. Pope sees me first, silently alerting the other members of the room as I approach the glass. I hold the gun up next to my face, pointing at it and mouthing 'what the fuck?'

    They all ignore my concern, looking around the room for something to pry the window open with. Kiara grabs something pointy from a draw, moves to the window and attempts to cut it loose. Just as she does, John B and Pope stand against the door to the office, their faces pale as they tell everyone to stay quiet.

    The men must be on the other side of the door.

    "Fuck," I say out loud, picking up a stick from the ground and attempting to help Kiara separate the window from the other side. 

    Parts of the door splinter, one of the intruders kicking it. 

    Relief takes over my body as I press my palms to the window, pulling upwards alongside Kiara, forcing it to pry apart from the window seal. We all silently work together, holding it open for everyone to climb through. John B is the last one through the opening.

     "Go, go, go, go, go," John repeats, shooing me away as he turns to close the window behind us. I take his advice, turning on my heels and booking it through the trees to the front of the house. Kiara is in front of me, kneeling to stay out of view as she leads me to John B's little chicken house. We pile into the near-destroyed rooster hen, keeping silent as we do so.

    The second John B enters, we all remain silent, peaking through the small gaps in the wood. 

    "Does anyone know how to use this?" I whisper, holding the gun up beside me.

    "No," Kie almost sobs, shaking her head with fear plastered across her face. 

    "Hey, finders keepers," JJ whispers back, taking the gun from my hands and tucking it into his waistband. I don't fight, feeling glad to hand the deadly weapon off onto someone else's shoulders. 

    I lean forward, pushing my eye up to a small hole in the hut. The two men exit the house, arms full of god knows what from my brother's house. They pack it into their truck as the Rooster in the hut with us continues to caw and cause commotion. Everyone silently panics, trying to quiet it as I keep my eyes out on the two men, JJ beside me.

    The skinnier man pauses, dropping whatever is in his arms onto the back of the truck before quickly turning towards the rooster hen. I push JJ out of the way, both of us dropping onto our asses to try and stay out of view. 

    "Sh," I whisper, alerting everyone. They quickly push down further out of view, trying their best to remain quiet.

    The Rooster only continues to cluck, jumping all over me before moving to JJ. He grabs the chicken, his trembling hands grasping its neck as he pushes it to the ground. I turn my head, my eyes clenching shut as the clucking finally stops.

    I keep my eyes closed, forcing my body to stop trembling and remain still. It feels like an eternity passing without the two men making any noise.

    "Ratter! What the hell are you doing? Let's go," I hear one of the men yell. I don't risk releasing the breath I'm holding in, my knees aching from the extended time spent crouched. 

    I finally open my eyes, making eye contact with each person in the hut as Kiara fights to keep her sobs quiet. JJ's face reminds me of someone with shell shock, his whole body trembling as he holds the now-dead chicken. He turns to me as he reminds everyone to keep quiet, his wide ocean eyes meeting mine. I nod slowly, trying my best to quietly comfort him and let him know he did what was necessary. 

    To my relief, the engine of the car starts and slowly disappears as the men leave the area. I don't move right away, none of us jumping to leave our hidden spot.

                    I reach forward, holding my palm out to take the compass from Pope who too eagerly hands me the cursed item. The cold metal causes goosebumps to arise on my skin, both from the low temperature and the ghosts attached to this very item. It feels eerie to look at now.

    "I mean, it's obvious, right?" John B speaks up, gaining everyone's attention as my finger traces the engravings in the compass. "A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?"

    "Yeah, it's possible," Kiara agrees, sounding unsure of her words.

    "It could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, y'know,  deal with your sad feels," Pope suggested. I finally look up from the compass in my palm, smiling slightly at his way of putting it.

    "Bro, you know how I process my sad feels?" JJ begins. I turn to him, the tiredness on his face obvious to anyone that has eyes, "Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it,"

    "You can just say weed, JJ," I smile sarcastically, watching as he lit up at the slight challenge. "It's not a naughty word,"

    "Okay, Princess Kook-"

    "I'm not concocting, okay? My Dad's trying to give me a message," John B's voice drowns out JJ. JJ takes this as a sign to stop talking, lifting his fingers to flick them between his eyes and my face to signal he's watching me. I roll my eyes, unable to bite back the smile at his dramatics. "Pheebs?"

    I open my mouth to speak, lifting my shoulders as I think of the right words to say, "I mean, Dad was always big on leaving clues. Redfield doesn't mean nothing,"

    "See? I'm not tripping out!"

    "It's okay to trip, bro, but-"

    "Look, my-- my Dad is missing, okay?" John B cuts JJ off, turning around to look at the blond boy before turning his eyes back to the road, "Missing. You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened. Just, wake up every morning wondering,"

    I feel my stomach clench at his words. He's right, I don't know what it's like to have the closest person to you go missing. But, it still stings the way he so naturally can leave me out and pretend to be an only child. I choose not to say anything, knowing he is right and hurting, despite the bluntness of his words.

    "Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility," JJ suggests.

    "Have you met Big John? He's not called that just because of JB, the man is six foot six," I reply, laughing slightly at the idea of my Father being snatched away into a van. John B nods, agreeing with my dismissal. I flick the compass open, looking at the scratched-out message on the metal, "Redfield just... tugs at something in my brain. Does it sound familiar to you, JB?"

    "Redfield lighthouse," John B replies, almost cinematically driving past a sign with the same words on it, an additional sign saying 'closed due to hurricane'. "Dad's favourite place,"

    John B pulls the car up in front of the white fence around the lighthouse. We all climb out of the beat-up van, my hand lifting to shield my eyes from the glaring sun. The lighthouse stands tall in the middle of the field, the top half grey in contrast to the white lower half.

    I haven't seen this part of the island before.

    "Right, here's what's gonna happen," John B begins, approaching JJ to give him instructions, "You and you are gonna post up and look out for bogeys okay?"

    "What? Why me?" I whine, throwing my arms up in defeat. 

    "I second that," JJ agrees, lifting his arm slightly.

    "Uh, because I said," John B sassily replies to me as Pope and JJ begin arguing over whether JJ is an 'independent variable' or not. 

    "You're such a dick, JB," I mutter, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms over my chest. I turn my back to him, moving to sit in the open van.

    "If we get split up, we meet back at JJ's okay?" John B says. Everyone nods before John B and Kiara walk off towards the lighthouse, Pope shouting about how he's going to stay behind. 

    "Sulking?" JJ asked me, pulling some sort of bean bag or hacky sack out of his pocket and kicking it up into the air.

    "A little bit," I admit, readjusting my position in the van, "He doesn't trust me. Like, at all. He treats me like I'm just some Kook,"

    "I'm sure he trusts you-"

    "He definitely doesn't," JJ cuts off Pope's attempt to cheer me up. I smile at Pope, my way of showing him I appreciate his efforts. "But, he's probably just trying to, y'know, lay the moves down without his sister cramping his style,"

    "Disgusting," I screw my face up. "I mean, I've been hunted down by those freaks right alongside him I just... I don't know what he wants from me,"

    "Macking on the kookiest of them all probably doesn't help," JJ almost snorts, Pope shaking his head at his friend as JJ tosses the hacky sack to him. 

    I scoff at the vague mention of Rafe, looking down at my shoes, "Trust me, I would cut him off if I could,"

    "What's the deal with him anyway?" Pope asks, tossing the toy back at JJ. "I mean, he's a generally bad guy and JJ said he tracks your-"

    "Dude," JJ grunts, holding his arms out to his side in frustration. "Total secret,"

    "It's fine," I reply, standing up from the van and walking over to the two of them, holding my hands out for JJ to toss the small bag towards me. I catch it, throwing it to Pope as I continue, "My step-dad and Mr Cameron are, like, super close. Rafe wants to be around me, my step-dad wants the Camerons to be happy so... I play my part,"

    "Ah, like an arranged marriage? Mademoiselle Bride-to-be," JJ attempts a French accent but only ends up sounding like his words are slurred by illicit substances. 

    I laugh, shaking my head and catching the bag once more before tossing it to Pope. "Definitely not. Rafe isn't all bad,"

    Both boys laugh at my words, possibly louder than they should be given the lack of joke.

    "Are we talking about the same Rafe Cameron?" Pope says, tossing the toy over to JJ who almost misses the catch. He throws his body around, nearly hitting the ground as he latches onto the bag at the last second. 

    "Maybe you should focus less on Rafe and more on your catch, Maybank," I laugh as he pushes himself to a stand, dusting off the leaves from his shirt.

    "Oh, really?" He mocks with a laugh, tossing the bag in the air and catching it, ready to launch it towards me. Just as he looks like he's about to release his makeshift bullet, the sound of sirens pierces the air. 

    Almost immediately, all three of us take off towards the van. Pope runs to the driver seat while JJ dives into the back like it's a body of water, leaving me to climb into the passenger. I barely have time to close the door before Pope takes off, his head whipping around in paranoia as he searches for the source of the siren. 

    "Man, why the hell is Pope behind the wheel?" JJ whines from the back, pushing himself up to sit in between the two front seats.

    "Shut up, JJ," Pope curses in annoyance, still looking around as he floors it away from the lighthouse, "Are we really just leaving them?"

    "Hell yes, we're leaving them! I do not want another run-in with Shoupe," I state, holding my hand on the dash to help steady myself in Pope's erratic driving. If Shoupe caught me with the Pouges, especially on the Cut, he'll no doubt tell Linus. I do not want to deal with his attitude over it. Besides, John B and Kiara will be completely fine.

                    JJ leans against the back of his house, blowing more of the smoke from his mouth out into the air. I sit next to Pope on an overturned milk crate, kicking my feet and waiting for something to happen, for any update on my brother.

    I pull my phone out from my pocket, pressing the power button to turn it on and check the time. Surprisingly, my screen isn't covered with missed calls and texts. I make sure to turn my location off so Rafe can't see where I am just as my screen becomes covered with a call from an unsaved number.

     Furrowing my eyebrows, I accept the call out of curiosity and hold it up to my ear, "Hello?"

     "Phoebe, hey!" I hear the familiar voice of Sarah Cameron on the other side. Her voice sounds slightly distressed or confused as if something has rattled her. "I got your number from Rafe, I hope you don't mind, but... I just ran into your brother and he, well, he was acting like a dick. I heard he got arrested and Dad said he fired him-"

    "Wow, wow, wow, Sarah," I hold my hand out, blinking hard to try and process her ramblings. I stand up from the crate, turning away from the two boys and lowering my voice to keep John B's privacy, "John B was fired and arrested?"

    "Yeah, I heard Mr Carrera bailed him out. Someone told Dad that he stole from the Druthers and he fully lost his temper at me because he thought it was me," Sarah confirms.

    "Why would he think it was you?" I ask her, not seeing any possible reason for John B to accuse her of such a thing.

    "I kind of caught him stealing scuba supply but, I swear it wasn't me," She almost pleads with me to believe her. "I'm not that type of person,"

    "I know, Sarah," I tell her sincerely, noting how sad she sounds at the thought of everyone thinking of her as nothing more than a Kook Princess. "Thank you for telling me. I gotta go," 

    She barely gets out her reply before I hang up the phone, switching it off and shoving the device into my back pocket. I huff, blowing hair out of my face as I sit back down on my milk crate. 

    "Girl drama?" JJ teases.

    "Wow, what an amazing intuition you have," I mock him, ignoring how he smiles at my retort. 

    Suddenly, a car horn rapidly hits our ears. We turn just as John B's van pulls into view, his face sunken as he gestures for us to get inside the van. 

    "About time," JJ comments as we all climb in. He practically shoves me aside to get in the passenger seat only for Pope to take his chance to climb in himself. JJ takes the loss, climbing into the back with me. 

    "You're such a child," I laugh, lightly kicking his leg from my side of the van as John B pulls away from the home and heads down the street.

    "Agreed," Pope chimes in, turning over his shoulder to smile at us both. 

    "Betraying your oldest friend for a kook?" JJ exclaims, holding his arm out towards me in emphasis. 

    "Dramatic," Pope and I reply at the same time. JJ toses his Juul at me, it being the only thing currently in his hand. Instead of it hitting me, I grab it and hold it to my lips, inhaling a lung full before tossing it back to him, smiling as I release the smoke from my mouth. 

    "That's the Pogue blood in you," He points out, taking his own huff.

    We only made one stop on the way. The Wreck; a restaurant that Kiara's parents own and she occasionally works at. Pope, being a true gentleman, got into the back with us while John B went inside to get Kiara to come with us. After that, we set back out onto the road to an unknown location. 

    The sunset sky soon turned to night time, the back of the van almost relaxing to me in the dark. If I could, I would fall asleep right here.

    "You mind if I just relax on this one? It's been a long day and a lot of weird stuff's gone down. I'm just gonna lay low. Oh, did you want a hit of this?" JJ rambles, holding his lit joint out to Pope. 

    "I keep the signal clear," Pope refuses, holding his palm outwards as if to push the air towards the joint and away from him. 

   JJ shrugs, muttering a 'suit yourself' as he turns to me and holds the joint out. After a beat of silence, he lifts his brows and smiles, "Ah, c'mon don't be a prude like Pope. I know you wanna,"

    "You don't have to beg me, JJ," I laugh, reaching for the joint and inhaling my second--or maybe third--lungful of weed today. I release some of the smoke from my mouth as I pass it back, speaking through the cloud with a grin, "At least, not like this,"

    "Ohh, I see," JJ can't hide his laugh at my playful flirting considering usually he's the one throwing suggestive remakes at me, his words being overlapped by John B as he speaks.

    "Gross," JB begins, turning over his shoulder quickly as he changes the subject, "I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, all right? And pretty much wrong about everything else going on but I-I was right about one thing, okay? My Dad is trying to tell me something,"

    "We believe you," Kiara says sincerely, my face screwing up at the look of dopey love she sends him. I turn to Pope and JJ, jerking my thumb back to gesture at the two in the front.

    John B pulls up quickly, the darkness hiding the location of the place we're situated at. As we climb out into the chilly night air, I can't help but think there's something I'm forgetting. 

    "Come on," John B instructs everyone, passing flashlights from the van out to each of us. I take one from him, following him into the darkness and using the light to shine on the ground, assuring that I don't trip on any loose bits of nature. 

    "This place is scary," Kiara complains, watching her step as she stays close behind my brother. 

    I turn to my shoulder, shining the light on my bare bicep and slapping the skin where a bug sits. John B turns at the noise, shushing me before turning back ahead and missing my eye roll.

    "Okay, so, y'know when you're trying to remember a song but, you can't remember who sings it?" John B asks vaguely

    "You do know you can just shazam it, right?" I ask sarcastically, stepping over a particularly large branch. I hear JJ behind me get caught on it and almost trip, catching himself last minute as I snort at his clumsiness.

    John B ignores me, picking up the pace as he continues his explanation, "This whole time I thought Redfield was a place, right? But, it's not a place," He pauses, holding his torch up to a stone sign reading 'Redfield', "It's a person,"

    "Voi-effing-là," JJ chimes in.

    "Our great-great-great grandmother, Olivia Redfield. It was her maiden name," He explains to us. I pause, holding my light up to look at the headstone. That's where I knew the name from, a family tree project I did for history back on the mainland. John B turns to me, gesturing to the door of her resting place, "Help me get this door open,"

    "Hell no, I am not disturbing her spirit," I disagree, holding my hands out in protest. My mother puts too much emphasis on respecting the dead for me to willingly break the seal on a grave. 

    "I'll do it," Pope offers, stepping forward and moving to the side of the door opposite John B.

    The two boys struggle to move the door, JJ immediately joining them in the middle as they all grunt and push with all their combined strength. The door budges a hint, an unusual noise erupting from the once-sealed entrance.

    I aim my flashlight, my eyes widening once I see a massive snake slither out of the gap. My heart almost explodes, the three boys jumping back and avoiding the deadly creature. I reach for Kiara, holding my arm out in front of her to keep her still. 

    "That's a moccasin, alright! Ye old, Dr, Cottonmouth, death in tall grass," " JJ exclaims, seemingly unafraid of the deadly snake. He then crouches slightly, beginning to bark at the animal like an idiot.

    "Shut up, JJ," Kiara almost begs, slight anger in her voice at her friend

     I reach for him, moving carefully as I slap his bicep and hiss at him, "You're gonna wake the dead, idiot,"

    "They're afraid of dogs, everyone knows that," JJ defends.

    "Do I have to remind you that you're not a dog!" I whisper-yell, my eyes moving from the retreating snake to him.

    I turn to John B as he stands at the barely cracked open doorway, holding his torch up in the air.

    "If there's one, there's probably a dozen more," JJ nonchalantly mentions. 

    "Can you stop? You're scaring me," Kiara complains, holding her arms close to her in fear. In response, JJ only continues to bark at the imaginary snakes, everyone jumping in to tell him to shut up.

    "John, look. We're not gonna get in there, all right? It's not budging," Pope turns to my brother in seriousness. I eye the monument, a sudden urge in me that pulls me towards any spec of truth the stone walls might hold, "We should probably just go,"

    I study the small opening towards the top of the monument, looking down at myself as an idea comes to mind, "I can fit through,"

    "What?" John B questions, turning to me with concern on his face, "You're going to go in there? No way,"

    "I can fit, JB," I turn to him, lowering my flashlight to not blind him, "This is about Dad, okay? I know you think I don't care but... what happened? It keeps me up at night. I want the truth too,"

    He stares at me for a moment as if he's finally seeing the sadness Dad's disappearance has caused me as well. "Are you sure?"

    "Not really, but... I want closure too. Either there's a clue or there's nothing," I shrug, turning to the door as I walk up to it. I hold my torch tightly in one hand, using my other to try and push the overgrown vines out of the way, "Help me with this?"

    JJ and Pope jump to my side, John B and Kiara on the other as they lift the obstruction away from me. John B, Kie and Pope secure the vines out of the way, JJ turning to crouch with his back against the wall as his headlamp shines in my face. "I'm gonna boost you, all right?"

    I look down at him as he cups his hands, his knees bent outwards to give me leverage. I feel an uneasiness in my stomach but push it aside, looking above his head to the hole in the structure I have to climb through.

    "Don't worry, I've seen it in the movies several times," JJ says casually, attempting to lighten my mood as he pushes his hair from his face. I smile softly at him, standing closer to his knees and handing my flashlight to Pope for safekeeping. "Ready?"

    I nod, placing my hands on his shoulders and lifting my foot up above his knees. He cups his hands under my foot, holding me securely as I steady myself on his shoulders.

    "Okay, on three, One-" He cuts himself off when I boost myself up, my hands leaving his shoulders and grasping onto the entrance of the hole, "Okay, just forget about three,"

   I ignore him, pushing myself higher until I have a good grip on the structure, JJ's touch leaving my shoe as I pull myself through and fall onto the other side. Mentally, I pray for forgiveness from the spirit whose home I just entered.

    "Flashlight?" I call, forcing my voice not to crack as Pope tosses the light through the entrance. I quickly grab it and hold the light up, shining it around the space.

    "You alive? You got like... a heartbeat and everything?" I hear John B's voice echo into the stone structure. 

    "Got a heartbeat alright," I comment more to myself, feeling my racing heart thump against my ribcage. 

     "That's good,"

    My flashlight does little to illuminate the room around me, barely anything recognisable in the dark, "I can't see shit in here. I need more light,"

     "Yeah, I got you," John B says, his arm reaching in through a small hole in the wall with his lantern clutched in his hand.

     The light helps make everything in the room clearer. My eyes immediately landing on something unusual in front of me. I step closer, aiming the light at the object as my mouth falls open slightly in shock.

    "Found any gold?" JJ shouts at my silence.

    "Oh my god,"