Down

Chapter 18

I was lifted up, I whined and pushed at someone's face,
JJ said" Nice, nice, keep pushing." I giggled at him," Wake up time, Munch."
Kie said" Did she even sleep last night?"
" Mmm, maybe. Not sure. But! We finally got her down when we all woke up!"
" Wasn't that long ago. Just get her back to sleep, she can sleep on the way there."
" And I just woke her up, you know, you can deal with the grumpy toddler!" I smiled at him," Hi, Skye."
I said" Hi, JJ." I hugged his neck, he laughed and swayed us," Where we goin'?"
" Somewhere. Go back to sleep, okay?" I yawned, nodding my head,
" Okay."

I was rubbing my eyes as John B carried me, we were at Sarah's,
Sarah said" Yeah. I know, right? It's the island room. It's been here this whole time."
John B said" No freakin' way."
JJ said" This definitely means something."
Pope said" This is incredible."
John B said" Yo, this is a map of the whole island."
JJ said" Yeah, John B, I think you're right because this is Rixon's right here. And then, there's the lighthouse."
Kie said" Guys, look, Parcel 9 and the well."
John B said" So, if that's parcel 9, and then if that's Rixon's, then that's gotta be the surf break at Mase."
JJ said" Right. And look. Pope, come'er. This is Denmark's handwriting for sure."
Pope said" The drawings, they match up."
John B said" Holy shit."
" Denmark, you genius! These are all his drawings. He... he painted this entire room."
Kie said" Yeah, question is why. What's he trying to tell us?"
JJ said" It's gotta have something to do with the key, right? Right?"
" Yeah, but what?"
John B said" How did you know to uncover this?"
Sarah said" I didn't. It was like this when I got home."
Kie said" Okay, then who did it?"
" I don't know."
Wheezie said" The freaks." Everyone jumped,
" Wheeze."
JJ said" What freaks are we talking about, Wheeze?"
Wheezie said" Uh... that sick lady and her attack dog. They-They showed up last night, and they wanted to talk to Rafe."
" Wait. Pale blond lady?"
Kie said" She have crutches?"
Wheezie said" Uh-huh."
Pope said" It's gotta be Limbrey."
John B said" Wh-What happened?"
She said" At first, they searched the whole house looking for something, and then Rafe told me to go upstairs. But I didn't wanna miss out, so I listened through the grate. And they were talking about getting across the sand flamingo."
JJ said" That's code for something."
Pope said" The cross. The cross of Santo Domingo?"
Wheezie said" Yeah, that's it. Oh, and they were talking about angels. A lot of angel talk. I don't know."
" Guys, Denmark's famous last words. He buries the real treasure at the foot of the angel. They're looking for an angel. We have to find the angel in the room."
JJ said" Start looking."
Kie said" Spread out."
Sarah said" There's a church over here."
John B said" Yeah, check the church." John B put me down as they all moved around, looking, talking at the same time. I looked at Wheezie as she tried to talk to them but they were busy.
JJ said" Hey, yo! Hey, guys, I think I found something. Come here. This humongous tree is still on Goat island. You know what it's called?"
Pope said" Angel Oak."
" Look right there. There's the keyhole."
John B said" Wait."
Pope said" That means the cross is buried at the foot of the angel. Wow, that must be where we put it. That must be where they are right now! We have to go!"
JJ said" I think I'm Sherlock Holmes, alright? You're welcome by the way."
John B said" Yeah. Hurry up, Sherlock." He lifted me up as he walked by me, I giggled at him.

Pope said" Guys, we're coming up on Freedman's church. It's the church Denmark built for all the slaves he freed." We kept going down the road.

Kie said" There it is, Angel Oak." We kept driving,
John B said" Oh, shit! Tide's coming in. Um..."
Pope said" Hey, wait a second. Look. They already came through here. Those have to be Limbrey's tire tracks. Guys, we gotta go."
JJ said" Mm, what do you think, chief?"
John B said" I'm thinking it's looking a little dicey."
" Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with that statement."
" Yeah."
Kie said" Okay, clearly, they made it. No?"
JJ said" In a two wheel drive? I don't know about that."
Sarah said" Why are ya'll acting like you're not gonna do it anyways? Like have ya'll ever done the safe thing?"
John B said" She's got a point."
JJ said" Speed is your friend here, okay? So, put her down in second and hammer down, brother."
Pope said" Stick to the high ground in the middle, John B."
John B said" Alright, ready? Here we go." John B took off,
JJ said" Come on, bro. Punch it. Speed is your friend. You're not going fast enough."
" I'm in second."
Kie said" It's gonna slide."
JJ said" You're fishtailing already."
John B said" I know."
Pope said" Not to put any more pressure on you, but if you don't make it through, we'll be stuck here forever."
" Put your head back, okay?" We made it to the other side," I told you we'd make it."
JJ said" That's my girl. Alright, right here. That's good. Angel Oak is right through here. Alright, so word to the wise, definitely know that gators nest back here, so keep your eyes peeled, okay?" We got out," You don't wanna step on a mama gator. That's the last thing you want to have happen."
Kie said" They have nests?"
Sarah said" Seems like a good place to park."
JJ said" Alright. You don't wanna be a Pat Womack. She had her calf chewed off by a gator, right? You know that, right?"
Kie said" That's actually not true. Pat Womack was injured in a car accident, but I hear you."
" Okay, just live in ignorance. But like, she had half her calf chewed off by a mama gator. I know that for a fact. They like the brackish water. Wait. Hold on. I see something."
" What are you doing?" He hit the water with a stick,
Sarah said" Right. Wake them up. That's smart."
JJ said" I was just making sure it wasn't a gator. That's all, all right?" Kie lifted me up and held me on her hip as we kept walking.