XLIX.   turn your lights down low

Dylan left her house early to meet the Pogues at the Chateau for school. It was John B's first day back and she was nervous for what everyone would say to him once they got there. She let her hair be wild that day, not having the energy to try and do anything with it. When she got the Chateau, everyone was there but John B and JJ were still sleeping. "Good morning." She announced when she walked inside.

Pope turned to her and smiled. "Hey, baby."

She kissed him quickly and looked down at a sleeping John B. "Why aren't they awake yet?"

"Kie's already tried. Cold water doesn't do anything, apparently."

She saw Kiara in the kitchen. "Morning, Kie."

"Good morning, honey." She said back and looked through the cabinets.

Dylan opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs. "Do you guys want eggs?" She asked and grabbed one of the only pans from the lower cabinet.

"Are you sure those are still good?" Pope asked from the living room.

"Yes, I bought them."

Kiara raised her hand. "I'll take some."

She put the pan on the stove and started making breakfast. Pope was still trying to wake up John B and JJ yet they still wouldn't budge. She glanced at Kiara. "Have you heard from Sarah?"

She leaned again the counter. "No. I tried calling her, but, she didn't answer. You?"

Dylan shook her head. "No. I'm worried about her." She transferred the large pile to three separate plates. "What if she's mad at us?" She asked and handed a plate to Kiara.

"She's not." Kiara denied and took the plate thankfully. "I think she just needs time to herself, y'know?"

She nodded with a tight lipped smile. She grabbed the other plate and went to give it to Pope. He smiled again. "Thanks, baby." He said and took it from her.

"Eat quickly. We gotta go. I've been studying for this geometry test for a week now and I don't want to be late." She instructed and went to clean up the kitchen. "And for god sake, wake them up!"

They quickly finished eating and Dylan finished cleaning the kitchen. Pope grabbed the tapped together beer cans and poked John B in the face. "Hey. We gotta go to school, man. We have a geometry test in thirty minutes and I really don't want to face the wrath of my girlfriend is we're late."

"Rise and shine!" Dylan hollered and came into the living room. Pope went to wake up JJ. She leaned over John B and tapped him on the forehead. "Come on, B. Time for school!"

"I hear you, Dylan. Loud and clear." He mumbled and slowly got up.

"Is he alive?"

"I don't know."

"JJ. Get your shoes."

"JJ, get your ass up!" Dylan yelled and grabbed his shoes for him. She started putting them on his feet.

"Umm, I will meet you with you guys later." Kiara told them.

"You're not going to school?" She asked her.

"There's something I gotta do first."

Dylan finished tying his shoes and Pope dragged him off the couch. "Alright, we'll see you later." She told Kiara. "To the Twinkie, now! We're going to be late! Let's go!"

"I'm starving. I need some pizza." JJ slurred and tried going into the kitchen.

Pope quickly grabbed him but he still managed to grab a piece of pizza from the box. "No, you missed breakfast. Let's go."

"J, I will buy you pizza later. Let's just go!" Dylan urged them out of the house.

By the time time they got in the Twinkie, she was out of breath and regretted not putting her hair up. Pope climbed into the drivers seat. "Why do we do this?" He wondered and started the van.

"Because without us, they'd be dead." She stated and out on her seatbelt. She surfed the radio until she heard Turn Your Lights Down Low by Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill. "Okay, babe, I love you but I need you to speed."

They got to school minutes before the first bell rang. Gratefully they all the same first class. "Let's go. Up and at em, boys." Pope ordered and got out of the van.

"Come on, children." Dylan added and grabbed her bag. They lazily got out of the van and she grabbed Pope's hand. "Is this what our life's boiled down to?"

He shrugged and wrapped the arm that she was attached to around her shoulder. "Parenting two drunken teenagers? Seems like it."

Everyone stared at John B as they walked down the hallway. He tried avoiding their eyes but it was hard when even the teachers were speaking on him. "Glad you could join us, Mr. Routledge." Said their geometry teacher.

He gave her a tight smile. "It's good to be back."

"Just in time for your first quiz."

She sat the paper in front of him. Both he and JJ looked at Pope and Dylan with betrayal. "A test." John B whispered.

"I told you we had a test this morning!" Pope whispered back.

"I don't want to hear a damn thing!" Dylan hissed under her breath, glaring at JJ like he was glaring at her.

"Betrayer."

She flipped him off. Her phone vibrated inside the pocket of her shorts. She made sure the teacher wasn't looking before she took it out and saw she got a text from Sarah.

Sarah 🌞
will you be at the bonfire tonight?

DJ 🐬
yeah, of course

Sarah 🌞
okay, I'll see you there

She turned her head and saw one of the girls in their class pass a note to John B. Then, she smiled at him. Dylan didn't have the heart to say anything to Sarah about it.

Dylan walked out of English and went to find the boys when she saw them sprinting down the hallway. "Dyl!" Pope shouted her name. He held a diary in his hand. "Dylan, there you are."

"Hey, I was about to come find you guys."

"Dylan, you're never going to believe this." Said John B.

She gave them a weird look. Pope took her hand and started dragging her outside. "What's the rush?" She questioned.

"DJ, prepare yourself." JJ spoke mysteriously.

When they got to the outside area, Dylan sat on top of the picnic table and Pope quickly sat beside her. "Mr. Sunn pulled us into his office earlier. He showed us this from the archives." He held up the tattered diary. "This is Denmark Tanney's diary."

Her eyes instantly went wide. She looked between John B and JJ and they nodded their heads, growing bright smiles. "Are you serious?" She questioned. She looked at the diary and gasped. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed and grabbed it. She scanned the entries and the dates. "This is insane."

"That's not the insane part," Pope told her and grabbed the diary. He flipped to the page he wanted to show up. "Look."

Dylan saw a drawn picture of the Cross of Santo Domingo. Her eyes went wide again. "The cross."

"It was on the Royal Merchant."

"August 15th, set sail from Port-au-Prince on calm seas. Came up on the Spanish ship San Jose on fire. The entire deck was aflame. And we could hear the screams of men trapped below. The Spanish captain cared about only one thing, his valuable cargo, the Cross of Santo Domingo and countless bars of gold. Once the cargo was on board, we went to help the crew, but Captain Limbrey ordered us to pull bayonets and not to let any of the Spanish crew on board." Pope read the entry from Denmark Tanney's diary. "He robbed them and left them to die."

"This is while, dude." Dylan exhaled and rubbed her face.

"So it didn't go down off Bermuda." JJ claimed.

"And it was a Limbrey stealing shit again." Said Kiara.

"Racists and thieves."

"This diary proves that both the gold and the Cross of Santo Domingo were on the Royal Merchant." Pope explained.

"Why didn't we find it in the well then?" Asked JJ. He leaned up from the couch. "I mean, if Denmark was able to get this, like, bedazzled cross off of the Merchant to shore, why didn't he just hide it with the gold?"

"Because it was too big." "It was too big." Both Dylan and John B answered at the same time. They smiled at each other.

"Right." Pope nodded. "He had to hide it someplace else."

"But where?" Kiara asked and lowered the diary entry.

"Right before he was hung, Denmark said he'd buried the treasure at the foot of the Angel." He recited.

Dylan thought about it.

"Wait, I thought this was about the key." Said JJ.

"Right. So what's the connection?"

"The path to the tomb begins in the island room."

Kiara rolled her eyes. "But what is the island room?"

"What if it's an actual room?" Dylan guessed, thinking of the best scenario.

"You know what helps me figure shit out?" Asked JJ and he rolled off the couch again.

"Oh boy. Here we go." Said John B.

"Smoking beers and drinking weed. The ideas just pour out of me."

They looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you sure you're not high now?" Asked Dylan.

"Not yet, my dear DJ. But if we just sit here and try to figure this out, we're gonna get nowhere. But if we get creative and go to this bonfire tonight, maybe we get somewhere."

"Well, I just got disowned by my parents, and I'm an official member of the I-Have-Nothing-to-Lose club." Kiara smiled.

"Pope?"

"We're so close." He hesitated.

"Look, look, think about how much you could think if you just gave your brain a rest." JJ said and bent down in front of him. He looked between the couple. "Both of you cause I know your brains are, like, connected or some shit."

"JJ, this is important." Dylan warned him.

He turned to her. "Come on, Dyl. Where's our party girl?" He grew a smirk.

The Pogues slowly leaned forward, waiting for their answer. She looked at Pope and shrugged her shoulders. He looked defeated. "Alright."

They cheered. "Okay, wait. We gotta shotgun before we go." Said JJ.

"I'm driving." Dylan insisted and stood from her seat.

"NO!" They all shouted.

The Bonfire was a sacred Outer Banks tradition. The same weekend every year since forever. Dylan remembered her first time going. She was a freshman and she'd lied to her parents about staying the night with Sarah. They snuck out and went, being two of the only few freshman who attended. It was one of those things where if you go once, you ultimately have no choice but to keep going.

"Hey, Dylan!" People greeted her once she arrived.

Dylan smiled at them. "Hey guys." She waved.

"DJ, babe, you know our tradition," JJ brought up and threw his arm around her. "First shot gun of the night."

She rolled her eyes. It was their yearly tradition ever since they started attending the bonfire together. Almost everybody that went looked forward to it. "Alright, come on."

"I gotta have front row!" John B exclaimed with a smile.

"Don't corrupt my girlfriend the whole night, JJ!" Pope shouted at him as he dragged her away.

"Scuse us! Scuse us! Shot gunners coming through!" JJ shouted and pushed past everyone.

"Sorry! So sorry!" Dylan quickly said.

They made it to the middle of the bonfire and he held up climb up the steps. Everyone turned to face them. A guy in their class tossed two beers their way and JJ caught them with ease. He passed one to her. "Ready, DJ?"

She grinned. "I am every year."

The Pogues stood at the front of the crowd to watch. "CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" The crowd started to chant.

Dylan and JJ pierced the side of the beer cans and instantly brought them to their mouths. She inhaled the horrible tasting liquid but tried not to laugh as the cheering around them got louder. It was one of her favorite traditions.

When they finished, JJ tore the can away from his lips and threw his arms up. "WHOO!"

The crowd of people cheered louder. Dylan wiped her mouth and laughed. He threw his arms around her again. "THAT'S RIGHT BABY! NOW WE CAN PARTY!"

She walked down the steps and met Pole, who shook his head in amazement. "Gets better every year." He told her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, it's better now that we're together." She said with a smile.

He hummed and leaned forward, kissing her softly. "Do you think we should be here?"

Dylan pressed her hands to his cheeks. "JJ's right. We need a break from the treasure hunting stuff. This is one of the nights of the year. Let's enjoy it together."

Pope smiled softly. "Yeah, you're right." He sat his hands on her hips again. "You're so smart."

"You're so smart."

"Yeah, but, I love how smart you are. It's extremely hot." He brushed his hands against the side of her face.

Dylan went red and giggled. "This sounds like you're flirting with me."

He hummed and grew a smirk. "Been doing it for years now. Is it working?"

She pulled him into her again and kissed him, harder that time. "Is that a good answer?" She muttered against his lips.

Pope felt weak in the knees. "Uh huh." He responded and kissed her again.

Dylan was having a great night. JJ was busy doing whatever while getting as drunk as he possibly could. John B was talking to the girl from their class which she found really annoying. She searched the crowd for Sarah, having texted her a couple times, but receiving no response. She went to the top and looked around for her when she spotted her by the cooler. "Sarah!" She called her name and smiled.

Sarah quickly stood up straight. "DJ."

"There you are. I've been looking for you." She told her while still smiling. "When did you get here?"

"Um, j-just a few minutes ago." She answered and looked behind her.

Dylan's eyes narrowed at her nervousness. She looked over Sarah's shoulder and saw Topper. He looked over and saw her standing there with Sarah, then he waved. "Hey, DJ."

"Topper?" She questioned strangely. She looked at Sarah again. "Did you come here with Topper?"

"Uhh. . . Uhhh. . ." She stumbled again.

"Why did you come here with him?" Dylan asked again, becoming angry.

"H-He helped me, DJ, after my dad. H-H-He's been there for me—"

Topper came over and stood with them. "Is everything okay?" He asked with a laugh.

Dylan narrowed her eyes again. "Yeah, everything's great." They cut to Sarah. "I'm gonna go find my friends."

She watched her face fall and she turned around to leave. "Have fun, Dylan!" She heard Topper shout and she resisted the urge to flip him off.