chapter four
curses, amulets and weird vibes

"Do you guys know anybody that's been here?" The question came from Kie as they all sat on the HMS Pogue, heading for Goat Island. Athena sat on the floor next to Sarah, an unsettled feeling in her stomach at what was ahead of them. "Cause I don't."

"Nope." JJ shook his head.

"Hey, Sarah, Thena, you guys must know somebody who's been here, right?" Pope wondered, looking towards the twins. "I mean, like, all Kooks, they... they know each other. They go to the same parties."

Sarah and Athena shared a look, their faces scrunching up to pull the same expression as they glanced back at Pope.

"Not these kooks." Athena shook her head.

"Are you kidding me?" Sarah also replied. "You've heard the rumours, right?"

"Oh yeah, about the daughter." JJ piped up. "I mean, that she drowned with her baby? That's what I heard."

"Why is it always you that knows these stories?" Athena wondered.

"I like freaky ghost stories." JJ shrugged. "We all have things."

"I heard that too, but I heard she was possessed first or something." Kie added onto JJ's statement.

"And then I heard that was all bullshit because... what?" Pope glanced back at the others incredulously.

"Stranger things have happened." Sage shrugged.

"Okay. Why are we doing this again?" Cleo questioned.

"We need the money." Pope and Sarah answered in unison making them all sigh as they approached the island.

"This place has been around for 200 hundred years and they still don't have a road that doesn't go underwater twice a day." Pope informed the group.

"You check in and you don't check out." Kie commented.

The reached the dock, greeting the man that was waiting for them with wary smiles. Athena watched as Pope handed him the rope to tie them off, only for her smile to drop when he simply stood there and stared at Pope for a few moments.

"Welcome to Blackstone." He finally spoke as the group shared looks.

He tied the boat to the dock and the pogues followed him up the dock and towards the house. Athena watched as JJ led them, following closely behind him as if something were to happen if she walked any further back.

"So, uh, what have you been digging?" JJ asked him, trying to start casual conversation with the man who was carrying a shovel – almost like he was trying to get rid of some of the uneasy tension that had settled amongst them.

"Ditches."

"Ditches." JJ repeated with a nod.

"At least it's not graves." Kie shrugged.

"All the same to me." The man replied easily.

Athena's hand immediately moved to play with the rings on her hand, JJ noticing the nervous action and threading his fingers through her own, sending her a reassuring smile.

"So, uh, how long have you been working for Mr Genrette?" John B wondered.

"As long as I can remember." The man answered, stopping his movements to face them all before he carried on, leading them up a series of stairs. When they reached the top, he stopped once more, pointing at the house at the end of a long path. "There."

"Okay, thank you." JJ smiled, being the first one to move towards the house, his hand still firmly attached to Athena's. When they reached the porch, he detached his hand to knock on the door loudly. "Hello! Anyone home? Hello, anyone home? Maybe? Oh, just a little quick FYI they drug you before they chop you up. So, don't eat or drink anything."

"Not funny." Cleo told him.

"Yeah, guys, I think I've changed my mind about this one." Sarah admitted, taking a small step backwards.

"I—I really don't wanna be here." Kie added.

"Yeah, can we go?" Athena asked, looking towards JJ with a pleading look.

"I admit the risk-reward is very off." Pope nodded.

"It's slightly creepy." Sage gulped, taking a hold of Kie's hand.

"Hey, someone's coming." JJ announced, stepping away from the door.

Footsteps approached the door from the inside, the sound of the door unlocking being clear before it opened to reveal a middle-aged man. He smiled at them brightly but Athena already sensed something off about him. "Hi. I'm sorry to keep you waiting. It's quite a big house and I'm—I'm afraid the servants have all gone. All except, uh, good old Demp. I just can't seem to get rid of him. Uh, you must be the... the Pogues. The Great Seekers."

"Yeah, I—I don't know about that." John B stuttered, sending the man a confused look.

"Oh, now, don't be modest." The man waved him off. "I've read of your adventures. It's quite thrilling. Uh, come in. Come in. I... I'm the son-in-law. Chandler Groff. Wes was really, really hoping you'd show. He's been waiting."

The group all shared a look before JJ started towards the door. "Yeah. Pleasure. JJ."

The rest of them glanced before each other, their uneasiness clear on each of their faces. Athena finally let out a sigh. "Well, I'm not letting him go in their alone. Nice to meet you. I'm Athena."

She sent Chandler a smile before heading further into the house, hearing the others argue behind her as she caught up to JJ. They walked through the house, each of them scrunching their noses up at the gross smell as they made their way into the room that Chandler told them to go into.

He guided them into another room, where Wes was standing, and the Pogues trickled inside, sitting down on the sofas to listen to the man's proposition. Athena placed herself next to Pope, deciding she felt safest there and she looked around the large room in both suspicion and curiosity.

"I... I apologise for dragging you all out here, but I, I don't think I could speak about this in public." Wes began, gesturing around the room at his many paintings. "I know I mentioned Blackbeard but I assure you all, my interest is not for treasure. My ancestor, Francis Genrette, was the British Officer who caught and killed the notorious pirate."

"Wait, Your... your direct ancestor?" Pope wondered.

"Mm-hmm." Wes hummed. "Yes, unfortunately. After he'd beheaded Blackbeard, he killed the pirate's wife, Elizabeth. And since then, for 300 years, generations of Genrettes have been haunted Elizabeth's ghost and have died violent deaths, including my daughter. Larissa, Chandler's wife. My daughter saw Elizabeth a week before she died. Now... I've had a visitation. So I know I don't have much time."

Athena looked up at the painting of Larissa, tilting her head at the sudden sense of familiarity that settled over her at the sight of it. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she had never seen the photo before so why did the woman look so familiar? She shook her head slightly, snapping out of it as she glanced back at Chandler. Now Athena did believe in ghosts but she didn't believe in curses, because if she did that would definitely mean she was cursed and she wasn't having that in her life too. So, if the curse didn't kill Wes' daughter Larissa, then her first suspect would always be the husband – and god was Chandler Groff already making her uneasy so she knew he was suspicious.

"Uh, um, so we're really sorry that that happened to you, but what do you want from us?" John B wondered.

"Of course, you're right." Wes nodded. "Let's get down to business. Chandler."

"We believe that we've found a way to break the curse on this family." Chandler explained. "Right before she was murdered, Elizabeth begged Francis to retrieve from her husband's ship a keepsake that he'd given her. Her most prized possession. An amulet. He denied the request and then murdered her."

"But if we find that amulet, fulfilling Elizabeth's last request, I believe it will break the curse that has haunted my family for over 300 years." Wes finished, looking between the group.

"Okay, um—I'm sorry. Where did you say that the necklace thingy is?" Kie questioned.

"Oh." Groff let out a small chuckle, making Athena narrow her eyes at him. "Blackbeard's last ship, the Adventure."

"Perfect."

"According to all records, the amulet was still on it when it was scuttled right off Goat Island." Groff explained.

"Right, yeah, but the Coast Guard excavated that site years ago." Pope reminded him.

"The excavation team didn't know what we know." Wes stated, a book in his hand. "They didn't have this. There's a secret lockbox hidden behind the headboard in the Captain's chamber. Do you dive?"

"We dive." JJ answered without hesitation. "All... all of us do. It's just, we only do it if the price is right."

"Excellent." Wes smiled ever so slightly, seemingly ignoring the nervous and suspicious expressions the rest of the pogues held. "We are prepared to offer you a premium for your services. Fifty thousand, plus expenses. Five thousand up front. And we would very much like your immediate answer."

"Well, I think we kind of—"

John B had already stood up, wrapping his arm around JJ's neck and clamping his hand over the boy's mouth to stop him from speaking.

"Uh, we'll just need to think it through." Pope told Wes politely.

"We'll be right back." John B added, dragging JJ into the next room while the rest of them followed him, closing the door behind them.

"One second, just one second."

"Okay, guys—"

"We have to think."

"What was that?"

"This is weird." Kie spoke, her voice breaking through everyone else's. "We could just slip out through the back."

"Are we really going to listen to the guy who should be in a white padded room?" John B wondered, sitting down. "Visitations? Curses?"

"He's a madman." Cleo agreed.

"Obviously, he's batshit, but he's in there crying about his daughter." Sarah stated, trying to keep her voice low. "Like, he needs help."

"He needs therapy, Sarah, not a necklace thing." Kie told her.

"Obviously this guys is nutty. We don't even know if anything he's saying is true." Pope added.

"We cannot ignore the fact that there is a ghost and a curse." Sage piped up. "There is a weird-ass vibe, guys."

"Guys, we need the money." Athena spoke with a sigh. "And he needs someone to believe him about this so he can have some closure from his daughter's death."

"Let's say we take this job." Cleo began. "Is it even possible."

"Yes." JJ replied.

"I knew what you would say." Cleo pointed at him. "Everybody else?"

"That shipwreck is probably 80 to 100 feet down. The currents are probably ripping." Pope started talking logistics.

"Guys, are we really gonna worry about the details right now?" JJ questioned, finally stopping his pacing.

"Yes."

"Obviously."

"That's the 100%."

"We've survived worse." Athena reminded them with a small shrug.

"Exactly." JJ gestured to her. "And in our time of need, are we really gonna turn down free money? No, that's not like us."

"It's not free."

"The worst that can happen is we walk out of here with five Gs in our pocket. End of discussion." JJ finished his rant, making his way to the door.

"That's not the worst."

"We can go to jail, get arrested."

"We could die."

"Excuse me, sir, we've come to our conclusion and we'll do it." JJ announced, ignoring his friends and opening the door to the other room with a wide smile. "We'll take the job. Now that initial 5K is that that right there? You can go ahead, fork that over to me."

"Welcome abord." Chandler Groff sent him a smile.

"Give it to Pope." Athena told JJ from behind him, the boy appearing next to her.

"Yeah, you know what? Actually, I think I'll take this for safekeeping." Pope nodded, taking the envelope of money out of JJ's hands. "Huh, yeah."

"All right. Sure."

"Thank you."

"You won't regret this sir." JJ reassured Chandler, shaking his hand firmly. "I promise you. We'll get the job done."

Athena smiled at Wes, not fully trusting Chandler yet. "We'll try our very best, for you... and your daughter."

"Thank you." Wes sent her a grateful smile.

"Hey, JJ." Groff spoke, catching her attention. "I believe in you."

"Thank you."

Athena looked between the man and her boyfriend, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. She glanced at Wes, who was staring at Groff suspiciously but her eyes moved when the man turned to look at her.

"Good luck." Chandler told her.

"Thanks." Athena forced a smile onto her face, following JJ back to their friends.

The group headed back to the boat, making their way back home, ready to start planning on how to get down to Blackbeard's ship and find the amulet for Wes.

"Did you get weird vibes from Groff or was it just me?" Athena whispered to Sage who sat next to her.

"No, major weird vibes." Sage nodded.

"Did you see him and JJ, it was just... I don't know?" Athena shook her head with a sigh.

"Hey, what's going on, Mars?" Sage wondered, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the way Athena was playing with the paper ring on her necklace and staring off into the distance.

"The photo, of Larissa... it looked so familiar but I've never seen a photo of her before." Athena tried to explain. "It just—I don't know, it was like I knew her somehow but I didn't know, I don't know her or any of them so how does it feel like that?"

"Maybe she had one of those faces." Sage suggested with a shrug. "Or maybe you knew someone related to her."

"The only people related to her were in that house, Sage." Athena reminded them. "And her son, who's dead. I've never met any of them. It's probably nothing."

"When it comes to you, nothing is ever nothing." Sage stated with a look.

"You're right." Athena sighed once more. "But I have had enough family drama I don't need to start digging into another's, especially a family I have nothing to do with."

"Okay, then." Sage slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. "Let's just find this amulet and get back to poguelandia."

"Now that sounds like my kind of plan."

When the group arrived back at the house, the immediately got to planning, gathering around the table as Pope pulled out the ship schematics from the book that Wes gave him. They had all agreed that since it was JJ that got them into the mess and agreed to do it, he would be the one to dive down to the boat.

"Okay so, looking at the schematics of the ship, it'll probably be best for you to enter in around her." Pope explained, circling the place with a marker pen. "Genrette wasn't kidding about this stash. Look. In the captain's log, there's a secret compartment. Right here behind the headboard in the Captain's quarters."

"Okay, are we still talking about this?" John B questioned them.

"Yep." JJ nodded.

"The ship's been down there for 300 years. It's been salvaged, we know that." John B stated.

"Come on, not gonna hurt to check." Cleo shrugged, JJ pointing at her in agreement.

"Yeah. It feels right." JJ nodded, grabbing a map from behind him and placing it on the table. "And also, we know where it is. It's right in this area."

"Except we don't know exactly where it is." John B sighed.

"What about the coast Guard?" JJ suggested. "I bet they know where it is. Plus I've heard coasties are quite chill, so we could probably just straight up ask them."

"Hey, wait, Pope, isn't your uncle in the Coast Guard?" John B wondered, leaning back in his seat. "Uncle Roger?"

"My Uncle Roger?" Pope repeated, shaking his head. "No, no, no. That's not gonna work. My Uncle Roger is the most straight-laced, by-the-books person in the history of the world. It's not gonna happen."

"More straight-laced than you?" Sarah retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"First of all, I didn't graduate high school. I had to get a GED. That's... that's pretty loosey-goosey." Pope defended himself. "So other options. Wait, JJ, isn't your, uh, your friend in the Coast Guard? Boogie."

"Oh boy."

"Boogs? He's in the reserves, bro." JJ told him.

"Yeah but he'd probably know." Pope replied.

"That's not what I'm saying. He's a marina rat." JJ explained. "Living pay check to pay check. So, if we're gonna get any intel out of him, he's gonna need to be bribed. Which, look, I'm totally fine with doing. It's just—"

"No." John B and Sarah cut him off in unison.

"I mean you could bribe him, I could get money from my parents—" Sage added to the idea.

"No." John B and Sarah repeated.

"There's your answer right there." JJ sighed. "So, in my mind, I'm like, the best-case scenario is if I had an uncle who knew where the wreck was, would maybe tell us for free. Oh, that's right, you do. So that should be our first stop."

"You're not listening." Pope stressed. "I dropped a cracker in that man's garage one time, and he made me clean the whole thing."

Athena giggled. "I made Wheezie do that once after she dropped a singular chip on the floor of my jeep. I miss my jeep."

"That's... okay." Pope sent her a weird look. "My uncle is not the person who will give out classified information. He's just not."

"Not with that attitude." Kie commented.

"Dude. Your uncle might literally know where it's at, he might even tell us for free but you just gotta try." JJ practically begged, standing up and walking over to Pope.

"No, I... I don't think you're listening." Pope repeated.

"He could say yes." Kie reminded him.

"Also, I thought all Pogues were team players here so..." JJ shrugged, wrapping his arm around Pope.

"No."

"Not even a single woogity?" Sarah wondered, holding her hand out.

"Whatever happened to 'Pogues for life'?" John B questioned.

"Absolutely not."

"Take one for the team." Cleo added.

"I thought we were best friends, Pope." Athena joined in.

"That's it. I'm done. I'm not asking him." Pope stated firmly.

Pope ended up agreeing to asking his Uncle, the Pogues waiting outside his family gathering for Pope to return with hopefully good news.

"What happened?" Cleo wondered, spotting Pope first.

"I don't think he's ever gonna look at me the same way again." Pope admitted. "Great."

"Don't take it too hard, Pope." Cleo told him. "He probably gave up on you a lost time ago."

"And we all got family members who don't look at us like they used to." Athena shrugged. "Join the club."

John B leant out of the twinkie, Sage doing the same as they looked at JJ. "Plan B?"

"Let's find Boogie."

( 💌 ) isobels notes
athena following in straight after jj
despite the bad vibes #thatsherman!!
shes suspicious as she should be
psychic athena strikes again