One of Two // JJ Maybank

the gold: one

THIRD POV

jj stood back from the memorial he made for john b, sarah, and spencer. kie placed a couple pictures down and stepped back. pope stood in silence. jj held up his flask. "to john b and spencer." he said.

"and to sarah." kie said weakly. jj clenched his jaw as kie looked at him with tears in her eyes, same to pope. he and pope both drank their beers as kie buried the box they had of everything the three left behind.

jj went inside and slumped on the couch. he pulled out a picture of him and spencer on the beach, throwing up a gnarly. he chuckled to himself and sighed. "they're probably still alive, you know." kie said, leaning against the door frame. "they're just presumed dead because they weren't found."

he looked up towards kie and looked back down, with the picture in between his fingers. "like shoupe said. they went into a tropical depression." he pursed his lips. "but like you said, we never know. let's just keep hoping." he took another swing from his flask.

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FIRST POV

i sat on my bed, rubbing my eyes. sarah and john b were in the room next door. i ran my fingers through my hair and knocked. "come in." i heard sarah's fragile voice. i opened the door and saw the two of them.

i sat down next to sarah and leaned my head on her shoulder. we all still had the same clothes from a couple weeks ago. my white stained crop top and denim shorts were disgusting. all of our hair was greasy and gross, i couldn't wait to get a shower sometime soon. "so, should me and sarah get married?" john b asked to break the silence.

i looked up from sarah's shoulder, frowning and pursing my lips. "i'm sorry... what did you just ask me?" i said chuckling from my spot.

sarah laughed also, shaking her head in the process. "i said no because he doesn't have any prospects." she answered my question. john b threw his hands into the air. "but he also said i didn't have any prospects either."

i hummed in response, sitting on my knees. "well we did." i shrugged. "just not uh... anymore." i scratched the back of my neck awkwardly.

sarah scooted closer to john b and sighed. "if i say yes..." she started as i raised my eyebrow. john b looked down at her. "you're not allowed to die." then she looked at me. "same with you." i rolled my eyes and laughed.

i wiped my forehead and let out a low whistle as john b stayed silent, and pulled the gold out of his backpack that somehow survived our ship crash. we all stared at it for a moment and sarah's eyes perked up. "john b, someone's coming." she said quickly.

he shoved the gold i his backpack as the captain of the boat opened the door. "morning, lovebirds." he said with a smile, then looked to me. "and sister." i waved my hand slightly and rolled my eyes. "coming into port." i smiled and looked to john b and sarah. the captain stepped into the room. "best not be on board without a passport, if you know what i'm sayin."

john b chuckled, zipping up his backpack. me and sarah looked at each other with strange looks. something seemed suspicious. "yeah, i hear you" john b responded quietly, looking up at the captain.

the captain pointed towards a door that was in their room. "you guys can go on my bridge." he said staring directly at john b.

all three of us stood up in our old clothes and walked towards the door. john b turned and pointed. "through here?" he asked as the captain responded with a hum and a nod.

we opened the door and climbed up the small ladders. come on." the captain said rushing us. "y'all need to hustle."

john b grabbed sarah by the hand then grabbed mine to help us up to the bridge. before the captain left, john b spoke. "hey." he said. "i really appreciate you, captain."

me and sarah both nodded in agreement. "thank you." we both said in unision.

the captain nodded again, accepting our appreciation and he started to close the door. "stay put." he ordered. "don't come out."

we all nodded as he closed the door but i heard a lock click and footsteps go away. i furrowed my eyebrows as i turned to john b and sarah, who were looking out the window. "i've never been to a foreign country before." john b chuckled, placing him elbows on the edge of the window.

i stood next to them and pointed out the window, as sarah took john b's finger and pointed right next to mine. "that is our family's house." i smiled at the memories of me and sarah running around as kids.

"holy super kook." john b said amazed at the sight of our huge home. i chuckled a little and so did sarah. "maybe we could crash for a couple of nights?"

sarah pursed her lips and placed her hands on her hips, glaring at john b. "hey, dad, me and spencer are alive, by the way, and i'm also thinking about getting married. can we crash?" she said sarcastically.

john b nodded and laughed a little. "yeah, maybe search around the house for a couple things you might have left." he added. "like the gold you stole from us."

sarah bit her lip as i noticed her thinking. "guys, we are fugitives." she said and i nodded. "in a foreign country."

john b left a couple side comments as sarah spoke and i let out a huge sigh. "we just have to be careful." i added. "or else we're cooked. we cannot draw attention to ourselves, whatsoever." sarah and john b hummed in response. "but also i heard them lock us in here... so we might have to break a window or something."

we pulled into port quicker than we expected. "so what was that comment about us not drawing attention to ourselves and to basically lay low?" john b asked, crossing his arms as sarah tried looking for something to break the window once we fully stopped into port.

i scoffed, rolling my eyes. "okay, well maybe not at this moment where we literally just got locked in here." i fused back. i turned around to see sarah holding a metal pipe. she gave it to me as i swung and broke the glass to one of the windows to help us escape.

i heard the door start to unlock as i rushed out the window with sarah and john b behind me. john b looked back to see a cop. "hey, stop!" the officer yelled.

we jumped off the boat, onto the dock and made a run for it. i pushed past a bunch of tourists, running to catch up to the two sprinting in front of me. we ran all the way into a village near the dock, dodging people, going left and right, trying to outrun the police. sarah motioned towards another way. "left." she breathed out, as we ran into a small market alleyway, pushing through the stands and crowds of civilians.

we turned another corner as we hid against a wall, out of breath. we stayed silent for a few moments. i heard the captain shouting repeatedly as i panted. i looked to sarah who kept a finger to her lips as their voices got further and further away. i took a second to think and smiled. "i think i know a place where we can hole up, okay?" i said to john b and sarah as they nodded, following behind me.