——

Emelina was content with her current life. Granted, staying on an island for the rest of her life was unrealistic, but at that moment, Poguelandia became her paradise, and she did not want to lose it.

She knew if she came home, she could be greeted with why she hated it in the first place. There was no one she had to walk on eggshells with. No new strangers taking in her father's footsteps. On the island, she had every ounce of freedom she longed for.

She was fortunate enough to have a boyfriend who shared the same views. JJ wanted to avoid home as much as she did. The reality was never going to shake their paradise.

Every day she woke up happy, surrounded by people she considered her family. For it to be stripped from her, the thought did cross her mind, and as much as she would kill for a shower and a decent meal that doesn't involve fish, it would affect her a lot more than the others.

Emelina sat against a tree, braiding some leaves to make a hat for fun. Pope and Cleo were beside her, discussing his school and previous scholarship. She felt terrible for him. She remembered how much he talked about it when she joined the group.

After being on the island for a month, she found herself liking Cleo and loved how she was the perfect addition to the Pogues. It only seemed to keep growing.

"Yo! Guess who's eating good tonight." JJ appeared with a smile on his face, dropping his spear to the sandy ground beneath him.

Kiara came from behind, a proud smile on her face at a skatefish impaled on her weapon. "I know. So off-brand of me, but it beats what we usually eat."

Emelina gave her a proud smile, "Congratulations, Kie. I hope to see you next at the world championship." she teased, moving her leg to the side for JJ as he plopped himself onto the sand.

Kiara waved her off with playful rolled eyes and wandered away to prepare her meal. JJ nudged Emelina, "Whatcha doing?"

She placed the hat on his head. Only more than half of it was done, so it looked more like a crown than what it was intended to be. "My boredom has reached its peak. I am now into weaving. Who would've thought?"

He handed her the hat and leaned on a nearby tree, preparing to tell his theatrical version of Kiara's success in catching a skatefish.

She listened until her eyes traveled to the Poguelandia flag on a tree. On one of the first new days, JJ had gathered supplies to make it, and she was there cheering him on as he put it up.

She stood there in amazement as he managed to climb his way up. "Almost there!" he said out loud, his feet gripping the palm tree.

"Hey, JJ?" Emelina called out while keeping one hand on her hip. He looked down briefly to let her know he had her attention before returning to the tree. "Yeah?"

She grinned when she said, "By any chance, when I resurrected you, did you come back as Tarzan?"

He took a minute to answer until he was situated. "Maybe I did!" he said, reaching a point at the top of the tree where he began to tie the ends of the flag. "We both got hot chicks."

And to that, she rolled her eyes, which were soon replaced by her claps and cheers when he tied the last knot. "You did it!"

"...And then I look up, and bam! Kie's got the skate. She ought to teach us how to catch our next dinner." JJ finished just in time for Sarah and John B to retrieve from the forest after gathering some sticks.

Emelina kept her focus on weaving the hat. A few more rows were left, and she worked quickly to finish them. She listened to her friends talk amongst themselves and eventually finished the hat.

She put it on John B's head and sat next to him. The group gathered in a circle, and she flashed JJ a small smile as he sat across from her. Her hands dug themselves into the warm sand, and she inhaled a breath, enjoying every millisecond on the island.

The hat was now placed on her head, and she looked up at John B in confusion, but he only smiled and asked, "Lina, truth or dare?"

"Truth," she answered. He pretended to ponder for a moment before gathering up a question. "After dabbling with both sides of the world, which would you choose if you had to? The Kook life or the Pogue life?"

She could feel JJ's eyes burning into her skin. "Kooks may have their own islands, but," Her hand followed the circle of her friends, "they don't have this. So, duh, P4L."

"Good answer. If you didn't, we would've had to toss you out to sea." John B said, a teasing grin on his lips. Emelina smacked his leg lightly. "Funny. 'Kay, my turn. Truth or dare?"

"Aye, the hat's the speaker. When you got the hat on, the sounds on." Cleo said, and Emelina nodded, taking the hat off and giving it to John B to wear. He replied, "Truth."

JJ snorted. "Getting bored over here with the truths."

"We just started! Okay, John B, if you could it all over again... what would you do differently?" she asked. He sucked in a breath, "Ooh."

JJ replied instead, "Uh, get the gold out before Ward did." Emelina nodded in agreement, "True. True."

"Maybe hide the cross a little better." Pope chimed in. "Not yell murderer at Ward, maybe," Kiara said, a little hint of embarrassment on her face. Emelina laughed and leaned her head on Kiara's shoulder. Sarah looked down with a smile, "Not drink the tea Rose made me."

John B finally answered, "Uh, steal a couple bottles of rum before we jumped off the boat?" JJ turned around immediately, "Yeah, why didn't you do that, actually?"

"I don't know. Maybe 'cause I was in a fight to the death?"

"I would look both ways before crossing the street," Cleo said, keeping her eyes on John B, who looked away. His lips turned flat, "Yeah, my bad. My bad."

More rounds occurred until it was Kiara's turn to select someone. She chose one, "JJ, truth or dare?" and tossed him the hat. He picked it up and threw it over his tousled hair. "I mean, do you even need to ask?"

With the knife she had secured in her hand, she pointed it to the large cliff overseeing the water. "Big jump. Nobody's done it yet... Dare."

He could never take no for an answer. So, he tossed his shirt away for Emelina to hold, and before he marched his way up to the cliff, he looked right into her hazel eyes. "Wait, I kinda need something before I go."

Emelina skimmed her eyes around in confusion. "Uh, need what?"

"A good luck kiss," he answered, pulling her in by her waist to seize her lips for that much-needed kiss. Her mind went into a haze, completely muffling out her friends' whooping in the background.

He constantly surprised her, even with simple movements like a kiss, and he always had her at the edge of her seat, wanting more of him if that was possible.

Her heart fluttered when the kiss ended, and he leaned his forehead on hers. "Good luck," she whispered.

JJ grinned and spun around to finish his dare. Emelina couldn't lie and say she wasn't nervous because she was, but this was in his nature. Her cheers quieted down any negative thoughts that arose.

"He's not gonna do it!" Cleo declared, loud enough for JJ's ears to pick up. He shouted back and gestured to the water, "Oh, I won't, huh?"

"Oh, no, he will." Emelina clarified. Pope nodded beside her, "It's highly dangerous, uh, zero rewards? Yeah, he's doing it."

JJ opened his arms and let the wind roam against his body. He took a few steps back to prepare for the jump before running forward and meeting the water below.

Emelina raised her arms and screamed out in happiness. She followed the rest of the Pogues to the shore, where JJ reached the surface and trudged his way over to everyone else.

John B and Pope had removed their shirts and hurried over to JJ, giving him a hug and a slap to his back. Emelina ran to his open arms, and he held her close as he spun her around. "What a rush! How'd it feel, J?"

"Really fucking good. I actually thought I was gonna die!"

JJ released Emelina and slung his arm over her shoulder as they walked with the rest. Pope expressed, "You looked like you were gonna die. I thought you were gonna die."

Nighttime had rolled around, and each sat under the cave to eat their freshly caught fish. Emelina munched on a lobster that JJ had captured for her while swimming by a bunch of rocks.

It was quiet. Peaceful. She found herself smiling to herself every so often when they were all chilling by the fire as the moon lingered in the sky. It was precisely where she wanted to be.

§

"Em, wake up!"

Emelina fluttered her eyes open and found JJ hovering over her. She rubbed her eyes and sat up straight, staring at her friends waving their arms to the sky. An airplane was flying by.

She ran over to them, her mind and body buzzing at the sudden movement, and noticed that Pope and Cleo were missing. They most likely went to light up their emergency signal.

She looked at JJ, who was already looking at her with sheer disappointment and offered him a small comforting smile. She was well aware it did not send him any comfort. Their paradise was coming to an end.

"Guys, he sees us!" Kiara gasped, and Emelina looked at the plane turning around for them. Her heart dropped to her stomach. John B urged them to move. "He's gonna go to the pond. Come on, come on. Come on!"

Emelina quickly grabbed her shoes and any other essentials she could handle. JJ was by her side, and his frown had not left his face. She clutched his arm gently. "Let's go."

The plane had already landed by the time they reached the pond. The pilot stepped out with a greeting. Pope ran from behind and excitedly squeezed John B's shoulders. "Hey! We're getting out of here. We're finally getting out of here."

"Well, what do we got here?" The man lurched forward, his low ponytail draping behind his shoulders. John B replied, "Uh. You know, just some castaways."

The man lowered his sunglasses. "Well, I'll cross that off the grocery list. Uh, hang on! I got just the thing for y'all. Just one second." he said and returned to the inside of his plane.

"Two things you need on a deserted island. First aid and rum! Incoming!" He tossed the bottle to the ground, where it splashed in a big puddle of water. Pope caught the red kit.

"So what's the story? You guys sank a boat?"

John B hesitated before responding, "Jumped off one." He motioned toward Sarah next to him, who had picked up the bottle of rum, "Her dad's." She gave him a face.

"In-laws, man. They're tough... Well, have no fear. Jimmy's here! I got you." he said, motioning for them to welcome them aboard. Cleo cheered, "Well, all hail Jimmy, guys! Let's go."

Emelina shuffled at her feet. She wasn't sure if she was relieved to leave. She constantly thought about home, but that was all it was... thoughts. She didn't crave home and figured her mother was living her best life without her. She feared it would be true if she went back. It was inevitable now.

Goodbye, Poguelandia. With one last look at the island, she turned around and entered the Flying Fish.

She sat between Sarah and Kiara, listening to JJ and John B interrogate the man. Her eyes were glued to the bottle of rum that Sarah's fingers were wrapped around.

Jimmy said he was spotting fish. More specifically, Wahoo. And by the look on John B and JJ's faces, Emelina knew deep down something was wrong. The pilot started the engine, "I'd hang on to something. Gets a little spicy on takeoff."

Emelina grabbed onto a metal bar stuck on the plane's wall and held on for dear life as the aircraft flew into the sky.

JJ used Jimmy wearing the aviation headset to his advantage and leaned closer to the Pogues, whispering, "Wahoo don't run in September. Ever. Alright? So whoever this man is, he's not a fisherman."

Emelina swallowed thickly. She already had suspicions of the man the second he appeared, and now she wanted nothing more than to get off the plane. Pope tried bubbling down the anxiousness, "Maybe the run just starts earlier out here."

"Are you sure about that? In the Caribbean?" JJ asked. Sarah shook her head, "No, I know what this is. He's working for my dad, and he's probably been looking for us the entire time."

It was all adding up. Emelina sympathized with Sarah because the blonde girl had scared them on multiple occasions the entire month on the island, saying Ward was there to get them. Nobody ever came, though.

JJ started investigating what this man wanted, and his eyes settled on a satchel hanging on Jimmy's seat. While John B distracted him, JJ slithered his hand into the bag and started to pull things out.

There was a book, The Loss of El Dorado, and inside it contained a picture of the Coastal Venture. Goosebumps formed on Emelina's skin, and she looked at Sarah's worried eyes. "Oh, my God. This is the boat we were on. With Eberhimi and the cross."

"So he was looking for us?" Cleo questioned. JJ nodded, "Exactly."

"He's working for my dad," Sarah spoke, closing her eyes. The plane suddenly shook with a loud bang. Jimmy quickly warned them, "Hey, y'all better hold something. We got some unexpected turbulence up here."

Kiara looked out the window. "Guys, whatever it is, it's happening fast. Look." Cleo confirmed it was Barbados since she had been there before. Emelina wished for once that luck would be on their side.

They formed a plan quickly: to wait for the plane to land, and if someone approached them, they would, in Pope's words, mad-dog them.

JJ started to put everything back into the satchel, but Jimmy had seen him and leaped forward to snatch it back. He had no control of the plane, and it started to shake uncontrollably. "Please fly the plane!"

Emelina grabbed anything she could get her hands on, and she and everyone else were screaming profusely. The plane landed in the ocean, and she fell forward and landed on top of Sarah and Pope.

She coughed, gasping for air, and watched the water slowly rise. "Guys, shit! Shit!" She swam to JJ and jolted him awake. "Get up!"

Too much was going on, but John B managed to open the back door, and they all hesitated because a group of prominent men was waiting on shore for them. They jumped out as discreetly as they could.

Emelina waited for Kiara to follow after the others so she could go too, but her friend had other ideas. Kiara turned around and started to swim to the front of the plane.

"Kie, what are you doing?!"

"I can't leave him here!" she replied, reaching for knocked-out Jimmy. Emelina thought about her options. She could never let a man die, even if he planned to sell them off. "Okay, let me help."

Kiara already had a hold of the unconscious man, and Emelina was by her side in seconds, pulling him out of the chair and rushing out of the sinking plane. One of his arms was over her shoulder while the other wrapped around Kiara's. They both swam as quickly as they could to shore.

Jimmy was now awake, thanking them for saving him. "You lied to us! Who are you?" Kiara asked, but he never answered.

"Kie," Emelina whispered and grabbed her wrist, motioning toward the men charging them with their quads. "We gotta go!"

She looked back to where the boat sank, trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of JJ or the Pogues, but Kiara had pulled her away before she could spot them.

They ran over to a set of abandoned boats and hid in the middle. Emelina's heartbeat was beating against her ribs at an alarming rate. She found herself reaching for Kiara's hand in comfort. "Who are these people?" she whispered.

"I heard them say, policemen," Kiara replied but immediately shut her mouth upon hearing footsteps. A man peeked through the gap, and Emelina's eyes widened once they made contact.

Kiara punched his face and urged Emelina to move quickly. She did, but it was useless because she felt a pair of hands pull her out. She fought against the man in uniform, "Don't touch me! Get off!"

The two were placed in the cargo bed of a truck, and Emelina was shaking in fear. She felt a little better knowing that Kiara was by her side, but she had no idea where they were taking them or if she would ever see her friends again.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Kiara whispered, her voice shaking as well. Emelina shrugged, unable to speak or think of a solution.

Jimmy had walked toward them. Kiara glared at him, "We saved your life!"

"I know. I know. I'm sorry. I'm gonna try to help you guys, okay? I swear, I didn't know it was gonna be like this. Look, if you don't fight, if you just do what they say, these guys prob—probably won't hurt y'all."

Emelina scoffed, "What did Ward promise you?"

"Who?"

——

a/n: hiii super sorry for the long wait but i'm back and ready to pump out more ideas for this book ijbol but i just wanna say thank you to those who are still reading!! it truly means a lot and the views have been increasing by the day which is crazy

if you guys have any questions or critiques or anything really, lmk!! my ears are always open. anyway, enjoy jjlina for a round three. i love u all <3