I let John B keep the compass. Mostly because it goes to the boy in the family, but I would still look at it a lot. I had always wanted to believe that my father wasn't dead, but I also couldn't believe that he was alive. I just said I did so John B wouldn't get mad at me. But now, I'm not sure. He wouldn't be the one to get lost at sea, but he's also not the kind of guy to leave his most prized possession. I woke up to JJ yelling, "DCS! I know your in there!", but it was muffled since I was in my room. I got up and got ready for the day, putting on light blue shorts and a white shirt. When I walked out, as I expected, JJ and John B were talking. "What trouble are you getting us into today?" I asked and sat down at the table. "Just come on." John B said and stood up with JJ, them walking out the door. I of course followed them, and we got in the van, them in the front and me in the back, laying down on the long seat behind JB. "I'm just saying, I don't understand why you don't at least try with Kiara. She clearly likes you. She's like, "Oh John B.'" JJ said. "Is that what she does?" JB asked while I laughed. "She's sketching about you diving, then she kissed you." JJ said. "She kissed me on the cheek." John B replied. "It's not like we were making out or something." John B added. "Low-hanging fruit, bro. Don't pretend you don't notice. I see it in your eyes. Your like, "I kinda like that", and you start blushing." JJ said. "I blush?" JB asked. "Yeah." I told him. He reached back at hit me. "I'm stating facts, brother." I said. JJ then reached for the compass, and John B tried to stop him. "I'm just looking at it." JJ said and grabbed it. "I gotta admit, your fathers compass in Scooters boat, that's freaky." JJ told us. "Yeah. That's why we're going to talk to Ms. Lana, figure this whole thing out." JB said. "That's where were going?!" I asked and sat up. JJ and John B looked at each other before saying, "Ya." "Oh my god." I said. "What?" JB asked. "She's not going to want to talk to us. Her husband just died." I told them. Neither of them said anything. When we got there, we all got out of the van. "This is a horrible idea John B." I told him. JB shrugged. "You know what this house looks like? Whoever lives here smokes too much weed." JJ said as we walked closer to the house. As we were walking, we heard crashing and stopped. "Maybe we should come back." JJ said as we heard men screaming. "Shut up." JB replied and we kept walking. When a loud crash was heard along with Lana yelling, we all crouched down slightly but then got back up. JB went up to the window and me and JJ ran up with him. "Still think we should stay?" JJ asked as we pressed our backs against the window. The men were yelling a bout a compass. Paint flakes fell out the window and onto our heads. "Is that paint?" JJ asked as we all brushed out our hair. "Yes it's paint." I whispered back. "Don't be so grumpy." JJ said. "Don't drag me into these situations." I replied. "Fair point." JJ said. John B went around the wall and then quickly came back as he saw the guys walking out. We all three looked over to see them driving away on a boat. "Dude, those were the guys that shot at us." JJ said. I heard Ms. Lana sobbing inside and when the boat as out of sight, I was the first to walk in the house. It was a complete mess. "Ms. Lana?" I asked. "Ms. Lana?" JB asked after. I then saw her leaning against the bathroom floor, hurt. I rushed over to her, crouching down next to her. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked and out a hand on her shoulder, making her look at me. "Do you need a doctor?" I asked as she didn't answer. "Let's call the sheriffs department." JB said. "No cops. Please." Ms. Lana quickly said. "Mm. That's not good. Come on. Let's just go." JJ said and put a hand on my shoulder. "You shouldn't be here." Ms. Lana told me. "That's enough for me. Come on." JJ said and tried to get me to stand up again but I wouldn't. "What do you know about these guys?" I asked her. "They were looking for something." Ms. Lana replied. "The compass. JB, the compass." I said. He dug if out of his pocket and got down next to me, holding it out to her. "Does it have anything to do with this?" He asked. When she looked at it her expression changed quickly. "Do you know anything about this?" I asked her. "This is our fathers, and Scooter had it. Why?" JB asked. "Scooter didn't have it, okay? Don't tell anyone that you have it." Ms. Lana told us. "Why?" JB asked. I stood up as Ms. Lana started yelling. "John B. Come on." I said and pulled him up. We walked out of the house and back to the van, getting in the same spots. When we got back to our house, Pope and Kie were there and we all sat on the porch. JJ was re-enacting everything very dramatically as me and Pope sat on the couch, Kie sat in a chair, and JB stood. JJ came over and brushed all of the paint over his hair to show them. They kept talking, but I was still thinking about what Ms. Lana said about the compass. JJ yelling, "Dude, I wasn't taking little mental Polaroids the entire time. I was under duress.", snapped me out of the trance. JJ kept talking, still being over dramatic. "It's a heavy vibe right now, okay? I am not liking this very much." JJ said and lit a joint. "Why would they want the compass?" Kie asked. "It's a piece of shit. You couldn't pawn it off for five bucks if you wanted to." Pope said. I stared at him with a 'really' face. "No offense." Pope told me and JB. JJ sat down next to me, making me squished in between the two boys. After a while, I said, "JB. The office." John B smiled, but Pope asked, "What?" "Our Dad's office." John B said and started walking away. I got up, following him with everyone else following me. "He always kept his office locked because he was worried about his competitors stealing his Royal Merchant research. We used to laugh at him all the time like he was gonna find it." JB told them as we walked to the locked door. "But now that he's gone, we've just kinda... left it as he kept it." I said as we crowded around the door. "Yeah, for when he gets back." Kie said. "Yeah." JB replied. No, I didn't keep it like that, but John B did. I just wasn't ready to go in there and see his life's work that had now been put to waste. John B opened the door and they all walked in. Like I said, I didn't think I was ready. "I've slept over here like 600 times, and I've never seen this door open." Pope said as JJ looked back at me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me in, not letting go of my hand. John B got out our family tree board and told them how all of the men died as they got the compass. "Hm. Sounds like there's a recurring theme here." JJ said. "Yeah, you have a death compass." Pope told John B. "I do not." JB replied. "You have a death compass." Pope said again. "Seriously dude, get rid of it. It's cursed and it's made it's way back to you." JJ told John B. "Look, my dad used to talk about this compartment in here. Soldiers used it to hide secret notes." John B said as he sat down. He opened the back and looked at the lid. "That wasn't there before." John B said, looking at 'Redfield' that was carved on it in our dads handwriting. "That's Dad's handwriting." I said. "How can you know that?" Pope asked. "Because he does these weird R's." I said and pointed to the R. "Can I see it?" JJ asked. John B held it up so JJ could see it. "Red- Rout- No, I think that's an A." JJ said. "It says Redfield." I told them. "Right." JJ replied. "Okay, well, what's Redfield?" Kie asked. "Besides the most common name in the county?" Pope asked. "Maybe it's a clue. Maybe it's a clue to where he's hiding." John B said. "A clue? Come on that's-." Pope said but stopped. "But if it is a clue, maybe it's an Anagram." Pope told us. "Yes. Perfect. Anagram. You need paper." JB said and stood up, getting paper and giving it to Pope. I honestly hated seeing JB getting his hopes up. I still somewhat believed that our dad was dead. He wouldn't be missing for nine months if he wasn't. He would've found a way back to us somehow. "How can you concentrate with that thing crowing at you?" Pope asked as he started writing, referring to the loud rooster we had. "JJ loves the rooster." John B replied. "I love the rooster." Kie said. I walked away and stared at the window, after a while seeing a black truck pull up. "Guys. Someone's here." I told them, making them all stop talking. They all walked to the window around me, looking out. We watched as the guys that had shot at us and where in Ms. Lanas house walk out of the truck. "Guys, guys, is that them?" Kie asked. "No." JJ said, fed up, and walked back a little bit. "Is that them?" Kie asked. "Yes." I replied. John B pressed JJ against the wall. "Where's the gun?" He asked him. "The gun? I, uh." JJ replied. "Now you don't have the gun, the one time we need the gun?" Kie asked as she almost started crying. "It was in my backpack." JJ said. "Backpack. It's on the porch." John B said and let JJ go. JJ walked out the door, only to be stopped by one of the men yelling, "Routledge twins!" He ran back into the room quickly. "Come on out now you two!" The other man yelled. "That's not good." I said. "They're on the front porch, guys." JJ whispered. The men kept yelling for me and John B. "We gotta leave." I said. "Window. Window." JJ said and him and Pope ran to the window. Me and John B stood at the door, him with his back to it and me with my ear to it, listening to them trash the place and yell at us. "You better not be in there!" The man yelled and the door started moving, being kicked on. Me and John B moved away from the door as it started breaking. The door got split as they got the window open. They opened it and Kie got out first, followed by Pope and then JJ and John B. "Come on, (Y/N)!" JJ yelled at me since I was still staring at the door. I snapped out of it and quickly got out the window, JJ helping me down. We ran to the chicken coop and all scrambled inside. JJ put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. "Do something Pope, shut him up." JJ told Pope as the men walked out and the rooster kept crowing louder and louder. "What do you want me to do?" Pope asked. "Pet it, or talk to it. I don't know." Kie said who was now crying. I don't really cry unless it's something really really bad. JJ let go of me and grabbed the rooster, snapping its neck. He came back to sit next to me and let go of the rooster. When we were sure the men were gone, we got out of the chicken coop and got our stuff before getting in the van. John B drove, Kiara in the passenger seat, and me, Pope, and JJ were in the back. "I mean it's obvious, right? A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message?" JB said. "He has to know it was going to get back to me right?" JB asked. "Yeah. It's possible." Kie replied. "It could also be possible that your concocting wild theories to help, you know, deal with your sad feels." Pope said. "Bro, you know how I process my sad feels. Dank nuds and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it." JJ told us. "I'm not concocting, okay? Our dads trying to give us a message." John B said. I scratched the back of my neck, not believing that. "If it helps you believe, John B." Kie said. "I don't need a therapy session, okay? Look, I'm not trippin out." John B told us. "It's okay to trip, bro." JJ said. "Look, our dad is missing, okay? Missing." John B told us. JJ pressed his lips together and looked up at me. I just shrugged and he looked back down. "You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened. Just wake up every morning wondering." John B said. "Oh no, totally don't." I replied. "It's been almost a year." Kie told John B. "Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility." JJ said. "Yeah, he could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KBG somewhere." I said sarcastically. "Absolutely. Uh, or Atlantis." JJ said. "JJ." I told him, getting him to stop. "Look, what do you think the message is?" Kie asked John B. "Redfield. Redfield Lighthouse. That's our dads favorite place." John B said. I shook my head and looked out the window. When we got to the lighthouse, we all got out. "Right. So here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay?" John B said to JJ. "Wait... why me?" JJ asked. "Because your not coming." Pope replied. "Why?" JJ asked. "Look, JJ, there are independent and dependent variables. And your an independent variable. We don't now what you'll do." Pope told JJ. Pope and JJ started yelling at each other. "Listen to me for a second! Pope, you stand look out with JJ. Okay? If we get split up, we meet back at JJ's house." John B said. "I'm staying with them." I told John B. "Your not-?" I cut John B off. "No." I said. He nodded, but I could see a bit of sadness in his eyes. John B and Kie went over the fence and started going to the lighthouse. I went and leaned against a tree. "I'm going to work on my merit scholarship essay, and I'm trying to keep felonies to a minimum." Pope said. "All right, would you just shut up already?" JJ asked, tossing a rock around with his foot. I looked at the lighthouse until Pope asked me, "Do you believe that your dads still alive?" "Pope. Really dude?" JJ said. "What?" Pope asked. "I want to believe he's not dead." I told them. "But you still do." Pope said. I nodded my head. "He would've come back if he was still alive. He would've found a way." I said. They nodded and started playing a game with the rock, Pope having to try and get it in JJ's shirt pocket. Every time they did, they cheered, making me laugh. "Guys, stop." I said as I heard sirens. They stopped and we looked in the direction, seeing a cop car coming down the road. "Oh, shit." I said as we started running to the van. Me and JJ got in the front with Pope in the back. JJ started the car. "What about Kie and John B?" Pope asked. "They'll be fine." I told him as JJ drove away. We dropped the van off before going to the docks, behind a building where Pope starting working on something. Me and JJ leaned against a wall, smoking. After a while, John B came up in the van. "Let's ride." JJ said as we walked up to the van. "This better be good." Pope said as we got in. Me and JJ got in the back as Pope got in the front with John B. We went to the Wreck, looking for Kie. Pope went in and then came back out a while later saying, "She said she's not coming." "Why not?" JJ asked. "What'd you do to her, JB?" I asked him. "Shit. Hang on. I'll deal with it." John B said and got out of the car. Pope came back in the car, coming to the back and later John B and Kie did too. As John B drove away, JJ asked, "You mind if I just relax on this one? It's been a long day, and a lot of weird stuffs gone down. I'm just gonna lay low. Oh, did you want a hit of this?" JJ held the joint he was smoking up to Pope. "I keep the signal clear." Pope said. "Hell yes." I told him and grabbed the joint out of JJ's hand, taking a hit. "Dude, do you understand that your problem is that you don't get creative. If you got creative then," JJ told Pope. "Look, I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, all right? And wrong about pretty much everything else going on. But I was right about one thing. Okay? My dad is trying to tell me something." John B said as I handed JJ back the joint. John B drove to a cemetery and it was already dark by the time we got there, me and JJ were also high. "John B what are we going?" Kie asked as we walked with flashlights. We all had hand flashlights beside JJ who had one on his head. For some reason I couldn't stop laughing about it. He looked so funny. "So, Redfield. This whole time, I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place. It's a person." John B said as we walked up to a grave with Redfield on top. "Voi-effing-lá." JJ said. "Our great-great-grandmother Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name." I said. JB nodded. "Help me with the door. Come on." John B said. The boys all started pushing on the door, but it wouldn't budge. And then a snake cane out of the hole in the door, making them all jump back. "That's a moccasin, all right. Ye olde Dr. Cottonmouth. Death in tall grass." JJ said and started barking at the snake who was already leaving. "JJ shut up!" Kie yelled. "Your gonna wake the dead, man." I joked. "They're afraid of dogs. Everyone knows that." JJ replied. "Wait hold on." JJ said and grabbed John B's shoulder. "What?" JB asked. "If there's one, there's probably dozens." JJ replied. "Stop. Your scaring me." Kie said. JJ started barking at the wall again. "Stop barking at the snakes." John B told him as I laughed. "Shut up. John B, look, we're not gonna get in there, all right? It's not budging." Pope said as JJ stopped. "Me and Kie can get in." I said, making them all look at me. "What?" JB asked. I pointed to the hole. "No, no, no. You think your gonna fit through a hole? That hole?" John B asked. I nodded. "Your way to high." He told me. "That's why Kie's coming." I said. Kie nodded. "I'll go with you." She said. "No." John B replied. "Look, this is about your dad. You two deserve to know the truth." Kiara said. "Just come on." I said and started getting the vines away, the boys helping. John B held back the vines and JJ bent down. "I'm gonna boost you, all right." He said and held out his hands, them intertwined. "I've seen it in a movie several times. Ready?" He asked me. I handed Pope my flashlight and stepped on JJ's foot, climbing into the hole. "Flashlight." I said when I got on my feet. Pope handed me the flashlight and I looked around. "You alive? You got like a heartbeat and everything?" JJ asked me. "So far. Kie come on." I replied. Kie fell into the hole after a second and looked around with me. "Uh, we need some more light." Kiara said. John B held up the lantern into the hole, lighting up the whole room. I walked up and saw a Fed Ex package. It had 'For Birds.' written on it. Our dad used to call me and John B birds. "Did you find anything?" JJ asked. I grabbed the package as Kie said, "Oh my god."