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Eternity was a lesson in contradictions. JJ was sitting on a board just off the shore. It was the bluest water he had ever experienced. It reminded him of the island. Picturesque and perfect. Except it wasn't perfect because it was just him. Groff's knife had destroyed everything. A knife to the heart had taken everything away. His future. His life with Kie. His role as godfather to Sarah and John B.’s baby. All their plans had seeped into the Moroccan sand. His father had killed him. He had woken up here. Sure it was beautiful and peaceful, but it was also lonely without the family he loved.
“Yo, Maybank,” a voice said. “You're going home.”
“What?” JJ questioned. “What do you mean?”
The voice came closer. His guide appeared before him. “Just got word. You're going back.”
“How is that possible? I'm dead. My friends buried me in the desert months ago,” JJ scoffed.
The guide shrugged. “I don't know. I don't make the rules. I just do what I am told.”
“And that was?”
“Come collect your sorry ass to go back,” the guide joked.
JJ's mind raced. If he was going back did that mean they had done it. His friends had found the crown. The legend had said that the owner of the crown could get a wish. Had they wished him alive? Was that even possible? JJ hadn't been sure what he believed in while alive. While dead he had learned that most of what people believed wasn't right or wrong, just a human interpretation of what the great beyond was. It was so much more complicated, but also simpler in a way. It made no sense and also made the most sense at the same time.
“So how does this work?” JJ asked. “Do I just wake the desert?”
“I have no idea. Again I am just a guide. I will take you wherever I am told, and then the universe decides.”
JJ nodded. There was no use asking anymore questions. He was just going to get the same response. His guide didn't know anything.
“You ready?” the guide asked.
“I guess,” JJ said tentatively.
The guide placed his hand on JJ's shoulder and instantly they were no longer on the beach, but instead in an operating theater.
“Why are we here?” JJ questioned.
“Because a choice has to be made,” the guide said solemnly.
“What do you mean a choice?” JJ's voice broke.
“The universe is about balance. If you come back, another life has to end to restore the balance.”
It dawned on JJ what the guide was talking about. His friends had made a wish for him to come back, which meant someone else had to die. Looking down at the table, JJ's eyes filled with dread. He knew before looking that the person on the table wouldn't be some random stranger, but instead would be someone he knew.
Looking down, he was her. The girl he loved like a sister. Lying arms outstretched. Her chest cracked open. A knife resting precariously next to her heart.
Sarah.
The girl on the table was Sarah. His sister by choice. His best friend's girl.
“No. It can't be. It can't be her,” JJ cried.
“There is another choice,” the guide said solemnly.
JJ's face fell. He knew the other option. Sarah was pregnant when they had gone to Morocco. It had been at least a few months. Staring down he could see the faint outline of a bump. Of a tiny life.
“I have to choose?” JJ asked.
“A choice has to be made. A life for a life,” the guide said softly.
A choice. JJ clutched at his chest. Staring down he could now see the scars from Groff's knife. They had faded away in eternity. But now they were back.
“What if I refuse? What if I choose to stay dead?” JJ questioned.
“That isn't an option,” the guide responded.
“What if I kill myself? Then I can be dead again and they can both live.”
“Again not an option. Both of you would be dead and the wish would have been for nothing,” the guide answered.
“But Sarah's barely pregnant. I know I sucked at school, but I remember babies take nine months. If I choose the baby, don't they both die anyway?” JJ questioned.
“Time is relative. If you choose the baby, the timeline shifts.”
“So she will still be on this table, but more pregnant?" JJ was growing more confused and angry by the moment.
“I guess. Again, I am not privy to all the details,” his guide shrugged.
JJ stared down at the OR theater. He strained to listen. Witnessing this, the guide placed his hand on JJ's shoulder again. In an instant, they were now down on the floor of the operating room. JJ now had a front row seat as the surgeons tried desperately to save Sarah.
“How are her vitals holding?” the head surgeon asked.
“Pressure is falling,” the anesthesiologist responded. “Pushing pressors now.”
“Shouldn't we just remove the knife?” a young resident asked.
“We need to stop this bleeding by the left ventricle first,” the surgeon said. “Otherwise she will bleed out.”
JJ clutched his chest again. Bleed out. Sarah was going to bleed out like he did. He sighed. At least she wasn't feeling it. Not like he had. At least she was in the hospital. At least she had a chance. He hadn't had one. His father had stabbed him and left him to die in that desert, and for what. A crown. A treasure. JJ couldn't understand how you could hurt someone when you gained nothing from it. For all the horribleness he had experienced in life, it had not made JJ hard. He had a conscience. He believed in doing what was right. What was fair. Even though life had never given him what was fair, he still values fairness especially and justice.
“Clamp.”
“She's getting tachey,” the anesthesiologist pressed. “You need to work faster.”
Before anything else could be done. Alarms started blaring. Numbers in red. Hands moving faster. Barking of orders. Medications and blood being hung. Before JJ could speak, the guide placed a hand on his shoulder once more.
JJ opened his eyes to the waiting room. There huddled together were his best friends and his girl. John B. and Pope were covered in blood. JJ knew it was Sarah's. John B. would have held her while Pope would have done everything he could to save her.
The door to the waiting room opened and Sheriff Shoupe walked in. His hat in his hand.
“Did you find him?” Kie growled.
Find who JJ wondered.
“We are out looking for him. He won't get off the island,” Shoupe promised.
“Sorry if I doubt your commitment,” John B. muttered.
“Look what happened with Sarah was an accident,” Shoupe said.
“You used my wife and unborn child as bait. And he stabbed her, just like he stabbed JJ. If you had just believed us the first time,” John B. cried.
“Um…I…I mean we didn't have the evidence we needed to arrest him,” Shoupe whispered.
“So you convinced Sarah to wear a wire to get it,” Kie spat. “And look what he did. Groff stabbed her the same way he did JJ. Now she is fighting for her life.”
“This is different, and we got her here. She is getting medical care, JJ never,” Shoupe started.
“Shut up,” Kie growled.
“Kie,” Shoupe. “Listen.”
“No, you listen,” Cleo said. “You don't get to stand here and absolve yourself.”
“Sarah volunteered,” Shoupe said. “No one made her do anything.”
“You did, Copper Man,” Cleo protested.
“You told her it was the only way,” Kie cried.
“It distracted him long enough for you to get what you wanted didn't it?” Shoupe asked.
“But at what cost?” Kie questioned.
Kie looked down at the crown in the bag at John B.’s feet. They had gotten the crown. Made the wish, and then Groff had plunged the knife into Sarah's chest. He had run when he heard the sirens leaving the crown and Sarah's crumpled body in his wake.
“We are going to find him. I promise he will pay for what he has done,” Shoupe said before walking out of the room.
“This isn't fair,” JJ cried. “They lost me, and now they might lose Sarah or the baby.”
“Unfortunately,” his guide said. “But they will have you back.”
“How does me being back make another loss easier?” JJ questioned.
“It doesn't,” his guide admitted.
“So I have to make a choice that will still destroy the people I love.”
“I guess,” the guide shrugged.
“You guess,” JJ scoffed. “That tracks. The universe has never been fair to any of us.”
“The universe only cares about the aggregate, not the individual,” the guide answered. “That is why you have to choose. There has to be balance.”
“What if I don't choose? What if I can't?” JJ asked.
“Then the universe will,” the guide said.
While a battle raged inside of JJ, across town another battle was raging. With a touch of his guide's hand, he was there. In a car off of Old Church Road.
“Where's my money?” Rafe spat as he sat in a car with Groff.
“I just need to go get it,” Groff said in his sickening Southern drawl.
“Why are you covered in blood?” Rafe questioned. “Who did you kill this time?”
“Why ever do you think I killed someone?” Groff chuckled.
“Because that is what you do,” Rafe said.
“Isn't it what you do too?” Groff hissed. “Maybe I just finished what you started.”
“What do you mean?” Rafe questioned.
“Oh, I don't know. Think of whose blood this might be,” Groff hissed.
Rafe wracked his brain before slinking back in horror. His face fell as he realized who Groff was talking about. He had killed Sheriff Peterkin, but everyone knew that. And she had been dead for years. There was only one other person it could be.
Sarah.
He had tried to kill her multiple times. He had shot her in the Bahamas. She had only survived because John B. had gotten her to a blackmarket doctor who had by some miracle saved her. Then he had tried to drown her, but she had thankfully been saved by Topper. Both times she had been saved by boys who loved her. Both times love had overcome the hate that raged in his heart. Hate that now had dissipated. The events in Morocco had led them to work together. Things weren't perfect, but they were better.
“What the hell did you do to my sister?” Rafe choked out.
“The same thing I did to my son,” Groff quipped. “But lucky for her the cops came. She might have a chance. Might not. Don't really care either way.”
Groff turned to get out of the vehicle.
“You will care,” Rafe growled, hitting the lock button before Groff could exit.
Groff tried the door, but it wouldn't budge. While he was distracted, Rafe took his chance pulling a gun. Groff's hand reached out as the wrestled for it. A shot went off. The recoil sent both bodies colliding with the doors. Rafe tried to grab the wheel, but the truck crashed coming to a stop amongst the trees.
JJ had closed his eyes and braced for impact, but when he opened them he and his guide were on the beach. Not the eternal one, but at Rixons.
“I used to love it here,” JJ smiled.
“I can see why. It is beautiful,” his guide said.
“The times I had were better. And the people. I remember spending so many days here with Kie. We were going to have forever. Go on that epic surf trip,” JJ whispered.
“You still can. You just have to make a choice.”
“I can't make it,” JJ cried. “The universe will have to do it. I can't kill Sarah, and I can't take her baby from her.”
His guide nodded sadly. He understood. It was an impossible choice. He sighed. Then paused. “The universe has decided.”
Suddenly, JJ and the guide were in the ER. They stood pressed along the wall with this guide as two gurney rushed passed. Two sociopaths. Sarah's brother and his father. Somehow they were both still alive.
JJ watched as the doctors worked to save them. He wanted to cry out that neither of them deserved to be saved. They deserved to die. Not Sarah and the baby. Either of them would be better.
“I don’t want to be with them. I want to be with Sarah,” JJ whispered.
The guide nodded. Moments later, they were back in the OR. Alarms still blared.
“Charge the internal paddles to 15,” the surgeon said. “Clear.”
A shock was sent through Sarah's heart.
“No change,” the anesthesiologist called out.
“Push another unit of epi and recharge the paddles,” the surgeon ordered. “Clear.”
Another shock jolted through Sarah's heart.
A pause as they stared at the monitor. Slowly the alarms stopped, instead replaced by the solid beeping of a heartbeat.
“Normal sinus. Let's get her patched up and closed. Good work people,” the surgeon called out.
“Good save,” the anesthesiologist said.
“So I guess…I guess it was the baby?” JJ cried. “Sarah is going to be devastated."
His guide held up his hand.
“Dr. Carter, how's the fetus looking?” the surgeon asked.
A nurse gently moved the drape from Sarah's abdomen. Placing the doppler to Sarah's abdomen, Dr. Carter scanned Sarah's belly slowly. At first there was nothing. JJ hung his head. Then the room was filled with what sounded like galloping horses.
The doctor smiled. “We have a heartbeat.”
JJ looked up. The guide smiled.
“How?”
Down the ER, another life was ending.
“Time of death…5 am,” the doctor announced.
“The universe made a different choice,” the guide said.
“Who?” JJ asked.
Before the guide could speak, a nurse appeared at the door of the OR. “Dr. Clark, can you assist in OR 3 when you finish here.”
“Who's the patient?” the anesthesiologist asked.
“They are bringing him up now. A young man. Multiple fractures of the leg. Probable broken hip.”
“I will be in as soon as we get her closed,” Dr. Clark said.
The nurse nodded and left.
JJ stood wide eyed. If Rafe was alive, and Sarah and the baby were alive, that meant only one thing. His father was dead. He wished he could feel something for his father. Anything, but no feelings came. Not happiness or sadness. Not hatred, but numbness.
“We should go,” the guide said.
Moments later they were back on the docks of Poguelandia. JJ was home.
“Here is where I leave you,” the guide said.
“How does this work?” JJ asked.
“Hell if I know,” the guide said. “Are you ready?”
JJ nodded. The guide placed a hand on JJ's neck and another on his heart and closed his eyes. Moments later, JJ felt a warmth shoot through his body. He saw the past and glimpses of the future before he crumpled to the dock. As his eyes opened, he pressed a hand to his neck. Under his fingertips, he felt a pulse. Reaching down he felt the cool water on his skin. He could taste the salt in the air. Feel the muggy humidity broken only by a slight wind that rustled in the reeds. He was alive. He was home. Now he had to get to St. Olives. He had to get to his friends. Rushing towards the house, he found the trusty truck keys on the back of the door like always. Of course the doors had been unlocked. No one on the Cut stole from each other. Only from Kooks. It was the Pogue way.
He raced towards St. Olives. Once there, he sat nervously in the parking lot. What would he say? Would his friends believe he was real? Would they be able to move forward after all that happened?
He slowly made his way towards the ICU. The benefits of being a Pogue. No one had really noticed he was gone, and thus no one questioned it when he walked through the halls. Reaching Sarah's room, JJ paused. He looked in to see his friends all taking their positions surrounding Sarah. Pope and Cleo were asleep leaned up against the wall. John B. had fallen asleep holding Sarah's hand. One hand rested on hers while the other rested on her belly. Kie was asleep under the window. The morning rays were just starting to peak over the trees.
JJ walked in. He walked over and gently kissed Sarah's forehead. “It's going to be okay. You and the baby are going to be okay. The universe told me.”
He then moved to the window and gently pressed in beside Kie. She was soft and warm. God he had missed holding her. Slowly, she began to stir. At first, she panicked at the strong arms around her. JJ instantly jumped up. She blinked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“Hey, Kie,” JJ whispered.
“Jayje?” she cried.
“It's me,” he smirked.
Kie flew at him. Her hands instantly went to his neck. She sobbed as she felt his pulse.
“Guys,” she cried.
She needed someone to tell she wasn't hallucinating. They all slowly woke up.
“Bree,” John B. questioned.
“Can I still pimp your shortboard?” JJ asked.
John B. threw his arms around him. “It's really you.”
“It worked,” Pope smiled.
“Cheese on bread,” Cleo laughed.
John B. released JJ and Kie jumped into his arms. She pressed her lips to his. He was warm. He was here. JJ was back.
“I'm back, Kie,” JJ whispered.
“But how?” Kie questioned.
“You wished for it,” JJ said. “The crown must have worked.”
“It really worked,” Kie cried. “For once the universe worked for us.”
“How's Sarah?” JJ motioned towards the bed.
“The doctors think she is going to be okay, and they found a heartbeat so they hope the baby will be too,” John B. whispered.
John B. moved closer to the bed. JJ and Kie followed.
“Hey, Princess,” JJ whispered, gently stroking Sarah's cheek. “The crown worked. You did it. I'm here. I'm alive. Now we just need you back.”
“JJ's here now, Sarah,” John B. said. “All we need now is for you to wake up. He took her hand in his and gently brought it to his lips.
Slowly Sarah's eyes started to flutter. Her eyes adjusted to the light and went wide when they saw JJ. She tried to speak, but a tube was in the way. JJ gently took her hand as tried to grab it.
“Hey, leave that in for now. It's helping you breathe. It's okay Sarah. We are all going to be okay. All seven of us,” JJ whispered. “The universe owes us.”
She nodded before falling back asleep.
“How do you know it will be okay?” Kie asked.
“Eternity is weird,” JJ shrugged. “They didn't tell me what would happen, but I did see that it is all going to be okay.”
“So Sarah is going to be okay?” John B. asked.
“Yeah. She's going to be okay. And so is your daughter,” JJ whispered.
“It's a girl?” John B. cried.
“Yeah. I saw her. And she looks just like Sarah, though her eyes are blue like Ward's. She's beautiful,” JJ said.
“What else did you see? Kie asked.
“I saw you and me,” JJ whispered. “I love you Kie. Now and forever. We are going to do it all. That epic surf trip, marriage, babies, everything.”
“That sounds perfect,” Kie smiled.
“Everything is perfect when we are together,” JJ whispered.
“P4L,” Pope said.
“P4L,” JJ replied.
He smiled because he was home and for the first time in forever the world was as it should be. They had found the peace they had been craving since everything had started all those years ago.