Chapter Text
If she could look back on the past with absolute clarity, she would have admitted without the slightest hesitation that she had made more bad decisions than good ones in her life. Everything she had allowed herself to be guided by, every value that was commonly regarded as good and desirable, had led her to places where an eighteen-year-old girl had no business being—a fact her parents constantly reminded her of. Was there any explanation for good intentions leading to bad endings? Could such a paradox be explained? Help, love, and sacrifice had always brought her to the very edge of the abyss. Indifference and resentment, on the other hand, kept her safe, and her parents did not try to send her away to some camp for disobedient girls.
This bleak balance sheet kept reminding her, time and again, that there was no point in trying if evil was going to win in the end anyway. But did that mean she would surrender to it? Of course not. As long as her friends surrounded her, being part of the Pogue world was synonymous with happiness, a life without which she could not imagine her existence. Taking risks had become a necessary dose of adrenaline, essential for survival, filling the void left by monotony.
Eighteen months had passed since the discovery of El Dorado, bringing only a semblance of order to her life—a fragile order that could be torn apart with an ease comparable to building a house of cards. They had, admittedly, managed to turn the gold into money and announce the discovery of the legendary city, but not without considerable trouble. The town council sent a handpicked expedition of specialists to clear the cave of debris and finally confirm the actual existence of the golden settlement. At first, no one wanted to attribute such an achievement to a group of ordinary teenagers from the coast, and it was only after she convinced her parents to pay for a lawyer that they regained the credit and respect they deserved.
With difficulty, but eventually, she reconciled with her parents, returned to her studies and turtle rescue, supported her friends, and regained the normality she had lost. After an unofficial funeral had been held for John Routledge, John B sank into a grief against which they were powerless. Sarah was the sole exception. She never left his side, and together they opened a surf shop that occupied every moment of their lives, leaving no room for despair to find its way into their world. Sarah renewed contact with Rose and Wheezie, who were living in Guadeloupe, informing them of Ward’s death. With Cleo by his side, Pope finally made his parents proud by graduating from school and applying to college. JJ? Well, JJ fulfilled his dream, bought a yacht, and renovated the house, investing the rest of the money they had made from the gold. Instead of cleaning someone else’s boats, he had one of his own, and one could say that he was living life to the fullest.
All of it seemed painted in colors far too bright, which kept her from closing her eyes at night. Deep down, she sensed that this was merely the calm before the storm, and that such a state of affairs could not last forever. She worried about Sarah, who had to look after Tanney Hill in Rafe’s absence. The eldest Cameron son had been taken into custody, and not even the best lawyers had managed to secure his freedom, as he had ultimately been implicated in the murder of Sheriff Peterkin. They had managed to negotiate a reduced sentence for him, something she believed he did not deserve in the slightest. After a year and a half, he was supposed to be released, and she was not sure whether the prospect filled her with greater fury or fear.
Matters became even more complicated when they received Blackbeard’s diary, which was supposed to lead them to an enormous treasure. She did not know, however, whether, with that sociopath’s return to the Outer Banks, she could leave her parents behind. She feared the revenge he had promised her after she stole his boat—a revenge that was probably the inevitable consequence of their joint escape from the equally terrifying Carlos Singh…