Gold Digger// JJ Maybank- OBX

sixteen

"So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom." John B went on. Kiara passed the letter across the firepit to JJ, who handed it to Pope. There was no way Scarlett would be able to read it in her current state, so the others silently agreed to read it out to her a little later. "After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please, because that farm is..." He paused as Scarlett tapped her fingers on the side of the glass bottle. "Tannyhill Plantation." John B revealed, pointing to the letter.

"Tannyhill?" Kiara questioned, her voice full of disbelief.

"Again, you're joking. Right?" Scarlett asked. She shook her head slightly and, gripping the neck of the bottle, took another sip.

"No, Lottie. I'm not joking, promise. So, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit-ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him."

"Yikes." Scarlett mumbled.

There was silence between the group for a moment before John B continued telling his story. "So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold."

"Where?" Kiara asked, her voice no louder than a whisper and completely intrigued by what her friend was telling them.

"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water." John B recited one of the lines from the letter. He pointed at Kiara. "Except... there's no wheat."

"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked, not understanding due to her mind feeling all fuzzy.

"Well, Lottie. You see, wheat is code for gold." John B told her. Scarlett nodded slightly, her lips parting in shock. John B moved over to Pope, who still had the letter. "Check this out. The gold is in parcel nine, near the water." He read out, Pope's torch lighting up the paper.

Kiara let out a short laugh as Pope muttered under his breath, his eyes still scanning the paper. "Holy shit."

John B ran a hand through his hair, walking back towards the middle of the group. "All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold." He announced.

Scarlett let out a small, high pitched squeal and jumped up from her seat. She ran over to John B, barely avoiding the fire, and wrapped her arms around him. The brunette wrapped an arm around the girl, spinning her slightly. Once Scarlett was back on her feet- with John B keeping a supportive arm around her- Pope spoke his thoughts on the matter. "Okay, so this might have a small chance of being actually true."

Scarlett shook her head at the boy, embracing JJ in a hug once he crossed over to her and John B. "Have a little more hope than that." She called over JJ's shoulder.

"Dude, it's like King Tut." Kiara laughed.

"I am a genius." John B expressed, letting out gasp as JJ pulled him into a hug- lifting him slightly off his feet. "Hello! Fire! You're near the fire. You're gonna burn." He stressed.

JJ put him back on the ground and patted his back. "I'm so proud of you right now."

"Thank you." John B smiled, patting the blonde on the shoulder. "That's really sweet of you." The two boys parted, and JJ lead Scarlett back over to their seats on one of the various logs.

"Okay, so, guys." Pope spoke up, catching the attention of the group. "What's the plan?"

Scarlett nodded her head and titled the bottle at him. "That's a very good question." She hiccupped.

"So, Sarah Cameron's coming tonight. She'll be bringing an original survey map-" John B started to explain, but Kiara cut him off.

"Hold on. Sarah? Wh-why Sarah?" She asked, shaking her head.