𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒; outer banks

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So, Tanny used the gold from the merchant to buy his freedom. After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please-" everyone started to whack their hands against their wooden logs "-because that farm is . . . Tannyhill Plantation."

"Tannyhill?" Kiara and Renna questioned incredulously.

"Yeah. 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. 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 as she leant her elbows against the silk of her dress clinging to her knees.

"Enlighten us," Atticus added excitedly.

"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine near the water, except . . . there's no wheat," John B concluded, holding out his hands with raised brows as if he was offering.

"It's gold," Renna clocked with wide eyes, John pointing a finger in her direction as the rest of her friends, minus JJ, turned towards her with astonishment.

"Bingo."

"That doesn't even make any sense," Atticus mumbled from beside her.

"So, that means the gold is in parcel nine near the water!" John B finished. Kiara started to laugh. The whole situation was unbelievable - they actually had a chance at finding the lost treasure. "All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold!"

"Okay, so this might have a small chance of being actually true," Pope uttered with the slightest twist of a smile.

"Dude, it's like King Tut!" Kiara laughed as she stood up.

"I am a genius. Hey, whoa!" John B was cut off by JJ lifting him into the air. "Hello! Fire! You're near the fire. You're gonna burn."

"Hugs all 'round!" Renna shouted as she pulled Atticus - who had recently stood up as well - into a hug, pulling away to kiss his forehead before moving around the rest of the campfire. "Come on, guys! Show some excitement, please!"

She shuffled around to everyone; Kiara to John B, JJ to Pope, hugging them all before kissing them on their foreheads.

"Well, what's the plan?" Pope asked after he'd smacked Renna away with a grin, the girl laughing as she sat back in her seat.

"Good question. So, Sarah Cameron's coming tonight-" as soon as he'd spoken her name, Renna knew what was coming. She could hear Kiara's words before she'd even spoken them.

"Oh shit," she whispered beneath her breath.

"Wait, wait, hold on. Sarah? Why Sarah?" Kiara questioned immediately.

"This is gonna be good," JJ muttered.

"This is gonna be great," Atticus whispered from beside the boy, leaning his elbow on top of the blond's shoulder as he let out a smile.

"Sarah, um, she- she got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday, and that's where I got the letter," John B admitted, worry etched in his tone.

"You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?" She exasperated.

"Yeah, um-"

"He was mackin' on her," JJ teased, Atticus letting out a laugh from beside him.

"I wasn't macking," John defended with an accusatory expression.