911!
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝙥𝙤𝙫
𝗧he soft humming of Kiaras ukulele and the crinkling of the fire was the only noise that could be heard.
Pope leaned back on the log. "Hey, guys. So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me. So what's this mandatory meeting about?"
"Might as well tell him, man, before we're gaffed." JJ looked at John B.
John B huffed and began talking. "You ready for this?"
"Yeah." Aria sat up with her legs crossed.
"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant." John B started.
Pope groaned and shook his head no. "Oh, my God. Here we go again with this."
JJ stood next to John B, waving for Pope to shut up and let him finish. "No.All right, wait. Hear him out, all right?"
"It's been here the whole time. It's on the island." John B finished, pulling his backpack.
"Are you serious?" Aria slapped her palms over her mouth.
"I'd like to voice my skepticism." Pope raised his hand, earning a slight shove from Aria.
"I'm sure you would, Pope, but can I please present you with my evidence, sir?" John B unzipped his backpack.
"Proceed." Kie set her instrument down.
"All right. So, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny." He pulled out a old piece of paper.
"Who the hell's that?" Pope asked. "Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck." Aria said confidently.
"Check this out." JB handed it over to the three.
"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." John B explained.
"Drumroll, please, because that farm is..." John B ordered the group. The four of them slapped their knees waiting for the answer.
"Tannyhill Plantation." JB smiled wide.
"Tannyhill?" Aria spoke in utter shock.
"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." John B pointed to the letter.
"Where?" Kie whispered. "Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water. Except... there's no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out." John B traced the letters. "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."
"Holy shit." Aria patted John B's back.
"All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold." JB slipped the paper back in his bag.
"Okay, so this might have a small chance of being actually true." Pope admitted.
JJ grabbed John B lifting him in the air. "Hey, whoa!" JB looked down and how close he was to the fire. "Hello! Fire! You're near the fire. You're gonna burn."
"I'm so proud of you right now." JJ engulfed him. "Thank you. That's really sweet of you."
"Okay, so, guys. What's the plan?" Pope asked. "Good question." Aria agreed.
"Sarah Cameron's coming tonight. She'll bring an original survey map..." John B hummed, but Kiara interrupted him when she heard the name of her enemy.
"Hold on. Sarah? Wh-why Sarah?" Kie scrunched her face up in confusion.
John B rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly at the question. "Um..."
"This is gonna be good." JJ took his bottom lip in between his teeth.
"Sarah, um, she... she got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday, and that's where I got the letter." JB stuttered out, nervous for his friends reaction.
Aria's brows furrowed together, her reaction similar to Kie's. "You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?"
"He was mackin' on her." JJ told on his best friend, spilling the truth.
"I wasn't macking." John B argued. "You were totally macking Sarah Cameron." JJ rolled his eyes.
"I wasn't macking on her, okay? I was using her for access." John B spoke mostly to Kiara.
"There was access, all right." JJ smirked, mocking him.
Aria also knew about how Ward was trying to find the gold along with her father. And with the way Sarah runs her mouth sometimes, it's possible she would accidentally spill it. "Did you tell her about the treasure?"
"Is that a yes?" Kie held her hands together, anger spilling all in her body. "I... I left out key details." John B attempted to defend himself.
"Yo, what? You let a Kook in on our secret? What about Pogue Lyfe? What about the T-shirt company, bro?" Kie spat.
"I was just using her for information." John B fought with her.
Aria slouched down slightly, rubbing her temples. "Why don't I believe you?" Kie and John B yelled at each other.
"I'm trying to make us filthy rich here. Okay, so that we can pay off a boat, or... or, uh... send you to autopsy school to study dead bodies." John B gestured to Pope.
"Look, you guys know me. Do I look like the type of person to fall for Sarah Cameron?" John B placed his hands on his chest. JJ nodded behind him, "Uh... Do you want us to answer that, or..."
"Look, you don't know her yet. I do! You can't trust her." Kie talked about Sarah.
Aria sat quiet, staring at her folded hands resting in her lap. "Her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club."
"Rafe and Sarah are different human beings." John B defended her. "What did she do to you, exactly?"
"She's like a... like a spitting cobra. First, she... she blinds you, and then." Kiara made a snake motion with her hand.
"This is a bad analogy." Aria tried to lighten up the mood.
"Listen to me! Whatever we get, she's gonna try to take." Kie leaned back huffing.
♡︎
The Pogues sat in the Twinkie waiting for Sarah and the map.
"All right." John B stood up abruptly. "Yo, uh... so, uh, I think I'm gonna do this one by myself... tonight."
Aria stared up at him threw her eyes lashes, "Really?"
John B stared down at her, "What?" Aria responded with a shake of her head no. "Nothin'."
"I don't want to spook Sarah with the peanut gallery." JB said over his shoulder.
"I just don't understand why we're involving her at all." Kie said. The anger still clear in her voice.
"Kie, we're not involving her, okay?" John B scoffed at her. "It's... it's just, uh, like a... a business meeting... thing. Look, once we get what we need, we cut her loose, all right? Plus, we need the map."
Kiara looked from her hands folded in her lap and up at the boy staring at her. "Promise me nothing's happening between you."
"Nothing is happening, Kie." John B whined slightly, feeling fed up with Kie's scolding.
"I'm being serious. Okay! This isn't about you, and this isn't about us. This is about her. Dude, she's gonna get inside your head." Kie fumed. "Just promise me nothing's happening between you guys."
John B stared at Kiara dumbfounded. "I promise."
"That was really believable." JJ sneered, his head laying in Arias lap.
"A hundred percent believable." Pope added on.
"Anyways, um... I'm gonna take care of business." John B stood, stepping over his friends.
"We'll just sit here." Aria wiped her forehead, sweat starting to build up.
"Yeah. ...in the hot-ass car." JJ rolled his eyes and slumped further into his girlfriends lap.
The loud strikes of thunder continued as they sat in the van. Waiting for the return of John B and the map. "Kiara, holding onto your grudge is like drinking poison and thinking Sarah will die." Pope sighed.
"Exactly." JJ agreed.
Aria zoned out, listening to the harsh thunder outside. When she heard the scream of someone. "Wait, do you guys hear that? Sh." Aria interrupted the chatting.
"What?" They all stopped, listening. "Please, somebody help!" Someone yelled again.
"Oh, wait, no, I hear that. Shit." JJ jumped up off of Arias lap, the group of four running out of the van.
John B laid against the cold sand, his body barely moving while Sarah stood over him and hugging his body. "Sarah! What happened?" Aria felt her eyes water.
" I don't know what to do. He needs help. Topper shoved him." Sarah cried.
"Where the hell is he?" JJ grunted in anger.
"Oh, please, please, please get help. I don't care who. Just call someone." Sarah stared down at John B's lifeless body.
Pope stepped back and began to run back to the Twinkie to call 911. "Pope, hurry!"
Sarah leaned down into his neck, cradling herself into him. "John B, stay with me. Please don't leave me. John B?"
Aria tore her eyes away from the scene. Although she just joined the friend group maybe a month ago, John B began one of her best friends. "Pope! Come on!"
𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 !
Hope y'all enjoyed !
I took a little break from writing for a couple of days
so that's why this chapter took a bit.
I'm currently working on the next chapter, so that should be out by tonight.
Love ya ;))