In Between // OBX (K.C)

17

"Hey, guys," Pope sighed as the group all sat around a fire pit, "So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me, so what's this mandatory meeting about?"

"Might as well tell em, man," JJ looked up at John B who stood on a log beside the blonde, "Before we're gaffed"

"You ready for this?" John B asked as if he was a pop star asking a crowed arena, taking a seat on the log between JJ and Brenna, who was squished next to Kiara.

"Yeah," Brenna nodded impatiently.

"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant," John B started to explain.

"Oh, my God. Here we go again with this," Pope rolled his eyes.

"Hear him out, all right?" Kiara shrugged, trying to stay hopeful.

"It's been here the whole time," John B pointed to the ground.

"Like right here?" Brenna raised her brow at the brunette.

"It's on the island," John B corrected.

"Are you serious?" Kiara questioned excitedly.

"I'd like to voice my skepticism," Pope raised his hand.

"I'm sure you would, Pope," John B nodded at the boy, "But can I please present you with my evidence, sir?"

John B grabbed his backpack from behind the log where he now sat, "I have a letter from Denmark Tanny"

"Who the hell's that?" Brenna asked.

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck," John B explained as he dug through his backpack, "Check this out"

John B handed the letter to Brenna, who took a quick glance at the piece of paper, not sure of what to make of it since it wasn't in English, then passing it to Kiara who analyzed the paper before passing it to Pope.

"Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship," John B continued to explain to the group, "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"

Brenna and Kiara shared a look of skepticism before turning to look up at John B who kept talking.

"After that, he bought his farm, drumroll, please," John B pointed at the girls, who patted their laps with anticipation, big smiles on both their faces, "Because that farm is Tannyhill Plantation"

"Tannyhill?" Kiara repeated in disbelif.

"No way," Brenna shook her head.

"Yes way," John B mocked the girls words before continuing, "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," John B told the story as if it were is own.

"So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell," John B gestured to the paper Pope still held, "And in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold"