Good Days •Rafe Cameron•

The Treasure

     Sometimes, I wondered what I would be doing if my friends and I weren't treasure obsessed. Treasure got us into a lot of trouble. Not the kind of trouble that gets you grounded for a week. The kind where the hair on the back of your neck is constantly rising. And you're always feeling like something bad is going to happen. But you don't care. You want the adrenaline. In fact, you seek it. The thrill of playing catch up. Who's going to find the gold first? Who will get to the cross next?
    We didn't care. I didn't care. Because it was the first time, in a long time, where my mind didn't think of my parents. Or picturing their splattered body parts on the pavement.
      "Be...." I snapped out of my thoughts. "Be...?" Kiara says. She watches me closely as I blink several times. We were coming up on the tree. Angel Oak.
     "Sorry." I apologized. Not realizing that I was quiet for most of the ride. "You should probably get back into therapy." John B suggested.
     The van went quiet. The fives of us whipped our heads at the John B's comment. "You've acting extra weird, lately." He adds.
     "That's was kind of mean." My voice was quiet and my eyes connected with his as I felt my heart begin to race. Pace rapidly.
     "It's just a suggestion, Be." He says, putting his hands up in surrender. I break away from his look before looking back out the window and resting my head in my hand.
     "The tides coming in. You should probably move focus on driving the van." My voice was deep. I continued to stare out the window as I felt the van move forward.
     The rest of the Pogues went silent as John B pulled the Twinkie closer towards the tree.
     "Hey, wait a second." Pope, demands. Breaking the silence. "They already came through here." He says, pointing to tracks in the dirt up ahead. "Those have to be Limbrey's tire tracks. Guys, we gotta go." He rushes.
     "Mmm, what do you think, chief?" JJ asked, looking to John B. "Im thinking it's looking a little dicey." John B, states. He was right. The wheels would definitely get stuck in the mud, delaying us even more from getting the cross.
     "Okay, clearly, they made it. No?" Kie, says, pointing out the obvious. "In a two-wheel drive? I don't think so." JJ says.
     "Why are y'all acting like you're not gonna do it anyways?" Sarah, jumps in. She gave the boys a teasing smirk. "Like when have y'all ever done the safe thing?" She laughs.
     Pope, JJ, and John B give each other a once over before nodding. "She's got a point!"
     "Speed is your friend here, okay?" JJ says, tapping his hands on the dashboard.
     I begin to brace myself. Checking to see if my seatbelt was still safely wrapped around my body. And for some odd reason I felt my heart begin to pound and a huge not form in my stomach.
    "Be careful, John b." I demanded. Grabbing onto Kiara's hand. She too held tight onto her seatbelt as did Sarah.
     "If I get into another car accident, I will kill you." I state. "Relax, Phoebe." Pope, says. "John B's got it." He reassured.
     "You better hope so..." I mumbled under my breath. The car begins to rev as John B pushes his foot on the gas.
    At first the Twinkie is still. "Come on, bro! Punch it!" JJ shouts. "Speed is your friend!"
     The Twinkie begins to move through the thick mud. We speed down the road, pushing at least 60 miles as we came closer to the tree.
      "Not to be a buzzkill. But if you don't make it. We're gonna be stuck here forever." Pope says. "Y'all I got it!" John B shouts as we finally make it through the mud.
     "Oh, thank god. We're alive." Kiara sighs. "See I told you we'd make it." John B smiles at us. He brings the van to a complete stop, allowing us to hop out.
     My black converse hit the squishy mud as I followed the Pogues out the van. "Alright, Angel Oak's right through here." JJ announces. "Also, word to the wise, definitely know that gators nest back here, so keep your eyes peeled, okay? You don't want to step on a mama gator. That's the last thing you want." He instructs. Leading us through the thick of it.
     "They have nest?" Kiara asked, scrunching her face in disgust. "You don't want to be a Pat Womack. She had her calf chewed off by a gator, right? You know that right?" JJ smiles, at Kie. She shakes her head. "That's actually not true. Pat Womack was injured in a car accident, but I hear you." She said.
    "Okay, just live in ignorance. But like, she had her calf chewed off by a mama gator. I know that for a fact. They like the brackish water." JJ explains.
    He picks up a long walking stick and begins to hit the murky water
     "Right. Wake them up. That's smart." Sarah laughs. "I was just making sure it wasn't a gator. That's all, all right?" JJ says.
     "If I see a gator because of you, JJ, I'm kicking your ass." I huff. "I do not want to see one." I demand.
     The six of us move closer to the tree. A loud ruckus could be heard. The sound of metal hitting ground made us hide behind several bushes that surrounded the huge tree.
     "Shhhh." Pope shushes. He crouched down looking at the commotion.
     That's when I saw him. Rafe, Limbrey, and Renfield digging up the ground. They seemed to have hired a construction worker to use a yellow crane to search for the cross.
     "I don't see shit." Rafe sighs. He had the same clothes on from last night and looked completely exhausted. He was frustrated and sweaty.
"You sure this is the right spot?" He asked, throwing a shovel to the ground. I peek my head further over the bushes, trying to get a better view. A big gaping hole was dug below the tree.
"It's there. The garment will be in the cross, and the cross will be at the foot of the tree." Limbrey reassured. She carried herself closer to the whole as her crutches hit the ground.
"Well, whatever we find, I get my cut." Rafe breathed. Renfield pulled out a folding chair allowing Carla Limbrey to take a seat and watch as the got to the cross.
But she was quickly up again as the sound of metal hitting wood vibrated. "Stop! Please, stop!" She shouted, looking into the hole. "Let's do it by hand." She demands.
Renfield and Rafe and begin to lift a long black box above the ground. It looked like a casket.
"They got the cross? What do we do?" JJ shouts. "Shut up." I say, hitting JJ's arm.
The Pogues and I watch as Rafe pulls the top off with a crowbar. "Don't touch anything inside!" Limbrey says, looking into the box. She had a disappointed expression on her face she looked inside.
"We have to keep looking." She sighs, immediately heading back to the car. "Of course, yeah. Of course it's just a dead body. Jesus!" Rafe shouts. He wipes the sweat from his forehead before running his hands frustratedly through his hair.
Everyone begins to pack up the equipment leaving the casket behind and exposed.
Rafe hops into his Jeep speeding off into the marsh. Pope trudges quickly through the bushes making his wave over the casket.
"Pope. Pope, wait! Shit!" John B calls out after him. The rest of us follow.
"It's Cecilia Tanny, Denmark's wife." Pope spoke. He kneels slowly next to the casket looking in. Nothing but remains of old clothes and half decomposed skull cover the bottom of the casket.
"He wasn't talking about the cross. He buried her at the foot of the angel." He says. "The true treasure." Kie adds. "His wife."
The five of us join Pope on the ground. "Denmark was hung for burying his wife, and now they defiled her grave." Pope says, quietly.
I felt sick. There was a lump in my throat that I held down. Pope's family. His ancestor's resting place, destroyed by a money hungry woman.
Sarah reached into the box, dusting off a piece of jewelry. "This must have been from Denmark." She smiles, twiddling the time object between her fingers. "Her wedding ring."
"We can't leave her like this." Pope states. "We won't." John B assures. JJ and Pope push the top back on covering Cecilia's remains. Kiara makes sure to tap the seal shit with the crowbar left behind.
The six of us carry the box back into her grave, carefully setting it down back in place.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I just don't get it. I mean, you guys saw the map. He hides his gold so no one finds it for 170 years." Pope rants.
     Sarah and I lean against the tree. My arms are crossed over my chest I kick my heel in the dirt.
       "And then he sends a message to his son, Robert, to come here to his mother's grave, but the message never gets to him. Denmark wanted him to find the cross. I know we're in the right spot. It just feels like-." Pope is cut off my JJ.
     "Like we're missing something?" He looks up at the tree. The rest of us follow him as he makes his way towards the Twinkie climbing on top of the van.
     Kiara follows him on the roof. The two of them stare into a deep hole in the middle of the tree.
     "That looks like the painting in the island room." JJ and Kie say. The two of them look down at us for confirmation. "It's worth a shot right." JJ nods. "Let's do it." John B agrees. JJ pushes key towards the hole. "Go for it." He teased. "No chance."
     "You do it!" Sarah shouts at JJ. "Yeah, she's right." I agree. "Put your hand in JJ." I smile, up at the blonde boy.
      "I went in the storm drain so..." Kiara concurs. "She did go in the storm drain." Pope backs up. "Yeah. No, I'm gonna do it. It's just..." JJ trails off as he lift his arm up to the hole but quickly pulling away out of fear.
     "He's scared." Kiara whispers not so quietly. "I'm not scared, dude." JJ snaps, putting his hand into the hole and reaching in. His whole arm is swallow by the tree.
    "There's something in here." JJ confirms. I feel myself getting excited. What could possibly be the next clue. But my excitement was quickly kicked to the side once the screams from JJ erupted through the marsh.
     The Pogues and I begin to panic. "JJ!" Kie screams, grabbing onto him as she tries to pull him away from the tree. John B and Pope bang on the van shouting for their friend. Sarah covers her ears and shakes her head.
     "JJ, calm down!" I screamed. "It's probably a squirrel." I jumped up in panic.
    JJ's screams slowly turned into laughter as he watched us panic. "You asshole!" Pope shouts in defeat.
    "Oh, man! I got all of you on that one." JJ laughs. I tried to hide smile. It was a pretty funny prank. And I could admit that we did need a little laughter from today.
    "Wait, seriously. There's something in here." JJ says, pulling out a what looks like an old telescope. "Let me see it." Pope says, immediately reaching out for it. JJ hands the telescope over.
     The old device was covered in centuries old dirt and debris. Pope glides his finger over the metal. "What does it say?" I asked, leaning in over his shoulder. "HMS Royal Merchant." He smiles.
     "Give it to the captain!" JJ jumps down, excitedly, taking the telescope and pulling open. He holds the device up to his left eye. "It's a spyglass!"
     "There's something on the end." Kiara points out. "An inscription." Pope takes the telescope back. "You've come this far. Do not falter. The cross is on the Freedman's altar."
     A huge smile appears on my face. "Holy shit!" I exclaim. "The cross is at the church!