𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕖 - 𝕣𝕒𝕗𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕟 - 𝕠𝕔- 𝕛𝕛 𝕞𝕒𝕪𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕜

e i g h t

After running off from Midsumers with the pouges, we all went to the Chateau where JJ built a campfire. I still hadn't processed the fact that I left Rafe there. I didn't know what to think of the situation at hand. I still loved him, but it was clear something was stopping him. I sat down on a log sandwiched between Pope and JJ. All I could do was stare at the fire and think about what went wrong. 

        "Hey, guys. So like, my dad's already gonna kill me. So, what's this mandatory meeting about?" Pope asked. John b glanced at JJ and threw finger guns. "Might as well tell him, man. Before were gaffed." JJ kept little eye contact with John b. 

       "You ready for this?" John b tried to build up momentum. "So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant." 

       "Oh my god. This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." I blurted out putting my hands on my face. "No. All right, wait. Hear him out, alright?" JJ put his hand on my shoulder.

         "It's been here the whole time. It's on the island." John b gave a dramatic pause in between sentences. "Are you serious? Oh my god." Kiara was already being gullible to John b's fantasies.

        "I'd like to voice my skepticism." Pope stared down John b. 

        "This is such bullshit. Dad has been trying to find this gold for years. He knew everything about the royal merchant, and you don't think he never thought of this? Also, remind me, what did that little treasure hunt lead him to? Oh yeah, that's right, his death." I looked at John B with the most angry big sister look I've ever given him. He might be stupid enough to look for this gold, but I'm not stupid enough to follow him into his grave.

       "First of all, Dad's not dead. Second of all, I have evidence." John b theatrically held his arms out and then walked to his backpack. "All right. So, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny."

       "Who the hell is that?" Kiara asked.

     "Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant Wreck. Check this out." John b handed the letter to me and Pope. "Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery."

      "Okay, so if Dad knew about the manifest then why didn't he put the pieces together? Are you like a secret child genius or something?" I flung around the letter.

      "Let me finish and you'll see. So, Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom." I handed the letter over to JJ. "After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please." Everyone but me started drumrolling for John b's dramatic monologue. "Because that farm is...Tannyhill Plantation." Everyone stopped abruptly. Tannyhill was where the Cameron's lived. Where I lived. I had no idea the history behind it. 

     "Tannyhill?" I asked.

    "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." John b continues his story.

      "I still don't get how this relat-" John b quickly cut me off. "Shush! Can you just let me talk for like two seconds?" I pretended to lock my lips and throw the key away. "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 on where to find the gold." He walks closer to me.

     "Where?" I ask with a sarcastic tone and a smile.

    "Harvest the wheat. Parcel nine. Near the water. Except...there's no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out." He points Pope's flashlight towards the wheat symbol on the letter. "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water." Kiara laughs.