Alone Together • JJ Maybank

Twenty Six.

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The short drive away from the Midsummer's party was torture as John B and JJ refused to tell us what was happening just yet, despite me and Kiara moaning and begging for them to hurry up and tell us. But the excited childish grins on their faces as they set up a small campfire, seemingly getting a kick out of dragging out the big reveal, was somehow helping me forget about my run in with Ward earlier.

I sat on a fallen tree, bending down to unclasp my heels and swap them with the sneakers I had left in the van the other day when Pope coughed under his breath from his spot beside me, clearly fed up with waiting. "Hey, guys. So, like my dad's already gonna kill me. So, what's this mandatory meeting about?"

I looked from him towards John B, waiting for him to explain, but he just gestured towards JJ. Kiara, Pope and I all turned simultaneously to look at him across from us, silently waiting for an explanation. "Might as well tell them, man, before we're gaffed." JJ replied to John B, as I caught Kiara mirroring the same confused expression at his words.

"You guys ready for this?" John B asked. We all fell silent, with only the sound of insects chirping and the fire crackling before Kiara spoke for all of us, urging them to just spit it out. I looked across the fire to John B who looked around at each of us as if he was preparing to tell a spooky ghost story. "So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant."

"Oh, my God. Here we go again with this." Pope groaned beside me as my breath caught in my throat. Thoughts of confronting Ward earlier at the party began spinning in my mind. I knew that Big John and Ward had gone to find the gold by boat. Something obviously went wrong as Big John was now missing and Ward clearly didn't find it. Yet somehow John B had new information.

"No, all right, wait. Hear him out, all right?" JJ shushed Pope as I listened, barely reacting to John B's big reveal.

I looked up from the fire to watch John B speak again. "It's been here the whole time. It's on the island."

"Are you serious? Oh, my God." Kiara's face lit up even more so in the golden glow of the fire.

"How do you even know that?" I asked, finally letting my words catch up with my thoughts.

"I'd like to voice my skepticism." Pope mirrored my doubt.

"I'm sure you would, Pope." John B sounded amused at our disbelief as he stood up. "And Abby, I have proof. Can I please present you with my evidence?"

Pope and I turned to look at each other, half amused at the confident energy radiating from John B, but with serious doubt etched on both our faces. "Proceed." Pope eventually sighed out as I shrugged at him.

"All right." John B coughed to clear his throat as he spoke clearly. "So, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny." He pulled out some papers from his bag.

"Who the hell is that?" Kiara asked what we were probably all thinking.

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck. Check this out." He began to unfold the paper, handing one piece to Kie. I leant over Pope slightly to get a better look at what John B had given her, before looking back up as John B carried on explaining.

"Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery." My eyes darted down to the fire as John B looked at me at the mention of his dad. "So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom."

Kiara reached her arm across Pope, passing the paper to me. I glanced over the old writing using the light from the fire to see. "After that, he brought his farm." I folded the paper, handing it over to Pope. My confused face softened at the story that was actually making some kind of sense. "Drumroll, please, because that farm is... Tannyhill Plantation."