"So what's this mandatory meeting about?" Pope asks.

We sat around a campfire at Rixon's Cove. I sat next to JJ with my hand in his. Now that everyone knew about us we could be public with our affection.

I notice John B and JJ glance at each other. "Guys, What are you not telling us?"

"Might as well tell them, man, before we're gaffed." JJ says.

"You ready for this?" John B asks us.

"Yeah." Kie says looking between them.

"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant."

"Oh, my god. Here we go again with this." Pope rolls his eyes.

"Guys, there was no gold." I point out.

"No. All right, wait. Hear him out, alright?" JJ asks.

"Fine."

"It's been here the whole time. It's on the island." John B shares.

"Are you serious?" Kie says shocked. "Oh my god."

"I'd like to voice my skepticism." Pope cuts in.

"I'm sure you would, Pope, but can I please present you my evidence, sir?

"Proceed."

"Alright, so, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny."

"Who the hell is that?" Kie asks.

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck. Check this out." JB unfolds the piece of paper.

"What?" John B hands the letter to Kie.

"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. Drumroll please, because that farm is... Tannyhill plantation."

"Tannyhill?" Kie questions.

"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."

"Where?" Kie asks with a fake smile.

"Harvest the wheat in parcel 9, near the water. Except... there's no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out." John B compares two different pieces of paper. "The gold is in parcel 9, near the water." Kie giggles with excitement.

"Holy shit." Pope mumbles.

"Wait, oh my god." I say shocked. JJ looks at me with a big smile on his face. A small laugh escapes my lips.

"All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold."

"Okay, so this might have a small chance of being actually true." Pope says looking at the paper.

JJ stands and goes in to hug my brother, lifting him off the ground. "Hello! Fire! You're near the fire, you're gonna burn."

"I'm so proud of you right now."

"Thank you." John B says taking a step away from him. "That's really sweet of you."

"Okay, what's the play?" Pope asks John B.

"Good question. Sarah Cameron is coming tonight. She'll bring an original survey map-"

"Hold on." Kie cuts him off. "Sarah? Wh-why Sarah?"

"This is gonna be good." JJ mumbles under his breath.

"They're together." I speak up.

"No, no we're not. She got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday, and that's where we got the letter."

"You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?" Kie asks angrily.

"Yeah, um-"

"He was mackin' on her." JJ says. I shake my head with frustration.

"I wasn't macking."

"You were totally macking Sarah Cameron."

"I wasn't macking on her, okay? And you're macking my sister, so you can say absolutely nothing." John B says slightly annoyed. "I was using her for access."

"There was access, all right." JJ says.

"What?!" I whirl to look at him.

"Relax, baby. I'm joking."

"Did you tell her about the treasure?" Kie demands.

"I was just trying to get into the archives." John B says.

"Is that a yes?" Kie yells.

"I- I left out key details."

"Yo, what?! You let a Kook in on our secret? What about Pogue Lyfe? What about the T-shirt company, bro?"

"I was just using her for information." John B states.

"Bullshit, John B." I countered.

"I'm not lying."

"Why don't I believe you?" Kie questions.

"I'm trying to make us filthy rich here."

"No, you're trying to make excuses about the fact that you're with a Kook." I say angrily.

"We can pay off a boat, or- or uh.. send you to autopsy school to study dead bodies. Look, you guys know me. Do I look like the type of person to call for Sarah Cameron?"

"Uh.."

"Yes." I say.

"Fuck off, Kat." My brother turns to me.

"Come on, man. Chill." JJ says to him.

"Yeah, do you want us to answer that?" Pope asks.

"Look," Kie says catching his attention again. "You don't know her yet. I do! You can't trust her."

"Her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club." Pope points out.

"Then beat the shit out of us at the movie night." I add.

"Rafe and Sarah are different human beings."

"What exactly did she do to you?" JJ asks Kie.

"She's like a- like a spitting Cobra. First, she- blinds you, and then-"

"This is a bad analogy." Pope cuts her off.

"Listen to me!" Kie begs. "Whatever we get, she's gonna try to take."

We finish up the conversation before getting into the car. The car ride was silent and awkward. We pull up close to the lookout.

"All right, lets hit it!" JJ says, moving to get out of the van.

"Yo, so uh... I think I'm gonna do this one by myself... tonight."

"Excuse me?" I say annoyed.

"Really?" JJ asks annoyed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"I don't want to spook Sarah with the peanut gallery." John B says honestly.

"I just don't understand why we're involving her at all." Kiara spits. "

"Kie, we're not involving her, okay? It's just like a business meeting."

"Oh cut the bullshit, John B." I snap. "We all know what you're really gonna be doing up there. Just go get it done so we can get the hell out of here."

"Look, once we get what we need, we cut her loose, all right? Plus we need the map."

"Promise me nothing's happening between you."

"Nothing is happening, Kie." I shake my head. Fucking liar. "What, Kat?"

"Nothing."

"No, say it."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Really? This is how you're going to act?"

"Give it a rest, John B. We're together and you're just gonna have to deal." JJ speaks up.

"Alright, whatever. I'm gonna go take care of business."

"Oh you're gonna take care of business so well."

"Yeah," Pope agrees. "We'll just be sitting here, in this hot ass car."

John B climbs out, closing the car door behind him. I sigh, leaning into JJ's side. I was very exhausted from the combination of lack of sleep, the emotional roller coaster of the day, and it just being late.

"You okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, sleepy."

"What's the deal with you and John B?" Kie asks me.

"He hates that JJ and I are together. He thinks JJ will get me into trouble."

"Well that's hypocritical." Pope responds.

"It's not his business anyway." JJ agrees.

"No, I agree." Kiara says. "I just don't understand why he thinks it's such a bad thing. If it's already been 10 months than at this point it obviously works."

"That's what I'm saying. At least I'm not macking on Sarah Cameron." I say.

Our conversation is cut short when a shrill cry breaks the air. Thunder and lightning make it difficult to decipher but I definitely heard someone. I look over at my friends. It sounded like it had come from the lookout point.

"Wait, do you guys hear that?" Kie heard it too.

"What?" Pope and JJ ask at the same time.

"Please somebody help!" It was Sarah. That could only mean something had happened to my brother.

I climb out of the van, taking off running before Sarah can call out again. I hear my friends curse before following me out.

I run up to Sarah, seeing her leaning over John B. I could hear her mumbling too. I run over, crouching beside her, I put a hand on her back, getting her to listen to me.

"Sarah, what the hell happened?" I panic.

"I don't know what to do. He needs help, Topper shoved him." Sarah says distraught.

"Where the hell is he?" JJ bellows.

"No, please get help. I don't care who, just call someone." Sarah cries.

I was terrified. My brother fell stories and we didn't know the full damage. He could still die if we didn't hurry. The last thing I had told him was that I had nothing to say to him. He would die thinking I hated him. My hands shake as I look at my brother.

"Go!" JJ yells to Pope.

He takes off running toward the car. Sprinting to grab a phone and get help.

I was starting to have a panic attack. I couldn't catch my breath. I stood up, trying to breathe. I suck in air as my hands shake. My heart races in my chest, thumping loudly. I could feel my body start to tremble. I bend over, bracing myself on my knees.

Kiara notices, pulling me against her. She wraps her arms around me. "Kat? I need you to try to calm down. Pope is getting help, okay? We'll deal with the situation, I just need you to try to calm down."

I nod, trying to calm down. I take in deep breaths, getting my breathing more regular. I watch as Sarah cries over my brother. She did care about him, I could see it. I turn away, trying not to cry.

"Pope, come on!" JJ yells.

I walk over to my boyfriend, wrapping my arms around him. I buried my face in his chest still trying to calm down. He wraps an arm across my shoulders, holding me against him.

"It's alright, baby. I got you."