Chapter Ten 

John B had luckily survived the big fall and is now living at my house. This partly annoys me, as I was literally just kicked out of the house. It almost feels like they're replacing me with John B.

But this is what I wanted, right? To be free from the Kook's world and live as a Pogue?

Well, that's what I'm doing right now. I'm in John B's house, living my best life. My Jeep Wrangler was parked outside, that was the only thing I had to manage to steal from the house, as it technically was mine.

I had moved into John B's house as he had given me permission to. Since he wasn't going to be there, I could take over for a little while. When we get rich and find the gold, I'm going to be leaving this place. I'll never go back.

I'll live with my Aunt in Australia. I know she'll have me.

"I love the new place." JJ had come into the lounge where I was sitting, scrolling on my phone.

"Why thank you," I speak in a British accent. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

JJ smirked and fell on the couch beside me. "How's the Pogue life?"

"Uh, so much better." I had kicked my feet on the coffee table. "You see that right there? I wouldn't have been able to do that in the Kook's house."

JJ chuckled, nodding his head. "Kook's have so many rules. Pogues? We have none. Expect, maybe one—to have the best summer ever."

I turned to JJ, smiling. "How's that turning out for you? Are you sticking by it?"

"Well, for the first time since 5th grade, I'm talking to the one and only, Stormy Cameron." JJ had told me and I chuckled. "So, yeah, I'd say this is the best freakin' summer I've had."

"I knew I made everyone's life better," I speak matter-of-factly.

JJ couldn't stop smiling at me, and it was the cutest thing I'd seen all day. "I've come to tell you we're having a meeting at The Wreck. John B has important news to tell us."

"Ah, the important news," I speak in my British accent.

"Please, never speak in a British accent ever again." JJ had told me and helped me to my feet, the both of us suddenly extremely close, causing my cheeks to heat up.

"You do not like the British accent?" I speak in a French tone, frowning. "Why, I am so offended."

JJ rolled his eyes. "I say we should get moving before the rest of the group grows suspicious." He speaks in a French accent and I had to stop myself from smirking.

"Suspicious of what?" I continued to speak in my French accent, changing it up. "Nothing sus going on over here."

"Let's go, partner in crime." JJ had grabbed my hand and dragged me towards my Jeep Wrangler.

✫✫✫

"Sorry, you're staying where?"

Kie was working. John B had sat by the counter, while JJ, Pope, and I were at a table.

"Tannyhill." John B responded.

"So you're living with Sarah Cameron," Kie told him.

"Okay, look, the only reason why I'm living there is because her Dad bailed me out, okay?" John B had said and I raised an eyebrow. Did dad bail him out? "And it's way better than foster care, which, by the way, is where I about go to if Ward didn't—"

"Hey, so like, do you have a membership to the clubs now?" Pope teased.

"Does that mean you're my brother now?" I raised an eyebrow at John B, a smirk forming on my lips.

"I don't know, Pope." John B sighed, walking over to us. "And I'm gonna say yes, Stormy, because being your brother would be such an honour."

I grinned widely.

"What about those golf carts they drive around?" JJ questioned and I rolled my eyes at that. "You get one of them?"

"Does it come with a sweater-vest, or do you have to buy one on your own?" Pope questioned.

"Look, you promised." Kie cuts the boys off. "You said you weren't with her."

"Bro, just own it," JJ told John B. "She got you."

"Look, if you wanna hang out with her, that's fine." Kie continued. "But I'm letting you know now that I'm not doing anything with Sarah."

"Do you guys see her here?" John B questioned, looking around.

"No, but I see her sister." Kie points to me and I scowled at her.

"That's different, and you know it, Kie." JJ had said, defending me as he puts an arm around me. "Storm has had our backs countless of times. She's earnt her place here, whether if you like it or not."

"A little focus would be fanatic." John B had cut us off. "We're got the map, right?"

"It's all out of whack cause the guy was ganja'd when he drew it." JJ had said, looking down at the map that was on the table.

"It's cause the coast has changed," Kie said.

"So we just have to look for landmarks that haven't changed." Pope figured.

"What about the old forts?" John B questioned.

"Battery Jasper," Kie said.

✫✫✫

We had ventured off and now we stand against a set of stone walls on a ridge, Pope looks at the map.

"We're in Battery, right here." Pope had informed us, pointing at the map. "So, if this is parcel nine, then it's somewhere northeast of here."

"Somewhere over there." Kie casually said.

"Right."

"Over there? Guy's, that's not Tannyhill, that's a subdivision." JJ had pointed out.

"Tannyhill Plantation was the entire island." John B had told us. "It got sold into smaller pieces over time."

Pope looks back down at the map. "So we're just looking for an old stone wall."

✫✫✫

Now, we're driving in the van and Pope was telling John B the directions. The van turns to a left down an old road, stopping opposite a wall that looked like the one on the map.

"That looks like a stone wall to me." I speak and something about this place seemed familiar to me. Hell, it's almost like I'm getting Déjà vu or something.

"This is it." Pope had said as John B pulled up beside the house. A house stands beyond the wall.

"Not the Crain House." John B muttered and it clicked. This is the Crain House. Sarah and I used to come here all the time when we were kids and we'd do dares to see who can go inside. We'd even play hide and seek.

"Are you kidding me?" Kie asked as we exit the van and standing beside the stone wall.

"Worst-case scenario." JJ said.

"Why'd it have to be here?" Pope asked. "Of all places."

"I heard that Mrs. Crain buried her husband's head on the property," JJ said and we all looked at him.

"I heard that rumour, too," I admitted. "When I was like, nine, Sarah and I used to come here all the time."

I ignored everyone's questions about why Sarah and I used to come here and I lead us through an overgrown yard through Mrs. Crain's yard.

"Look, you guys know whose how this is, right?" Kie questioned.

"Oh, yeah, I know," JJ responded, smoothly sliding his hand with mine, intertwining them. I sent him a small smile.

"Honestly, I don't really believe the stories of this place." John B spoke and Pope turned around to him and shushed him.

JJ turns to Kie as we continued to walk through her yard. "Which stories did you hear?"

"The one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she's been holed up ever since," Kie explained and I nodded my head. I've heard that story, too. "On certain nights, when the moon is full... You can see her in the window!" She whispered, mocking the story.

"No, Kie, it's not funny," JJ insisted. "Cause it's all true. I swear to God, guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis, jeez!" He got freaked out by a statue, I felt our hand's grip even tighter and I let out a giggle.

"Wait, you knew Hollis Crain?" John B questioned.

"Yeah, dude." JJ looked at him.

"Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?" John B narrowed his eyes at JJ.

"She was my babysitter, man." JJ continued. "She told me all about it. Told me the truth... About her mother and what happened in this house." I looked up at the house, to see a window curtain shifting. I stepped closer to JJ—that looked a little weird. "So, as a kid, she heard the stories about her mother killed her father, and she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn't believe it. Until that night."

I looked at JJ. "What night?"

JJ locked eyes with me. "It came back to her." Pope tilts his head and JJ looks towards the house. "When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So, she goes downstairs to see her Mum washing her hands in a sink... Full of blood. Her mother just said she cut her finger. The next morning, she says her father and her split up. But then, Hollis noticed something. Her mother going into the parlour constantly, in and out, in and out, with plastic bags. Weeks pass and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she's using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father's head, looking straight back at her."

John B tilts his head back. "God, you are so full of shit."

"Dude, I swear to God, man." JJ shakes his head.

"Did she call the police?" Pope asked.

"She didn't have time," JJ answered. "Wait, hold on—" John B had moved forward. "Bro!"

"What?" John B snaps, turning to JJ. "What?"

"You sure you wanna do this?" JJ questioned. "She's an axe murderer. You got a cast on." My eyes shifted to John B's cast.

"I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay?" John B snapped. "I got nothin' to lose, right? You coming or what?"

"Come on," Kie speaks, nodding her head towards John B who crouches and began walking.

JJ stayed behind hesitantly, looking anxious. I faced him, so I was standing in front of him. I looked up at him. "Don't worry, JJ, I'll protect you." I teased him and he narrowed his eyes at me before they softened.

"Thanks, Stormy," JJ spoke gently, I gazed into his bright blue eyes. I kissed the corner of his mouth and pulled away, smiling as I walked away, leaving JJ there stunned. He had quickly caught up with me, intertwining our hands together.

We crept through the yard, trying to stay as low as possible. John B turned to us. "Hey, come on. Come here. So, here's the plan. We need to look for the wheat near the water. Like it said in Denmark's letter."

"Okay, like, what kind of water?" Pope questioned. "Like, pond water?"

"Bong water?" JJ chuckled and I squeezed his hand tightly as the other's give him a look.

"No. It—" John B sighed. "It just said look for water, okay?"

"That's the shittiest secret message ever," Kie said.

"You wanna complain a little more, Kie?" John B questioned as she began to move forward, John B following. "Nobody said it was going to be easy,"

"I'll search northeast quadrant," Pope had turned to us. "You two search northwest."

"The decapitation quadrant." JJ had said, his eyes widening.

"Oh, JJ," I told him sweetly, pinching his cheeks. "Like I said, I'll protect you no matter what."

"Hey, I'm the man, here, okay?" JJ narrowed his eyes, his pride falling by the second. "I should be protecting you."

"It's 2020, JJ." I told him, dragging him towards northwest. After a while of searching, before I could go any further, John B was calling us over.

"This is the only place we haven't looked." John B pointed to a small door that was partly opened, probably the basement of the house. We all gathered around the small door. "Here we go."

John B leads us through the small doorway holding a torch in his hand. It had gotten dark really quick. He shines his flashlight over pipes and old furniture. JJ enters last, ushering me inside quickly and I do.

"Down came Mrs. Crain and cut off all our heads," JJ had sung quietly and I turned to glare at him. "Up came the sun and dried up all the blood."

"Can you stop?" I pleaded him as we searched around the basement.

"See any water?" Kie asked, standing next to John B and I joined them. Kie waves her hand before her face, a fly going by.

I snorted, but then made a scene when the fly came by my face. "Oh, shit, oh God—" I bumped into JJ, who wrapped his arms around me quickly, holding me tightly. "Get that thing away from me."

"Chill out, Hollywood," JJ teased. "It's only a fly," I quickly buried myself in his chest, breathing heavily.

"Is it gone?" I whispered.

"It's gone," JJ repeated and I pulled away from him, sighing. JJ and I continued to look around.

"Another dead end?" Kie asked a few seconds later.

JJ touches a pipe. "There's not even water on the pipes."

"There's no water here." Pope pointed out.

"Not a dropamino." JJ muttered.

"Know why we didn't find it?" Kie questioned. "Bad karma."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, God, here we go." I mumbled.

"You know, we had a good thing going on," Kie continued to rant. "And then you decide to rope in Barbie and now the trail's gone dry. Coincidence? Probably not."

"Can you stop talking about my sister like that?" I had snapped at Kie. "I have had enough of you bad-mouthing her. She hasn't done anything wrong!"

She pointed at me, glaring. "You know exactly what she did wrong, Stormy Cameron. And don't act like you're innocent, either!"

"This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you about Sarah." John B had cut us off.

"Yeah?" Kie turned to John B.

"Yeah." John B glares. "What the hell's the deal? What's going on with you three?"

"Nothing." Kie had responded.

"Nothing." I mimic Kie and she glares at me.

"Nothing?" John B asked lowly, getting close with Kie. "Is it because I kissed you? Is that the problem?"

My mouth hung low. Since when did Kie and John B kiss? Kie slaps him and the boys 'oohed'.

"Stop treating me like I'm some girl that's obsessed with you instead of your best friend who's actually trying to look out for you." Kie had snapped.

"Did you uh... Did you hit me?" John B questioned, starring at Kie.

"Skeeter." She raises her hand.

"Skeeter?" John B narrows his eyes.

"Yeah, you see it?" Kie responded.

"Yeah." John B slaps Kie back and I smirked widely, trying to contain my laughter. Kie did deserve it.

"Where's your proof?" Kie told John B.

A skeeter marks his palm. "Skeeter." John B smirks.

"Yeah?" Kie lowly said. "There was probably one right there."

"Yeah, there's one right there," John B slaps Kie's arm.

"Really? You saw that?" Kie cocked her head and the two starts to bicker, slapping each other profoundly. "That's it. Today's the day you die."

"Jesus." John B muttered.

"Today's your funeral." Kie had said and Pope slaps himself as the skeeter's come for him. I was protected by JJ's embrace, so, I didn't need to slap them away.

"These things are freakin' swarming!" Pope complained.

"Shh, shh, keep it down." I warned the others.

"Why are there so many mosquitos in a basement?" Pope questioned.

"Dude. I know, seriously, tiny vampire bats, just leave me alone." JJ grumbled.

I couldn't stop smiling and I looked up at JJ. "Tiny vampire bats?"

"Yeah, obviously," JJ rolls his eyes, slapping them away from me.

"Awe, JJ, you're adorable." I giggled. I have never heard anyone call them that.

"Oh, my Gosh, can we leave?" JJ complained, bringing me closer to him. "Cause I'm already itching. To leave."

Pope jumps onto some wooden boards that lay across a section on the floor. Pope stomps his foot.

JJ picks up a doll and I pushed him away from me, my eyes widening. "I just found Mrs. Crain's voodoo doll, guys."

"JJ, get that thing away from me," If there's one thing you should know about me, is that I hated dolls. They crept me out and I hate them. They're my worst fear.

JJ smirked at me and shoved it right in my face, I let out a squeal, covering my eyes. But even knowing that thing was starring me was sending shivers up my spine.

"JJ Maybank!" I had snapped. "Get that thing out of my face right now or I swear to God—"

"You'll do what?" JJ teased me and I scowled. I let out an annoyed noise. I turned around, ignoring him, and crossing my arms. I froze when I felt something sitting on my shoulder.

Quickly, I took the doll in my hand and threw it across the room, glaring at him. "I hate you, JJ." I muttered bitterly and all he does is laugh.

"All right, can we leave this? 'Cause this is getting—" Suddenly, I heard a splash. I looked over at Pope who was looking through a crack.

Pope began to shift the boards off. "Shh!" Everyone was shushing him.

"Hey." Pope had turned to us. "Help me move this. Help me move this."

"Okay, just... Quiet." I reminded Pope, he nods. I helped him move the boards from the ground, putting them aside.

"She's probably right upstairs." Kie had quietly pointed out.

We all shifted the boards from the ground revealing an old stone well. Pope shines a light into the well.

"Well, well, well..." Pope smirked and I giggled at his pun.

"That was a good Dad joke." John B had muttered. John B bends forward and smiles.

"They built this part of the house right over it." Kie pointed out.

"This is where she hid the bodies." JJ pointed out and I scrunched up my nose.

"Dude, come on," I muttered, shaking my head. I was trying not to think about that part.

"No, I'm dead serious," JJ told us.

"Stop it!" Kie hisses.

"Hey," Pope cuts us off.

"It was never at the outhouse—"

"She probably didn't even know it's here." I had cut JJ off.

"So..." Pope trailed off. "We found water."

"We're gonna need a really big rope." 

A/N

And they found the gold, yay!