It didn't take her long to find him. He was at the jetty, laughing with some other Kooks, his future secure and never changing.

He infuriated her.

He had it all planned out. John B, meanwhile, had just been fired from the only job he was gonna get because of him, all because he was a stupid fucking idiot who didn't keep his mouth shut.

As soon as she saw him, rage propelled her. She marched towards him, shouting. "Tyler!"

He turned, looking confused at first before letting that smirk settle on his face. His friends around him all smirked and shoved him, teasing him about her. It only ignited her fury further.

"Hey, Elle!" Tyler called out, as the girl got closer and closer. "You come to say sorry for slapping me? I mean, I can't say I ever thought this day would come, but it is quite nic-"

SLAP!

No, she wasn't here to apologise.

She was here to come back twenty times harder.

Tyler seemed even more shocked than the first time, holding his cheek as his friends laughed, looking at her with shock in his eyes.

"Second time in three days," he looked her up and down. "You must be breaking some kind of record. What, pray tell, was that for?"

"John B loved that job," Elora snarled. "And you fucking took it away from him, just like that!"

She snapped her fingers in his face, anger radiating off her.

But Tyler just frowned. "What? Y-you think I told?"

"I know you fucking did, Ward just fired him!" Elora shrieked.

"Elora, I know you won't, but believe me when I say I did not tell Ward about this," Tyler said firmly, looking at her intensely.

"You're right, I don't believe you," Elora told him, her eyes trained on his as he towered over her.

"Well then you're just fucking insane," Tyler scoffed in her face. "Like I said: I. Didn't. Tell him. Believe me or don't believe me, I don't care."

Elora stared at him for a second, taking in the passion of his words and beginning to wonder if she had got this wrong, if Tyler was actually telling the truth and he hadn't told Ward-

No. It must be a lie. He must have told him-

"You should think yourself lucky I haven't punched you yet," she spat at him, before turning round and marching back up the road.

At least she could tell John B she tried to avenge him.

𔓘𔓘𔓘

When the Twinkie rolled up at JJ's, the whole story unravelled.

John B and Kie hadn't learned a lot at the lighthouse, but they had learned a bit about the Royal Merchant. It was a ship that sunk in the ocean right near OBX, and it was supposedly carrying four hundred million worth of gold.

But that wasn't the important part. After getting picked up by the police, questioned and only just let off the hook, John B had been summoned by Ward, and fired.

Elora had then dropped her side of the story for this, about how Tyler had been on the boat (she hadn't told them this before) and had obviously told Ward about the stolen gear. She also told them she'd slapped him, however, and had not held back. They whooped at this, all four of them, and Elora smiled.

Then John B told them the latest; he'd been chased by the two men that invaded the Chateau and had ended up in a police car with Sheriff Peterkin, handing over the compass. They were all rather miffed to find this out, until John B explained why they were here.

Well, not really explained, more just said. "I've got a lead, I'll tell you more about it when we get to the cemetery."

The cemetery?

Elora didn't question it though, and neither did the others as JJ lit a joint and began to smoke it.

"D'you mind if I just relax on this one?" He asked in a slurred voice. "It's been a long day, and a lot of weird stuff's gone down. I'm just gonna lay low. D'you want a hit of this?" He waved the joint in Elora's direction.

"Why not?" She shrugged, taking it and inhaling the smoke before passing it back. She wasn't as heavy a smoker as JJ, but she did enjoy a hit from time to time.

John B changed the subject. "Look, guys, I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, alright? And wrong about everything else going on, but I was right about one thing, okay? My dad is trying to tell me something."

No one replied to him, but he didn't seem to mind. Elora sat back in her seat and exhaled, trying not to think about how her hand was still lightly aching.

When they got to the cemetery, John B hurried them out the car. It was dark now, and slightly creepy, but Elora ignored that as they walked on.

"This is quite creepy," Kiara complained. "John B, what are we doing?"

John B sighed. "Okay, so you know how when you're trying to remember a song and you can't remember who sings it?"

"Yeah."

"So, Redfield. This whole time, I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place," John B explained, as they arrived at the wall of the cemetery, lifting up his lantern to reveal the name the plaque above it.

REDFIELD

"It's a person," John B said.

JJ chuckled. "Voi-effing-la."

"Yeah, my great great grandmother, Olivia Redfield," nodded John B. "That was her maiden name."

It was then that Elora noticed the grave wasn't really a grave. There was a door below the name, and despite the ivy crawling all over it, it seemed to still work.

"Come on, help me with the door," John B beckoned them all forward.

They all came, working together to push it open, grunting and shoving hard.

"This door is like seven hundred pounds, it's not gonna budge," Pope growled.

"We didn't come this far to be stumped by this, alright?" JJ grunted back.

Hiss!!!

"Argh! Snake! Snake!" Elora shouted, dodging out the way just in time to avoid being bitten by the snake that slithered out a hole in the bricks.

"Oh, holy shit," the redhead breathed out, shaking slightly as she took her lantern back from Kie.

"Come on, we need to keep trying," Pope said.

"Wait, hold on, hold on, if there's one, there's probably dozens," JJ said, holding him back.

"Right, listen John B, we're not gonna get in there," Pope sighed. "It's not budging. We should probably just go."

But Elora, meanwhile, was looking at the top of the door, to where there was a small opening. An opening none of the boys could fit through, but she probably could.

"Hold up," she told them all, as they were currently arguing about leaving or staying. They all turned to her, looking confused.

"I could get through," she told them.

"What?" John B frowned. "No, no, you think you're gonna get through the hole?"

"You got any better ideas?" Elora retorted. "I can fit. I know I can. Come on, help me move all this ivy."

Kie was right behind her, the other three following suit as they stripped the ivy back from the hole, JJ squatting against the wall to give her a leg to stand on.

"Alright, come on," he said, supporting her as she stepped up on his leg. "On three. One, two-"

Elora jumped up.

"Alright, just forget about three..."

"I will," she smirked, as she got eye level with the hole in the wall, chucking her flashlight to Pope. "Give that to me once I'm in."

Then, without another word, she squirmed her body into the hole, ignoring the dull aches as she got inside, landing on the ground with a small thump.

"You alright?" John B's voice was loud and clear. "You got like a- a heartbeat and everything?"

"I suspect so," Elora replied back with an eye roll, reaching back up to the hole and extending a hand. "Flashlight."

Pope complied, handing her said object. She grabbed it and turned it on, lifting it up to the sky.

Except she couldn't see the sky. She appeared to be in a sort of cavern, stony walls surrounding her on all sides.

"You alright, Elle?" Kiara called.

"I need more light," Elora sighed, because although she could see, she didn't actually know what they were supposed to be looking for.

"Here, take this, I got you," John B nodded, holding his lantern through the hole.

But Elora didn't take it.

Because she had found something. It was at the back of the cavern on the side, and it made her let out a gasp.

"Did you find something?" John B asked eagerly. "Is it gold?"

Elora just opened her mouth, all with the intention to tell them what it was, but instead just letting out three words.

"Oh... my god."

𔓘𔓘𔓘

It was an envelope.

A fucking envelope with the FedEx sign on it.

But that wasn't what Elora was looking at. She was looking at the two words that had been written on it, in black marker pen. One of whom made her sure it was John B this envelope was intended for.

Fᴏʀ Bɪʀᴅ

"Holy shit," she said, grabbing the envelope quickly and running back to the hole, handing it out to a very eager John B, who got it and looked at it in shock.

"That's not gold," Pope sighed, as Elora began to climb out.

But John B was looking at the envelope like it was more than gold.

"Oh my god," he repeated Elora's words. "This is from my dad."

Elora landed, dusting off her clothes before coming over to join him and the others. JJ, however, was stood to the side, smoking, and keeping a lookou-

"Code red! Code red, guys! Square groupers! Square groupers!" He hissed, running back towards them. "I think it's the guys that robbed your house, JB!"

Oh, fuc-

"Go! Go!" Kie shoved them along as they hid behind the wall, barrelling into each other as they turned their flashlights and lanterns off.

"D'you think it's them?" Kie asked.

JJ peeked round the corner. "Well, homie's got a gun."

"Fuck this, I'm running," Elora said, getting up.

Surprisingly, the others followed her, and together all five of them sprinted out the cemetery, knowing they had exactly what they needed, and what the people chasing them wanted.

They jumped the gate, running back to the Twinkie and piling in, John B and JJ in the front as always. With that, Kie hauled the door shut and John B drove them away.

"Holy fucking shit," Kie said as she sat back in the seat.

Elora nodded with a smirk. "You can say that again."

𔓘𔓘𔓘

Elora watched, legs propped up on the sofa as John B studied the envelope and JJ made himself a sandwich. She didn't pry into why he hadn't opened it yet. She imagined if she got anything from her mother these days she would be pretty shell-shocked.

Shit, her mum.

Looking up at the clock, Elora realised her mum had been missing for precisely three and a half days. She felt sort of guilty, yet she didn't know why. She was the one who had disappeared.

But it didn't stop Elora for feeling guilty. Didn't stop her from wondering why now? What happened?

Because sure, her mother had been terrible, and she hadn't cared about her at all, and she clearly had no concerns about leaving her, but despite all that, she was her mum. And Elora didn't like the fact that she'd just sort of left her disappearance in the dust, not even having time to process it because of this treasure hunt.

Riiiiiip!

The sound of John B ripping open the envelope jolted Elora from her thoughts, and she looked over to him. He was straight faced, looking down as he did it.

She sat up off the sofa as they all crowded round him, John B pulling a folded piece of paper from it.

He smoothed it out and put it on the table, letting them all look at it. It was a map, a map of the OBX and the ocean surrounding it, and it was also marked.

"X marks the spot," Pope said it first, pointing to the black marked X on the map, just off the coast of the OBX.

John B nodded, feeling in the envelope. "Wait, there's something else in there."

And with that, he revealed a... a-

"What's that?" JJ frowned, looking at the small mechanical object in JB's hands.

"It's a tape recorder, dumbass," Kie rolled her eyes.

John B clicked it on, and with that, the sound of Big John Routledge's voice filled the room.

"Dear Bird-"

"Who's Bird?" JJ frowned.

"It's what he used to call me," John B explained.

"-I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect, at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either."

There were a few clattering sounds on the tape, which made Elora think he must've been in his office, the very same one they escaped from earlier, when he recorded this.

But it was that last line, the one about the Merchant, that made them all go silent.

"You were probably right to call me out," Big John's voice picked back up. "Wasn't exactly the father of the decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listening to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, living off passive investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If something happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird. Even though I didn't always act like it."

Everything went silent for a second, just before he delivered the final line.

"I'll see you on the other side."

The tape came to a stop with that, and so did all the five people listening to it.

John B clicked it off, and got up, his eyes filling with tears. When he fell against the doorway, body wracked with sobs, JJ exclaimed. "Holy shit, he did it! Big John, he found the Merchant-"

"JJ, this isn't the time," Elora said softly, eyes trained on John B as their blonde friend fell silent.

She had never really cared much for hugging people. Well, except her father, but since he had died, she'd barely hugged anyone, except on the occasions when the Pogues group hugged.

But as she hugged John B that night, she began to realise that hugs were a mutual sort of comfort.

And to be honest, they all needed a bit of that now.

𔓘𔓘𔓘

So what did they do next? They got the longitude and latitude of the X marks the spot (Big John had noted it down on the map) and they aimed to sneak into the nearest place with computers, a four star hotel on the outskirts of Figure Eight.

"Alright," JJ, who was going to sweet talk them into this, said as the Twinkie rolled up to it. "Right, I've been busing tables around here for a while, so just let me do the talking, alright?"

He grinned, walking straight up to the back door to the kitchens and letting the rest of them follow.

"Yo, Andrew!" JJ grinned, practically bounding as they entered the kitchens, the other four walking behind him. "Mama L, good to see you!"

The kitchens were buzzing with life, people cooking and sitting down, talking and eating alike.

As they walked out the kitchens and into the foyer, JJ grinned behind them. "See they got the backup generator going? Kooks don't miss a beat."

He led them through to the admin room, which had about five computers inside it.

"Sweet lord, the internet!" Pope called, running forwards to get onto one.

"Let me use the internet, gotta check out my insta models," JJ joked.

"We don't have time," Kiara rolled her eyes.

"I got the map," Elora supplied, sliding the paper onto the table.

"Co-ordinates, please?" Pope, who was logging onto the computer, said.

As John B rattled them off, Pope typed them in, pressing enter as he finished. The world map on the screen spun round, zooming into a point just off the coast of the OBX, the same as on Big John's map.

"Boom, continental shelf right there," John B said.

"Well, if it's off the deep end, it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" Pope muttered.

As footsteps were heard outside, Pope zoomed in, the number of feet down appearing on the screen.

"Shit, it's on the high side, only ninety feet," Elora smiled.

"That's not too deep," JJ put in.

"Is that doable, or something?" Kiara frowned

"Yeah, totally doable," nodded JJ.

"Oh, okay, you got a submarine we don't know about?" Elora asked him sarcastically.

"No, the salvage yard," explained JJ. "They got a drone that can drop one thousand, it has a three sixty camera and everything. It's for, like, deep dives and stuff. It's exactly what we need."

"Okay, can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" John B turned to him.

"Well, my dad's grimy little hands got his ass fired," sighed JJ. "But the drone's there. It's in the impound yard out back."

"How much did you say was on the Royal Merchant again?" Kiara asked.

"Four hundred million," Elora, John B and Pope said in unison.

"Right, let's go!" Kie announced, getting up and swinging her backpack over her shoulder and marching out, the others following her.

Pope was the most hesitant, until Elora grabbed his arm. "Pope, come on!"

But he just grumbled. "Can't we do anything legal for money?"