POPE READ the information from the diary out loud to his friends, who were gathered around the back porch of the Château. He read out loud, knowing JJ couldn't read cursive, "August 15th, set sail from Port-au-Prince on calm seas. Came upon the Spanish ship San Jose on fire. The entire deck was aflame. And we could hear the screams of men trapped below. The Spanish captain cared about only one thing, his valuable cargo, the Cross of Santo Domingo and countless bars of gold. Once the cargo was onboard, we went to help the crew, but Captain Limbrey ordered us to pull bayonets and not to let any of the Spanish crew on board. He robbed them and left them to die."
"So it was a Limbrey stealing shit again." Kie shook her head in disbelief.
Pope nodded, "This proves that both the gold and the cross were on the Royal Merchant."
"Why didn't we find it in the Well then?" JJ asked, "With the gold?"
"Because the Cross would've been too big." John B realised.
"He would've had to hide it someplace else." Pope agreed, "Right before he was hung, Denmark said he'd buried the treasure at the foot of the angel."
JJ asked confusedly, "I thought this was about the key?"
"Yeah." Rory added, "What's the connection?"
"The path to the tomb begins in the island room." Pope quoted Denmark Tanny.
"What's the Island Room?" Kie huffed in confusion.
"You know what helps me figure shit out?" JJ questioned, standing up to the group, "Smoking beers and drinking weed. The ideas just pour out of me. If we just sit here and think about it, we're going nowhere. But if we get creative and go to this Bonfire tonight, maybe we get somewhere."
"Well, I just got disowned by my parents." Kie replied with a shrug, and put a smile on her face to hide her emotions, "So, I'm official men ever if the I-have-nothing-to-lose club."
"Pope?" JJ asked, as the boy hesitated,
"We're so close-"
"Pope, think how much you could think if you gave your brain a rest." JJ explained, as the Rory and John B drum-rolled on their knees.
"Fine." Pope gave in, which everybody knew he would.
The Bonfire was an Outer Banks tradition on the same weekend every year. The Pogues and Kooks were invited, which always lead to some sort of fight. But for one night, the divide between the rich and poor faded, and everyone was allowed to be reckless teenagers again. When they arrived at the crowded party, the Pogues dispersed: John B went to a girl, JJ stayed with John B, and Rory stayed with Kie.
"P4L." Kiara smiled, raising her plastic cup to Rory as they both drank the alcohol. Without making it too obvious, Rory was trying to look for Sarah whilst Kie chatted with her friends from class. Aurora went to get another drink, and another, and another, and another.
Rory wondered through the crowds of people, before finding JJ and Pope. She tried to hide the fact that she was drunk, "Hi, have you seen Sarah anywhere?"
"Uh, no." Pope replied, as the boys glanced around the crowd of people. Rory did the same, her eyes darting around and stopping at every blonde girl. Pope suggested, "Maybe she didn't come?"
JJ nodded, "Yeah, I mean, she did watch her dad blow up and shit."
Aurora stopped, finally noticing Sarah in amongst the crowd of people. She clenched her jaw when she saw Topper, who had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. His smug face made Rory's blood boil, as she glared at him through the crowd. She drank the rest of her drink before chucking the plastic cup on the floor in frustration. JJ quickly rushed in front of her, stopping her from walking,
