"What do you reckon we do next then?"

I wait for Reece's response, folding my arms. The two of us sit at this park for hours, decoding every chapter of Auriferous. Reece sits at the other end of the table, rubbing his neck after his grueling hours of research. We'd drawn up a map, pointing us in the direction of the treasure.

"We have our lead, now let's head out and go towards Drumford," Reece says as he stands up. "You ready to head out, Vince?"

I sit there and ponder, fear growing in my body as I have no excuse for my parents. I gaze over at Reece and raise my eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, let's go. I'll think of something to tell my parents on the way, don't worry. I wish my parents were laid back like yours."

Reece gives chuckles and walks over to me as I stand up from the table, placing his hand on my back.

"Don't sweat it, they won't even know. We'll be back home before they even notice."

Reece's words calmed me down for the time being, but I couldn't be sure if we would be home in time. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? My parents would think we're taking an extra-long weekend to ourselves.

I walk away and over towards my bike. Lifting it up off the ground, I sit on the seat and grab my helmet to put it on.

"Hey," Reece yells at me loudly. "I know a shortcut towards Drumford, been there a few times in the past with my family. Just follow me, should be about a twenty-minute ride."

"Alright, lead the way," I say as I click my helmet buckle tightly. I begin to pedal as Reece begins the journey.

Of course, he's riding without a helmet. It's never in Reece's best interest to think about safety. After all, he climbs up tall rocks for fun.

The brisk air slams on my face as we turn out of the park and down the main road. My hair blows freely in the wind. Reece waves his arm forward for me to catch up. I pedal faster and catch up to him.

Reece says, "Race me to the forest, you know the one off Willowbrook street?"

"Yeah, just went down it earlier with my dad. I'll s-," I get cut off by Reece's sudden burst of speed.

I zone in and realize I can't let him win. After all, he was the one to challenge me in the first place. My feet move at the speed of light, catching up to Reece. Without hesitation, I blow right by him and come up to the oncoming intersection. I turn around and give a smile and thumbs up, signaling that I had the race won easily. Turning my head back forward, a car appears in front of me suddenly. I grab both of my handlebar breaks and turn to the side. The tire screech was louder than a jumbo jet and I fall face first next to the car to my right. My backpack flies off my back and rips open, causing Auriferous and my other belongings to fall out. Thankfully, my helmet saved me from experiencing any major injuries, only having scratches on my body. The driver in the car opens his door, rushing over to me with wide-open eyes.

"Are you ok," the man asked with a worrisome tone.

I sit up straight and rub my elbow, red from scratching it on the surface of the asphalt.

"Just some cuts, but I'll manage." Groans come out of my mouth as I attempt to stand up.

I figured this man would've helped me stand, weird that he'd get out of his car and not bother to lend me a hand.

I look up and see the man holding Auriferous, standing there with his mouth wide open.

"Where did you get ahold of this? I thought I tucked this away years ago," the man says.

"I–found it on my own. It was at a book sale and the title looks cool."

I couldn't have thought of a better excuse at the moment? Think, Vincent.

"You need to come with me," the man says bitterly.

I begin to worry as the man caught me in my lie. I figure he'll take Auriferous and question me profusely about me obtaining it. And at the moment I think:

Where the hell is Reece?

I stand up and grab my belongings, put them in my pockets, and look at the man, who's holding my book with a tight fist.

"Well," I say confidently. "I think you have something that belongs to me, I'll be taking it and I'll go on my way." I reach out my hand to take the book from the man, who turns to the side to get the book out of my reach.

"You have no idea what you're getting into with this kid, trust me. I better take it off of your hands and-" at that moment, Reece comes out of nowhere on his bike. Moving faster than I was while racing him, he snatches the book out of the man's hand and pedals through the intersection and down the road towards the forest. As soon as he does this, I grab my bike and begin to sprint with it. I then jump on the seat and pedal as fast as I can, not looking back.

Reece yells back and says, "See ya sucker!"

The two of us pedal like there's no tomorrow, street lights coming and going as the car behind us begins to speed up. The panic in my body begins to take over, questioning if following the book was really worth it.

"Reece, what are we supposed to do? How are we going to outrun a car on bikes?"

"I don't know," he says with a sharp attitude. "Maybe if you didn't fall off your bike, we wouldn't be in this situation now, would we?"

Is this guy serious right now? Does he really want to argue?

"You don't need to chastise me, Reece. Can we just figure out a plan and talk about that later?"

The car suddenly begins to speed up, the revving of the engine growing louder by the second. I pedal so fast I can almost feel the chain on the back falling off. The end of the road was coming up, and Reece decides to take a right towards the forest in sight. The headlights of the car get closer to us, my heart beating out of my chest in fear. The headlights turn down the street, which gives us a clear shot at the forest in front of us. We make it to the end of Willowbrook and pedal our bikes straight into the entranceway of the path, narrowly getting out of the reach of the car that chased us. We go a little way down the path and stop, the two of us then look at one another.

While Reece catches his breath he says, "That guy was absolutely crazy, what the hell is up with this book? Clearly, there's more to this that we don't know."

I stand there for a moment and pant, placing my hands on my knees as I hunch over.

"We're too far now," I say while I gasp for air. "No point in going back now. Plus, that dude would have our heads if we saw him again."

I stand straight up and grab my bike, beginning to walk down the path as Reece follows suit.

"You know Vince, that was quite fun. Minus the man that tried to chase us and try to kill us, it was a good time."

I chuckle at his comment, confused whether he really meant that or not.

"Sure," I say half-jokingly. "You could say it was an amusement ride."

The two of us laugh it out as we come up to the end of the path, an open clearing ahead. We make our way through the trees, cutting my legs on the thorns from the rose bushes below our feet. We get through to the other side, and a large city appears in front of us in the distance.

"Well, there she is," Reece says as he gives a sigh of relief. "There's Drumford."