"There it is, Angel Oak." Kie looked out the window of the twinkie, sitting next to Joey in the back.

"Oh, shit. Tides coming in." John B spoke up as he looked at the water puddle down the dirt road.

"Wait a second, look." Pope pointed to the tire tracks, "They already came through here. Those have to be Limbrey's tire tracks. Guys, we gotta go."

"What do you think, chief?" JJ looked toward John B.

"I'm thinking it's looking a little dicey." the curly haired boy said back.

"This is disgusting, the twinkie is seriously gonna be even more filthy." Joey looked out the window with a cringed look.

"Okay, clearly, they made it. No?" Kie suggested.

"In a two-wheel drive? I don't know about that." JJ shook his head, looking out the window.

"Why are y'all acting like you're not gonna do it anyways?" Sarah spoke up from the back, trying to hold back her smile, "Like, when have y'all ever done the safe thing?"

"She's got a point." John B nodded as him and JJ looked to each other.

"Speed is your friend here, okay?" JJ nodded, turning back in his seat.

"Oh my god, no." Joey shut her eyes as she held onto the side of the Twinkie, shaking her head.

"Cmon, bro, punch it. Speed is your friend." JJ encouraged.

"It's gonna slide." Kie spoke up, holding onto the side of the van with one arm.

"Not to put any more pressure on you, but if you don't make it through, we'll be stuck here forever." Pope leaned up toward the pair in the front.

The twinkie made it through the mud puddle, gliding easily on the dirt road again. The group sighed in relief, cheering slightly.

"Never again?" Joey suggested.

"Never again." John B nodded, JJ pulling the van door open.

"All right, so word to the wise, definitely know that gators nest back here, so keep your eyes peeled, okay?" JJ spoke up, Joey gapped in disbelief as she looked at the state of the forest.

"Joey, you coming?" Pope looked ad her.

"Are you kidding me?" she gapped, looking around. "Absolutely not. You know what's swarming in this water, in this mud? One little slip and i'm dead."

"We'll just stay on the path." John B spoke with a nod.

Joey gapped. "Ugh, the path that is crawling with parasites that could seep through our shoes and get into our blood stream from our feet."

"All right!" JJ clapped his hands together as he walked to the twinkie again, kneeling down. "Hop on."

Joey hopped onto JJ's back as he hoisted her up. "Much better."

"You don't want to be Pat Womack. She had her calf chewed off by a gator, right? You know that, right?" JJ continued on.

"That's actually not true." Kie commented back.

"Pat Womack was injured in a car accident, but I hear you." Sarah shrugged, pushing branches out of the way as they walked in a line after Pope.

"Okay, just living ignorance. But like, she had her calf chewed off by a mama gator. I know that for a fact." JJ hummed, turning to look back at them.

"That's so gross." Joey cringed at the thought. "Imagine all the fish and mud and everything she had, just chomping into her leg, all that shit on her teeth just swarming your blood stream like Houdini."

"Oh, yeah. Just like houdini." John B mocked her in the slightest.

"Wait, I see something." JJ spoke up as he hurried toward the water, grabbing a stick and hitting the water. Joey held onto him tighter as he tipped over some.

"Right. Wake them up. That's smart." Sarah nodded her head.

"I was just making sure it wasn't a gator. That's all, all right?" the blonde boy held his hands up in surrender.

the sound of moving trucks and excavators were heard, making them all hurry over and duck behind one of the bushes.

"I don't see shit!" Rafe called as the group all looked from behind a bush. Rafe, Limbrey, Renfield, and construction workers digging up dirt at the foot of the tree, "You sure this is the right spot?"

"It's there. The garment will be in the cross, and the cross will be at the foot of the tree." Limbrey announced. By the look of Rafes face, she's said this enough times to annoy the shit out of him.

The crunch that echoed through the air had Limbrey yelling, Reinfield and Rafe standing close by as the construction workers jumped down into the hole, "They got the cross? What do we do? What do we do?"

"What can we do?" John B asked him with wide eyes.

"Should run that mother fucker over." Joey said bitterly. "Where's his penis truck now?"

"That was you?" Sarah held back a laugh.

"We're going back! It's not over!" Limbrey called as she got to her feet, clutching her crutches. It didn't take long to load up again, the trio leaving the open casket laying there as they drove off.

Pope began walking forward as soon as they walked off. JJ followed, "Pope. Pope, wait. Wait! Shit."

Pope stared down at the casket, rotten bones on the inside as he took deep breaths, "Cecilia Tanny, Denmark's wife. He wasn't talking about the cross. He buried her at the foot of the angel."

"The true treasure." Kie frowned, JJ setting Joey down now they they were in dry grass.

Pope gave a small cry, Joey held his shoulder from behind him. The rest of the group followed down next to the grave with him, "Denmark was hung for burying his wife, and now they defiled her grave."

Pope reached down, pulling a small pin from inside of the grave. Sarah did the same, a small ring in her palm as she smiled, "This must have been from Denmark. Her wedding ring."

"We can't leave her like this." Pope frowned as he looked at his friends.

"We won't." John B promised. Him and JJ grabbed the casket lid, laying it back over and shutting it tightly. Sarah placed a few flowers she found on top as John B hammered the nails back in.

Joey laced Popes hand with hers.

"I just don't get it. I mean, you guys saw the map. He hides his gold so no one finds it for 170 years." Pope ranted on as the group stayed near the tree, "And then he sends a message to his son, Robert, to come here to his mother's grave, but the message never gets to him. Denmark wanted him to find the cross. I know we're in the right spot. It just feels like-"

"Like we missed something?" JJ's voice caught their attention, heads turning to see he'd been looking up at the tree, "Come here."

Joey held Kies hand as she jumped up on the Twinkie with him.

"Hang on, hang on." he waved her off, "That looks like-"

"The painting in the island room." Kie added in as she looked at the hole in the tree.

"It's worth a shot, right?" JJ spoke up with a shrug, "Go for it."

"No chance." Kie gave a stupid look.

"You do it!" Sarah scoffed from the ground.

"Sorry, I went in the storm drain." Kie said back.

"She did go in the storm drain." Pope sided with Kie.

"Okay, that's so gross. Something could bite you and give you literally every single disease in the making." Joey shook her head with a cringing look.

"He already has every disease in the making." John B pointed out.

Joey nodded. "That's true."

"Yeah. No, i'm gonna do it. It's just..." JJ trialed off as he pulled his sleeve up some.

"He's scared." Kie whispered.

"I'm not scared, dude." JJ scoffed in disbelief with them.

"You seem scared." Kie laughed.

"I'm scared for you." Joey pointed out.

JJ slowly reached his hand into the tree, getting closer before letting out a shout. Joey yelled his name in a panic, her and Sarah pushing together to see who could get up on the twinkie first. Kie yanking on his body while John B tried to climb the twinkie. JJ began to laugh, relaxing as everyone gave looks of disbelief.

"Real original." Pope scoffed.

"JJ!" Joey scolded him in disbelief.

"Wait, there's seriously something in here." JJ shook his head, digging deeper before retracting his arm with a golden and maroon trinket.

"Let me see it." Pope reached up. Sarah and Joey reached up to help Kie down, "HMS Royal Merchant."

"Give it to the captain. Here we go. It's a spyglass." JJ yanked it open, peering through the peephole.

"There's something on the end." Kie nodded, their eyes moving toward the little writing.

"An inscription right there. Look at that shit." John B looked down at it. " 'You've come this far. Do not falter. The cross is on the Freedman's altar.' It rhymes!"

"The cross is at the church!" Pope announced as his face lit up.

"What are we doing here, guys?" JJ called out with wide eyes.

"Come on!" Pope encouraged as they got back into the van.

"I want to remind everyone that I need to be at the train station by midnight." Joey announced as they all headed back to the twinkie. "Takes 9 hours to get to Duke and if i'm gonna make the tour and interview portion tomorrow then I definitely need to be at the trains by 12!"

"We're gonna get you there." John B nodded quickly, opening the twinkie door for the rest to climb in.

•

kylie speaks

aw best little bro