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"Alright, JJ, pin it here!" John B shouted out from the stern of the boat.

"Roger that!" JJ who stood behind the steering wheel said. "X marks the spot."

They were far out on the ocean with the sun beating down on them. Annabelle sat on the edge of the boat with her feet dangling over the edge as she watched John B pull out the drone that they had stolen a few days prior.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen." He triumphed over the object. "To going full kook." He lowered the yellow drone into the water and Annabelle jumped down from the edge and grabbed hold of the cable that connected the drone to the boat allowing it to slowly submerge deeper at a steady pace. Pope held the remote control that he used to steer it and see what the drone saw.

"JJ, we're right over it. Ten seconds northwest." John B said as he clutched onto the iPad that showed the position of their goal.

"Alright. Ten seconds northwest." The blonde turned the steering wheel.

Annabelle kept lowering the drone, stopping for a brief moment when her hand wrapped around the black part of the cable, marking the hundred-feet mark.
"One hundred feet!" She called out and Kiara drew a marking line on the side of the boat with chalk.

Annabelle lowered the drone again the anticipation almost suffocating her.

"And to quote the Hobbit, 'down down, to goblin town. Down down my lad." Pope said in a silly voice making Annabelle snicker.

Annabelle kept lowering the drone and Kiara kept marking with the chalk for every hundred feet closer they got to going full kook. They were down on 700 feet. The boat moved up and down on the hectic waters and the thunder rumbled in the distance. Annabelle began to get worried as the waves got taller and the wind stronger.

"900 feet!" Annabelle called out before the drone almost got ripped out of her hands, by the strong current, the impact causing her to crash into the side of the boat that she sat crouched in front of.

She grunted as she used all her strength to hold onto the cable. "John B, there's too much current! We're gonna lose it!"

Kiara joined up next to the girl to assist her by grabbing the cable as well.

"We should be right above it!" John B called out.

"What do you see?" Annabelle shouted.

"Nothing. A whole lot of nothing. We need to go lower. Annabelle!" Pope called out.

"I'm trying!" She yelled back in annoyance and lowered it further. "960!"

"I'm at the bottom!" Pope announced and both girls instantly let go of the cable, hurrying to join up next to Pope. Annabelle stared at the screen before them, seeing nothing but sand and dark waters.

"See anything?!" JJ asked from behind the steering wheel just as something appeared from the dark bottom. A pointy figure, followed by the rest of the wreckage becoming apparent right before their eyes. Annabelle let out an excited chuckle.

"Good, God," Pope said.

"It's the Royal Merchant."

Wreckage, sand, water and darkness. Everything but the gold. The group of friends stared at the screen in disbelief.

"There's nothing there." John B sighed.

"What? No." Annabelle breathed. He was right. There was nothing.

"The gold could be buried we don't know," Kiara said.

"We've been through it three times. There's nothing there." JJ shouted.

"So where the hell is it?" Annabelle turned to John B.

"Somebody beat us to it."

𝟔𝟒𝟎 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
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a really short chapter but there's a longer one after this that'll be publishing today as well.

also I hateeeee capcut for that ugly watermark so unfortunately it'll be on all by gifs from now on until I find out a way to make them without the mark.