"Okay, the road should split up here," Pope instructs my brother, pointing out of the windshield, "You're gonna take a left,"

    John B follows the instruction with urgency, rounding the corner hard enough for me to slide across the floor of the Twinkie and end up bumping into JJ. 

    "Wow, that's very forward of you, Pheebs," JJ grins, holding my shoulders before I pull away from his grip and move back into my seat.

    "You are always like this, huh?" I question, hearing Kie snicker in agreement. He winks at me, confirming my thoughts.

    "That looks like a stonewall to me!" JJ calls with a grin, peering through the gaps in the front seats to spy the wall in front of us. 

    "This is it," Pope nods, peering out his window.

    I push myself up, craning my neck to look through a window before screwing my face up at the sight of the rickety old house before us, "Oh man not the Crain house,"

    JJ slides the van door open, Kie and I piling out after him as John B and Pope join the group. We all stare out at the place, winces clear in our expressions.

    "Are you kidding me?" Kiara sighs, standing by my side.

    "Remember when I dared you to go inside, Pheebs?" John B reminds me of a time I visited him on the island. I couldn't have been older than nine

    "Yep, Halloween." I grimace, thinking back to when I wanted to prove myself to my older brother and ended up getting lost inside. 

    "I heard that Mrs Crain buried her husband's head on the property," JJ comments, turning to Pope with a serious expression.

    I sigh, wishing we could just turn back and go home, "Let's get this over with,"

    Kie takes the lead, me close behind her as the boys pile in behind us. We push overgrown grass blades and low-hanging branches out of the way, taking breaks in between to shield our eyes from the sun. 

    "Honestly, I don't really believe the stories of this place," John B pipes up from behind JJ. I turn over my shoulder, glancing at him. Before he can continue, Pope raises a hand to shush him.

    "Call me crazy, but, I believe them. This house gives me the creeps," I shiver.

    I smile at the look on John B's face, continuing on as JJ leans closer to me to ask, "What stories did you hear?"

    "I've heard more stories from locals since I moved here, mostly about how she killed her husband with an axe. Apparently, she's been holed up here ever since," I shrug, continuing to push overgrown bushes out of my way as we reach a clearing. I turn to JJ, a grin on my face, "On certain nights, when the moon is full, you can see her in the window!"

    "That's not funny, Pheebs," He shakes his head as I grin and twinkle my fingers in his face. I laugh, turning back around as he continues, "Cause, y'know, it's true. I swear to god guys, this is all true. I knew Hollis- Jeez!"

    JJ pauses, holding his fists up towards a stone statue. 

    "Wait, you know Hollis Crain?" Pope distracts JJ from his imaginary fight. 

   "Yeah, dude," He nods, turning around to face his friend. 

    "Dude, how did you know Hollis Crain?" Pope asks, tapping JJ on the shoulder as we crowd around to listen.

    "She was my babysitter, man. She told me all about it," JJ informs casually. He looks between each of us, his eyes settling on John B, "Told me the truth, about her mother and what happened in this house,"

    At his words, I look up at the isolated building, an internal shiver covering my body. I rub my exposed arms, trying to soothe the goosebumps. 

   I make eye contact with Kie, her face sunken like she has that same fearful chill.

    "As a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father and she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn't believe it," JJ continues, looking as if the memories are flashing before his eyes as he continues, "Until that night,"

    "What the hell does that mean? What night?" I question, looking between the group to see if anyone else is weirded out. 

   JJ looks at me intensely, a serious aura I'm not used to from him, "It all came back to her,"

    "Can you get to the point already?" Kie sighs, holding her hand up over her eyes to shield them from the sun.

    "When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So, she goes downstairs to see her Mum washing her hands in a sink... full of blood," JJ explains, stepping closer to my brother as he tells the story, "Her Mother just says that she cut her finger. The next morning, she says her Father and her split up. But then, Hollis noticed something. Her Mother going into the parlour constantly, in and out, in and out with plastic bags. Weeks pass and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she's using it, she looks down, and here, in the outhouse, is her father's head! Looking straight back at her,"

    "God, you are so full of shit," John B groans, leaning his head back. 

    "Dude, I swear to god, man!" JJ insists, looking between us all in some kind of fruitful attempt at backup. 

   "Did she call the police?" Pope questions, raising a suspicious brow. John B steps through the two boys, joining my side closer to the house

    "She didn't have time- Wait, hold on!" JJ interrupts, grabbing John B to stop him from marching off any further. "You sure you wanna do this? She's an axe murderer, man. You got a cast on,"

    "I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay?" John B exclaims. 

    "What?" I gape, looking up at Pope as he widens his eyes at John B's declaration. 

    "I got nothing to lose, right? You coming, or what?" He continues.

    John B turns, Kie behind him as he pushes through the bushes some more. Pope follows Kie, and JJ hesitates as he scratches his bicep.

   I sigh, clenching my eyes shut as I mark the sign of the cross over my chest. I'm not a particularly hardcore religious person, but, considering the situations we've ended up in lately, I might have to take up the practice.

   I go in front of JJ, pushing the greens out of my way as he follows behind me. 

    John B pulls to a stop pretty quickly, turning to face us and signalling for us to crouch even further, "So, here's the plan. We need to look for the wheat near the water like it said in Denmark's letter,"

    "Okay, like, what kind of water? Pond water?" Pope questions.

    "Bong water?" JJ chimes in childishly. I turn over my shoulder to shake my head at him, Pope and Kie doing the same. Definitely not the time for jokes. Especially after telling us that stupid campfire story about this very house and its occupants. 

    "No, it- it just said look for water, okay?" John B stresses as we turn back to face him. 

    "Very specific. Not like we are literally on an island," I nod sarcastically, looking around the environment for any clues

    "Yeah, that is the shittiest secret message ever," Kie scoffs. She steps over the bushes, walking off ahead of the group and John B sends daggers in her direction.

    "You wanna complain a little more, Kie? Nobody said it was gonna be easy," John B scolds as he follows after her, his voice drowning out the further away he gets from JJ, Pope and I.

    I blink, looking between the two boys for any ideas of what to do, "Did I start that little bitch fit?"

    "Nah, they're just love fighting," JJ wipes a hand through the air, a small smile on his face as he does.

    Pope sucks in a breath, looking between us before continuing, "I'll search the northeast quadrant, you search the northwest," 

     "The decapitation quadrant?" JJ calls unamused, pointing hastily towards the said direction. Pope turns and walks away before I have a chance to tag along to a much nicer-sounding quadrant. 

    "Decapitation sounds peaceful compared to what Kie is giving JB right now," I tuck my arms into myself, only releasing to push greenery out of my way as I lead the path to our assigned area. 

    I turn back as JJ nods in agreement, lifting up his hand to fake salute, "Good luck, Soldier,"

    I turn back to the property, looking up at the house as memories from that one Halloween night come rushing back, "Y'know, John B talked about you a lot whenever I visited,"

    "Really? Well, not surprising," He shrugs in mock humbleness. He falls into step beside me, pushing greenery out of both of our faces.

    "I think you're the reason he didn't tell anyone he has a sister. He called you a vulture when it came to any girl. I remember he said being his sister would only encourage you," I laugh, remembering the distress in John B's voice despite the fact I never met his friends. 

    "The man knows me too well," He stretches, draping an arm over my shoulders before I quickly throw it off. He only laughs in response, a grin on his face to show the conversation is making him forget the history of this house. 

    "He told me next time I came to visit he was gonna introduce me to you guys. But, as his brother. He told me I had to dress up like a boy and my name was Phillip," I inform, looking up at him as he sneaks glances at me between clearing the path.

    "I would never believe that," He snorts, looking down at me and tapping a finger to his temple, "I got a spidey sense for estrogen,"

    "I'm surprised you know what that is," I nod, slightly impressed by his use of a big word.

     "I'm smarter than I look, Pheebs," He juts his chin out, holding his head high.

    "Pope told you, didn't he?"

    "Yep,"

    "Doesn't matter, anyway. I never ended up visiting again," I shrug, pushing a branch out of the way and ducking underneath it. "For the record, I think he was being dramatic. You're very fun to be around when you're using the head upstairs,"

    "I think John B should have been protecting me, y'know? I see that look in your eyes and it frightens me, really-" He cuts himself off with a laugh when I shove his shoulder and roll my eyes at his dramatics. 

    "Hey, psst! Hey, come on. It's the only place we haven't looked," I hear John B signal, getting a visual of him between the gaps of overgrown grass as he kneels before a small door going underneath the house. 

     The sound of wings fluttering alerts JJ as he starts swatting the air, spinning around in all directions and yanking me out into the small clearing. 

    "JJ, don't be a pussy. It's a bird," I sigh, stepping away from him as he follows behind, still swatting around his head. 

    John B ducks under the threshold first, flashlight in hand as we follow him inside. The room is full of dust and cobwebs, old children's toys and household items discarded against the walls. 

   We split off, John B and I moving to the centre of the room to look around for any clues. 

    "Down came Mrs Crain and cut off all our heads. Up came the sun and dried up all the blood-" 

    "Can you... stop," Pope cuts off JJ's inappropriate nursery rhyme, pointing the flashlight at him as JJ pauses like a deer in headlights. 

    Kie joins my side, clearing her section of the room as we continue to look for water.

    "See any water?" She asks me, making a point to ignore John B.

    "Nope. Only asbestos going up my nose," I cough, lifting my arm up to cover the lower half of my face. 

    She wafts a mosquito away from her, John B trailing slightly ahead as Pope and JJ file in behind me.

    "Another dead end?" Kie slightly snaps, stepping away from me and closer to my brother. 

    John B doesn't reply, instead, looking around the room.

   JJ lifts his arm, running his hand along the length of the rusted pipes, "There's not even water on the pipes,"

    "There's no water here," Pope dead-pans.

    "Not a drop-amino," JJ agrees.

    "Know why we didn't find it?" Kie asks, the annoyance clear in both her tone and the way she stares down John B.

    "I bet we're about to find out," I mutter under my breath.

    "Bad Karma," Kie finishes, pressing her lips together and looking away from him. 

    "Oh, god. Here we go," John B sighs.

    "Y'know, we had a good thing going and then, you decided to rope in Barbie and now the trail's gone dry. Coincidence? Probably not," She sneers, stepping closer to John B and staring him down like an animal. 

    "Just let her get it out of her system," JJ drops a hand on my shoulder, staying quiet as we observe the pair's bickering. I nod, agreeing with him.

    "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you about Sarah," John B informed, stepping closer to her in anger.

    "Yeah?"

    "Yeah," He confirms, looking around her face for a sign, "What the hell is the deal? What's going on with you two?"

    "Nothing," Kie denies. 

    "Nothing?" He repeats before a cocky smile overcomes his features, "Is it because I kissed you? Is that the problem?"

    The second the words leave his mouth, Kie's hand lifts and slaps John B hard across his face. 

    A chorus of 'Oh's' and 'Oh shit' echo through Pope, JJ and I, all of our jaws hanging low in shock. 

    "That echoed, dude," JJ whispers. I waft him away, too interested in the drama in front of me.

    "Stop treating me like I'm some girl that's obsessed with you instead of your best friend who's actually trying to look out for you," Kie demands, her shoulders tense despite her calm sounding voice.

    "Did you, uh, hit me?" John B asks, surprise and anger evident in his tone as he ignores her previous statement.

    Kie lifts her hand into the light, showing a black spot on her palm, "Skeeter,"

   "Skeeter?"

    "Yeah, see it?"

    "Yeah," John B barely gets out the word before lifting his own hand and lazily striking Kie back against her cheek.

   I wince, both JJ and Pope quietly voicing their objections as we continue observing. 

    "Where's your proof?" Kie demands almost immediately.

    He holds his hand up, JJ eagerly shining his light in the direction of his palm to reveal a dead mosquito on the skin. "Skeeter,"

     They both immediately start bickering, seemingly becoming more light-hearted as they slap each other's arms and foreheads. 

    "Show's over," I announce, staying at JJ's side as I look where he points the light. 

   I watch as Pope struggles with a swarm of bugs, Kie giggling as she watches. I pause, looking at the bugs floating around the room. 

    "Wait," I whisper more to myself, my eyes following the bugs like a sniper. JJ watches me intensely, his eyes flicking between me and the bugs before he quickly gets bored and turns away. 

   Pope turns to me, a realisation overcoming his face as I walk over to him. 

   I walk up to the middle of the room, Pope aiming the light at my feet as I lift my leg and lightly stomp on the wood covering the elevated platform. The other's voices drown out, and Pope and I focus on the ground below us. 

    My stomps echo below, signalling it's empty underneath the floor. I look up at Pope, his brows furrowed in concentration as he lifts a small rock and drops it between the cracks. We both stay as still as possible, waiting for the rock to answer our questions.

    In between the voices of the others, a splash echoes from beneath. I snap my eyes to Pope, my eyes bulging much like his. 

    He immediately springs into action, my back turning as I grab some of the debris and move it away from the area. 

    "Hey, help me move this!" Pope whisper/yells, only pausing to look John B in the eyes while I continue working on clearing the area.

    "Okay, just... quiet," John B reminds as Pope leans back down. JJ joins my side, helping me move the heavier items out of the way as we all work to shove everything back. 

    "Guys, guys!" Kie whispers in a reminder.

    "I know, yeah, shh," I ramble, tucking my hair behind my ears as JJ moves the last bit of random clutter from the area. 

    I move to one end of the slightly elevated platform, John B on the other side as we grab one end of the plank each, lifting it and moving it off together. Everyone joins, soon clearing off enough of the planks to see what lies underneath. 

    Pausing, my heart beats almost out of my chest as I peer over the edge and down into the well below. A smile overcomes my face, the flashlights providing some light to the waters below. 

    "Well, well, well," Pope speaks.

    "That was a good Dad joke," John B replies plainly. He crouches, getting a better look at the well with a grin.

    "They built this part of the house right over it," Kie comments in shock.

    "This is where she hid the bodies," JJ whispers. 

    "Dude, c'mon," I groan, Pope chiming in to tell him to stop.

   "No, I'm dead serious," JJ doubles down. "It was never an outhouse,"

    "She probably doesn't know it's here," I offer, looking up at my brother who just stares at the well with a sense of awe. I smile lightly, knowing how much finding this gold will mean to both of us. 

   It's what Dad wanted, his final wish. For both of us to find his treasure together. 

    "So," Pope redirects the conversation, smiling up at my brother and I, "We found water,"

    "We're gonna need a really big rope," John B breathes, the smile unable to fall from his features. 

    I grab JJ's shoulders from beside me, shaking him quietly in an effort to release some of my pent-up excitement. We might have just found the Merchant gold