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"I-I JUST DON'T GET it!"
Lynn heavily exhaled while raising her arm to wipe her forehead, an excessive amount of sweat had drew on her skin while endlessly shoveling dirt for the past hour. Sarah and Kie weren't much help, planted in the old VW van with whatever air conditioning that still worked. John B had given up a few minutes ago, collapsing dramatically on the ground as he claimed there was no more strength left in his body.
That left JJ and Lynn, who had finally in that second finished reburying the casket that belonged to Cecilia Tanny, after Pope had gathered some beautiful white flowers and placed them with her — like a makeshift grave stone to honor her.
Lynn brushed away some of her hair that had inevitably stuck to the sides of her face, tossing the shovel off to the side while she climbed down from the hill of dirt, practically caving to the ground as she leaned against the wooden tree trunk of angel oak. JJ's eyes never left her, even though she felt disgusting in her pile of sweat and sore bones, JJ thought she had never looked more beautiful.
"I mean, you guys saw the map," Pope announced aloud, aimlessly tossing his arms into the air as clear annoyance could be recognized in his tone of voice. "He hides his gold so no one finds it for a hundred and seventy years. 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?"
Lynn, along with every other Pogues for that matter, jerked their heads in the direction of JJ's startling voice. His eyes had landed on a spot much higher in the tree branches, where his body was leaning against the window of the van. Jumping up from her previous seat on the ground, Lynn was next to JJ's side within a second.
Her shoulder brushed up against his as she shifted in her position, and JJ had to yank himself from the distracted gaze of Lynn's touch as she climbed up the VW van to where she would be standing on top of it. JJ was right behind her.
"Doesn't that look like..." JJ trailed, his fingers brushing over an opening into the wide trunk of the tree, only shadows could be seen even with the amount of daylight shining in.
"The painting in the islandroom," Lynn confirmed, finishing off the boys sentence as she glanced down towards her best friends for their own reactions — most of them couldn't even believe what they were looking at. "Try it."
JJ simply shrugged, a little worried bob of his adams apple as he stared down the dark hole, "It's worth a shot, right?"
The group of teenagers all chimed in with agreement, and then JJ hesitantly switched back towards Lynn — motioning towards the ominous looking hole in the tree trunk. Lynn flung her arms up in the air defensively, shaking her head.
"Yeah, no, I'm gonna do it," JJ harshly swallowed whatever nervousness had crept into his mouth, leaving a bad taste. He tugged on his jacket sleeve, allowing him some room as he awkwardly stretched his ring-riddled fingers into the hole. "It's just...wait, there's something in here."
Lynn peered over JJ's shoulder intently, she was practically almost resting her chin neatly on his skin like they used to constantly do with each other. JJ felt the air in the back of his throat hitch when he could quite literally feel the goosebumps that Lynn was leaving behind with every pounce of her breath.
Suddenly, JJ let out a wild scream as he was yanked towards the wooden hole, like his arm was being eaten up whole — Lynn wrapped her hands around both of his forearms protectively in an attempt at pulling him out. The crew all let out their own concerned gasps and cries of surprise, trying to already jump on the twinkie to assist.
However, JJ stopped in his movements as a loud laugh escaped his system, placing a free hand on his knee as he hobbled over with such a swift amount of laughter. Lynn scoffed as she shoved the boys shoulder, hoping that no one would be able to catch the flash of red from her growing blush.
"Dick," Lynn grumbled while crossing her arms over her chest, feeling it thump rapidly like she were to have a heart attack.
Pope slammed his palm back on the top of the twinkie, exhaling a noisy complaint, "Oh, you asshole."
"Aw, man, I got all of you on that one," echoed out JJ, practically slapping his knee with amusement as each and every one of his best friend glared daggers in his direction.
"Oh, yeah, real original," Pope commented, rolling his eyes dramatically while pointing a simple index finger in Lynn's direction. "That's Lynn's joke, you're a copier, JJ."
"And what if Lynn had originally stolen it from me, hm?" JJ snakily replied, scrunching his nose up in Lynn's direction, who only deadpanned at the boy. As she peeled back her lips to no doubt defend the originality of humor, JJ swung a finger towards her lips. "Wait, but seriously, there's something in here."
The blonde boy slowly peeled something from inside the carved wooden hole, and Lynn furrowed her eyebrows while trying to understand what the object was. She tried reaching for it, but seemingly at the same time, JJ extended the object — it was a spyglass, like what pirates used to use to see boats and such in the distance.
"Let me see it," demanded Pope, reaching his hands up towards JJ, who dropped the object into Pope's fingertips as he climbed down from the roof of the twinkie. He held out a hand for Lynn, who narrowly declined it while instead gripping the sides and jumping off with ease. "HMS Royal Merchant."
"Give it to the captain, it's a spyglass," JJ announced, although every one of them had already determined that on their own. He pressed the old and rusty object to his left eye, scanning the area around them aimlessly.
"Wait," Lynn interrupted, gripping ahold of the very front of it — which made JJ scrunch his nose up with a slight annoyance, but faded when he realized it was Evelynn. "There's something scribbled on it, look!"
JJ peered over Pope's shoulder as he took the spyglass object back into his own grip, eyes weary on the faded with time lettering, "Oh, what does it say?"
"You've come this far, do not falter — the cross is on the Freedman's altar.'" Pope read aloud slow and carefully for the rest of the Pogues, Lynn excitedly slapped the back of John B's shoulder as the two shared a delighted expression. "The cross is at the church!"
"Then what are we doing here! Let's skedattle, kiddos!" Lynn howled much more as whoop, skidding over towards the front drivers seat of the van — however, John B had managed to clasp onto the door quicker than her. "Aw, c'mon, when are y'all gonna let me drive again?"
"When we know you won't almost kill us again!"
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a/n: thinking this book is gonna be closer to seventy chapters instead of sixty like the previous one, y'all down?
