The Old Mine

Prologue

              Rolling out of bed Cal could hardly believe it, after nearly seven months of arguing she finally had ownership of the old mine, finally she would see her dream come true. She sighed as a smile appeared on her face "and today we tell the family!"

              She turned to look at her brother's cat that just yawned and blinked at her. "Oh don't give me that look; you know what I'm talking about" Cal mussed the cats fur then reached for her brush and combed the knots out of her own short Brown hair that hovered about an inch above her shoulders, "the mine is so old it is bound to have some really cool things hidden in it."

            She set the brush down and examined herself in the mirror. Her petite 5'2" frame made her size D bust overly noticed. Her pale skin, though spotless and silky had always gotten her teased, but Cal didn't care. The feature that she loved and loathed at the same time, her bright turquoise blue eyes a color not found anywhere else in her family. They beamed brightly today with excitement at the upcoming events.

             She turned and pounced on the bed cuddling up to the cat "You know Murk it has been almost a year since I went spelunking out back in the ..."

           "Are you boring my cat again with your cave talk?"

           "Bret," Cal jumped and glared at him "Knock first, then enter..." She sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed "besides he came in here so all bets are off."

             Cal folded her arms as 18-year-old Bret's tall 6'2" tanned physique sauntered in and scooped up the tan, fluffy cat. Murk wined in objection but gave up struggling quickly and went limp with pleasure as Bret scratched behind his ear.

            Cal thought about how sometimes it was so obvious that she wasn't born into this family. All around her is a family full of tanned ladders and she was the porcelain doll.

           Bret was wearing his green surfer shorts and a tie-dyed t-shirt he got on the last family vacation to the beach. His short brown hair with frosted tips had already been sculpted for the day, which said she was the last to wake up. Cal sighed hoping there was still food left in the kitchen for her.

           "Come on Murk we got dishes to do..." he made his way for the door as Murk started purring, "I'll let you lick them first."

          "I hope you saved me some!" Cal called out then it hit her "Food... not dishes to lick!" Cal closed her door and turned to the bathroom; taking a quick shower, she put on her jeans and white shirt then made her way to the kitchen where her mother greeted her. She must have been in the garden because her khakis and tank top were dirty and her long blonde hair was pulled up into a bun, something she only did when she wanted it out of the way and that only occurred when she was in her element...in her garden.

          "Morning hon..." Her Mom slid a dish she had been guarding over to her as she sat down at the breakfast bar. "So what are your plans for the day?" She smiled and leaned over the counter to kiss Cal's forehead; a task that with her 6'1 frame was easy.

          "Um...that's what I wanted to talk to you and Dad about when he gets back." Cal smiled nervously; they had been excited that she wanted to use her savings to purchase some property but an old mine was most likely not what they had in mind.

          "Your Dad will be back in a few minutes so eat up." She smiled nervously "Should I worry?"

          "What..." Cal laughed "no, it's good news."

          Just as predicted after a few minutes and just as Cal was shoveling the last bite of her breakfast into her mouth her father walked in. "Hello, family..." He smiled, his brown eyes twinkling as his laugh bellowed through the room. "How is everyone this morning?" His long dark hair braided this morning with a leather strap at the end to hold it together. He took off his suit coat and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his tan skin, tribal art and the leather braid he always wore on his wrist.

          "Cal has an announcement" Bret danced tauntingly into the room.

          "Oh really, well is this good news, expensive news, or get your shotgun news?" Her Dad smiled at her with one eyebrow raised.

           Cal took a deep breath and blurted it out "I bought an old mine..." She smiled nervously. "The one just off the old Highway outside of town..."

          "Gambler's Mine?" Bret laughed, "that piece of crap has been abandoned for nearly a hundred years it's empty sis."

          "I didn't buy it to get rich, I bought it to explore" she sighed "when those miners left they just dumped everything, there could be some cool things waiting to be found for the local museums?" She stiffened up a bit "Besides all that property around the old Mine is wild, it should stay that way."

         Her Father laughed "that sounds about right for you little one." He mussed her hair playfully. "That's my girl."

         "You better not be planning on going into that old mine by yourself young lady!" Her mom was so cute when she worried.

         "Mom, I have a team waiting for me at the mine as we speak..." she jumped up from the chair and bounced happily "Today is the day we break the boards and peer into that old mess of tunnels for the first time."

*Corrected some confusing spots due to grammar and poor paragraph structure*