The Old Mine

2: Opening Gambler Mine

                   Cal pulled into the gravel clearing and put the vehicle in park. She felt mysterious nervous-excitement bubbling within her that threatened to make her hyperventilate "Focus your breathing," she repeated the meditations one by one that her father taught her. Cal circled through the list twice before she found one that began to work.

                   She closed her eyes and took a few more deep breaths to collect her senses "This is so exciting..." Her thoughts were bouncing rapidly from one possibility to another when her phone buzzed. She scooped it up and looked at the text "I'm sorry but something came up," she read it and rolled her eyes "Feel free to explore on your own." She reversed the advanced payment for their work with a smirk then tossed the phone into the passenger seat beside her "Is it me, my family or the mine you find unimportant..." she huffed and let a wave of calm wash over her as their text echoed in her mine "Okay fine," she unbuckled her seat belt and sighed "I will explore on my own." The promise she made her mom about not exploring it alone was not even in her mind anymore, it had been replaced by the feeling of anger and betrayal over the abrupt cancelation of the workers she had hired. "Onward," Cal climbed out of the vehicle and collected the tools "Can't forget the crowbar, going to need that now." She reminded herself silently to thank her dad for insisting she make sure she's prepared. "Can't forget these..." she grabbed her GPS, radio and her phone "who knows if I'll need them" She shoved them into the pocket of her bag and set off, uphill... towards the mine.

                    The hillside was lush and green; the climb was gentle... more like a hike then an actual climb. The underbrush had been kept clear by the local tribe that did it just to make sure the local fires that were common didn't claim the trees on this land that was still sacred, even though it had been taken from them long ago. On the way up she let her mind wander, wondering about what the day would bring. She remembered the spelunking trips her dad took her on and the trips to the museums and shopping she would go on with her mom. "I guess I can thank them for my obsession about the past." Cal laughed, she was not sure why she liked to talk to herself but whenever she was alone, she spoke as if someone was listening... she always had.

                      Cal climbed up the last hill and stopped to admire the view "This old town," she sighed "It claims to have no secrets left." She smiled "But they forgot about this old thing." She turned to face the mine's entrance; the boards hadn't stopped the teen crowd from trashing the place. "Such disrespect towards the environment and the past," There was a small opening that revealed itself through the forgotten clutter of beer cans, candy wrappers and scattered trash "There is a secret in there, I can feel it."

                      Somewhere below, unseen to Cal there was movement. . . Recke stopped at the sound of her voice, "Why did I have to draw the short straw." He ducked behind a tree to watch from a safe distance.

                     "Report," Recke's pocket buzzed and spoke "I repeat... Recke, please give report."

                     He yanked the comm out of his pocket and growled into it "Damnit Tahk... You have rotten timing," Recke inched downhill to prevent Cal from hearing "Adjust your sensors."

                    "Will do..." he paused and chuckled, this was supposed to be an easy assignment, and it seemed as if Recke couldn't accomplish it quickly, this would give them plenty of ammunition to tease him on later. "Can I get a report now?"

                     "What am I supposed to report, the mine hasn't been opened yet." Recke moved further downhill "So Cal hasn't found the lost artifact from the future yet... it hasn't been trampled or sold or whatever happens to it to disrupt the entire timeline."