The Winter Gold

 by Lexi W.

It was a beautiful winter solstice with a temperature of 58°. The sun shone brightly down on the town of Fresno, California. Andi and Riley were super excited because they had hopes of going into the mountains and looking for gold. “Wow!” Andi exclaimed. “It is going to be a warm winter!”

“Yes,” agreed Riley. “It is very warm out. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some flooding down in the valleys!”

 “All the better for gold.” Andi said. “If there’s flooding, the creeks will bring gold down and make it easier to get! Maybe we won’t have to go into the mountains.”

 “Maybe.” Riley said, thinking, as the two rode home from school on their horses.  They were moving at an ambling walk to avoid getting home sooner. Once they arrived home, Andi’s mom would make them do their chores so they could no longer talk about their weekend plans. As they walked along, they saw something on the side of the road.

 “What’s that?” Andi asked.

 “It looks like a human!” Riley exclaimed. They cantered their horses over and jumped off. They ran to the side of the road, and saw a bedraggled-looking kid. She was slumped limply on the ground, and looked as if she was dead.

“Are you OK?” Andi asked. The girl jumped up with a startled squeak.

“Ahh!” she yelled. “If you want anything, I don’t have it! I promise!”

 “Whoah, Whoah, Whoah,” Riley said. “We’re not going to hurt you.” They examined the girl. She was scruffy and had a haggard, ripped dress on. She looked to be about 12 years old.

“Are you hurt?” Andi asked.

 “I-I’m fine.” the girl shivered.

 “What’s your name?” Riley asked.

“I’m Abigail.” she said slowly. “Who are you?”

“I’m Andi,” said Andi kindly. “And this is Riley. Come home with us and we can get you all spruced up. My mom will surely give you a bath and a place to stay for the night.”

“OK,” Abigail said. Andi helped Abigail up onto Taffy, her horse, and then jumped up in front of her. Dakota, Riley’s horse, shook his head as if he was ready to be off. They cantered home quickly, hoping to get Abigail to Andi’s home quickly.

After a bit, they slowed down and Riley started questioning Abigail. “Who’s your mom and why were you on the side of the road, looking like you were trampled?” Riley demanded.

“I-I…” Abigail stammered.

“Now Riley,” Andi interrupted. “Let’s be nice and get her home soon.” She gave Riley a warning look. He knew what that meant. They soon arrived at home. “Here,” Andi said, helping Abigail off her horse. “Let’s go see my mom, Elizabeth.” They ran into the house, where Elizabeth, Andi’s mom, was sitting in a chair, sewing.

 “Oh my!” Elizabeth gasped when she saw them and her hand flew to her heart. “Andi, what happened?” She questioned. “Who is she?”

 “This is Abigail, Mom.” Andi said, “She will have to stay here for the night. We found her on the edge of the road.”

Abigail was exhausted, so after a quick supper, she went to Andi's bedroom, and got ready for the night. After completing her chores, Andi joined her. “So Abigail,” Andi started. “We are going on a gold hunt, either up in the mountains or down on the far plains. Want to come? Please say yes or my mom will make us stay here and keep you company, and we’ve been waiting for this all month.”

“Of course I’ll come!” Abigail exclaimed. “I have always wanted to go looking for gold! That seems so cool!” She gushed out. Andi was a little taken aback.

“Wow, thanks Abigail. This is gonna be really fun!” Andi started to grin. “Come on! We got to get our beauty sleep if we want to be ready in the morning!”

The next morning, at 7AM sharp, Andi jumped out of bed and hollered at Abigail to wake up fast. Once she checked that no one was under the banister railing, and hesitating for a minute, Andi slid down the banner railing and at the end she let out a whoop.

 “Gosh,” Abigail groaned. “Do you ever let a girl get some sleep? I thought you were talking about beauty sleep.” But Andi was far gone so Abigail got up and got dressed. Andi ran outside and into the bunk houses.

“Riley!” she hollered. “Come on! Today’s the day we get to go gold hunting!” Riley groaned and rolled over. Andi decided to climb up on his bunk and jump on him. “Yoo Hoo!” she yelled. “Wake up!!!” So Riley groaned again and got up slowly.

“Ok, Ok,” he said. “I’m up.” They ran inside the house and ate breakfast. Soon, they were on the horses and ready to go. Andi was on Taffy, her beloved golden mare. Riley rode Dakota, who was his fast Paint gelding. Abigail climbed up on the extra horse they got for her, named Patch. He was a dependable, sturdy, Paint gelding. They soon were on their way.

“Where are we going?” Andi asked. “Valleys or mountains?”

Riley answered, “I think we should go to the mountains. Then we won’t have to worry about floods.”

Andi replied, “Not arguing, but, in case something happens, I think we should be in the valleys. They are closer.”

Riley huffed, “No, If we don’t want something to happen, we should go to the mountains!”

Andi sighed. What use was it arguing? They would only get there slower. “What do you think, Abigail?” she asked.

“Me?” Abigail gulped. “I don’t know, I guess mountains.” Riley gave Andi a smug smile.

“Told you.” He laughed.

“Hey, not nice.” Andi huffed. Soon they were on their way again, heading towards the mountains. The sun shone brighter and hotter, until they took off their coats. “Wow, It’s really getting hot out.” Andi squinted against the bright sun.

“Yeah,” Riley agreed. “Maybe it’s a weather breeder.”

“Oh No!” Andi exclaimed in horror. “It can’t be! That would ruin our trip!” Their argument was all forgotten.

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Abigail calmed them. “It’s only a sunny day.” After riding for a while, the trio were getting higher into the mountains.

“It is getting dark.” Andi said. “We should make a shelter for the night.” The riders dismounted and set up their tent.

“Perfect.” Riley said, content. They all soon fell asleep. That night, the wind picked up. It howled around them and tugged the tent this way and that way. But no one woke up.

Next morning, they came out of the tent, and looked around. There were branches strewn across the woods. The sky was overcast and cloudy, promising snow.  The three children shivered in the below-freezing temperatures.

“Maybe we should turn back.” Abigail said nervously.

“Nonsense!” Riley exclaimed. “We will be fine.” They mounted their horses and trudged onward, burdened by mud, branches, and leaves. Soon, they came to a stream. “Here we are.” Riley said. “This is our campsite,” He pointed at the clearing. “And this is our gold stream.”

“Wow.” Abigail breathed. “Cool.” They soon got to work getting gold out of the stream. By the end of the day, they got 2 nuggets and some flakes.

“Not bad, not bad.” Andi smiled. “This is good for a day’s work.” They set up the tent and were sleeping within 10 minutes. That night, there was a storm worse than ever. It was a blizzard, bringing howling wind and blowing snow. In the middle of the night, they woke to see their tent being ripped apart by the wind. Cold and blustery, it howled, trying to grab at them. Deep snow and drifts surrounded them.  They were terrified.

“W-What happened?” Abigail trembled.

“That WAS a weather breeder.” Riley exclaimed in awe.

 “I’m glad the horses didn’t run away.” Andi pointed at where the horses were nosing in the snow, looking for grass. The branch they had been tied to had broken off in the night.

“Yes, that is good.” Riley agreed. “Without them, it would have taken days to get home!” The snow was blinding. They fumbled for their coats, shivering.

 “We need to find some cover.” Andi's teeth chattered. “I’m so cold I will be a Andi popsicle soon! And you would not want to be friends with a Andi popsicle.” She added ominously, making the others laugh. They walked over to the creek.

“I thought I saw something that could be a shelter on the other side.” explained Riley. “We should cross.”

“Are you sure that that would be a good idea?” worried Abigail.

“It’ll be fine.” assured Riley.

“Well then let’s go!” shouted Andi in a happy voice. “Shelter, here we come!” So they started going down into the creek bank. They started walking across slowly, and the ice creaked and groaned.

“Is it going to hold?” fretted Abigail.

“Yeah,” asked Andi. “Is it Riley?” They both turned to him.

“Um, I honestly don’t know.” admitted Riley. Suddenly, the ice broke out from under Andi.

“Ahhhhhhh!” she screamed, but her shriek was cut off as her head disappeared under the water.

“Andi!” yelled Riley and Abigail. They both dropped down to their bellies and scooted to the breaking point. “Where is she?!” Riley panicked. “No, no, no!!!” They could just barely see her head.

Andi was suffocating under the water. She screamed in her head, “Help me!” “Roasted Rattlesnakes Riley.” She thought. “I should never have listened to him! Now it has cost me my life.” It was surprising to her how she could think and have a sense of peace when she thought she was about to die.

“We got to pull her up!” yelled Riley. “Help me Abigail!” Riley and Abigail grabbed Andi’s hand, the only thing they could see. They pulled as hard as they could.

“We’re doing it!” shouted Abigail. “Keep pulling!”

“Wait!” thought Andi. “They’re pulling me up! I’m gonna live! I’m getting saved! I’m gonna yell at Riley so much, his head will spin.” She thought grimly.

They gave one last tug, and Andi came sliding out of the water. “Phew!” She coughed up a bunch of water. She gave one last heave, and no more water came out. She whispered through gritted teeth, “Riley, next time I am NOT going to listen to you.” Riley’s face was so pale, he could pass for a ghost.

“Oh Andi. I’m so sorry. I never should have suggested going across the river.” He sounded so sincere, so hurt, that all Andi’s anger at him melted.

“It’s okay, Riley. As Mom always says, all's well that ends well. Let’s find some shelter.” But all wasn’t well yet. Andi was shivering with cold, and could get hypothermia soon. They climbed up the far bank, and ran toward the rickety cabin Riley had seen. They burst inside, hoping there was warmth and food, but got a much worse surprise.

“Who are you?! Children! What are you doing here?!” The children were suddenly face to face with a terrifying-looking man with a scruffy beard and yellow, crooked teeth.

All of a sudden Abigail gasped and the color drained from her face. Riley and Andi noticed her white color and trembling body. “What’s wrong, Abigail?” Andi asked in concern.

Abigail ignored her completely, saying, “Y-you are the r-robber w-who killed m-my family!”

They gasped, realizing how much danger they were in. “Run!” screamed Riley, and they fled from the cabin as fast as they could. As they were running to the creek where they left their horses, they heard a voice float out of the hut, “If you run one step further, I’ll shoot!” They stopped so fast that Andi fell over.

“Shoot?!” Abigail squeaked.

“Yes. Now y'all come back in this hut. If I let you go now, you’d tell the sheriff about this place and I’d get caught.” They cowered in fear and slowly walked back to the cabin and stepped inside.

 “Sit down, and since you won’t ever get away from this place, I’ll tell you my name. I’m Jake Holister.” The trio gasped in turn. “Yes, I’m from the Hollister clan.” He snorted. “A bunch o’ tadpoles they are. They have no guts. Too afraid to rob banks or kill. Worst they did to you is steal a little cattle for food.” The three kids were silent as their thoughts raced.

“How long will you keep us here?” Andi’s voice wavered.

“Forever. Or at least until I kill you.” As soon as those words were spoken, Abigail fainted, Riley sat down hard, and Andi fell down, hitting her head on the leg of a chair. Riley jumped back up.

“Andi! Wake up! Please be ok!” Andi groaned, and as Riley picked her up, he felt that she was ice cold. “Jake, we need to warm her up NOW.” he commanded.

“How did she get that cold?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I - I told her it was okay to cross the stream. She fell in.”

“Ha! Of course.” he laughed. “Well, here’s a warm bearskin.” Riley placed the bearskin on her and breathed a sigh of relief. He thought, “It’s okay Andi and Abigail. I already figured out a way to get out of here.”  Jake sat down at the table with a bottle of whiskey and took a long chug. After drinking the whole bottle, he soon fell asleep into a drunken slumber.

“Wake up Andi, Abigail. Time to go.” Riley shook Andi.

“Wha - What?” Andi groaned in surprise.

“We need to go. We can escape now because the door doesn’t creak, and it’s nor locked. He’s so drunk, if we hollered in his ear, he probably would not wake.”

“Ok.” agreed Andi. “I’m ready.” They woke up Abigail and opened the door slowly. Not a sound emitted from any of them, nor Jake, except for drunk snores. They snuck out the front door and started running toward the creek. Once they reached the creek, they ran downstream to find a narrower spot to cross. Soon, they found a thinner spot in the creek with a big rock in the middle. The trio jumped across one by one and then ran back upstream for 10 minutes, calling for their horses. Thankfully, their horses were only a little bit away, and they soon found them.

“Taffy! I’ve missed you!” Andi cried.

“Be quiet!” Riley hissed. “He will wake up if we are not careful.” Andi quieted right away. Andi helped Abigail onto Patch, then leapt onto Taffy as Riley mounted Dakota.

“Let’s go.” whispered Riley. They walked their horses out slowly, and once they were in the nearby fields, they started galloping.

“He will be so mad when he knows we’re gone!” Andi whooped. They ran back home as fast as they could. As they got to Andi’s house, Andi screamed, “MOM!” She jumped off her horse and ran inside, right into her mother’s arms.

“Oh Andi!” her mother gushed tears. “I’m so glad you are home. Chad, Mitch, Justin, and a bunch of cowhands are out looking for you!”

“Mom.” Andi whispered. “I’m so glad to be home! You can call all them back. But we need to go to the sheriff's house! Jake Hollister, you know the guy who robbed the bank? Well he captured us and we got away! Also, we know where he is living!”

“Thank God that you got away and are safe” said Elizabeth. “We will go into town right now.” They rode into town and filed a report with the sheriff.

“We’ve been trying to catch Jake for a long time! He has done many bad things that we have not been able to prove. Good Job!” the sheriff praised Andi.

     “Thank you.” Andi said. “My pleasure.” The four rode home, exhausted from the ordeal. Abigail’s family had been killed by Jake during a raid, so Andi’s mom invited  Abigail to live with them. Andi, Abigail, and Riley all became best friends and had a lot of fun times together.  They all lived happy and safe, and no more horrible disasters happened for a long time. Andi, Riley, and Abigail’s gold helped to buy a birthday present.