Gold Mine

Bradley and Jennifer were taking a road trip over the summer before they went to college in the fall. They were currently making their way through the south. They had passed into New Mexico, via highway 40, a few hours before and were looking for a place to stop. They were hungry, and tired, and stopped at a small roadside diner in the middle of nowhere.

They read the "Please Seat Yourself" sign and found a corner booth in the back. They both collapsed into the cushions. When the waitress, dressed in an ugly yellow and red uniform, arrived the young couple had their heads on the cool table. The waitress smiled at the young love. It reminded her of her loving husband, Reginald.

"How are you two doing? Can I start you off with anything to drink?" The waitress asked as she placed the menus in front of her customers.

"A couple of sweet teas, please. And a side of lemons," Bradley stated as he sat up and started to look over his menu.

Jennifer kept her head on the table, staring lovingly at Bradley. He noticed and returned the loving look before hitting her lightly on the head with his menu.

"I thought you were, and I quote, "starving"." Bradley kind of laughed.

"Yeah, I am starving for something." Jennifer giggle as she sat up and reached over to tickle her boyfriend.

"Stop … it … and … order." Bradley replied through his laughter.

All the waitress could do was smile. And she stood there and smiled while the young couple started a tickle war. It went back and forth, laughter filling the room, for a few minutes before Jennifer slid away from Bradley.

"Okay, let's order some food." The young lady said as she picked up the menu.

They barely talked as they scarfed down their burger and fries. After dessert, they shared a slice of apple pie and a scoop of ice cream, they each pulled out their phones. They were both looking at possible travel points from where they were. Each would point to a possible destination and they would discuss the pros and cons. They bickered over every single idea. Finally, they gave up and asked the waitress if there was a motel nearby.

The trip to the motel was quick. It was only a few streets down from the diner. It, like the diner, was old and had seen better days. A bell went off as the faded blue painted door swung open. The heat from the evening sun entered before the young couple and wrapped around the old woman that stood behind the counter. Her warm smile beckoned them inside the cool lobby.

"What a lovely young couple," the older woman said as they made it to the counter, "How are you two doing this beautiful evening?"

"We are doing okay. Can't decide where to go though." Bradley replied as he gave Jennifer the stink eye.

"Well, we have plenty of pamphlets on the local tourist attractions. Even have some for Roswell, down the highway a few miles," the older woman smiled gently as she pointed at a dust covered stand in the corner, "They love 'em some aliens in that town."

Jennifer walked over and started going through the pamphlets. Most of the dust caked papers were nothing more than tourist traps that she had little interest in. One paper, tucked in the back, grabbed her attention. She pulled it out and wiped the dust off.

"Come see America's first gold mine! Lost to time and haunted by the miners that lost their lives!"

Jennifer started reading the paper as she walked back towards the counter. Besides the amount of dust covering the paper, Jennifer could tell the pamphlet was written decades ago. It screamed 70's from the psychedelic color scheme and dated words like, "groovy, the man, radical and out of sight". Jennifer couldn't help giggling at the odd word choices.

"Hey, Brad, what about this place?" She asked as she got to the counter and placed the paper in front of him.

"Babe, what is with you and haunted places. They are never actually haunted." Bradley replied after looking at the paper laying in front of him.

"Oh, that place actually closed down. It was … maybe 15 years ago. Or was it 16?" The older woman commented when she saw the paper.

This actually piqued Bradley's curiosity and he pocketed the pamphlet. The three of them had a pleasant conversation about the couple's plans to attend college together. Jennifer was going to study history and English literature. Bradley had a football scholarship and was going to take physical education classes. Almost an hour passed before the older woman insisted they find their room. "I am sure the two of you are tired." the woman said with a grin and knowing look.

The motel room was basic. And it was like the door was a time machine. There was a large box television, magic fingers connected to the bed and art deco wallpaper from the 70's. When the air conditioner sprang to life it filled the room with a musty odor. None of this was really seen by the couple as they fell into each other's arms on the bed.

The morning came quickly and the young couple had to drag themselves out of bed. They showered, together, and then started planning their day.

"How about breakfast at that diner? And then we go to that haunted mine?" Bradley proposed.

"The lady said that was closed." Jennifer replied through a yawn.

"That just means we will have the place to ourselves." Bradley replied.

Jennifer couldn't argue with that and agreed. Their trip back to the diner was quick. It was packed with locals. The atmosphere was pleasant and the young couple chatted with an older couple seated next to them. They both had the "American Platter" that consisted of pancakes, cheese omelet, bacon, sausage and a hash containing potatoes, onions and peppers. They took their time with this meal and enjoyed the whole experience.

The drive out to the abandoned gold mine was uneventful. The driveway up to the building was chained, but Bradley made quick work of the rusted chain. He got back in the car and drove up the dirt driveway. The building, labeled office, was falling apart. Other than the office there were no more buildings.

Bradley parked the car in front of the dilapidated building and began looking around. The couple got out and started walking towards the mine shift that stuck up out of the ground a few hundred feet behind the office. It, too, had seen better days. They were halfway to the shaft when light reflected off of something to their left, and caught Jennifer's attention.

She stopped Bradley with a light touch on the shoulder and asked, "What is over there?"

"Who cares, babe. We might find some gold." Bradley replied as he started walking again.

"I am gonna go see what it is," Jennifer said as she turned in her tracks, "Maybe it is something cool. Or, maybe, it is gold, left behind."

The couple split up. Bradley, however, ended up being too scared to go in the mine shaft alone and looked around for his girlfriend. As he made his way towards her she yelled, "Brad, there is a girl in this pond. Hurry up, we need to save her."

Bradley ran as fast as could. All of his football training had him ready for this moment. He made it to Jennifer, over a hundred feet, in record time, and without a single sign of fatigue in the scorching New Mexico sun. His eyes followed Jennifer's outstretched arm, but saw nothing.

"Babe, what are you talking about? There is nothing out there. Wait," Bradley said as he tried to step into the pond, "Is this thing frozen?"

"It can't be. Stop being stupid." Jennifer replied as she also tried stepping into the pond.

Their feet made contact with a solid surface. They both looked at each other as smiles spread across their faces. Both forgetting about the supposed girl in the pond. They started trying to skate with their shoes. This was, of course, a bad idea.

Jennifer's foot hit a spot that wasn't slippery and fell. She rolled a few times, landing on her back with a fit of laughter.

"You okay, Jen?" Bradley asked as he tried running to her side.

"Yeah Brad, I am f…," Jennifer stopped as she flipped over and was attempting to get up, "Brad, the girl, she is right here."

Bradley could see the horror on her face and knew she was not joking. He doubled his efforts to get to her. He had the momentum, jumped in the air and slid the rest of the way to Jennifer on his chest. He looked at the ice and soon the image of a young girl, maybe 9 or 10, floating under the ice became clear.

Both of them started pounding on the ice, screaming "We will save you". Their efforts were in vain. The ice had to be several inches thick if it was supporting their combined weight. This never crossed their minds as they continued, minute after minute, to save the little girl. The young girls facial features went from a look of horror, since she was assumed to be drowning, to one of pure malice. Her almost serene features were what made her face even more horrifying. She was now smiling up at the couple.

Bradley and Jennifer managed to lock eyes just before the ice under them vanished. They plunged into the freezing water. Both were decent swimmers, but when they reached what should have been the threshold of the water, they encountered several inches of ice. They locked eyes for the last time. Water started to fill their lungs as they gasped for air. As everything started to go dark both of them heard a young girl giggling.