Not the Goonies Story but There is Still Treasure

June 24th, 1950. It was a beautiful day in the town of Swampscott MA. The warm summer wind blew across the small fishing town bringing comfort and peace to its North Shore residents. Summer was as it had always been since the town was established in 1852. Swampscott, a suburban town with a population a bit over 11,000 and located about twenty minutes North of Boston. It had been a few years since World War II ended and life was slowly getting back to normal.

The young boys rode their bikes across Humphrey Street while discussing the upcoming 4th of July celebration and how amazing the Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams was. Johnny's family was the first to own a television and it was a big deal. He was quite happy and could hardly stop bragging about it. “Life is good boys. We live in the best town in the world and I have more than just the radio to listen to the Red Sox game. I can watch them on the Tele Box! Yes boys, life is good!”

“It’s pronounced TV or television. You dumbass!” shouted Billy, annoyed.

Billy was the leader of the group. His family was poor and could not afford the luxury of owning a TV. Billy tried not to show his frustration, but it wasn’t easy. He really wasn’t mad at Johnny. He just had a lot on his mind.

Roland and Scotty were identical twins. They were happy to be out of the house and hanging out with the Humphrey Street Crew, as they called themselves. The twins never wanted to go home because their father was just not the same man after WW2. Their father was suffering with what is now classified as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, was a heavy drinker, and even beat them and their mother from time to time. It wasn’t the healthiest environment. Mr. Craig was able to retain his pre -World War 2 job as a welder and make decent money, but he would blow through that money almost as quickly as he got it. He would either gamble it away at the Wanderland Greyhound racetrack or simply squander it away on booze for himself and his user buddies. On the nights he lost at the dog track, he would go home screaming and challenging the boys to fist fights. He liked to call this “making them real men.” Then he would black out into deep sleep on the couch in his clothes.

Mrs. Craig was a sweet lady who always seemed to be under constant stress. She prayed multiple times a day and felt like the devil had taken her husband. He hardly resembled the man she once fell in love with. One could often find her at the local church praying for her old husband to return. She was old school and marriage was everything to her. Even when her husband had war flashbacks or lost too much at the racetracks and punched her, she would never leave him. She worked as a nurse at Salem Hospital along with Billy’s mother. She was a well-educated and polite woman who desperately tried to keep her family together.

Billy could relate to the twins. Fortunately, they didn’t relate to everything. His father was not a drinker, but he came back different after the war as well. Billy Sr. was severely injured by the mustard gas causing breathing difficulties. Simple tasks that once came easy had become exigent chores. Billy loved his father and still considered him his hero, but it was difficult to look at the man. His former self had left a mere shell behind.

Billy would reminisce about the old days, when he was a young boy, and his father would teach him survivor skills. He grew up idolizing him. No matter the changes he loved his father. After all, he was a war hero. Billy Sr. was kind, loving, and understanding but the war left him physically battered and unable to provide for his family like he had used to.

The Jacksons didn’t live in a mansion, a broken home, or in disarray. Even with everything going on in their personal life, the Jacksons were a close-knit family. They valued love, God, and human kindness.

Billy’s mom was the breadwinner of the family and her modest nurse salary of one-thousand six-hundred and eighty dollars a year was the only thing saving the family. Billy Sr. received a mere twenty dollars a month from the military disabilities act and that was just enough to buy groceries. He took odd jobs on the side. Unable to perform that well, he would always get himself fired.

As the dog days of summer were upon the young kids of Swampscott, truly the best days of their lives, an unsettling feeling held sway. Billy tried to be in the moment with his friends riding bikes, jumping off the pier, playing basketball at Phillips park, eating ice cream at Red Rock Café, and hitting on the cute girls. But what was once fun was quickly becoming a challenge for him to enjoy. He did not feel free.

His family’s financial problems were weighing on him. He felt selfish for even enjoying life when he knew his poor mother was busting her butt working to support the family and his barely breathing father was at home with his sisters trying to pull his weight. Enough is enough Billy thought, I might only be 13 but I need to start making some dang money. My family needs me now, more than ever.

On the morning of June 28th, Billy woke up and felt a tremendous feeling building inside. He caught his mother right before she left for work and told her:

“Mom it's time I step it up as a man but I don’t know what to do.”

She looked at him with her loving gaze that only a mother can give.

“Listen Bill., I need to catch this bus in the next 5 minutes. Just enjoy life. You are a good kid. Keep your grades up and stay out of trouble. Everything is going to be ok.”

Then she hugged him, reached on her tippy toes, and kissed him on the cheek before rushing out.

At a single glance, Billy was not a typical 13-year-old. For starters, he stood 6’4, weighed 220 pounds, was handsome, and incredibly fit. His father had built a custom-made desk because Billy was too big for standard middle school desks. He was a boy in a man’s body. Nobody messed with Billy Jackson.

If anything, everybody loved Billy, especially all the Football coaches trying to recruit him. Coaches from neighboring towns like Marblehead, Lynn, Salem, Peabody Gloucester and all across the state would show up unexpectedly to say something to Billy. They would always pull over in their fancy Thunderbirds, Chevrolets and Studebakers, roll down their window and yell something like, “Boy, you could be a star in the making. I could turn you into the best DB, TE, FB, CB to ever come out of this stinking town. Shucks, I can see you making it into the NFL!” Billy had heard it all.

He has been approached by recruiters and football guys alike since he was 11 years old. He was even approached by a Marine once who wanted to sign him up for Bootcamp immediately. Once he told them his true age, they would scratch their head, say something like “Your mama feeds you good boy, I’ll be back when it’s time.”

Billy was a softy inside who loved playing with his baby sisters and let them crawl all over him. When his mom had a rare day off, he would help her in the yard doing things that his father once did. He loved his family, and his favorite time was the nighttime. One thing that had not changed, Billy Sr. would read Billy stories of buried treasures, pirates and adventures. Billy Jr. was a smart kid, a straight A student, but spending time with his father like old times made him forget how things had changed.

Even throwing a baseball around would get his father winded and huffing for air. It clearly was painful for him to even function. Billy never showed his father the sadness he felt inside; he would just hug him and say, I love you dad.

“You are getting quite big and strong. I might need to find work just to feed you.” Billy Sr. joked.

It wasn’t hard to tell that money was also on his father’s mind.

Billy started hustling by doing whatever work he could get his hands on; cut yards, trimmed bushes, even did some demolition work on the old-abandoned Hays Family fire station. With a few sticks of dynamite, he could bring down walls and a small amount of dynamite he could take out chunks and fragments. He learned a lot but was also able to make a little bit of money. He was happy but still wanted to do more to help his family.

On the days there wasn’t any work left for him to do, he enjoyed being a kid again. The boys loved exploring and knew just about every inch of their town, except for one particular area. The boys rarely went there because it was primarily private property. The property was dominated by a majestic white mansion built in 1890 which was once the summer home of President Calvin Coolidge.

The mansion was located on the 6-acre oceanfront estate overlooking harbor. One could see ships coming in and out. It was rumored to have a secret entrance from a cave that led to the ocean. However, the cave was blocked off a long time ago, so nobody ever tried entering it. Legend has it, the cave contained treasures that Calvin Coolidge himself placed for one day to be unearthed. Some even said that the treasure predated Coolidge by several hundred years. One of the treasures was a mysterious black book.

A few days before the 4th of July Billy laid wide awake thinking out loud to himself. “What if I go inside that cave and find treasure, what if I unearth what's in there? How do I do that? What if I get in trouble? Is it worth it? How much time does my dad have left to live? How do I get into that cave? I know I can blow it up! But it would be loud, when would be a good time to blow it up….4th of July!” Ideas were running through his head and he couldn’t lay in bed any longer.

He sprung out of bed, got dressed and jumped on his bike. First, he raced over to the twins’ house and knocked on their door. Their dad answered and seemed to be already drunk though it was barely 7a.m.

“Who the hell are you? I don’t have enough to feed your Jolly-The-Green- Giant ass!”

“Mr. Craig, I am Billy Jackson. I am friends with Roland and Scotty and just wanted to talk to them.”

No longer looking so puzzled, Mr. Craig said, “Well come on in and pour yourself a drink, then pour me some. We're gonna drink 'em straight up like men!.”

“Thank you but I don’t drink.” Billy responded now with an annoyed urgency in his voice.

The twins didn’t ask too many questions. They raced past their drunk father, hopped on their bikes and followed Billy’s lead. Next stop was Johnny's.

Johnny lived in the nicest part of town over at Phillips point. Getting to him was a bit more of a journey but fueled by pure adrenaline Billy was pedaling fast with the Twins barely keeping up. Once they got to Johnny’s giant house, they knocked on his door. Almost immediately, Johnny's mom answered.

She looked Billy up and down and made Billy feel a little uncomfortable, but he was becoming accustomed to these weird looks from older women. Johnny's dad was some big hedge fund guy who was pretty much never home, he was constantly downtown Boston or spending weeks if not months in New York City on multiple business trips. Some say he had a second family and a mistress. It’s a topic the boys pretty much never brought up. Even the rich have their problems.

Johnny's mom was a bit of a ditz but a lovely lady who insisted on making the boys breakfast and would not take no for an answer. It was easy to see that she was lonely and having any company, even for just an hour, would make her happy.

“Ok boys! Make yourself at home. Johnny is still in bed. He stayed up late watching that silly Tele Box, I swear that thing is going to be such a problem one day.”

She put on her apron and raced to the kitchen humming Mona Lisa by Nat King Cole. Mrs. Meadows was a stereotypical good 1950s wife.

Now Johnny was a whole other story. He was wrapped in bed sheets and even talking a little bit in his sleep. It almost sounded like he was pretending to be the host of The Tonight Show. “and your next guest is Mr. Pillow!” Billy yelled out before whacking Johnny in the face. Johny immediately woke up and started cussing. “What the hell did you do that for I was having a wicked crazy dream, there were hot babes everywhere now I gotta look at your ugly mugs! “Wow something smells good, my mom hardly ever cooks anymore, you guys need to come over more often!”

As the boys were devouring their food Billy was telling them his master plan for getting the treasure from the blocked off cave. He was so excited he could hardly eat his food. The boys were beaming while listening. One of the twins broke his silence.

“If we get rich we can help our mom leave our abusive drunk dad, and maybe get him some real professional help. Billy nodded in approval, “If I get money, I will help my family not be so stuck in poverty but also help my dad live.” Johnny nodded while looking at his three friends, “I am just bored boys, I don’t need money I am just happy to help, who knows maybe if we get in trouble it will give my dad a reason to come home and ground me or something like that. Also, I got exactly 4 Walkie Talkies, they used them during the war my pops tells me but he doesn’t really know. He just buys me stuff to keep me entertained”.

Out of nowhere Mrs. Meadows' voice interrupted their little meeting of the minds.

“You boys are such a treasure yourselves, but oh boy, I sure hope you find something in that cave, sounds scary and fun”.

“Hope there aren’t any bats living in there!”.

Pale from embarrassment the Humphrey St. Crew forgot that Mrs. Meadows was in the kitchen listening the whole time but at this point she was just happy she wasn’t alone. She was so preoccupied with things she wanted to do around the house for the 4th of July celebration that she quickly forgot about the boy's planned mischief. She kissed all the boys on the cheek then scurried off to decorate the living room.

The plan was to use explosives Billy had managed to stash away from his few days of doing demolition work. He also took his father’s sledgehammer, a little lantern and fishing boots. Since this was all going to be done at night they were going to dress in all black. The cave was far away from the mansion but there were likely going to be guests walking all over the green lawn enjoying the fireworks. Patrons were probably also going to be fairly drunk and distracted by the show in the sky. The timing had to be right, since they didn’t have that many explosives and didn’t want to get caught. Billy would light the dynamite right at the same time as the fireworks were exploding. The louder the better so access noise could be absorbed and no one could tell the difference.

The twins would be at the access points using Johnny’s walkie talkies to warn Billy and Johnny if someone was approaching and if the coast was clear to proceed. Johnny meanwhile would use his gift of gab to distract any wandering guests who would be too close to Billy’s location. Billy meanwhile would use a small row boat to approach the cave from the ocean side.

The boys rode their bikes over to the white court mansion just to make sure their plan was going to work. There sure was a lot of activity going on, a stage was getting built for musical performance and tents were being put up for what appeared to be at least 200 guests. “Are you just gonna stand there or are you boys gonna help?'' shouted a man who appeared to be in his late 40s. His name was Mr. Landman and he was the principal of Swampscott Middle School. He also ran a successful catering business on the side. Mr. Landman also knew the boys well and that was going to be a problem.

Mr. Landman was a serious man and took everything seriously. One can say he gave everything 110% percent. He wasn’t a bad man, just a workaholic who had plenty of money; he just didn’t have happiness. In truth after his wife died from cancer 5 years ago Mr. Landman never dealt with his emotions and just invested himself into more work. Work is all he knew.

What was supposed to be a simple day turned into a random work day for the boys. They did make some money so that was nice. Johnny even told the boys to keep what he made. Oddly, Johnny might have enjoyed working the most. He really didn’t mind. Mr. Landman. He seemed to have enjoyed a strong male figure instructing him on how to set up chairs, build a stage and put up tents. Even the boys noticed something different about Johnny.

“You boys did a tremendous job. I had 4 guys no show today and it was really stressful so you gentlemen showing up was a gift. I want to extend my invitation to you. Please come to the 4th of July Celebration tomorrow and bring a guest.” We have an incredible special guest performing here tomorrow. I still can’t believe I was able to pull some big strings.” Mr. Landman sounded sincere in his words and it was hard to say no to him. He really was a good guy but he rarely showed that side of him. All that most ever saw was a burly man with a booming voice. He was intimidating to say the least.

The boys were exhausted as they rode their bikes back to Johnny’s house which now has become their safe brainstorming spot. Mrs. Meadows opened the door and looked delighted to see the boys. The house looked lovely and decorated, but Mr. Meadows called earlier to inform her that a big client named Warren Buffet invited him over for 4th of July celebration on his boat and he would be a fool to say no. Once again she was alone.

The boys were sitting quietly in the room. Their master plan didn’t feel so simple because Landman seemed like he might get in the way. Scotty broke the silence,

“I like the plan but Landman is everywhere he seriously needs to cool out”.

Billy “All we have to do is distract him long enough for me to get to the cave and start working”.

That 's when Johnny’s eyes lit up,

“I have an idea boys and I think it’s silly enough to work.”

He ran to the kitchen and found his mom hunched over in her chair crying with makeup rolling down her cheeks and mumbling, “am I just not good enough?”.

She quickly composed herself in infront of her son while trying to act like everything was cool

“I am sorry honey you caught me at a bad moment.”

“Your father is not coming for the 4th of July, he is busy”. Are you boys hungry?

“I can fix you something delicious.”

Johnny hugged his mom and held her tight then kissed her on the forehead.

“Mom I know I don’t say this enough to you but you are amazing, you are caring, loving, you are the best cook, you decorate so well and I am so happy to have you in my life”

“You are more than good enough!” Johny repeated those lines over and over.

She smiled and said, “thank you son.”

Mrs. Meadows was a beautiful woman; she was the Denver's High School Homecoming Queen class of 1935, that same year she even won Miss. Massachusetts. Few years later she met the man of her dreams, he was a Harvard Business graduate and he quickly swept her off her feet by giving her everything she could ask for. They quickly got married and a year later had Johnny. By all accounts she was living a dream life of luxury. But here she was living in a giant beautiful home and quietly crying herself to sleep every night.

Johnny, “Mom I want to ask you something,”.

“What is it Johnny?” asked Mrs. Meadows.

“I was wondering if you would like to come to an amazing 4th of July celebration at the white palace”

“I think you will enjoy it”.

“Dad is not coming, he hasn’t been back home in weeks and I don’t want you to just be stuck in this empty house alone.”

Beaming with excitement Mrs. Meadows accepted the invitation and quickly got her groove back. She started humming Mona Lisa, the Nat King Cole version and rushed to the pantry to see what she could prepare for dinner.

Back in the room the rest of the guys were talking over the plan and how they could possibly avoid Mr. Landman. Johnny walked in smiling.

“What are you smiling about”? Billy asked.

“Well I might have found a solution to one of our problems”. Said Johnny

“I invited my mom to come to the party and I am gonna introduce her to Landman”.

“They are both kinda lonely and I think they will hit it off”.

“Once Landman meets my mom she is going to occupy all of his time”.

Johnny felt confident that his plan involving his mom as a decoy would work. But in reality he also wanted to play a match maker. There was something in Landman that Johnny quite honestly liked.

July 4th. 3:00 PM. Billy went to the basement, grabbed his father’s old military backpack and stuffed it with a long sleeved shirt, safety glasses, gloves, pick axe, walkie talkie waterproof boots, a sledge hammer, matches and dynamite. At the last minute he grabbed some rope just in case. He ran back upstairs and was just about to walk out the door when his father called him over. “Billy you are a young man so I completely understand if you are too old to spend the 4th of July with us, but you can’t leave without having a burger”

Spending time with his family was really all Billy wanted. He wanted to tell his dad what he was about to do in order to pull them out of poverty, but he couldn’t, not yet.

“I could go for a burger or 5.” Then put the backpack by the door and headed to the back yard. His adorable baby sisters immediately jumped on him as he appeared. They loved their older brother. His mother had taken a break from wearing hospital scrubs and was dressed in red, white and blue. Mr. Jackson was manning the grill and humming tunes to himself. There really was no better place to be then to be with his family. But, he had a mission he needed to find out if there was treasure in that cave and tonight was the night.

Meanwhile at Johnny’s place, the guys were getting ready for the 4th of July Celebration that was to take place at White Court.

“We didn’t have any nice outfits to wear so we did the best we could, Johnny”.

“I don’t think anyone is going to really care about what two random kids wear.” Scotty said immediately as Johnny answered his massive door.

“Yea Johnny we don’t have fancy clothes.” said Roland

Johnny was already dressed as if he was on his way to the red carpet event. Black Versace suit, matching Doc Martens dress shoes and a red velvet tie.

“Come with me boys, I wasn’t going to leave you hanging. My father always likes to get me suits early so I grow into them, seeing that you guys are taller I think I have suits to suit”.

Before they knew it, they too were ready for the red carpet.

“I supplied Billy with a walkie talkie, here are yours boys, try to keep them under your coat and don’t let anyone see them”.

“Now we are just gonna wait for my mom to get ready”.

She put on her sterling silver earrings, her matching white necklace and brushed her long, wavy blond hair. She didn’t have to do much to look beautiful. Mrs. Meadows was a natural beauty. She felt like it had been a long time since she had even the slightest of reasons to get ready for any occasion. She was really happy to just get out of the house. The boys were downstairs waiting for a ride to the party. They gasped when she came down stairs. “You look amazing Mrs. Meadows,” said Scotty. Johnny forgot just how beautiful his mother was. All he could think about was how much of a fool his father was for not being there with his mother, constantly leaving her alone. But tonight he was hoping for her to be happy and not feel so alone.

July 4th. 3:00 PM. Billy went to the basement, grabbed his fathers’s old military backpack and stuffed it with a long sleeve shirt, safety glasses, gloves, pickaxe, walkie talkie waterproof boots, a sledgehammer, matches and dynomite. At the last minute he grabbed some rope just in case. He ran back upstairs and was just about to walk out the door when his father called him over. “Billy you are a young man so I completely understand if you are too old to spend the 4 of July with us but you can’t leave without having a burger.”

Little did he know spending time with his family was all he really wanted to do especially with him. He wanted to tell his dad how crazy of a plan he has in order to pull them out of poverty, but he just couldn’t. “I could go for a burger or 5”. He put the backpack by the door and headed to the back yard. His adorable baby sisters immediately jumped on him as he appeared. They loved their older brother. His mother took a break from wearing hospital scrubs and was dressed in beautiful Red White and Blue colors. Mr. Jackson was manning the grill and humming tunes to himself. There really was no better place to be then to be with his family. But he had a mission he needed to find out if there was treasure in that cave and tonight was the night.

Billy walked down to Fisherman’s Beach and started walking down the long pier where his father kept his little rowboat. There was already a large crowd gathered to watch the fireworks show, lots of kids from his grade and people he knew. He tried his best to go unnoticed, but of course someone always spotted him because he was just an abnormally big kid for his age.

“Billy Jackson. Are you ever gonna stop growing boy, or are you just gonna jump straight on to a College football team?”

When Billy turned around, he saw a tall man standing with his family. His name was Ron Bondelvich and he was the coach of the Swampscott High School football team. He asked all the usual questions, how is life, how is school, how is the family, and how is football? Billy answered everything in a polite manner. But then the coach asked him, “What's with the bag?”

“Oh just on my way to a friend's house, we are gonna try to build a little shed in the yard, but of course that won’t be till tomorrow”. Billy responded with a smile.

That was a close one. Coach Bondelvich gave him a big smile, wished him a happy 4th of July and then disappeared into the crowd. He eventually made his way to the pier, threw the bag in the boat untied it and started rowing towards the cave. The sun was quickly going down so there wasn’t too much visibility. With all his strength he started rowing without pause. He was running on pure adrenaline at this point.

Meanwhile, guests were quickly arriving at the White Court Mansion. Beautiful cars and guests wearing their best. There was small traffic, Plymouth Deluxe, Thunderbirds, Porsches, Pontiacs and Cadillacs parked as far as the eye could see. Landman was in the front directing cars and telling his guys what to do. Barking orders and doing multiple things at once. He looked like a super agent out there and he didn’t even break a sweat. Things changed quickly when a pink Dodge La Femme pulled up to the curb. Landman ran over to open the car door and out came the most stunning woman he had ever seen. She was 5’3'' with long wavy hair, stunning blue eyes, perfect cheekbones, pink lips and no visible makeup. Whoever this woman was, she was an angel. He saw the ring on her finger but he noticed that she didn’t arrive with her husband. She wasn’t alone; however, as out came Johnny, Scott and Roland.

“Hey mom, Mr. Landman is the one who invited us to this event.” said Johnny. He could tell there was instant chemistry between his mother and Landman. Everything was going according to his plan. “Please you can call me Peter!” “It’s nice to meet you Peter, my name is Shirley. Thank you for inviting us.”

“May I show you around? I have no problem taking a break.”

The boys have never seen Landman act so out of character it was like he became a little puppy.

“I would be delighted!” Mrs. Meadows answered with a bright smile.

This is the happiest Johnny has seen his mother in a long time.

“You boys don’t mind do you?” asked Landman.

“Of course not.“ said Johnny.

And just like that, Landman was not thinking about work. His mind was completely taken with the most beautiful woman he had seen since his late wife.

Now that the plan was in motion, the boys turned on their Walkie Talkies and quickly paged Billy.

“Hey Billy, are you there?” Five minutes later there was a crinkle sound on the radio. “Steady as it goes guys, I am almost at the cave, secure the perimeter.” Billy’s voice was a little muffled, but everything was heard.

There wasn’t much for the guys to do. They were there for moral support and to distract. Even if they didn’t want to do this crazy cave plan. Billy was going to enter that cave regardless. He was desperate, full of his father’s stories and the need to help his family.

It was so dark that Billy’s little boat was almost impossible to see in the night, though he easily made his way to the entrance of the cave without getting spotted. The cave was much bigger than Billy originally thought. 9 feet wide and 19 feet tall with a sign written in red, KEEP OUT! He tied his boat at the entrance to the cave. Then messaged the guys, “I am going in”.

His heart was pounding, and he was scared. He was alone in the dark and was thinking that it would have been better to have company.

Just then, one by one he heard his Humphrey St. crew boys say, “We got you Billy, just wait for us to message you.”

He realized he was doing this for them as well. In reality, they have no idea if there is anything in this cave. The stories may have been just stories, but they didn’t come this far not to go for it.

“It’s not too late to turn around,” he thought to himself. “I must keep going”.

Eight feet inside the cave was a cement patch blocking the passageway. Billy placed a small stick of dynamite inside the crevice of the cement barricade and waited for the cue from Johnny. He was nervous and knew he could get into trouble for using the dynamite. He could be jeopardizing his whole future. His dream of a football career could go down the drain.

Boom, Booom, Booom! Fireworks lit up the sky, dozens of rockets propelled up before exploding into thousands of little pieces. Others tumbled like a glittering silver shower. It was truly breathtaking. Our founding fathers would be proud. The show was so spectacular that Johnny and Roland almost forgot about Billy in the cave until Scotty reminded them.

“Go for it Billy the fireworks are going off now” he heard Johnny say. Billy lit the wick on the dynamite then hid behind a massive boulder inside the cave. The loud explosion shook the mouth of the cave and caused some smaller chunks to fall, nearly hitting Billy. Unfortunately, the main passageway was still blocked. Billy set up the last of his dynamite for one more blast. Without hesitation he lit it, dove away, covered his ears, and head this time. The entrance was cleared.

“Billy if it wasn't for the fireworks and most of these people being drunk our cover was almost blown,” Little did Billy know but the whole ground shook with every explosion. Johnny shouted into the radio. “Relax, I am going in now” said Billy.

He lit his lantern, climbed over the rubble and stepped inside. The air smelled damp like it had been held hostage behind these walls for years. There was beautiful green moss growing all along the walls of the cave. On the walls there were ancient carvings of whales and dolphins etched in stone. It was hard to believe all this was covered up and not shared with the world for whatever reason.

Above ground, there was some concern about the ground shaking, but Mr. Landman assured the guests that everything was alright. The last thing he wanted was absolute mayhem. He spent almost the whole evening entirely focused on Mrs. Meadows. He didn’t even bother checking for any unusual activity going on by the cave. Not once did he even ask the boys about Billy’s whereabouts.

Shirley Meadows was having the time of her life. It’s been ages since another man has given her so much attention. She was starting to have that tingly feeling in her chest that she hadn’t had in a long time. She knew it was wrong because she was a married woman, but she couldn’t deny what she was feeling. She fell in love the moment he said, hi my name is Peter.

If there was any indication that this was all real and that this was truly a special night. What happened next clinched the deal. After all the guests were having such a good time that even the earth was shaking. The host picked up the microphone and with a thunderous voice said, “Ladies and gentlemen thank you all for coming, grab your love, it is time for a slow dance. We have a very special guest here tonight to perform his hit song ‘Mona Lisa’. Ladies and gentleman. Mr. Nat King Cole.”

“This is not happening!” Shirley shook her head with the most amazed look on her face. “May I have this dance with you?” asked Peter Landman and without hesitation she fell into his arms and knew that this was the man she was always meant to be with. Johnny knew that he officially ended his mother’s and father’s marriage but this was the right thing to do and he looked on from a distance with a smile.

Meanwhile Billy was going deeper and deeper into the cave, he wasn’t scared as the entrance got further away. The jagged rocked inside the cave did not scare him, not even occasional rats that ran across his foot could scare him away. He felt like Dante from his father’s favorite book, The Count of Monte Cristo. If he was lucky maybe he too would find hidden treasure.

The Walkie Talkies were useless and no matter how many times the boys tried to call Billy nothing was working. They were starting to panic. As the clock turned to 8, then 9, then 10, there was still no sign of Billy. The guests were leaving with only a few stragglers left behind. The party was officially over, but still no Billy Jackson. Landman had to excuse himself to help put a few things away. Shirley offered to help as did the boys and together they cleaned up. The boys of course were starting to really freak out at this point and didn’t know what to do. Johnny was sweating hard. “Mom, Mr. Landman we need to tell you something.”

“What is it Johnny?” asked Landman.

“Well please promise not to get really mad, It’s about Billy.”

Scotty and Roland were simultaneously chewing their nails. They hadn’t been this nervous since their father came home drunk one night and smashed all the dishes in the kitchen.

“Where is Billy!?” asked a now concerned Landman.

Just then there was a familiar voice on the radio.

“I am alive, boys. And you won’t believe what I found.”

“Billy you are alive!!” shouted Johnny. Scotty and Roland fell to their knees and cried with happiness. “I don’t understand what is going on” Mr. Landman was now growing extra concerned. “You boys better talk fast.”

Before Landman got too angry and before he completely forgot about the magical night he just had with Shirley Meadows, from the shadows emerged the biggest 13-year-old this side of New England and he was carrying a small chest. “What happened to you Billy. You can’t just show up 4 hours later without telling us the lowdown? If this were a story being written, the reader would be kind of disappointed!”

Billy replied: “ Well, you won’t believe this but there was a massive tunnel going through the cave and it was surprisingly well preserved. After walking for several yards, I found a door which led to the hidden storage of the house. I had no way of opening it. Trust me I tried but it was shut hard. I turned around and started walking back. Then I bumped my big head on a hard piece of wood stuck up high and down fell this skeleton key! Freaking skeleton key! I thought, why not try it to see if it will open the door? It did! I mean, I still had to pull it hard, but the key worked. When I opened it a cloud of dust and mildew just hit me, and I was coughing pretty hard. I screamed and fell over some old dusty furniture when I saw a dead lady standing beside me, but it was just a mannequin in an old Victorian dress. Scared the bejesus out of me! I didn’t know what to look for. But then I saw this wooden chest in the corner of the room, so I grabbed it. When I looked for the exit there was another locked door. I used the key again. It led me through four cluttered rooms then eventually to the boiler room, then finally the kitchen. It was creepier than the tunnel. I was paranoid and didn’t want to be seen so I hid and waited for everyone to leave.”

“Not going to lie. You kinda look and smell like a giant sewer rat,” joked Mrs. Meadows and they all laughed.

Billy Jackson was smiling from ear to ear. He used a small pickaxe to open the box. Inside it there was a book with black leather binding containing stock notes, and patents. There were even pages with hundred dollar bills carefully wedged between pages. Each page contained a gold coin with a year on it. 1859, 1867, 1833, 1729, so on and so on. There was even an old note written in old English which none of them could truly understand. They just knew that their life was never going to be the same again.

Scott and Roland Craig used their money to help their mother move to her new home. They paid to have their father get help to curb his drinking, which he was quite reluctant to do but found the courage. Mr. Craig has since been clean and sober for a full decade. Years later, they opened War Veteran’s rehabilitation centers across America and treated those in need free of charge.

Johnny Meadows hired a private investigator who discovered that his father had 3 other families spread across the East Coast. A few months after divorcing her cheating husband, Shirley Meadows officially started dating Peter Landman. They were married on the same White Court Grounds where they met and are presumed to have lived happily ever after. Johnny attended broadcasting school and is working hard toward becoming a sports broadcaster.

Billy Jackson might have had the best ending of them all. His family never had to struggle for money again. The black book provided them with thousands of dollars along with several gold coins and stock notes that afforded them state of the art service to help his dad live a little bit longer until he sadly passed away.

Ten years later, while serving in the Marines in honor of his father, Billy was home on leave. As he was enjoying a nice walk in Boston Commons, Billy was reminiscing about his life. He was glowing so much that he even caught the eye of another football coach.

“Excuse me young man I would love a word with you” said a booming voice coming from behind.

Billy turned around and acknowledged this random well-dressed gentleman.

“Confidence is contagious, but so is lack of confidence. You, young man, walk with a lot of confidence and swagger. I could use that on my team.”

He looked right at Billy. He was not going to take no for an answer. Billy Jackson went on to become a defensive back for the Green Bay Packers and win several World Championship trophies under coach Vince Lombardi all throughout the 60s. And it was all made possible thanks to a little black book full of treasures.

THE END.