Jordy had been out searching nearly every day for the past two weeks. He had even managed to drag poor old Sam out for one of the expeditions. None had been successful but that hadn’t dampened Jordy’s enthusiasm. He knew the gold was out here, he could almost feel it.
As Jordy half-slid down the bank of the gully wall he stopped his fall by managing to hang onto a ghost gum. The ground tended to give way, leaving the tiny pebbles and rocks to slide down the hill. A smile tugged at his mouth as he launched himself towards the next tree; it was the only way to get to the bottom in one piece.
Once he reached solid ground he wandered over to the shallow creek that meandered along the gully floor. He stood there for a moment and watched the water splash and bubble on its way past. It was summer but the little creek still managed to run. It was peaceful; Jordy could very well stay for the rest of the morning, but he knew that if he did that, there would be hell to pay.
It was Berry’s birthday and she was having a big party later that afternoon. Cath would expect him to be on deck and help out—which he’d be happy to do; it wasn’t every day your daughter turned ten. But this morning something had called to him, just as he opened his eyes before the sun had even risen. He couldn’t explain why, but he had an overpowering urge to come and poke around the gully. He tried to ignore it because he didn’t want to upset Cath, but he couldn’t. So, he snuck out of the house just as the sun was beginning to peep over the distant hill.
Jordy picked his way over the creek without getting even a splash. He wanted to check out the great big rock, which he figured made up part of the gully wall. It was tall, imposing and it intrigued the hell out of him.
As he headed towards it, his mind went back to Sam Tarant. It was true what Cath had said about him being stressed ever since that terrible car accident. Sam was his friend, although many people couldn’t fathom how or why. In the eyes of the town, if Jordy was a fool and a dreamer, then Sam would be the complete opposite. He was cool, detached and always level-headed—at least he had been, now maybe not so much. Lately, whenever Jordy met him, he wasn’t sure which version he’d get—the original quiet and sensible one or the latest model prone to fly into a rage. Getting angry was one thing and Jordy could understand just how much pressure his friend was under. But the thing that was unnerving was that every now and again he could see a cold light in his friend’s eyes and it worried him.
‘I’ll find the gold and then we’ll all be happy,’ he murmured.
He walked around the rock, fully expecting it to be part of the wall, but he was wrong. There was a gap, it was narrow but it was a gap nonetheless. Excitement began to bubble inside of him as he dropped his bag and rummaged around until he found his torch. Without a moment’s hesitation Jordy squeezed through the space and into the deep shadow of the crevice.