"Some of the party continued their journey 20 miles further to the north-west across the Yarrowee valley to the shore of Lake Burrumbeet. The report of this expidition was unfavorable." - Geological Survey of Victoria, The Ballarat East Gold-Field, 1907

Dr. Lucien Blake walked across the field, the sound of crisp leaves underfoot penetrating the silence. At the edge of the woods sat a slowly decaying shack, probably the remnants of a mine camp. It was already getting dark out and there was a chill in the air. Lucien looked back at his car, now laying almost sideways in a ditch. He could try to walk back to the main road, but he had driven for miles and pain was shooting up his leg. He was better off staying here tonight and he'd find his way home tomorrow. He tried to think back on how he got to this field, near these woods, but his thoughts blurred. Looking around, he felt a profound sense of peace. There could be worse places to be stranded.

Lucien limped over to the shack and ducked in. It was larger than he originally thought. It must have had two rooms once but now it was a little more than a lean-to. The front wall was now missing and completely open, but the roof looked solid enough. It would do for one night. Lucien sat down on the dirt floor, leaning against a support beam for what must have been the front wall. He was happy to be off his throbbing leg. Looking around he couldn't help but laugh. He had never been much of an outdoorsman. He preferred the comforts of the city. He would never have chosen to stay here. And yet, everything felt so peaceful here, so quiet. It was nice to get away, though he couldn't recall from what. An alarm rang in the back of his head. He was suppose to be somewhere. Someone was waiting for him. He left the shack and turned towards his car. It was getting difficult to walk at all and he would be wandering down a dark road on a moonless night. His chances of finding help weren't good. He went back into the shack and slumped back against the beam. Despite the cold and the uncomfortable circumstances, he fell asleep almost immediately.

Not long after he drifted off he woke to the sound of a voice calling for help. Lucien got to his feet and limped towards the edge of the woods, looking for the source of the sound. The cries continued, high pitched and hysterical. Lucien crashed blindly into the woods, ignoring the pain in his leg. The source of the cries was only a few yards ahead of him. Some rotting boards marked an old mine shaft, the entrance of which had mostly collapsed. Lucien peered down, and a small figure peered back up.

"Please help me. I'm stuck."

Lucien looked at the boy, trying to make out his form in the last shreds of dusk. He did not look like he was more than two meters down, but the rubble along the sides looked treacherous.

"Stay there!"

Careful to avoid jarring his leg, Lucien slid on his backside over the rubble to the bottom of the pit. He lifted the boy above his head and over the lip of the shaft. When Lucien tried to climb out, the rubble shifted and he almost fell. He reminded himself that this shaft used to be a lot deeper than two meters. Lying on his stomach, Lucien flattened himself as much as he could to distribute his weight, and carefully crawled back to the surface. He took the boy by the hand and led him back to the clearing.

"Are you alright?" The boy nodded shyly in response.

"You'd better run on home, your parents will be worried."

"I don't have any parents."

"Well you can't have been living out here all on your own. Where do you come from?"

"I don't know."

Lucien suspected the boy was playing games with him. "Fine then. You'll stay with me tonight, and tomorrow we'll go into town and find your parents. Is that all right?"

The boy nodded slowly. Lucien smiled. "What's your name?"

"Tommy."

"How do you do Tommy? I'm Lucien." Lucien held out his hand. Tommy looked at it, unsure of what to do. Lucien laughed. "That's alright. It's going to be cold tonight. I think we should make a fire. You don't know how to make a fire by any chance, do you?"

Tommy shook his head. "Well Tommy that makes two of us. Let's see if twenty year old survival training gets me anywhere. I think I have a Zippo in the glove box of my car. This should be easy. Can you help me collect some branches and kindling? Just out here and on the very edge of the woods. I'll pull some of the collapsed wood from the back of the shed."

Tommy's face lit up with excitement and he ran off. Minutes later they were sitting happily in front of a growing fire, not far from the edge of the shack.

"That's so much better." Lucien turned towards the boy, getting a good look at him for the first time. No more than six years old, he had a dark complexion with dark almond shaped eyes and wavy black hair. He must be a local aboriginal, or at least partly so, Lucien thought to himself. Several native families still farmed on the outskirts of town. Lucien hoped that the boy really knew where his parents were and that they would miss him. He did not want Tommy to end up in the orphanage. Lucien stood up and walked back to the wall beam.

"Tommy I think we should both be getting some sleep. We need to find your parents in the morning. And I need to get..." His thoughts were still blurry. He was way too tired for this, "...somewhere." Lucien leaned back against the beam. Tommy sat down next to him and watched Lucien for a long time. Eventually Lucien opened one eye. "You're not going to stare at me all night like that, are you?"

Tommy shook his head. Sliding up next to him, Tommy wrapped his small arms around Lucien's side. Lucien placed an arm around Tommy and held him close, glad for some warmth against the night air. Within minutes they were both fast asleep.