Gold

Hello, I hope you are having a good day. This was suggested by brankel1. It is Daniel- Gold. I have decided to do this pre-series. Enjoy.

When Daniel was a kid, hunting for gold was always interesting for him. His father would tell him stories about people coming from all around the dig for gold. He loved his father's stories of how his great-great-grandfather came to California to search for gold and instead started a ranch. One night when Daniel was 12, he went to his big brother Adam and sat on his lap.

"Adam, do you remember that story that dad would tell us about his great-great-grandpa?" Daniel wondered.

"Yeah, sure. What about it?" Adam answered.

"Can you tell it to me?"

"You heard it all the time from dad."

"But dad isn't here anymore and I really want to hear it. Please?"

"Ok."

Adam sighed and hugged Daniel close.

"Great-great-grandpa was 35 when he came here from Ireland. He was married to a Scottish woman named Celia and they had a son named Daniel." Adam started.

"What was great-great-grandpa's name?" Daniel wondered.

"James. Anyways, they came here in 1846 and they traveled from New York to California. When they arrived, James started looking for gold. He came to these mountains and he searched and he found some gold after searching for a year. It was enough to build a house for his pregnant wife and son. They settled down here and James continued to look for gold. He found more and kept it safe so that's he could use it to start a business. Then one day, he was walking on a very unstable hill and he fell and broke his legs. He was found and taken care of but when he recovered, he couldn't venture far from the house because his legs couldn't handle it. SO he bought some cows and bought this land and started a ranch. He died in 1861 and his Daniel took over and it's been passed down through the generations."

"You don't tell the story like dad does."

"Hey, I told you the story."

"I guess. Do you think there's still gold around here?"

"Maybe, but it'd be pretty hard to find."

The next day, Daniel went out exploring. He had read about good places to look for gold and he decided that the river was a good place to start. He grabbed his pan and started panning for gold. He searched all of the area until he found something shiny in the water. He waded in and picked it up and found that it was a gold nugget.

"Gold." Daniel gasped. He continued his search and found a few more pieces of gold in the river. It was midafternoon when he grew cold from the water and he decided to search the mineshafts. He walked into a mineshaft and turned on his flashlight. He looked around till he heard noises and saw the earth around him crumble. He ran back towards the entrance and was able to get out of the mineshaft. Instead of going home, he went to another one. He shined his light inside and saw something shiny, but it wasn't gold. Instead, it was a dirty kitten. Its fur was a pale cream and orange color. Daniel walked close to the kitten and held his hand out.

"Hello, little kitty." Daniel quietly greeted. He sat down on the floor in front of the kitten and picked it up. "You're little and cute." Daniel pulled out his canteen and carefully cleaned the kitten who shivered in his arms. "It's ok, kitty." When Daniel saw the kitten's clean fur, he smiled. "I'm gonna name you Gold."

At the ranch, Adam came inside and saw his brothers playing games.

"Where's Daniel?" Adam asked.

"I don't know." Brain answered.

"He said, he was gonna go exploring." Evan mumbled.

"He probably went exploring the mineshafts again. I'm gonna go look for him. Come on, Brian." Adam sighed. Adam and Brian went looking for Daniel.

In the shaft, Daniel decided it was time to go home. He stood up just as the shaft started to shake and crumbled. The entrance caved in leaving Daniel and Gold trapped.

"Adam's gonna kill me." Daniel sighed. Daniel took off his book bag and put Gold inside. "There, that will keep you warm and safe."

Adam and Brian were close to where Daniel was.

"Well, we found his footprints down by the river and in that other mineshaft which he got out of." Brian stated.

"Just where did he go next. When we find him, remind me to tan his hide." Adam answered.

"Hey, Adam remember to tan Daniel's hide."

"Very funny."

Then they saw that Daniel's footprints led up to the collapsed mineshaft.

"Oh no." Adam gasped. They ran and started to dig through the dirt and rock.

"Daniel!" Brian shouted.

"Daniel, holler if you can hear us."

In the mineshaft, Daniel could hear noises from the entrance. He couldn't hear Adam or Brian until they had made a tiny hole.

"Daniel, are you in there?" Adam begged.

"I'm here. I'm safe." Daniel coughed. "It's just hard to breathe."

Adam and Brian made a hole big enough for Daniel and Gold to crawl through. Adam grabbed Daniel and hugged him close.

"What have I told you about crawling through the mineshafts?" Adam questioned.

"Not too. I'm sorry, Adam." Daniel answered.

"Let's go back."

They went to the house and went inside.

"Go get cleaned up." Adam ordered.

"Yes, sir." Daniel answered. Daniel went upstairs and put his gold nuggets under the pillow of his bed. Then he pulled out Gold and saw that he was sleepy. "I'll be back. I have to go take a bath."

Daniel hid Gold under his bed and then took a bath. Adam walked upstairs to Daniel's room and saw Daniel's book bag on the bed. He looked through and scoffed to himself.

"Figures. He was looking for gold." Adam mumbled. He heard rolling under the pillow and he looked and saw gold nuggets. "Now, where did he find these?"

Daniel came in and buried his head.

"You did exactly what I told you not to do, didn't you?" Adam questioned.

"Yes, sir, but I found Gold." Daniel mumbled.

"I know you did. I have it right here."

"Not just those. I found Gold in the mineshaft you rescued me from. I found those gold nuggets in the river."

"What do you mean?"

"He's under the bed."

Adam looked under the bed and saw a small box with an old blanket inside. He pulled it out and found the kitten.

"Was he this clean when you found him?" Adam wondered.

"No. He was filthy. I cleaned him up. His fur is golden and when I first shined my flashlight at him, I thought he was gold because of his eyes." Daniel explained.

"First things first, we need to get him fed."

"How?"

"Well, mom had an old recipe and I know where an old syringe is."

"Ok."

They went downstairs with Gold and made the formula. Then Adam filled the syringe and picked Gold up.

"Can I do it?" Daniel wondered.

"Let me show you how. You can do it next time." Adam answered. "He's warm now so he'll be able to handle this but we have to keep him warm."

Adam fed Gold and then made sure that he was ok in his nest.

"How old is he?" Daniel asked.

"Well, he's very small and young. I'd say maybe a week and a half." Adam replied.

"Can I keep him?"

"He's gonna be a handful and I can't take care of him all the time."

"I know. I'll take good care of him."

"Ok."

Daniel had found his gold, but it wasn't as valuable as his kitten Gold. Gold grew up and was often found outside near the barn and everyone in a while, he could be found in Daniel's room.