The Secret of Craigmoor Cave

In this story, my character finds herself thrust into another time due to a cave with a big secret. She will be found by Sully and Brian and Dr. Quinn will nurse her back to health. All of them will try to figure out how to get her back to her own time. In doing so, they all learn something about themselves and that anything is possible. In this story, Katie is almost seven years old, her little brother Joey is four, and there's another baby on the way. In true Dr. Quinn style, everyone will be unsure and scared of my character but in time they will all learn to accept her, just in time for her to find her way back to her own time. Of course, Dr. Quinn will have a hard time believing that she is from another time but when examining her, she will find evidence to prove that it is indeed true. Sully and Cloud Dancing look up the history of the Craigmoor cave where my character was found and discover its secrets and how to help my character get back home. I hope you enjoy this story!

Chapter 1

I, Jade O'Quinn, am so excited because my class is going on a field trip to visit old mines in the area. I love history and it gives me a chance to learn all I can for my history paper. I know that I will get an A on it due to what I learn today. Since I am going to be doing a lot of walking over some rough terrain today, I better wear my new hiking boots that I ordered off Amazon. My mom and dad let me buy them with my allowance. I will also wear my old but favorite pair of jeans, my old but favorite purple shirt with my favorite Under Armour hooded jacket because it may get chilly in the mines. I decided to braid my hair to keep it off my face in case it's windy outside.

Once I'm dressed and have braided my hair, I head downstairs to have some breakfast. My mom has made French toast, sausage, and juice. My dad has already left for work, my older brother still hasn't come downstairs yet. He always takes a long time getting ready in the mornings. I walk over to the counter where my mom has the food prepared, I grab a plate and begin loading it up with some French toast and sausage. I grab a glass of orange juice as I sit down. My mom appears in the kitchen, sees me and smiles. I smile back. She was telling my brother to hurry his lazy butt up. My mom grabs her cup of coffee and sits down in the chair across from me. She smiles at me before speaking.

"It looks like you're excited for your field trip to the mines today."

I chew the food in my mouth, take a sip of juice and nod before answering.

"Yes, I'm very excited, mom. I think it will be a lot of fun. I'm hoping to learn a lot because it will help me with my history paper. You know how much I like history."

My mom takes a sip of her coffee and nods.

"Yes, you do, not a lot of girls enjoy history and that's one thing I love about you. You realize how important history is and where we come from and how we got here and that's why there's something I want to share with you. I figure this is as good a time as any."

I look at my mom with curiosity.

"What is it?" I ask.

"You know our last name O'Quinn?"

I nod.

"Yes."

"Well, we actually descendants of the first woman doctor in Colorado Springs."

My interest is piqued, and I want to know more.

"We are descendants of the first woman doctor of Colorado Springs?"

My mom nods.

"Yes, her name was Dr. Michaela Quinn. I discovered it when I was researching our ancestry to make a family tree. It is in one of the books about the history of our family."

I can't keep the smile off my face.

"That is so cool. But why is her name Quinn and ours is O'Quinn?" I ask.

"Well, from what I have learned, they dropped the O from O' Quinn when they came to America from Ireland, we just happen to be part of the family that still retains the O."

I nod.
"Mom, I was wondering when I get home from school today, if I could look in the family history books because I want to know more about our family and our ancestors."

"Sure, I will look for them while you are at school, and I will have them ready for you when you come home this afternoon."

I smile before answering.

"Great!" I cry with excitement.

My mom smiles.

"It's wonderful to see you see you so excited about this."

"My history teacher always says that "those who don't take the time to learn history are doomed to repeat it," and I have to say I agree with her."

My mom smiles and nods as she drinks her coffee and I finish my breakfast. My brother finally makes his way downstairs, just as I take the last sip of juice and put my dishes in the sink. I make my way upstairs to brush my teeth and to grab my purse and backpack. I make sure that I also grab my cell phone and stick it in the side pocket of my backpack. Since my brother is running late this morning, he can't give me a ride to school. My mom volunteers to take me.

I attend Carson Middle School in Colorado Springs, Colorado with my two best friends Vanessa and Lisa. They aren't as excited to go on this field trip as I am, but they are happy to get out of school for a day and for us to spend time together. My mom pulls up to the front of the school, so I can get out. I grab my backpack and purse with my feet and grab the handle to open the door. My mom quickly grabs my hand and gives me a smile.

"Have fun on your field trip today and please be careful. I will be here after school to pick you up. I love you."

I smile back at my mom and nod.

"Okay, mom. I love you too, I'll see you this afternoon." I say to her as I give her a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. I exit the car and close the door behind me. I turn around and see my mom wave at me. I wave back at her before she pulls away and drives off. It doesn't take long for my friends to find me as I hear Vanessa call my name.

"Jade!" Vanessa cries as I turn to the sound of her voice.

I saw her and Lisa run toward me waving. I smile and wave back. Once they approached me, we put our arms around each other and headed into the school, talking, and laughing.

A short time later…

We have all piled into the bus that is taking us to the mines. Me, Vanessa, and Lisa all sit together near the back of the bus. Before long, everyone is on the bus and seated as the bus pulls out and heads towards its destination. It's about a 45-minute trip to the mines, so the three of us talk, and laugh and play games on our phones until we get there. We are having so much fun together that before we know it, we have arrived at the mines. I look out the window, disbelieving what I'm seeing. The mines didn't look at all like I was expecting them to, they were huge and looked cool. I was so distracted by the sight that Vanessa had to nudge me to let me know that we were getting off the bus. I made sure I had my purse with me as the three of us got off the bus. We walk up to the entrance of the mines as our teacher double checks to make sure we are supposed to be there, once we are checked in, we enter the mines. We start out in a lobby with a gift shop, and lots of pictures of the mines throughout history, as well as the clothes the miners wore and the tools they used in the mines. We eventually find ourselves walking a long hallway with wall to ceiling windows on each side so we can see all the equipment used in the mines, once we reach the end of the hallway, we are finally inside an actual mine. They make us all put on these funny looking hats to protect our heads while we are in there. I'm fascinated by everything I'm seeing, I'm just in awe as I take everything in. Before long we exited the mine and found our way outside. After being in the semi-dark mine for a time, I find myself blocking my eyes from the sun momentarily due to its brightness, and once my eyes adjust, we trudge along towards another mine that is ahead of us. I hear Vanessa and Lisa talking behind me as I continue walking. I take in my surroundings by looking at everything around me, I want to see everything. As I am looking around, I notice something hidden behind some tall grass and bushes and am curious to find out what it is and before I realize it, I find myself walking towards it. The voices of my classmates and teachers fading behind me. Once I reach it, I realize it's a cave that has been forgotten about and very well hidden. I want to get a closer look at it, so I push aside the grass and bushes covering it and find the entrance to the cave. I step inside the cave, once inside I realize how dark it is. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and turned on the flashlight. The light from my phone illuminates my way as I walk deeper and deeper into this cave. The deeper I go into the cave, the colder it gets and before I realize what's happening, I trip on something I don't happen to see and find myself falling for what seems like forever and then I hit the ground hard, and everything goes black…

To be continued…