Contributor: Binary Agent

Mac entered his dimly lit room in the back of the boarding house. He dropped Emery's limp body onto his cot, sending up clouds of dust that swirled in the slanting rays of the setting sun. He stalked across his room to a small table. He stooped down and grasped one of the creaky floorboards. He sat back on his heels and pulled. The warped board flexed upward, revealing a small tube under the floor. Mac reached for a small, tin box of bullets and wedged it under the floorboard. He reached down into the floor and pulled out the rolled up paper. He untied the twine around it and unrolled the paper across his tabletop.

“It's been a long time.” Mac said with a sigh. “A very long time.” He ran his leathery hands over the yellowing map. “The Green Mountain Mine.”