Them Thar Hills!

"There's gold in them thar hills...." Drew laughed, he was now a middle-aged father of three sons, but he could hear echoes of his old grandfather. He was preparing for a weekend away, camping with his wife, Livvy. He had brought all his family metal detectors, always hoping to strike it lucky. He just knew he could somehow locate a great gold nugget in the far away mountain ranges. Perhaps one of his family might uncover a gold reef that the old timers could never access, so long ago. Drew paused for a minute, and imagined being the owner of a great gold mine, an instant millionaire.

Livvy appeared, bringing some dehydrated food boxes and drinks, she was by now used to her husband's gold fever. "Tarquin and Toren are staying home for the weekend. I am fed up with arguing with them."

"What about Miles?" Drew asked after their youngest, all of eleven years old.

"He just announced that he wants to stay here with Shaggy and his big brothers."

"Do you think that's such a good idea?"

"Oh, you go and talk to him, instead of leaving it all to me." Livvy was chief cook of a male menagerie. Even Shaggy, her dog, was a male. He was curled up with Miles on the couch, staring at silly movies. Drew reluctantly walked indoors, and listened to Tarquin and Toren promising fervently on their stack of unread bibles what good young model citizens they were going to be for three days.

Livvy then wrote up several reminder notes, and the emergency phone numbers of the boys' Uncle John, the ambulance service, and the fire brigade. Plus the emergency vet. Drew had to accept that wandering through impenetrable bushland was not his sons' ideal weekend for kicks.

"We're going for an adult weekend," he joked, as Miles made impressive vomit sounds. Livvy huffed off to the campervan, and then their sons had won a tussle of what they wanted to be doing. Tarquin waited for half an hour, making sure that Livvy did not make their father drive back to check on them.

Then the eldest son, a real teenager, produced the spare credit card his mother had left him. Soon, a home delivery of sheer alcohol had arrived, plus some online orders of junk food, straight to their door. Tarquin and Toren had no intention of being 'good boys'. Soon, the movies went off, and music was blaring in the afternoon.

Toren decided it was a great idea to get Miles drunk too. So he and Tarquin laughed, and kept pouring their junior bro many a bevvy. Miles soon flaked, in between spewing. He did not get to bed on time, and they all forgot to feed Shaggy. The throbbing notes of really dreadful music pounded until dawn, and their parents were by now far beyond mobile phone contact.

The boys slept it off the next day. Meanwhile, Drew and Livvy went fossicking at their destination. Livvy covered herself with glory, by finding a couple of small nuggets. Drew and his bride wandered further and further off the hiking tracks, following little paths made by small creatures in the forest. Some parts of the hillside were more exposed, but Drew was not too worried. He and Livvy could camp in their pup tent, and eat a dehydrated meal, light and easy. This was a kid free zone for once.

He gaze at the vision of the entire mountain range across his horizons. As he turned to face south, he noticed a massive array of black storm clouds, rolling in rapidly. He called to Livvy, to rejoin him there, and pitch their tent. Maybe the weather would not be so bad. "This storm was not on the forecast. I am sure it said, clear and mild."

"I hope the boys are all right," Livvy was fretting a bit, as she also eyed off the tempest approaching.

"Give me a hand here, will you?" Drew was battling to pitch their tent, as it flapped in the strong gale winds. It was an impossible task. By now, there was a sudden Spring blizzard, and snow was pelting the couple. Their clothing was sodden, they clung together in a shallow in the clearing. The mountains keep their secrets, and it was a very long while before any searcher found Drew and Livvy, still huddled together, no longer clinging to life.

Meanwhile, back at their suburban dwelling, Tarquin and Toren had invited some mates to spend a wasted weekend of booze and party fun for teens. Miles felt more and more upset, but his mother was beyond all contact. No one had fed Shaggy, so he proceeded to dig a large hole under the backyard gate. He ran away to find a better human family.

When Miles realized he and his brothers had lost Livvy's most beloved furry boy, he did panic. He tried searching for him, but soon wandered back home, still in his stained pyjamas. He was not quite ready to be grown up, if his brothers ever were.

So he waited until darkness came a bit later, the nights were drawing on now in Spring. He changed into some cleaner jeans and a hoodie, and wandered off before the last bus left. He did make a couple of errors, but found his way to his Uncle John's. There, his Aunty Ivy fed him, made him have a shower, and hovered over him until he went to sleep. She knew Drew and Livvvy were not due back till the next evening, as it was a long weekend. Uncle John went round and sprung Tarquin and Toren. A massive riot act was read, and the teenagers spent the next day cleaning the house, very subdued.

The remainder of the long weekend proceeded more sedately, but there were no parents arriving home, full of tales of gold nuggets and fortunes won or lost. The days of the next week were very slow, full of missed phone calls to their parents, now forever beyond range. Their message banks were full, the phones drenched. No one really knew which turning they had taken into the vast hinterland. The police choppers searched, and sent cars of rescuers to check any vehicle camped in the bushland.

Uncle John and Aunty Ivy tried their best with Tarquin and Torne. But they both went off the rails, when they realised their folks were never coming back. Miles was a bit more resilient. Shaggy's fate was ever a mystery. He had actually wandered into the forest, to search for his loving mum, Livvy. He did not last long, but no one would ever find him.

Drew had spent many long hours, chasing his elusive pot of gold, which led to his personal destiny. The searchers did find them both one day, and had great difficulties bringing Drew and Livvy back for their funeral. There may well be still be gold, a fortune, in them thar hills, somewhere over the ranges. But the mountains keep their secrets very well. Silence in the land.