Nicki lead both boys to his house after school. He didn’t want to, but he had very special equipment’s at his house.
“I thought you didn’t like you’re house, and we’re going there?” Nicki shook his head.
“I just need to grab a few stuff.”

“Then where are we going?” He paused.
“I did not thing of that.”
“How about we all go to my house?” Jeremy suggested. Both Nicki and Daniel were happy with that decision. Nicki ran to his room, grabbed a bag and stuffed a few things from his room and left. Very quick and easy. Jeremy led his new friends to his house. It was simple, which was perfectly fine for Daniel and Nicki. Jeremy took out his keys and opened the door. The house looked plain and simple from the inside too.

Two girls came down, most likely twins. They had brown hair and bright green eyes. They smiled when they saw Nicki and Daniel.
“Hi, Jeremy.”
“Hi. Kimberly, Hailey, this is Daniel Anderson and Nicholas Williams. Guys, these are my sisters.” The girls giggled when they saw the boys, which made them very uncomfortable. Kimberly smiled at Daniel, and Hailey smiled at Nicki.
“Hello, boys.” They said, smiling again. Jeremy felt himself smiling as he realized his sister’s had a crush on his friends.
“Where are Mom and Dad?” Right on cue, their parents appeared and stared at the boys.
“Children, who are these boys?” They immediately took out their guns and the boys jumped. “Name your business!”
“Mom, Dad, they’re my friends!” The parents placed their guns down.
“Your…friend’s?” His father said, saying the word friend’s like it was an atomic bomb. His mother smiled and hugged the boys.
“Aww, my little Jeremy has friends!” She let them go and studied the boy’s pale and sweaty faces. “Oh, we’re sorry about the rude introduction. I’m Mary Johnson and this is my husband, Frederick.” The boys shook the parent’s hands.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Nicholas said.
“What a cute Australian accent!” Jeremy’s mother said, pinching the boy’s checks. Nicki kept on a kind smile and cried of pain inside. “Would you boy’s like a snack?”
“That would be nice, thank you.” Daniel said. Jeremy led the boy’s upstairs to his room. It was pretty neat. Nothing in it except a bunch of awards hanging on the wall.
“Sit down.” Daniel sat down on the bean bag chair and Nicki sat down on the bed with Jeremy.
“So, why do you need your stuff again?”
“Because, Franklin Williams’ is holding a map.” Jeremy said, answering his question in a very broad way.
“So?”
“So,” Nicki said. “He must have hidden the map in the diary. Also, there are a bunch of symbols that don’t make sense. They might be clues.” Jeremy studied the picture of Franklin Williams holding the map and the necklace. The map looked very familiar. He flipped through the pages and found the exact page that Franklin was holding.
“This is the page that is the map!” He cheered. Daniel and Nicki looked at it and then back at the picture.
“One problem, the map doesn’t make any sense!” The boys studied the picture.
“Wait, the map in the picture is legible! See, Franklin Williams is standing next to a mirror!” Nicki was right. The map in the man’s hand looked like a bunch of scribbles, but in the mirror, it looked like real words. The twins arrived with a tray of cookies. Nicki faced the girls.
“Ladies, do you happen to have a mirror?”

A few seconds later, the three boys had a mirror in their hands. “Thank you.” Nicki said. The girls winked at him and left. Nicki raised a brow while Jeremy and Daniel laughed. Nicki turned to the page with scribbles. But the only thing that made sense was that it was in a circle. Nicki held the book in front of the mirror and the scribbles turned into words! “I can read them!” Jeremy quickly grabbed a pad and a pen.

Nicki spoke while spinning the book around and Jeremy wrote. Daniel held the mirror in place and was itching to wonder what the words would say. Plus, he was helping himself to the cookies the girls had given them. Finally, Nicki stopped talking and Jeremy stopped writing. They all gathered around Jeremy. Daniel cleared his throat and read,
To whom this may concern,
This Diary is my life’s keeping. I have kept all my secrets and thought in here,
And I expect a very responsible person, or group of people. I am happy
To inform you that I have hid treasure, here in Santa Barbara. But sadly,
I am writing this because I am being followed by my arch nemesis,
Thomas Addison’s. I must tell you this; this man is very dangerous and not one
To be fooled around with! This Diary might be in the right or wrong hands,
Therefore I have left a numerous number of clues around town.
Only my ongoing family will know. They will need the family necklace to
Help them find the money. But be warned, the beholder of the necklace
Is in grave danger. Addison’s ongoing family will be after that person and
The money. This book will also guide you, good luck. Your adventure starts at Australia. Remember,
You are not just doing it to find the money, but to save it.
Sincerely,
Franklin Williams,
Nicki’s expression went blank. Neither Jeremy nor Daniel could see if Nicki was shocked, scared or nervous. Jeremy nudged him.
“Are you okay?” Daniel couldn’t believe how stupid Jeremy was being.
“Yes, Jeremy. A criminal might be after Nicki and he’s fine.” He said sarcastically. Nicki shook himself awake.
“Maybe there are no more Addison’s?” Jeremy suggested. He went over to his computer and typed up Addison’s. The whole family tree came up.
“Type, two thousand twelve Addison’s.” Nicki told him. He did and only one result came up. A news report. Jeremy clicked on it and read it.
“Harrison Addison and his family are in search for treasure. Police’s say that they tried to break into a house in Los Angeles. The Williams’ residence.” Nicki gasped.
“So the burglary in my grandparent’s house last month…it was the Addison’s!” Daniel could hear the fright in his tone.
“It’s okay, they weren’t hurt, right?” Jeremy scanned the article.
“It says they were fine. Anyway, the Addison’s were released from jail a few days ago. Their children, Harrison and one not mentioned or involved, are still in search for the treasure while the parents are staying low.” Nicki’s face was turning into different colors. Sort of like The Wheel of Fortune wheel.
“I’m sure they aren’t after you, Nicki.”
“They went after my grandparents! I’m next!” Daniel and Jeremy quickly shook their heads.
“We are a team now. You are going down with us. We’ll find the clues and find the treasure, while avoiding Harrison Addison.” Nicki was thinking now. He started tapping his fingers on his lips.
“So, we have to go to Australia to find and save the treasure?”
“I don’t think our parents will be so thrilled with that idea.” Jeremy admitted.
“Plus, I don’t think telling them would be such a good idea. They’d just say, ‘Oh, you all are just wasting your time! If others didn’t find the treasure, what makes you so sure you will?’” Daniel said, making his voice sound like a woman’s.
“We can’t tell them, but we have to go.” Nicki finally said.
“How?” They both asked. Nicki sighed and let his head drop.
“I have a way.”

After he told his mates his plan, they were both in shock.
“You’re going to tell your parents that if you go on this trip, you’ll become an artist?!” Daniel bellowed.
“That’s the most absurd plan I’ve ever heard!” Jeremy admitted.
“We have no other choice. I have to go to find that treasure. Great mystery solvers sacrifice a lot for their adventures.”
“Still,” Daniel said. “It’s a very bad plan.” Nicki thought so too, but in order to convince his parents without telling them what he was actually doing, he’d have to do something his parents would like.
“Anyway, we’re going to have to decipher the rest of the clues in this book. Let’s read on.” Jeremy took the book and flipped the pages. But the book was just filled with notes about his life and pictures of the school, which wasn’t really helpful.
“There’s nothing in this book. How are we supposed to use it to find the treasure?” Daniel said. Nicki looked at the last page. It was white, but it was like filter paper. Then, he saw the corner of the page tilted a little. His heart started to pound. He took the corner of the page, and in seconds, the paper became a map.
“Cool.” Nicki muttered under his breath. Daniel looked through the map.
“Again, it has codes.” Jeremy placed the mirror in front of the map, but the symbols were still very hard to understand. “It’s another trick? Great.” Nicki’s brain sparked with excitement. He took off the necklace around his neck and studied it. The symbols on the map were exactly the same ones on the necklace.
“Maybe it’s one of those deciphering code things?” Nicki said. He looked at his necklace and saw each symbol had a letter next to it.
“That’s…interesting.”
“Why would someone carve symbols into a family necklace? It seems sort of weird.” Daniel said. Nicki managed a smile.
“Guess that would make my family weird.” They all managed a slight smile. “We’ll meet up tomorrow after school again. I’ll convince my parents and they can get us a plane to Australia probably in a few days when school is over.”
“Do you really want to do this? Waste your whole life on a treasure that may or may not exist and then become an artist?” Nicki shrugged.
“I can’t let the Addison’s get the treasure. My great grandfather wanted someone to protect that treasure, and that’s us. Are you guys in?” He said, placing his hand palm down in front of them. Daniel and Jeremy looked at each other for a moment.

Daniel placed his hand on top on Nicki’s.
“I’m in.” They all looked at Jeremy. Jeremy thought about it for a few moments.
“I’m not a really adventurist person…but sure, why not?” He placed his hand on top on the other’s hand. “I’m in.” Nicki smiled.
“Great. You guys just ask your parents for permission and we’re off.” Nicki and Daniel got their stuff and headed out.

Nicki wasn’t the happiest person today. He was going to have to sacrifice his future of becoming a mystery solver and become an artist. It was just terrible. When he got home, he felt as if he was losing a war between him and his parents. He fought for the right to who he wanted to be since he knew them. But now, he was going to become an artist, just what his parent’s wanted him to be.

He barged into the dinner room, where his family were eating dinner. “Mum, Dad, I need a favor!” They just wiped their mouths with a napkin, pretending to ignore him.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t talk to-”
“I’ll do it.” He grumbled. They looked up.
“What?” Nicki took a shaky breath out and remembered what he was supposed to say.
“I’ll become an artist like you want. I’ll paint, I’ll sculpt, but I need a huge favor.” He begged. Their parent’s eyes twinkled with excitement. His siblings looked at each other, then back at Nicki like, what are you doing, little brother? He didn’t answer them.
“What is it?” Their parents asked eagerly.
“I need three plane tickets to Australia as soon as possible.” Their parents stood up.
“Why three?”
“Me and my two of my mates from school.”
“So, if we give you the plane tickets, you’ll become an artist?” His father asked with excitement. He nodded slowly.
“If it helps, I’ll work off my payment.” The parents ran to him and hugged him.
“Forget the payment! We’ll let you stay there as you want, but do you really promise to become an artist?!” His mother asked. Nicki sighed, wondering if a mystery for treasure was so important that he would set his life to becoming an artist, just like his family.
“Yes, I promise.” Their parents released him and smiled.
“I knew you would come to, I knew you would become an artist, just like the Williams’ family generation. Now, you want to have dinner with us?” Nicki shook his head.
“I’m tired, good night.” He ran upstairs and slammed his door shut. He laid on his bed on his side, staring out at the night sky. “My life is ruined.” He whispered to himself over and over. He wanted to solve this mystery. But it seemed to be asking for a little too much from him. My first and last mystery. He fell asleep in a few minutes.

Samuel and Jeannette were supposed to be in bed. What else would someone do at three in the morning? But they wanted to talk to their little brother without their parents. Samuel tiptoed after Jeannette. He stepped on a creaky floorboard.
“SHHH!” Jeannette hissed. He rolled his eyes. She quietly opened her little brother’s room and walked in. Samuel followed, not really sure if waking a person in the middle of the night was any fun. They tiptoed to the dark figure sleeping on the bed. Samuel opened up the lamp on the nightstand Jeannette glared at him.
“What? We can’t see him!”
“Close it!” Samuel did. Jeannette poked Nicki around. “Nicholas, Nicholas!” He didn’t wake up.
“I know how to wake him up. Good thing I came prepared.” He pushed Jeannette aside and took out an air horn. “Be ready to cover his mouth.”
“Why?” He rolled his eyes.
“Because, he’ll scream and wake up Mom and Dad.”
“And that noisemaker wouldn’t?” She grumbled. Samuel ignored her. He blew the air horn into his brother’s ear. He sat up and started to yell,
“HARRISON!” But Jeannette quickly covered his mouth.
“It’s just us, Nicholas.” Nicki took a few shaky breaths when Jeannette removed her hand from his mouth.
“O-oh.” He managed to say.
“Who’s Harrison?” Samuel asked. Nicki rubbed his eyes.
“Nobody.” He mumbled. Samuel and Jeanette sat next to him.
“Nicholas, why’d you do that?” Jeanette asked.
“What?” Even though he knew what she was talking about.
“Why did you tell Mom and Dad you wanted to become an artist?”
“Yeah, you can barely paint a bunny!” Samuel said laughing. Jeannette rolled her eyes.
“It’s because…I really need to go on this trip.” Nicki said with a tone of frustration. Jeanette placed an arm around him.
“Why?” Nicki didn’t know what to say. Should he tell his brother and sister? Would they understand? “Please, tell us.” She said gently.
So, Nicki did. He told his siblings about the Addison’s, the treasure and Franklin Williams’. He told her about the diary, telling him to go to Australia. Jeannette and Samuel were left speechless when Nicki was done.
“That’s why I really need to go. I need to protect that treasure.”
“B-but, you could get hurt!” Jeannette declared.
“I know, but I need to.”
“So, you’re willing to sacrifice your whole future, just so you can find and protect a treasure that may or may not be true?” Samuel said summing it up. Nicki nodded. Samuel laughed out loud. “That is just messed up!”
“Shut up, Samuel! Nicholas, I don’t know about this.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll be gone with my mates for a week, that’s it. By then we might or might not have found the treasure.”
“Then you can come back and enjoy life as an artist!” Samuel cheered. But the two of them ignored him.
“But how will we know you’re okay? Mom and Dad obviously don’t care.”
“I’ll call you every day. If I don’t come back in about a week, you can get worried.” He said with a kind smile. Jeannette didn’t smile or laugh.
“Nicholas, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“I know, but it’s for the best.” Samuel frowned.
“But what if the treasure isn’t real? Then you’ll be painting for the rest of your life for nothing?” Nicki shrugged.
“Pretty much.” You could just feel the air getting colder, and the night getting darker, even though the sun was about to rise. Jeannette managed a fake smile.
“Alright, but we’ll be here to at least argue with Mom and Dad when you come back about you becoming an artist. Everybody has their own goals in life, and this isn’t the best way.” She ruffled his hair.
“Thanks, guys. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now I want to go back to sleep, good night.” Samuel said leaving. Jeannette followed him but gave Nicki a smile before she left.
“Good night.”
“Good night.” But Nicki didn’t sleep. He just stayed wide awake, feeling himself crumbling.

Daniel wasn’t in the mood to talk to his parents about what he was planning to do, but they had to know. He quickly changed into a tee and jeans and grabbed is bag. He met with his parents downstairs.
“Mom, Dad, can I ask you something?”
“What?” They asked.
“Is it okay for the summer break that I go with my friend to Australia?” They stared at him.
“Why?”
“Um…it’s because my friend is visiting someone and wants us to come.”
“And why should we let you go? You don’t act and you get into trouble every day!” Their mother argued.
“If you let me go, I’ll stop misbehaving.”
“And?” He sighed.
“I’ll be in a few commercials, only.”
“Short films.”
“Fine, but nothing else.” Their parents smiled.
“Who are you going with?”
“Jeremiah Johnson and Nicholas Williams. Nicki’s parents are paying for the whole trip.”
“Aren’t the Williams’ the one who are the famous artists?”
“Yeah.” After a slight hesitation, his mother spoke.
“Alright, we’ll let you go, but be on your best behavior. Now go, you’re late for school.” But before he did, Daniel gave his parents a hug and left.

Daniel skated to school. He was worried sick about Nicki. When he saw his friends, they were talking to each other. Nicki didn’t look so good. His face was paler than usual and he looked like he didn’t sleep. You could tell all of that because he didn’t manage to brush his hair.
“Hi guys, how’d it go?”
“My parents are letting me go. But they kept on asking so many questions, I was about to blow it!” Jeremy said smiling. They all faced Nicki.
“My parents said yes.” He said glumly.
“How’d it go?” They asked him.
“They didn’t even care who I was going with or why. They were just happy with the fact that I was going to be an artist for them. I feel like I lost a war.” He confessed.
“You look like you lost a war too.” Daniel said.
“Let’s just go to class.” He said glumly.

They didn’t talk much at school. Mostly because they could sense Nicki’s bad mood. Jeremy was just shocked that his parents said yes. They are probably letting me go because I’m with Nicholas, he thought. They didn’t stop talking how nice and cute he was, which was pretty gross to hear about a friend.

After school, they met up again.
“So, where should we go?” Jeremy asked.
“I think we should go to the library. We can do some research and find out about the map and clues.” Daniel suggested. They all agreed that, that was a good idea. They all headed towards the library. Jeremy kept wondering what the treasure might be. All the different possibilities to buy stuff. It would be amazing.
“So, if we do find the treasure, what are we going to do with it?” All eyes went on Nicki.
“Why are you looking at me for?” He asked.
“This is your family fortune we are looking for.” Daniel told him. “Unless my great grandfather’s name was Franklin Williams’, it’s your decision.” Nicki shrugged.
“I guess the right thing would be to put it in the museum?” Jeremy’s eye’s widened.
“The museum?! Nicki, we could be rich!”
“Yeah, but wouldn’t it be better if we kept in a safe place? The Declaration of Independence could have been passed on to the next family, but they placed it in the museum.”
“Plus, it could make us famous. Discovered by Daniel Anderson, Nicholas Williams and Jeremiah Johnson.”
“Hey, why does your name go first?” Jeremy declared.
“I’m the actor’s son.” Jeremy and Nicki just laughed at that comment and kept on walking.

When they got to the library, it wasn’t even full. There were maybe two or three families but no more.
“Wow, summers over and people get rid of education from their lives. It’s really sad.” Jeremy said. The two other boys rolled their eyes and they all sat down together around an empty table. Nicki took out his diary. Jeremy took out a book to read. But it had nothing to do with deciphering a code. Nicki raised his brow. Daniel took that gesture to him. He slapped Jeremy on the back of the head.
“OW!”

“Shhh!” The others hissed.
“What was that for?” Jeremy demanded.
“We’re doing something and your reading?” Daniel declared. Jeremy shrugged.
“What else should I do?”
“Help!” Both boys shouted.
“Shhh!” The others hissed again.
“Shhh, yourself!” Daniel said. The Librarian gave him a frightening stare, but Daniel shot one even more horrifying back at her and she turned back to her own book. Nicki smiled.
“Let’s work on this quietly.” He whispered. He took out a new notebook and a pencil. He untied the necklace around his neck and placed that on the table as well. The real alphabet was lined up with tiny little series of dots and dashes next to it. Daniel scratched his head.
“Dots and dashes? How is that considered a code? Are you sure it’s not a design?”
“Then why is a map here and the American alphabet, Daniel?” Jeremy said. But Nicki studied it closely.
“Guys, it’s not just one code or language. It’s another as well. See that Delta symbol? That’s part of a language as well.” Nicki needed silence for a moment. He stared all around him, but didn’t make eye contact at the two boys. He suddenly got up and went to the History section. Daniel and Jeremy exchanged looks, then followed him as well.

Daniel saw Nicki wandering around every shelf and book with his finger touching its spine. He got two books and then looked for another. When he wasn’t satisfied, he looked around to the back and got what he wanted. He went back to his seats, as did the others.
“Want to explain your trip to the History section?” Daniel asked. But Nicki started to open up all three books, floating through the pages, skimming all the words and looking at the picture.
“Earth to Nicholas Williams.” Jeremy asserted. He didn’t respond. Finally, he stopped and smiled.
“See the Delta symbol?” They both nodded once. “That’s the letter D from the Greeks.” He then placed another book on top of it and showed the entire Greek Alphabet and pointed at the symbol on his necklace. “That’s one language.” He placed the third book on top of the other two. “But what about the dots and dashes? What are they?” Daniel and Jeremy only shrugged while Nicki smiled. “They are part of a code.” He pointed at the book with lines and dashes decoding an American Alphabet. “The code is the Morse Code, gentlemen.” He laid back in his seat, obviously satisfied by his discovery.
“Aren’t there three kinds of codes to translate from?” Jeremy asked. Nicki nodded.
“Yes. American, Continental and International. But with this book, I don’t see how we can’t figure it out.” Daniel looked at his watch.
“It’s pretty late. Our parents will worry.” Nicki nodded and got up.
“Alright. I’ll just check these books out and decode it by tonight. Then tomorrow we come back here and decode the map.”
“Last day of school tomorrow.” Daniel said. Jeremy groaned.
“I really don’t want to go to graduation. Wearing a tux,” He shivered. “Disgusting!” Nicki smiled and got up with his materials and was about to go to the desk to check out the books when Daniel said,
“Hey, Nicki?” He turned around.
“Yeah?” There was a pause.
“Get some sleep tonight. We promise we’ll find out what we need to. You can count on us.” Nicki smiled at his new mates
“Thanks, guys. That means a lot.” They waved good-bye and Nicki checked out his books.

Nicki walked as slow as possible. He didn’t want to see his parents. He was disgusting by them right now. He kept his bag over his shoulders. The night sky was clam and peaceful. He heard the sounds of police sirens. He sighed. Why was life so hard for him? He had not been wanted for fourteen years. That was one too many for him. His parent’s bragging how they were great artists and forcing Nicki that that was his only career options while his older brother and sister could only watch with sorrow as their brother was slowly losing his match to freedom.


He saw a boy walking on the street across from him. Nicki thought, why was he up so late? Probably abandoning his family as well. Nicki proceeded forward, then the boy crossed over to his sidewalk and was walking towards Nicki. His pace slowly decreased and the boy speeded up towards him. Nicki finally faced the young boy. He looked about his age. He had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.

They both stopped and stared at each other. Nicki cleared his throat. “Hi. Have we met before?” The boy didn’t even move or twitch. Then, he smiled.
“Yeah, at school. Looking forward to the graduation tomorrow?” Nicki sighed with relief. Just another boy from school.
“Suits, not my thing.” The boy laughed.
“True. I’m Hanosirra Nosidda.” Unusual name, thought Nicki. He extended out his hand. Nicki shook it.
“Nicholas Williams. Nicki’s what my mates and family calls me.”
“Hey, Nicki. Got any plans for the vacation?”
“Going to Australia with some mates.”
“You’re Australian?” Nicki nodded.
“Only one, actually. We took a family trip. I was born a little bit early.” The boy only smiled.
“Cool. My families from Germany. So am I.” Nicki detected his Dutch accent.
“Cool. See you tomorrow?” The boy smiled once and nodded.

Nicki started to proceed forward when a pain hit his shoulders. He nearly collapsed. Then, the pain hit his back. He was driven on his knees. The boy stood in front of Nicki now.
“Sleep well, Nicki.” He said with a disgusting sneer. He took his weapon, which Nicki caught as a sword of some kind. He held the blade in his hand and the butt of the sword hit Nicki’s head. He flew a foot or two before he landed and started breathing hard. Hanosirra Nosidda took his sword again. But this time, Nicki caught it and swung it behind him. He kicked the boy in the stomach and he collapsed on his knee, gasping for air. Nicki gathered his things and ran home, ignoring the stars dancing around his eyes and the throbbing in his back, shoulders and his head.

Nicki got home and closed the door silently. The house was dark. Two figures came down. Nicki didn’t have time to see them as his eyesight became black and his knees gave out. He crumbled to the ground.

Jeanette quickly caught her brother in her arms. Samuel switched on one light.
“Is he high?” Samuel joked. Jeanette shot daggers at her brother with her eyes.
“Nicki doesn’t do drugs, you idiot.”
“How do you know? Smell his breath?”
“What?” She asserted. Samuel rolled his eyes and kneeled down in front of Nicki. He opened his mouth.
“He doesn’t seem to be high.” He opened his eyes. “His pupils aren’t dilated either.” Then, Jeanette felt something wet from her hands. She lifted her hand up into the light and gasped. It was dyed red. Samuel gasped. “Are you bleeding?” She shook her head. She then checked the back of Nicki’s head.
“No, he is!” Samuel felt Nicki’s head. His hair was damp with blood.
“What the hell…” Samuel muttered. He lifted Nicki into his arms. “Let’s go. You’re driving.” Jeanette stared at him stupidly.
“Where are we going?”
“The hospital, you idiot! Mom and Dad don’t care about anything but painting. He came home with a scraped knee from soccer practice. Normal parents would care. They saw it and ignored it and said it was nothing. He fainted one time when he had a heat stroke. They didn’t care. We’re taking him to the hospital because we care.” Jeanette didn’t argue with that logic.

They drove to the nearest hospital in Santa Barbara. They admitted Nicki and a nurse gave them a stern look.
“What are you? The boy’s parents?” They both shook their heads. “How old are you two?”
“Nineteen and my sister is eighteen. Our brother’s fourteen year old, ma’am.” The nurse sighed. Probably wanted some action to happen, thought Samuel.
“Alright. Sign it and wait.” Jeanette had the better handwriting, so she signed the papers. She returned the clipboard and waited together.

Soon, Jeanette grew frantic about Nicki.
“What if he’s not alright?” Jeanette whispered. “What if he has some kind of infection? What if-”
“Don’t worry. He’s a strong guy. I think he’ll be fine.” But that didn’t reassure Jeanette at all.

An hour later, a doctor came to the waiting room.
“Mr. and Miss. Williams?” Jeanette and Samuel stood and walked towards the doctor.
“Is he alright?” Samuel asked hastily. The doctor nodded.
“He is fine. He only has a few stiches on his head and a bruised shoulder and back. Nothing too severe.” They sighed with relief. “Was he abused?” Jeanette’s eyes widened.
“What? No! He came in from his friends and he collapsed onto the ground. So, we saw blood coming from the back of his head. We drove him here.” The doctor studied them both, then nodded.
“Alright. The cause of the bruises and the head injury seemed that he must have had been hit by something hard.”
“What?” They both asked.
“That question can be answered by Nicki. He’ll gain consciousness in a few hours. Would you like to take him home or let him rest here?
“He has to attend a graduation tomorrow.”
“Alright. But make sure he’s feeling fine. If he feels light-headed or dizzy, you should bring him back. Make sure he gets plenty of rest.” They nodded. The doctor handed Jeanette a prescription. “These are for painkillers. It should help his injuries.”
“Alright. Thank you, Doctor Marcus.” He nodded and left.

They took Nicki home and to his bed. He snored softly in his bed. Jeanette sighed and crossed her arms around her chest.
“Something’s up and he’s refusing to tell us.”
“He did tell us.” Samuel admitted.
“What if it’s serious? What if this was the work of the guys Nicki and his friends are after?” Samuel sighed.
“Jeanette, I don’t have the answer.” She grabbed Nicki’s cell phone and looked on his contact. Two new names appeared. His friends.
“I know where I might get them.”

So in the middle of the night, the two siblings each dialed Nicki’s friend’s number. They told them that they were at the library, decoding a code and Nicki checked out a few books and went home by himself. Nicki’s siblings believed them. They would just have to wait till morning to figure out what was going on.

The next day, it was bright and early. Too early. Nicki blinked a couple of times before actually realizing it was morning. He tried to get up, but it ached all over. He yelped. What had happened last night? The memory struck him way too hard. A guy from school tried to kill him with a sword. He got home and collapsed on the floor. Then, he was in and out of consciousness. He remember lights and needles. That’s all.

He got up and dressed. But it took more than a while. He had on black slacks, a maroon shirt and a black tie. He combed his hair with a nice sweep through his forehead and steadied it down with gel. He noticed his face was a little paler than usual. He didn’t care. He tied up his dress shoes and went downstairs.

Jeanette and Samuel greeted Nicki and questioned him automatically. He answered their questions.
“Who?” They both asked.
“Hanosirra Nosidda. I’ve never heard of him-” He paused. The name suddenly clicked to him. He grabbed a paper and a pen. “Samuel, you mind me using your back as a desk?”
“Yes!”
“Too bad.” He turned Samuel around and wrote on his back. On the top, he wrote, HARRISON ADDISON. On the bottom, he wrote, HANOSIRRA NOSIDDA. He underlined the boy’s name he met last night. He formed them together and it spelled out. HARRISON ADDISON. Nicki sighed. “I can be so stupid sometimes. It must have been Harrison Addison.” Jeanette took the paper and studied it.
“Oh, Nicki. What have you gotten yourself into?”
“Me?” He gasped. “This happened to our grandparents and it has nothing to do with me!” Samuel shrugged.
“I agree. He’s not that cool.” Both siblings shot him a glare. Jeanette crumbled up the paper.
“Forget this today. We have a graduation to go to.”
“Where are Mum and Dad?” Their expressions darkened.
“They left. Paris, I think.” Nicki frowned.
“I reminded them about my graduation.”
“We know.” Samuel told him.
“We told them. They didn’t listen…nor cared.” Nicki lost his appetite after that.
“How kind.” He muttered.
“They left you about three thousand dollars in cash for your trip.” Nicki rolled his eyes.
“Three thousand dollars my ass. They’re just hoping I’ll come back to being their little artist.” His siblings were quiet. “Come on,” Nicki finally said. “I don’t feel like eating.”

Nicki’s siblings sat with the rest of the families of the graduating students.
“Nicholas!” He turned around and saw his friends come over.
“Are you alright?” Jeremy asked hastily.
“Who was it?” Daniel asked.
“Are you alright?” Jeremy asked again. Nicki smiled.
“Yeah, I’m fine. The boy’s name was Hanosirra Nosidda. But I think its Harrison Addison. The boy knows what we’re up to. I really don’t want you guys to get hurt.” They both stared at Nicki, then laughed.
“Don’t get us out of the action already!” Daniel demanded.
“Let us in on the fun!” Jeremy said. Nicki smiled.
“Thank, guys.” He stared at Jeremy’s baby blue tuxedo and his bow tie. Daniel wore a simple three-piece suit. They both looked at Jeremy and laughed.
“Hey! It’s what my sisters picked out!”
“Do they hate you?” Daniel asked. They both cracked up.

The class president came around, giving girls their corsages and boys a flower and a pin. Samantha Wilma. She was a kind person with blonde hair and blue eyes. She scowled at Jeremy and Daniel and just handed them their rose. But she smiled at Nicki and took the time to adjust his flower and making small talk. She smiled at him again.
“Good luck with your speech.” Nicki smiled. As the vice president, both he and she had to make a speech.
“Thanks, Samantha. She nodded, then handed him a piece of paper.
“Ever get the time over the vacation, call me.” Daniel and Jeremy chuckled from behind, but with one of Samantha’s scowl, they became silence. Nicki nodded.
“Will do. See you at High School.” She kissed his cheek and left. Nicki smiled at the boys. “Jealous much?” They rolled his eyes and pushed him down the hallway.
“Come on, lover boy. Let’s get this done with. We have more things to do.”

After they placed on their red robes and golden sachets, Nicki delivered his speech to the thousands of parents and students. As well as the faculties. They all clapped and Nicki sat down next to the class president. She smiled.
“Not bad.”
“Same to you.” They let the whole world zone out until their names were both called. They got up and received their certificates. They smiled together as their picture was taken and went down. They went outside into the hallway to get some drinks. Nicki took of his cap and gown and brushed his hair with his fingers. Samantha did the same.
“Any plans over the summer?” She asked casually.
“I’m going to Australia with Daniel and Jeremy for a week.”
“Oh.” She said with a little disappointment.
“But I’ll call you as soon as I come back. Maybe a movie or something.” Her eyes twinkled.
“A date?” He nodded.
“Sure. We could meet up and talk about high school. Gonna be fun. All four of us going together.”
“Daniel and Jeremy? Please,” She snorted. “I hate them, they hate me.” Nicki laughed kindly.
“I can tell.” Samantha faced him, then tilted her head.
“Are you alright? You seem…tired.” He frowned.
“Oh…just not enough sleep. You know, last day of school and all.” She nodded.
“Have fun on your trip.”
“Thanks. Are you going anywhere?”
“Somewhere probably with my family. But I’ll be here, waiting.” Nicki didn’t need to know what she meant by waiting.
“As will I.” They were close. A little too close. Before they knew it, they both leaned in and kissed each other on the lips.

A few minutes later, they took a step back. Samantha only smiled.
“I’ll see you soon, Nicki.” She hugged him. But Nicki could feel that it was tightly. Something was wrong.
“Are you alright? It’ll only be a week. I promise.” She let go and nodded.
“I know…”
“Is something wrong?” Samantha faced him for a while.
“Just…be careful.” And she ran out. Nicki stood there, too shocked to process anything.

His friends came to get him.
“You alright? You look at if you saw a ghost?” Daniel asked. Nicki shook his head.
“Fine.” He said shakily. “I’ve got to go. See you Sunday.” And he left with his siblings.

At home, Nicki began deciphering. It didn’t take lost. He wrote all the English Alphabet next to the defined and matched codes in Morse Code and the same for the Greek language. He then decided to write on the map. But it was so old and crumbled, they didn’t process the ink. Nicki placed the deciphered codes on a few Post-It’s, then placed them correctly where they should go. In three more days, it was time to go to Australia.

Nicki rubbed his head. He felt as if he couldn’t complete this task. He had nearly gotten himself killed. Could he really survive a week in a country where his enemy might be there, waiting…sneaking up on him and observing his every move? Nicki’s head starting hurting. He took two painkillers and gulped them down with a glass of water. His head was throbbing like crazy, his brain ached to just be floating around in his mind.

He laid down after he deciphered the messages. Nicholas wanted to read them, but he found his vision blur. He fell asleep in a matter of minutes. He had so much to think about, but not enough time or the mind to even process them all. He felt hurt, bruised and more of all, betrayed. He hated that his parents thought that being an artist meant that you would succeed. He wanted to be a Detective. Why couldn’t he be? Other parent’s children let them do it. Jeremy could be anything he wanted. Daniel’s parents at least respected his needs a little. Why were his parents like this? Why were they trying to force him to paint? What was so special about painting that made being anything else was so bad?

Nicholas knew that his parents would not be there for him. He knew that since he was three and they forced him to paint a perfect tree like Samuel and Jeanette. Was he really that different? Was he that terrible to his whole families name all because he didn’t want to be an artist? Nicki knew that his siblings respected him though. He knew his only grandparents, his father’s parents, never cared who Nicki was. They cared about who he was as a person. That was all. Nicki decided to meet them before he left.

Nicholas Williams knew what he was doing was irresponsible. But he needed to talk to someone who he knew would accept him and would understand what he was dealing with. He quickly went to www.Greyhound and found himself booking a train from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. He paid twelve dollars in cash. The ticket would be waiting at the station. He packed a small bag with some stuff and wrote a quick note. At six in the morning, he knew his siblings would not be up. He quietly went into both their rooms.
Samuel was snoring like an animal and Jeanette slept peacefully and calmly. Nicki quietly entered her room and placed the note on her side drawer. He quietly left the house. He had placed on a plaid shirt and jeans. He left to the station, walking alone on the first day of summer vacation.
Nicki arrived at the station, got his ticket and sat on his Greyhound seat. He had an empty seat. He sat by the window and stared. The bus started to move. Not many people were seated this early in the morning. Who would want to take a bus across the city at six in the morning? Thought Nicki. He smiled. He did, he was crazy enough to. An old lady suddenly sat next to him.
“Well, good morning! Aren’t you a little early and young to be riding to by yourself?” The woman had short gray hair and a large summer hat which looked at if a pile of flowers were glued to her hat. She wore a loud flowered dress and carried a large tote bag that looked like it held about a dozen bowling balls. Her eyes were bright green and her smile was kind and bright as the sun. Nicki smiled. She looked like his grandmother. Kind-hearted and lovable.
“I am a bit early and I’m only fourteen years old, ma’am. But it’s so I can see my grandparents at Los Angeles.” She smiled and extended out a boney hand.
“My name is Mabel Honey. And yours, darling?” Nicki shook the woman’s hand.
“Nicholas Williams. But I go by Nicki. What brings you up so early?”
“Meeting my niece. She just had her third child. Another beautiful girl. Three in a row. They grow up so fast.” She took out something from her tote bag. A beautiful little pink sweater. She handed it to Nicki. “I’m nearly done. I thought I might do some more work before I arrive.” Nicki touched the sweater.
“I see you used free knitting. Personally, my sister would argue and go with pattern twenty-two and do the lop stitch. I tried it and it takes much too long.” Mabel smiled.
“You know about knitting?” Nicki felt color touch his cheeks.
“When you have older sisters and older brothers, they can influence you a lot.” She smiled and began talking about the history of knitting. Nicki listened with intention. He though she mustn’t have much time to talk to many people with the way she was talking to him. He listened for the woman’s sake.
Nicki ended up getting off first.
“It was very nice meeting you, Nicki.”
“As to you, Mabel.” And he got off the bus and walked to his grandparent’s house. He knew that his parents wouldn’t care if he did this. But he tried to imagine if he had normal parents. Would they freak out? Would they ground him for life? Nicki didn’t know. He never had parents there for him because of who he was.
He rang the old buildings bell. The house was drowning in beautiful and lovely flowers. The door opened immediately. The woman had short black and white hair with blue eyes and a fit and healthy body. Wrinkles still managed to be smooth on her face and the man looked exactly like his wife. Salt and pepper hair, smooth face, bright intelligent eyes and an athletic and tall man.
“Nicholas!” He smiled and hugged his grandparents.
“Hi, grandma, grandpa.”
“What are you doing here at nine in the morning?” He took a step back.
“Did I wake you?” His grandfather smiled.
“Not at all boy.” He could still hear their wonderful Australian accents. He and his grandparents were the only one who had them. “Just a thought, why are you here?” Nicki bit his lips.
“There’s something important I need to talk to you. I can’t talk to anybody else. They wouldn’t listen.” His grandmother took his hand.
“Then you are always welcomed here, my dear grandson. Come on in. You must be dying out here!”
His grandmother made a plateful of cookies and poured some lemonade and three ice cubes. They always believed that three was a lucky number. They gave Nicki a crazy straw, that he didn’t really think a fourteen year old would want, but he didn’t want to hurt their feelings. He took a cookie, realizing he didn’t have breakfast, and drank some lemonade. The bus wasn’t actually “air conditioned.”
“I hate the summer! I’m a winter person, really.” His grandfather complained. Nicki laughed delightfully.
“I agree. Summer may be fun since there’s no school, but it doesn’t mean you can survive through it.” They smiled.
“Now, sweetheart. Tell us what seems to be bothering you.” His grandmother asked. Nicki took a deep breath in.
“It all started when I came late to school…” He took it from there, describing how he found Franklin Williams’ diary at his school, the first principal of his school. He began to tell them about the things written in the diary. He even brought it out and showed him how he deciphered the codes. He told them about the family necklace and the treasure. He then led them to telling them about the Addison’s and what happened to him two nights before. He told them about how his parents would let him and two mates go, who were helping them with the mystery, if he became an artist. He told them that he felt as if he lost a war between them. After fourteen years, the war finally ended and his parents won.
He had finished talking. He hadn’t heard them talk at all. They only stared at the diary sitting and staring right at them. His grandmother looked up, a tear escaped from her eyes. She walked across the table and hugged her grandson.
“Oh, my darling. My poor little sweetheart. We are so sorry this became your problem. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I know you have the family necklace, but I never thought that you would be in danger.”
“Have you told Samuel and Jeanette?”
“So far, they and my mates are the only ones that care. My parents could care less about me and my mystery. All they want is for me to come back as an artist. They don’t care if I’m in danger.” He said quietly. His grandparents were silent. “I don’t know what to do. I mean…of course I want to solve this mystery! I love mysteries!” The comment made his grandmother manage a smile. “But I don’t want to lose. I just have. Why do I have to become an artist? You both did, your daughter did, her husband and her two older children, except me. They don’t listen to me anymore. They think that I’m like a whole other species. You should just see the way they scowl at me at dinner as I refuse their offer of being an artist every single day. But the time I told the news…their eyes lit up, their face brightened up at the mention that I was going to be an artist. It was so cruel!”
They were all silent for the moment. The boy’s grandparents were shocked about the child’s parents and how they treated Nicki.
“Nicki, we can’t imagine what you’ve been through. Or what you are going to deal with. Maybe you shouldn’t go.” Nicki quickly shook his head.
“If I’m going to give up my freedom, I’ll give it up fighting.” He glanced at the wall clock. He slowly placed the diary in his bag. “I better get going. Samuel and Jeanette will get worried.”
“When do you three leave?” They both asked.
“Tomorrow.” He responded. His grandmother got up.
“Then you’ll need one more thing.” She got up and left for a couple of moments. His grandfather and he talked a little about their lives and nibbled on the oatmeal cookies. Then, his grandmother returned with a wrinkled up old map like the one contained in his diary. She handed it to him. “This is the map leading to the treasure, as well as clues and riddles. I’m sure from all your ancestors, you will be able to solve it.” Nicki reached out and took it from his grandmother’s grip. He didn’t respond for a moment.
“What is the treasure? What is so important? What did Franklin Williams’ bury and what was it?” They both shrugged.
“That’s why it is so valuable. This treasure hunt was on the news. But nobody ever succeeded. Let me tell you something; no William has ever tried to find the treasure. Why? They were too afraid of the risks that would come out of this. They didn’t want to deal with the Addison’s. That’s why they kept on passing around the family necklace so much. It was a disgrace to their name.” Nicki frowned.
“What makes you so sure that I’ll find the treasure? What if I fail?” They both smiled.
“We know you’ll find the treasure because of all the trouble you are going through to solve it. And if you don’t find it, it was worth a try, aye?” Nicki nodded.
“Alright. Thank you both so much.” He hugged his grandparent’s good-bye and walked to the train station and set for home.
Nicki got on the train ride home and hadn’t realized just how tired he was. Maybe it wasn’t him, he thought. Maybe it was the whole mystery and treasure hunt. Maybe it was the criminal boy after him. Or maybe it was he had to be an artist forever. He sighed and closed his eyes in his seat. Nicki knew that normal fourteen year olds never had to worry about all of this. All they had to worry about was test, grades, and getting girls. None of these were problems for him. So why did he have even more challenges to face? What was the point of all of this? Nicki rubbed his eyes. He would never know. Until he died, he still would never know.
He tried to think positive. He had great grandparents, he had his wonderful siblings who cared and loved him for who he was and he had two new best mates who didn’t seem to want him to do this alone. He was grateful for these. Even if he was going to die, maybe not find some treasure and become an artist, he had the very few people in his life to help support him on his feet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the strip of paper Samantha had given him. He smiled. He also had someone very dear to him as well.
Samantha and Nicki had known each other since sixth grade. Ever since then, they had hung out a lot, went to each other’s house together to study, but it was never awkward between them. Until they hit the end of eight grade. Samantha Wilma became a person who would blush around Nicki and make being together pretty uncomfortable. He had stopped hanging out with her and she never asked why.
But now, Nicki started to feel the same way as Samantha. She was pretty, she was smart, and she had everything a girl needed for Nicki to pick them right out of a huge crowd. Why shouldn’t he be happy? Hwy shouldn’t he have a girlfriend? He liked her and she obviously liked him. He really appreciated all of the help given to him by everybody. He frowned. But what would the consequences be? Just how many people was he going to hurt?
He got back to his house during the evening. He had just killed nearly a whole day. He didn’t mind. He wasn’t in the mood to think at all. He wanted to days to pass quickly. He wanted to enjoy his mystery/treasure hunt until he permanently became an artist and never looked back at the world with joy. He would never smile right up at the sun. He would never smile at the people who had helped him into this world and he felt like he didn’t know them anymore. When they went into their own zone, they were lost forever.
He found Samuel and Jeanette getting ready for dinner. He helped out a bit and Jeanette made some simple small talks. The boys had nothing to add or respond to her comments. They both had nothing to say. They sat down and ate. Nobody had an appetite and nobody wanted to speak. They chewed if they wanted to and kept their eyes on the table. Finally, Samuel found himself patting him out words before he could wish to have them back again.
“Do you think the Addison’s will get to you and get the treasure?” He quickly and quietly cussed at himself. Nicki raised a brow.
“What do you mean?” He asked. Jeanette shot Samuel a nasty glare.
“Yeah, Samuel. What do you mean?” She said in a bitter voice. He paled up.
“I…um…” Nicki smiled and then found himself laughing. Soon, his siblings joined him as well. Nicki poked his carrot and chewed and talked.
“Don’t worry, guys. I’ll be fine. Its only one week. What could go wrong?” Samuel raised a finger to make a response, but when kicked in the shin by his younger sister, he decided against it.
“Your right,” Jeanette said, smiling at Nicki. “You’re smart enough to take care of yourself. But just try not to get into trouble. And try not to draw any attention.” Nicki managed a smile.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be there and we’ll be out of there in less than a week if we have to.”
“You better,” She said, pointing her fork at her. “If you’re a minute late for your flight or if you don’t answer your cell every day, we’re coming in after you. Whether you like it or not.”
“Or whether we like it or not.” Samuel muttered. Nicki smiled kindly at his siblings. They were all he had to assure himself that he would get through this safety. He ate his dinner and went upstairs to pack.
His siblings had helped him book a hotel for him and his mates. Samuel had joked that he should spend as much money on the hotel, since his life would pretty much be over. Then, he received another kick from Jeanette. After Nicki had stopped laughing, eh considered Samuel’s joke to questioning. Then, he smiled. His brother was right. He was going to spend as much on his trip. Why? Because this was going to be his first and last mystery case. Why shouldn’t he? He paid for first-class tickets and a luxurious hotel suite.
Nicki had been to Australia about once, but only with his grandparents. His parents wouldn’t take him unless he became an artist. He was eight years old and he called his grandparents. They argued that they were killing the boy with their stupid tradition of being an artist. They didn’t listen. His grandparents took Nicki and his siblings to Australia for a whole month. When they came back, their parents hated Nicki and his father’s parents even more. So much that they refused to ever talk with Nicki’s father’s parents.
Nicki felt a tear erupt from his eyes. He couldn’t keep it in anymore. He was going to succeed for him. He was going to make his great grandfather Franklin Williams happy that Nicki was ever born. That was the young boy’s goal. He zipped up his bag and stared out his window. The moon shone down at Nicki. He was going to succeed. For all the Williams that were never appreciated for who they are. A human being wanting to break out of their shell and ignore the language of art for the rest of their lives.

Daniel Anderson packed up his bag and placed it over his shoulder. He went downstairs and found his siblings all lined up and his parents also waiting. They all hugged Daniel and his mother handed him his passport. She kissed his forehead and held his chin up with her nails.
“Please, be a good boy and don’t get arrested.” He smiled.
“I’m not planning to, mother.” His mother smiled at him with delight. His father clapped his shoulder.
“Son, maybe you don’t want to be an actor. That’s alright with us. But just once-”
“Yes, father. No matter what I’ll be, I’ll add a bit of acting, for you guys.” He ruffled his hair and heard a car horn.
“I better go. Bye!” he ran out and met Nicki. They both hi-fived each other and got in the back of Nicki’s siblings car and drove away.

Jeremy Johnson packed his bag. His mother packed about four bags for him alone. She packed him up as if he were going away for a year. Their parents kissed him good-bye as they heard the car horn.
“Say hi to Nicki for me!”
“No, say hi to Daniel for me!” His twin sister’s begged. He sighed.
“Alright.” He said slowly. He headed out and saw Daniel and Nicki. They helped him put his bags in the back of the mini-van and they both got in the back and drove to the airport.

The Santa Barbara Airport was crowded more than usual on the Sunday morning. The boys were helped with their bags by Nicki’s siblings and they proceeded towards the check-out. Nicki’s siblings met them all the way to their gate. Nicki and his friends got a hug from both siblings.
“Just be careful,” Jeanette Williams said. “We’re the only ones who know what you three are doing.”
“Try not to mess with the criminals.”
“And please, call and answer, Nicki.” He smiled and his friends.
“Alright, Mum and Dad.” Samuel punched his arm.
“Ha-ha. Very funny. At least we care.” They faced the gate.
“We better get going now.” Daniel and Jeremy proceeded forward. Nicki hugged his siblings one last time.
“It’s just a week. I’ll call, e-mail and text. I’ll do anything to keep in touch.” A tear came from Jeanette’s eye as she kissed his cheek and patted his shoulder.
“I know you will. Go.” She whispered. “Make us proud. Your older brother and sister. Do it for us.” Nicki stood up straight.
“I will, I promise.” And he waved good-bye and went inside his assigned gate and into his airplane.

Nicki felt tired. It was only an hour since take-off. Only six more hours left until they land. Nicki felt his eyelids nearly drop. Daniel and Jeremy sat by his right side while he sat in an aisle seat. His mates were listening or watching TV. They were both too busy to notice Nicki. While they were enjoying themselves, questions spun around Nicki way too fast. His head started pounding with pain, as well as his bruised shoulders and back. He stirred in his seat. It was very uncomfortable.

But on top of that, thoughts filled his throbbing mind. He needed something to help him. But what would? He felt like he was miles away from his mates. His tongue felt too big in his mouth and he couldn’t even process any words. He opened his mouths, but that was all. His head rocked to the left and his eyes finally lowered. But his brain didn’t rest. It throbbed with pain. Nicki screamed with pain.

Daniel was busy listening to some music. He was in the middle. To his right, he saw Jeremy watching the National Geography Channel. Daniel rolled his eyes and placed his earphones away. He looked to his left and saw Nicki…he was acting strange. His face was paler than usual, sweat beaded down his forehead and he was shaking like crazy. Daniel took Nicki by the shoulders.
“Nicki?” He didn’t respond. “Nicki!” He yelled a bit louder. A few people started to stare. Nicki’s eyes snapped open. They were bloodshot red and Daniel could hear his heart beating like a hummingbirds. “Are you alright?” Nicki sat up and groaned, rubbing his head.
“I feel as if my head was used as a bowling ball.” Daniel managed a smile.

After Nicki got some painkillers, he drank some water and finally, his mind had the courtesy to fall asleep in peace. His head laid on Daniel’s shoulder. If it was anybody else, Daniel would have probably punched them off. But for Nicki, he didn’t. He let him rest for a while. He needed some. His sister had told him that he had been up for nearly forty-eight hours and hadn’t eaten that well either. He felt bad for Nicki. He had done all of this, just to prove to the world who he could be, yet his parents would never see that.

Jeremy and Daniel started to talk.
“Do you know where we’re going?” Jeremy asked.
“Australia?” Daniel said stupidly. Jeremy glared at him.
“I mean where we’re going to stay?”
“Trust me when I say it’s pretty fancy. Samuel told me they booked a very expensive hotel, just for the hell of it.” Jeremy smiled at Nicki. Then, he frowned.
“Do you think he’s taking this too seriously?” Daniel was quiet for a while.
“A little. Maybe. I don’t know. It’s his case. He’s doing what he wants.” Jeremy nudged him.
“He’s not alone, stupid.” Daniel shrugged.
“If you want to chicken out-”
“I am sticking with Nicki! For him, not for you!” Daniel sneered at him.
“Ditto.”

Nick woke up feeling better than ever. The plane had tilted and they were nearly on the runway now. A loud noise came from below Nicki’s feet. The wheels came out and they landed, nearly bouncing on the runway. When they landed, Nicki got up like the other passengers and opened the aircraft luggage cabin above him. His mates were sleeping. He smiled and tossed them their bags. They groaned as they were nearly punched in the stomach.
“Arvo, boys! Welcome to Aussie!” He cheered. They stared at him stupidly. Nicki rolled his eyes. “I mean, good afternoon and welcome to Australia!” Daniel scowled at him.
“Couldn’t you have just said that?”
“Yes, but what fun would that have been?” Nicki smiled. “Come on, we have a limo to catch!” Jeremy and Daniel grinned at each other.
“Coming!”

Their white stretched limo waited for them outside. The boys helped themselves inside and ate the snacks. The chauffeur remained in the car, having not even showed himself to the boys yet, while Nicki slowly placed the bags inside the truck. He held the hood for a moment, unable to close it. There was no going back now. He was going to get hunted by a criminal and have to where else to go. He knew his mates would try to protect him, but he knew he was alone.

Someone slammed the lid of the trunk close and Nicki jumped back. A man grinned at him. He was dressed as a chauffeur. Yet, he looked so familiar. Nicki looked him over. He had blonde hair and bright blue eyes, yet an expression that told people he meant trouble, no matter where he was. He was about seven feet tall and someone stood next to the man. She had blonde hair and green eyes. She was pretty and elegant, yet she looked tough enough to kick someone hard enough to Paris.

Nicki’s eyes widened.
“Cyrus? Paris?” They smiled at him.
“Hey, little cuz!” Nicki hugged him cousins. They hugged him back.
“It’s so good to see you.” Paris ruffled his hair.
“As to you, what are you doing here?” Nicki frowned, his expression darkened. He looked through the open door. His mates were occupied. He turned back to his cousins.
“Ever heard of Franklin Williams?” Paris and Cyrus faced each other and frowned at Nicki.
“What do you know about him?” They both asked. Nicki took a breath.
“Every heard of the William’s treasure?” Their expressions darkened right there.

Nicki sat on the hood of the limo and told his cousins the full story. It wasn’t easy, but he tried to keep it together and tell them the whole story. Paris uncovered the necklace from under his shirt and stared at it for a bit.
“You know who we are, Nicki. You are one of us. We were never accepted by our own parents because we weren’t artists. Those bastards.” Nicki managed a sad smile. “We walk around the world with nothing else but the pity our parents gave us and it’s certainly graved us down, giving us no hope to do anything else. But if you do this, we can prove them all wrong. Do you understand?”
“I know that. That’s why I’m doing it. But…it’s just the others. Their after me.”
“So? We’re here in Australia, you’re not alone, you know. Even two of your mates believed that you deserved to prove your whole generation of artists’ wrong. Especially your parents.” Cyrus hesitated. “I just can’t believe you promised them you would be an artist.” Nicki sighed.
“What was I supposed to do, guys? Ask them for me to go on the trip? They didn’t let me go when I was eight years old. Do you really think they would just let me go, because I ask them as their son?” Nicki sighed. “We better get going. I only have a week to find the treasure and get out of here without any trouble.” Their cousins beamed at him.
“Do you think we’re letting you do this alone?” Cyrus asked.
“Our grandparents called us. They want us to take care of you. That’s what we’re going to do.” Nicki stared at them.
“Why?” He asked.
“Just what you want. Freedom of being an artist. Prove to them we can also be someone.”
“But you’re not going without any weapons, are you?” Paris stared at Cyrus.
“Cyrus…” She said slowly to her twin brother.
“Oh, come on. I think he should see it.” Nicki tilted his head.
“Where?”
“Get in the car. We’ll drop your mates off and we’ll take you to a place where I know you’ll love.”

After his mates were dropped off, Nicki was driven to a store he had never seen before. The Bankstown Gun Shop.
“You both work at a gun shop.” Nicki stated, very slowly and a little bit frightened what his cousins had been doing without the guidance of any adults.
“Sort of.” They both said in harmony. The William twins were very much scaring Nicki, even more than his mystery. “Come on.” Nicki got out and followed them both inside.
“Oh God, what have you two gotten into?” Nicki whispered.

The gun shop was empty. Well, not filled with customers. Men, who seemed to work in the store, were playing around with guns and tossing them around. Paris quickly moved him to the left as a knife came flying by. “Oh God, what have you two gotten into?” Nicki muttered again. Cyrus clapped his shoulder.
“Aw, come on. It’s fun being here.” Nicki rolled his eyes.
“Get on with this. I have a schedule, as you may not know.” Paris and Cyrus led Nicki into an Employee Only room and they climbed down the stairs. The place was like an underground torture chamber. Nicki gulped. “If Jeanette and Samuel found out I was here, they’d probably kill me.” The twins laughed.
“How are they by the way?” Nicki looked around once more and shrugged.
“They’re fine.” He said.

The twins introduced Nicki around.
“This is the secret gun room that the owner lets us use. We work here, but this is our little private space.” Cyrus tossed him a gun and he quickly caught it in his hand. The grip was rubber and the gun was silver. Nicki glared at him.
“Don’t even think about it. I’m not using a gun to hunt some criminals!” Paris smiled.
“A pacifist, you’re just like me. But your right, gory will not solve anything. But this is an Airsoft Gun.” Nicki let out a breath of relief.
“It wouldn’t hurt if you have rubber little ball pellets.” Nicki felt a response about to form right after Cyrus’ statement.
“But…” Cyrus grinned
“But who says we’re letting our little cousin take rubber balls to defend himself?”
“But Airsoft Guns are not used for self-defense.”
“It is when your under-aged to own and have a license for a real gun, Nicholas. Trust me, we’ll prepare you well.”

Nicki sat on the wooden table, surrounded by shelves of weaponry and ammos. Paris and Cyrus went looking around the messed up and cluttered shelves. They tossed him his gun again and a container filled with metal pellets.
“This gun is a 4.5 mm Caliber BB gun with a metal slide and integrated weaver rail. One cartridge has about nineteen rounds. You don’t need a CO² refill. One will be enough to have to firing from two hundred to five hundred shots. Take a hit at it.” Nicki paled.
“I don’t know-”
“Come on, Nicki! Let’s see the shot. How long do you think you’ll survive weaponless?” Paris and Nicki glared at Cyrus. He shrugged. “What? I’m only stating the facts!”
“Shut up, Cyrus!” They both said. Nicki took the gun and found a target. An old oil can. He took his target to consideration with some calculations of how to hold the gun and where to fire. He pulled the trigger.

He knocked the can right off with one shot. His cousins cheered for him.
“Good job, Nicki! Now, on to the other things.” He packed the gun and a few other metal pellets in a black duffel bag. He placed a few Swiss Army knives and packed about three black bullet-proof vests.
“Do you think that’s necessary?” Both Paris and Nicki asked.
“Of course! If that guy could make your head bleed with a sword, imagine the damage he could do with a gun.” Nicki thought about that.
“Pack away.” He quickly blurted. Cyrus nudged him.
“When are you starting?” Nicki bit his bottom lip.
“Probably tomorrow. We’re all tired.”
“Got any plans?” Nicki shrugged.
“Follow a dead guys clues. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. If I’m right, it’s not like they’ll respect me.” Nobody needed to know the definition of who they were.
“Just remember, others still love you. Others still care about you.” Nicki smiled and nodded.
“I know.”
“And remember to let us in the action as well.” Cyrus demanded. He handed him a card. “Our number. Private, but for you and your mates, it’s wide open.” Nicki smiled.
“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do if you guys weren’t around.” Paris helped him off.
“Go and rest. Tomorrow, we can find the treasure and crate a plan to sneak it out.” If there is one, thought everybody. But nobody said anything. Nicki thanked them and went to his hotel. They offered him a lift, but he really wanted to be alone. He walked to the hotel.

Nicki got home at around dinner time. A little later than he expected him to be there. The hotel they were staying in was the Shangri-La Hotel. Nicki had booked it under his last name and ordered three separate, yet adjoined rooms. The Shangri-La Hotel was a thirty-six story building with everything a person needed to spend a luxurious time.

The cost didn’t bother Nicki. His parents would pay for it. He didn’t care. He entered his room with his card and found his mates busy with their lives in technology. Daniel had about twenty pounds of candy around him while he played a race car game and Jeremy’s room door was wide open as he nibbled on some chocolate and watch a show about NASA. Daniel looked over at Nicki with a liquorish in his mouth.
“Mmmm?”
“Just with some cousins.”
“Mmmm mmm?
“Nah, I’m not hungry. See ya in the morning.” Daniel eyed his attention back towards the TV again and gave Nicki a little salute. Nicki returned the gesture and entered his room. He had his own TV, a King-sized bed all ready and made and a fridge filled with some of the things he liked. He closed the lights and drank a can of Sprite. He glared out at the view of Australia. It was a wonderful evening. The night sky was clear and not a wind blew. The water below sparkled with the reflection of the Moon.

Nicki turned up the A/C and placed his nearly filled can of Sprite on the table and crumbled into his bed, letting his head rest on the comfortable pillows and let the foam on the bed straighten out his back. He smiled. This was even better than his bed. He felt his eyelids growing heavy. He listened to the sound of his heart pounding on his chest and the soft sound of his breathing. He finally managed to close his eyes and fell asleep.

Daniel Anderson had never been to a better hotel. This boy really knew how to travel in style. Jeremy was up, watching some more TV. Nicki was sound asleep in his room. Daniel didn’t want to wake him. He seemed in a deep sleep. Daniel had placed on some shorts and a towel around his neck.
“Jeremy, I’m heading out!”
“Where?”
“There’s a huge pool outside. Do you really think I’m going to let the opportunity of me swimming in it pass? I don’t think so, Jeremy.”
“Whatever. Just don’t be too long. When Nicki wakes up, he’ll probably want us to go with him. When should I wake him?”
“Never. He will wake up when he wants to.” And he headed out.

The pool at ten in the morning wasn’t very crowded. There were two pools. One was filled with adults, the other, teenagers. Daniel took the one with people his own age. It wasn’t very loud in the room, but Daniel thought that he needed to clear his mind. He met a sweet girl with her black hair tied in a ponytail and green eyes. Daniel got her name and her phone number. Brittney Bing. Both Daniel and she did a few laps around the pool and laughed out loud.

After they exited the pool room, they walked around the hotel a bit.
“Who are you here with?” Daniel caught her Australian accent.
“Two friends.”
“You from around here?” Brittney asked.
“Just one of my friends is.”
“Names?”
“Nicki and Jeremy.”
“What are you doing here?” She asked.
“You ask a lot of questions.” She laughed. “Jeremy and I are here with Nicki. He thinks there’s some ancestry treasure hidden here.” She raised a brow.
“You believe that?”
“He’s my friend. Well, they both were since last week.” Brittney laughed so hard, she nearly collapsed.

Jeremy found himself leaving his room, abandoning his friend and he walked around the hotel. He found Daniel with two girls. But he seemed to be mainly talking to a girl in particular with green eyes and dark wavy hair. Jeremy walked over. Daniel introduced them all to him. He saw a girl smile at him. She had red hair, freckles powdered on her nose and brown eyes.
“Hi, I’m Kimberly.”
“Jeremy.” He said shaking her hand.
“How about we all have lunch? My treat.” The dark-haired girl said. They all smiled. “We can meet here in five minutes and go around the city. Maybe show these guys around a bit?” She asked Kimberly. She smiled at her friend.
“Totally.”

Nicki found himself awake. He shivered. Why had he placed the Air Conditioner on high? He sat up and rubbed his head. What time was it? He checked his watch. One PM. He gasped. He should have been up five hours ago! He quickly got up and found himself dressed in less than five minutes. He went to his mates bedrooms. They were gone. He scratched his head. Where’d they go?

Nicki searched the entire hotel. There was no sign of Daniel or Jeremy. He went up to the reception desk and found a nice young lady smile with her red lips.
“May I help you, young man?”
“Yes, two boys checked into a reservation for the William’s. Do you know where they headed out?”
“Two boys? One with red hair and one with dark hair?”
“Yes, ma’am. Have you seen them?” She nodded.
“Yes. They left with two girls. I believe I overheard them going out to lunch.” Nicki was stunned for a moment. “Is something wrong?” Nicki quickly shook himself out of his trance. He smiled at the woman.
“No, thank you very much…” He looked at the woman’s name tag. “Tyra.”
“No problem, dear.” He headed upstairs, unable to believe that his mates would just leave him like that. He called them on both their cell. Neither of them responded. Nicki sighed. He had no choice. He had to go today. He only had a week left. He went upstairs to his room.

He placed the bullet-proof vest over his shirt. He laced up his sneakers and rolled up his jeans up to his ankles. He grabbed the Airsoft Gun and placed it in his bag with the diary. He got out the map and laid it flat on the bed. He looked at the locations and the landmarks. The first one was simple enough. The Sydney Harbor Bridge. After that, the Uluru/Ayers Rock and then the Sydney Town Hall. There were separate clues there and directions for each landmark. Nicki believed that if he hit one landmark every day, meaning three days, then he would solve the mystery behind the William’s treasure and maybe be done with all of this in less than a week. He packed his stuff and left.

The day was bright and hot. But Nicki didn’t mind. He was born from here! He could deal with it. He walked with pride, yet felt a bit betrayed inside. His mates, who said they would be there for him, just left him alone. He shrugged it off. He did say to himself that he wanted to do this alone, maybe faith decided for him. Nicki sighed. The world and faith, what a strange combination they were?

Nicki went to the Sydney Town Hall first, since it was closer. It was located in the heart of Sydney, New South Wales. He had to stretch his head a little. It was bigger than he had imagined. He looked around. He saw people walking around, nearly pushing each other in the crowd. He saw a boy his age laughing with his parents. He found himself smiling at the boy.
“Enjoy your parents.” He muttered. Then, headed forward.

Nicki paid five dollars for the tour of the Sydney Town Hall. He and thirty other people were now listening to the bored looking woman. She talked with a dull and a voice that told everybody that this was her life and she did not enjoy it for one second. Ditto, thought Nicki.
“The Sydney Town Hall has been here since…” She paused for a second. “Eighteen hundreds. I’ve given this tour so many times that I’ve grown tired of it.”
“Then retire.” A teenage boy muttered. Nicki smiled.
“No talking during the tour.” She mumbled again and went along with talking with a few facts about the place. Nicki followed, but kept his sense of hearing busy with the taps of their shoes on the floor. He looked at the map and followed the clues.

Nicki was impressed by the building. It wasn’t half bad.
“Down in the Lower Level is the Vault Room. Sydney Town Hall’s newest meeting venue offers a unique experience.” The teenage boy next to Nicki rolled his eyes and raised his hand.
“And are we allowed to go down there?” She glared at him.
“Yes,” She said slowly. “And while I’m at it, I’ll give you all my e-mails and Facebook password.”
“She has a social life?” Nicki whispered to the boy. He quickly covered his mouth from laughing. Nicki raised his hand. “What unique experiences are available in the Vault?”
“I’m so glad you asked.” She said slowly and sarcastically. “They keep many treasures around the walls of the Vault.” Nicki stopped listening. Treasure…Vault, what a great sentence those two words form together! He looked at his map. His first clue. He had already deciphered it.
Seek the treasure you wish to find, is the next clue to each problem.
You look inside, you see it inside.
A gift, not wrapped or tied, but discovered for Sydney as a treasure.
You must discover not what is on the outside, but the inside the Rose Bowl.

Nicki was completely lost now. The rest of his tour went ahead without him. Nicki placed the map inside his bag and looked around. What would he do? What would he be willing to sacrifice so much, just for the sake of a treasure that may or may not exist? Nicki proceeded to the Lower Level, his mind taking control of his whole system now. But he let one thought stick in his mind. I am going to be in so much trouble, he thought before he went to the Lower Level floor.

Nicki ducked behind a wall as a security guard crossed over to the end of the hallway and disappeared. He started walking forward. He took a deep breath and entered the Vault room. It was unlike any room Nicki had ever been to. The walls were made of gray bricks. There were paintings of remarkable places that Nicki knew his parents and siblings could create easily. He frowned. The reminder of his parents nearly made him lose hope. But he straightened up. He was here and he couldn’t back down. There was no way he could or wanted to back down.

There were also glass cases with a few vases, books and of robes or suits of mayors or such people. There were many treasures that Nicki had read about when he came here. Some were given to Australia and some were gifts given by important people to them. Nicki read the clue again. What did it mean? Nicki tried to analyze the first two sentences. The next clue was inside something, but the item must not be transparent since you can’t see it from the outside. Also, it must have been a gift given by someone, given to the Sydney Town Hall. That narrowed it down. But not by much.

He read on to the last line. He had to discover the clue from the inside as the outside did not matter. He got that part. He paused. But what was a Rose Bowl? He looked around. There were no bowls here and clearly no roses. And none of those things combined either. Nicki starched his head. Was this just a fraud? Was the first clue already a phony? Nicki cussed. This was a waste of time. The treasure never really existed! He kicked a chair as hard as he could, ignoring the pain spreading on his foot. He started to walk towards the door when he spotted something.

He did a double-take and glared at the glass case. His reflection was barely visible or mattered as Nicki stared at the artifact that lied behind the glass case. Nicki saw his lips curved into a smile. A Rose Bowl also meant a vase! Nicki walked up closer. The blue vase sat on a small stage with a golden sheet. The vase was dark blue and engraved with white, blue and red, forming a picture of swirls and the red made it look like roses. It had golden handles and a top. A top! There could be a message inside!

Nicki frowned. He couldn’t do this! It was illegal! He would get into serious trouble! Think about the National Treasure movies! He thought to himself. Benjamin Franklin Gates nearly got arrested so many times! He was wanted by the U.S. Government so many times! But Nicki thought about the advantages. He found his gift, treasure hunting. He found the President’s book and a treasure map hidden behind the Declaration of Independence. Nicki felt his face tighten up. He was going to prove that he was a hero as well. He was going to prove his parents wrong just how Ben Gates proved his father wrong. Nicki was determined to find his family treasure and live up to his great grandfather’s name. He took out his Airsoft Gun. He closed his eyes and fired about ten rounds.

Nicki opened his eyes and found the glass shattered. Most of it dropped on the floor and some still laid as a glass case, but broken like a spider’s web. Nicki grabbed the vase and set it on the table. He quickly opened the top and placed the vase upside down. A small scroll of paper came out. Nicki grabbed it, placed the vase back and ran out of there.

Nicki ducked behind a wall as ten security guards ran inside to the Vault room with guns drawn to their sides. Maybe there was a silent alarm, thought Nicki. He quickly checked the hallway and made it up all the way to the Ground Floor and tried to act casual. He walked out of the Sydney Town Hall building and walked all the way to his hotel, smiling as he left.

Nicki got back, covered in sweat. He first took a quick shower. As he came back, he heard his phone ring. He answered it.
“Hello?”
“Nicki, how are you doing?” It was Jeanette. Nicki smiled. It was so good to hear her voice.
“I’m fine, Jeanette. And you?” He went over to his window and opened it. The world seemed busy today. The streets crawled with people who seemed like ants. Today, there was a bit of a breeze. Winter in Australia seemed like Summer to Nicki.
“Don’t worry about us, Nicholas. What have you been up to?”
“I met Cyrus and Paris. They want to help me out.”
“That’s good.” His sister stated.
“I went to the Sydney Town Hall. I had to find the next clue. But…”
“But?” His sister said sharply.
“I had to break into a glass case and take the clue from inside the vase. But I placed the vase back.” He said quickly, waiting to hear his sister’s screaming.
“Nicholas!”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I’ll deal with the laws later. I have to do this right now.” His sister was silent for a moment.
“Nicki?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful. And when you see the Addison’s, kick their asses for me, alright?” He smiled.
“Anything for you. Bye.”
“Bye, Nicki. Be safe.” And she hung up. Nicki stared at the view of Australia in the evening for a moment, then got back to business.

The clue was only one-third of the piece of the treasure map. Another treasure map. More clues to find.
“Ugh.” Nicki groaned. He laid on his bed, suddenly very hungry. He grabbed a Kit Kat from the fridge and laid on his bed, breaking them into tiny pieces and letting them melt in his mouth, letting his whole body feel energetic. He closed the lights after he was done eating and stared at the ceiling. He started to think about where he would go next when sleep interrupted and let his eyelids close down.

The next morning, Nicki heard a terrible sound from outside. He groaned and got up. He entered Daniel’s room. Both Jeremy and Daniel were busy rummaging through their bags. Nicki crossed his arms. He cleared his throat and the two of them looked at him.
“Hey, Nicki.” They said.
“Where were you both yesterday?”
“We had dates.” Jeremy said excitedly.
“Going right now to meet them.” Nicki checked the time.
“It’s only nine in the morning.”
“Yeah, we’re already late. We’ll be gone for the entire day. See you whenever.” Daniel clapped Nicki’s shoulder. “Thanks for inviting us, Nicki. Great vacation.”
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Nicki said through grinding teeth. Jeremy snapped his fingers.
“Oh, God! He’s right, Daniel!” Nicki smiled. They did remember. “We forgot to put on cologne!” Nicki frowned. They both placed on their cologne and left.

Nicki stood by the door for a few moments, shocked. They’re kidding, right? Nicki knew they were only kidding. He waited, maybe they were kidding. He waited a few minutes. Nothing. Nicki felt furious all of a sudden. He turned his back at his friend’s room and marched to his room.
“Fine, I can do this on my own. I don’t need anybody.” He grabbed his stuff and left the hotel.

Nicki went to the Hyde Park to relax his mind. Children ran around playing around and playing around with the fountain. Nicki sat on a bench away from the whole society of Sydney and crowded himself with his papers. He was going to go to the Sydney Harbor Bridge this time. He had quickly deciphered and read the clue.
As the sun goes down, sitting on the east side, the lights come up.
Row beneath the bridge, look under and look up. Written down, written all around.
Snap a shot and look within, the screen that lies your riddle will reveal.

Nicki was just as confused as the last riddle. He blurted out,
“What?” A little too loudly and a few people jogging stared at him. He quickly looked away and the joggers continued their routine running. He got out his cell phone and called someone. “Hey, guys? Do you happen to own a boat? At the Sydney Harbor? And own a camera?”

A few hour later, Nicki found himself smiling and water spraying around them. He rode on a boat with his cousins.
“Again, how cool is this?” Cyrus screamed over the motor.
“Amazing! Where’d you get a boat this quickly?”
“We know people!” Paris shouted.

As they slowed down and stopped under the bridge, Nicki took out his laptop. He had work to do until an hour passed and the sun went down. He looked up Franklin Williams. His cousins stood around him.
“So, who is Franklin Williams really?” Cyrus asked. Nicki smiled.
“That’s like asking a five thousand dollar question, Cyrus. Who is Franklin Williams? But more important, the million dollar question: What and where is Franklin Williams’ treasure?”

A picture of Franklin Williams came up.
“Looks sorta like you, Nicki.” Paris noted. Nicki nodded and read.
“Franklin Williams’ was a disguised teacher and a famous treasure hunter. He was a solo working person in disguise most of the time with many criminal records.” That was all. Nicki scratched his head.
“So, was he a treasure hunter or a criminal?”
“He was a treasure hunter.” Paris told him.
“But with finding treasures, there are risks. Meaning, breaking a few rules and laws sometimes. He disappeared without confessing what he did and people automatically think of them as a criminal. Like the way you broke into the Vault room.” Color touched Nicki’s cheeks.
“It was for a reason.” He muttered.
“Exactly the reason Franklin Williams is considered a criminal. He had to do certain things, but not many people, such as the government, must not have appreciated his way of finding treasure. But they did still place his few work in the museum. This treasure was supposed to be his best discovery yet.”
“What happened?” Nicki asked. His cousin’s expression turned serious.
“He was claimed to suicide himself on nineteen fifty. But that’s what the police made up. He was actually murdered by the Addison’s. But since he was a criminal, nobody respected him enough to look into it and left it as suicide and closed the entire case against our great grandfather.”
“And that’s the reason we are finding his treasure. Not only to prove our parents wrong, but to prove the whole world wrong about him. Franklin Williams was a great treasure hunter and he will be known forever.”

The night came quickly. The lights of the bridge came on and the boat underneath it drove even deeper under the bridge. Nicki took the camera and tried his best to snap as many pictures with the digital camera. The flash made the whole thing clearer. He took a few dozen pictures and then plugged the digital camera into his laptops. He quickly scrolled by the pictures. Nothing really stood out. It was just metal.
“Go back!” Cyrus and Paris screamed at the same time.
“Damn,” Nicki said, his heart hammering fast against his chest as they frightened him. But Nicki quickly did. Paris and Cyrus moved to the laptop and pointed at the metal frame of the bridge.
“Look there. What do you see?” Nicki stared at them stupidly.
“Uh…metal of the Sydney Harbor Bridge?”
“Look closer.” They both commanded. Nicki shrugged but did. He squinted hard and then gasped. The metal color was painted on for about a square piece of the bridge.
“What is that?”
“A cover-up. A disguise that was painted over for decades. It’s a clue from Franklin Williams.” Nicki quickly looked up and found where he had taken the photo. He found the tiny patch of painted metal.
“How do we get it?” Nicki asked. Cyrus grinned at them both.
“Oh no.” Paris and Nicki both muttered.

Nicki tried hard to keep his balance, but it wasn’t as easy as it looked. Cyrus held Paris up and she held Nicki up. Nicki reached again, but he couldn’t. The whole structure was starting to fall.
“REACH!” Both cousins shouted. Nicki reached again.
“I’m…trying!” Then, he felt himself getting an inch taller. Cyrus stood on his toes, as did Paris. Nicki did the same and quickly grabbed the bridge and snatched the patch of fake metal. It took some time, but it peeled off. Nicki smiled. “I got-” They all fell on the boat.

Nicki rubbed his head with pain.
“Not fun.” They all muttered. Nicki felt his head throbbing with pain. He quickly checked the back of his head with his fingers and brought them up to the sky. He wasn’t bleeding. Not yet, anyway. Paris helped him up.
“You alright?” He shrugged.

“Hope this was worth it.” He looked at the piece of thing in his hand. He felt it. It was a piece of leather. More like a wallet. He felt it open from the top. He shook it and found another scroll pop out. He smiled as he untied the red string and revealed the second piece to the map.
“Two down, only one more to go.”
“Where are we going tomorrow?” Both cousins asked.
“Alice Springs.” Their eyes bugged out.
“Nicki, that’s a three hour flight to another city in Australia! We can’t just book a flight,” Cyrus snapped his fingers for drama effect. “Just like that, you know.”
“I know. I’m going alone.”

His cousins stared at them.
“You’re not serious.” They both declared.
“But I am. You all need to stay here. This is my adventure.”

“What about your mates.” Nicki shrugged.
“They’re enjoying Sydney. But I have to go. I’ll be back in about a day. I’ll go there and come right back. I’m not staying or doing anything else.” Both cousins were quiet.
“Where are you going?” They both asked at last.
“Uluru/Ayers Rock. I guess I have to climb it.” Cyrus and Paris were silent. Then, Paris kissed her cousin’s cheek.
“Just…be careful. We would never forgive ourselves if anything happened to you.” Nicki nodded.
“As would I. That’s why I must go alone.” They all rode back to Australian soil.

Nicki went back to his hotel suite late at around midnight. His mates were too busy talking to their girlfriends on the phone. Nicki went to his room and booked the flight to Alice Springs. He took the cheapest flight and the quickest. He would leave tonight and come back tomorrow. He sighed as he looked at the next clue.
The climb to the death, many have not succeeded.
Others begin to see the truth that lies underneath their very toes.
While we are here to discover the cracks that lie on the top of the rock.

Nicki sighed. He wasn’t in the mood for these weird clues right now. He packed a bag and got ready. But before that, he quickly wrote a note and added his cousin’s phone numbers on the note and placed it on his bed for his mates. He thought if they bothered to care, they would realize Nicki was gone and ask about him. Maybe.

He tossed his bag over his shoulder, grabbed the three thousand dollars his parents gave him and his passport. He walked outside to find his mates were gone again. He sighed. Faith was a cruel thing sometimes. His faith would be cruel for the rest of his life now. As an artist. Not the life he wanted, but the life he was going to have forever. He couldn’t have asked for a crueler life. Yet, now that he thought about it, he was about to risk his life. He rolled his eyes. Not the thought he needed to clear his mind right now. And he headed out.

What Nicki didn’t know was that whenever he exited the hotel, he was constantly being monitored. Pictures were snapped of him of every step he took, in every place he was at in Australia. The man in the beige trench coat already had enough pictures of the boy. Him at the park, the Sydney Town Hall and him stealing an architecture from there, but placing it back and gathering a paper from inside. The boss had ordered him to make sure when the surveillance video was shown of the break-in, Nicholas Williams was replaced with another person and that the real truth would never be shown. He had pictures of the boy underneath the Sydney Harbor Bridge and him as human acrobats with two other adults.

The man hid behind a newspaper with a camera snooping from the middle. As the boy exited the elevator, the man snapped photos of the boy walking towards the exit. He had on simple clothes, yet he wore a backpack and had an Australia passport in his hand with an envelope as well. He looked up from his newspaper. The boy was going somewhere. He left his newspaper and moved with his camera.

The boy waved a taxi over. The man got in his car parked right in front of the hotel. The cab drove with the boy and the man drove behind them. He lost no trace of the boy and the cab. He followed them all the way to the Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport. The man smiled.
“Nicholas Williams, what in hell are you up to, boy?”

The boy got off and the man quickly parked his car and followed the boy inside, always a foot away from him and anonymous to the boy. The Williams youngest child had no idea who was tracking him down.
“Is he alone?” A voice said sharply into the man’s ear.
“Oh, yes. I haven’t seen the two other boys, siblings or cousins at all.”
“Wonderful.” The voice said, stretching out every syllable harshly. “Follow him!”
“Yes, sir.”

The boy went up to a desk, paid some money and got a plane ticket. He then waited by a gate and read for a few minutes. The man pretended to do the same, but was actually spying on the boy ever since he came here. His plane’s gate opened up and he boarded for his flight.
“Well? What is he doing?”
“Nicholas Williams entered a plane headed to Alice Springs, Australia.” There was a moment of silence.
“I’m booking you on that plane. Do you have everything you need?”
“All right here.” The man stated.
“Then go and follow the boy. Do whatever it takes to get him killed and get his supplies. But after he finds the last clue.”
“Yes, sir.”

Nicki boarded the plane and sat by himself. He looked out the window. The plane ride would be three hours long. That gave him some time to rest. He twisted a bit in his seat before he actually let his eyes go to REM mode. He led the hum of the planes sooth him into sleeping.

The man stared at Nicholas Williams. He was right across from him. He could just kill him right now! The plane ride would take three hours, the traveling distance from the Alice Springs airport and the rock was another five hours. Not to mention the time to climb it, which was two hours. A total of ten hours going to waste. “Boss, can’t I just kill him now? He’ll waste ten hours of my time. I could find it myself.”
“No!” He shouted. “The boys smarter than he appears to be. He had all the references and knowledge in his mind, not on paper! Let those last ten hours be the boys last.”
“Don’t you want to use him when we have the map for the treasure?” There was a pause.
“Excellent idea! That counts as double on your salary. But you are right, bring him to me. Leave a few marks if you must, I do not mind. But bring him breathing and alive.” The man smiled.
“Does he have to be conscious?” There was a dramatic pause.
“No, he doesn’t have to be.” The man grinned at the sleeping boy.
“Then I’m going to enjoy this little adventure very much.”

Nicki got off the plane. He needed to get going. Then, he remembered the card Cyrus had given him. He took it out of his pocket and stared at it. A picture of him was on an Australian driving license. His description and picture had just been added on to a fake license, but would pass as a real one as it was a copy of Cyrus’ license. He went over and rented a car.

Nicki drove to the rock with some directions given by a map. He knew how to drive, he had ever since Samuel and Jeanette had their license. When Samuel was sixteen and Nicki was eleven, he was taught how to drive. Jeanette also approved of it, saying that he might need it one day. He had done better than his siblings.

The road was clear and a little bumpy. Nicholas drove at sixty miles per hour. He had a time schedule. He had a flight to catch soon. He had to get the map. He had to get the treasure. His head started to throb. He took two painkillers and drank some water. He grabbed a protein bar from his bag and ate. He hadn’t eaten on the plane, but gathered some snacks from there. Five hours of silence did not do Nicki good. He got out his iPod and played some soothing music to calm his nerves. He legs shock so violently, it hurted.

The morning was clear and humid. The SUV had all the windows opened, yet there was not enough air to help Nicki stop sweating. He parked the car and got out with his supplies. He walked over to the Ayers Rock and stared up, blocking the sun with his hand. The rock was huge! Red and big. Nicki sighed. Another two hours he had to waste with this.

He was the first one there. The others were miles behind. Nicki stared at the board that warned everybody not to climb and do something else with their lives. “We do not climb.” It said.
“I don’t want to climb this piece of s*** either. But what am I going to do?” He tightened the straps on his black leather finger-less gloves and started to climb the piece of rock that nobody wanted to climb, yet Franklin William seemed to want to climb it. “So then why am I climbing it?” He said out loud. He took one step and paused. He looked around. Nobody was around for miles. He smiled and then started to climb again. Perfect, he thought. I’m alone.


Nicki made it half-way up when he felt pain spread through his legs. He started to feel dizzy all of a sudden. He nearly slipped and fell backwards if not for his shoes that gripped onto the ground. He shook his head. He needed to focus. He took a gulp of water and proceeded forward. The air starting to get thinner and thinner as Nicki climbed higher. But as he climbed even farther towards the clouds, he needed more air. He shook his head and placed a hand on his forehead. This climb was enough to make a person go mad. Maybe that’s why so many people die or get injured from climbing this damn rock, thought Nicki.

Nicki was a few steps there. He felt the world starting to spin around. He grew tired. He took his last few steps and let out a sigh of relief. He had done it. He had actually climbed this death trap of a rock! He collapsed on the ground and watched the world with awe. Then, his moment of victory ended as he got out the last clue. Nicki read it to himself again and stared at the very rock top he was on. There were millions of cracks! New ones formed nearly every day! How was a crack going to contain a clue for the treasure map?

Nicki shrugged and then started looking at the cracks. He searched every single one of them. They contained nothing but dirt and soil! Nicki cussed out loud and kicked the stupid rock. What was there in these stupid cracks, thought Nicki He rubbed his head. What else was there to see? He looked over at the view of Australia. Then, he looked down. He groaned.
“Please, no.” He begged. But he knew what Franklin Williams had done. He got on the ground.

The man watched Nicki from a distance. He was only a foot away from him. Nicki got up and cussed out loud after his search of the top of the rock.
“Boss, I don’t think he knows what he’s doing.”
“Give him time.” The voice said patiently. Patients was something this man didn’t have. Then, he saw the boys eyes widen and he looked over the rock.
“Please, no.” He whimpered.
“Wait…I think he has something.”
“Excellent.” The voice said slowly.

Nicki laid on the ground on his stomach, then he let his upper half of his body fall over. He discovered the tiny cracks everywhere. But where was the one that contained the paper. He looked down and threw up in his mouth. He was about to let his protein bar come out. But he held it in. He looked around with his face turning abnormally pale and him growing dizzy and sick. He saw a little corner of a brown paper way below deep inside a crack. Nicki sighed and he helped himself up.

The man watched the boy straighten up. Then, he let his lower half disappear to the side and only let his fingers become visible to the man.
“Oh God.” The man muttered.
“What? What’s going on?” The voice demanded.
“It would be better if we didn’t know.”

Nicki reached for the piece of paper. He touched it, but his fingers quickly grabbed the lip of the rock as he nearly fell. He took a deep breath in.
“Come on, Nicholas!” He yelled at himself. “Prove everybody wrong! Defend Franklin Williams.” That gave him the courage to let his left hand reach down below to the paper. He pulled it a bit, then forgot about it and let his fingers quickly grab the edge of the rock. He tightened up his stomach and then tried again. After a few more tries, he grabbed the paper. He quickly grabbed the edge of the rock and attempted to pull himself up.

The man saw the boy’s fingers working to grab the boy up. His head showed quickly and disappeared at the same speed. The man inhaled sharply. His whole money depended on the boy. He couldn’t let him die. The boy’s head showed up again and he then saw the boys’ upper body, then his legs. He climbed up to the top and laid there for a few moments, breathing very deeply and closed his eyes. The man sighed with relief.
“He made it.” He whispered.
“You know what to do now.” The man did. He loaded up his gun and walked forward.

Nicholas Williams opened his eyes and looked at his right hand and brought it up to the sky. He had the last piece of the map! He smiled.
“I did it!” He cheered. He quickly got up and gathered his supplies. “I actually did it!” He heard a trigger being pulled and looked up. A man with dark hair and dark eyes stood there. He had a five o’clock shadow and had simple clothes on. The gun was pointed right at Nicholas. He gulped.
“Yes, you did.” The man said in a Dutch accent. “But you did it for me.” He took a few steps forward and Nicki took a few steps back, glancing back. He couldn’t fall! That would be suicidal! “Come with me and you don’t have to have a scratch on you.” Nicholas clutched his bag and the last piece of the treasure map.
“Who are you?” Nicki declared. The man grinned at Nicki.
“Your worst nightmare.”

Nicki stared at the man, the man stared at Nicki.
“You want this, don’t you?” He pointed at the treasure map piece. “You just want this all to yourself and to get my great grandfathers treasure, don’t you?!” Nicki shouted. The man laughed.
“So true, Nicholas Williams. But I also want you.” Nicholas stood completely still as the man took a few steps forward. “Don’t make this any more difficult than this has to be, Nicholas.” Nicki needed to get away from him. The best idea came to him and he took it. He had none other. He ran from the man and retreated down the rock.

The man fired a few shots and while Nicholas was covering his head, he tripped on a crack and fell to his side, tumbling down the rock all the way.

The man watched the boy tumble all the way to the end. People gasped and screamed as they saw the man firing a few more shots. The ten bystanders were all shot and laid dead on the ground. The man finally saw Nicki stop at the end of the trail. He laid on his side. His clothes were covered with dirt and his face was bloody as hell. His arm was twisted in an irregular angle that didn’t seem natural. The man walked down slowly. What’s the rush? He’s just lying there, he thought.

Nicki felt his vision blur with dancing stars. His head felt like it was smashed by a…a rock. Which in a way it was. Nicki felt his arm that pained so much. He had never been in so much pain before. Even when Harrison Addison had hit him, it was nothing compared to the pain he was feeling now. He tried to get up, but his sides ached. But then he remembered the man. He killed innocent people. And he was going to use him to get the treasure. His expression tightened. He was not going to let that happen!

He found himself sitting up. That counts for progress, he thought. He touched his face and found blood dripping from his mouth and forehead. Not to mention various scratches on his cheeks as well. He quickly got up, but realized that was a big mistake as he was driven to his knees. “Stop fighting yourself, Nicholas!” The man called from above. He walked with a steady pace. “You can’t go on!” But that was where he was wrong.

Nicki got on his feet again and found himself running. He heard the man scream, but ignored him. He quickly ran into his car, placed it in reverse and then drove forward. He drove with speed, not looking back once.

Nicki had one hand on the wheel, his feet on the petal, driving eighty miles an hour and his hand on a tissue, wiping as much blood as he could from his face. He looked behind. The man wasn’t behind him yet. He drove faster. He couldn’t risk it. He felt himself about to cry. But he straightened up. This fight was not over yet. He was not over with this mystery. He was going to win this war between the Williams’ and the Addison’s. Why? Because of what they had done. They were going to pay for everything they did. He felt his hands tighten on the wheel. He kept his bag close to him with everything he needed inside of it. He had his plane ticket and passport ready for immediate boarding. He was going to get through this.

For the past five hours, Nicholas didn’t stop to check behind him. He drove with speed and frustration. He was a mile away from the airport now. He was nearly there. He had tears flowing down now. Tears of joy. He quickly parked his truck illegally and got out. He ran inside.

His gate was nearly closing. He quickly called out and the flight attendant held the door, staring at him.
“Are you boarding this plane?” He nodded and presented his passport and ticket. The woman checked it, but never let her glare at the boy drop. He looked terrible. Bloody, scratched up and frightened. The woman quickly let him in. Nicki ran inside and boarded the plane. He got to his seat and covered his ace with his hands. He started to weep. He couldn’t help himself. He was so close to death. To being taken away and then knowing he had let down his whole mystery adventure and was going to be killed afterwards.

Nickolas took a few pills to sooth himself and went to the small bathroom and attempted to clean himself up. When he looked at himself, he gasped. His face was like a ghost, completely pale. He had dirt on his face and clothes. He had dry blood from the corner of his head and scratches across his face. He wiped off the blood as much as possible and splashed water on his face. He stared at himself, water dripping, scratches everywhere and a terrible ghostly face. He couldn’t’ stand to see himself anymore. He went to his seat.

When he got to the Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, he took a cab to the Shangri-La Hotel. He could barely walk anymore. He entered the hotel and walked towards the elevator. But as he went over to the elevator, he spotted Jeremy and Daniel with a few girls from the corner of his eye. When they heard the elevator open, they looked over at him and gasped. Nicholas entered the elevator quickly and slammed his finger numerous times on the close door button.

Nicki went to his suite and threw his bag to the corner of his room. He opened his window to let some air come. He felt sick to his stomach. He took a few breaths of oxygen from outside the window. A terrible wave of nausea hit him. He sat on his bed and found his note, unread and untouched. He cussed, crumbled it and threw it to the corner of the room as well.

Jeremy and Daniel quickly entered Nicholas’s suite.
“Where the hell were you?”
“What the hell happened to you?
“Ever heard of calling!” They all screamed towards him at once. Nicholas didn’t meet their eyes. He just took a drink of water.
“What would you care?” He said softly. His voice was in the beginning to crack and he seemed to be swallowing a golf ball. Daniel sat beside him.
“We’re really sorry, man. We didn’t mean to.” Nicholas didn’t meet his eyes. Daniel placed a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off. “Where on Earth were you?”
“Busy finding what I thought we were going to do together.” He said.
“Look in a mirror recently.” Jeremy muttered. Daniel shot him a glance.
“What really happened?” Nicki didn’t respond. He bit his lips, but there was no skin left to bite off of. He finally told them his story from the past few days. But he didn’t meet their eyes once.

Daniel and Jeremy remained silent with their jaws wide open. Nicholas looked terrible. He had terrible scratches on his face. His forehead had dry blood coming from the corner. His face was completely white and his blue eyes were filled with fear. Fright that no fourteen year old boy had ever been through. He fiddled his fingers around the bottle of water.

Daniel took the bottle from him. “Go and take a long shower. Rest for a bit.” Nicki immediately shook his head.
“I can’t. He’s right behind me. We have to find this treasure before he comes back and finds me…us.” Jeremy sighed.
“Just take a bath. We can argue from there.” Nicki cracked a smile.
“Alright. Thanks.” He went into the bathroom and took a cold shower to sharpen his mind.

Daniel rubbed his fingers on his temples and closed his eyes. Jeremy paced around the room.
“What are we going to do?” He asked. Daniel sighed and opened his eyes.
“We’re calling his cousins.” He got up and picked up the crumbled piece of paper. He straightened it up and flipped his cell phone open and dialed a number.

After Daniel finished talking to Cyrus and Paris Williams, he closed his phone.
“Well?” Jeremy asked.
“They’re going to help us. But they asked for a favor.” He grabbed the phone from the side table.
“What?” Jeremy asked.
“Believe me, it’s going to help Nicki calm down.”

Nicki came out, almost brand new. His mates were talking to themselves, whispering.
“What are you both talking about?” They quickly faced Nicki and smiled.
“Nothing.” Nicki rolled his eyes.
“Sure.” He said slowly. He sat on his bed and took out the map he had found at the rock and showed his mates. Finally, he thought. After following a map for clues, he actually got the map to find the treasure. They sat by his side. “It seems that the treasure is here in Sydney.”
“Where?” Both his mates asked.
“It’s in…” He paused, his light, nearly faded, blue eyes were filled with confusion. “No, this must be a mistake.” He turned the map over and found a diagram of the house. He sighed. “Why can’t this just be easy? Is making things complicated fun, Franklin Williams?”
“What?” Both boys asked impatiently. Nicki sighed.
“The Elizabeth Bay House. A very sophisticated and beautiful house built in the eighteen thirties. It was occupied by a colonel between the years of eighteen thirty-nine through eighteen forty- five. I visited there for a while. It was pretty big. It’s a public museum and a private place to plan events.” Jeremy groaned.
“Nothing is easy with this guy, is it?” Nicki chuckled softly.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Oh, Nicki. You really should take these.” Daniel handed him two pills and a bottle of water. Nicki raised a brow.
“What are they?”
“Just painkillers. A little stronger, though.” Nicki shrugged. His head was still ringing. He swallowed the pills and drank the water.
“We better get going. We have to get there before any other visitors. And most importantly,”
“Before the Addison’s.” Nicki nodded at Daniel.
“Exactly. But…we’ll need supplies.” He pointed at the black duffel bag and Jeremy went over to get it. Nicki wanted to get it himself, but he felt that if he stood up, he would collapse. Jeremy opened it up and gasped. Nicki smiled, knowing exactly what he was seeing. “Don’t worry. It’s an Airsoft Gun. Only metal pellets, not super powerful to kill someone. Then, we just have some knives and bullet-proof vests. Might as well wear them right now. I’ve been wearing it since we got here. Not bad, actually.” Daniel punched his arm delightfully.
“You sneaky little bastard. You planed ahead!” Nicki shrugged.
“What can I say? I have to be prepared.” Nicki placed his hand on the bed. He could barely sit up now.
“We’ll call your cousins. They can drive us. Now it’s time for the real thing.” Daniel grabbed his phone and dialed. Jeremy packed the treasure papers and diary and grabbed the black duffel bag as well. Nicki blinked. Was he going crazy or was he seeing four best mates? His mind started to swirl.
“Anybody else feel dizzy?” Nicki muttered. Daniel and Jeremy smiled at each other.
“No.” They said slowly.
“Why, do you-” Nicki’s eyes rolled over to the back of his head and he collapsed on the bed. Daniel started talking to his cousins and Jeremy packed the bags, threw them over his shoulder and helped Nicki stand up. He placed his unconscious friends arm around his shoulder and walked him towards the door. “Need help?” Daniel asked.
“Nah, he’s surprisingly light.”
“Then let’s go. They’re waiting outside.”

Cyrus and Paris Williams helped Nicki into the back of their mini-van. Paris crossed her arms at Daniel.
“I really do hope you gave him the sleep pills and didn’t knock him out.” She said coldly. Daniel laughed out loud.
“I was only kidding!”
“Mm, hmm. You had better.” She got in the car and Daniel rolled his eyes. He got in and they all drove to the Elizabeth Bay House.

Jeremy started asking a lot of questions.
“When will he wake up since he is the only one to understand the map? What do you think the treasure will be? Are we even sure there is one? When will we arrive there? Is this car a-”
“If that boy doesn’t shut up in the next second, I’ll rip his mouth off.” Cyrus said through grinding teeth. Jeremy eyed his arms and became silent.

Nicki started shaking his head slowly. He muttered something, but it was inaudible. Daniel leaned closer to him.
“What?”
“I’m…going to kill you for knocking me out.” Daniel smiled.
“It was for the best.” Nicki punched his arm and sat up.
“I’ll give you something that will be best for all of us.” He muttered.


They reached the Elizabeth Bay House. It was a beauty indeed. A sophisticated two-story house with wonderful nineteenth century architectural style. Cyrus nudged Nicki.
“How do you feel about owning a Taser?” Nicki completely lost it this time.
“Let me just explain one thing; we are hunting for treasure, not murdering people!”
“No, but people are out to murder you.” The boys muttered. Nicki sighed.
“Fine, bring what you want. But I’m not using anything.”
“Not even your gun?” Paris said, waving it in the air. He snatched it and kept it in his back pocket with a smile.
“Maybe for show.” She ruffled his hair.
“Atta boy. Let’s get going.”

The house was filled with wonderful furniture that seemed a little familiar to the furniture his parents owned. Old-fashioned, he thought. But simple, yet elegant. Perfect, was the final and expressive word to describe the entire house. Nicki took out the map. No hints or clues, just directions. Finally, he thought. Simple and easy.
“We go to the Library.”
“Ugh,” Muttered Daniel aloud. “Spending my Summer vacation in a library? That’s not a good start to my vacation, man!” Nicki glared at him.
“Quit the talking and let’s go.”







* * *

The girl with her brother frowned. She saw the boys and girl go up the stairs and into the Library. Her frown deepened when she saw the boy with cuts and a grin on his face. His pale skin was completely white and he seemed to be leading the whole team. She sighed.
“Please, don’t do this, Harrison.” She whispered.
“Don’t interfere, Jennifer.” He snapped with a Dutch accent. She eyed him coldly with her dark blue eyes.
“I was interfered in this for a long time, Harrison!” She shouted. Unlike her brother, she had an American accent. He merely shrugged.
“Whatever. We’re going to get him today. You can join me…or be against me. Your choice, sis. We can follow the boy who can lead us to the treasure. Think about it, Jennifer!” She stared at the boy one last time. She didn’t make any decisions on her own. She only followed her brother. But Harrison took it as an answer. He leaned in towards her ear. She could feel his warm breath on her ear. “You’re an Addison. Act like one.” Act like one.

Can’t I just act in Drama class, she thought.









* * *

Nicki headed towards the library. It was unbelievable. The walls were beautifully designed with off-white wallpaper with grape vines. The walls were mounted with huge wooden shelves with books stacked in each one. Nicki wondered if there was a filing system. Hopefully, there was.
“Well,” Daniel said. “Where do we start?” He asked. They all looked at Nicki. He only smiled.
“Ever watch those corny shows where a shelf contains a hidden passage if a specific book is pulled?” They all nodded. “That’s what we’re going to do. Get started.”

They all rummaged through the books like crazy. Pulling each one and then heading towards the next one. Nicki studied the map. There had to be a certain clue to help us find the treasure, he thought. He turned the map and then held it towards the light. Then, it was revealed. A thin red line went through the map, ending it to an X. Nicki smiled. The trail to where the treasure was. He found himself heading North and up against a bookshelf nobody and touched yet. He looked around and searched for a certain book. He found it. WILLIAMS. He smiled and pulled it half-way. There was a slight creek and he gasped.

Daniel found himself getting tired. He found himself throwing books instead of putting them back. Why should he care about this place? He really didn’t. Then, he heard a creek and a gasp. He looked around. The others were frozen as well. They looked around. Paris spoke first.
“Where’s Nicki?” She asked with fright. They all looked around like crazy. Then, they heard a muffled noise through the wall. That was when Daniel discovered a shelf that was missing one book. And with its replacement was a red button. He knocked on the wall.
“Nicki?” He asked. There was a knock back. He did the most reasonable thing. He pressed the button and the shelf turned again. The others quickly followed him.

They found Nicki looking around a dark room with cobwebs and spiders. Jeremy heard a rat squeak by and squealed.
“Paris, no need to scream.” Cyrus said. She rolled her eyes.
“It was Jeremy, you idiot.”
“Come on, guys. I think I have the right instructions.”

They walked ahead. The room got darker and darker. Paris produced flashlights and handed everybody one. The rode divided up into two paths. Nicki found that there was no line through these tunnels. He sighed. “It’s time to split up, guys.”
“Don’t you watch horror movies? Only one group survives!” Jeremy screamed. Daniel smacked the back of his head.
“We’re on a treasure hunt, not in a murder movie!”
“Paris, Cyrus and, Jeremy, follow the left tunnel. Daniel and I will take the right tunnel.” Paris tilted her head.
“You sure?”
“I’m positive.” She handed him his duffel bag.
“Take care.”
“As to you.” And they went their separate ways.

Nicki sometimes thought of claustrophobia as a ridiculous thing. But as they walked ahead, the walls seemed to be getting narrower as they went, nearly closing in on them like a mouth.
“Nicki…” Daniel said slowly.
“I know. I hate this path as much as you do.” Water dripped from the ceiling, making silent splat noises. Nicki sighed. “Seriously? This is the best place he could think of hiding a treasure?”
“Wacky brains your family have.” Nicki had to laugh.
“I couldn’t agree with you more.”

As they nearly exited the tunnel, they saw a figure move in closer to them. Daniel and Nicki both took a step back. The dark shadow got closer and closer. Daniel readied the Taser in his hand, given to him by Cyrus. Nicki’s right hand went to his back pocket. The shadow revealed itself to the light of the flashlight and the boys gasped.

The dark shadow was a human being. A girl. She had blonde hair tied back and widened dark blue eyes. Her expression was hard to read, unlike the two boys. Samantha Wilma had appeared into the picture of the treasure hunting scene.
“Samantha?” Both boys gasped. She gave them a little wave.
“Hi.” Nicki took a step forward.
“What are you doing here, Samantha?” Her expression saddened and a tear sprouted from her eye.
“I-I’m sorry, Nicholas. I really am. I never meant to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you. This was not part of the plan.” He looked at her with confusion.
“What are you talking about?” She sighed and stood up a little straighter.
“My name isn’t Samantha Wilma. It’s…Jennifer Addison.”

Nicki’s expression turned completely blank. His emotions were barely visible. Samantha, Jennifer, started to cry. “Please! Say something! I really am sorry! I never intended any of this to happen.” Nicki took a few steps back, Daniel by his side, ready to Taser Jennifer.
“All this time,” He began, his voice clipped. “I thought you actually liked me. You were only using me, weren’t you?” Daniel backed Nicki up a bit.
“You’re a real psycho path, you know that?” She started to weep.
“I swear. I didn’t mean any of it!” Nicki shook his head.
“You’re related to Harrison Addison. You’re what, his twin sister?” She sighed, but nodded.
“He’s older by twenty seconds, though. He’s been taking care of me ever since our parents seemingly died. Later, I discovered they were murdered by my brother. He told me they were going to divorce each other and separate us. I believed him. Why wouldn’t I?” She eyes Nicki. He was silent. “He planned everything. I had nothing to do with this until the beginning of eight grade when he told me,”
“You had to start flirting with Nicki to get to him.” Daniel said coldly. “You only pretended to like him?” She quickly shook her head.
“It was not like that!” Nicki’s hand dropped to his side.
“Let’s go, Daniel. We have work to do.” They both walked around Jennifer Addison and continued their little mystery treasure hunt.

Daniel walked forward this time.
“You alright?” He asked.
“Real sickos exist in this world, huh?” He muttered. Daniel nodded.
“Yup. Real sickos, buddy.”

They reached the end of the tunnel. The others didn’t come out. Daniel looked to their side. “There’s no opening. Their tunnel must have lead them somewhere else.” Nicki looked at his phone.
“No signal. Can’t call them. We’re all on our own.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.” Said a cold and deep male voice. Nicki closed his eyes for a second.
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes!” The voice cheered. They turned around to find Harrison Addison. His long blonde hair covered his forehead. His dark blue eyes were dancing with excitement. He was the older twin of Jennifer Addison. “How are you boys?”
“Ready to zap you until you smell like chicken.” Daniel admitted.
“Hmm, interesting theory. Too bad you wouldn’t be able to test it out.” Form behind, Daniel was grabbed by two men. As was Nicki. “Now, why don’t you two nice boys show me where the treasure is? Then my family name takes the credit and I can celebrate.”
“Of making a fool out of my family’s name?” Nicki said.
“No, of killing you both!”

Jeremy and the William twins were now officially lost. They had stopped at a wooden door. They tried to bang it open. It didn’t budge. Paris let her fingers wander around the door, letting her fingers search for anything in particular. Her fingers found a weird shape on the side of the door where a doorknob should be. A small shield-shaped door.
“The shield!” They all said at once.
“Nicki needs to see this. He has the necklace, only he can open it.”
“Is that so?” Said a voice from behind. They slowly turned around to find three men with guns pointed at them. They gestured them forward. They thought about fighting back. They did. But the gun was appeared to be a machine gun. One move and their heads would have been blown off in seconds! “Toss your equipment and empty your pockets.” They did. Then, guns were aimed at their temple and they were escorted out of the tunnel where the treasure might have been hidden at the other end.

Nicki and Daniel were tied up in chairs, back-to-back. They were at the library. Nicki started cussing at himself about how much of a moron he could be. Harrison sat on the table, legged crossed and his expression was terrifying to the boys.
“Well, Nicki? Tell me all about your little adventure for the past few days? I am just dying to know.” He said dramatically.
“Go to hell!” He spat.
“Ooh, feisty, aren’t we? But I wouldn’t have that kind of attitude if I were you?” Daniel rolled his eyes.
“Please. What could you know about knowledge? You’re just a boy with blood of his parents on his bare hands, never to be washed out of. What next? Murder us and take all the credit? We have families. They’ll grow concern.”
“Ah, but what will they do? What could they possibly do after you are dead and I flee the country? Nothing, really.” Nicki tilted his head.
“What kind of twisted and psychopathic person are you?” That question had caught Harrison by surprise. “What do you think you can accomplish? What are you accomplishing! For treasure? You’re risking your whole life, your whole future. Do you think you’ll do good in prison?” There was silence. Daniel cracked a smile. Nicki had gotten through to him. But for how long, he thought.

Harrison Addison’s face turned bright red and he got off his table and pointed a finger at Nicki.
“Shut the hell up, Williams’! I have had enough of your stupid rubbish and your stupid family! You tell me where the treasure is right now or I’ll shoot you right here and now!” He shouted from the top of his lungs.

Nicki leaned forward on his chair. His face was blank with no emotion whatsoever. But he managed to sneer at the boy in front of him and said,
“Make me.” Harrison nearly lost it right then and there. Daniel barked a laugh.
“You think you’re going to break us that easily!”

A few seconds later, two buff looking men came into the room, with three prisoners. Nicki sighed and shook his head. This was not going well. This was not how we wanted to impress Franklin Williams. Harrison turned towards Nicki and smiled.
“Well, I can break you easily. Four of your friends are here. There’s a gun behind me. Damn, this is just too easy!”
“Boss, we think we have found the treasure.” Harrison’s eyes twinkled.
“Amazing! And I didn’t have to do any work.” He took his silver Beretta and aimed in right at Nicki’s forehead. He didn’t flitch or even move at all. The others screamed with terror.
“Harrison! He can still be in use to us!” Jennifer shouted. Nicki took the liberty to glare at her for a second. She had tears in her eyes. He turned back to Harrison.
“It’s true, boss. He had something to unlock the door. There’s no knob or anything to get in.” They all looked at Nicki, who sighed and cussed under his breath.
“Here’s a thought. Kill me now and figure out for yourself, Harrison.” Nicki declared.
“Now, is that anyway to talk to your friend?” Nicki wrinkled his nose.
“Friend? I wouldn’t call you my mate for all the money in the world!” Harrison took out a knife. Daniel started to scream a few cusses as Harrison aimed it towards Nicki.

The young Australian boy was free. Harrison helped him up and twisted Nicki’s arm behind his back and aimed the gun at Nicki’s temple.
“You’re coming with me. Anybody want to make a suggestion.”
“Harrison-” Jennifer began.
“Don’t.” He said firmly. And he left with Nicki.

Nicki and Harrison were escorted by one man to go down the left tunnel.
“Fine day, huh?” Nicki asked, trying to make a conversation.
“Shut up, Australian boy.”
“Ditto, German boy.” Harrison let him go and studied him.
“You have some nerve talking to me like that.”
“Nerves are all I got left. Got a problem with it?” Nicki started to escort himself forward. Harrison and the guard followed.
“Must have been amusing to see your friends abandon you while you were out treasure hunting, huh, Nicki?” He turned around.
“You did that.” He said bitterly. Harrison merely shrugged and continued on.
“I paid those young ladies to hang out with your friends.” Nicki shook his head.
“You twisted-minded person.” He whispered but went on.

The wooden door hadn’t moved. The guard hadn’t thought it was going to. Nicki felt the right side of the door where the knob should be. What he felt shocked him and he took back his hand. Harrison went over and took his flashlight and shined it towards where Nicki had touched the door. He smiled at Nicki.
“Ah ha! So you do know how to open it!” Nicki took a step back.
“I’m not giving to you.” Harrison held up his gun.
“I believe you will.” In an instant, Nicki took out his gun and aimed it at Harrison. The blood color from his face drained.
“A future advice, tell your hostages to empty out their pockets before you keep them held captive, you moron. Hands up where I can see you. I can injure you more than you or your little guard can with a gun or not.” Harrison made the mistake to turn towards his guard. Nicki aimed and fired at his ankle. The boy screamed and collapsed on the floor.

The guard started shooting at Nicki. He quickly ducked and fired at the man’s ankle dozens of times before actually getting him on the ground. He hit the guard on the temple with the butt of his gun and he crumbled down to the ground. He did the same with Harrison and grabbed their guns. He escaped.

Jennifer chewed on her nails. Her brother was going to kill Nicki, no doubt about that. Then, he was going to kill the rest of them. Jennifer straightened up. How could she allow that? She liked Nicki before she even knew about his treasure. He had tutored her many times and they had worked together on so many projects. He was always to her. He always made her want to say who she really was and her family. He was a great guy…maybe even a great boyfriend. Or…would have been. A tear escaped her eye. If her brother laid a finger on him or the others, Jennifer would give up on him and kill him herself.

The door opened up and everybody held their breaths. Nicki stood there and waved at the guards. “G’day, mates!” The guards lost control and ran after him. Nicki ran out of the library as well.

Nicki came back alone with a big smile. He swung the gun around with his finger. “This baby, ain’t half day, aye?” Cyrus and Paris sighed.
“You alright?”
“Better than ever. Let’s get going.” The others walked out. Jeremy quickly untied Daniel and they followed the Williams’ twins. Jennifer cleared her throat. Nicki had his back to her.
“Nicki, please. I really didn’t mean to hurt you. I never would do that. Don’t you know me?” He sighed and turned towards her.
“I thought I knew you, Jennifer. I really did.” He said sharply. He threw the Machine gun and his own gun on the floor, yet kept Harrison’s gun behind his pocket. “I really did think you liked me more than a friend-”
“I do!”
“-but it was all a trap. I thought you were very sweet to like me. But I was wrong.” He turned around to leave when Jennifer quickly grabbed his arm and turned him towards him.
“Nicholas Williams, I would never do anything to hurt you, like my brother did.” She was so close to Nicki, he could smell her peppermint breath. “I really do like you. You’re confident, cute and very intelligent. Plus, you’re very wise when it comes to deciding who your friends are.” Nicki sighed.
“Not all of them.” Jennifer clutched his shoulders tighter.
“Please,” She begged. “Don’t judge me for what I did. I was only trying to be a good sister to my brother.” Nicki didn’t say anything. Then, Jennifer quickly kissed him on the lips. Nicki didn’t even move an inch. “Please.” She said once more. Nicki stared at her.
“Your brother killed your parents for a different reason.” He told her finally. “I don’t blame you for believing him. Maybe you were very scared of him.” She nodded quickly. “I’ll trust you…for now. Assuming you don’t go back to your brother.” He turned away from her and exited the door. Jennifer followed him.

Nicki followed them all to the tunnel. That was when he looked around like a mad dog. He cussed.
“What?” The others asked.
“He escaped.” Cyrus and Paris readied their gun.
“Wait, don’t kill my brother!” Jennifer screamed. Nicki nodded.
“Don’t kill anybody, especially not Harrison Addison. Just...guard the exits. Jeremy, you should go with them.” He groaned.
“Just a sidekick.” He muttered. Nicki faced the door.
“Daniel, hold up the torch I can barely see the hole.” He adjusted the flashlight’s light. Nicki slowly untied the necklace around his neck.
“So that’s what my brother wanted.” Jennifer said quietly. Nicki nodded.
“He couldn’t get this. And never will.” Nicki turned around once to smile at the others. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t have it.” Nicki placed the shield inside the keyhole and pressed it in with one finger. The door hissed and rocks around them started to produce pebbles. The door opened up just a crack. Nicki retrieved his crest necklace and went inside first.

The place was blank. The place was nothing. Daniel groaned.
“This is what we came here for!” Nicki saw an unlit torch on the wall. He took out the lighter from his pocket and lit it. The room radiated with heat and a warm orange glow. He handed it to Jennifer and went towards the blank wall. He found a key hole.
“The treasure’s on the other side. Anybody got a key?” Daniel shrugged, but Jennifer snapped her fingers.
“Yes! Harrison did find a key a long time ago! Belonged to our great grandparents! Harrison told me they found it. I did a bit of research to discover they stole it from you. If we can get the key, we can get inside.” Nicki held his breath.
“You know where it is?” He asked. She nodded.
“Yes, I do. He keeps it locked up in a small wooden box that travels with him all the time. I know where he placed it.” Daniel sighed.
“What is up with this Franklin dude? Ever heard of straight-forward answers?” Nicki and Jennifer both smiled at him.
“Daniel, stay here. And try not to hassle with anything, mate.” He ran off with Jennifer.

Jennifer escorted Nicki to the library again. She told him her brother kept the key behind a shelf. Jennifer opened the door, but Nicki heard a trigger being pulled. He sighed and turned around, slowly. Harrison stood in front of him with another gun drawn at the young Australian boy. He had blood drawn by his temple, but he didn’t seem to care or even notice it. He face was red with anger.
“I have everything I need. I don’t need you!” And he fired three bullets into Nicki’s chest. He collapsed on the ground, face down.

Jennifer screamed and was about to run towards Nicki, but her brother stopped her. “Jennifer! Don’t betray me for this loon! You’re my sister!” She started to weep.
“I don’t want to be your sister! You killed my best friend! You killed the only person I cared about!” But as they heard Nicki groan, Harrison only smiled.
“He’s not dead. He’s not going to get his wish granted. He’s going to suffer.” A guard tossed Nicki over their shoulder and took him away while Harrison grabbed his weeping sister inside the library.

Nicki woke up with pain on his chest. His hand slowly went to his chest. He didn’t feel any blood. Of course he wouldn’t. He had a bullet-proof vest on. But that didn’t stop the bullet from bruising his chest pretty badly. He tried to sit up, but found it hard to with a bruised chest. He tried to sit up and stars danced around his eyes. He felt as if his breath had been nearly punched out of his body.

He looked around and gasped. A fire had started from the two exit doors of the small room. Nicki felt the air getting thinner and thinner. His oxygen supply was about to run out. He couldn’t get up. Even if he tried to, he would have no way of escaping if he fell unconscious. He tried to use his voice, but felt his tongue too big for his mouth. His eyes started to get teary as the smoke was ready to get to him. He started to cough violently. There isn’t much time, he thought. He was going to die in this room with no way of getting out.

He felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. He heard the slightest muffled noise by the door. But he thought that was just his imagination. His body slumped onto the floor. The coldness of the marble floor chilled Nicki’s cheek. He felt his eyes starting to get heavier. He couldn’t cough anymore. There was nothing else he could do. He had failed everybody he knew. He knew he was going to die. He closed his eyes and let the world around him become dark and silent.

Jennifer went with her brother quietly. As he started to retrieve the key, she reacted quickly and clapped her hands together and formed a fist. She screamed and pounded it on the side of her brother’s head. He collapsed on the floor, his eyes in a daze.
“Don’t you dare try to hurt Nicholas!” She grabbed the key. “You were never the brother I wanted! I hate you!” She screamed and ran out of there.

She fought off a few guards with the karate she had learned. She pounded on the door that they kept Nicholas in. She could see black smoke coming from the crack underneath the door. She looked around and found a Fire Extinguisher. She used it to rip off the knob of the door and used the side of her body and got the door opened. She held her breath. All she could see was smoke. She coughed. But where was Nicholas. She extinguished the flames in front of her and did the rest of the room as well.

When the fire was out, she found the young Australian boy. She ran to him. She placed his head on her lap. His whole face was covered with soot and his brown hair was nearly jet black now. She placed her ear on his chest. Not even a murmur. “No, no, no, no!” She screamed. “Stay with me!” She started to pound on his chest. He didn’t react. She did the first thought that came to her head. She performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

She tilted his forehead back with one hand and raised his chin with two fingers with the other hand. She heard the slightest breath, but it was so soft, she didn’t believe it was even his breath. Maybe she was just imagining it. Tears erupted from her eyes, but she quickly wiped them. She had to save him, and she was going to.

She pinched his nose, took a deep breath and sealed her lips with his, giving him her supply of oxygen. She gave him several breaths and then released him to see if there was any change. She started pounding on her chest. The slightest rise and fall action appeared on his chest. She tried again and gave him more breaths of air.

She released his as he started to cough violently. She held him down. “Nicki? Nicki, please. Are you alright? Answer me, Dammit!” She cried. He didn’t answer for a few seconds.
“Jennifer…you…saved my life.” She smiled and hugged him tightly.
“Oh, Nicholas. You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
“Nearly had a heart attack.” He muttered with a smile. Then, she kissed him again and stroked his cheek.
“I really am sorry for what my brother did. I really do like you, Nicki. I hate him for what he tried to do to you.” Nicki smiled.
“Welcome to my world.” She laughed.
“You alright?”
“I’m fine. Come on…we have to go.” Jennifer helped Nicki up, but he didn’t look like he was in good shape.
“Nicki?”
“Fine, fine.” He muttered. “Got the key?” She nodded and gave it to him. “Good. And one more thing, mind keeping a hand on me? Feel like collapsing any moment.” She smiled.
“Not a problem.”

As they started to head towards the tunnel, a voice bellowed behind them.
“JENNIFER AND NICHOLAS!” They both quickly turned around to find a very irritated Harrison Addison. Nicki stood in front of Jennifer and wanted to take out his gun. But he forgot he lost it.
“It’s over, Addison. Give it up.” Nicholas said. Harrison sneered at him.
“That’s what you think!”
“I know it, Harrison. Why deny the facts? You’re going to jail and the Williams will live on. Simple as that.” Harrison tilted his head, then he aimed to shoot. But his body was punched back and he started to gasp for air. Nicki saw an irregular blood pattern erupt from his chest. Nicki turned around and found Jennifer with a gun. Her face was hard as stone.
“Don’t you dare lay a finger on my boyfriend!” Harrison gasped.
“Jennifer! I’m your brother!” She lowered her gun and kept Nicki close to her.
“No. You’re nothing but a traitor to our name. I hope you go to hell!” Harrison gasped for one last breath and collapsed on the floor. Nicki faced Jennifer.
“You alright?” She nodded and smiled.
“Better than I’ve ever been.”
“Boyfriend?” He asked, confused. She smiled and blushed.
“You know it’s true.” And they walked for the tunnel, blushing red. While Jennifer went on, Nicki looked back at Harrison. His mouth opened wide as he had taken his last gasp and his shirt was now entirely filled with blood. Nicki carefully walked back and crouched down. He checked for a pulse. There was none. He closed his eyes slightly. “Nicki?” He didn’t turn around. But Jennifer took him by the arm and led them both to the tunnel.

Cyrus and Paris sighed.
“Where have you two been?”
“What happened to you, Nicki?”
“Don’t ask.” He whispered. He placed the key into the bare wall with nothing more than a keyhole. He placed it in…and slowly twisted it to the left. He took a step back and waited. A few seconds later, the door hissed and opened up. Nicholas took a deep breath in.
“If there’s another clue in there, I’m out.” Daniel acknowledged. The others nodded with agreement. Nicholas went in first and closed his eyes.

Daniel lit the other torches on the wall and handed one to everybody. What they found was unremarkable. The place was filled with treasure. Gold and Jewels were spread all over the colossal room. Statues were lined up everywhere of famous people. Chests were filled with even greater amounts of gold and treasure and jewels. Nicholas smiled.
“The Williams’ treasure everybody. We did it.” They all smiled and clapped Nicholas on the shoulder.
“No, Nicholas. You did it. If it wasn’t for you, this treasure would all be hidden.” Nicholas Williams took a deep breath.
“I just can’t believe it’s right in front of us.”
“Don’t jinx it! You know what we’ve been through to get this all!” Nicholas laughed with delight for the first time in a week.
“True.”
“Now what?” The others asked.
“Call the police I guess.”
“And the treasure?”
“Museum.” Daniel smiled at him.
“You think your great-grandfather would mind if we take a few treasures?” Nicholas could feel Daniel itching to get his hand on the treasure.
“Nah.” And the others went all around the room, discovering the wonders of the Williams’ treasure.

Jennifer wrapped her arms around his arm and placed her head on his shoulder.
“You’re going to be a real big hero in Australia, Nicholas.” He shrugged.
“I only found the treasure. Franklin Williams left it, though.” She faced him and smiled.
“No, Nicholas Williams. You found the Williams’ treasure. I’m so proud of you.” And she gave him a nice, long kiss.


















* * *

Nicholas Williams got off the plane and smiled. He was back in Santa Barbara. His mates were all by him. Too bad Cyrus and Paris couldn’t be here, thought Nicholas. But he was glad for his two other mates and his girlfriend were with him. He smiled at the last word. He never thought he would have a girlfriend as pretty as Jennifer Addison.

He asked her where she would stay. She told them she had an Aunt and Uncle who couldn’t have their own children and had always treated Harrison and her as their own. She planned to stay with them. Nicholas smiled.
“Just remember to call.” She had kissed him quickly.
“Don’t worry, that wouldn’t be a problem.”

Nicholas found his siblings and went over to them. The hugged their younger brother. He tightened his grip around them.
“Oh, Nicki! It’s so good to finally see you!” Jeanette cried.
“Why didn’t you ever answer our calls? Why do you look like crap?” Samuel asked. He laughed.
“Just because.” He introduced Jennifer Addison and on the ride home, told them everything that happened.

After his mates were dropped off, he grew more nervous than he had the past week. He felt his chest tighten up and his throat made it hard for him to breath. Jeanette looked back and smiled sadly.
“They’re home.” He sighed.
“I know.” He looked out the window. The car stopped but nobody moved. Then, Nicholas opened the door. “Let’s just get this over with.”

He went inside and was greeted by hugs with his parents.
“Hello, Nicholas! How was your week?” His father exclaimed.
“What happened, darling?”
“Nothing.” He said blankly.
“Why don’t you go rest, alright?” He nodded and went upstairs.

He was happy. His face was all over the news. He was the “William Treasure-Hunter.” He found the lost treasure and donated it to the Sydney Museum. The Prime Minister had greeted him and his friends. He and his mates had also kept a small amount. Why shouldn’t they? They all earned it. Nicholas sighed as he collapsed on his bed. But one challenge that was difficult from all the other was that he was going to permanently become an artist. He had just solved an unbelievable mystery and wanted to continue doing that. But he knew it was only a one-time thing. He sighed with desperation. This was his life. He would just have to suck it up and deal with it.

Nicki slept through the whole day. He woke up early in the morning at six in the morning. Jennifer had called him. He smiled and answered.
“Hello?”
“Nicki? Did I wake you?”
“No, I was already awake.”
“Oh, alright. I just wanted to check up on you.”
“I’m fine. How are you adjusting with your new family?”
“They accepted me right away. They felt sorry for me after I told them everything. But I really do love them.” She paused. “How are you doing with the being artist thing?”
“Starting today, I guess.”
“Angry?” He thought about it. Was he?
“Maybe a little.” He finally admitted.
“I’m sorry, Nicholas.” He shrugged.
“It’s life.”
“Maybe tomorrow…you want to go on a date or something?” Nicholas smiled.
“I would love to.”
“Alright, I’ll see you later. Bye.”
“Bye, Jennifer.” And he hung up.

Nicholas headed downstairs and found his family was already awake. He raised a brow. “You’ve all been up since what? Five?” They shrugged. Nicholas saw his mother with the paint brush extended out in her hand, a smile on her face. Nicholas thought she was cruel. He was going to take it from her, when she snatched it away from him. He tilted his head.
“Nicholas, darling,” His mother started. “What did you do over the week in Australia?” He flushed.
“Uh…I went with a few mates there. Why?”
“How’d you get those cuts?” His father asked. Nicki stared at his siblings. They only grinned at him. He was alone again.
“I’m clumsy?” It was too late to realize his response came out as a question. His parents smiled.
“Are you sure it has nothing to do with something called the William’s Treasure?” Nicholas was now completely stunned. His father handed his a Sydney Newspaper.
“‘Fourteen-year old Australian boy discovers his great-grandfather’s treasure.’” His father read from his own separate copy. “‘Nicholas Williams’ discovers and proves to the world how his great-grandfather was nothing more than a mere treasure-hunter. As his great-grandson proved that for the past week, it was not discovered that hidden records revealed that Franklin Williams’ was murdered by the Addison’s. The young boy has appealed to clear his families’ entire name. He claims, ‘I did it not for the glory or the victorious feeling of being noticed for once as a true Williams. I did it not to be recognized as a family of artists. I did it to prove to many about who people can be, as many before me, including Franklin Williams, tried to prove, but there was nobody left to help him, or them, out. I was happy to discover I had mates and family there to support me.’ Nicholas Williams and his mates have now returned back to Santa Barbara where they will remember this event for days to come’”

Nicholas shuffled his feet uncomfortably.
“I just found it. I didn’t really discover it. I did nothing.” He claimed. His mother smiled brightly.
“Oh really? So what about your plane ticket to Alice Spring’s, Australia? What about your notes and diary kept in your backpack? And what about your discoveries kept secret from us?” Nicholas couldn’t speak. What could he say?
“I…that…”
“Son, why didn’t you tell us this was your true calling?” He finally found his mood. Anger.
“I’ve been telling you for the past fourteen years! You both don’t seem to notice who I am! I don’t want to be an artist like you both or even like Samuel and Jeanette! I don’t want all of this!” His parents frowned.
“We’ve never really taken you as our son just because we wanted another artist in the family. Maybe we weren’t think of who you wanted to be…but more of what we wanted you to be.”
“What are you saying?” Nicholas asked in a very hushed voice, very confused.
“We’re saying that you can whoever you want to be. We don’t have the right to treat you like crap. We’ve lost complete interest in you, Nicholas. You are our youngest son. We treat you terribly. We really are sorry, Nicholas. There are enough artists. Maybe one Detective might not be so bad.” Nicholas’s eyes bugged out.
“Are you…serious?” They nodded.
“We really are sorry. My little darling, you’ve been through so much just to prove who you are. All to prove the world wrong?” His mother hugged him and kissed his head. “We’re sorry, Nicholas. You are our child too. You’ve been taking care of yourself. We’ve ignored you completely. We’re very sorry. Can you ever forgive us?”

Nicholas hugged his parents tightly and felt his own tears flowing from his eyes. His family had finally seen who he was. Was it a miracle? He looked at his siblings. No. It was the work of Samuel and Jeanette Williams’. He mouthered, thank you. They only nodded. Soon, they were all hugging each other.

For the first time, Nicholas had dinner with his family without being criticized about who he was. He laughed for the first time with his parents in front of him. They smiled brightly at their son’s laugher. It was nearly music to their ears. He gave them all bright smiles. For the first time, Nicholas Williams’ knew what it meant to be in a real family. A true family.

Nicholas met his mates and girlfriend the next morning. They all Mc Connells ice cream parlor. They were the only ones there. Daniel and Jeremy ordered chocolate ice creams of their choices and Nicholas and Jennifer shared some vanilla ice cream. Nicholas told them it was all on him. He couldn’t stop smiling, even as he ate. They all gave up.
“What is it?” They all asked.
“What?”
“Why are you smiling so much?” Jennifer said. His smile only brightened up.
“My parents don’t want me to be an artist anymore.” The boys dropped their spoons and their jaws were wide opened.
“Congratulations!” Jennifer said, hugging her Australian boyfriend.
“That’s…shocking.” They boys muttered.
“So, I was thinking we make this Detective agency a permanent thing.” He handed them a paper. It had a few words on them.
“What are these?”
“Names for our agency. It had to have three in it though.”
“What am I?” Jennifer asked.
“The cute secretary.” Nicholas noted. Jennifer smiled as the others groaned.
“Alright, how about ‘The Three Boys?’” Jeremy asked. The others rolled their eyes.
“Actually, I already thought of one,” Nicki told them all. “’The Three Convergent Thinkers.’ A Private Detective Agency of three fourteen year old boys who help solve mysteries. Daniel Anderson can be the operations clue finder. Jeremy Johnson can be the brains of the operation and analyze information and I can be the mystery finder in this group. Jennifer Addison will be the whole operations secretary. She’ll help find our cases so we can solve them.”
“Leader?” Jeremy asked.
“I vote Nicki.” Daniel and Jennifer said together. Jeremy nodded in agreement. Nicki only smiled with appreciation.
“Alright. We can make cards and hang posters around so people know who we are.” He placed a hand in the middle. “Are we in?” They all placed a hand on top of Nicki’s.
“We’re in!” Nicki smiled.
“Detectives, welcome to the first annual meeting of the new Private Detective Agency called, ‘The Three Convergent Thinkers!’”



THE END