The Door

"I can't believe this place is still standing. What was Grandpa thinking?"

Joe looked at his step-sister, Barb, and shrugged. "You know your Grandpa was kind of strange, keeping everything to himself. I hated it when dad dragged me along with with you to visit him up in Astoria. Did you even know he still owned it?"

"No, I had no idea. But we've been in Oregon for the last thirty-five years. Not once did he mention that he had this place here in Virginia."

"So how'd you find out about it?"

"He left it to me in his will. Wait a minute." Barb reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope. "The lawyer said to read this before I entered the house.

She opened the sealed envelope and pulled out a key hooked to a small brass ring. She handed the key to Joe and opened the note.

"What's it say?"

Barb turned the paper over then back. "It doesn't say anything. It looks like a floor plan but there are only three markings on it. Look." She pointed to the paper. There's an X here, there is a drawing of what looks like an axe here, and this part is marked "Door."

Joe jumped and gave Barb a squeeze. "I'm so glad I came with you. I think that's a treasure map. Quick, let's get inside."

Joe didn't wait. He ran to the peeling door, pulled off all the vines that covered it, and inserted the key into the lock.

Barb approached slowly. "You better look for snakes before you walk in there."

Joe didn't listen, he turned the key, but rust kept it from moving. He jiggled it, but it wouldn't move. He tried to break into the door by tackling it, but it didn't budge.

"Hey, Joe." Barb's voice came from around the side of the house.

"What? I'm trying to break the door down."

Barb didn't answer him. Next thing he knew, the door opened and he flew into the room landing on the dusty, wide planks. "I did it."

Barb laughed and pointed to the other side of the room at a large hole in the wall that she had walked through. "I don't think we needed to break the front door down."

"Oh, whoops."

Barb held up the paper and adjusted her position so it lined up with the door. She looked at the X and walked around until she found the spot that she thought was the X.

Joe dusted off his pants and looked over her shoulder then at the planks on the floor. He tapped his foot, listening and sure enough, the sound changed when he got close to where the X on the map was. He looked up at Barb. "Nah, it couldn't be this easy, could it."

"I think you have some serious hope going on there."

Joe glanced at the map again. "Where's the axe supposed to be?"

Barb turned and pointed to the hallway leading out the back. "I think it's supposed to be on that wall. But there's nothing there."

"Well, c'mon, Let's see if there is anything we can use to pry up the floorboards."

The only thing in the house was dust, spiders, and Ivy that grew through the broken window panes. They spotted an old garage in the back and looked in there. An old doge truck sat on flat tires with its hood up. The engine was missing. The walls of the shed had some contraptions, perhaps farming stuff, hanging on them but they were rusty and broken.

Barb walked over to an old barrel and looked behind it. "Bingo."

Joe ran over. "What? Did you find something?"

Barb reached down and picked up the axe. "Shall we try this?" Barb held it out for Joe to grab. "Have you ever used one of these before?"

"No, but how hard can it be? You lift it up and let it smack down, right?"

"I guess."

"Let's go." Joe turned and ran back into the house. Barb was close behind him. They both started hopping around the floor until Barb found the empty sounding spot. "Here it is."

"Back up." Joe smiled at Barb, "You ready, sis?"

"Yep, do it."

The ax slid easily through the air, but it was dull and made little impression on the hard, plank floor. He lifted it again. "Huuur agh!" Joe put more effort into the swing. This time the floor splintered. It didn't make a big hole, but it was a start.

After about twenty or more swings, they could finally grab the ends of the boards and pry them off. In the dark space below the floor, a black metal box, about ten inches by twelve inches sat covered in rust and dust.

Joe tossed the ax aside and bent over to pick it up.

"Wait!" Barb yelled.

Joe stopped, "Wait for what?"

"What if it's booby-trapped."

"Have you been watching Harrison Ford movies again?" Barb turned her head. She couldn't help it, she loved the guy and his movies.

"Look, I'll use the ax and make sure there aren't any bugs or snakes around it before I pick it up, okay." After determining that there were no critters about to bite and kill them, Joe picked up the old box.

Barb scrunched her nose. "It's not very big. Can't be much of a treasure in there."

With care, so he didn't get dust everywhere, Joe wiped the top. He read what he could through the rust. "First National Bank of Farmville."

He handed the box to Barb. "You should open it."

She shoved it back at him. "There might be spiders in there. I am not sticking my hand in there."

Joe chuckled then slowly opened the lid. His face fell. "It looks like just a bunch of old papers."

"Let me see."

Joe pulled them out of the box and handed them to Barb. The papers were yellow and the writing on it, old fashioned. But she recognized the legal document. There was also a receipt for a bank deposit box. "Joe, is there another key in the box?"

He looked in the box but didn't see one and shook his head.

"Oh well, I guess that would definitely have been too... Ack!" Barb jumped behind Joe as a huge varmint rounded the corner and froze when it saw them. Joe lost his grip on the box and it fell to the floor. The varmint stood on it's back legs, scolded them, then ran off.

Still trying to catch her breath, Barb started backing to the door. "Okay, I'm done. There is no treasure and no key so let's just get out of this jungle, okay."

Joe was still laughing. "It was only a groundhog." He reached over to pick up the box and noticed something odd. "Barb, look."

"She had made it to the door. Look at what, I'm not going back in that infested house. Bring it here."

The box had broken, or it looked like it was broken, but as Joe brought it closer, Barb could see that the exterior was still in tact. "What's that thing sticking out of it.?"

"This thing," Joe pulled it out of the box, "Is a false bottom. Look."

Embedded in wax in the center of the box, was a key. "I think this is the lock-box key."

Barb turned and headed to the car. Over her shoulder she yelled, "What are you waiting for. Let's go to the Bank. Oh, and don't forget to shut the door on your way out. Don't want any more critters going into my new house." She laughed her way into the driver's seat and waited for Joe to join her.