The town of Bodie was a normal town, run off of gold for its money and trade with Seattle. The founder, John Bodie, opened the town long ago but isn't expected to live much longer. The month of June made the weather conditions different in a sense of it was much hotter this year, no one knew why.
Jack Camer continued to yell at the miners in one of the mines to work harder, the town needed more gold to trade. It was very hot inside the dark mine, some record about 125 degrees. Many of the miners had passed out from exhaustion and heat stroke deep inside the mine. Still, the master pushed them harder and harder until some eventually died.
The gold mining business had been in Bodie since 1888, but still continues today. Jack and John don't know how much longer the gold will last. John always has a flashback to his early business days when he fought to open the city but his father criticized that the town would not last...
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1880
"Son, your business will not last, the town you hope to build and establish long term, will not last. Will not!" Aaron Bodie, John's father, yelled at John.
"It will last, the gold will supply the town enough to live for many, many years. It will not fail father!" John yelled back at him.
"John, gold doesn't last forever. It will only last a few decades at the most, the town will crash after that. maybe not even see the next century."
"Father, I will make it last. Nearby cities will help it last, it will not-"
"John. Listen to me, it's hard to get other cities to help a new city. You have to prove your city worthy of being helped and supported for growth. Make your city last John. Make it last."
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Present Day
John walks out of the town hall, says goodbye to a few of his workers in the building, and walks to the mine. He arrives at the mine and sees Jack standing outside, yelling at the miners inside the dark hole.
"Tell them their work is done for the night. I don't want to overwork them even more Jack. We can't afford to let anymore miners die. People are starting to refuse to work in this town and it's hurting us." John insists.
"Alright. I guess that makes sense sir." Jack replies and heads toward the mine and yells at the miners to end the day. "Have a good night sir" Jack says back to John.
"You too Jack." John says as he turns back to walk home.
John starts to walk slowly towards his house but turns off course and heads toward the town cemetery. He picks up a rose from the bush nearby and heads toward a certain grave. John stops by one, kneels down and sets the flower down on the ground. He puts his head down as he reads the gravestone once again.
"Kristina Bodie; Wife of John Bodie I; 1850-1890; I love you"
John starts to sob quietly and puts his head in his hands. Linda and John Bodie II, the adult kids of John and Kristina, find John and put their hands on him. Linda hugs John as he continues to cry over his dead wife.
"It's been so long, but the accident feels so much like yesterday..." John struggles to say the words to his kids.
Linda helps John up and John II and Linda help him go back home.
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July, 1915
John, in the hospital writes up his inheritance papers for Linda and John II. John I is only expected a few weeks to live. At age 67, John is severely ill and no one knows what the diagnosis is or a cure. The doctors called it a "medical mystery" for 1915.
John, as his last day in the office as mayor or Bodie, writes a letter to nearby towns, asking for help as Bodie won't have much longer to be a running town. He also writes to Jack to slow down the gold mining for saving and lengthening the time the town has left.
John coughs and coughs until he stands up and falls down, the nurses escort him to the hospital once more.
Linda and John II arrive in tears knowing their father is about to die.
"John, run this city as I would have. Protect the gold and citizens with all you have. Prove your grandfather wrong, make it last John, make it last." John I said directly to John II.
"Linda, take care of John and help him when he needs the help, trust me he will need the help with what this city holds." John I said to Linda.
After that, John coughs a lot and struggles to get the words out but he says, "Linda and John... I love you both with all my heart... Make it last you two... Make it last." With that, John grunted and took his final breath as he closed his eyes and stopped moving. John and Linda burst into tears but John rushed Linda out before she fell to the ground and cried heavily, John holding her in his arms pulling her close as the rain poured down on them as they cried for what seemed hours.
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August, 1915
John Bodie I was buried right next to his wife in the town cemetery. The funeral went on for hours and hours. The town gathered around the founder's grave. It was such a heartbreak to lose the founder that might have lived to see the end of the city if he didn't get so ill. John and Linda blamed themselves, thinking they were the ones who didn't find a cure and got John I sick.
Later in the evening, John's coffin was put in the ground as well as the gravestone that said:
"John Bodie I; Husband of Kristina Bodie; 1848-1915; I love you too; Make it last"
The town of Bodie, Washington for the first time, was completely silent... But this was only the beginning of something bad... very bad.
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Town of Gold: Chapter 1
ParanormalIn the town of Bodie, Washington, things aren't as normal as the founder had intended. An illness breaks out and no one knows why. But after the investigator finally gets his act together and looks into the illness, the man of the forest starts to a...
