The Jack Chambers Adventures - The Book of Legends

  Chapter 3

  Buried Treasure

  It was now around 6pm. Jack’s mum had taken him to see his Grandad, as they wanted to have a small bonfire with the wood they had collected at the weekend, whilst doing the gardening. It was a cold evening and there was a small frost on the grass, so as Jack walked it crunched under his feet as though he was walking on pebbles. His Grandad had gotten an old tin rubbish bin and set it at the back of the garden with wood stacked in it and he had already started to get the fire going as Jack arrived. He walked over to his Grandad who was now sat on an old wooden bench next to the fire.

  ‘Hello Grandad’

  ‘Hello mate, come over here to the fire and get some warmth’

  Jack was wrapped in a big winter jacket and was wearing a woolly hat.

  ‘I like your hat Jack’

  Jack smiled, but didn’t say anything, as at that moment he was engrossed in watching the wood burning so hot it was glowing red through a hole in the side of the bin. To Jack it looked like the heart of a volcano and it was growling waiting to explode.

  ‘Look at that Jack!’

  A puff of black smoke rose out of the bin shaped like a mushroom before being swept away by the breeze.

  ‘WOW, what was that?!’ Jack’s eyes widened, it really was like a volcano.

  ‘I think some of the wood must have been damp still.’

  Jack’s Grandad stood up from the bench holding onto Jacks shoulder as he did to aid him up. He was beginning to look older and more tired now. In previous years he had always been the first to wake in the morning and would go to work for ten hours a day before returning home and still having the energy to spend all evening working around the house and in the garden. He also never stopped talking, when talking to friends it was mainly about Jack. He would speak proudly as he would explain what he and Jack had been up to on the weekend and how Jack was doing so well, helping him with renovations around the house. Jack had never thought of his Grandad being old before and he envisaged him as being a young strong man who could do things other Grandads couldn’t and of course not forgetting that in Jack’s eyes he was a hero who won the war for Britain. Looking at him now, with his white hair slicked back on top of his head with wax. Jack could see it was slightly receding underneath. Just as all old people have, his Grandads ears were big, with thin white hair sprouting out from within. Jack knew from school that it was because the ears keep growing even as an old man. Looking at his Grandads pale blue eyes, that looked tired and had lost their sparkle, Jack knew they held behind them many great stories of adventure and heroism. His face did not have many wrinkles and he surprisingly bore no scars. He was not a tall man, nor was he short. With his slim build he was remarkably strong. All in all, just like Jack, his Grandad was average. But to Jack he would never just be average. His Grandad meant the world to him and he wanted to model himself just like him. Just as to Grandad, Jack would never just be an average kid. To him, he was special and he could see greatness in Jack. Capable of great things, he knew for sure.

  ‘Come with me Jack, I’ve got something I want to show you’ His Grandad walked slowly with a slight crouch in his back over towards a shed in the corner of the garden.

  The shed was made of old dark timber and was relatively small. It was made to look even smaller by the fact that it was surrounded by tall trees around either side and the branches seemed to hover over the roof. The leaves on the branches hung so low that they pretty much covered the shed so you could only see a small doorway peeking out between the trees.

  Jack had never been allowed in the shed before. He remembered being curious when he was around four years old and sneaking into the garden when nobody was looking. He went to the door which seemed so large back then and looking up to the handle he could not reach he stood watching the door for a moment. He was sure his Grandad was in there, he hadn’t seen him yet on this visit and that was strange in itself. For his Grandad was usually always waiting for him in the living room. Leaning up against the door he listened. There was a noise, what was it? A few seconds later he heard it again, and then again.

  ‘Grandad?’ Jack stepped back from the door. The noise was getting louder, it was shuffling and creaking, closer and closer.

  ‘Aaarrrggh’ Jack turned and began running away from the door.

  ‘Crrreeeaaaak…..BANG’ He could hear the door open and slam shut behind him.

  ‘Aaaarrrgghh’ Jack was now in the air, having been lifted off of the ground from behind.

  ‘What are you up to Jack my lad?’ His Grandad had a hold of him and turned him in the air to cuddle him.

  Jack pushed his head into his Grandads chest to hide.

  ‘That shed is a secret place Jack and when you get older I’ll show you the magic inside but until then you mustn’t go in there. You understand?’

  Jack looked up from his Grandads chest but did not speak.

  ‘Come on lad lets go and have some tea.’

  Now four years later Jack was finally going to get to go into the shed. For in all of the years since his Grandad had instructed him not to go in there, Jack had stuck to this rule. Partly because he knew his Grandad trusted him and he didn’t want him to be disappointed with him and partly because he was scared.

  Even now as he waited for his Grandad to put the large black iron key in the key hole he was feeling nervous about what great magic he was about to see. Would he be transported into a mystical world, where there were strange creatures and unicorns? Or was it a time machine and he was about to travel back to the land of the dinosaurs. Oh how amazed he would be to see a T.rex.

  ‘Come in Jack’

  The door was open, Jack’s Grandad stood to the side to allow Jack to enter first.

  ‘It’s alright Jack, go in.’

  Jack looked at his Grandad who was standing smiling at him. Then he looked in the doorway, it looked dark in there. Nervously he walked in, remembering the noises he had heard when he was four years old.

  His Grandad came in behind Jack and slammed the door shut before locking it from the inside.

  Jack could hardly see and stayed close to his Grandad waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Slowly he could make out some lines, through the blurs in his vision he could see the walls of the shed. After blinking a few times and rubbing his eyes, as though waking from a deep sleep, the back of the room began to appear.

  The shed was only small, it looked no bigger than his bedroom and it was cold. So cold that when he took a breath he could see steam coming from his mouth. He was shivering slightly but that was partly due to being so nervous. There were no windows in the shed and the walls were made of wood but painted in a dark grey. Cobwebs hung across the ceiling like an old ghost house. Jack hated spiders so this made him even more anxious. In the middle of the ceiling hung one light bulb but the glass was cracked. The floor was also dark grey and bare.

  Walking into the middle of the shed, Grandad knelt down. He placed his hands on a wooden plank on the floor and lifted it up. Continuing to do this he removed six planks revealing a large hidden hole underneath the shed. This was not a small hole, in fact it was very large, much like a wishing well, with a rope either side. Reaching down into the dark hole he asked Jack for help. Jack leant down and began to reach down with his hands, unable to see through the darkness what it was that he was reaching for.

  ‘Grab the rope Jack and pull.’ Grandad said looking over at him.

  Jack grabbed the rope and his Grandad had hold of the one on the other side. Simultaneously they began heaving and tugging on the rope until finally Jack could see something rising out of the well.

  After retrieving the large object from beneath the shed, Jack was surprised when his Grandad, puffed out as he was, walked towards the shed door, unlocked it and beckoned Jack to leave with him. Walking out of the shed, Jack was disheartened that his Grandad had not given him the chance to look at the mysterious object
, let alone ask for an explanation as to what it was.

  ‘Jack, when there is a full moon magical things happen. You have heard that haven’t you?’ Grandad walked slowly back over to the bench and sat down.

  ‘Yeah but scary things, like werewolves come out.’ Jack was now sitting beside his Grandad, still disappointed about leaving the shed. Even though he was relieved to be away from all of the cobwebs.

  ‘Well amazing mystical things also happen each and every month depending on the position of the earth, the moon and the stars.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Look up there Jack’ his Grandad said looking up at the stars. ‘You know what your horoscope is don’t you?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m a Leo’

  ‘That’s right. But do you know what that means?’

  ‘No’ Jack said looking at his Grandad.

  ‘Keep looking up Jack and I’ll explain it to you. The sky is full of magical stars and wondrous galaxies. Each star has a purpose and if you look closely some stars even tell a story or paint a picture. For instance look here.’ His Grandad pointed to 3 stars in a line.

  ‘That’s Orions Belt. And looking below this you can see Orions body. Orion was a great hunter who lived millions of years ago. Now he is immortalised by the stars.’

  ‘Wow. What else can we see?’

  ‘Over to the right of Orion, you can see Taurus. Taurus was the bull of heaven, a magnificent creature. People born in the month of May are born under the star sign of the bull, Taurus.’ Grandad explained. ‘Now look over here. Can you see the stars there?’

  ‘I think so’

  ‘Well that’s the star sign of the Lion, Leo. You and I are both Leo’s because we were born in August. Leo was in ancient times called the red flame and could control the heat of the sun in the summer. Others called him the little king. Stars are centuries old and each have their own personality. Eventually the stars die out just like people and are replaced by new stars.’

  ‘But Leo is not dead!’ Jack remarked, as he stared up at the stars.

  ‘That’s correct he isn’t. The stars that die are like small pieces of his spirit. There are millions and millions and when they die and are replaced by new ones, he grows wiser and wiser. However, if a star falls to earth it is very powerful and the ancient people would find and protect the star from any evil forces.’

  ‘Like what?’ Jack asked, looking at his Grandad.

  ‘Well even back then some people wanted to have the power to themselves. This is very dangerous as the stars are too powerful for human control and can cause massive catastrophes.’

  ‘How do you know all of this Grandad?’

  ‘Now, where should I begin…..OK I’ve got it. When I was a young man in the war, as you know I flew fighter planes.’ As his Grandad began to tell his story Jack could picture it vividly in his mind.

  ‘I was piloting a fighter plane over the ocean. It was August, the sky was bright blue and the sea was calm. After about an hour or so, the peace was ended by the roar of an enemy plane approaching from behind. I then realised there was not just one airplane but three. Desperate, I pulled on the throttle and aimed for the clouds, flying high up into the mist I hoped I might just be able to hide from them. For a while I could still hear the sound of their engines powering after me, but I could not see through the cloud as to where they were. After a few minutes everything went quiet. My vision was becoming more and more obscured and the cloud began getting thicker. Looking out of my windows I decided to descend out of the clouds and risk being spotted. I felt I had to, as something was not quite right. It was an eerie silence and as I came out of the cloud the sky had gotten darker. It was now grey and the water below looked black. Suddenly my compass started to spin erratically and I lost control of the airplane. As I fought desperately to regain command of the plane, the weather took a turn for the worse and I could hear thunder crashing in the clouds above me. But I could not stop the plane from descending and I was nearly at the ocean waves. Realising what was about to happen I looked up through my window, hoping, praying someone would happen to fly over and see me, so they would know to rescue me. As I hit the water I was still looking up when the waves came crashing down on the window, but just at that moment, right before I was about to sink, I saw a miracle. Looking up through the window, as I was submerging in the water I saw a star shooting through the sky. At first I thought it was another fighter plane, perhaps it had been shot down by the enemy as it was engulfed in flames. Then I realised it was too quick. I wondered if it were some sort of UFO but that did not explain the fire. It was just before I blacked out that I realised what it was. It was heading down into the ocean, below the clouds, getting closer and closer to me even though I was sinking into the great unknown. Then it all went black.’

  ‘What happened Grandad?! How did you survive?’ Jack was now standing again, he could not sit still during such a dramatic story.

  ‘When I woke up I was in lying on a beach. Where exactly, I didn’t know. Neither did I know how I got there or how long it had taken. As I opened my eyes I struggled to adjust to the bright sun. I thought I must have been dreaming at first, especially when I saw the moon in the blue sky. But then it hit me. I had crashed my plane into the ocean and seen a great light above me. Perhaps I had not survived and this was my final resting place, my heaven. I sat up and placed my head in my hands. A sense of grief washed over me and I thought of how I may never see your grandmother again or your mum and aunty who were both so little. How hard it would be for your grandmother to raise them on her own, and for them without a dad. Your mum must have been about your age and your aunt the same age as Ruby. Too young to be without a dad to teach them and play with them.

  After what seemed like an eternity sat there alone I decided I needed to take my mind off of the situation and instead to explore the surroundings. As I walked along the beach, pulling seaweed from my clothes I searched for any sign of life. Though all I could find were rocks and sea shells. Some of the shells were so large and colourful, I thought they must have been washed ashore from the very bottom of the ocean. Who knows what beauties lie down there on the sea bed? After an hour or so of walking I began to feel weak and tired. I sat back down on the sand, letting the water wash up to my bare feet. I hadn’t noticed until then that I was no longer wearing my shoes, how strange I thought. Looking out over the horizon, the sun began to set. It truly was magnificent, the beauty of the blue sky turning red with fire. Then I noticed something, it was partially buried in the sand and the tide was washing over it. Every time the water receded, a bit more of it was unearthed. I began digging with my hands, fighting against the sand, until I finally pulled it free. A treasure chest. Bound with leather and gold, I rubbed away the sand and seaweed resting on the large heavy lid. Set against the back drop of the red sky and the sound of the waves I began to open the lid. I imagined at that moment, what it must have felt like to have been a pirate searching for buried treasure. Only I had found mine and I didn’t have to search for it. It came to me.

  The chest had been watertight and the contents inside remained dry. The walls of the chest were lined with red cushion and on the bottom sat a tired looking old book. This was all that was in the box, there was no treasure, but perhaps, I thought, the book may have a treasure map in. I picked up the book. It felt cold and damp. The cover was brown and the pages had a dark yellow stained appearance. As I flicked through the pages, I realised it was written in some form of ancient script. With picture symbols instead of text and some pages had large charcoal like diagrams on. What any of them meant, I did not know, but I presumed there must be something important in this book for it to be kept in such a grand chest.’

  Jacks Grandad then stood and walked back towards the shed with Jack in tow. He had not closed the door behind them when they had walked out earlier, so they walked straight in. Kneeling beside the object they had earlier pulle
d up from the well, Grandad began to open the large heavy lid on the chest.

  ‘Grandad, it’s the treasure chest!’ Jack looked awe struck. ‘It’s real, you really did find it!’

  His Grandad smiled. ‘Now, let me tell you the story of Regulus and Minos.’