Noah ~ POV

I couldn't help but groan as my alarm went off. The loud blaring woke me up from my dream of being back in the city. I was a little annoyed when we moved to this small town. I climbed out of bed and rubbed my eyes to try and clear them. Looking into the wall-mounted mirror, I saw my hair sticking out wildly. It would die down after a few minutes. I stretched my arms out as I walked over to my dresser. Looking through my clothes, I couldn't help but be a little frustrated. I'm used to the sun and the beach, not mountains and snow. After getting dressed, I walked downstairs; our new house is modestly sized with a bedroom at the top of a narrow staircase. 

Downstairs, I saw the kitchen and living room empty as always. We moved out here because mom got a fantastic job offer from the town. They wanted her to be their new Treasurer and gave her an amazing offer. And considering dad's a remote programmer he can work as long as he’s got a good internet connection. I'm honestly happy for mom; she got her dream job. But it sucks that I'm stuck in Silver Vein County. Swear this place is out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by mountains and forests. I made myself some scrambled eggs with toast and fruit for breakfast. Sitting at the dining table eating, I saw dad walk in. He walked to the coffee machine and made himself a cup in one of the largest cups we had. We didn't say much to each other as dad turned on the T.V.. He flipped through a few random channels till he found the local news.

"And that’s it for the weather. If you're just joining us you might want to grab your sunscreen and maybe something to defend yourself with. Silver Vein High had a break in last night during a club event. A student at the MMA club caught a glimpse of the trespasser. The Sheriff’s department ...." So the news reporter said before dad drew my attention. 

"A break-in?" he said before pulling out his smartphone.

Dad made a call; I mostly ignored him as I finished my breakfast and went to wash the dishes. I just set the dishes down in the sink just when dad called out my name. 

“Ya?” I called back so he knew I could hear him.

“Ya dad what is it?” I poked my head around the small wall that separated the kitchen and living room. 

"You're going to be staying home today,” I was shocked when I heard that. 

I love my dad, even if he can be overbearing sometimes. And I want to go to school as much as the last kid; but besides school, there's nothing else to do here. So I tried thinking of a way to get out of staying here with dad. And luckily, mom came to my rescue.

"Oh great, Noah, you can come with me to check out my work," And my hero suddenly turned into my tormentor. 

"That'll be great… get you out of the house and look at our new home," Dad said, cemented that I would be going with mom. 

Another reason mom and dad moved us out here is not only for mom's job. But also because they didn't want me to stay inside all day like back in L.A. They thought introducing a city kid to dense forests where wild animals and bugs dominate would be good for me. Seeing they were dead set on this, I went to my room and grabbed what I'd need. My phone and earphones; I sat in the living room waiting as mom went about her morning routine. I saw dad get dressed and walk out to his office. Our house has a detached garage with a loft above. It's been converted into his office; that was one of the things mom used to bribe him into moving. Giving him his own office space and a whole new computer set up.

I didn't mind that as much, mainly because dad often gives me his old equipment when he upgrades. After the home office was set up, dad gave me his old mini pc systems, which I was stoked to get. Things got enough processing power for me to run a small business. Or work on some personal projects I’ve been neglecting. Once mom was done and dressed, we walked out to her car. I went to put in my headphones but stopped when I heard mom talking to me. 

"Noah… thank you for being so open to this." Mom gave me a smile.

I loved my mom and wanted to see her happy. I gave her a smile back.

"It's fine, mom… just wish there was stuff to do," This was already a problem she knew about.

And she had tried to help me fix my boredom.

"Honey, I'm sure you can find tons of stuff to do. You just need to go and look; it's not always going to come find you." Mom said, dropping one of her nuggets of wisdom.

A short drive later, we arrived at city hall, where mom works. She pulled into her parking space. Yes, her own parking space, her name on a sign, and everything. Walking up to it, it was an old brick building that had been added onto and upgraded. I followed mom through the halls to her office. Her office was nicely sized, enough for an old sectional desk and big couch. I noticed a framed family picture of us sitting on her desk. I was embarrassed to see it, I was in my old nerdy glasses and sweater vest. One good thing about this move is I can get a new start. No one here knows that I was an overblown nerd. I wondered if anyone else from school was going through this.

"Noah, I just need to take care of some things. Why don't you look around? I'm sure you can find something." Mom said as she sat down at her desk and began working on her computer. 

I didn't mind it too much; I am sixteen, so it's not like I'll run into danger. I walked through the halls; I noticed they had some paintings and photos hung up. Guessing these people are important to the town's history. They only listed the names though not why they were important. I did notice something weird, as I looked among the paintings. A good portion of their last names were Edwards. Maybe they were big donors or former leaders? 

I heard something coming from down on the main hallways in front. It sounded like shouting, though there was only one person from what it sounded like. Walking over, I saw a giant modern glass door with an old wooden sign that hung above. It read in thick letters that looked like they were burnt in. Silver Vein History Museum. I stepped through the automatic doors to a large hall. It had displays of artifacts, documents lining the walls, and more paintings of people and some events. Some of the stuff in there looked so odd and weird. I found a desk around one corner; the desk looked modern compared to everything else. He was so focused on the computer that he didn't notice me walking up. I looked up and noticed what I think was a war club hanging on a display. It caught my eye because of three large old metal spikes. The thing looked scary as all hell.

"Come on, you piece of junk…." He looked between an old dinosaur computer and a radio system. 

Was he a tour guide; I didn't think this place would have tours? 

"You need some help?" He was a little surprised after I asked. 

He looked me over for a moment before he seemed to calm down and smile at me. 

"Sorry… tours don't start till eight-thirty. If you want, I can…." He went off misunderstanding. 

"No, no… my mom's the new town Treasurer. Name’s Noah," I said, hoping that cleared up the little mistake. 

"Oh… sorry, I’m bad with names…" He gave me an apologetic smile. 

He then held my hand; I took the kind gesture and shook it. 

"Guess you're stuck home too?" He asked jokingly as he leaned back in his seat. 

He leaned forward in his seat as we talked. 

"Yep, it sucks” I couldn't help but lean against the counter and let out an annoyed sigh. 

The guy chuckled as he looked at me on the radio.

“who'd want to break into school during a fight club?" I asked jokingly. 

"It's not a fight club…." Ethan said a bit of annoyance.

"Then what would you call it?" He seemed sensitive about it. 

"It's an MMA club… we practice good practical martial arts and figure out good workouts for the club members. I'm in it so I should know." He answered my question.

It was easy to see he had a bit of an attitude. 

"So you guys don't punch and kick each other?" The obvious question to ask. 

I couldn't help but smirk thinking he wouldn't be able to come back. 

"Do fight clubs use protection? Do they wear padded gloves or padded shinguards? Do they have a teacher and supervisor trained in first aid and have nine-one-one on speed dial?" He quickly shut me up and knocked the smirk off.

I couldn't come back with anything, so I decided to talk about something else. 

"So why are you yelling at a piece of… old tech?" I noticed the radio and headset were very old.

"Oh… I help my grandpa with tours on weekends and after school… Since school was canceled today, I came here to try and… fix this… but I think this piece of junk hates me." He said as if the old radio had a mind of its own. 

I chuckled a little as I looked down at him. He looked like a big angry kid that was taking out his frustration on an inanimate object.

"Want me to give it a try?" He placed it on the counter in front of me. 

I looked it over as Ethan began explaining what it was supposed to do. I paid little attention as I looked over the old thing.

"It's supposed to speak through these…." He begins until he hears a voice come in through the receiving headphones. 

"Testing… Testing one two three…." I said into the radio, which went through quickly. 

He looked between the headphones and me for a few shocked-filled minutes before finally talking. 

"Ho…how?" He asked. 

I held the radio out for him to see. 

"You had it set for the wrong frequency," My smirk came back; it got a chuckle from him and me. 

He took the radio, and we smirked at each other silently for a few moments. As I looked at him, I couldn't help but notice this… look in his eyes. It was a look of relief and confusion mixed together.  

“Names Ethan… you said your name was Noah right?” He set the radio down on the desk in a charger.

I only nodded yes to him. I couldn't say anything for some reason. 

"So… were you there last night?" I asked to try and get something out of my mouth. 

He stood up and walked around the receptionist's desk. 

"Yep…" We started walking through the museum.

"So what happened?" I have to admit I was a little curious.

Ethan shrugged his shoulders as he walked through the halls of the museum.

"Nothing much to tell… I just finished sparring with Rebecca… The Sheriffs came. I went to get a drink of water and saw a light coming from the computer lab. Next thing I know, I'm being questioned by Sheriff Olivia." We rounded a corner that displayed an old tomahawk made of what looked like animal bone. 

"Did you see their face?" I couldn't help my curiosity.

"No… their back was turned to me, and they had a hood up." He sounded disappointed. 

Couldn't blame him; seemed like one of those things you wish you could help with. I look at the display of the tomahawk a little weirded out. 

"Why display a stolen Native American treasure?" I asked out loud, not realizing I did. 

"It was a gift…." Ethan said as he looked at me with a smirk. 

He motioned to the tomahawk that looked like a piece of animal bone on a wooden stick. 

"Back when the settlers first arrived, they spoke with the local Indian tribe… offered a trade; the land the town currently sits on for shared arms agreement. The tomahawk was given as a sign of peace to the settlers." Ethan mentioned as he motioned to a picture at the base of the display.

The picture was an old drawn one that showed an Indian chief handing over the tomahawk and a single settler taking it with a smile. I looked at it, surprised; honestly, I thought most native American land was taken by force. Or maybe that’s just a story the town tells it’s self. 

"Hey, since you know so much about the town, what's with all those portraits out in the hall?" It had been bugging me a little. 

"Oh… those are historical figures the town honors." He stated as we walked through what I guess was the back door that fed back into the town hall. 

"Ok… But what about the portraits?" I was curious to know what an entire family could do that got them such honor. 

"Well, to start, Bart Cabello… no, he didn't inspire Bart Simpson if that's what you're thinking." He joked, which I admit did get a smirk out of me. 

"Barto Cabello was the one that approached the native Indian tribe. He saved one of their children from a snake. The kid wasn't bitten, or anything, they just got lost. After returning the kid to the tribe, he started negotiations that led to the peace treaty we saw earlier." I couldn't help but nod and pretend to be impressed. 

The portrait showed a man in old Spanish settlers' clothes carrying a young native American child in their arms.

"This lovely woman over here was named Martha Corbin. She helped smuggle firearms and other things to the Americas during the revolutionary war. Married into a wealthy family in the Spanish colonies at the time. Her husband wanted to stay out of the conflict, but she secretly supported the Americans by using her husband's shipping business to help smuggle in needed supplies." My smile grew bigger after hearing that. 

There was a painting of a young girl standing next to some wagons with what looked like a large horse right behind her. Though the surprising thing was she held a long old rifle with a fancy design I'd never seen before. 

"What about this guy over here?" I asked, pointing to a rather rough-looking man that wore a dark, dirty coat and held pistol. 

"This man was Samuel Edwards, who served as a bounty hunter in the wild west. He hunted known criminals, murders, etcetera. Before the Civil War broke out, he helped fund a small branch of the underground railroad that led out west." Again I was surprised and honestly shocked by that. 

We kept walking through the halls as Ethan explained the different paintings that hung from the walls and some of the items that turned from them. 

“Over here you have Theador Edwards who served with Teddy Roosevelt's rough riders.” In front of me was an old black and white picture of Roosevelt standing next to another man.

The pair stood huddled around a campfire. After a few minutes, I noticed at least five members of the Edwards family were displayed. 

"How do you know so much about the Edwards family? Are you a fanboy or something?" I asked rhetorically; I mean, he does work at the local museum so he has to know all this. 

"They…. are my family." He said, catching me off guard as I suddenly stopped and stared at him. 

I had to process what I had just heard. 

"W…wait… so all those people are… your ancestors?" I wanted to clarify that I heard him right. 

"I…Well, these are the ones… we have out right now." He said bashfully, which only confused me more. 

"What?" I asked as that was the only thing that came to mind. 

"Me and my grandpa swap out the portraits once a month. The halls aren't big enough for everyone… so we keep the others in the basement." I didn't know my jaw had dropped because I was so surprised.