Introduction
As Edward Cullen Climbed the steep hill of the remote Polynesian island he carefully looked back at the small fishing boat that was drifting lazily in the ocean close to shore. It was waiting for him once he retrieved the artifact that he sought for his friend. He took in the other surroundings while gathering his thoughts. Waves gently crashed onto the stunning beach lined with palm trees. He listened to the din of tropical birds filling the sun soaked air.
Edward was relieved that his father finally trusted him well enough to complete this expedition on his own. He was tired of always falling in the shadows of Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the archaeologist and adventurer. At the age of nineteen, it was time for Edward to branch off into this field of adventure on his own and create a name for himself.
He had followed his father on expeditions for the last five years of his life. He knew the dangers involved, but he also knew the rewards the dangers brought. Archaeology was in his blood, he dreamt about this day ever since he started attending Oxford University. He only hoped he could make his father proud and prove to him that he can stand on his own two feet.
As he continued his ascent, Edward hoped that all the research for this find wasn't in vain and that the idol he was looking for would be found on this island. He didn't have the time to explore and scout other areas. The idol had to be found here or he would go home empty handed.
Edward wiped at the sweat forming on his brow as he reached a low-lying wall. Looking past the wall a large smile spread across his face. He had found it. Months of research, and he was finally looking at the morae, an ancient outdoor Polynesian temple.
He jumped over the wall and walked to the centre of morae where a pillar stood on its own. Although he could not decipher the inscription, he recognized it. This was it. This was the place where he would find the idol.
Edward quickly and carefully examined the perimeter of the morae, looking for a clue of some sort that he didn't yet know.
Carlisle always told him that anything you seek was visible to the naked eye, but it takes a professional to find it. Today Edward Cullen was the professional.
He approached one end of the short wall and began to follow and study the length of it. He looked for something that might be out of place, a discrepancy. Edward noticed that the stonewall had sunken near the middle. Upon taking a closer look he spotted a small void where the wall connected with the ground.
He swept both hands through his hair, pulling at his bronze tousles with excitement. He began to scrape away at the debris scattered at the base and the void grew larger. A stone in the ground loosened and soon fell into the hole it had created. Feverishly he dug some more, stones began dropping one by one to the ground below. In a matter of moments Edward had created an opening large enough for him to fit through.
He dropped his pack he'd been carrying on his back and took out a flashlight to shine a light into the opening. A large cavern was revealed eight feet below him.
Just as he was about to make his decent, a large flock of birds from a nearby tree noisily took flight grabbing Edward's attention. His suspicion rose and he feared someone might be watching him. Although he knew he should survey the surrounding area for intruders before continuing, he didn't have time and chose to ignore the feeling that caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.
He quickly dropped his pack into the cavern hoping that if someone was there they hadn't noticed him yet. Edward then slipped his legs in and began to lower himself in. He was grateful for his lean figure as it allowed him to get inside the cavern effortlessly.
Edward landed gracefully onto the cavern's floor and began to explore. The cavern was bare and small in size with a small opening on the farthest wall from Edward. He shined his flashlight, which revealed a tunnel that led into a dark abyss. From his expedition experience with his father he knew of the possible dangers that lay ahead of him, but he readied himself and proceeded through the tunnel with caution.
If there was a time to changed ones mind it would have been then, but he had his friend, Jasper, waiting for him on the boat and he was never the one to disappoint.
After a few careful steps and examining the tunnel's walls he knew he wasn't in imminent danger. He continued at a faster pace, glancing back a few times trying to ignore the gnawing feeling of someone following him.
The long tunnel finally opened up into an underground chamber and before Edward had the time to evaluate the surroundings of the crudely built space he found what he had been seeking.
Edward's eyes danced with excitement when they were meet with the idol of a Polynesian war god. "There you are," he whispered to himself.
All the doubt his father had instilled in him before he left on this trip vanished. Before he left, the research he compiled had missing pieces leaving him to guess where the idol might be, but all his guesses had been calculated and now proven correct.
Edward was eager to get it, but he knew that there might be traps set to prevent intruders from stealing the idol. He looked around, but there seemed to be no evidence of anything of that kind. That didn't stop him from bracing himself as he stepped past the threshold. He breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened.
Edward approached the pedestal that the idol was perched upon and took a closer look at the oblong shaped wooden idol before touching it.
"You're an ugly thing," he said to the idol. The three foot tall idol had a grotesque and angry face carved into it and was embellished with woven coconut husks and precious metals.
The material value of the idol wasn't worth much compared to the cultural value it possessed for the islanders of Samoa.
Edward stepped around the pedestal looking for possible signs of it being rigged. He was so close to having it and he just wanted to take the idol, but his father taught him well. If one thing was overlooked it could end up being fatal. He wasn't prepared to take that chance.
Resolved that there was no danger in retrieving the idol, Edward braced himself for a second time. His hands vibrated with anticipation as they hovered over the idol. He finally grabbed hold of it and gently lifted it up from the pedestal while holding his breath. He waited for the inevitable and disastrous chain of events to begin, but nothing happened and he breathed a sigh of relief.
With the idol in hand he didn't feel the need to stay any longer. He ran back through the tunnel cursing himself for feeling like a child as something invisible might be chasing him.
When Edward emerged out of the tunnel and into the cavern, he rushed to his pack and took out some long rope. He quickly tied one end to his waist, before he tied the other end to the idol and his pack.
Eager to leave he leapt for the opening grabbing hold of the ledge and began to lift himself up. As Edward carefully crawled out of the cavern he surveyed the morae. Everything seemed sound and after one more look around he proceeded to fish the idol and his pack out of the cavern.
Edward had a large grin on his face as he untied the rope from around the idol and allowed himself to examine it under natural light before it was handed over to the proper authorities.
He was so immersed in the idol that the group of men that stood behind him remained unnoticed to Edward.
Laurent, the leader of the men looked down upon him with distaste. His paths had crossed with Edward and Carlisle before and it was never very pretty. They always seemed to be pitted against each other by collectors around the globe looking for priceless artifacts. Laurent was amused by the fact that the father and son team never retrieved artifacts for money, but rather for the preservation of them. He scoffed at that for he only kept this job for the amount of money it brought him.
Laurent was surprised only to find Edward here. He thought that Carlisle would never let his only son out of his sight let alone to fend for himself in this dangerous profession. He thought wrong though, and he would use this encounter maybe even further ones to his advantage; Let Edward do all the dirty work and then snatch whatever he had found, even if it meant that he had to use deadly force. His work would be a lot less difficult if he had one less Cullen in his way.
He watched Edward pack his bag. "That was easy enough," Edward said to himself, still unaware of the armed men behind him.
"Perhaps you've spoken too soon," Laurent said, feeling his presence should be made known.
The smile from Edwards face fell, he recognized the voice and he knew trouble would ensue if he remained in his presence any longer. He had to get out of there fast, but first he had to know what he was up against.
"Laurent," Edward said bitterly as he turned around and found four of Laurent's henchmen holding him at gunpoint. Staring into one of the barrels of the gun everything slowed down around him. His well trained survival skills had taken control. He became alert to everything and he paid particular attention to the men holding the guns. A blunder by them was inevitable, Laurent always hired fools and that would be the way he would escape. For now, he just had to keep Laurent talking.
"Why am I not surprised to see you here," Edward stated as he grabbed a firm hold of the idol.
"I sincerely hope you didn't think it would be this easy for you," Laurent said with a smile. "You know," he continued, "The fact that you don't have father dearest to coach you at every step."
Laurent meant to provoke him. It would have made things easier. He even saw the fire in Edwards eyes flicker, but it died out and Laurent felt a little worried over the amount of control Edward had over himself.
"Actually, it was very easy until you showed up," He said with a smirk.
Laurent was not amused with this cool, calm and collected Edward. Did he not know that the balance of power was held with the men holding the guns? Did he not know that he was tempting him to end his life right there with his brazen demeanor?
"Give me the idol!" Laurent spat.
"Let me think about it," Edward said as he slowly backed himself into the wall. He looked over his shoulder to see the hill he climbed up leading down to the beach. If only he had someway of distracting them he could easily make it over the wall and run to safety.
"I don't think you have a choice," Laurent replied. He was getting impatient with Edward's stubbornness and his confidence. He wasn't going to let this continue for much longer.
Laurent motioned to his men and they positioned themselves into a shooting stance. Edward knew that his time was just about up.
"Can't blame a man for trying," He said. He wasn't going to give up so soon.
Laurent replied with a scoff in regards to thinking that Edward was a man. Edward didn't pay any heed to the comment; he was busy following the bee that was flying around one of the gunmens head. The same bee that the gunman was eyeing so nervously. This perhaps was his way to escape to safety.
The gunman swatted at the bee aggravating it and he soon lowered his gun so he could move to avoid a potential sting. Edward laughed to himself as the gunman began doing a little jig. Soon the remainder of the men lost their focus and tried to avoid the same bee that had been harassing the first one. This was the chance he was looking for, if only Laurent looked their way Edward was as good as gone.
The moment that thought passed his mind Laurent turned his head to see his men, a bunch of imbeciles, making a mockery of themselves. Edward took that chance and jumped the wall with the idol in his grasp and began to make his running decent towards the shoreline.
Edward was fast, Laurent thought to himself. He had only turned his head for a split second to find that he had disappeared. He also had to give Edward credit for being smart as well. Laurent should have seen this coming like Edward had. Maybe the amount of time he had surrounded himself by buffoons had a detrimental effect to his intelligence.
Laurent yelled at his men to follow, but he even knew it was too late. Edward was already halfway down the hill and although his men were skilled marks men, it was impossible to make an accurate shot at a moving target going down hill with a handgun. He was left alone at the morae very much annoyed at the outcome of the situation.
Edward soon heard the gunshots following him. He felt the bullets shoot past him and saw them ricochet of the ground in front of him as he was being pursued. He should have been more prepared with a gun of his own. Maybe next time, he thought to himself. He finally saw Jasper's boat, The Rose. He knew then that he was going to make it.
Meanwhile, on the boat Jasper Whitlock's attention was alerted when he heard the sounds of a few guns being fired off. He knew that this meant Edward was in trouble.
"Alice," he called to his wife, "start the engines."
Jasper watched as Alice came out from below and ran into the cockpit. "Is everything alright?" she asked.
"Let's hope so," Jasper replied. He hastily walked over to the starboard side of the ship where he found a pair of binoculars hanging off the railing.
Within moments he had them focused and found Edward running for his life. He watched as he stepped onto the beach and stumbled a bit in the sand. He had the idol in his hand and he wished that Edward would just drop it. His life was more valuable to him than that idol would ever be.
"Come on Edward just a few more meters," Jasper coached quietly from the confines of the boat.
Edward looked back as he made it to the waters edge. He had out ran the gunmen, but he knew he would, he was always fast. He ran into the water and dove into a large wave. When he resurfaced, Edward used the idol as a kick board to swim up to the boat. Looking back he saw the gunmen standing at the waters edge knowing they had failed. He laughed when he took in a brief glimpse of Laurent less than gracefully walking down the hill.
Edward swam up to the boat and passed the idol to Jasper before he hoisted himself up the ladder.
"Are you okay," Jasper asked with concern written all over his face.
"More then okay," Edward replied with a laugh.
The boat started moving away from the shoreline. As it turned Jasper looked over to the shore and saw a group of men milling about before they were blocked from view. "Looks like you attracted your fathers usual crowd," Jasper said with humor.
"Yeah, who would have thought they would be so friendly."
Edward knew how close his life came to ending today, but the adrenaline rush was still pumping through his veins to take what happened too seriously. He would deal with the repercussions of his carelessness when he got back home to England. This was the time to celebrate.
He watched Jasper pick up the idol, taking a closer look at it. "You know," Jasper said, "it's unfortunate that a museum never tells the story on how an artifact is retrieved."
"Maybe it's better this way," Edward replied and quietly walked off to the stern of the boat. On his way he gave a friendly wave to Alice, who was safely navigating the boat back to Samoa.
Edward watched as the figures on the island shrunk from sight. His father wouldn't be too pleased if he found out about the encounter with Laurent. For now he would keep it a secret. He smiled to himself, although the mission ended up being dangerous, it was successful.
Laurent was furious as he watched his potential finders fee drift away from him. His anger doubled when he saw Edward's figure appear at the stern of the ship waving to him a cheerful goodbye. Laurent promised himself that one-day Edward would pay for his conceitedness.