Helga stood there just surveying all those eating their breakfasts. Everyone was talking while some had hangovers. Hungry but unsure about approaching to get her food after last night she ended up going to Arnold's large tent. Announcing herself he was in there with an empty plate beside him while sipping some coffee. She paused long enough to take him all in and finding herself weakened by his handsome face.
'He'll hurt you. They'll all hurt you.' Brainy's voice said to her in her head.
"Morning Helga. Did you get anything to eat?" Arnold's voice instantly broke through the memory.
"Oh." She was completely unsure of herself. "After last night I'm just not comfortable since I don't belong."
Watching her fold in like that, Arnold stood up. It hurt to see her like this when he wanted that bold Helga back. "It'll be fine. Do you trust me?"
She gazed up into his eyes. "Yes, but after the questions and them talking about me last night I just can't." Perhaps she should leave today and go back to a random hotel. Feeling him wrap his arms around her she felt cared for. "I'm sorry I'm not the girl you remember."
"She's still there. You already had many facets to yourself."
"Well this facet sucks." Pulling away she noticed he was looking at her photographs she took yesterday. "What do you think?"
"That the old photographer we had sucked. I see more details in this then I ever did in what was photographed before in this and past digs. This helps us without us having to remove anything." Kissing her forehead, Arnold wanted to really kiss those lips. "I want you to stay on with us."
She pulled away more. "Uh let me get some food and I'll be back." Leaving his tent quickly she headed over to the line. Standing there she avoided eye contact with anyone else as she went to gather pieces of food.
"Scrambled eggs?"
Helga finally looked up to see a largish man in front of her with a huge smile on his face. "Sure." Waiting for him to dish some on her plate she thanked him.
"Hey about last night... We are pretty sorry about that. Well I know I am. You didn't deserve to be treated that way. We always did wonder about Arnold's past and when we spotted a blurb about a psycho we were curious about the girl. Our curiosity got the better of us and you didn't deserve that. You are the first person we seen the boss around and find him give you the love eyes."
Her mouth started opening up slowly. "You are mistaken there but I appreciate it. Thanks for the food." Taking a step away she heard him raise his voice.
"He looks at you like I looked at my wife. Arnold has feelings for you." He winked at her before returning to his duties.
Stepping away, Helga made a beeline back to Arnold's tent when Amy came up in front of her. "More questions?" She bit out.
Amy almost left her seeing how those eyes buried right into her. "No. I just want to say how out of line I was. I have a really bad habit of researching everyone. I did that to my girlfriend too. Well I just want to say that I'm truly sorry for doing that to you. You didn't need it."
The old her would of possibly gave her a snarky response, but this was her now. "As long as you don't repeat that then I truly will forgive you." Well it was closer to the old her. "Let's move past it."
Amy nodded her head. "I know we are heading out there again to try to recover more stuff. Will we see you out there?"
Helga shrugged as she moved past her just wanting to leave. Heading back inside his tent she took the nearest seat just so she can eat. Noticing she forgot something to drink made her curse. "You don't happen to have anything to drink in here. Coffee perhaps?"
"No, but let me grab you some. I need a refill on mines too." Getting up swiftly Arnold made his way out to quickly head over for more coffee. As he landed there he grabbed an extra cup to fill it up. As he did so he heard their line cook, Steve speak about something.
"I tell you, Rach, those eyes of her are the prettiest blue. If I wasn't married to a wonderful woman myself I would be picking flowers for her."
Rach was a beanpole of a person. Arnold always thought of her as the female version of, Stinky. Hook nose and all. Easy going attitude with a slight country accent. "She's sure pretty. I bet the boss was all gaga about her before."
Arnold turned around to nod at both of them. Whether they knew he was there or not didn't quite matter. Arnold was gaga over Helga. Ducking back into the tent he handed her a mug noticing she was already finished. She must of been really hungry. "I wasn't sure if you want it with sugar or cream. Sorry I forgot to ask."
"Black is fine just as long as it is good." Lifting the mug up in her hands, Arnold noticed how delicately she sipped it. "This is good coffee."
"It is. Our cook Steve is our best one we've had. Once in a while his wife joins us, but most of the time she is off with her mother." Arnold informed her. "Sweet woman that kinda reminds me of, Phoebe."
"Sucks that she broke up with Gerald for a while because of the pressures of school." Helga lamented while still sipping her coffee. "Isn't it odd to know he was dating, Nadine? I like her and all, but it felt strange. It felt like he was dating family."
Arnold couldn't quite place a finger on that when he first found out. He knew it was strange, but couldn't quite figure it out. "He misses Phoebe though, but now she is seeing someone else. How's that going if you know?"
She made a sour face. "Bastard cheats on her. At first she didn't believe me because she is a positive person. The guy hardly took her out. Was always busy at certain times. Always asking Phoebe for money. Well I came back to Hillwood in disguise, and tracked him. I hated showing her pictures of him kissing another woman and holding her as if he was about to have sex with her in the middle of the street. I hated seeing that heartbreak."
"I didn't know. How long ago was that?" Arnold wished she would stop sipping that coffee. The way her innocence showed in this simple act. They way the hairs from her ponytail would curl in and caress that skin. The way her lips looked. He wanted to get down on his knees to bring her down for a kiss to have his many repeats.
"A few years back. She threw herself into work just like I have. Mines if far more involved than her since my passport always needs to be changed to support new stamps. What about your passport?"
"I haven't changed it yet. I've traveled but I take more time between locations. If I'm not out there I'm in here pouring over what we have so far. I've become a workaholic." Glancing back to his computer where one of her photographs were for study, he asked, "Where do you live?"
"No where and every where. I have no home nor apartment. When I wish to have some time off I head to my sister's to spend some time there with my nephew and niece. I leave when I have another assignment." Her lips curled up. "I know you live at the boarding house still according to Pheebs."
"Yeah. No sense of buying a place of my own. Besides it is nice to come home to family. As much as I like the people around me here, I need home."
Helga noticed how he seemed so saddened all of a sudden. "Football Head?"
His eyes lifted up. "Home isn't much of a home without you in Hillwood."
Helga bowed her head down. "I can't. I just can't." Placing her mug down she stood up to pace. "He haunts me every day and when I'm noticed in Hillwood I get hounded there by questions. I can't."
Standing up himself he had to stop her pacing. Placing his hands on her arms to halt her he looked into those scared eyes. "I hate him for what he's done to you, but you are letting him win. You are letting him rule your life."
She knew his words were true, but she couldn't. "I can't take my clothes off without feeling those eyes looking at me." Pulling away from him she turned to spot something pink. Her mouth slowly opened, but no words came out as she went over to where his bed was to lift the familiar object in her hands. Opening it with shaky hands, Helga saw her words staring back at her. "I was so scared you would know who had a crush on you. I was afraid of being shunned for it. Afraid of being found out and it going around school. I would of been made fun of while you would of been pitied to have the horrible Helga G. Pataki loving you this much." She knew he wanted to speak to her as she brought it close to her heart. "Now it feels different. You kept this safe for all this time. Yes you read it to Gerald and then the entire class, but still it was safe."
"I cherish it. I keep it beside me next to my bed or under my pillow."
The journal looked preserved. While the pages aged some it was the outside that didn't looked touched. Leafing through the pages she spotted something new. Lifting it up, Helga read it.
I wasted so much time in not telling you
Telling you how I truly feel for you.
I wish I never believed Lila in the first place.
Wished I didn't stay with her.
Your blue eyes haunt me in the most pleasant way
They have a power in them that makes me desire to see them more
Where are you right now?
Why aren't you communicating still to me?
You are so perfect for me.
So opposite, but at the same time you aren't.
You have this hidden kindness that shines like the most brilliant stone.
A smile that fills you up and makes me desire more.
I've been on blind dates and no one is you.
I realized this a long time ago and I wish I said it to your face
I love you Helga G. Pataki and one day I want to be yours
I love you.
She delicately folded it back to place it back where she found it. Slowly, Helga placed it back where she found it. It wasn't a great writing, but it reached its point. "When did you write this?"
The cat was out of its bag and was now wandering around between their feet figuratively. "After you left."
Helga knew he didn't have those feelings anymore. He couldn't feel that way still. "Shouldn't you be working today?" She couldn't ask him if he still did. Fear was there.
"I am working. We will soon go back out there to scan the surroundings again. Will you please stay with us? You have such talent. I could hardly make out the pictures our last photographer got."
"Who was your last photographer?"
He hated the name. "Lazarus Peppin."
Helga laughed at that as she finally turned to face him. "I know him. He does take great pictures actually. He's not overly fond of taking Archeology pictures. He is a good guy but he wants to take pictures of things he loves."
Going to his small camera, Arnold lifted it up to snap a picture of her. "How about this?"
Rolling her eyes at his confidence, Helga took the camera to look at the picture. Even with the dim lighting in there it was pretty good. "Pretty good for an amateur."
"Best one I ever took. I photographed it with love." Turning his attention back to his desk, Arnold hoped she let that sink in without dismissing what he just said.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Helga observed them working with almost a detached eye. She wanted to get into the area without getting too far involved with their personalities. She would find that distracting to herself and prompt her only to photograph the people involved. She wanted to take in the whole thing with the exact amount of care they were doing as they performed their tasks. Some of the crew were scanning for bodies deep within the ground, while others were concentrating on more like structures or more symbols. Hearing Arnold's voice as he went lower into the hole, Helga felt her distraction. Spied his handsome features while he worked. Feeling her old self guiding her to do poetry this time with her camera, Helga pulled back to remain professional. This was important for them all.
Arnold saw her from the corner of his eye as she left the camera to move around the perimeter to take still photographs. He tried not to stare at her but it was truly hard. He loved how perfect she was in her movements. She was so careful to not disturb them. With Lazarus he enjoyed shouting at them to do a certain thing or he would simply flirt with the girls. He wondered if he flirted with Helga. Wondered if she liked the attention. Feeling a flare of jealousy he then snuffed it out to try to resume his work.
Amy stepped forward more towards his section. "There was an answer to one of their bodies that was exhumed from another site." Arnold perked up as he rushed up towards her to see what it was.
Taking the list from her, Arnold's mouth opened slightly as he read it silently unaware of Helga coming closer with her camera till he smelled her fragrance. "They not only spotted malnutrition from the older males and females, but..." He lingered as he continued to read. "They had Coeliac Disease and as they got older they developed Throat Cancer."
Helga had an idea what Coeliac Disease was but she felt the need to ask. "Do you believe this may be the reason for why they performed black magic? A end to their pain."
Amy chewed her lower lip. "They will test all the remaining bodies to make sure since the age of their bones and condition actually made it hard for them to test."
Arnold thought about the question as he looked up around the site. "Since Brazil seems to be a bit newer then the older sites we may have an answer. It is a good question, Helga. Thank you for this Amy."
"Sure thing. Let me see if I can dig up more." Amy took the piece of paper away from him to see if she can go off this.
Arnold turned slightly towards the camera. "If the black magic is the reason for this practice then it just leads to much more questions. I like this challenge."
Helga almost grinned at how childlike he appeared when he said that last part. Watching him head back down she had to remember he wasn't the only one involved here.
It was a half hour where a few things were seen so they marked those spots to venture to later. Glancing at the battery power, Helga went to change her camera to another quickly. As she was doing this she heard a commotion.
"ARNOLD!" From the crew.
Helga grabbed a couple of cameras to use. As she went down carefully she heard them having trouble locating him with their flashlights due to the darkness was sucking it up. Nearing the edge, Helga got down on her knees to call out to him. "FOOTBALL HEAD!" They waited till coughing was heard below. "Arnold?"
"H-Helga?" Arnold called back hesitantly.
"Of course it is. Who in the world do you think it is? Ol' Betsey?" Helga figured a snarky response would get him. The others were confused by how she was talking back to him.
Arnold chuckled. "No I never want to meet up with Ol' Betsey. I'd rather meet up with Helga."
Smiling, Helga noticed that the lights did get sucked up into the darkness. "Are you hurt?"
There was a pause in that reply. "No. Just stunned. It's so dark down here that I can't see a thing with my flashlight. I can't even see you guys." Arnold felt alone down there, but not so alone in the world when he heard her voice.
Activating her camera to film in night vision, Helga saw him standing there. "I see you! You are directly below us." She chewed the inside of her mouth in thought. "I'm guessing 200 feet below us, but this is just a guesstimate." Pulling back she brought out her phone to connect it with the camera.
"Whatcha doing?" Luis wondered as he watched her.
While she loved the beauty of older cameras she had to admit the newer fancier cameras had something worth its grain of salt. Seeing the image show up on her camera she set the camera she was about to send down to Arnold ready for them to see what they are dealing with. Asking for a rope, Helga wrapped it around the handle so she can lower it down to him.
"Arnold, I'm sending my camera down to you. I have it set on night vision so you can better see around you. Also it will help us judge what we are looking at!" She yelled down. Resuming a normal tone, Helga asked Luis a question. "You do have plenty of rope right?"
"Indeed. Let's get him out of there." Luis signaled to get the rope over to them.
Getting on her stomach, Helga told him the camera is coming down now. Lowering it she can see on her tiny screen next to her that they were passing enough dirt before things turned interesting. "What the hell?" She whispered in awe.
Luis was afraid of touching her equipment as he looked at the screen. "There are more of those symbols."
"I'm starting to feel like I'm lowering equipment down to Alice after she fell in the hole." Helga whispered.
Arnold didn't dare move as he felt dirt rain down a little more on him. He thought it was fortunate she had a camera she was willing to lend. Feeling the gentle tap of the camera he took it with his hands. "I have it!" He called back. Lowering it down more, he moved it down so he can look through the view finder. First he looked up to see Helga's concerned expression. "Don't worry Helga! Your Football Head is in good condition."
Hearing her snarky reply, he then pointed it around him before yelping at the sudden image down a corridor. There were symbols but with something else added. "Oh my..." His voice whispered.
Helga and Luis were the only ones who could see the image clearly. Their eyes went wide. "Is that for real?" Helga breathed out.
"Indeed, Helga. Your man has discovered something much more bigger than this site already revealed to us." Luis almost cheered but they'll need to get Arnold out of there first.
I don't know a lot about different cameras so please just ignore my lack of knowledge. I will try to look it up more as the story progresses. My knowledge with cameras is point and click.
I'm aiming for longer chapters