The Elusive Treasure
Chapter Ten
A Revelation
Meanwhile, inside the sub...
"Just think, Iggy, we're so close!" Izzy cackled as he paced around the captain's quarters. "In a few short moments, we'll reach the cave and claim our treasure!"
"Yay!" Iggy cheered, looking up from his Game Boy Advance, which he brought with him.
The room was spacious and luxurious for the size of the submarine. A velvet carpet covered the cold steel floor. A desk, some office chairs, and a bookshelf were situated on the western wall. A sofa, which the younger of the two siblings was sitting in, was placed opposite the desk. To the brunet's left was the room's only door, which led to the main hall of the sub. On his left was a small circular window which the depths of the harbor were seen out of.
Fish swam past it as the scenery outside went lower and lower with each passing second.
"Ahhhh... I can't wait 'til I get my hands on all that gold!" The older brother shouted with glee. "I'll never have to wait months to buy new games ever again! I can just buy them as soon as they come out or even pre-order them!"
He pumped his fist at that one.
"Uh-huh... Whatever..." Iggy mumbled as he continued playing.
"And of course, we can also get tons of great gear! I'll be unstoppable on the half-pipe and can finally destroy that blond nit-wit the next time we have a competition!"
"Hmmm-mmmm..." The smaller brunet hummed, still not paying attention.
"Needless to say, we'll be famous as well!" Izzy continued his greed-filled rant. "I can see the headlines now. 'Ultra-cool Gamer and Brother Beats Blond Fool to the Gold!'" He shivered. "Ooooohhh... I like the sound of that!"
"Yeah, yeah..."
"And let's not forget the screaming fans, the glitz, the glamour, the—" He couldn't finish for the room shook, sending both boys to the floor. Izzy growled as he sat up. "Ugh! What happened!.?"
"Awwwwwwwww!.!.!.! I lost my last life!" Iggy whined.
"Forget about that! Why'd we stop!.?" The older one stood up and dusted himself off. He looked around at the mess until his eyes settled on the window. He gasped. The background was going up!.?.!
"What the—!.?.! We're surfacing!.?.!"
"We're moving up?" Iggy asked as he stood up and turned off his Game Boy.
"How perceptive of you." Izzy said sarcastically, crossing his arms. "Of course we're going up! I'm gonna give Oliver a piece of my mind. He BETTER have a good reason for this!"
He stomped towards the door. He was about to turn the knob when he stopped and walked back to Iggy.
"I don't know why I'm doing this, but listen up!" He started. "I'm gonna go to the control room and deal with Van Rossom. I'm leaving you in charge of the map." He pointed towards a corner of the room by the window, where his backpack was. "Guard it with your life!" He barked at the younger boy. "No one but me is to come near that bag, understood?"
"Yeah, yeah. I gotcha." Iggy replied dismissively. Izzy grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him towards him.
"Listen, I have come too far to let things get screwed up because of you!" He hissed. "Don't let anybody touch that bag while I'm gone! Got it!.?"
"G-g-got it..." His brother stuttered frightfully.
"Good." Izzy said before shoving him away. Iggy landed on the floor. "I'll be right back!" He stormed out of the room and slammed the door.
"Aw man..." Iggy sniffled as he stood up. "He didn't have to be so mean about it..." He wiped his eyes. "I heard him the first time..."
He dusted himself off and moved to the sofa. He sat down and sank into it. He looked down sorrowfully.
'Why can't he ever be nice to me...?'
He really should've been used to it by now. Iggy was always being pushed around by his older brother. It's been that way for as long as he could remember. It's been like that ever since he can walk. Izzy would always command him to do something and he'd do it without any question. But whenever it was done, the older brother would just have another order ready for him. But did he ever get a "Thank you?" Did he ever get a "Nice job, Iggy?" Did he ever get a hug or a handshake?.! No. All he got was just another order or a smack upside the head if he ever made a mistake. Things have only been made worse after Izzy and Sam became rivals. His brother was obsessed with beating the blond. So much so that he often forced Iggy to do some of the weirdest things to make life miserable for Sam. They were mainly small pranks like "Throw a water balloon at him!", or "Stick this 'Kick me' sign on him!", or even "Dig that trap already!" Of course, nearly all of those pranks backfired and he paid the price for it.
Iggy knew the blame lied in Sam. He knew that if Izzy ever successfully defeated the blond, he'd be happy and that means that he, Iggy, wouldn't have to suffer anymore. Despite that knowledge, he doesn't want to hurt Sam.
He just wanted to befriend the blond and his friends. He wanted to skate with them, impress them, and maybe even learn some new tricks. He wanted to have sleepovers and be invited to the victory parties that were often thrown at the Shack
But alas, it was not to be. As long as Izzy was his brother and he was still rivals with Sam, Iggy was forever stuck. Never to have any fun. Always playing the pawn in his sibling's plans. Always suffering the abuse and the fights.
But it was better than nothing. ...Right?
"Man..." He sniffled, rubbing his tear-filled eyes again. "I want Izzy to be nice. Just forget this stupid rivalry and be friends with Sam." He shook his head. "Yeah right. He'll never be satisfied." He sniffed. "At least not until he beats him in something. Like that'll ever happen."
But then he had a thought.
"What if Izzy actually gets the treasure?" He grinned. "Yeah! If he gets it, he would've officially beaten Sam!"
He jumped and clenched his fists as his grin grew wider.
"And then he'll be happy and I can actually be friends with them!"
"That does it!" He said with a determined expression on his face. "I'm gonna put one hundred percent into helping Izzy find that treasure! That way he won't be Sam's rival anymore!"
He paced around the room the same way Izzy was a few moments ago.
"Yeah! I can't wait until we get to that cave!" He cheered.
"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIgggggggggyyyyyyyyyy..." A strange voice echoed in the room, interrupting the boy's celebration. He stopped and looked around.
"Who's there!.?" He shouted. "I'm not supposed to let anybody touch Izzy's bag! So go away!"
"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIgggggggggyyyyyyyyyy..." The voice called again."Look in the bag..."
Iggy shivered in fright as he continued to look for the source of the voice. There was nobody else in the room with him. He was all alone.
"C-c-c-come o-o-o-o-out already..." He tried to remain brave, but that was getting increasing difficult.
"The bag... Look in the bag..."
Iggy paled as he slowly turned towards the backpack in the room. He gulped as he took a step towards it.
"Yesssssss... Come closer..." The voice tempted. Iggy shook with fright as he continued taking slow steps towards the backpack. "Closer... Closer..."
Iggy soon reached the bag. He trembled and made an inaudible whimper as he noticed a faint golden glow emanated from the flap on the main pocket.
"That's it... Closer..."
With a trembling hand and a final gulp, the boy slowly lifted the flap, allowing golden light to radiate all over the room. Covering his eyes with his right hand, he plunged his left hand into the pocket until he felt something warm. With a dry throat, he gripped the warmth and retracted his hand. He put down his right hand and looked at his other hand. He noticed light coming from the tiny gaps between each of his fingers. Despite the warmth of the object he held in his hand, his teeth were chattering. He licked his dry lips as he tried to make sense of what was going on.
"Open your hand..." The voice pierced his ears again.
'How did I know he was gonna say that?' Iggy thought as he pulled his hand towards him. He shrugged. 'Oh well... I've lived a full life, right?' He sweatdropped he realized how much of a lie that was. 'Well...' He started, shutting his eyes. 'Here goes!'
He opened his hand fully. An unknown amount of time passed as everything was silent. Was it a few seconds? A minute? A day? However long he stood there, it felt like an eternity. Slowly he opened his eyes and faced his open palm. He was holding the golden mushroom he and Izzy found in the forest. It was glowing brightly.
"Ooooohhh..." He said in awe. "It's pretty."
He didn't have enough time to admire it for the glowing intensified until a blinding white light engulfed him.
Elsewhere...
"Oooohhh... When I get my hands on him..." Izzy growled as he passed sailors of differing sizes. They all saluted him as he stomped past, not even acknowledging them.
"He better have a good reason for resurfacing, or else I'll drive this thing into that cave!"
Izzy soon reached the door to the submarine's control room. Unlike the door to the captain's quarters, which was a small metal hatch, it was a huge metal door. It was at least twice his size. Scowling dangerously, he gripped the circular handle and turned it clockwise until it creaked open, granting him entrance. He stepped through the doorway and shut the hatch.
Inside, the control room consisted of navigational computers, a wheel for which to steer the sub, and a large half-sphere-shaped glass serving as the window. Izzy had a clear view of the boats belonging to Lou and Breezy.
A fireboat and two lifeguard vessels were nearby and a newscopter was flying over the scene. It looked absolutely chaotic. The brunet's scowl deepened when he noticed that Oliver, who was standing at the helm, and the crew members stationed in the room were staring at the scene in utter confusion.
"Alright, Van Rossom!" He started, breaking the silence in the room. "I demand to know why you resurfaced! We should've arrived at that cave by now!"
"Are you blind!.?" Oliver snapped, turning towards him. "There's a crisis out there!"
Izzy crossed his arms. "And your point?"
"My point is, due to a cave-in down there, all activity on the marina has been suspended!"
"A cave-in?" The dark haired boy glowered. "Dullard... He knew I was getting close, so he set this up!"
Oliver gaped at him. "He would never stoop so low as to trap one of his friends down there!" He defended. Izzy blinked in response.
"Somebody's trapped down there?"
"Duh!" The redhead slapped his forehead. "Why else would they suspend all activity!.?"
The brunet grunted in response.
"Just perfect! They'll be here all day!"He threw his hands up. He sighed tiredly and held his forehead. "Fine... We might as well go back home and do this tomorrow. If someone's trapped down there and hurt, Blondie will no doubt decide to wait 'til tomorrow to try again."
Oliver nodded, glad that the other boy understood the severity of the situation.
"Very well. I'll dock the sub and we'll wait 'til tomorrow to go back down there."He said, adjusting his glasses.
"I'll just go get Iggy." And with that, Izzy left the room.
-—-—-—-
Back with Iggy...
"Wh-wh-wh-where am I!.?.!" The boy cried fearfully.
He was standing in the middle of a field much like the one Izzy was in before. It was dark. The moon and stars were nowhere to be found in the inky black sky. All around him were dead trees. The ground was just dirt. Nothing grew out of it.
Iggy shook with pure fear as a moan echoed throughout the area.
"Do not let the pirate with the missing tooth reach the treasure..."He gasped. That was same voice from earlier!
"Wh-what d-d-did y-you s-s-s-say...?"
What sounded like a slap on the head was heard. "Do not let the pirate with the missing tooth reach the treasure..." The voice repeated.
Iggy raised an eyebrow in response. "Uhhh... What pirate?"
A low cursing was heard shortly after.
"For the love of—! The one you call Lars!.!.!" The voice boomed.
"Ohhhhh! Ok!" Iggy grinned. He then blinked. "How come you don't want Lars to reach the treasure first?"
"Finally! We're getting somewhere!" The voice said before the sound of a throat clearing was heard. "Inside the Cajon de la Esperanza is a dangerous object. If the one you call Lars finds it, a terrible darkness will walk the earth again."
"Th-that sounds scary..." Iggy shuddered before blinking. "Does it?"
"Ugh!" The voice groaned. "Why did I have to get stuck with the idiots?"
"Hey! Who are you calling an idiot!.?" The brunet demanded.
"Why couldn't I be picked up by the blond one?" The voice muttered. "Look, you can't let the pirate reach the treasure first. In order to save everyone, you must claim the treasure."
"Ok, I gotcha." Iggy nodded. "Don't let Lars get the treasure or else the dark thingy will come up." He blinked for the third time. "Hey, if it's underwater, how is Lars supposed to do whatever it is that would happen?"
"Ummm... Let me think about that..." The voice answered. "Hmmmm... BECAUSE HE'S POSSESSED BY AN EVIL SPIRIT!.!.!.!.!"
At that very moment, the most horrible thing the boy has ever seen before him appeared. Like with Izzy, it was a giant, four-armed skeleton that had a rusty sword in all but one hand. In the remaining one was a hook.
Iggy gave a blood curdling scream when he looked at its skull. Its eyes were two fiery red orbs that pierced the kid's very soul. A torn and tattered pirate's hat topped it all off. To his extreme fright, the skeleton made to attack him! It drew closer and closer with its blades held out...
-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
SLAM!
"Iggy! Let's go!" Izzy yelled as he walked inside the room. "Thanks to Blondie, we gotta wait 'til tomorrow before we can—Huh!" He gasped when he saw his brother standing by the backpack, the mushroom clasped in his hand.
"What do you think you're doing!.? Drop that mushroom!" He demanded, storming over to him. When he reached Iggy, he stood in front of him. "I said drop it!.!.! ...Huh?" He blinked as he studied his sibling. Iggy's face was completely pale. His eyes were wide open and unblinking, as if he was in a trance. There was a faint golden glow in his eyes. His mouth was agape.
"Iggy? Hello..." Izzy said, waving his hand in front of the other boy's face. No reaction. "You in there? Yoo-hoo..." He snapped his fingers. Nothing. Izzy glared at him. "Hey! Get up already!"
He poked his forehead. Iggy's stiff and frozen body fell backwards. The kid didn't even blink. The older brother gulped as the color drained from his face.
"I-Iggy...?" He knelt down beside him and shook him gently. "Wake up. This ain't funny, ya know..." He shook him as hard as he could, until it looked like he was playing with a life-sized rag doll. Iggy didn't budge.
"Uh-oh..." He started sweating. "I gotta get help!" He shot up and ran to the door of the room. "Hang on, Iggy! I'll get you to the hospital!" And with that, he ran out of the room in search of the submarine's doctors.