This is a very short story, because it actually is an English essay i wrote in school (it is supposed to be a horror story ;-) ), but i thould it could be fun and put it onto but i hope those who will read it, will like it (at least a bit ;-) ) and i would be happy for at least one or two reviews. thanks guys!
Fate Exhumed
Wales, June 1913
It was almost noon when the archaeologists stepped outside their tents to continue the digging that they had started the day before. The group has been in Devil's Bridge, near Aberystwyth, for almost a week, but they had not found a single thing yet. The green hills of Wales had been watching in silence and the fertile soil of this ancient Celtic settlement had, so far, not been willing to give away its secrets.
"I do not know how long we shall pretend that we are going to find something here" Thomas, one of the seven archaeologists, remarked bitterly, "We are only wasting the sponsor's money."
"Don't be so pessimistic. I am quite sure that we are about to find something. After all, the sources were quite trustworthy," Jane answered, turning to leave for the excavation, where helpers had already started to dig again. "Come on, let's get to work!" She called after the others, who followed her slowly.
At about tea time, there was a sudden excitement where John, another archaeologist, was digging. "I think I found something! Come quickly," John shouted.The helpers and the archaeologists put down their tools and gathered around him. They could see something golden shimmering through the earth. Jane, Jonathan, Robert, Rebecca, Elizabeth, and Thomas jumped into the hole where John was working.
"Be careful now, John. You must not destroy it, "Rebecca said anxiously.
"I know what I am doing" John answered annoyed, sweeping the soil away.
A few minutes later, they could see what it was.
"That is so beautiful", Elizabeth said in awe, "I have never seen anything like it before". She looked down upon the golden necklace which was now free of soil.
"Look," Robert said suddenly, "There is something else too. Everybody help uncovering it, but be careful!" Several minutes later, a skeleton started to appear beneath the necklace.
"You have not only found a necklace, John, but a whole grave! This has been a very successful day", Rebecca said happily as they all sat together eating dinner.
"I guess you would like to take back what you said this morning, right Thomas?" Jane asked, smirking. They all started to laugh.
One by one, the archaeologists got up and went into their tents. Jonathan had decided to keep the find in his tent for the night and they would take a closer look the next day.
It was about midnight when suddenly something started to stir in the discovered grave. Slowly the skeleton sat up and then climbed out. He staggered towards the camp, read eyes gleaming maliciously. "Where is my treasure? Where is it? Where is it? I want it back." He muttered with a hoarse voice, arriving at Robert's and Thomas' tent which he then entered.
Robert awoke by a clattering noise and when he opened his eyes he could see two read dots floating in the air. He quickly turned on his lamp and couldn't believe what he saw- a skeleton. It was wearing something resembling a tunic, and stood over him, staring down upon him with red, angry eyes.
"T-Thomas, wake up quickly," he whispered to his companion, who was sharing his tent. "What?" Thomas asked, confused and irritated, "I just had a pleasant dre…" He stopped abruptly as he laid eyes upon the skeleton.
Suddenly, the skeleton began to speak.
"Where is it? I, Gadon the magician, demand to know where it is!"
"Where what is?" Thomas asked anxiously, "We do not know what you are talking about…sir".
"I do not want lame excuses. Give it to me, or you shall die!" The two men were petrified as Gadon slowly walked towards them his hands reaching out in front of him, his bare jaws grinning maliciously.
A scream woke the other archaeologists in the morning. They all staggered out of their tents as Elizabeth came running towards them, pale as a ghost. "I-I…Thomas…Robert… their tent," She broke off, sobbing. Jonathan and John went to take a look and came back as white as Elizabeth. They told the others what they saw.
Hours later, after the Police had finally gone and taken the bodies of their unfortunate colleagues with them, they gathered around the cold ashes of the campfire.
"I do not know, how you feel about this dreadful affair, but we have to decide now if we want to carry on or leave this excavation. As you know, time is money and we have to decide quickly." Jonathan said sternly.
For a few minutes, silence fell and then John started. "I do not want to seem cold-hearted, but I think we should carry on. This is what we have been waiting for. It is our chance to find an important treasure or whatever is hidden in this earth. We did find the golden necklace, but I think there is much more lying here. We will mourn for the two, but I think it would also have been in their interest to continue." The others nodded their heads in silent agreement.
Two days had passed and the archaeologists were beginning to become frightened, because now only Jonathan, Rebecca and John were left. In the nights following Robert's and Thomas' death, Elizabeth and Jane had also died under mysterious circumstances.
"This is frightening. How can four healthy people die in such a short period?" Rebecca asked, "Why do we not call the whole thing off?"
"No" John said sternly "I am sure that we will find more treasures. We just have to keep on digging. The others would have wanted it."
"John, all the helpers have abandoned us, because of the strange things happening around here. They say it is a curse. It is no use to carry on. There are only three of us left. We cannot do all the work alone, the excavation is to large," Rebecca insisted, hoping that John would change his mind.
"The deaths were just a coincidence. They probably caught some sort of disease. Let us continue! If we just concentrate on one part after another, we will be finished in no time. Now let us get on with our work." The small group worked the whole day through but did not find a single thing. After dinner, they retreated exhausted into their tents.
Rebecca awoke as she felt a cold breeze on her face and opened her eyes. She saw two red eyes gazing back at her. Too scared to move, she watched, horrified, as a white skeleton hand slowly came closer and closer to her throat. Rebecca heard a hoarse whisper and tried to understand what it was saying,
"Where is my treasure? Where is it? I want it back." Rebecca had no time to answer, because suddenly she could feel the hand around her throat. It was cold as ice. She could not scream, the last thing she saw were the red eyes still glaring at her.
Jonathan and John sat quietly together. They had discovered Rebecca in the morning, and knew that she had died the same way as their other friends. Now they were the last left behind.
Jonathan broke the silence, "You know John, perhaps Rebecca was right. I mean, we have lost five of our friends and we do not even know how. I know that you are keen to find more treasures, but I say we pack our things today and travel back tomorrow. You have made a fantastic discovery and you should be proud of it, but I can see no sense in tempting fate any longer".
After a while, John answered: "You are right Jonathan. Perhaps we should stop. I will go and pack my bag." The day passed eventless and both of them retreated into their tents early.
Jonathan awoke when he heard a sudden thump coming from John's tent. He quickly turned on his lamp, crossed his tent to go outside, but did not come that far. He backed away as suddenly a skeleton almost as tall as himself entered, its red eyes glowing. Jonathan was shocked.
"W-who are you? What do you want?" he asked anxiously.
The skeleton started to speak with his hoarse voice. "I, Gadon the magician, have come to reclaim what is mine. I want my necklace of power. WHERE IS IT?" Gadon had searched for his necklace for almost five days and his impatience was growing.
"I-I-I really do not know what you are talking about." Jonathan lied, trying to save the find.
"Do not lie to me, you fool! You should never have taken it. What right did you have? Your stupid friends died because they did not tell me what I wanted to hear. You will soon share the same fate!"
Jonathan did not know what to do. But he decided it would be the best to give the necklace back and perhaps save his life through this action. But Gadon had other plans. Even as Jonathan handed the necklace over, the skeleton's hands closed over his throat. Jonathan tried to struggle free, but in doing so, he fell to the ground and he knew that he would never survive this. Closing his eyes, he hoped that this was only a dream. The skeleton laughed silently, grabbing his necklace tightly.
Gadon made his way back to his grave, the necklace clutched in his bony hand.
"Now I can rest in peace again." He lay down into his grave again and, as if the earth itself had been awaiting him, the soil began to cover him, just like magic. In a short time he and his beloved treasure were buried again without a trace, the order of centuries restored.
5