Nicholas Coleman carefully observed his surroundings as his expedition headed deeper into the jungle. His fellow researcher, Jeremy Eastwood, held on to his pistol tightly. Every few minutes, he would check to make sure it was fully loaded, even though he had not fired a single shot. However, Nicholas could not blame him for his fear, after all, they had entered a war zone.
Jeremy and Nicholas are archaeologists from the Flareon empire. The king of Flareon, Gabriel Smith, had ordered them to investigate the ruins of the Indra people, a long dead civilization. He has always believed there much that be gained from history. His very empire could not have been founded if not for the strategies used by ancient civilizations. Now he has ordered the investigation of all the unknown eras of ancient civilizations. There are dozens of expeditions inside and outside the empire's borders.
Nicholas and Jeremy had left Flareon two days ago and were now in the Saber kingdom, which is currently at war with a country to the north of them, called Nappa. That is why the two researchers are so nervous. They had wanted to hold-off on their research of the Indra temple in that area until the war was over. However, the king was deaf to their pleas. He said he was concerned that the temples would be damaged in the war, so they had to be investigated immediately. So, Jeremy and Nicholas were left with the choice of either doing as the king ordered, or spend the rest of their lives in prison. When they agreed to do as he asked, the king tried to eased their worries by giving them a group of soldiers that would lead them through the jungles of Saber and protect them. He made the selections himself. In total, they were given a group of four soldiers.
"I tell you, this is madness!" Jeremy shouted.
The archaeologist was no more than twenty-eight, but extremely intelligent. His hair was the color of rusted iron, his eyes were dark brown behind his glasses, and he wore a gray gentleman's coat. He wiped sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief he kept in his pocket.
"Well, we've no hose in the matter. Nicholas replied. "This is mission given to us by the king himself. Just try to focus on the positives of this situation."
"What is positive about this situation?!" Jeremy asked.
"When we return, our children will see us as heroes for surviving such an ordeal." Nicholas said. "I know my daughter will want to stay up til sunrise hearing about it."
"You forget, I have no children, or a wife, not yet." Jeremy replied.
"Well, when you do, you can tell them the story of how you made it through this adventure." Nicholas assured him.
"It's just I am not a fighter." Jeremy said with a shaky voice. "I would prefer to avoid danger."
"You could still make up an exciting story with your imagination." Nicholas replied.
"Quiet now!" One of the soldiers hissed. "All your talking could draw out unwelcome company."
From that moment on, they traveled in silence, except for the sounds of the jungle; the cries of animals and the clicking of insects. While the four soldiers were able to move quietly and quickly through the jungle, the two archaeologists were clumsy and loud. More than once, the soldiers told them to be quieter in their movements. Sometimes, they murmured swears about how noisy they were. Each soldier carried a pistol at there sides and a rifle in their hands. These soldiers had clearly been in the war to create the empire. It was clear from their scars and attitudes.
After hours of walking with little rest, they finally reached the Indra temple. It was basically a hollow pyramid. The bricks used to construct it were well shaped and dark gray. Inside the temple, there were carvings and symbols everywhere; on the walls, on the pillars that help hold it up, and even on the floor. The top of the temple was open, in order to allow natural sunlight to reach within the temple. An interesting fact about these hieroglyphs would be that they seemed to depict a war of some sort. From what Nicholas and his colleague were able to translate, either the Indra people described their enemies as demons to encourage their soldiers to fight them with all their might, or the hieroglyphs were of a mythological war. For hours, Nicholas and Jeremy were busily recording every last detail of the pyramid, while the soldiers remained outside and played various card games. Mostly Yu-Gi-Oh! Long after night had fallen, the two archaeologists were still working; they used lanterns to replace the natural light of the sun. The one who decided to stop was Nicholas.
"This has been a very productive day." He said. "However, all days must end at some point. Now, I believe it is time for some sleep."
"You go ahead, my friend." Jeremy replied. "I would like to continue for a while longer. I want to record as much as possible before I rest."
"Alright." Nicholas said. "Just remember, we do our best work after we have slept."
Jeremy nodded, now almost completely absorbed by the task before him.
Outside, Nicholas slept, along with three of the other soldiers, while one stayed up to keep watch. Meanwhile, Jeremy had discovered something rather puzzling about the symbols and carvings in the temple. They all seemed to tell a story until a certain point, then repeat from the beginning. The story seemed to be of an evil god that brought a plague up from the pits of Hell itself. Those infected were known as vampires and they developed great powers along with a taste for blood. Sometimes, they would turn other humans into vampires, who would later turn others into vampires. After the change had occurred, the newly created vampires would undergo a massive personality change. They could not even be compared with how they were when they were human. A truly terrifying disease. Though it was clearly a myth in the eyes of Jeremy, he was frustrated he did not have the entire story. He began moving around the temple rapidly, looking for any symbols that were different to those he had already seen. Then, he tripped and his lantern broke when it hit the floor, leaving him surrounded by darkness. There was some pain in Jeremy's left hand. Apparently he had scrapped as he fell and was now bleeding. As he tried to stand again, the ground suddenly gave way.
Fortunately for him, he did not fall down very far. In a matter of seconds, he landed on a dirt ground. Though not gracefully. He was relatively sure that tomorrow, he would find he had quite a few bruises.
"Blast it all!" Jeremy swore as he stood up.
His intention had been to climb out, but he quickly discovered that would be impossible without help from above. The walls were too high and too smooth. However, there appeared to be a tunnel in front of him. Part of him wanted to stay put and try shouting up to Nicholas and the others, but another part of him wanted to head down the the tunnel for some unknown reason. It was as if something was pulling him down the tunnel. He almost conceded to the mysterious force, but he shook his head and regained his senses. Just as he was about to shout, his hand suddenly covered his mouth. His legs then began moving him down the tunnel. This was an absolutely terrifying experience! Jeremy felt like a puppet on strings.
After a minute of walking down the tunnel, he heard them. Bats. They had completely surrounded him before he even realized they were there. Their eyes glowed red, piercing the darkness, and their fangs were as sharp as knives. These were no ordinary bats, Jeremy knew that much. As if sensing his fear, the bats made a shrieking noise much like a sinister laugh.
Outside the temple, Nicholas awoke to the sound of gun shots. One of the soldiers yanked him to his feet.
"What is going on?!" Nicholas demanded.
"We are being attacked!" The soldier replied. "Some Saber soldiers are shooting at us! We must go now!"
"Can't we try to reason with them?" Nicholas asked.
"They don't seem to be here to sit down and have a chat!" The soldier shouted.
"Alright."Nicholas said. "Let us get away from here!"
That was all the soldiers required to begin their retreat. As they began heading into the jungle, Nicholas realized Jeremy was not with them. He immediately tried to go back and save him, but one of the soldiers knocked him out. By the time he was awake, it was sunset the very next day. Nicholas quickly began to demand answers. All the soldiers told him was that they were not able to find Jeremy when they were attacked and were forced to leave without him. When Nicholas was about to begin swearing and cursing at them, he noticed that one of the soldiers was missing. Apparently, he had been killed while covering their escape. Upon hearing this, Nicholas shut his mouth.
That night, Nicholas found himself unable to sleep. He simply stared up at the sky thinking of his failure to save his friend. He remembered what he had told Jeremy; that they would tell the tale of this adventure to those they loved.
Yes, quite a tale I have to tell, Nicholas thought. A story of pain and tragedy.
Suddenly, a cry brought him out of his thoughts. It was the cry of an infant, that echoed through the jungle. Nicholas quickly started to investigate and found a baby girl rapped in a blue blanket. He searched for her parents all night but did not find them. The soldier suggest that the child had been abandoned for some reason. So, Nicholas brought the child back to Flareon with him. Oddly, it was rather relaxed in his arms. Upon reaching the Capital city, the king welcomed them, saying he was so glad they were alive. A source had told him that the temple they had been sent to investigate had be totally destroyed in a battle. After Nicholas told the king what had happened, he apologized for sending them on such an unreasonable mission with tears in his eyes. He paid Nicholas with a small fortune in gold and rubies as thanks for his efforts. Then, Nicholas headed home to his wife, Rebecca, and son, Benedict.
Nicholas decided to name his new daughter after his lost friend. Her name is now Jem.