Prologue
1933
Indiana Jones knelt in the sand and smiled. He was clad in his khaki pants and tan shirt, a bullwhip hanging on one hip and a revolver on the other. His trusty fedora shielded his eyes from the setting Egyptian sun. For days now they had been excavating this area, steadily working away with picks and shovels. Here was the remnants of what was once a house, buried beneath the Egyptian desert, but the most interesting thing to Indy was the tattered square of cloth in his hands.
He knew it! He knew it would be here! He had spent hours discussing this with colleagues, and pouring over books and photographs of hieroglyphics in the library. They all pointed him to this spot.
The cloth was frayed as though someone had torn it from something larger — and that's exactly what had happened. Painted on it were images in now-faded ink.
People would kill just to get their hands on this little square. Some probably already had. But now Indy had it, and the discovery would shake the world of archaeology when it was made. That made him smile even more broadly as he reached into his back and pulled out 3 other squares of cloth, almost exactly like the one he now extracted from the desert sands. Clearing a space, setting aside his trowel and picks, he laid the pieces down to form…
A map. The artwork was intricate but beautiful! A strange script, painted in read, took up one corner (he was still working on translating that). Pictographs of trees, mountains, and rivers were scattered across the fragments.
"Sallah!" Indy called and moments later his tall, burley, Egyptian friend slid into the trench next to him.
"Is that it?" he asked in a shaky voice.
"We've got it," Indy said, unable to contain his excitement.
"That makes four, which means we need two more."
"Just one. I have another one being sent to the university. Uncovered in a place called Mos Eisley, originally belonged to some gangster named the Hutt."
"So you just need one more, then?"
"That's right. And I already might know where it is."
"So, Indy, what does this map lead to? Where does it go?"
Indiana Jones smirked. He tapped an image of what appeared to be a person on one of the pieces of cloth. She wore a robe, a headpiece, and looked as though she were dancing.
"See that?" Indy asked.
"Yes," Sallah replied.
"That's Mara. A Hindu deity."
"Hindu, as in India?"
"Exactly. Legend says a temple was built in her honor over 2,000 years ago. She would bestow gifts — I don't know what kind — to those who visited it. But according to the story, the temple was lost, disappeared. Some say it sunk in a flood. Some archaeologists believe that the temple was destroyed" Indy tapped the map again. "But I found one of these bits of cloth on a dig a few years ago. If this is accurate, then it means that the temple might be hidden in a jungle somewhere in India."
Sallah leaned back and ran a hand through his dark hair. "And this map could lead us right to it!"
Indiana nodded. "We just need to get that last piece."
"Where is it?"
Indy paused. "With someone who doesn't like me."
Sallah chuckled. "Sounds like a problem."
"A problem, yes. But a problem that leads to a lost temple."
There you have it! The start of a new story! I hope you enjoyed this, and also will appreciate the Disneyland references that will be made in this story. I actually wanted to include Marion in this story, but realized that it would be out of synch with the canon - haha!
While you're at it, feel free to check out my other WIP, Munk-Noir, a 1940s mystery staring Alvin and the Chipmunks!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own INDIANA JONES or ANYTHING owned by Disney. ALL credit goes to the original creators!