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Kiana
The
Untamed
Episode
1
Phantom
of the
Chapter 8
Treasure
Not far now, Kiana
said.
Thats a relief, thought
Daniel. The days adventure
was getting creepy. Kiana had
led them into the ruins of the once magnificent
temple. It had been relatively
easy going for the early part of the
trek. The interior had been
surprising clear of vegetation even though most of the stone surfaces were
covered with mosses. There was
only the occasional tangle of vegetation where the roof had fallen
in. However, as they had penetrated
the inner recesses of the temple, it had become increasingly gloomy as they
passed beyond the reach of sunlight.
Finally they had to resort to using Hughes flashlight, a device
that Kiana found intriguing.
I wont last long, Kiana, Hughes had cautioned after
the girl had taken it from him and clicked it on and off a dozen
times. We have to go before the
battery runs out.
The concept of a battery was lost on Kiana until Danielle
explained. Its like
the sun, Kiana. Eventually it
gets tired and has to rest. We
have to use it before it wears out.
Kiana nodded and handed the flashlight back to
Hughes. We go before light
gets tired. Quickly she
turned and led them deeper into the ruin.
A short while farther on they came to a place where the roof of the
temple had collapsed. Sections
of the giant columns were scattered about the floor and broken pieces of
the huge lintels that had been part of the ceiling made the going
difficult. They had to
scramble over and under broken bits of
stone. Here, however, Hughes
was able to save his flashlight as sunlight streamed in between the remaining
columns.
It was in that section that they finally came to the place that made
Danielle uneasy. It was a depression
in the floor of the temple and it led
underground. It was here that
Danielle began to feel anxious. She
did not like black holes in the ground.
There was no telling what might be lurking in there, but she
couldnt refuse to enter. Not
when Kiana entered without a moments
hesitation.
Christ, Danielle muttered, there could be snakes
in there.
Hughes shrugged.
Follow the leader, he said.
Inside the underground passage it was pitch
dark. Danielle wondered how Kiana
had managed to make her way through without the aid of a flashlight until
the girl spoke. Meteke
show me this.
Meteke. The girl had spoken
of her before. It was another
mystery. Danielle realized that
she was going to have to sit down and have a good talk with the girl before
she learned all about her.
The tunnel ran on for about a hundred or so paces, then it widened
into a large vault. And there
gleaming in the darkness was a treasure beyond anything Danielle and Hughes
could have imagined.
My god, exclaimed
Hughes. This must be worth
billions.
The vaulted room they were standing in measured about forty by fifty
feet and was three times the height of a
man. Heaped almost to the roof
gleamed a small mountain of gem-studded gold
objects.
For an instant Danielle held her
breath. Its like
Aladdins cave, she finally
breathed.
Hughes nodded although in the dim light probably no one saw the motion
of his head. Only Kiana seemed
unimpressed. She climbed onto
the pile of treasure and started sorting through it, picking up first one
object and then another.
Hughes stooped and picked up a gold
bowl. Four brilliant emeralds
gleamed near its rim. This
is incredible, he said.
Who could have put all this here?
I dont know, Danielle
replied. She had picked up a
small golden statue of a gazelle and was studying
it. Im not enough
of an archeologist to recognize the
style. Carefully she replaced
the object on the pile.
I think it best if we leave everything here, she
said. This is something
we should leave to the experts.
Perhaps we could just take a few
things. Sort of for souvenirs,
Hughes suggested.
Danielle laughed. You
know we cant do that. It
doesnt belong to us. At
the very least it is the property of the people of
But they dont even know its here, Hughes
protested. Surely we deserve
some sort of reward for finding
it.
We didnt find it, Danielle
said. Kiana
did. If anything it all
belongs to her.
Alright, said Hughes.
Well leave it.
But I feel like an idiot.
By this time Kiana had scrambled back to
them. She was wearing a gem-studded
gold torque she had found.
You like? the girl asked standing on her tiptoes so that
Danielle could see it better.
Its very pretty, Kiana, Danielle replied.
Thank you for showing us
the treasure.
Now I think we should
go before Hughes flashlight goes out.
Hughes did not question the right of the forest girl to keep the
torque. At least someone
should get something out of this, he thought.
They filed out of the vault and headed above
ground. Danielle gave a sigh
of relief when they finally reached daylight
again. She had been far from
comfortable in the vault, despite the splendor of the
treasure.
As before Kiana led the way.
This time they went more quickly, as they were merely retracing their
steps. Ive got to
come back here with my camera equipment, Danielle
thought.
The same thought occurred to
Hughes. How about tomorrow
I head back to the original camp?
The rest of the crew might still be
there. If they are I could be
back in about three days.
Fantastic idea, Danielle
said. Ill stay here
with Kiana and do a bit more scouting about.
Alright, said Hughes.
Its nice to have a plan.
They quickened their pace.
For the first time since Danielle had come to
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