Adventure21 to 35 years old1000 to 2000 wordsEnglish
Story Content
The midday sun beat down on Amelia's weathered face as she navigated her jeep through the seemingly endless expanse of the Sahara. Fine sand, the color of burnished gold, coated everything, clinging to her goggles, her hair, even seeping into the crevices of her equipment.
Amelia wasn't just a tourist. She was an archeologist, and today she was hunting the biggest fish of her career. According to a barely decipherable scroll, legend whispered of a Sunstone, a gemstone capable of channeling solar energy. A stone hidden somewhere within the labyrinthine canyons and treacherous dunes of this desolate landscape.
She gripped the worn leather of the steering wheel tighter, her eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of the ancient marker she’d gleaned from the scroll. Days had blurred into a monotonous cycle of driving, digging, and meticulous surveying. Doubt gnawed at the edges of her resolve.
Suddenly, the engine sputtered and died, leaving Amelia in a heavy silence only interrupted by the desert wind whistling through the gaps in the jeep’s frame.
“Damn it,” she muttered, hopping out into the blistering heat. This was exactly what she hadn’t needed. Hours, perhaps days, from the nearest outpost. Her sat phone wouldn’t get any signal out here, which mean relying on pure, unadulterated grit and resourcefulness. Which thankfully she was not short on.
Opening the hood, Amelia quickly assessed the situation. Dust had clogged the air filter, a common problem in the Sahara. Fortunately, she carried a spare. As she worked, the setting sun began to paint the sky with vibrant hues of orange, purple, and red, transforming the desolate landscape into a breathtaking vista.
The beauty of the desert never failed to captivate her, even in dire circumstances. She was brought up on stories of legendary adventures in far-flung places, adventures just like what she was living through right now. But time wasn’t on her side.
Once the engine was fixed, Amelia knew she had to get somewhere with even limited access to assistance. She pulled out her satellite map, she had just enough water and fuel to make it to what seemed to be a deserted oasis, an abandoned community she hoped she could take shelter in.
Driving again at the twilight's final hour, she felt a deep sense of foreboding creep through her body as she navigated the tricky landscape. Soon enough, in the near distance, she could see dilapidated and crumbling houses from the supposed-oasis she had hoped for. The place was eerily silent. Windows had broken in, plants overgrew the abandoned complex. The sky's lightning illuminating some dark corners that she wanted nothing to do with.
Her gut clenched but it was her best and safest option. As she looked around, she discovered a well-hidden and decrepit little church that sat towards the end of what appeared to be Main street. Perhaps some form of blessing would assist on her endeavor.
Cautiously she proceeded into the abandoned sanctuary, as soon as she placed her feet onto the front step a blast of icy cold wind pierced the air and hit Amelia as she entered. This was accompanied by the heavy thud of something that sounded awfully close.
Amelia switched her flashlight onto the side as quickly as she could. There. A hulking shadowy silhouette made it presence known, seemingly protecting the altar and stained glass window ahead. All logic immediately flew out of the door as instinct told Amelia to flee.
But with great resolve, she placed one step in front of the other, raising her flashlight even higher, focusing the intensity onto this dark being. 'Who... who are you?' She whispered through clenched teeth.
As the light came to a rest at the subject's being, it was just an empty shell. An assortment of clothings strategically put together that resembled the grim reaper.
She shook her head, the exhaustion of the day playing tricks in her mind. Walking carefully over to the alter she spotted a small but elaborate set of keys lying at the base of the stained-glass window, where an image of what she could best guess was the Sunstone. Bingo.
Looking over the church, she saw many hidden passages and routes that may lead to underground crypts and chambers.
Making her way to a passage hidden beneath a pulpit, she used the elaborate set of keys to get the vault open.
The path was small and treacherous, requiring careful placement to not end up head-first into an unending pit of dark.
Amelia soon found her way to what appeared to be a vast underground chamber with intricate inscriptions and carvings etched into the walls. Ancient drawings depicted scenes of worship and solar rituals.
And there, nestled on a pedestal in the center of the chamber, pulsed the Sunstone. It was a sphere of pure, golden light, radiating warmth even from a distance. A source of such profound energy, she could now believe everything the scroll had whispered.
But her excitement was short-lived. A tremor shook the chamber, sending dust and debris raining down. The drawings along the wall flashed to what Amelia assumed must have been its original glory, revealing ancient warnings about the Sunstone's power – that its misuse could unleash devastating forces.
The air crackled with energy. This could trigger a dangerous explosion, one capable of not only burying this secret tomb for good but levelling anything for miles. With that realisation Amelia picked up her equipment to move forward but could not step close. Energy felt palpable at this short distance. There was no chance she could make it to the podium at the risk of self-imploding, with this realisation she stopped dead in her tracks, her hands going straight into her hair.
Think. She kept repeating in her head. The answer. An anchor point that could reach a great distance but with no cost on her own energy
Reaching into her pack Amelia grabbed a titanium winch, one used for particularly strong excavating finds. With careful thought and measurement Amelia positioned one end towards the gemstone with its strong grip, the second directly next to her position in front of her in the other room, securely locked into an extremely hefty metal frame.
Pressing the auto-winch, the grab reached ever so closely into the sphere before eventually locking onto it's position, it only took moments after it fully secure for Amelia to then begin pushing the gemstone towards her with the mechanical winch, soon the treasure she had worked so hard for was safely next to her and out of immediate risk.
Now came the trickiest bit. Making sure it can transported safey with no danger of destabilising it on the journey, so that none could come across this source of endless power.
After numerous layers of metal and safety lining in her transportation pack she was confident that she had prevented another disaster. She placed it securely in the back of her Jeep and started driving, keeping calm but steady on her way out the forgotten Oasis.
Just as dawn broke the light of day revealed the true glory and beauty of what lay behind and now ahead of her. A smile crossed over her face as her destination, although ever far away was much closer.
Amelia drove away in the Jeep, not without the odd bump along the way but that feeling and satisfaction had all her concerns wiped clean as she reminisced what a fulfilling end this was to the wild goose chase of echoes and dust she had spent chasing.