Survivor • I. Jones

O N E

(You pronounce Anaith: A-nay-ith)

I fuel the fire
Running through the breeze
It’s uncontainable passion over me
No more defiance
Search is almost over
Now I see the light, now I am free
- Inside of me
                -Raign

A narrow trail across the green face of the canyon. A group of men and one woman make their way along it. At the head of the party is an American and an Irish woman. Behind them come two Spanish Peruvians, bringing up the rear are five Yagua Indians.

The Indians become increasingly
nervous. They speak to each other in bursts of Quechua. The American, who is known as Dr. Henry 'Indiana'Jones shares a glance with his ginger companion known as Dr. Anaith Malloy and they both look back at the natives.

Barranca the archeologists companion rolled his eyes in a irritated manner.  "They’re talking about the Curse again!"
He turns and yells at the Indians in Quechua, his anger giving an indication of his own fears. The party reaches a break in the canyon wall and takes the trail through it.

When they emerge, their destination is revealed to them in the distance. Beyond a thick stand of trees is the vegetation and the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors.
The entire party is in awe by the sight. The Indians, terrified now, chatter away.
Anaith turns and grinned at her friend in excitement. He chuckled at her giddiness and placed a hand on her shoulder and looked back at the mythical sight. 

Suddenly the three at the back of the party turn and run, dropping their packs as they go. Barranca yells at the fleeing Indians and pulls his pistol out.
He starts to raise his arm to aim but Indy restrains it in a muscular grip.
"No."
Barranca looks evilly at Indy’s hand upon him. Indy releases him and smiles in a friendly way.

"We don’t need them." Anaith reasoned turning to face the party.
Satipo watches this confrontation with some concern.

"I do not carry supplies." Barranca grumbled making a face at Anaith which she childishly returned.  

"We’ll leave them. Once we’ve got it, we’ll be able to reach the plane by dusk." Indy stated. He turns back to the trail.
Satipo gets the two remaining Indians moving behind Indy.
Anaith smacked a bug that landed on her freckled neck and glared at the surrounding lush forest.

The party fans out to fight their way through the entwined trees that guard the temple. Visibility is cut to five feet in the heavy mist. Satipo extracts a short, native dart from a tree and examines the point gingerly.
"The Hovitos are near. The poison is still fresh" he thought for a moment. "three days. They’re following us, I tell you." Satiop harshly whispered 
"If they knew we were here, they would have killed us already." Indiana calmly retorted not looking at him, but instead gazing on to the temple.

"How old do you think it is?" The ginger asked thoughtfully. "I'm thinking around two thousand years?"
Indy shrugged and shot a look over his shoulder at her
"I don't know" he looked back to the Temple "Try not to burn it down."
"It was one time!"

The two Indians jabber in Quechua, near hysteria interupting the twos banter.
Barranca is sweating profusely, eyes darting "Shut up!" He yells at the Indians in Quechua.

In the undergrowth, there is slithering movement.

One Indian draws aside a branch and is face with a horrific stone sculpture of a Chachapoyan demon.
The Indian freezes-  frightened no sound comes out when he screams. He turns and runs silently away.
Another Indian calls to his friend. Getting no response, he steps in that direction. A huge macaw, flushed from the undergrowth, screams and flies away. The Indian does exactly the same thing, never to be seen again.

Indiana, Anaith, Satipo and Barranca, look back in that direction.
They all turn to face the Temple.

It is dark and and smelled like death. Or atleast that's what Anaith said.

Vegatation curls from every crevice, over each elaborate frieze. The entrance was round, open and black as if it had been designed to look like open jaws.

"So this is where Forrestal cashed in." Indy mumbled to Anaith who nodded her head in agreement.
"A friend of yours?" Satipo asked curiously

"Competitor. He was good, very good." Anaith answered.
"No one has ever come out of there alive. Why should we put our faith in you?" Barranca accused both of the archeologists.

Indy takes the weird feather from the band of his hat that Anaith had slipped in sometime during the trek.
From around its point, he slips a tightly rolled piece of parchment.
Barranca and Satipo exchange a quick look. They all kneel as Indy spreads out the parchment. On it is one-half of a crude floorplan of the Temple that the ginger had sketched.

"No one ever had what we have: partners."
Indy fixes them with an expectant stare. Satipo produces a similar, but folded, piece of parchment. He lays the other half of the floorplan next to Indy’s. They all regard it for a moment, then Indy stands and walks toward the Temple. Barranca’s eyes are shining as they dart between the floorplan and Satipo.

"Assuming that pillar there marks the corner and..." Indy's back was turned and the Irish woman was staring at the floor plan, trying to find escape routes if anything went wrong.
"Hey Indy.."
Barranca is suddenly on his feet, quietly drawing his pistol.
He raises it toward Indy as Satipo realizes with alarm what he’s doing.
It was too late, Indy’s head turns and he sees Barranca and Anaith's head snapped up with wide eyes, quickly getting to her feet reaching for a throwing knife.

Indy’s next move is amazing, graceful and fast, yet totally unhurried.

His right hand slides up under the back of his leather jacket and emerges grasping the handle of a curled bullwhip.
With the same fluid move that brings Indy’s body around to face the Peruvian, the whip uncoils to its full ten foor lengeth and flashes out.
The fall of the whip wraps itself around Barranca’s hand and pistol. He could not drop the gun now if he tried.
Indy gives the whip a short pull and Barranca’s arm is jerked down, where it involuntarily discharges the gun into the dirt. Barranca is amazed, but feels some slack in the whip and immediately raises the gun toward Indy again, cocking it with his free hand.
"Don't" Anaith growled as Indy’s face goes hard.
The ginger in a blink releases the gleaming knife and it loged itself in the man's forehead.
Barranca falls dead with a pathetic thud.
Indy looks quickly at Satipo, who is shocked and frightened. He raises his arms in supplication.

"I knew nothing! He was crazy! Please!"
Indy looks him over, then nods. But the woman doesn't look convened.
  He frees Anaith's knife from Barranca’s body and hands it to her.
His eyes sweep the surrounding woods.

"Let’s go."

"This is not going to end well."

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Hi! Thank you for reading.
I was re-watching and thought why not write something on this that will keep me up past 3am? So here I am.

《Erin》