Text Hunter

Chapter 6

Rod held the lamp close to the hard packed dirt wall. A twisty little passage ran deeper into hill.  

"Who would build a tunnel down here?"  

"The same person who dug this pit," I said.  

My phone chirped. Rod's eyes snapped to me.  

"And who sends you texts in the middle of the night?"  

I didn't answer. Instead, I read the message from Treasure Hunter. 

<The tunnel ahead is dark and damp. In the distance, the narrow path grows wider. Could there be a cavern ahead?> 

"We're moving in the right direction," I said.  

Rod swung the lamp closer to my face. "We're not moving anywhere until you tell me what's really going on."  

The lamp's yellow glow splashed spots in my vision. I stepped back, my brain scrambling for something to say. The truth would just get me a smack upside the head. Rod would laugh and call me crazy. Worst of all, he would have one more thing to tease me about when we got out of here. If we got out of here.  

"Seriously, Aaron," he said. The angry scowl was gone, replaced by something softer. "What's happening?"  

Rod was stuck down here with me, but didn't know half as much as I did. Like it or not, he was now a part of my grandfather's game.  

"It's from Gramps," I said.  

And then I explained everything. I told him about getting the computer disc and finding the text adventure. I told him about putting it on my phone and recognizing the farm in the game's descriptions. 

When I was done, Rod looked at my phone like it was a talking cabbage.  

"You think Gramps is sending you messages from the grave?"  

"Well, maybe not Gramps, exactly," I said. "But I think he wrote the computer code that is running this game." 

"And the game texts you every time you make a move in real life?" 

"Every time we do something in real life that brings us closer to the treasure, the game responds." 

He looked at my phone's screen. Treasure Hunter's last message sat patiently waiting for my next move.  

"That's not a game!" he said. Menace returned to his voice. "There's no graphics. You messing with me, Pinky?" 

"Don't call me that!" I snatched the phone away. "We're down here because of your stupidity, Rod. But we're getting out of here because of my brains and this game. You can either stay here and wait for your daddy to sell this farm or you can find Gramps' treasure with me."  

Rod shook his head and grinned. "That old coot always like messing us. Didn't he?"  

"He sure did," I said. 

Pretty soon, we were both chuckling at the memory of our crazy old grandfather. A man who would drop his grand kids into a pit and send them scrambling underground for a treasure we couldn't even be sure was real.  

"We better hurry," I said when we had laughed ourselves out. "The adults will be here soon to ruin it all."  

Rod didn't argue. The tunnel grew wider as we went. Eventually, the walls on either side sloped away into darkness, swallowing the lamp's yellow glow.  

"A cavern," Rod said. "The game was right." 

"The game is always right," I said.  

The cavern was packed with boxes. Lots of boxes. Cardboard boxes in stacks, plastic storage tubs in piles and ornate wooden chests that look like they belong on a pirate ship.  

My phone chirped. This time, I didn't hide the message from Rod.  

<The cavern around you holds the treasure you seek. You will know it when you see it. Choose wisely or this adventure will end in misery.>  

"We don't have time to choose wisely," Rod said. "Let's just rip these open and see what's inside."  

Rod had the lid off the nearest box before I could stop him.  

A tremor ran through the cavern. Rod froze.  

"What was that?"  

"That was you," I growled. "Again!" 

Dust streamed down from above. Behind us, a slab of rock fell from the ceiling and landed right in front of the tunnel entrance. Our only exit, now cut off.  

Through the darkness, the sound of grinding stones grew louder. And then came the water. Lots of water. Pouring from the walls and filling the cavern.  

Gramps wasn't done messing with us just yet.