Survivor • I. Jones

T W O

Anaith, Indiana and Satipo, each carrying a torch, walk up the slightly inclined, tubular passage from the main entrance. The interior is wet and dark, hanging with plant life and stalactites.
Their echoing footsteps and Anaith's colorful words intermittently overpower the sounds of loud dripping, whistling air drafts and scampering claws.

Indy leads the way down a twisting hallway, Satipo’s torch barely lighting his way from behind. Indy disappears in a shadow and when he reappears a moment later a huge black tarantula is crawling up the back of his jacket. Anaith's green eyes go wide. "At least its not a snake." She whispers to herself.
Indy doesn’t notice and disappears into another shadow, emerging with two more tarantulas on his back.
Satipo sees them and makes a frightened grunting sound.

Indy looks at him, sees what he’s pointing at and casually brushes all three spiders off with his rolled whip, as he would a fly.

Satipo pirouettes for an inspection and Indy flicks one off the Peruvian’s back and checks Anaith for any unwanted eight legged fuzzy friends.

Indy begins picking up little pocket-sized artifacts from the niches and ledges of the Temple.

Anaith lookes around in wonder, thinking of all the history here. "How many human sacrifices do you think happened here?"

"Probably a lot, it was part of their culture I'm assuming."

Anaith tugged on her hair weaving it into a braid. It was too humid for having her hair down- plus her 'curls of fire' (what Indy calls her hair) would get in the way.

They continue on as the men and woman penetrate the Temple. Indy's collecting is quick and expert, evaluating the pieces in an instant, discarding some, stuffing others into his clothes, and never stopping his forward progress.

The trio reach an arch in the hall. The small chamber ahead, which interrupts the hall, is brightly lit by a shaft of sunlight from high above. Indy stops, looks it over.

"What’s wrong? Are you lost?" Stipo demanded.
Indy picks up a stick and throws it through the shaft of light. Giant spikes spring together from the sides of the chamber with a ferocious CLANG!
And impaled on the spikes are the remains of a man, half-fleshed, half skeleton, in explorer-type garb. Indy reaches out and takes hold of the man’s carcass.

"What a lovely sight! I'm going to have nightmares now." Anaith said sarcastically earning a glare from both men.

As the spikes slowly retract, Indy pulls it free and seats the remains gently on the floor.
Satipo gulped
"We can go no further."
"Now, Satipo, we don’t want to be discouraged by every little thing."

Indy steps sideways into the chamber. His back pressed against the very points of the retracted spikes, he moves along the edge of the light beam, pulling Anaith towards him and steps clear on the other side. Satipo grimaces and begins sweating his way through.

Indy, Anaith and Satipo come down stone stairs to a tight landing. Framing the entry are a carefully strung network of dead vines, each somehow hooked into the wall, narrowing the opening even more.
" Let me see that." Indy took the torch from the other man.
He lowers the torch to the floor of the landing. The landing is carpeted with human skeletons, one on top of another, all squashed flat as cardboard.
Satipo gasps. Anaith looks up at the ceiling of the landing, then steps onto the skeletons, which make a cracking noise under her feet. Indy doing the same.

"Try not to touch the vines."

The trio are in a high, straight hallway about fifty feet long. The door at the end is flooded with sunlight.

"Señor, Señora I think we are very close.
Indy stands still looking at the hall.
"Let us hurry. There is nothing to fear here."
Satipo rushed.