Fear. Death. Damnation.
1115 Words
Both men jostled and looked up at Alona who was now standing in front of them without their knowledge.
"We talked about your offer, Mr Yiska and I am sorry but my cousin, Apiatan would not be going with you and your men..."
"...I would go in his stead, for the same price. I can offer you a much better service and I am definitely not letting my cousin go with a man I just met today."
Charles gave Gamio a questioning look and the hunter nodded his head.
"Deal."
*******
Once Alona had ensured that her aunt had been successfully transferred to an hospital in the city, and she had found a cheap motel room close to the hospital for him with her life savings. So that he could there for a month while her aunt got operated and recovered.
She gave him the rest of her money and material possessions except for her clothes which she packed with her and a few herbs and medicinal fruits that he packed for her.
She also gave him her most priced possession, a golden locket necklace that held the picture of her parents and herself as a baby that she had kept on her since birth.
If she died, Alona wanted her locket with someone that would appreciate it, not buried somewhere in a forest that no one would ever find it nor even appreciate it if it was ever found.
The two hugged and cried, refusing to admit out loud that this could be the last time they would see each other.
Both hoping against hope but realizing that it was futile. Saying her last goodbye, Alona turned and took a taxi to the nearest bus station to board the only bus that traveled near their village where Gamio was waiting for her and would take her to the hotel where the old man was.
When they got there after a long silent walk, Gamio knocked at a door and they were soon let in.
Alona immediately noticed diverse voices that filled the room as if they had walked into a heated discussion where everyone was trying to talk over the other.
"Okay everyone one quiet down." An authoritarian voice said and the hubbub soon reduced to nothing. A scrape, of a chair against the floor, and then the sound of approaching footsteps. "Is this her?"
"Yes." Gamio's voice and the voice of the old man answered at the same time.
Alona did not hear anything in return and assumed that the male with the authoritarian voice answered by gestures.
"Miss Thunderhawk, it is nice to meet you." The voice said.
"Alona." She said not liking the Wasi'can formality she was addressed with. "Nice to meet you too."
"Come. Let me introduce you to the rest."
******
By nightfall, Alona had already familiarized herself with the rest of the group and could identify most of them by their voice and patterns of speech.
Using speed, depth and frequently said phrases, Alona usually kept tracjyof people she met. It was the way she identified people after losing her sight.
Earlier that afternoon, they had discussed some strategies to help them with their mission. Alona realized with a feeling of doomthst they were going to steal from the mountain just like the Wasi'cans before them
Do this people ever learn? She had wondered.
They said that they were also going to recover the lost bodies of their siblings all Alona could think was that they were only looking to kill themselves.
At least she would die for a good reason, saving her aunt, rather than for a stupid cause like theirs.
Fully confident since she had taken the time to secretly confirm with the hospital that the money for her aunt's treatment and operation had been paid in full, she was concerned about their reasons.
*******
The next morning, they had gotten into a series of vehicles and had driven to the Deathmoore forests. Alona was glad that they did not have to stop on their way but drove straight down.
While the rest were engaged in different discussions, she kept to herself.
At the gate they got off most of the vehicles saved a single jeep, the camping jeep. The supplies they brought along were offloaded and loaded into the back of the jeep. Everyone got down with their personal back packs.
They were all given different weapons according to their preferences. Alona had requested for a bow and arrows refusing to take the noisy pistols that were the reason for the curse to begin with. If she could, she would like to not anger the Skinwalker spirits any more than they already had by daring to go into their territory in the first place.
Moreover, she was more confident with that weapon. She also received two machete like knives just in case and kept those in her bag along with her clothes and gifts from Apiatan.
Alona was made to enter the vehicle since she was blind in order not to slow them down. She rode with Charles Yiska while Fredrick Boyd drove the vehicle.
The rest of the initial crew as well as Gamio and more than half a dozen of his men walked on foot. The other vehicles were driven away by some other men.
The group of hunters went in through the wooden land marker that indicated that they were now on forbidden property and got on the vehicle track.
"This place..." Hina Tanaka shivered from the sudden cold breeze that blew past her as she stepped into the ground. "It is unusual."
Darren Brooker gave her an amused skeptical look. "Don't tell me you believe in that superstitious nonsense?"
Nearly everyone in the group laughed at that.
"I have slept in a lot of 'haunted houses' for my videos and I can tell you that a lot of them are actually hogwash." Nate Shaw added to Elle Jobs making her smile at him.
The ancient woman held her peace, not all of them knew the truth about who she really was and her age, or they might have taken her words more seriously.
No one wondered how it was that the land had not changed a bit since it was last an active excavation site. No one wonder why the vehicle tracks was not overgrown with bushes.
Maybe then, they would have realized that the land was really unusual.
If they had studied the wooden landmark, they might have seen the words scratched into its surface.
"WELCOME TO YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE"
A/N: Second update of the week. Update is twice a week like before. Maybe more if I can manage it.
- Writer
