The Time Sail

The Ecuadorian Coast

Sun flashed Victor's eyes as the boat swayed gently on the shore. There was a gentle breeze that made the tall brown palm trees sway. A copse of trees lay clumped together in a dense undergrowth that led into the jungle. "We have arrived." Bellowed Vincent, a pot-bellied sailor from behind him. Vincent sorted his stretched top before hauling himself out of the boat. The white sand collected against Vincent's rough and cheap leather shoes. "Search the jungle. I need that totem." Victor spoke to the group of six behind him. Everyone excluding Vincent groaned and began to get themselves out in the immense heat. 

The sun shone on what it could in the tightly packed jungle floor. A single flower bloomed on a large muddy brown root. Victor put a finger on his pistol as he walked, stepping out of the way of vines and avoiding many insects that looked at him hungrily.

He continued, sweating profusely as he walked. His beard swayed as his feet hit the ground, crunching on loose twigs and dried up leaves. 

Eventually, he came to the temple, in all its glory. The walls were made of rough mossy stone, dilapidated over time. Two arched walls rose from the ground, almost above the canopy. There was a large centre where a huge statue looked down at him. Masses of dark vines collected on the bricks. It was about the size of a football pitch in length. At the end of the centre was the engravings that Victor was looking for. "Great." The corridor of vegetation was easy to walk down but the rest was difficult. When he manoeuvred around the statue, Victor got to the engravings and began to pull a piece of parchment from his pocket. "Aah." Victor stuffed the parchment back in his pocket and began to trace light fingers across the engravings...searching for the right one.  Victor's fingertips grazed across the marking of a monkey. In a sudden movement, he forced the stone back with one hand. Only two left. Shifting his position, Victor moved across to a lower brick and forced it in before he had to get on his knees to press the final one. When eventually he did so, the ground was silent. Then the rumbling began. 

The statue rose up like it was shooting off to Heaven. Where the statue had been was a set of spiralling stairs into the ground. The statue stood above, allowing a strict entrance. "Good thing I'm good with small spaces." Spoke Victor and began to pace down the steps with a lantern in his hands. 

Darkness devoured him. Victor reached the foot of the steps where the room opened up into a large passage. There were bugs that crawled away from the light as he stepped into the main hallway. "Better get moving." Victor began to pace down the hallway, praying for traps to start later. Victor was aware of the creaking of the stone but he paid little attention. 

Soon he came to the main hall. It was about fifteen feet high and a hundred yards in length. In the end, underneath a small circle of sunlight was a single jewel. The jewel he had been looking for. The light made It sparkle and reflect shards of golden crystalline light. There was bound to be some traps. 

Making his way lightly, Victor padded over the stone tiles, getting across in no time at all. When he reached the jewel, his dirty fingers prised it from its holding place. Nothing began to happen immediately. Then the roof began to collapse in...

For what seemed like forever...Victor lay. His head hurt. His body was partially wounded. He felt a rock jutting sharply into his back. He was in pain. Bugs crawled over his face. He could, however, do nothing to stop them. His arms were crushed. "Ugh." Was all he could manage. The jewel was still clutched in his hand. He could feel the tendons holding it in place. "I need to get out." In a sudden movement, he kicked as hard as he could. A small boulder tumbled but remained. Victor kicked again. This time, the boulder rolled off and jutted into a hole. His legs squirmed but the weight on his chest and arms were too much. His breathing settled in an irregular pattern. "Huh!" The boulder on his chest quivered. He forced his breath out quickly and the rock began to tumble off as well. Victor coughed and spluttered for some amount of time before he was able to regain his normal breathing. It was a series of choking dust infected coughs that plagued him. When eventually he was alright again, Victor opened one eye. His entire face was covered in dirt and dust. Spitting some out, he got to work on his arms, flexing first his fingers then his forearm, and lastly his muscles beside his shoulder. The boulder once again quaked under the pressure before tumbling off. Using his arm, he pushed the boulder off and settled on the ground for a moment. The land felt peaceful. This was all before he scrambled up, rubbing his wounds and thanking God that he survived such a devastating crash. 

Victor was situated in a large and deep hole that stretched up to the sky. "H-hello?" His voice rang out. Victor was truly stuck.

"Vincent?" He yelled, hoping for some sort of answer. None prevailed. "Katia?" He bellowed. No one answered. Victor looked at the masses of rocks scattered in this rectangular pit and began to walk over to a group of medium-sized ones. His arm stung from the pain of the wound. Using a single-arm, Victor began to haul it towards the edge of the pit, scattering dirt and rumbling the ground. It collided with the pit wall and made a large noise that echoed through the jungle. 

The second boulder proved easier and was quicker to move. When he had positioned it directly behind the first, Victor settled himself on the ground and used the strength of this feet to kick the rock up and onto the rocky platform in front of it. There. Stairs. Pushing it with one hand, the boulder thudded against the pit wall. He was closer. One small boulder should finish the job. 

With one good arm and the other mangled, he lifted a rounded square boulder with a root hanging out of it, climbed onto his custom platform and balanced for the life of him before he dropped it with a heavy booming noise. Then he began to climb with all the strength he had left. 

He felt wasted as his hand clutched a clump of grass. His body was weak. He was gasping for air. Suddenly, there came a small crunching noise and with what ever consciousness Victor had left, he looked up briefly towards what looked like Vincent...

"We secured it sir. Don't worry about a thing." Assured Vincent as Victor sat up. He was on the main Pirate Ship. The waves crashed below him. "W-where are we?" He asked. Nausea overcame him suddenly. 

"We're in the seas just beyond the Ecuadorian Coast. I believe you picked up the Jewel of Ecuador?" Vincent began to laugh a hearty laugh and the people on deck with him joined in. Victor gave a weak smile. That was the worst raid he had ever completed in his life. "I guess we're off to Brazil now then eh?" He joked.

"That's Portugal's game sir. We're off to Mexico!" They all said in unison. Perhaps they would return to South America one day...

(Just a quick note if you enjoyed this chapter, I know it was boring but it's mandatory to start a story with the bad bit, then please leave a comment. I'll be updating Time Sail very soon so look out for it later. Thanks!)

image credit to blende12