The Last Horizon

Explorers

Artemis was an adventurer and an entrepreneur who organized a team of explorers out of people from different walks of life. She was a young, beautiful woman of thirty with dark hair and eyes that lit up in a smile. Putting away the tent, she spoke to her teammates enthusiastically.
“We must keep going, no time to rest!”
“Not again!” protested Tom, he was a heavyset, zealous intellectual with glasses, who needed only food and sleep in order to decipher glyphs, breathe in the dust of the artifacts, and count the precious minerals and stones he unearthed. He enjoyed carbon dating and dinosaur bones more than the company of people; but right now all he wanted was another moment of restful sleep.
“There’s no rest for the wicked” joked Olson cynically, he was a good looking treasure hunter, and a thrill seeker with a wild heart, who was right at home with this bizarre expedition, as it promised him great riches and glory. He was contacted by Art while he was working away in Peru, uncovering the secrets of Machu Picchu.
Tom growled as he woke up. He didn’t like being awakened from his slumber. He was bear-like, clumsy and chubby.
“Do we have to keep moving from place to place?” The middle aged archaeologist whined, “I only volunteered for this insane and terribly dangerous trip for the sake of seeing Buddhist artifacts, and we hardly stopped in Tibet!”
Claudia just shook her head in disbelief; she was a blond, attractive geologist who was on a quest of her own, she was in search of precious stones, diamonds, gems and gold. Her yawning husband Arthur was an athletic, serious-looking anthropologist. Both of them were experts in their fields. 
Despite their differences, Artemis’ team consisted of zestful adventurers bent on discovering some new and uncharted territories. Artemis’ fiancé was a young professor with light brown hair, and bright eyes, which exposed a brilliant mind and a burning faith. Henry looked dreamily at the rising sun in the east, and confirmed what Artemis was saying all along.
“Yes, we have to keep searching, the time is near and we have until the sun hits the horizon,” he said mystically. Henry was a fanatic of history. He studied ancient civilizations and was an expert in theology and biblical archaeology. His specialty was the culture and history of the East. Artemis met him while he was unraveling the history of Christianity. He unearthed the rich Christian heritage in the east, planted there by Apostle Thomas and other Christian saints. The faith spread from Israel to South Asia and throughout the Orient, and there was now a surge of believers in Asia. Like Artemis, Henry was determined to find the lost biblical site of the Garden of Eden. He was convinced that it could be found. Together, they comprised an expedition unlike any other; experts in their profession, brilliant and genius in their own right, they were exploring an ancient mystery that was as dangerous as it was sacred.

On their way through the tropics, the team members were exhausted by the weather, lack of food and shelter. Hopeless and scared, Claudia and Arthur began to complain, and finally gave up, while Tom wanted to go a different way. As Henry read the compass, it pointed south.
“No!” protested Tom, “China is that way!” He said, pointing in the opposite direction towards the north.
“We’re not here in search of China!” Announced Henry, “we are looking for lands untouched by human presence, unraveling a mystery kept for ages, we are on a journey of a lifetime to find Eden!” He said triumphantly, but judging from their indifferent, tired and depressed expressions, the group was uninspired by his pep talk. Only Artemis and Olson supported him, nodding agreeably.
“We’re going our own way back to civilization,” Arthur said to Henry, “Tom, if you want, you can join us.”
“I’m in,” said Tom decidedly, “Goodbye, I’ve had enough of this torture!” he said rudely to Henry, “You can go to Mount Everest for all I care, there’s enough Buddhist culture and exotic history in Tibet to last me a lifetime!”
“What about Eden?” Henry exclaimed.
“Forget it! Paradise is a myth, it doesn’t exist, get it through your head!” yelled Tom.
Henry looked defeated and hurt. Tom turned around and left, to go along with Claudia and Arthur who already packed up their belongings and headed off north. The three of them left the expedition.
Thinking for a while, still stunned by the mutinous betrayal of his comrades, Henry stood there, watching them disappear behind the horizon line into the thicket of woods in the mountains. Then, he walked away, shaking his head in disbelief. Artemis and Olson were just as dumbfounded by the situation. They followed Henry in silence.
Suddenly there was a scream, then another, and gunshots were heard in the distance. Henry rushed towards the screams. As he ran into the thicket of the forest in search of his traitor teammates, he heard a roar and saw a tiger jump out of the trees towards Artemis and Olson.
“Henry!” Artemis shouted to her fiancé.
“Run!” Henry commanded, as he dashed away from the tiger.
Artemis and Olson started running for their lives. They must have run a while before they realized they were safe.
“We must go back to help them!” Art said. “We can’t leave them, we must go after them.”
“There’s a tiger loose in the forest!” Said Olson alarmed. Artemis looked at him implacably, and he said, “But if you insist - let’s go back.”
They came back to the place where they saw the tiger, but he was gone. Henry was nowhere to be found. Artemis and Olson were shouting and searching for their teammates.
“Henry! Claudia! Tom! Arthur! Where are you?” They shouted, but to no avail. The rest of the team was lost in the middle of nowhere.
Art and Olson searched all day, but all they found was Tom’s dead body, mauled by a tiger, and further along the way - the dead bodies of Claudia and Arthur - they were shot by some unknown enemy. Olson and Art walked in deadly silence, in awe of what happened, until Olson broke it.
“It’s no use looking for Henry, and dangerous, let’s get out of here.” He said, with considerable sadness. Art was heartbroken.
“Henry is safe, I’m sure,” Olson comforted her, “he’s a believer. God does not abandon His faithful.” And so they left in the southern direction, away from this place and towards the unknown.