A middle- aged man who was definitely in his late thirties was walking towards Lesley in the hall way. His short reddish-brown hair was always captivating and also ravishing. He never appeared at work without his hair being done. His hazel eyes gazed at everyone who walked pass him in the hallway. No one dared look directly into his eyes. The creaking sounds from his well- polished black shoe could not be unheard by anyone walking by. He then stopped for a second and twirls a bunch of keys held together with a rabbit shaped key holder on his index finger and tossed it into the air. As he caught the bunch of keys with his right hand, his hazel eyes met Lesley’s doe eyes from across the hallway. He signaled with his head and many thoughts ran through Lesley’s head. She hoped she wasn’t in trouble but that could hardly be possible because Lesley always did everything right. She felt nauseous as she saw him signaling at her and immediately strode off because he never liked to be kept waiting.
“Good morning, Mr Williams.”
She shivered slightly as she said. Lucas Williams, the head of the archaeology organization.
“Morning Lesley” He paused and continued “..... Lesley, follow me.” Mr Lucas Williams stated as they both walked into his office.
“Sit down Lesley” Lesley sat gently on the chair while adjusting her nerdy glasses. Mr Williams is very ambitious and anything he wanted he gets it with the help of people working with him. Whether it costs their lives, he never cared.
“I need you and your research team, to go some where very important. But first, I need their attention. Can you get them for me?”
He asked calmly
" Of course sir, when should I call on them?”
"Hmm... anytime you all are ready.” Dr Williams replied
“Ok doc...” Lesley Replied
" That will be all for now, you may leave"
Lesley walked out of the office and different thought ran through her mind. She doubted it would be related to the mysterious death cases occurring in their town.
Sara, Bryan and co were all discussing as Lesley barges In. They all paused their discussion and looked in Lesley’s direction.
“Oh my God, Lesley! What’s wrong with you?... why did you barge in as if you are being chased?”Sara jumbled words together
John whispered “I told you she’s running mad”
“Why do you have to be mean John?. Sometimes you have to take people seriously"Michelle yelled as she threw a pen at John.
John groans loudly “Ahhh... it met my eye.”
“Ohh I’m so sorry.”Michelle stood up from her chair as she walked towards John in pity.
Suddenly, he bursts into laughter and yells“Ha ha gotcha, you should have seen your face.”
You’ve to show maturity sometimes, you are no longer in high school, dummy” Bryan murmured and rolled eyes.
" How dare you?”John whispered
“Can you guys just shut up and let me talk.”Lesley said furiously.
The room became silent at once and she continued “Dr Williams needs our attention and he quotes ‘it’s very important
“Sara sighed“What does he want again"
Lesley Johnson replied;
"I don’t really know, he just said...”
Sara interrupted immediately “Shut your word hole, I wasn’t asking a question that needed answer”
They all giggled.
Lesley was always mocked by her colleagues because she always takes everything too seriously. Michelle that has been quiet for a while then said;
“I feel it’s best we go to him now”
Yeah, sure. The man has issues... Argh” John groans
“John! If he hears you...”Lesley yells "Don’t be a baby, Lesley, the man can’t do anything to me” John said confidently
They all marched to Dr Williams office and that little walk to the office was definitely not a silent one. Sara and John were talkative and this annoyed Lesley. When they got to the office, Lesley was finally relieved from their unending chatter and loud laughter from both Sara and John.
Lesley took the lead and knocked gently on Dr Williams door.“You may come in”
Dr Williams voice sounded really smooth for the first time because he was always on drugs and drinks a lot of alcohol.“Ohh... Lesley, you did as I said” He flings the sheets of paper in his hands as he smiled at them.
They literally squeezed themselves into the office because it wasn’t really spacious.“Ouch! John you stepped me” Sara whimpers as she punched John on his left hand.“I’m sorry... okay!”All of this was done silently so as not to anger their boss.
Dr Lucas Williams swings his chair from left to right and said
“I’m sure you all are aware of the recent deaths in our town.”
“Yeah, we all are aware.” Lesley immediately responded for all of them.
“That’s very good. It’s obvious that the case is beyond the police... I mean this is not a murder case. It’s our duty as archaeologists to go beyond what people even ourselves believe in.”
Dr Williams uttered .
They all seemed muddled because they were never chosen for any major search before.“Don’t just stand there like statues, I need you speak”
Dr Williams yelled at them.
“Umm... maybe you should clarify more, sir”Lesley said confidently
“You guys will take a trip to the north tablelands district of New South Wales. At least it’s not so far from our town. This strange deaths occurring in our town definitely has something to do with the river of Styx, the coins... everything”
Lucas Williams knew it wasn’t wise enough for them to go to the river searching for what they won’t find but he rather risks the life of the people working for him.
Lesley scoffed “Sir... you don’t mean it”
Williams got really frustrated by the frequent questioning. He hits the desk in front of him really hard and said “You’ll do as I say, unless you want to loss your jobs”
“Sir if we go their we’ll definitely die”Lesley murmured
He walked up to Lesley and said “That’s none of my business. Just do your job”
Dr Williams told them to leave and to have it in mind that they will adventure to the river of Styx very soon.
“This will definitely not end well for us”Lesley Cried
Sara rolled her eyes and said“Calm down Lesley, stop pacing around like a child“
“You even said it yourself that it has something to do with the river”
“What I know about the river is when someone jumps in, it can make one invulnerable “John stupidly muttered under his voice.
John! How’s that important to you. We are sent to die and you worry about invulnerability. You are such a fool “Lesley yelled in annoyance.
“Wow... sorry nerd” John Giggles as he walked away.
“It can’t be that bad. I believe the river is just like other rivers. We’ll go there and find something that is related to the deaths and we will get the hell out of there.”Sara said calmly
YOU ARE READING
River of styx: Water turned blood (Book 1)
Misteri / ThrillerIn a small town, five archeologist are sent on a bizarre journey to a mythical river whose mysteries has been told as folktales for generations by parents to scare children away. it's been 10 decades since anyone went mysteriously missing but the vi...
