Treasure Protectors

Chapter 5

Alex crawled out of the wreckage, careful not to step on any remaining pieces of The Charlotte. Ben offered his hand to help her up, which she rejected, waving it away as she struggled to stand up, slipping into a pile of snow. Once she finally stood up she faced the wreckage. For a moment her and her brother just stared at what was left of the ship, remembering that a few hours ago it had been perfectly preserved. Alex reached over to grab onto her camera, the last bit of evidence of what The Charlotte had been. 

Riley quietly cursed when he saw what was left. "Think we can get Ian arrested for blowing it up?"

Alex shrugged. "At least we found her." She tried comforting her brother who looked like he was trying to memorize every part of the ship but her words fell flat. She was just as devastated as he was.

He nodded. "All that searching and now she's gone."

"I know."

"There's an Inuit village 9 miles east of here that popular with bush pilots." Ben commented, looking at his watch.

"Then what are we gonna do?" Riley questioned.

"Start making are way back home."

"I meant about Ian. He's going steal the Declaration of Independence."

The Gates siblings looked at each other. Alex looked blankly as Ben let out an anguished sigh. "We stop him." Ben answered before speeding up to walk a few feet in front of his companions. Alex stalled for a second before giving Riley a shrug and following in her brother's footsteps, as she had done so many times before.

They all walked silently for hours. Alex couldn't believe what Ian had done. She knew he wanted the treasure, and the money that came along with it, but she never thought it'd be at the expense of their lives. Alex had thought of Ian as a brother figure. Ben had thought of him as even more.

Her usually reserved brother walked 10 feet in front of Alex and Riley and made no comment on how much longer they had to walk. A few times throughout the walk Riley had made an attempt to talk to Alex but after she gave him a blank stare and he soon stopped.

"He could've killed us." Alex finally commented, breaking the silence. Riley paused, looking at her and she gave him a look, trying to let him know that it was okay to speak. "He didn't care." She decided, looking at Riley. She didn't really expect him to say anything, if anything she just needed someone there. Riley was always good about that. He was always there when they needed him most. 

She knew Riley was dying to tell her that he never liked Ian and never trusted him but he had the good sense to keep those thoughts to himself. As tumultuous as Ian and Alex's friendship had been she had cared about him, trusted him and, at times, admired him.

"At least we're alive." Riley responded. Alex knew he was waiting for a response but she couldn't find it in her to say anything back. She only looked at him and gave a watery smile. She lightly grabbed his hand as they continued walking. 

Once they reached the village they were given warm food, blankets and a place to rest. The next morning one of the bush pilots found them, taking them to JFK where they got a flight back to DC.

Alex had never been more relieved to see her bed.

"Night." She said immediately after walking through the door, going straight to her room where she flopped on the bed, shoes still on.

She hear Ben say something about talking tomorrow but she quickly waved him off. She heard her bedroom door slowly close and was soon encompassed by sleep. That night she dreamt of The Charlotte as it was, a ship riding the waves of the sea. She saw herself on the ship, helping hide the pipe that they would later find.