Kamchatka Wilderness
Soviet Union
1960
They all stared at her for a moment. Emily winced from the ground. "I didn't want to do that..." She moved to get up.
"Stay down, Em," Indy ordered. "You're wounded. You're losing blood -"
"Aw, Dad - that's normal for a girl."
Indy frowned. "You know what I mean, Em." He looked at the others. "We've been hiking all night and there's been no food in a couple of days." He looked at Shorty. "I don't like it - but we'd better make camp and find some food."
"There is... or there was a lake not far from here," Lizavet answered.
"Why wouldn't it be there?" Shorty asked.
"Earthquakes," Lizavet explained. "Sometimes the tremors reroute rivers and lakes. The earth can shift and release toxins. Toxins that we will not see... but those toxins will be deadly to us. The ground will be lumpy, spongy or bubbled up, but very soft like quicksand. Once released these toxins can make the water toxic or boiling and kill everything in an instant due to poisonous gases."
Shorty stared. "You mean to tell me...?"
"They are called geothermals," Lizavet continued.
"...The earth gets heartburn...?" Shorty finished.
"Better in than out, kid," Indy answered.
"Oh..." Shorty's eyes widened. "Earth farts." He looked at Lizavet. "Are we seriously threatened by earth farts right now?!?"
"Silent but deadly," Lizavet remarked in a stoic manner so no one could tell if she was joking or not.
"Like old borscht," Emily finished, grinning up at Indy.
He smiled down at her. "Shorty and I will go try to find some food. You and Lizavet can rest."
"The lake should be in the valley over the next rise," Lizavet pointed, toward the horizon as the sun revealed the shimmer of a lake in the early morning.
Emily studied the terrain. "I think I can get there."
"No," Indy instructed. "If the earth is potentially going to shift and have... geothermal indigestion... then its more dangerous near the lake than where you ladies are at now. Shorty and and I will go alone. Lizavet patch up Em." He knelt and took his daughter's chin. "Emily... let her take care of you. That's an order, hon... I know how you try to be like me and hate being fussed over."
Before Emily could reply, Indy stood and motioned to Shorty.
Shorty looked excitedly at Indy as they walked away. Indy glanced back remembering Shorty as a kid, scrambling after him. Indy was still taller and his legs were longer.
Shorty still scrambled after him at 35, pulling at the familiar ever present ball cap. "Maybe that lake water will be warm and we can attend the annual Earth Fart Fish Fry!"
"No, son. Just no."
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The Seven Swords of Diya: An Indiana Jones Fan Fiction - Part 2
FanficPart 2: Indiana Jones and his daughter Emily Ravenwood Jones continue their adventure in the frozen Soviet peninsula of Kamchatka, searching for seven mystical swords. With them is Indy's bodyguard from 1935 India - Short Round, grown up! And his re...
