The Tomb of Betrayal

Clarissa and her father Carlo hiked up a steep, slippery path in the rainforest, hacking their way through the dense undergrowth.

She could see dewdrops forming on leaves and could smell the earthy rain that had poured down for two hours straight, as lightning danced across the sky.
Her thin frame started to shiver, as it was getting cold.

The birds were chirping in an irregular pattern. Sometimes they were as loud as elephants, other times they were as quiet as a mouse. Her insides bubbled with enthusiasm; she had been waiting for this trip for weeks.

"Honey, I think we should set up camp. I'm buggered," Carlo stated, exhausted.

"Okay Dad, but we have to get a move on in the morning. We only have six days to find something out here," Clarissa replied eager to find something for the museum.

"Sure darling, I'll set up the tent while you make us something to eat."

Clarissa watched her father working, admiring how fast he could put up a tent from years of practice.

Turning back to the nearly cooked beef and vegetable stew, giving it a stir over fire she had made, Clarissa heard a rustle of leaves, a thud, then a howl of pain.

"Dad, are you okay!" Clarissa saod turning towards him with her freckly face.

"My foot, I stood in a pot-hole. I think it is sprained," he whimpered, reaching towards his foot.

She ran to him, bandages in one hand and a stick in the other, ready to make a splint. Oh great! Now we won't find anything! Clarissa's thoughts grumbled, while she tended her dad.

After they ate the burnt stew, Clarissa sent her dad to bed.

The next day, while her father was resting, Clarissa went out to look for ancient artifacts.

With her eyes peering downward, she saw a stone on the ground, and decided to pick it up. She was about to throw it away when she noticed a carving on it. The carving was of a little animal, a bird.

Clarissa sprinted back towards where her and Carlo were camping.

Yelling with her eyes wide and a smile on her face, "Dad! I think I've found something. Come have a look at it!"

She felt excited as she opened her father's tent. He wasn't in there, her smile shrinking a little in disappointment. She spun in circles, orange-red hair trailing behind her.

"Dad! Dad.... Dad where are you?" she whispered after she realized he wasn't at the campsite.

She looked up the path she had been walking on, to see if her father had followed her. She wasn't feeling excited anymore, she was beginning to feel worried and a lttle scared being all alone.

What if he went further up the path? She raced up the path to see that it came to a sudden stop, it ended in a cave.

How could I have not noticed that before? Clarissa slowly approached it with herhead cocked to one side.

She could see a familiar carving at the top of the entrance, a carving of a bird. Oh my, is that what I think it is?

She took the rock with the carving, out of her pocket and held it up to compare the images....... they looked the same.

Excited started bubbling inside her once again, but she was still a little nervous. She dropped her bag and gingerly took a few steps forward, standing just inside the entrance still wondering if her dad had gone inside.

Broken pottery was scattered against the russet cave wall. She could just make out some painted pictures and symbols on the wall, some of them were the picture of the little bird- its eyes were painted carefully making them look sharp.

Cautiously, Clarissa walked in further. Allowing her eyes to adjust to the lighting, she could see the entire cave was covered with the bird and symbols of a language she couldn't understand.

In the far corner, her eyes came to rest upon a tomb which was encrusted with jewels. Clarissa's heart raced and felt like it skipped a beat. She felt excited, worried and lucky all at once.

The cave is a goldmine! Ancient tomb and everything. What a discovery! Where could dad be?

Hearing twigs break underfoot, Clarissa whirled around. Her bright green eyes landed on the spot where she'd left her bag, in response her heart made a quick thud-thud-thud in her ears.

"Hello, little girl. What are you doing out here all alone. Not a smart move, not at all," someone said, in a mocking tone.

"Who are you? Where are you and what do you want?" Clarissa yelled, hating not knowing where this person was.

At that moment, a man came up behind her and touched jer elbow. She turned to face him.

Everything about this person screamed raider. Old-ragged clothes and stubble on the chin.

What if this man got to my dad? With his sore foot, he wouldn't have been able to defend himself.

Suddenly, Clarissa felt a lurch of sickness in her stomach.

"Let go of me now!" She screamed. "What do you want with me?"

Without answering he turned towards the tomb.

"How can i get this out?"

"None of your business. Where is my dad?"

"Get away from my daughter now, I'm warning you!" A voice said, sounding familiar.

"Dad? Oh god," she gasped, relieved that she new where he was. "Help me!"

Clarissa turned to glare at the man, panic filled his eyes, no other emotion was shown. The grip on her arm loosened, his hands dropped to his sides.

The mysterious man turned and bolted towards a track she had not see.

She turned and ran a short distance towards her father, her green eyes welling up with tears.

"I am so glad you are here," she says simply. "Who was that man? How did he even know we were here?" she asked her father.

"That was Chip Burrow, someone I used to work with back in the day. He used to be a good friend of mine until je stole from me on one of our expedition," Carlo explained.

After a moment he continued, "Chip must have got a wind of our plans a d decided to follow us up here."

Carlo's face looked deep in thought, after another moments pause he continued, "after you left me sleeping at camp, I was awoken by a whistle I hadn't heard in years. I hurried to try and fine you before Chip did because i didn't want him to hurt you."

"I am so glad you're okay Dad," relief evidence in her voice. "Can we go home now?"

"Sure can baby girl, I'll call Head Office and report our findings when we are ready to leave this rainforest," Carlo said, hugging Clarissa and giving her a quick kiss on the head.

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If you have read this far I personally must thank you! Please vote and comment. This is a short story I wrote and I am currently going to try to enter it in a literary competition. Our theme for the assessment was 'Discovery '. So thats what I wrote it on. ☺ If you comment story ideas I can try to write something. Also I love Harry Potter and Shadowhunters and currently I am wanting to write a Harry Potter fanfiction. Comment what you think. And thanks again for reading this!

-R