Buried Demon

Chapter 1

"Remind me why we're here again? We've been digging for the past month and have yet to find anything!" I said impatiently while running my hand through my short brown spiked up hair that was shaved on the sides.

"We're here because we got a tip from someone..." Charles started but I cut him off.

"I know why were here stupid. It was a rhetorical question. By the way, you never told me who provided you this tip." I said.

Charles cheeks became red and he started fidgeting, no longer looking at me.

"Charles? Who gave you that tip?" I asked.

He mumbled something incoherent and tried to leave the big tent we were currently standing in. But I grabbed his arm before he could reach the exit.

"Charles! Who the fuck gave you that tip!?" I growled out.

"Philip Moore." He whispered barley loud enough for me to hear.

"WHAT? You fucking took a tip from prophet man? I told you explicitly to never take a tip from him! They are always bullshit. Anyone who has ever taken one from him has turned up empty. For god's sake! He takes his fucking tips from 'visions' he gets while doing drugs! You made me waist my money to come all the way out in the middle of the fucking Egyptian desert for nothing! Do you know how bad this is gonna hurt my reputation as an archeologist? I should just fire you and be done with this." I ranted.

"No! Please no! I desperately need this job! I won't ever do it again, just please don't fire me!" Charles pleaded.

I was barely 23 and had just started my career a few years ago and it was already ruined. I sighed, looking at the now crying boy in front of me. Maybe I had been a little harsh on the kid. He was fresh out of school and had never messed up before.

"Just go tell the workers to start packing up, were heading home tomorrow." I told him.

Just as he was about to leave, Rachel, another one of my employees, ran into the tent, almost knocking Charles over.

"Sir!..." She exclaimed, out of breath.

"Rachel calm down. Take a minute and breath." I told her, as charles and I stared at her, confused.

"Sir, we found something." She said after catching her breath.

"What? Are you serious?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes sir, very serious." She answered.

"Well what are you waiting for? Let's go see." I said, walking out of the tent.

"It's at dig sight number three sir." She said and I started walking towards the sight that just happened to be the closest one to my tent.

"Stop calling me that Rachel." I said, while walking.

It only took a minute to get there on foot. The workers were all standing around the huge hole they had dug, whispering amongst themselves.

The crowd parted as I arrived, allowing me to see into the hole. They had uncovered the top part of a big structure the size of a single room and made of stone. At first I thought it could just be a huge rock but it was carved way to straight and perfectly square to be natural.

I climbed down into the hole by the ladder that was set up to allow the workers in and out of the hole and pressed my hand against one side of the cube, rubbing it over the surface to see if I could feel any worn out engraving on the rock but the surface was completely smooth. I started walking around it, looking for any sign of a door, but I tripped on something in the sand, barely managing to steady myself before face planting.

I dropped to my knees beside the object and started digging. I slowly uncovered half the head of a statue.

"Guys! Really? You were in such a hurry to dig up this square rock thing that we don't even know if it has any value that you destroyed these very valuable statues!?" I shouted to the workers.

"Sorry boss, it's my fault. I told them to hurry up with the digging, I pushed them so much that they probably didn't notice." Rachel said as she came up beside me in the hole.

"Be careful next time. Now I hope there is something important in that thing or we are screwed." I said pointing to the rock.

"Ok guys, keep digging." I said as Rachel and I got out of the hole

"And be careful with what's left of the statues we might still be able to get something out of them!" I added.

I made my way back to my tent and grabbed a water bottle from the cooler I had in there. I drank half of it before sitting at my desk and writing down the days findings in my journal.

"Are we still leaving tomorrow?" Charles asked from behind me, making me jump.

"Of course not! We found something that could be important. Your really lucky this played out the way it did." I said, turning around to face him.

"You were still planning on firing me weren't you?" He asked in a small voice.

"What? Of course not Charles. I was just upset earlier and I'm sorry I reacted that way. You know I need you too much to let you go." I said, trying to comfort him.

"R-really?" He sniffled.

"If it weren't for you I would have drowned in my paper work by now. Please don't cry Charles, everyone makes mistakes, you just gotta learn from those mistakes and keep moving forward." I explained, wrapping my arms around his trembling shoulders and pulled him into my chest.

We stayed like that for a good twenty minutes before he finally stopped crying. I released him from my embrace and quickly handed him a tissue to wipe his face with.

"Thanks boss, I really appreciate it." He said with a small smile.

"It's my pleasure Charles. Now get out there and give em hell." I told him, giving him a slight push towards the door.

He ran out and I could hear him shouting instructions, making me chuckle. I honestly kinda felt bad for the kid. His need to please everyone could get him in trouble one day.

I lay down in my bed for a small afternoon nap and quickly fell asleep.

I was woken up a few hours later by Rachel barging in again.

"We have the rock completely uncovered. Your gonna want to see this." She informed me.

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Pic of Charles