Mavis and Jake's Epic Adventures: The Lost City

Tales of a Lost City

It had been 3 days since Mavis and Jake arrived in Africa with their parents working on their travel blog experiencing the diverse culture, visited villages that held strongly to their traditions to this day, that was their brand of schooling along with safaris and exploration.

Meanwhile in the jungle, Mavis was focusing the shared Polaroid camera on a derpy smiling faced gecko that Jake would think has wacked out with total poo brain as it licked its eye while the pigtailed khaki clad redhead tries to get a good picture of the small yet, cluelessly cute reptile on a moss top covered rock hoping nothing will scare the creature off.

"Okay Mavis, nice and focused..." she said to herself quietly until...

A loud blabbering gibbering noise came from her brother scares away the gecko when she takes the picture only to have it come out as a blurry almost cursed image mess.

"Now look what you've done Jake!" She said hitting him on the head with the camera looking clearly annoyed by his sudden "call of the wild" that frightened the little reptilian creature that Mavis tried to get a photograph of.

Jack tackles at his sister wrestling her to the ground fighting each other over Mavis trying to do some photography and Jake trying to figure out that "wild and terrible" cry she read to him in the book rolling and roughly trying to pin the other down to make either twin tap out and give up.

"Why?! Why, oh why?!" Bawls a loud yet sort of nasal sounding male voice holding at a rolled up paper crying on a large rock wet with his tears.

Jake's ear twitched slightly at the sound as he pinned Mavis down causing his face to redden a little from her slaps demanding that he let go of her right now so she can pound her brother into oblivion. "Ow! Ow! Mavis stop!"
He grabbed at her wrist hearing the cries. "Jake why'd you-" he covers her mouth to try and follow where the agonizing bawls are coming from.

"This way Mavis!" He said still holding her wrist pulling her with him into the foliage to find the source of that voice he heard pushing away leaves, branches and vines out of the way until the siblings reached to some kind of clearing to find a lanky looking black haired man dressed in tan khaki looking like an explorer from the late 18th century with a pith helmet with a machete kneeling besides the large rock crying his eyes out.

"I'll never find it! Never! Never! Never!" He pounds at the moss covered stone with his fists as if he were throwing a temper tantrum. This was a rare sight for both of them witnessing a grown man crying and acting like a child with the mindset that grownups don't cry or throw tantrums.

"What won't you find, mister?" Jake asks causing the sobbing man to stop and slowly make some kind of eye contact with the two twins who look at him with total bewilderment at his pathetic state earlier. He tries to compose himself sitting on the rock, the soft moist green moss being nature's cushion.

"I'm sorry you two had to see me in such a state." He said embarrassed with his face turning red but regains himself. "It's fine, last time we saw a grown man cry was when our uncle watched Bambi with us." Said Jake with Mavis nodding in agreement. "Who are you?" She asks him.

"Where are my manners, allow me to introduce myself, I'm Lawrence Hackton, my friends call me "Larry" that is if I have friends who do." The twins shook hands with Larry as they introduced themselves. "My name's Mavis and this missing link bozo is my brother Jake. We're semi-identical twins." Jake puffed his cheeks glaring at Mavis who called him a missing link.

"Very nice meeting you both. I'm sorry for whatever fuss I made of myself?"

"Why were you bawling out here in the middle of the jungle like that?" Mavis asks Lawrence. "You see, Mavis what I hold in my hands is a map to an ancient Lost City." He said unrolling the paper to reveal a map to a city with treasure. "This city was lost and hidden away for more than a thousand years and legends tell of hoard of treasure and riches untold beyond your wildest dreams forever lost to time." Their eyes grew wide at the mention of treasure beyond their wildest dreams. "But that is the stuff of legends now go along do whatever it is kids your age do like play that Fortnite or do Tik Toks." He said rolling the map back up thinking they're disinterested in that kind of thing.

"Larry wait!" Jake waves out to the explorer who eyes at them. "We can help find that lost city and split the treasure in shares!" Mavis yanks at the collar of her brother's shirt bringing him to her eye level. "Excuse us for a bit, Lawrence."

She brings her brother over to behind a large tree crossing her arms at him. "What the what was that about?!" She said with a hiss. "We should help the guy." He tells Mavis. "We can't just trust him, he's pretty seedy and shady if you ask me."
"But Larry's got no one to help him find the Lost City." Jake peeks out seeing the khaki clad male all by himself staring at a pocket watch in his hand. "But what if he double-crosses us and abandons us somewhere in the jungle where no one can hear you scream for help?" Mavis peeked at Lawrence suspiciously then looks back to her brother who was staring at her with big sad puppy eyes. "Please, Mavie we gotta help him." He whimpered almost tearing up.

She sighs in defeat at her brother pleading her. "Fine, Jake but if he dupes us, I'm sticking that guy in the nearest giant anthill or quicksand puddle we find."
"Yay!" He hugs his sister then comes from behind the tree with Mavis by his side. "Larry, we'll help you find that Lost City and its legendary treasure."

"You two are so kind and sweet souls, meet me here at this exact spot early tomorrow morning." Lawrence tells them. "Now both of you run along and make sure you're well-rested." Mavis and Jake run off into the foliage until he sees that they are truly out of earshot from him as their excited laughter and chatter fade off.

Snickering to himself, Lawrence holds at the map before him showing the Lost City and the treasure. "Using them, I'll make off with the treasure and be the richest explorer the world has ever known!" He lets out a weirdly obnoxious nasally laugh feeling so very clever of his plan after manipulating the twins with his crocodile tears and a freshly sliced onion cut in half not to mention his acting skills from the theater.