Prompt: Undiscovered Temple, Part 1

Thanks to Hoang Pham for permission to use his gorgeous “Ancient Ruin” as a prompt!

“Ready?” Jacob asked, tugging on her rope rigging. They’d been looking for Teresa’s latest project, a bioluminescent frog thought extinct until a specimen had been retrieved during a black market raid in Hanoi. They’d travelled thirty miles northeast of the Chu Mom Ray national park on dirt roads and root-covered tracks until the Jeep could go no farther. They continued on foot for ten more miles when they almost literally stumbled into the opening to an underground cavern, surrounded by cut stones, at the base of the tallest rise they’d found. Jacob had grown increasingly excited as he studied the site, shining his light into the darkness, convinced this was an ancient temple.

She clapped her palms on his cheeks and pulled him down for a kiss. “I trust you.” She smiled up at him. “Besides, if you drop me, you have to carry me out. And—”

“You’ll flunk me for sure,” he grinned at the old joke and braced himself against the rough rocks. Hand over hand, he lowered her into the dark space below. She gasped at the first jolt, but nodded grimly for him to continue. She hated heights. To be more accurate. She hated the idea of falling. As she descended, she held her breath, and as her eyes adjusted to the broad beam of her headlamp, she forgot to breathe at all.

The cavern was entirely man made. She could see the stone columns evenly spaced on the long walls. She cocked her head sideways and guessed they were about as wide as Jacob was tall, so at least six feet each. The blocks were rectangular and rough hewn, with no decorations. Vines grew from the ceiling and walls, draping the walls and covering the floors.

Except the far end. Teresa gasped and cried up, “Jacob! You’ve got to get down here! You’re not going to believe this!”

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” he called down anxiously.

She swung and looked around in surprise. He had lowered her to within a few feet of the floor. She could easily jump down, if she wished. She didn’t wish. She was afraid to be down there alone. The jungle, bugs, animals never frightened her. That was her element. Manmade things were much more dangerous in her experience. She wanted Jacob by her side to explore this place.

To be continued tomorrow …

Dogs in house	Houdini
Music:	U2, “A Sort of Homecoming”
Time writing:	50 minutes
July word count:	2,701