ASJ #3 x Robotos #2623

3rd story of the collection "A Strange Journey"

A drop of sweat falls from her forehead. She tilts her white straw hat forward to hide from the burning sun. Endless sand that stretches as far as the eyes can see in all directions. “Mommy, I want to explore lost ruins and ancient civilizations.” She smirks as she remembers what she told her mother a few decades back. Back when things were much easier and much simpler, or so it seemed.

Her eyes were red from all the heat and sand that accidentally found its way to her face. She sat down to take a sip of water and a small break. Before her and her team of 3 stood a 10-foot-high ancient door with strange inscriptions, half covered in sand just waiting to be opened. “Who knows what secrets it entails?” she thought to herself and decided to get back up and start removing the rest of the sand debris carefully. Slowly removing the signs of time from ancient objects was delicate work.

This particular door was leading to an underground ruin, so the team was more than excited to discover it’s secrets. As soon as the sun started to set the team decided it was time to call it a day, and rest in their nearby tents. “The nights are the worst! Am I right?” said Larry, one of the team members. “They sure are, better start the fire or we’ll be freezing our butts off!” she replied as Larry and Mark started the fire in the middle of their small camp while enjoying their small talk after an exhausting day in the sun.

Before long the whole team was asleep. Nestled in their tents and under a few warm cozy blankets. “Sarah… Sarah, wake up!” it was Larry, shaking Sarah out of her slumber. She felt confused for a second, but quickly got a grasp on her surroundings. She was no longer in her tent. “What’s going on, Larry?” she asked vividly confused. “I don’t know, I woke up moments earlier and I can’t find Mark.”

They grabbed Sarah’s flashlight which she always kept by her side and started looking for Mark. Walking around this vast emptiness, they realized they were no longer in their camp. They were no longer outside in the desert either. They could hear the echo of their footsteps bouncing off stone cold walls with no end in sight. It was pitch dark, so they were both grateful Sarah always kept her mother’s gift close by. A flashlight with an inscription: “To always light your way. - mom”. “I miss her so much.” Thought Sarah, and dismissed those thoughts as now was not the time.

“Mark!?” Larry yelled out, but only echo could be heard back. The team made their way through the corridor. Upon reaching the end the corridor split two ways. “We should split up.” Said Larry. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Sarah replied. But Larry insisted anyway. Soon Sarah found herself in the right narrower corridor with just her flashlight. A faint sound was coming right towards her from the pitch-black end of the corridor. “Mark is that you?” she whispered. But a hissing sound came raging straight at her. As soon as the monster appeared in front of her, she knew this was the end. It was a strong, lean creature with a head of a cat, the lower body of a dog and 2 giant wings on it’s back. One of the wings was broken and the creature was in visibly bad shape. It looked incredibly muscular, and blood was dropping down its chin and chest. Making a mess on the floor with each step it took. Sarah dropped her flashlight and started running back the corridor she came from. Not looking back, just hearing the scratching noise the paws were making on the stone-like floor.

Suddenly, she reached a dead end. A wall that wasn’t there before. “This is it; this is how it ends.” She thought as she closed her eyes, and the creature made its way toward her. A loud noise struck the corridor. Sarah thought the stone walls were crumbling down. “Thunder, here? That’s impossible!” She slowly opened her eyes, and between her and the beast stood a metal and rock square-like sculpture. With one swift movement the sculpture cut of the chimeras’ head and turned to face Sarah.

She stared in pure disbelief. A purple square head made of metal, with giant antlers on top. A sword on its back that managed to singlehandedly defeat a chimera. This half stone half metal monstrosity stared back at her. Its beard half moved, and sunglasses lit up. In a robotic voice, it said: “You’re safe now, your friend was not so lucky.” Staring in pure silence for a few seconds, Sarah finally pulled herself together.

“You mean Mark?” she said shakily. “Leave these ruins and don’t come back.” The robotic voice replied. Soon the loud thunder-like noise could be heard again and with a bright flash the good-hearted guardian disappeared. Sarah slowly made her way past the no longer moving chimera to grab her flashlight and make her way out of the ruins.

Again, she could hear footsteps approaching her and she froze in fear. But it was only Larry with a grim look on his face. “Did you find Mark?” Sarah asked him. “I did, we need to leave now!” Larry replied and took her hand. They stated making their way back to where they first woke up. After what seemed hours of walking, they couldn’t find it and realized they’ve been walking in circles. They decided to make camp with what little possessions they had and get some rest to continue their journey the next day. They fell asleep almost instantly.

A hot burst of blinding light soon awoke Sarah. She covered her eyes and soon realized she was back in camp. Back above ground. She ran out of her tent to find her teammates and check if everything was just a dream. Larry was sleeping in his tent, but Mark was nowhere to be found. Soon the same loud thunder sound could be heard from the entrance to the ruins. Sarah and Larry quickly made their way to the door they worked so hard on the previous day.

The door disappeared; it was no longer there. Mark’s body was never recovered. Sarah and Larry continued working together on more discoveries in the years to come. Sarah never forgot the kind guardian that once upon a time saved her life.

-unique digital collectibles living on the Ethereum blockchain-