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“This wasn’t exactly what I thought we’d be doing this afternoon,” she giggled.
“What can I say? I like hiking.”
“I like hiking too, but I do it in the daylight.”
“You don’t come out here often to explore?”
“Hardly ever,” she said.
I wished I could see her face, to get an idea of what she was thinking, but it wasn’t like I could shine the light in her eyes. “So, these people looking for treasure, are they always out here?”
“Pretty much. The town is used to them coming around. It’s the only thing that keeps us afloat.”
“Really?”
She shifted closer to me, her hand brushing up my arm until she grabbed my bicep. “This isn’t exactly a tourist town. But the people that come out here stay for weeks at a time to search for the treasure. It gives the town a little pick me up.”
Based on the number of people I saw around town in the hour I was there, I could see her point. The town couldn’t have more than five hundred people in it, and the closest town was a good twenty miles away. It wasn’t like there were booming job opportunities.
We walked for what felt like miles until the cave finally expanded, opening into a large cavern. Clear blue water filled the bottom of the cavern, leaving only narrow walkways around it.
“Wow,” I murmured, impressed by the beautiful sight.
“I’ve never seen this before,” Sarah said, staring at the water.
I walked over to the edge, bending down to dip my hand in the water. It was warm to the touch, much warmer than I expected. “This is probably great for skinny dipping,” I joked.
“I don’t think we should be here,” she said nervously. She turned and headed back the way we came without even asking if I was ready to go.
I ran after her, grabbing her arm to stop her as I caught up. “Hey, where are you going?”
“I don’t think it’s safe down here.” Her eyes kept flicking to the water. It was almost as if something bad had happened and this place was bringing it all back. The way her body shook with nerves, how she kept staring at the water—they were both classic signs of trauma.
“Hey, it’s fine. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I just want to leave.”
I sighed, looking back at the tunnel. We’d come so far. I wasn’t ready to leave and waste all the time I had spent getting out here. I handed her my flashlight. “Here, take this with you.”
“You’re not coming?” she said in alarm.
“No, I want to hang out a little longer.”
“But—” Her eyes flicked to the water again and she swallowed hard. “Please, let’s just go.”
“Sarah, I promise I won’t be long. Why don’t you sit over there,” I pointed to the far wall, a long enough distance from the water. Man, I was not going to win her over this way, but that couldn’t be helped. It wasn’t meant to be anyway.
She took the flashlight and nodded, but her eyes remained glued to the water. I couldn’t stand around here waiting all day. I figured I had maybe fifteen minutes before she completely freaked out and I had to get her out of here. I walked along the wall, looking for any signs of hieroglyphs. I knew jack shit about tracking this stuff, but there had to be a clue left behind if the Aztecs dropped the gold here.
The path narrowed to the point where I could barely make it across. I hugged the wall, doing my best to walk over the slippery rocks. I made the mistake of looking back to check on Sarah just as I stepped on a particularly slippery rock. My foot slid out and I whirled my arms to catch something as I fell toward the water. With a splash, I sank about ten feet before floating back to the surface. I swiped the water from my face, swearing at my own stupidity. I swam back to the edge, just about to pull myself up when I spotted something shiny near the ledge just under the water line.
“What is this?” I muttered to myself.
I grasped it in my hands, amazed when I came up with none other than a piece of Aztec gold, just like the one I’d seen in the picture. “Holy shit,” I whispered. “I actually found it.”
The rack of a gun drew my attention back to my surroundings. Shock tore through me as Sarah stood over me, holding her gun on me.
“I really wish you would have just turned back. We could have had something special.”
