The Hidden Treasure

a/n: Risena was a forest I made up.

***

Chapter 1 – Young Reporters Often Get In Trouble

 

Adam, at the age of 26, travelled regularly with his cameraman, Luke. His blond hair and green eyes made him famous with the ladies. Luke also attracted hordes of females, with black hair and blue electric eyes, strangers had a hard time trying to deny him something.



He was a biologist and the creator of an extensive collection of nature documentaries and reports, with several awards. His boss, obviously pleased with him, let him chose the next location to film a nature documentary.



This year, he decided to travel to the inhabitable forest of Rinesa in Africa.

***

Adam and Luke were walking through savagely thick bushes and foliage.



The variety of species was enormous, and he was only talking about plants and animals. He would have to search for microorganisms, like fungus and bacteria later, since the day was ending and he hadn’t found a good spot to pitch his tent.



Several red skinned natives from the area guided Adam to a hidden part of the forest, a very safe place against predators.



They marched for forty minutes, the sun settling down. They climbed the mountain for the next ten minutes before setting camp on one of its sides.



With the sun at rest, the visibility decreased, hindering possible searches of wild life. Adam still installed a few cameras close to the tent in hopes of recording some night activity.



After a tiring day Luke, the indigenes and he went to sleep in deep blue sleeping bags.

***

Adam woke up early to check the cameras planted outside. Unfortunately, it seemed they only attracted the attention of a few moths.



Everyday spent in the wild was a unique opportunity which had to be sized. The first rays of sunlight broke through the dawn, leaving a spectacular view of never-ending landscape.



Adam stretched like a cat, his toes barely touching the ground.



Time to start the day.



While Adam was preparing breakfast, Luke came out of the tent looking as tousled as he was feeling.



“Morning. Have you checked the cameras yet?” Luke asked, gazing at the sausages Adam was making in a mini electric grill.



The blond didn’t even glanced at his face when he answered a quick “Yep,” too busy trying to not to overcook the sausages.



“And?” Luke was inquiring with an expectant face.



“And?!” Adam mocked him with a smile on his face, waiting for Luke to elucidate his question.



“Found anything interesting?” The black haired youth gestured impatiently.



“Oh, no.” Adam was back to staring at the sausages, which were positively fried.



“Damn.” Luke acquired a disappointed expression.



“Well, it was only the first night. You can’t expect us to find animals right away.” The green eyed man tried to comfort the black haired guy.



“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He was also contemplating the horizon. “Hey, do you want me to take a few shots of this?” Luke pointed to the scenery.



“Yeah. Footages with dawn are always handy to use on docs.”



“Ok. I'll just record a minute or two. Let me get my devices.” Luke entered the tent in search of his state of the art camera carefully wrapped in his backpack.



The natives rose when they smelled the food. Evidently, they believed they could eat their sausages, even if Adam had paid them enough to buy their own food for years, before coming to the mountain. Hyenas are similar to them, trying to steal other people’s food.



Always the nice one, Luke offered each one a plastic plate with generous amounts, before preparing his gadget.



The men were entertained with the food, similar to pigs, swallowing everything and making disgusting noises.



After everyone packed their sleeping bags and food utensils inside the tent, the red skinned males showed them the quickest path to reach the river. The river was a great source of fish, aquatic fauna needed on film.



The natives rested their bags close to the river’s edge and removed a plastic bottle from one of his pockets, inching closer to the fresh water to refill the bottle.



Adam crouched close to the water’s edge since he was the one who would appear on the footage. 



“Luke, you ready?”



Luke also bent down and put his camera on his shoulder “Yeah. I’m ready.”



“Hi. I’m Adam Masson and I’m here in this enormous tropical forest to show you the unexplored beauties of Rinesa.” After introducing himself, he continued to speak about the surrounding plants and humid atmosphere.



“Ok, cut.” Luke said, inspecting the video on the screen to make sure everything was perfectly caught on film.



“So, how is it? Do I need to make a new presentation?” The blonde enquired, getting closer to Luke, so he could peak over his shoulder at the machine.



“Everything was great.” The raven haired man stated while pressing several buttons on the side of the camera.



“Ok. I’m gonna search for animals on the trees and river bank.” Adam spoke, removing from his backpack a small notebook, very worn out, used for many years to take notes.



Luke went to unload more belongings and Adam took his own mini-video camera from his black waist bag.



By searching, from tree to tree, for small bugs, he verified the extensive existence of arachnids eating their prey on broken branches, already dry and rotting. There seemed to be a small group of ants, scouting for other insects to feed their children.



Several photos were taken, draws were made, and birds were filmed doing common activities, everything would be added to the documentary later.



He found new species of smaller animals, like bats and crawlers. New species had an important meaning to him, since his nature documentaries envisioned amazing oasis of fauna and flora. What better way to show it than by presenting new beings?

***

By midday, everyone decided to take a small break for lunch since Luke was tired of carrying luggage on his back and the guides were hungry. Again.



In a few days, the natives would return to their village, leaving him and the cameraman alone.



Everyone was feasting on tuna sandwiches when Adam decided to investigate some more, having already eaten his share.



“Just don’t get too far. You don’t know this forest, you could easily get lost.” Luke reminded him before he grabbed a bag with a camera, computer, other research materials and some supplies in case he got astray.



“Don’t worry, mother. I won’t vanish. Do you want to tie a rope around my waist?” The blonde did his usual mockery with the raven haired man.



“Ha, ha. Not funny. Go on now, before I regret leaving you alone.” Luke made shooing motions with his hands.



Adam walked on the river bank, since it was impossible to be mislead by following the river’s trail.



If it weren’t for the sounds surrounding him, like the bird’s chirping and the monkeys howling, he would say there wasn’t a sign of life, except for the insects. They were so many it would be impossible not to see all the mosquitoes attacking his skin, or the dragonflies close to the water’s surface.



A growl made him stop. Eyes stared at him in wariness. A flash of gold with black spots swiftly strolled to the middle of the trees and tropical plants, soundless footsteps escaped further into the forestation.



The leopard probably came to drink water and ended up finding him. He doubted anyone had ever come to this forest, so the large cat must’ve been surprised when he saw a human.



A few streaks of gold could still be distinguished, the feline was increasing the gap between them.



Should he go after the leopard or remain close to the river? He was divided.



If he went, he would probably lose track of the river, not to mention it wasn’t very safe to pursue a predator cautious of him. On the other hand, the only animals he found so far weren’t as big as this one or as beautiful, although this last sentence was his personal opinion.



After a moment of consideration, he went after the leopard at a fast pace, trying not to lose it from view and retaining a secure distance at the same time.



I'll just film the leopard for a few seconds and leave, he assured himself.



In nervous, jerky movements, he removed his camera from the bag and taped the animal.



To be on the safe side, the distance between the feline and him was quite big. He had to zoom in, until he could observe the animal as if it was right in front of him.



The leopard finally stopped at a clearing and started moving in large circles. It seemed distressed. Maybe the animal could still see or smell him?



No matter the cause, Adam wouldn’t find out, since he was far from the river and needed to go back. However, after turning he noticed he could still see the river from here, a positive sig he wasn’t really lost yet.



A new, deeper growl came from his right. He barely had time to turn his head before a gigantic lion flashed forward, running towards the leopard.



The smaller predator was retreating, knowing well he was in the lion’s territory.



Not wanting to miss a single eat, Adam grabbed his device and turned the record button on, with passion in his eyes and an enthusiastic heart beating.



The two predators were truly magnificent, none of them seemed interested in the third presence hiding behind the bushes, recording the whole encounter.



The lion’s tense posture gave away his intentions of attacking the other animal, which was receding more, until it started scampering in the opposite direction. The lion watched the leopard escaping, but didn’t chase it. The next minutes were passed with the animal marking his territory in the encircled trees.



It was time to go back. Without removing his eyes from the lion, he took meagre steps back, his vision of the river’s edge increasing with each footstep.



Abruptly, a pained yowl came from the lion’s direction and against his better judgement, Adam turned his head back to the clearing.



The carnivore was nowhere in scene, but right on the middle of the clearing was a bottomless hole, two meters large. Amazed by the sight that greeted him, the blonde carefully approached the hole his eyes wildly turning in all directions, in case the lion appeared.



Earth, rocks and flora were falling through the fissure. He got closer, this time his eyes roamed the interior, trying to glimpse how deep it was. Only darkness could be seen. The distance between the opening and the sightless ground of the hole must be immense, he calculated. 



Cracks and snaps were heard all around the area. Adam recoiled from it, afraid the soil would collapse under the weight of the vegetation.



He only took a step back, but that’s all it took for the land to cave in under him.



With a scream he was swallowed by obscurity.



***

a/n: this is un-betareaded... (or whatever you call it...) if you see some mistakes, please tell me