As Tania approaches her first assignment, she realizes that she has made another error…
She walks down the stairs into an underground tavern, realizing that this assignment is not just about taking pictures.
This assignment will test her bravery and strength, as well as her photographic talents.
To help calm her nerves, Tania snaps a few photos. There is a pile of rocks blocking her way into the underground tomb. Tania has no idea how she’ll get around it.
She looks around and notices a silver bar sitting in a hole in one of the cavern walls. Is this there for the taking? She grabs it and finds it to be very valuable.
Back at the pile of rocks, Tania remembers that before she moved out, her father gave her a pick axe that he found in China. Tania grabs it. Immediately she can feel its immense power flowing through her body as it glows in pink fiery brilliance.
Until this moment, Tania didn’t believe in magic, but there’s no denying the special power of the axe. She clears the pile of rocks in an impossible single blow to reveal a brick wall.
Tania was sure that there would be a door beyond the rocks. She stands and takes a close look at the wall…there has to be a way to get passed it.
Tania inspects the wall. It doesn’t feel very solid.
She knocks and pushes the wall in several different places. Almost by accident, she finds just the right spot and it opens.
The wall opens up into another room. Tania sees a gleaming pile of coins on a bench. They don’t appear to be simoleons. She snaps a few photos before taking the entire pile.
Tania is already exhausted. She knows that if she had been warned of the difficulty ahead of time, she would not have taken this assignment. She would much rather be back at the nectary drinking one of the many sweet enticing flavors. She can almost taste the warm feeling the rich brew leaves behind as it travels beyond her taste buds.
Daydreaming about nectar does Tania no good, so she decides to keep going. She doesn’t even want to imagine how much money she’d have to pay back if she doesn’t finish this assignment…the flight, the hotel stay, the food…it all adds up.
After plowing through another pile of rocks, the door to this chamber does not open as expected. Tania reluctantly examines a hole in the wall, hoping that something in there will open the door.
Just as Tania decides to give up, her hand finds a switch. She pulls it and the chains on the door behind her fall into a loud clump behind her. The sound rattles Tania’s already frayed nerves.
Tania enters the new chamber and looks around for photo opportunities to include in her photographic examination of the tomb.
As if Tania is not afraid enough, she enters a small room where she encounters the dusty remains of a sim. Too tired to scream, Tania stares upon the skeleton. “I hope that was not a National Simographic photographer,” Tania says out loud with slight humor, which is odd considering her predicament. She takes a few photos, grab some left-over treasure and leaves.
Another pile of rocks reveal a heart shaped keystone. Tania grabs the heavy stone and pushes it into an identical heart shaped segment in the wall.
The metal gates to the side of her unlock with a loud click. Tania takes a few moments to examine the large stone statues that line the sides of the long narrow room. An unexpected breeze rustles her hair and causes the hairs on the back of her neck to rise.
Tania walks further into the room until she steps on a loose stone tile. She thinks it may be a switch, but she doesn’t seem to be heavy enough to activate it. Of all the stone statues, only one is not located behind the wall like the others. She tries pulling it, and to her surprise, it moves forward.
Tania enters another room, but pulling the statue and clearing all of the rubble in the other chambers have left her exhausted. Her tent is far too big to set up. Desperately, she pulls out all of the contents in her pockets. A small dusty bag captures her attention, along with the words, Escape Dust, written on a small label on the underside of the bag. “I’d love to escape,” she says wishfully to herself.
The contents accidentally pour out of the small bag while she is holding it upside down. “Oh shi…” Tania begins, but before she can finish swearing, she feels a strong dream like sensation and for a second, she cannot see. When she opens her eyes and the vertigo disappears, she finds herself standing in front of her hotel. “What?” She says out loud, thinking she’s hallucinating.
Tania walks upstairs and into her room. If this is a hallucination, she decides to go with it, hoping that she’ll still feel well rested in the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment