An Adventurous Story: Treasure Hunter For Hire, Chapter VI -

Treasure Hunter For Hire: Chapter VI

He ran and he ran faster. He screamed at the top of his lungs. It gave him the strength to fight against his adamant obstacle. Everything else blurred out in that short moment, only him and the huge monster remained. His brain shunned out the shouts of his men, the shouts of his best friend, the gasp of the monster. He was determined. He will defeat this creature.

And so Desmond jumped in the air, right in front of the monster’s face, and brought his sword straight downwards on its skull. The monster, getting hit, roared and fell face first in the waters. Desmond having spent all of his remnant energy, began to fall down, when suddenly the monster raised his head and Desmond landed on his back with a thump.

“YOU PEST! HOW DARE YOU GET ON MY BACK! I WILL NOT LET YOU LIVE, HUMAN.”, and the monster started flipping around wildly to get Desmond off its back, but he held on. He knew that if the monster succeeded in throwing him off its back, he will fall to his death. So he held on. Noticing that Desmond was still on its back, the monster got even angrier and shouted, “I WILL KILL YOU. I WILL KILL YOU. I WILL KILL YOU. I WILL KILL YOU. I WILL KILL YOU. I WILL KILL YOU. I WILL KILL YOU.”. It contorted its body in such a way so that he could bite off Desmond. Meanwhile, Collin, with the help of his men, prepared a safety net for Desmond. He shouted, “Come on, Desmond!”. Desmond noticed the preparations and as the monster came at him with his human-eating mouth gaped open, Desmond jumped and landed on the net. The monster didn’t foresee this and bit his own self. It cried out in pain and fell in the waters, finally, to never come back up again.

Everyone cheered to Desmond’s victory. They helped him and Collin to a nearby wagon and applied medicine and bandages to their wounds. Everyone settled back into their wagons and continued with their journey.

***

They traveled day and night. The journey was uneventful for a couple of weeks. Desmond and Collin spent their days healing and tending to their wounds. But one thing had definitely changed. All of the mercenaries had a newfound respect for Desmond. They saw him in an altogether different light and were always present at his beck and call. One such night, all of them sat in a big circle around the campfire. Some were telling jokes while others were more interested in stories. Collin was suspiciously quiet this night. Desmond slid next to him and nudged him with his elbow. But Collin was still lost deep in thought. To indicate his presence, Desmond cleared his throat. Still no response.

“Have I gone invisible?”, Desmond exclaimed. This broke Collin from his train of thought. He said, “Excuse me, What?”

“It has been 20 minutes since I sat next to you and you did not acknowledge my presence which leads me to think that maybe my lifelong dream had finally come true.”

“Your dream?”

“To become invisible, that is.”

“Oh!”, said a morose Collin.

“Hey! What is the matter?”

“It’s nothing.”

“We have been friends for so many years now and it’s scandalous to think that you so truly believe that you can lie to my face.”

“I’m not lying. I’m okay.”

“No you are not, so tell me what is the matter with you.”

“Huff! I’m just missing Adelaide.”

“Oh! Missing your wife huh! Well, I cannot provide you with ‘that’ kind of love but —-”. This brought a faint smile to Collin’s face.

“Stop it Desmond. What is with you? You are being awfully cheeky lately.”

“I think it’s my wounds. I think they are healing really nicely, you know”

“Stop it!”, said Collin laughing a little.

“Thank God, I still have the power to make you laugh.”

“Yeah, you do.”, Collin sighed.

“Feeling a little better now?”

Collin shook his head in disagreement. A hurt look crossed Desmond’s face and he cried, “What? Why? Didn’t I make you laugh right now?”. He was just jesting but Collin didn’t have the stomach for jokes tonight so he snapped at him and yelled, “Your stupid jokes won’t make me feel better, okay? You cannot understand what it feels like to miss someone you love dearly. I left her when she was ill Desmond, to be here, to be with you. I worry about her. I sent out a letter months ago and I haven’t received a reply yet. What am I to do? I don’t know.”

And so, Collin stalked off to his tent, leaving a completely speechless Desmond behind.

The next morning, as per schedule they loaded their tents into the wagons and were again on the road. Collin had trouble, meeting eyes with Desmond, maybe because he realized that he yelled at him last night. Desmond tried to talk to him but amidst all the work, it was not possible. As usual, Desmond was in the 1st wagon and Collin in the last so they were separated that way, during the whole ride. As they were driving through, suddenly Desmond heard a shout, breaking him from his reverie. It said, “All eyes in front, village ahead!”.

The next chapter will follow soon.

The writer of the story “An Adventurous Story: Treasure Hunter For Hire, Chapter VI” is Gitanjali Mishra. Connect with her on Facebook.

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