The Day Trip

Everything had gone wrong. The trip had been good, but the outcome, it had turned out to be a catastrophe. The only thought which surged through Jack’s mind was,” What will I tell everyone! And how am I supposed to get out of this cavern in the first place! I don’t have no phone, and I don’t have food; how will I survive? Damn you Dr Jurgen! I take a vow: I will get out of this mess, and I will find you, and I will get my revenge. How, I know not, but I will.” The expedition itself had started on a bad note and the sunny morning had ceased to provide them any light about the matter.

The jeep groaned to life as the horizon glowed pink. Scrambling into the back of the ancient vehicle, Jack and Dr Jurgen settled themselves uncomfortably. Facing each other, they exchanged pleasantries under the din of the well-worn-out mechanism; and after that there was silence. The sound of hard rock blaring from Jack's headphones flooded the silence as his tab vibrated to life. "Who is free enough to talk to this guy so early in the morning? It's astonishing that this monkey has any friends! Coming on an excavation trip with a tab, the doctor retorted.

The journey seemed unending. The surroundings raced by at a rapid pace. Sand dunes blanketted the view, and there wasnt another living creature visible. Not near. Not far. And this would help the unscrupulous motives of the German. A smile flashed on his face and the sight of it made Jack fabricate a mystical expression. The confused look did not last long though. Demolished by a huge bang, the silence vanished all of a sudden; and the jeep veered off on a random track through the sand. Dr Jurgen raised his arms in surprise and Jack rushed out of the back door of the running jeep, the bewildered expression replaced by a look of shock and panic.

The only calm person in the vicinity turned out to be the driver. Serenely getting out of the vehicle, he glanced at the right front tire and sighed. “What we have here is a punctured tire. Y’all can choose to wait here for me to change the tire, or y’all can start walking; I’ll catch up as soon as I can,” Khan said. Cursing angrily, the teenager in him evident even at the age of twenty-five, Jack switched off the tab and started walking. Stopping all of a sudden, he spat out a stub of chewing gum, and in the motion ate another one at the same time. “Doc, you coming? I want to get this over with and I’m going walking. Will you join,” he asked while moving farther away. Even with his old arthritic legs resisting the speedy movement, the old doctor waddled after young Jack; after all he had a mission to complete.

The hike turned out to be extremely tiring and the two men reached their place of interest, the Cave, exhausted and with no strength left in them. But it seemed the worst was left. Uncovering the ciphers was utterly time consuming. The tab had been rendered useless in the journey, its battery consumed by the voices of Metallica and Eminem, its main purpose not complied with at all. The task which should have taken a couple of hours turned out to take thrice the time, and the exhausted men sat down fatigued yet exhilarated after the tedious deciphering.

Abruptly, the sky visible out of the entrance of the cavern turned dark. Thunder echoed around the place and lightning shone all around. The wrinkled doctor got up, and shuffled towards the protected stone insides of the fissure. Jack glanced up, and rose to follow the older man into the safer confines. “Let’s take the medallion and go. We should study it first and get enlightened about its secrets, and only then should we give it to the government,” Jack stated.

“You young fool! There was never us, it’s always been me, and that too alone. I just needed you to help me through the hurdles of this trail. And the government will never know of this artifact, ‘cause it’s mine. And I am never going to give it to anyone, let alone the government. Sayonara Jack boy, there seriously was never a chance that you would get back home. I’m sorry, but everything ends here for you,” the doctor sneered. Shocked, Jack just stood defenseless as the doctor struck him on the head. And everything went black.