The air was humid as the sound of insects buzzed around Rena, creating an almost hypnotic hum that seemed to be trying to lull her into a false sense of security. There was no trail before her, though broken branches and cut vines followed in her wake as she hacked her way through the thick foliage. Her clothes stuck to her orange fur as sweat dripped from her body. It was hot, sticky, and uncomfortable, but it was nothing she hadn't dealt with before.
It was the promise of treasure that had lead her to this place— a tale of lost riches of a long-gone civilization. Rena had spent her whole life studying artifacts of unknown cultures and their artifacts. But this one. This one seemed to defy all logic. The source had been anonymous, and yet something told her it was legit.
As she walked, she watched the shadows and listened for the telltale sounds of animals in the forest, her machete at the ready to defend herself. A sound rose above all others, and she paused, her ears flicking up to listen. A flash of light illuminated the forest as a deafening roar quickly followed it. The sound of rain pelting the leaves and bushes echoed in her ears, and the ground quickly became muddy and slick under the downpour.
Rena smiled as cool rain washed over her like a waterfall making its way through the many layers of plants that dominated the forest. Her orange fur glistened as the droplets clung to it, and her deep orange tail lashed back and forth from excitement. Her black stripes almost looked silver as her rain-soaked fur reflected the flat light that surrounded her with each step.
Suddenly, her foot slipped, and her stomach flew up into her mouth as she tumbled several times across the mud before falling to the ground with a grunt. Her orange fur was splashed with mud as she smiled, rubbing the slimy layers off of it and then using a few bushes for handholds to climb to her feet, and she took in her new surroundings.
Rena was at the edge of a clearing that the thick jungle had entirely hidden. The heavy rain filled the air with a mist that obscured her vision and created shadows and shapes that danced around her eerily. The ground of the clearing was slick and soft from the storm; however, Rena could faintly see the silhouette of a massive structure rising above the treetops.
The structure was tall and massive, with sharp points and jagged edges. It gleamed in the heavy rain creating a strange, almost otherworldly appearance as Rena took a step closer to it. The white stone of the walls were cracked and crumbling as moss and plants worked to reclaim the structure. The structure reminded Rena of a wounded beast struggling to survive despite lethal wounds. It was doomed to be swallowed by the forest, but it wasn't going down without a fight.
Rena gritted her teeth as she pulled the letter out of her bag as she moved beneath a large leaf that offered some shelter from the storm. Rena had read it many times already, but her eyes flicked over the words as she bit her lip and looked towards the clearing.
Everything had been accurate so far, and Rena had no reason to believe that whoever had sent the letter would wish her harm now. Still, everything beyond this point became more speculation than anything in the letter. It spoke of traps and treasures, though it could not speak of precisely what Rena would find inside. Rena bit her lip and slipped the note back into her leather pouch to protect it from the storm.
The tip of Rena's machete shook as she stared at it for a moment, surrounded by the heavy rain and ominous fog. She breathed deeply for a moment to try and quell her nerves as her excitement faded into the background. The blade was sharp, and she would need it to survive whatever lay ahead. She took another step forward, carefully skirting around the slurry of mud in the ground, making her way towards the structure. The rain began to come down in a torrent, and it became harder to trek through the mud. Rena's courage wavered as her strength began to fail as she fought against the earth and plants that groped at her and slowed her passage towards the temple.
Rena panted as she placed a padded hand on the cold stone at the base of the temple that loomed above her. A cracked and broken staircase ascended steeply towards a massive door set at the top of the temple. Rena twitched a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky above her, and thunder cracked through the air. She rubbed her eyes for a moment as the rain lashed her face.
Rena took a deep breath and moved towards the staircase, and looked up towards the entrance. It was difficult for Rena to traverse the stairs in the heavy rain. Her grip on the machete tightened as she slipped and slid on slime-coated steps that could easily send her tumbling back to the base of the structure. The lightning streaking across the dark sky didn't help. The thunder crashed through the air, shaking her very bones with each clap of noise.
Rena's stomach twisted with fear as she looked up at the massive doors set at the top of the temple, but from this angle, they looked a million miles away. She clenched her jaw and tried to maintain focus though it seemed impossible as the storm raged on. Rena stepped off the stairs and back onto the rain-soaked ground.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
<<-- Previous · Outline  · Recent Additions © Copyright 2025 Komfy Kat (UN: komfykat at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Nick Knight has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work within this interactive story. Poster accepts all responsibility, legal and otherwise, for the content uploaded, submitted to and posted on Writing.Com. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author