No Exit

Written for the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge with a word limit of 300.

The prompts: Story must have a gun, a crown and a key

No Exit

Finding the treasure had been surprisingly easy. Once he had the map, it was simply a matter of following directions.

Finding the map had been part luck, part a willingness to do whatever it took. The theft of the ancient artifact with the riddle written on a scrap of paper inside, that had been luck.

The riddle had said, “Once found does not possession make.” Randy had interpreted that to mean he would have to find the map and forcibly liberate it from its owner. His research found several previous owners of the artifact. After that, it was simply a process of elimination, literally. Owner number three produced the map in response to the sudden appearance of the business end of a large handgun. The gun barked a final good-bye and Randy took off after what was his and his alone.

Three months later found Randy sitting against a stalagmite at the bottom of a very deep, very remote and uncharted cavern. Around him, the floor was littered with riches beyond belief. It seemed as if every nook and cranny had been stuffed with gold and gemstones. The only thing more numerous than the treasures, were the skeletons.

Boned fortune seekers told the soundless story of Randy’s pending fate. They taunted him without mercy. One wore a crown as it rested against a particularly large pile of gold coins. The soul had left but the bones, they remained behind with the crown.

I guess you can’t take it with you, Randy thought smiling. He was resolved to his fate.

Yes, the treasure had been easy to find. The only thing missing was the key to the door that would let him out. Scribbled on the walls by generations of souls were the words Once Found Does Not Possession Make.

Word count 299