S&S monthly writing competition
@thinkrdotexe/sands-monthly-short-fiction-contest-2
Parameters
The story parameters for this month are:
Genre: Mystery/Noir
Thematic Prompt: Desert
"Desert Cave" by Dizmang Photography is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
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It will be soon
He had only one thing on his mind. No, not the one thing you think men always have on their mind. The one thing he had been dreaming of for all these years. The thing that haunted his dreams and his nightmares. The thing that would make him famous and let him die happy. He could almost taste it, he knew he was close now. After five long years searching as he slept in his tent in the dessert he could feel its proximity, like the smell of fresh baked cookies in the air.
One of the things about being in the desert for so long is you are always thirsty. No amount of water could quenche your thirst, wake up thirsty, go to bed thirsty. He felt like that, but not about water. He went to bed grasping the old map that his father had passed to him with the location on. It was not really a map more of a few pictures on an old and worn piece of parchment. It had been given to him along with the odd amulet. Whenever he took the amulet to someone no one could ever tell him what it was or where it was from. The usual answer was that they had never seen one like and it and would he be interested in selling it.
That final morning when he woke up he knew it would be the day, the day he had dreamed of for so long. He knew that it was the day as he could feel it in the air. It is strange when people say they can feel something in the air, but this time it was true. Hard to describe the buzz that surrounded him, it was like electricity had escaped and was taking over the world. Everything tingled. SO he got dressed and carefully prepared his equipment. It was like a ritual getting everything ready. The gun was loaded, water can filled, rope checked and the map and locket secured. After all this time he should be ready, but the question as always was what was he ready for?
He left his tent and called his boy over to prepare the camels and strike the camp down. He checked the map one more time and then they headed north to the edge of the desert mountains. He knew he would find the cave there, the cave from the map. It was early and not too hot yet but soon enough he felt the heat from above and below, radiating off the burning sand. He took a long drink and checked his location again, so close now.
It was well past noon when using his binoculars he could spot a cave in the distance. It looked like the mouth of the mountain shouting at him to come and enter. As he got closer he began to realise the size of the thing. It was huge, how was it no one had found it before, how was it that it had taken him 5 years of searching to find it. It looked exactly like it did on the map, an odd shape and there were two large but different coloured boulders above it, staring down at you as you got closer. The air still breathed as he got closer and as he approached he could feel the cool air of the cave wash over him and with it a whole different set of feels took him.
He got off his camel and looked one more time at the map. This was definitely it. He did not want to rush now, he must take his time. Legend spoke of this place and it did not speak kindly. Who knew what awaiting him inside except the ultimate prize and opportunities of death. He started to think he should have bought more people than just his boy but he had to keep his quest secret. "loose Lips sink ships" or so they say and the more lips the more ships that could sink.
He took his large torch from his camel, it was very powerful. He got it years ago in anticipation for this moment. He checked everything again and told his boy to wait by the camel, he was going to do this alone. He slowly walked towards the cave carefully scanning his surroundings. Anything could be here, anything could happen. He was not going in blind however. Years of research had told him what he could expect to find and the challenges he might face. He knew what to look for and how to avoid the many dangers that might await him. As he got to the mouth of the cave he could feel the sweat run down his back like a reminder of how precious water was here. He nervously took his first step into the cave and the air changed and he could sense something else all around him now, the tingling of power.
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