Star Raiders and the Lost Expidition (4 page)

Justin placed his right foot on the tile as Mike placed both of his feet on the others. The tiles sank a bit and they heard a clicking sound. Soon they heard a loud grinding noise as the water pressure from the statues dimmed as their mouths closed shut. All of a sudden, the statue in front of them fell like a drawbridge as it splashed on to the water. It was safe to proceed. Mike gestured his friend to go ahead, but Justin was hesitant to wait for Mike to go first. Mike got on and crossed the newly built bridge into the next room as Justin followed.

They walked for about a quarter mile down hill though a long twisted dirt-like corridor until they got to a huge looking room filled with four big oak trees. A dim light was shining down on them from the small gaps in the ceiling. All of them were leafless and bare and stood about twenty to forty feet from floor to ceiling. Mike looked down and saw they were standing on cold sand. He took the illumniskick and shown it on the map and wondered.

“
These Entians are getting far too weird for me,” said Justin.

“
Water and air grows,” Mike translated.

“
Grows?” Justin inquired, “Grows what?”

“
Good question,” Mike replied looking at the trees. There were something a bit odd to him as he examined the trees. He thought how these trees would even grow in here. It would be impossible. He then thought of something as he looked back to the entrance then back to the dead trees, “Wait a minute, wait a minute.”

“
What, what?”

Mike looked to his friend and replied, “The last two rooms were air and water right?”

“
Yeah so?”

“
If we could incorporate them in here,” Mike said as he paused a little, “Maybe it would do something,” He looked to the trees and noticed that they were bare, “Like grow leaves. Or open another door.”

Justin look towards his friend’s gaze and asked, “Ok, and how do we suppose to do that?”

Mike thought for a long time looking about the room. He noticed the faint paintings on the trunk-like walls of the Entian gods. One was pouring water from its mouth onto the ground. Another was either picking or placing leaves on a tree and the wall on the far side of the room had two gods, which seemingly was holding a door.

“
I got it,” Mike said taking off his small backpack and placing it on the floor as his friend looked at him wondering what he was doing. Mike got out four empty cans they were using when they ate last night and handed them Justin. “Go back to the other room and fill these up,” he instructed.

“
What for?”

“
Just do it.”

“
What about those piranha things? One of them almost bit my hand off.”

Mike looked at him in disbelief and replied, “Then just be a bit more careful.”

Justin nodded and agreed with him. Moments later he returned with the four cans filled with the water and handed two of them to Mike. He then instructed Justin to help him pour the water in front of the trees. Justin went over to the tree on the left side and poured the water. Michael did the same on the other side. Once they finished pouring the water, nothing happened.

“
Ok, now what?” Justin asked as they felt a rumble, like a mini earthquake beneath them.

Mike looked up at the trees and they began to grow golden leaves at an exceedingly rapid rate. They did not believe what they were seeing. This was impossible. Was this some kind of trick? The rumbling died down and they were beside themselves. Justin looked at Mike, but his friend was in awe by what had happened. Mike heard legends about trees like this in his mythology class. He never realized that they would be real.

“
Do you think they’re real gold?” Justin asked, but before Mike could answer, a rush of cold wind blew through the entranceway and blew off all the leaves. They floated down on the sand and before Justin could pick one up, they disintegrated in the sand.

“
I guess we’ll never know,” Mike said as he looked ahead and saw that there was an opening where the wall was, “Let’s go,” Justin looked up and followed Mike through to the last room.

“
I just don’t believe what I just saw,” Justin said doubly, “I mean trees that were growing golden leaves at that rate. It’s scientifically impossible.”

“
There are a lot of things in this universe that might be impossible that turned to be possible,” Mike replied as they walked down another corridor, “It’s called discovery. Too bad I did not have that that on video. Could’ve been worth something.”

The last room, the fire room as Mike said it, was narrow and long room almost like a hallway. Unlike the other rooms, the Entians made this one out of stone. Natured made, Mike concluded. On the other side of the room sat four multicolored jewels. Each sat in their own manmade stone cubbyholes. Both of them were in awe as they gazed upon them. Mike glanced down at the map again trying to read it.

“
Ok, this says something about a not stepping on the fire god,” Mike replied.

“
I thought you took ancient alien language?” His friend wondered.

He looked to Justin, “I’m a little rusty, sue me.”

He looked back to the map trying to make heads or tails out of it and then to the room. He noticed that there were faint symbols or writings on the wall witch made it more difficult to read to decide what to do. He looked ahead and cautiously took a step forward. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a blast of fire burned the map to ashes as they both gasp on horror as the quickly stepped back. Mike looked down and noticed weird tiles on the floor. Some of them had the same symbol that was on the map. It was the fire symbol. There were also tiles that had other symbols of the other elements. He then realized what the map meant by not stepping on the fire god.

“
Stay here,” he warned his friend as he cautiously stepped on the non-fire tiles.

He carefully made his way across the room and it was standing before him, the crystals, but which one is the jewel of Na’Tuka? They all looked the same. Blue with red swirls surrounded the gemstone. He then noticed that each of them bared an elemental symbol. He looked to his friend who did not know either. He turned back to the jewels and thought that only if they had the map. It would have showed them the right one. He thought long and hard remembering what the map said as he tried to read it last night. His friend looked to him wondering what was taking him so long.

“
What’s wrong?” Justin asked.

“
They all look the same,” Mike replied frustrated.

“
Well just pick one and let’s get the hell out of here,” he said to him impatiently, “This place gives me the creeps.”

“
Keep your shirt on,” Mike shot back as he thought. Blue and red, the colors must represent the elements of fire and water. “Oh hell with it,” he took the Fire and water jewel and placed them in his pocket, but as soon as he obtained, them another earthquake arose. Another trap he thought. This one was stronger as the non-fire tiles started to give away.

“
COME ON!” Justin shouted as Mike darted across.

Fire blasts shot up from behind as he reached his friend. They both ran back to the Earth Room as the giant limbs snapped and the sand started to swallow the tree like quicksand. They ran as fast as they could, but were slowed a bit as they across and up the long ramp. The quake didn’t stop as the roof of the hall caved in from behind, but luckily, they made to the Water Room. The two of statue’s head ripped open as gallons of water filled the room rapidly. Mike ran across the mini bridge, but before Justin could cross, snapped in two and sank. Mike ran to the other side as Justin stopped.

“
Mike!” He shouted scarcely as his friend turned to him.

“
Just jump over it and let’s go!” Mike shouted back.

The water flooded the peninsula as Justin stepped back, ran and jumped over the water gap. He splashed down on the floor, and almost slipped in the water. Mike turned and grabbed Justin’s shirt and pulled him on a dry floor.

They both ran to the first room when wind rushed at them. It was hard running against it, but that was far from their problem when wooden spikes slid out from the left and right walls, but worse more spikes appeared from the ceiling as well, slowly descending upon them.

“
You gotta be kidding me?!” Justin shouted rhetorically as he looked up.

“
Just keep going!” Mike shouted other the loud wind as they slow inched their way towards the opening.

The door ahead was sliding from its groove downwards as Mike reached it, ducked and got out. The entrance was closing halfway as Justin dove and tumbled into his friend. They both fell back in the main hall as Mike helped his friend up they saw two semi circular doors, with the elemental symbols carved in to it, were closing to make a complete circle and enclosing the outside entrance. They did not hesitate as they dashed outside. The door sealed the temple once more.

They landed and fell on a grassy slope as Justin looked up and saw hundreds of wood like creatures arming themselves with a shock spears in their branch-hands. Mike looked at them. They could not be more than four feet tall. They were all different shades of brown with leaves as hair on top of their heads. Mike’s eyes then gazed over to a beautiful blond haired human woman walking over. She was wearing blue jeans and a sleek brown leather jacket that almost hugged on her perfect-like body. Mike instantly recognized her.

“
Julia,” he said frowning.

She was Mike’s ex-girlfriend as she knelt down and held out her slender hand. He then remembered why he left her. She stabbed his back and betrayed him. It was no more than a couple of months ago were when they were on the planet Crystala. The entire planet was made out of crystals, but there were a rumor that a diamond depository was somewhere hidden in the caves. Mike and Julia went to explore them until two days later they had finally found them. It was beautiful beyond their expiations. That night as they made camp in the cave, Julia took their share and started a cave-in using her cutter. She then left him for dead. Fortunately, Mike communicated with Justin and he rescued him. He then realized that she was playing him like a fool.

“
The jewel Mike,” she said.

Justin looked to him as he looked back knowing Justin’s expression. Mike sighed and dove in to his pocket he remembered that he had two of them, but witch one to take, as both were identical. He had to trust fate, took one out, and handed it to her.

“
Here,” he said and then wondered, “Is this how our relationship’s going to be, you stealing from me all the time?”

She gasped and replied sarcastically, “Michael! I’m hurt,” she then smiled a bit, “But then again, you stole this gem from their temple.”

Mike looked angrily at her as she stood up and turned. While she had her back on the two, Justin promptly touched a couple of buttons on his remote wrist panel. Julia took out a whistle-like device that had a micro QWERTY type keyboard on its side. Mike recognized it as a soundlator. She used it to translate different types of sound into language. She typed a command into the soundlator then blew onto it like a whistle. They heard a creaking sound. Mike knew it was the Entian’s language. The Entians drew closer with their deadly spears ready to strike.

“
I don’t think that means let them go,” Justin mumbled to his friend.

“
Julia!” Mike cried nervously as she turned around.

“
I’m sorry Michael,” she apologized smiling, “But in this business, its kill or be killed.”

She then heard a vacuuming sound of a ship’s engines, turned back round, and saw a golden ship. The
Golden Condor
looks as it says. This yellow-chromed four-seated spacecraft hovered above the small tribe. The wing tips gleamed in the sun as hit blinded Julia and the Entians. The
Condor
opened fired on the wooden tribe as they all scattered panicky back in to the jungle. Julia typed and blew quickly to get them back, but it was too late as Mike got up pushed Julia on the ground. They both bolted towards the ship’s ramp.

“
God I hate her!” Mike cried.

Julia quickly got up, grabbed her gun from her thigh and started to fire at them, but they already climbed aboard. Julia screamed as a laser bolt hit her abdomen and fell on the ground, apparently dead. The Entians came back and fired their shock bolts on to the ship, but it was already too late as the
Condor
flew into the sky.