Treasure?

They were frantic now. The sun was hours away from setting and they still hadn’t been able to find their way back. She grumbled in frustration when her legs scratched against a piece of wood, chipping it off and leaving angry red marks on her skin. 

“Anything?” she called out hopefully to her only two companions in this godforsaken forest, Drake and Jim.

“No.” chorused two voices. 

“Bring me the map,” she yelled dejectedly . 

A quick patter of footsteps could be heard coming her way and soon Drake’s round face appeared, covered in sweat and dirt. 

“Here!” he sighed, rolling out the map on a nearby log. 

She remembered when he had done the exact same thing a few days ago, though it seemed like years now. That is where it all began, with this map and its fragile paper which could disintegrate on touch. 

The difference was they had been ecstatic then, not miserable. They were in their warm houses, sitting comfortably on couches, not lost in a dense dangerous forest. 

She could still remember how Jim had grinned as he said “Do you realize we have a map? An old old treasure map?” And how she had desperately tried but failed to read the faded bold black letters on it. She could recall Drake’s excited voice explaining how he found it in his grandfather’s Victorian era bungalow and how this was exactly like a movie which is why they should make a fun trip out of this whole thing to look back on. 

Fun? Ha! Right! 

But that was the past now. This was the present and it was not looking good for them. 

She wished that Drake had never found the map. What had started out as a silly quest had turned too real, too fast. They had never expected to find any treasure but the signs could not be ignored now. The compass, the survival kit and the secret cabin, everything had been exactly where the map had promised. And so had the forest. The forest. It had been intimidating from the first glance. The tall trees condescendingly looked down on them. She could swear she had seen almost every plant that grew there under the poisonous shrubs section of her camping book. The deeper they went, the denser the canopy grew. By now, they were unable to tell the difference between night and day for the sun could not filter through, however hard it fought. Ironically, the trees, which were almost intertwined together, seemed to suffocate them. Sinister dark vines snaked throughout their path. Following them. Mocking their foolishness. 

It was not that they hadn’t tried to return, it was that they were too invested now. Then there was the small technicality of being hopelessly lost.

 The only thing they had going for them was the unusual absence of wild animals or any animals in general. It was strange but then again so we’re a lot of things right then. The last few days had already been challenging enough. Everyday they walked. That’s all they did. They walked and walked until they found food, water and shelter to sustain them for the day. 

“Where to now?” Drake blurted tersely 

“If only i knew that” she murmured 

“Where is Jim?”

“Over here” called a voice and Jim came into sight worn and frustrated.

“What kind of sick joke is this? We cannot return home. We cannot find the treasure. We cannot find sustenance. And do not even get me started on the treasure. Treasure. Treasure. Treasure. This godforsaken treasure-” he began, completely snapping. 

“Stop talking for a moment” she said, a crazy thought blooming in her mind, “Who ever said it was a treasure?”

“What?”

“Who ever said it was a treasure?” she repeated slower “There is no evidence to indicate anything of that sort. We just… we just assumed.”

“So you are now telling me there is no treasure? Then why, pray tell, was the map made in the first place? As an elaborate prank? To simply tire out random unfortunate people who happened upon it for no reason? Do you hear yourself right now?” Jim muttered, breathless. 

She shot him a sharp look. He made it sound like she was hallucinating. She wasn’t. She knew she wasn’t. They had to be missing something. Right? She leaned closer into the map, squinting.

 “No. Not a prank.” she said the gears turning furiously in her head. She felt a twinge of hope but it was replaced by dread seconds later. The black mark which had been brushed off as a smudge long ago now began to take shape before her eyes. A head. No. Heads. A tail. With spikes. She held up the map. Her eyes flitted from the paper to her surroundings. If it was what she thought it was, they were too deep into the forest to escape now. If the stories Drake’s mother had told them as children were true……the stories they had dismissed as freaky Halloween tales….

“Revenge” she breathed, stumbling back. 

As if on cue, a chilling roar tore through the night air.