Story - Bounty

As my PULSE story basically hit a dead end, I'll be labeling that as a short read. However, I have come up with a new idea for a story. Taking advice from Dashi to keep parts small, I will do my best to do so. This story is inspired by one of my favourite books, 'Scarecrow', by Matthew Reilly. Here is a quick blurb for my story.

'Ex-Military officer Stephen Zurick hasn't fought in the line of fire for over five years.  Resigning from his possition of Lieutenant, Stephen returned home to a lonely life. At that point he wanted adventure again, so Stephen became a treasure hunter.

When searching for the Golden Tiger, hidden deep in the Udayagiri Caves, Stephen is attacked by many armed men. Narrowly escaping the threat, he soon learns the American Government wants him dead for reasons he does not know. So begins a journey of survival, secrecy and betrayal.'

Any text written in ittalics will be a flashback to the days of Stephen's military service. The main plot has been confirmed for me, but I am writting this on the website, so the story won't be finished for a few weeks. I hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter One - Caves

I
The entrance sat there, waiting. Big, open, dark. But he had all the equipment he needed. He pulled a flashlight out of his backpack and entered. Stepping carefully over rubble, he made his way deeper, until he fell over, hitting the ground hard. It was at this point he decided to turn the flashlight on. He continued on. Rats ran past him, squealing. He ignored them. He came to an opening in the ground. He knelt down, and picked up a stone lying next to him. He effortlessly threw the stone into the air, where it slowly met gravity and tumbled down below. A loud'Clunk' echoed through the cave. However deep it was, there were bound to be rocks at the bottom.

II
It didn't sound like a deep fall, but he wasn't taking any chances. He pulled a flare out of his backpack, lit it and dropped it down the hole. He saw it hit the bottom. It was about a 10 metre drop. He could avoid breaking any bones if he landed the fall correctly. With a sigh, he dropped down the hole, performing a roll when he landed. He stared ahead into the massive cavern, partially lit by his flare. After gazing in wonder, he rose to his feet and turned off his flashlight. He picked up his flare and continued on, using it to guide his way. Stepping over dirt and rock, he saw a reflection in the corner of his eye. He snapped his head in that direction, and saw something glisten. He slowly approached, as he began to see a chest of gold.

III
He stood over it, staring in awe. He ran his hand over the top, swiping away dust, to reveal magnificent Indian artwork dating back as far as 500 BC. He moved his hand to the big handles on the side of the lid, but he hesitated. "There is no way this has sat here for two thousand years without some sort of trap." he said to himself. At this point his flare extinguished, and he lit another. He glanced around, checking for any kind of trap. He found a variety of holes in the wall. He studied them closely, and came to the conclusion that they were designed to shoot something. He moved back to the chest, searching for any other traps, finding none. He stared at the holes, and slowly lowered himself to the floor without taking his eyes off the holes. When he reached a prone, he noticed the holes don't fire at that point.

IV
He retrieved a rope from his backpack, and tied it to the opposite handle of the chest. He then got back into the prone possition, and used one arm to lift the handle, and the other to pull the rope. As soon as air escaped the chest, darts were whizzing past his head. He froze in possition until the darts stopped firing. Not taking any chances, he stayed on the ground and pulled the lid to side of the chest, and it fell into the dirt, sending dust into the air. His flare burned out, and rather than pull out another, he simply turned his flashlight back on. He stood up, and looked into the chest. A magnificent golden beast looked up at him in anger. The Golden Tiger.

That's enough for tonigjt. I'll continue writing more of the story later.