Behind the bushes, the owner of a pair of binoculars found his way through the overgrown shrubs. Muddy footsteps soon followed as dirt from the shoes of an archaeologist trudged around the terrain.

Dr. Chad Westcott and his colleague, Dr. Hector Sanchez traveled for days on end, to search for the lost city of Tribeca, hoping to discover new artifacts in the newly opened area. Years before, earlier explorers found the undiscovered land and excavated the site. But they were told to stop digging after the Arrowhead Pines Association that looked over the land warned them that the ancient burial ground could no longer be touched.

But now that it's been ten years since that incident, the Association contacted the Aegis School of Research to continue their excavation. And that's where both eager educators, Dr. Westcott and Dr. Sanchez chimed in.

- - - -

Following an old map the two men found in the museum of Thames, their scavenger hunt led them to a newly burnt forest.

"Are you sure we are on the right path, Hector? All I see from here are burned trees. Who in their right minds would burn such an isolated place?"asked Dr. Westcott as he scratched his scruffy goatee.

To answer his question, his partner in crime unfolded the map again. The two men brought a GPS and a compass along as well, but they knew that where they were headed might not support the technological sound waves for the latest gadgets.

"No, I'm sure we are on the right route as the original explorers did, Chad. Let me unfold this map to make sure."

With the now rolled-up piece of paper pressed upon a rock, Sanchez placed his finger upon it, and retraced their previous steps.

"Okay, let's start from where we left our parachutes. Once the pilot dropped us off in the Redwoods, we walked for about a mile to Orange Grove. I know we were there since we saw trees that grew orange flowers. After that, we walked toward these bushes that we just passed. And as you can see here, X marks the spot where the lost city of Tribeca should be standing. But, you are right, it's like someone just burned this place to the ground. What a loss!" Dr. Sanchez shook his head as he borrowed the binoculars from Dr. Westcott.

"Do you see anything Hector, that can tell us this was once the home of the Tribeca people? I mean that map you're holding should have a legend like buildings and so forth."

"I'm afraid not. But ..." 

Pausing his sentence, Dr. Sanchez handlebar mustache twitched. He couldn't believe his eyes. Beyond the burnt trees, spherical cubes glowed in a blazing orange color as if the mysterious glow itself protected the small areas from the fire.

Seeing his colleague aghast, Dr. Westcott snatched the binoculars from him and focused his sights on what Dr. Sanchez saw.

He too couldn't figure out what to say.

Dr. Westcott knew it was possible that the Arrowhead Pines Association might have something to do with this flare up. And within the faint distance, he caught a shadowy figure running for his life. Or was that just his imagination running away with him?

Using the picture above as a prompt, I wrote a short story about an archaeological dig gone wrong. Word count is around 537 words