To be honest I don’t even know how things ended up this way. Me, the famous Carlton Isaac Anderson, archaeologist extraordinaire, was hiding from a Kijo’s curse. I guess it had all started when I found this obscure map in an underground trench, of sorts, in Cairo. Now I was a little rusty on my Egyptian, so I took it to a good friend of mine. Her name was Darla Cunningham. She had been my friend for many years. We had done many excavations back when I first became an archaeologist.

When I took it to her she said that it was the map to a lost city. Apparently it was called Suna No Tochi, meaning Land of Sand, and, strangely enough, on the Japanese island of Nagasaki. Never the less, I thanked Darla and practically sprinted to get to my car. I mean, it’s not every day you get to go find a lost city! It took me about a month to gain enough money to get a plane ticket, but when I finally did I was I was practically bouncing off the walls with joy! That night I couldn’t sleep. I just had too much on my mind.

In the morning I had gotten ready and was out the door to get to my plane. It was about a 13 hour flight so it was a little after midnight when we landed. As I got off the plane I went to get my bags and rental car. As I got into the car I stopped and looked at the small bag I had counselled the map in. With shaky hands I opened the bag, and sure enough the map was still there. I released a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. “I’m just being paranoid.” I said to myself.

When I made it to the designated location I started setting up my camp. It was just me out here but I got everything set and ready by 2 AM. That’s when I went to the tent and took my rest. When I awoke I got the dig site all prepared and got the pick ax. With one blow I cracked a good portion of the hard rock beneath my feet. After the second hit the earth started to shake, causing me to fall on my back. When I opened my eyes I was in an obscure tunnel. The light streaming through the cracks in the wall allowed me to see at least a good two inches in front me.

I took out the match box I had in my tool belt. Once I had lit it I tried looking around to see if one of the stakes had fallen down with me. Luckily, one did. Lighting it I walked down the path ahead of me, seeing as though I had no other choices. In the shadows I could just make out the outline of a door. I picked up speed. On the door was an obscure message. It was in Japanese, which I was quite good at reading. It said, ‘This is the only way for you to leave. But before you enter you should know of the past.’ The text turned a bright golden color and grew so bright that I had to shield my eyes.

WHen I opened my eyes I was in an open field. There was a stream that was as clear as glass. It had beautiful koi fish swimming in it. When I turned my head I saw a massive temple. It seemed to be made of pure gold and shimmered in the light. I went to investigate this new world and neared the temple. Once I was at it’s doors a young women ran out and went right through me, literally. I touched my chest. It seemed solid. “People can’t touch nor hear you in here. For this just a memory.” said a voice. I turned to see who it was, but there was no one there to see. “Stop her!” a man yelled.  I shuttered. He went right through me too.

They went running down an ally. “Follow them.” the voice said. A force pushed me towards the direction the girl and man had ran in. So I started running. I caught up to them at a fork in the road. The girl was up against a wall in a ball. The man from earlier and then some other men were surrounding her. I was about to go and try to help her, but a hand grasped my shoulder, stopping me. “Just watch.” I obeyed and just stood there watching the scene play out.

“You, Kori Kogo, are to be brought to the emperor for the use of dark magic. Do you deny the claim of your use of the dark arts?” The man holding a cloth like looking piece of paper said. “No.” she said. Her quiet sobs turned to hysterical laughter. She slowly rose, her hair covering her face. She was soon floating off the ground. She flung her head back to reveal that her eyes were glowing white. Suddenly the sleeves started slashing around, as if they were wips. I stared in disbelief at the women in front of me. She had a huge, psychopathic grin on her face.

Ropes tied the girl up to stop her from killing anyone.As she struggled she yelled, “Make my words! I will come back! You can’t keep me bound forever!” The scene blurred away, and I was back at the door, but this time the paper said, ‘Enter if you wish...’ I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. When I took a few steps in I heard a boom and turned to see that the door was no longer behind me. I gulped and pressed onward. I don’t know how long I had been walking but I soon found myself at a set of doors. One red. The other blue. I stood there staring at the doors.

“I guess I’ll go with the... red one.” I decided. Upon opening it I saw light at the end of it. I hesitantly stepped though. When I turned back that door was gone too. With Shaky legs I kept moving forward. I heard sounds like crying, wailing, and screams, which didn’t help me at all. When I made it to the mouth of the tunnel there was a throne made of dark obsidian on top of a small stone hill. I hand touched my shoulder, causing me to jolt. “Shhh...” it was the same voice from before. “You must get past Kori and never return to this land. Don’t get caught or she will kill you. Good luck.”

I slowly made my way to the other side of the hill, only to see a dark, misty figure. I froze, but it was too late I had been spotted. “Welcome.” The dark witch said, standing. “Oh isn’t this a pleasant surprise? We never get visitors anymore.” I gulped. “We?” I questioned. She only smiled and snapped her fingers. The screams turned to hisses and howls. Out of the shadows came deformed creatures that seemed to have come from the depths of Tartarus.

Kori walked down the hill and started to pet one of the monsters. “My pets and I of course. Why, they haven’t had a suitable meal in, well, who knows when.” Her smile broadened when she said, “So I think I’ll be kind and give you a 10 second head start, hm?” I nodded as I sprinted off to hide. So now, here I find myself hiding in a crat. But one has to think. Who was that voice? Why did I have to find that obscure map? I guess I’ll never know. But I do know one thing. To get out of this I’ll need a miracle and then some. Oh God, help me!