Andrew convinced them to press on through the restricted area, even though it was heavily wooded and full of thickets. It was at least passable though, and had the benefit of enough brush to keep them out of sight from any guards. The mountainside soon took them away from the mining facility, and into the outer jungle. Not really sure where their destination was, as long as they followed the rocky outcrop, they could find their way back. Eventually they came upon an abandoned mine shaft. It looked old - like 60 years old. This was not part of the newer mining operation they encountered earlier. Andrew looked at the others, “Well, we came here for adventure guys. Let’s see what’s inside.” The others agreed, and so into the darkness they went – with flashlights of course – they’re not that stupid – OK maybe they are. In real life they would die, barely making the news.
The shaft was pitch black. Luckily they had some cheap light beacons which they would leave periodically so they could find their way out. They didn’t get very far in before Sandra found something exciting. “Guys! Look at this!”
Daniel couldn’t believe it. “It looks like… Aztec hieroglyphs?” Carved into the rock wall were ancient depictions.
Andrew observed, “Not the Aztecs. And it's a full blown writing system...”
"You can tell?"
"I can kinda get the gist of it... this place was only for the ancient priest class. Probably, more restricted back then than it is now with those stupid guards. This is where they performed certain magic rituals."
Daniel thought to himself this is why most people called Andrew a nerd. He was always studying some weird occult shit, but Daniel kept him as a friend anyway. Daniel said, "That's amazing dude. Now I see why you were interested in this place."
Sandra got out her camera and started snapping pictures. “This is exactly the sort of thing, I could write my AP History thesis on! I’m going to have the best paper of all!” With glee, she eagerly took pictures of every inch of the hallway. Later, she would be really disappointed when they reminded her publishing a paper on a government secret was probably the dumbest idea possible.
Andrew turned to Daniel, “Well, this ought to be an awesome space to spend the night. Let’s find a place to set up camp. They took a turn back to the regular mine shaft and went to the large opening they passed. It had plenty of space for camp and wasn’t far from the entrance.
They set up their tents and a campfire. As the sun fell, they relaxed by the flames, and joked about Sandra and Daniel's relationship. It has been a rocky history between the two, but now they had come to a stable commitment. The laughter died down and Andrew suddenly became serious. "I've wanted to get away from it all a long time now. You guys ever just want to quit your old life and start over?" Sandra smiled, confused, "Um, no not really...". Daniel quickly tried to make it not awkward. "I understand man, just getting away from high school was pure freedom. Now we get to hang out another three years at uni! Maybe longer if we can swing it, yeah?" Andrew laughed half-heartedly, "Yeah... We did have a lot of fun this last year..."
They had a good time eating and joking by the fire. Sandra talked about her PhD - or whatever. They didn't really listen to that. The night started to drag on however, and soon they were asleep. Until Daniel awoke to find Andrew was gone. It was 4 AM. He walked outside the tent. It was pitch dark. "Andrew?" He asked aloud. No answer. He fumbles for his flashlight, then scans the bushes.
Sandra awakens groggily. "Daniel, what are you doing?"
Not wanting to panic her, "Uh, looking for a snack, uh, the chocolate pudding."
"It's four o'clock in the morning. Why on earth are you looking for chocolate pudding?" She asks.
Annoyed at the situation he retorted sarcastically, "Because I've lost control of my life, dammit."
Indeed. Daniel did not know that his life was about to change forever. Through the darkness Daniel notices a blue light down an unexplored tunnel at the end of the shaft room. He yells, “Andrew? Is that you?” No one answers and Daniel realizes something is amiss. Sandra, wide eyed, exclaims, "Andrew is missing isn't he? Daniel we have to look for him!" He pauses, staring at the faint blue light. I think he might be down there. They started into the darkness, deeper into the tunnel, as the blue light became more visible. Little did they know that Andrew had a lot more planned than just a random adventure.