The Lost Relic of Valtoria

Chapter Two: Into the Unknown

Ethan had always been a man of action. His entire life had been spent chasing mysteries, uncovering the lost secrets of the past. But this—this was different. This was personal.

By the time he left the café, the sun had dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows over Madrid’s streets. The man in the suit, who never gave his name, had left him with a promise: a private jet would be waiting for him at dawn, ready to take him to their first destination—Peru.

Ethan wasted no time. He had made calls, packed his gear, and reached out to the only two people he trusted with something this big: Lucas Moreno, his tech-savvy best friend, and Dr. Isabelle Hart, an archaeologist with a reputation as fearless as she was brilliant.

Now, standing on the tarmac of a private airstrip just outside Madrid, Ethan watched as a sleek black jet hummed in the moonlight. The cool night air carried the distant sound of engines, and as he approached the plane, he spotted Lucas leaning against the boarding stairs, arms crossed, an amused smirk on his face.

“You know,” Lucas said, pushing off the railing, “when you called me last night and said, ‘Hey, wanna go find a legendary relic that may or may not exist?’ I thought you were joking.”

Ethan grinned. “And yet, here you are.”

Lucas sighed dramatically. “Yeah, well, I figured if you were finally going to get yourself killed, someone needed to be around to upload the footage.”

Before Ethan could respond, footsteps echoed from the other side of the tarmac. A woman in a leather jacket and cargo pants approached, carrying a duffel bag over one shoulder. Isabelle Hart.

“You boys ready for this?” she asked, her piercing green eyes scanning them both.

Ethan nodded. “Wouldn’t have called you if we weren’t.”

She gave him a skeptical look before boarding the plane without another word. Ethan and Lucas followed, and within minutes, they were airborne, leaving Madrid behind and flying into the unknown.

---

Twelve hours later, they landed in a remote airstrip deep in the Peruvian jungle. Heat and humidity pressed against Ethan’s skin the moment he stepped off the plane. The scent of damp earth and vegetation filled the air, and in the distance, the thick jungle stretched as far as the eye could see.

A rugged jeep waited for them at the edge of the runway. A local guide, a man named Rafael, greeted them with a firm handshake.

“You’re sure about this?” Rafael asked, eyeing the group warily. “This part of the jungle is dangerous. Not just because of the terrain, but because you’re not the only ones looking.”

Ethan exchanged a glance with Isabelle and Lucas. “We can handle ourselves,” he assured.

Rafael didn’t seem convinced but gestured for them to get in. “Then let’s go.”

As the jeep rumbled down a dirt road, branches and vines clawed at the sides like grasping fingers. Ethan flipped through his grandfather’s journal, comparing its maps and notes to the ones from the café.

“This symbol,” Isabelle said, pointing to an intricate carving in the journal. “It’s an ancient marker. If we can find something like this in the ruins, we’ll be on the right track.”

Lucas, who had been quiet, finally spoke. “That’s great and all, but does anyone else think it’s weird that these people—whoever they are—are just handing us this information? What if they’re setting us up?”

Ethan sighed. He had thought the same thing. “We stay cautious. If this is a setup, we’ll find out soon enough.”

The jungle thickened as they pressed deeper. The humid air grew heavier, and the sounds of distant howler monkeys echoed through the trees.

Then, without warning, Rafael slammed the brakes.

“What the hell—” Ethan started, but Rafael held up a hand.

“Listen.”

The jungle had gone silent. No birds. No insects. Just an eerie, unnatural stillness.

Then—a rustling sound.

Before anyone could react, something whizzed past Ethan’s ear and embedded itself into the jeep’s dashboard.

An arrow.

“Move!” Rafael shouted.

Gunfire erupted from the trees. The jeep screeched forward as bullets tore through the foliage, splintering wood and kicking up dust. Ethan grabbed his pistol, scanning the trees, but their attackers were ghosts—shadows in the leaves.

“They were waiting for us!” Lucas yelled over the chaos.

“We need cover!” Isabelle shouted.

Rafael swerved the jeep off the path, plowing through dense undergrowth before skidding to a stop near a cluster of ancient stone pillars. Everyone scrambled out, weapons drawn, ducking behind the weathered ruins as bullets rained down.

Ethan peeked out and caught a glimpse of their attackers—mercenaries, dressed in dark tactical gear, their faces obscured. Not locals. Not bandits. Professionals.

“They’re not after our wallets,” Ethan muttered.

“They’re after the relic,” Isabelle said grimly.

Lucas fumbled with his bag, pulling out a drone no bigger than a grapefruit. “Give me a second.” He sent it soaring above the trees, its small camera feeding a live view to his tablet. “There! Three shooters, moving in from the north. Another two circling behind us.”

Ethan’s mind worked fast. “We hold them off here. Lucas, can you jam their comms?”

Lucas nodded, typing rapidly. “Done. They won’t be calling for backup.”

Rafael gritted his teeth. “We won’t last long like this.”

Ethan nodded. They needed to move. Fast.

He spotted an opening in the foliage—a narrow path leading deeper into the ruins. “On my mark, we run.”

A moment of tense silence.

“Go!”

They sprinted, dodging gunfire, diving behind broken pillars and fallen statues. The ruins loomed ahead, their carvings ancient and mysterious. Ethan felt a surge of adrenaline. They were close—he could feel it.

The attackers shouted behind them, their voices frustrated as they lost sight of their prey. The jungle swallowed Ethan and his team whole, hiding them in its vast, untamed depths.

As they ran, Ethan knew one thing for sure.

The Lost Relic of Valtoria was more than just a legend. And they weren’t the only ones willing to kill for it.