Trick Treasure Hunt

• Zachariah Cornelius, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2021

Waking up on another sunny day in my beautiful mansion, I wonder what’s in store for me. Better check my crystal ball.
I get out of bed and reach to the top of my cupboard safe. in it, my crystal ball. I admire its lovely shine of opal in the brilliant sunlight.

Doing this yields an idea of what I should do but strangely, nothing appears. I then do something I have never done before… I toss it in the air.
SMASH!
As the shock hit me whilst staring at the millions of crystal shards blinking brightly in the sunlight, something else caught my eye.
There was a scroll in the middle of what remained of the crystal. I picked up the scroll and opened it.
A map with faded writing.

‘X marks the spot, but only the brave will survive.’

OMG! A treasure map!

I set off with my two best friends, Richard and Jeremy. We leave Sydney, cross the Australian desert to get to Western Australia. The trip would have taken a week but Jeremy had a brilliant idea of borrowing jetpacks.

As we crossed the desert, Richard’s jetpack had a mechanical failure and he crashed. The jetpack was destroyed but Richard survived with two broken ribs. Lucky! For his safety, we left him behind.

We still had 300 km to cross before we reached the spot where the treasure was marked. The heat was beginning to irritate Jeremy and I, but we stayed the course.

Finally, we arrived at the site. There were dead animals everywhere. Sacrifices!
Jeremy decided he didn’t want to continue.
“Oh Jeremy, we’re so close. Can’t you just be brave?” I pleaded.
Jeremy wouldn’t budge, so I pushed on myself. The entrance of the cave looked like a cobra’s head. I hate snakes!
After navigating through twisting paths, I finally arrived in a clearing.
At the centre of the clearing sat a massive chest… with two intertwined snakes on it. It looked like an X.

Mustering up my courage, I opened the chest. A snake!
I jumped back, hastily letting my phobia of snakes get the better of me. After calming myself down, I shone my light closer and the snake did not move or strike.

As the light reflected off its scales, I realised it was a golden snake. An ornamental treasure that was rumoured to be of an ancient god. I was going to famous… again … the world-famous treasure hunter Ethan Jones had found an ancient relic.

As I reached inside the chest to remove the treasure, I heard a shuffling sound from behind me. In my haste to get here, I forgot all about the sacrificed animals outside. Someone was here!
With one hand on the golden serpent, I slowly started to turn around, swinging my torch towards the sound. A pair of glowing yellow eyes were staring at me.
My scream never left my throat because at that very moment, the golden serpent in my hand, moved…