Morning all. Feeling a little tired cause I slept poorly. So while the coffee brews, lets jump into the morning prompt and hope it wakes up the brain. Timers set and off we go.
No clue where this is going but it could be fun. I kind of want to go with an ancient cures more than I want people with guns, but that will be something to figure out later.
Friday, January 31st: Others had beaten them to the site.
Others had beaten them to the site. Kyle swore to himself as he looked over the freshly dug holes in the ground. They were dotted across the landscape making the earth look pockmarked. He took a deep breath and tried to let the anger go. He expected someone would arrive first. That the ancent site was identified was one thing, but when the man who reported it brought in the small gold flecked trinket, he knew the looters were a possibility.
“Let’s survey what we have and inspect the holes,” he told the rest of the team. Many of them were gazing at the disturbed landscape with dismay and anger. He couldn’t blame them. The gold was nice of course, after all who didn’t like to find something shiny. However it was the other artifacts that were actually priceless to history. He tried to console himself with the fact that while looters would have pilfered any gold they found in previous looted sites they had not taken anything that wasn’t shiny.
Kyele moved off to the side as the techs brought out their toys. As much as he didn’t like technology, the drones and their scanners had been an excellent addition. They could survey the area and give him a broader picture than he would other wide have. It was a far cry from the old black and white satellite photos he once had to make due with.
Now he could also see what damage the looters did to the site and plan his dig accordingly. He tried to repeat the positives. It was hard seeing so many holes in the ground.
The techs got to work and Kyle watched the drones lift off. They were operated with skill and precision, his team well accustomed to dealing with it. He left them to it and went to the tent someone set up as their command post. He helped get the tables in place and brought out the maps they already had, prepared to start marking the looters holes on them before they began any digging of their own.
“Um Boss,” he heard someone say. He smiled knowing it was Ralph. Everyone else referred to him as doctor. There was a strange note in Ralph’s voice and as he exited the tent, Kyle found his smile dropping.
“We found something you are going to want to see.”
Kyle walked over to Ralph and looked down at the laptop.
“We were doing the general survey of the area first and we came across this at the southern edge of the northeast quadrant.” Kyle froze as he saw the photos.
“Everyone garb your gear and get back in the vehicles. Leave the tents that are already up.” He called. There was some confusion and they all turned to look at him. “Now,” he ordered. The techs looking at the screen didn’t need to be told why. They landed their drones and got everything loaded quickly. Others, still confused followed their lead and soon their loaded vehicles were bouncing back down the road.
“How long before we get into communications range,” Kyle asked the driver.
“About half an hour,” the driver told him.
Kyle nodded, feeling tense. He knew the others wanted answers. Right now getting them out of the area and contacting the authorities before someone found them in the location was his priority. He stared at the road, glancing periodically to his phone. As soon as he had a single bar of service he would call it in. ‘And please let whoever killed the looters no longer be in the area.’
Ten til Midnight 