“Ooh...what all did you find?” Marine asked, looking very interested. “You are the most studious out of all of us and also the most interested in history.”
“Well, I have heard and recorded a lot of tales about the caves and all, but that is a bit of a long story. How about you tell me about home?” Elora instead fired her own question. “How are things back at our old stomping grounds?”
Her eyes literally lit up like a Christmas tree from Hell, as Bram would describe it. There was no way in hell that he was going to say that they were like a real Christmas tree. Nope, the intent behind those blue eyes was definitely horrifying.
“Oh well. Where should I start,” she began. “Hm...yes! I know! Let’s start with myself and Bram. So, one day I come to our apartment to find Bram working on something on his computer. I honestly didn’t know what it was but I was sure that it wasn’t something I was meant to know.”
“Was it porn?” Elora asked bluntly. Bram coughed out, choking in surprise at her question, and Marine giggled. “It was, wasn’t it?”
“No, though I wish it was; it could have been good blackmail.” Marine giggled. “But it was actually a novel that he was writing. It was a cute, fluffy, romance novel.”
“Romance novel? Since when does Bram write? Let alone romance?” Elora asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Bram, who was now heavily blushing. “Wow, you’re really changing huh? I can’t believe it, honestly speaking.”
“H-hey...” Bram tried to protest but, of course, he couldn’t against Elora. Elora just giggled and let the curiosity pass on and instead looked back at Marine again.
“So...I was looking at what he was writing and I found he was actually writing a scene where the guy proposes to the girl to be his girlfriend. I was shocked that he was writing such a good scene,” Marine said, her eyes sparkling. “So I asked him why he acted dense all the time. He replied that he was not dense and understood love and romance as much as the next person. My reply was to tell him that he was as dense as a rock, and one thing lead to another before I know it, he’s kissing me.”
“I am pretty sure that there is nothing ‘romantic’ about this,” Elora said dryly. “So you had an argument about how dense Bram is, and then suddenly Bram is kissing you. Is that how your relationship started?”
“Well, that and through a lot of arguments over who is better in chess,” Bram said softly so no one could hear it. Marine was busy giggling with a fond and happy look on her face. And judging by the look that Elora had, despite her reservations, she was happy as well. And that thought really made him worry about his own future that he was dreaming about with Elora. “But that is how our relationship started, yes.”
“Wow that is something,” Elora muttered. “So what do the two of you do now?”
“Oh, I am studying to become a hotel manager, and Bram is currently in his third year in journalism,” Marine replied. “You still in archaeology, huh?”
“Yeah, I am.” Elora smiled slightly. “And I’m a librarian now.”
“That’s so cool! I love books.” Marine almost gushed out and for once Elora was once again reminded of the past when the two of them would play with their toys. But all were old now, really old. “So what did you find out about Chaing Mai?”
“Oh, well, first of all, the lost temples aren’t that lost. It is more like the extremely hidden temples,” Elora said, remembering all that she had written. “And also some really spooky stories. One of the stories I read about the temple was that there were some kids in there who went inside of the temple one day. It was late at night and they were trying to open a door that couldn’t open. So they were going to blast it with explosives, but then rumors started to pop up about how there was a monster inside of the temples as the children came out with scars so deep and grotesque that not even plastic surgery could hide them. One of the children was also driven mad.”
“Wow, that’s hard-core,” Marine whispered. Bram didn’t look concerned. Stories were, after all, stories. “Imagine us going in there.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Elora nodded, snorting. “I don’t believe in all that bull, but it is an intriguing rumor. But you don’t need to worry, you have a hunk of a boyfriend to save you like a knight in shining armor he is.”
Marine smiled and Bram rolled his eyes. He then cuffed Marine on the back of her head to banish any thoughts that weren’t needed in such a situation. Then Marine suddenly looked at Elora, confused.
“By the way,” Marine looked curiously at Elora. “Don’t you have a boyfriend? Or anything of the sort?”
“Nah, no one has yet to catch my eye or heart,” Elora said, looking unsure of herself before adding the next part. “Besides, I don’t think I want to have a boyfriend at the moment.”
“Why not?!” Marine almost whined. “You have to have a boyfriend or something! You can’t be alone! And by god, you’re beautiful!”
“I know, and I get that a lot, trust me,” Elora replied, rolling her eyes. Bram looked uncomfortable again at the thought of someone looking at Elora that way. “But either way, I actually want some peace of mind, like in this vacation, before I get into all that serious relationship and business stuff.”
“Really?” Marine asked. “You’re stressed out?”
“Yes, I am stressed out, I have a lot of pressures: college, my job, everything,” Elora said, taking a deep breath and sighing. “I don’t want to get caught up in all the mess and then end up falling down without being able to get up. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do in the future, as I am unsure of what to do in life at this point, so that is why I want this vacation to be great for me.”
“So you want to find yourself huh?” Bram said, butting in. “Well we’re going to Thailand, there are a lot of things that we can do there, especially with the Chaing Mai temples.”
“Yeah, I am looking forward to that the most.” Elora grinned, falling silent as her mind was now open. She was looking forward to this trip so much!
* * *
They reached their hostel in Thailand late in the evening. All 3 of them were tired but there were a lot of things they needed to do. And luckily one particular problem was sorted out the second they walked into the hotel.
“You look like tourists.” The man was about to get out when he looked at the group of three. Elora and Marine looked at each other strangely, wondering where this guy came from, while Bram was the one that answered.
“Yeah, we are,” Bram replied, looking at the man curiously. “What is it to you?”
“Oh nothing, nothing.” The man raised his hands in a gesture of peace. “I am a tour guide actually, and I can show you all around Thailand if you wish, for a price of course.”
“A tour guide?” Elora asked, interested. It would help them out a lot if they had a tour guide. She didn’t want to just sit around and look on the internet for what they should do and where did they go and all that. She wanted to have a nice and amazing time in the country, not roam around and be lost every single day. “And you’ll lead us around Thailand, and show us the temples of Chaing Mai? The lost temples?”
“Well in a way they aren’t lost, considering we know where they are,” the apparent guide said, shrugging. “But yes, I will do that. I am Kovit by the way. Kovit Kameran.”
“I am Bram Barabu, and this is my friend, Elora James, and my girlfriend Marine.” Bram introduced them all. “And what is your price?”
“As long as it is reasonable and not nothing, I will do it without any complaint. You don’t have to worry about my lodging and all if we go away from here,” Kovit said, looking at the three of them. “Do you want my services?”
“Well, it doesn’t hurt us. Sure, why not?” Bram shrugged. Marine nodded and looked at Elora, who also nodded. “Do you drive?”
“Yes, I drive and I know my way around,” Kovit replied. “So what do you say?”
“We will pay you 1400 Baht a day, is that ok?” Bram replied. Kovit looked on thinking for on
ce but nodded. Besides, 1400 Baht was a really, really steep price. For eight days it would equal to around two hundred and fifty dollars to three hundred dollars and that was a really steep price. But they could pay it. Each one of them could easily fish out one hundred dollars for a nice trip around Thailand without anything to worry about. “Good then. We would like to start with visiting the Hidden Temples.”
“Sure, meet me outside of the hotel at seven tomorrow morning.” Kovit grinned and fished out a business card, giving it to Bram. “This has my number, my office address and other details. I hope I can please all of you.”
For some reason, though, Elora thought that this little ‘tour’ was going to end up than more than just a tour. As she got into her room for the night, they had gotten a little apartment style room with two rooms. Bram and Marine would share a room while Elora got the other. She felt a pang in her heart as she realized she was alone and had no one but didn’t care. Right now, she wanted to sleep for a while and that was it. No one was going to stop her from doing so otherwise, no one at all
* * *
Present Day
And it had been so amazing, the first day that they had spent together, even if it was just going to bed. The fact that the three of them were together after such a long time, he couldn’t believe it. Bram knew things were going to be interesting, especially since now they were older, and better in what they did. But this…this wasn’t what he wanted to happen. This was beyond his worst dreams.
This was a nightmare.
1
12 Hours before the Incident
The next morning definitely wasn’t what either of them were looking forward to, honestly speaking. The entire journey from USA to Thailand had taken a lot out of them and they all had to wake up really early in the morning. None of them wanted to do that, they were on vacation and they weren’t supposed to be up so early in the morning.
“It’s so damn early for this,” Bram muttered as he muffled his face into the side of the main room couch. Marine hummed as she drank another sip of her caffeinated soup, rolling her eyes at the tiredness in his words. Sure, it was tiring considering all the travelling that they had done the previous day. The journey from USA to Thailand didn’t do anything good for their health and already made them more fatigued. Elora knew that she should have insisted to take a days’ rest, but she could wake herself up.
That was why she was in the middle of the living room section of their dorm room, sitting on the ground doing yoga. Her mouth was closed as she was taking her deep breaths and she looked to be truly tired. Still, she didn’t want to cause any interruptions for anyone because it was too early. So instead of waking them up, she sat on the floor and decided to do yoga to wake her mind, body, and soul. It was through years of practice that she found yoga had such a pleasant effect on her body. She really enjoyed it.
“Just drink some caffeinated soup or something.” Marine hummed as she took more sips of her soup, and meanwhile Elora completely ignored the two of them. She needed to get her body charged up for the day of exploring that they were going to do and she wasn’t going to be left behind in the searching of the temples and all of it. “We have a long day ahead of us, if you think about it.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Bram muttered under his breath and shook his head. Elora finally opened her eyes and looked on at her two friends, irritated and extremely tired as well.
“Will the two of you finish your morning rituals quickly? If you have forgotten already, let me remind you that we have to be downstairs at seven this morning for a day of exploring ahead of us,” Elora said, mildly irritated and mostly annoyed. She sighed when the two of them looked blandly at her. “I swear the two of you need to have a healthy lifestyle. When did you sleep?”
“Well we got here at ten, we went too slept at one, or two, I don’t remember,” Marine, as she was the only one awake enough to actually answer of the couple, replied. Elora deadpanned at the two of them and looked at them in disappointment as the two of them only sighed in pity. “Yeah, we know we’re a bit too lackluster when it comes to our life.”
“Yes, yes you are,” Elora heartedly agreed. “Now if you have finally woken up, let’s get the hell out of here. We have an entire day of exploring to do!”
As Elora got her two friends into doing things faster, and quicker, she couldn’t help but think how good of a day it was, but even then she had a strange feeling about the day. A really, really strange feeling.
* * *
As Kovit had promised them, he had been waiting for them outside of the hostel at seven in the morning. He was already wearing quite a dirty outfit, just like an explorer, and even had a hat on as he got ready to go out into the wild and start his exploring. Elora had to admit, she should have been the one with the outfit and not her. Honestly, she should have been the one. But it ended up as being him and it was, really speaking, strange to say the least.
“You are dressed for the occasion, it would seem,” Elora commented as she looked at Kovit. “So what’s the plan for today…uhh…M…Mr. Kovit?”
“Kameron. Call me Kameron,” the guide replied shortly, not saying anything more than that. “And first I will take you for a nice place for breakfast and after we are done, we will go to the temples.”
“So the full day will be spent in the temples, correct?” Elora asked, trying to find out more information about the temples. “What can you tell us about the temples of Chaing Mai?”
“There are a lot of stories on the internet, I am sure that you know about them,” Kameron replied, looking at her sharply. “But there are tales that some of the temples inside of the caves are really, really old and can get you in serious trouble.”
“Is that so?” Elora wondered where Marine and Bram were, they hadn’t come down yet. She had gotten down, ready and quick to move. “Well I hope we don’t get into trouble and are safe.”
“If you follow all that I say, we will be.” Kameron replied, looking at her pointedly. “And if I say to leave something, then you leave something and never bring that topic up again, understand?”
“Yes, yes, I understand.” Rolling her eyes, Elora waited for her two friends to finally show themselves down from where they were holed up above in their hidden little hole. It took them twenty more minutes to come down from their room and both of them still looked dreadfully tired, yet excited to get the day’s adventure started.
“You are late.” Kameron tried to say sternly, but looking at them now, they didn’t look exactly on the healthy side. Or were simply too tired and feeling sleepy to care. It certainly wasn’t what he had in mind, or either of them had in mind, honestly speaking. It was too early for their sleep ridding brains but the next words that Kameron said really did wake them up. “And you look tired, but don’t worry. By the time we are finished with breakfast I am sure that you will wake up almost instantly.”
“Breakfast?” Bram asked, instantly interested. Marine snorted as she realized that he had awoken instantly by his very words and looked really, really interested in what was going on. “Where? And how good is the food?”
“The best food you can find in Thailand,” Kameron replied with an understanding nod. “And it will wake you up and give you the energy you need. And trust me, to explore around the caverns you will need all the energy that you can get.”
Now finally getting into the mood, the group of Elora, Bram, Kameron and finally Marine left the Hostel grounds and followed Kameron behind as he lead them on towards where they were going to have breakfast.
Thailand was a really special country. In fact, it was special because of the fact that instead of using normal roads to travel around, they used bloody boats to go around and it was in one of these boats that Kameron had them moving about.
“We are going to a place called the River Stallion. It has one of the best Thai Breakfast that you can ever eat, especially because how you are tourists, you are not used to Thai Breakfasts, and you will enjoy this, trust me.” Kamero
n said, as if he was actually very, very used to it all. “Now onto breakfast.”
Getting down from the boat and into another, larger boat, Elora looked around and found herself mystified by the sights of the culture that there was to see in Thailand. It was definitely one of a kind, as she would see it. Not anything that she could even hope of looking at in a restaurant in the US. Back home everything was modernized and no restaurant went without a TV or at least a music system. But this simple boat-house had all the things that one would need for a simple nice breakfast, and all that one needed to enjoy their food and not simply eat it.
‘This place is really amazing!’ Thinking about it, Elora was sure she that, had said that out loud, she would have sounded like a fan-girl and that is definitely not what she wanted to be sounded as. The last thing she needed was for everyone to think that she was a geek or a nerd and provided that she could get very geeky or nerdy at times, this was definitely, DEFINITELY not the time to get so. Regardless, the group of four sat down on one of the tables waiting for the breakfast to come in.
As Kameron was handling all the orders and knew the best, he knew exactly what to get for them and had ordered for a Gay-yung and a Potango. It was basically grilled chicken and fried donut, exactly what they needed. A good nice breakfast with some tea/coffee that would perhaps wake them all up.
And the seat that they found also wasn’t completely empty, instead, there was a couple already sitting down on the seat. They were only two and the table was for six so they were allowed to sit down and have some dinner.
“Hello.” The female greeted them. She sounded bubbly and very, very excited. “You look like tourists.”
“We are,” Marine, the one that perhaps resembled her the most when it came to attitude, replied, with a wide, big smile on her face. “We’re here to see Thailand. What about you guys?”
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