by Ian Brunner
April 10th, 2012
3 PM
We have finally reached the stars, as we cautiously began the descent to the bottom the stairs began to crumble. At the bottom a huge stone door sat there covered in dust that had not been disturbed since before the Mayans had existed, on either side stood two statues of Quatzequatel. More glyphs were carved in the door waiting for Mark to translate them and he has become quite adept at it translating these in only a few hours as opposed to days. As we shone the light on the glyphs Mark translated them, it was slow going but after hours of work the glyphs told the tale of Rexroi the greatest of all the Antiquus Native’s emperors. The Antiquus worshipped Rexroi as Quatzequatel in human form. Years before his death they created this pyramid as an act of love for him so that nobody would disturb their God’s rest. Inside this door was his final resting place filled with treasures and riches beyond imagining. The Antiquus shamans laid a curse on this tomb, whoever disturbs the rest of Rexroi will be cursed, whoever removes treasure from this sepulcher will be tormented until their death by the God Quatzequatel itself, the curse was very vague as to what the torments shall be. But there is no such thing as curses so together Mark and I leaned on the door pushing it slowly inch by inch until finally there was a gap big enough for us to fit through. Inside we were confounded by the sight of so many precious gems, rubies, gold, diamonds of all shapes and size littered the room waste deep on us, In the center a sarcophagi lay incased in gold. Mark and I plan to stay and study the tomb for a couple of days, then return with a full archeological team as soon as possible.
John Hatro
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April 12th, 2012
12 AM
Today is the day we return to Flores, we have studied the burial chamber in depth and can do more with the resources we have available to us. The riches in this room cannot be described by mere words but I must attempt to paint of a picture of one thing, on the far side of the burial chamber for the door sits an altar that holds the largest most perfect diamond I have ever seen. Looking at it seems to cast a spell over me and I have an urge to grab hold of it, Mark has stopped me a few times from doing this, as we do not want to damage anything accidentally. It almost seems as if a soft blue hue emanates from the diamond and sometimes when it is quiet it seems as if you can hear voices, a strange ancient tongue that has not been spoken ever in the modern world, but they seem to be yelling as if they do not want us here. It is just my mind playing tricks on me after reading about the curse. But it is time to leave we will return soon to study everything more thoroughly.
John Hatro
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April 12, 2012
1 AM
The dream has come true, I have done the horrible deed, as Mark and I prepared to leave he bent over to pick up his pack I looked at the diamond one last time, I swear I heard voices warning us to leave. Just as in my dream greed overtook me and I struck him with the scepter, what I have done cannot be undone so I must compose myself and make the most of it. Nobody but the guide knows we were here and he has long since returned to Flores. So I have packed up the majority of the treasures including the diamond and plan to sell them and use the money to support my family, give them the life they deserve.
John Hatro
April 25th, 2012
11 AM
I have just arrived back home; I greeted my wife and daughter as I normally would. They need not know of the sordid act I had committed. I at once set upon selling the riches I had acquired to a seedy black-market dealer, it was distasteful but at least my family can now live as they deserve, I decided to keep the diamond though, I do not seem to be able to let go of it. I told my wife that a wealthy relative of mine had left us a large sum of money and that was the end of it. We moved into a large manor house in Los Angeles and life continued on as normal. My daughter can now take her pick of colleges and my wife need not worry about her budget, life is better for us now.
John Hatro
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May 5th, 2012
5 AM
I must be feeling guilty, what happened last night must have been a dream. As I sat in my study last night I was reflecting on what had happened and feeling slightly guilty, not guilty enough to confess what had happened but just mourning the loss of Mark I am not without remorse. As I sat thinking I heard Marks voice questioning me as to why I did what I did, it was unceasing and went on for hours until finally just an hour ago it stopped. I awoke in my chair in the study; it must have been a dream. I must not let my murder of Mark haunt me or I may betray my secret accidentally then it will all have been for naught.
John Hatro
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May 10th, 2012
5 AM
I hear Marks voice every night, and every night it becomes worse. I always awake in my chair feeling exhausted, dripping in sweat, the voice always begins my questioning me as to why I killed him and when I can give no suitable answer other than greed it begins to describe the terrible things the curse will do to my family, Quatzequatel plans to feed upon my families still beating hearts, but it is just a dream, it is just guilt I am feeling causing me to have these terrible dreams. Tomorrow I shall purchase some medicine that will help me sleep through the night, hopefully that will solve my problem.
John Hatro
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May 13th, 2012
1 AM
The medicine I purchased has done nothing to help, I must look like a nervous wreck to the world jumping at every sound I hear. Maybe seeing a psychologist will help, of course I cannot tell them what is actually on mind but it may be of some help anyways.
John Hatro
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May 15th, 2012
5 AM
The room smells of smoke, my arms and legs are bruised where the spirits of the Antiquus grabbed me, I can still smell the smoke from the fires lit outside the house. When I looked out the window in my dream the lawn was filled with hundreds of Antiquus all of them preparing a sacrificial ceremony to perform upon my family and I. I awoke in my chair as usual but everything that I saw had really happened, these are no dreams my family is in terrible danger and its all my fault. Tomorrow Mark said would be the day my family is sacrificed to Quatzequatel, the curse is real, and there is only one thing I can think of that will help my family, it is rather distasteful but I it is my only choice and a far better one that having my family sacrificed to a God.
John Hatro
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May 15nd, 2012
3 PM
I awoke just as the shaman was plunging the knife into my chest ready to offer my beating heart to their God. There is a cut on chest where I the knife touched me before I awoke. I cannot let this happen to my family there is only one solution and though it pains me it a better alternative than letting them be sacrificed. I have mailed the diamond to the local museum and purchased a revolver. I plan to call my daughter and wife into my study and shoot them both, then myself, if this journal is found return the diamond to the pyramid, if you do not then God help whoever possesses the diamond.
John Hatro
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Excerpt from a Los Angeles newspaper
Gunshots were reported from the residence of the Hatro family around 3 PM on May 15th, when authorities arrived they found the entire family dead in the study with a single bullet wound on each of there heads. Autopsy shows that John Hatro, the father, killed his wife, child and then himself. On his desk a journal was found which leads the authorities to believe he thought he was cursed and went mad, killing his family and himself to protect them from an even worse fate. The journal tells of an archeol
ogical expedition to the Yucatan peninsula and the discovery of a new culture, greed overcame John and he murdered his friend and took claim to the treasures discovered. The guilt and the idea of a curse subconsciously drove him mad, inside the journal John wrote of Mayan ghosts lighting fires in his yard and the only unexplained part of the story is the existence of ash in the yard, but not a single neighbor noticed a fire or smelt smoke.
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