Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Jade was awakened by the loud chirping of morning birds. A ray of sunshine escaped from the slightly opened tent, making her realized what time it was. She yawned lazily while glancing at the empty sleeping bag beside her.

"Oh Lord!" she quickly grabbed her wristwatch under the pillow to check the time.

It was nine in the morning.

She was filled with panic as she rushed to prepare. She went out of the tent to use the improvised bathroom when she saw Rachelle outside, in a relax mood, drinking her morning coffee in a flower designed mug, while reading a pile of scientific research papers.

So much for a good morning.

"Hi," Rachelle greeted with a half-smile, as she put down the article she had been reading. "Coffee?"

Jade shook her head.

"Where's everyone?" She didn't bother to greet her.

"Checking the volcano. They left early in the morning."

"And no one bothered to wake me up?" Jade felt upset. Not even Kitty whom she thought would be her work friend.

She was right. She shouldn't trust anyone.

Rachelle shrugged, "You're supposed to wake up on your own. Don't you have an alarm clock? Besides, Dave used a whistle to alert everyone. Didn't you hear it?"

"But if you really want me to be involved in this project you could have woken me up, right? Or splash me some water. I don't mind," Jade was furious, "Not even Kitty tried to check on me so I could come too. I guess I just have to go there on my own."

"She tried," Rachelle explained. "She wanted to go back to your tent when she noticed that you were not present during the assembly. But I told her not to."

Jade eyebrows furrowed.

"Come on, Jade, we're going somewhere more exciting, trust me," Rachelle said in a cajoling voice.

"What did Dave say?"

"Nothing. I told him I needed someone to go with me in setting up the monitors in the other side of the volcano. "

Still doubtful, Jade sat in the empty camping chair in front of Rachelle, " You just put me in a difficult situation. The rest would surely think I'm getting special treatment just because I'm related to you."

"Would you want to work with me or with Dave?"

"It's like making me choose between the devil and the deep blue sea," she snorted.

Rachelle giggled, "I'm not gonna ask you which one is the devil, but you have no choice but to work with me now."

"I'm afraid so."

"Get your things. We need to leave," Rachelle stood up, taking her empty coffee mug.

Jade unwillingly went back to her tent and when she came out, an old bag pack was already on her back. Rachelle came back too with a big camouflage bag pack and two black gym bags.

"Ready?" she asked Jade who nodded.

.

Not long after, the two were heading to the narrow trail going to the east side of the volcano.

Jade saw Rachelle having a hard time balancing the two gym bags, but she could care less.

The sooner they get to their destination, the sooner she could get rid of her.

After about half an hour of walking, they finally reached the foot of the volcano. Jade couldn't help marvelling the sight of the majestic vent in front of her. Mt. Aria is one of the highest volcanoes in the country.

Rachelle sat on a rock, obviously winded from the long journey. She took a huge gulp from her cooler and Jade did the same with her water bottle.

"So," she demanded. "What are we gonna' do now?"

As a response, Jade saw her took out an old piece of paper, neatly rolled from her bag pack.

"What's that?" Jade asked, with sudden interest as Rachelle rolled it open. It was a map.

"It was dad's," Rachelle replied as she examined the map thoughtfully. "It was the only remembrance I had of him."

Jade stared at the map. She had never seen it before. There was a huge drawing of Mt.Aria and it was obvious that the map was inspired by the Sierra Madre region.

The map of Aria

It rang a bell her and her mind wandered in the past. Back when she was a little girl.

"Dad loves writing adventure stories," she said. "It might be one of the maps from his novels. We used to play treasure hunting too where he would make a map and I would find hidden things based on his map drawings."

Rachelle shook her head, "It says in the back, the lost animal kingdom. Do you know anything about it? I feel like there's a secret message behind this map. Like there's something waiting to be discovered. I always believe you will be a great addition to our team, but I have to be honest, one of the reasons why I tried to bring you in was to get some answers from you. Maybe dad told you something about it."

Despite Rachelle's serious expression, Jade burst out laughing.

"You've got to be kidding me. I just came here for that stupid map?" Jade exclaimed as if she couldn't believe it. "If you only knew what other stories Dad had made up just to entertain himself."

"How would I know? I haven't seen him in a very long time."

Jade got quiet.

"Do you think dad is still out there?" Rachelle asked softly as if she's talking to herself while playing a small heart-shaped rock she picked up somewhere. "I don't know," Jade replied.

They were quiet for a moment.

"I now remember how dad came up with that map," Jade broke the silence. "It was probably from his story about the lost animals and the mad scientist. There was a rich scientist who used to own a zoo that was on a verge of bankruptcy. He loved his pets so much and thought of them as his family. He wanted them to be able to speak like humans and so he spent his time and resources in conducting experiments. There were two zoologists who were working with him at that time and thought he was just a mad lunatic who was obsessed with being a great scientist. But they were surprised one day when a rabbit started talking. One of the zoologists told another scientist friend that he could help him steal the animals and claim the experiment as his own in exchange of a huge sum of money. The other zoologist heard the plan and told their boss who unfortunately was suffering from a mental disorder. The greedy zoologist killed him and made it look like a suicide. He told his colleague that he was going away to inform everyone about the sad news but on his way, he found out from a local that Mt. Aria was going to erupt. He didn't call his colleague as he wanted him to die in the eruption. A bird who could sense if there is a natural disaster coming, alerted the good zoologist. They managed to escape together with the other animals before the volcano erupted. But nobody knew where they went."

Rachelle was listening attentively as Jade finished her story, "so that was the story of dad about the lost animal kingdom. It would've become a bestselling novel if it had the chance to be published."

Rachelle was still quiet.

"Can we start working now?" Jade asked.

Rachelle obviously wanted to hear more but understood that they needed to start surveying the area, gave her a reluctant nodded.

She took out all the instruments they needed and before long, the two were busy working with their research.

Jade tried to keep herself occupied with her task, but she knew her mind was somewhere else. She just couldn't tell Rachelle but for the first time, she saw a connection between his dad's former job as a zoologist and the story of the lost animal kingdom.

She was in the middle of examining a stone when she saw someone approaching. She stood still to see who it was. She couldn't help smiling as the image became clearer.

"Theo!"

"Busy?"

Jade heart skipped as she saw him grinning.

She shook her head, "we were just starting."

Theo looked at the volcano with great admiration. "Isn't it weird how a beautiful picture like this has the tendency to be violent?"

Jade smiled, "Everything becomes ugly when it's mad."

"I saw Dave and rest of the team," Theo said, before making himself sit comfortably on the grass.

"Where did they go?"

He shrugged, "they seemed to be going back to your camp. What are you doing here alone?"

"I'm with Rachelle," Jade replied as she pointed where she was.

Theo smiled as he gazed at the sight of Rachelle.

"Hey, you lived here all your life, right?" suddenly, Jade asked Theo.

"Ever since I was adopted by the native people of Sirit. I go to the city though during school days."

"Have you heard any story about the scientist who used to live here and owned a zoo?" Theo got quiet, thinking for a moment.

"N-No. I haven't heard of it," he shrugged. "Anyway, let's go grab some lunch. My treat. Call Rachelle too."

But Jade has a feeling that he was hiding something.

They didn't have to call her as they saw Rachelle coming from the other side. But she wasn't alone.

Theo's eyebrow furrowed as if he saw it too.

"Quick!" he told Rachelle, who was alerted when Theo grabbed Jade and run.

She followed them to a group of old trees, with thick trunks clustered together and hid. Soon, the newcomers were yards away enough for them to see.

They were soldiers.

Rachelle took out her small telescope.

"N-no," Jade whispered only to be ignored by her.

She slowly put down the telescope. Her reaction could tell that something was wrong. A few minutes later, the soldier was nowhere in sight.

"I guess they were just passing by," Theo said.

Jade stared at him in confusion "But what are they doing here? I thought the people of Sirit have full authority over the land."

"I know," Theo rubbed the side of his temple as if he had a sudden headache because of what he witnessed. "I need to inform the natives about this. I didn't know there were soldiers patrolling this area."

Both looked at Rachelle who was surprisingly quiet.

"Are you okay?" Theo asked but she ignored him.

She turned to her sister.

"Jade, don't tell anyone what you saw."

Jade was alarmed with Rachelle's worried voice.

"Especially Dave."

It was a long, exhausting day.

Jade couldn't remember how they got back from Mt. Aria to the camp, and she had no clear memory on how she managed to stay during supper. Before she knew, it was dark and time for them to sleep.

She was back in her tent again but unlike the previous night, she did not have a hard time falling asleep. In fact, the moment she shut her eyes, she fell into a deep slumber.

But when she thought she was going to have some peace, she was wrong.

In her dreams, she was back in Mt. Aria.

Beside the huge volcanic crater, which was now filled with hot, boiling lava. A few steps away was a lady in red.

She was wearing an elaborate gown, made from delicate fabric, embroidered with exquisite gemstones, like a royal. Her hair was black and shiny, hanged loosely till her waist, adorned with flowers and her hands were neat with a ring made of ruby and white crystals.

She has a beauty Jade has never seen before.

Like an enchanting princess.

She was staring at the murky bubble below.

Then she jumped.