Ancient Artifacts
“How did you know the ghost couldn’t follow us away from the tomb?” Maxime asked as they were driving away from the abandoned mall and back towards her apartment.
“I didn’t.” Akane admitted.
“What do you mean?”
“I had no idea if he could follow us out of that basement. I’m not an expert on ghosts or anything, I was as surprised as you were when he showed up. But I just said it with conviction so the ghost didn’t doubt us.”
“So if you failed to convince him, he might have haunted us for the rest of our lives?” Maxime asked.
Akane just nodded.
“You’re crazy!”
“I never said I wasn’t.” The countryside shot by them as they drove far too fast to be considered safe.
“So what exactly do those boots do?” Maxime asked, changing the subject.”
“A few things, if the book I have is correct. I’ll show you when we get back to your place and we know we’re not being followed.”
Maxime looked out of the windows nervously. “Who would be following us?”
“Who knows,” Akane said, leaning back in the passenger seat. “There are many people interested in these artifacts and as you could see we weren’t the first to try and break open this tomb, so there’s a chance someone was watching us. I wanted to be sure of our safety before trying anything with it.” She smiled. “But I don’t think anyone was watching us and we can’t see anyone else on this road right now so I think we’re safe.”
“I hope you’re right.” Maxime said with a worried look on her face. The countryside quickly made way for the partially abandoned apartment complexes that marked the town that Maxime lived in. After slowing down significantly they eventually drove into the parking lot that they departed from this morning. Before getting out of the car, Maxime paused and asked, “How dangerous is what we did just now?”
“Honestly, besides the chance of it being trapped and someone else lying in wait, not all that dangerous. Of course, it could still get dangerous from here on out once people figure out I’m holding onto a powerful artifact, but all in all this wasn’t too bad.” What I’m planning on doing next is much more dangerous, she thought to herself, not saying it out loud.
“So I shouldn’t be too worried for my safety?”
Akane shook her head. “Not if we part ways here.”
“And if we don’t?”
“That’s a different conversation, perhaps for a different time and location.” She stepped out of the car and Maxime soon followed.
Back in the apartment, they finally relaxed a bit. It didn’t seem like anyone followed them. Akane wasn’t surprised. Although she thought the chance of someone watching that spot wasn’t zero, she also figured that anyone watching it would have likely made it past that trap as well. Unless someone rearmed that explosive trap and then sat there waiting because they couldn’t open the actual tomb, it was likely that the last victim was just on their own. Akane plopped down on the couch and opened up her bag. From it she carefully removed the two boots. Black as the night with a carving of lightning bolts in both of them. She put them down on the little table in front of her and just stared at them. Maxime walked into the room and put down two tall glasses and a bottle of cider. “I need a drink after all of that.” She looked at the boots. “So now what?”
“That’s the big question, isn’t it.” Akane grabbed her book from her bag as well and opened it up where she left her bookmark. “According to this text, these boots will fit whoever wears them and then you will be able to call upon their powers at will.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
“I’m nervous, I don’t know what might happen.”
“So you were fine going into an abandoned tomb to steal these, but now that they’re right in front of you, you’re getting cold feet?”
“I get it, cold feet because they’re boots, very funny.”
“What can I say, I’m a comedian.”
After a few minutes of anxious energy filling the room, Akane finally put the boots on. She carefully put them over her socks and then tied the shoelaces until they fit snugly. The black boots had a soft inside and came up to just under her knees. Despite this, she didn’t feel it being restrictive in any way. She stood up.
“And?” Maxime asked.
“Well, so far nothing is happening.” She took a few steps and besides the shoes feeling very comfortable on her feet, there was nothing special about them.
“Maybe they have a button.” Maxime suggested.
Akane had already inspected the shoes in detail before putting them on and she was fairly confident that there weren’t any mechanical switches or buttons in it. She had assumed that there was magic in the sole and wearing it would somehow activate it. So far there was no sign of this. She clicked her heels together and tapped the ground a few times with her feet, but still nothing seemed to be happening. After a solid thirty minutes of trying and failing different things to get the boots to do anything she eventually sat down with a sigh, defeated. “Well, at least I got some nice new shoes out of it.”
“Are you just going to give up?” Maxime asked.
Akane shook her head. “No, that would be too simple. But I also can’t do anything on my own without proper instruction or someone who knows more about this. So that’s my next step, find someone who can help me figure out what these boots do.”
“And where would you find someone like that?” Maxime asked.
“I have ideas,” Akane said. “But first I need a drink.”
“That I can arrange for you.”
“So tell me Maxime, do you have any big dreams?” They were several drinks in and the successful scavenger hunt in the mall had put Akane in a particularly good mood, made even better by the light buzz she was feeling.
“Well, I don’t think I want to run a pizza in the rundown part of town for the rest of my life, that’s for sure. But I left a lot of big dreams behind me when I became acquainted with harsh reality.” She took another big big gulp from her drink and put down her glass, slouching down on the couch. “Dreams evaporate real fast when the bills come in. Look at this place.”
“It’s cozy,” Akane tried to be positive.
“It is, but it’s not much, is it? No, I didn’t expect to end up in a place like this, but what can you do? There’s people who have it much worse and are sleeping on benches while entire apartment complexes are empty. Some rich fuck bought them up and refuses to let anyone stay in them for whatever reason.” She had an angry look on her face. “It’s not right.”
“I don’t think things were much better in the past.”
Maxime sighed. “You’re right, they weren’t great, but it feels almost spiteful now. What’s the point in hoarding housing in a world like this?”
“I couldn’t tell you.”
“But dreams. Perhaps I want to see more of the world. With more and more news of successful space travel in the news I want to at least see a bunch of our world. Some parts aren’t even touched by disaster all that much.”
Akane smiled. “Just don’t go to the American continent.”
“Or what’s left of it.” Maxime layed down and put her head on Akane’s lap. “And what about you then, is your dream to rob graves below lingerie stores?”
“Ever since I was a little girl,” Akane said.
They both laughed.
“No, I didn’t think I’d be robbing graves below a lingerie store, but I did imagine I’d be researching ancient artifacts. When I was a young girl, I would watch this cartoon on tv. It was a story about a young woman who would go into dangerous places all over the world to find rare and valuable artifacts. She would then collect them for herself and display them on this beautiful wall full of strange things. Of course, she was robbing the people of their culture, but that wall was sure beautiful. With the way the world is now, I don’t think I need to care too much about cultural heritage, but I want to one day look at my wall and be amazed at the stories it tells.” She looked at Maxime. “Is that selfish?”
Maxime nodded. “Of course that’s selfish, but aren’t we all inherently selfish? We do what we want as people and look where that has gotten us. The world is a mess because we let other people be selfish while we obeyed. I remember stories from grandpa about how we would just endure things that we really shouldn’t, to keep things from getting worse. I get it gramps, I really do, but I don’t think it was the right decision. This is what our oppressors did with our goodwill. They ruined the climate, drilled too deep and bankrupted society. Now look at this dystopian mess they’ve left behind with no one taking any responsibility to fix it.”
Akane nodded. “You’re right, it’s a mess. Maybe someone will fix it one day.”
Maxime laughed. It was an intense but beautiful sound to Akane. “Sure someone will, and I’ll follow them to the ends of the earth if they do, but let’s leave dreams for when we go to sleep, this is the real world.”
They talked for another hour about previous jobs, that one time Maxime fell out of a boat on a family vacation and when Akane was grounded for throwing up all over the couch after stealing her dad’s alcohol. Eventually the two of them fell asleep together on the couch, a very new friendship but already a strong one.
The next morning, Akane awoke groggily. She didn’t drink that much but the excitement of the previous day had gotten to her head and she felt her head thumping loudly. It even sounded like someone was yelling at her. After the initial haze of sleepiness left her, she realized that it didn’t just sound like someone was yelling, but there was an argument happening near her. She listened closely and recognized Maxime’s voice.
“I’ll tell you what I’ve told you many times before Daisy, you need to take care of those boys of yours. I don’t care what excuse you’re going to make this time, they’re your responsibility.”
Akane couldn’t quite hear what the other person said in return but it sounded heated as well.
“I understand that D, but they’re trying so hard to get your attention. You realize kids don’t just take your booze from your shelves because they’re perfectly happy at home. For fucks sake woman, they were drinking in the elevator the other day.”
The woman said something, seeming a bit more muted.
“No I didn’t stop them, I’m not their mother. But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry for them.”
More muttering and conversation she couldn’t quite hear until she finally heard the door close. A few moments later Maxime entered the living room, an annoyed look on her face.
“That went well from the sounds of it,” Akane commented.
Maxime let out a deep sigh. “These neighbors are a pain in the ass let me tell you. But they’re good people deep down and that’s what makes it so frustrating. I can’t blame them too much though, they got hit hard by the recession and the disasters and had no choice but to move into this place.” She motioned to the room. “I can’t imagine having to share this place with three others without going insane.”
Akane nodded in agreement. It was far too small for that. “It is what it is.”
Later that day, Akane flagged down the two boys from next door. It wasn’t hard to find them as they were hanging out near the elevator again, seemingly hiding some kind of bottle again. “Boys, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“You’re Max’s new friend right? What do you want?” They immediately seemed to put up a barrier. Understandable, and nothing Akane wasn’t used to.
Akane sat down and tossed them a can of soda. “That stuff’s much better with a chaser.” She noted.
“We don’t know what you mean,” the older of the two boys said.
“You’re Frank right?”
He nodded.
“Not that it’s any of my business, but what do you want to when you’re old enough to get a job?”
“Why are you asking?”
“Curiosity. You remind me of myself when I was younger.” That was a lie. Akane came from a relatively wealthy family and although most of that wealth was long gone by now, she still enjoyed the benefits of growing up with it.
“I don’t really know if I’m honest. My pops says I’m good with metal, so maybe something to do with that.” His shoulders slumped a bit. “Not like there’s many opportunities around here for any labor, so it’s just a distant goal for now.”
“And you?” She looked at the younger boy.
“I want to be a cook.”
“Really, what sort of cook?”
“A really good one, that makes really fancy dishes.”
Akane chuckled. “Well once you get there I expect a free meal,” she said.
The boy looked at her with a grin and said, “I expect you to pay for your food.”
Akane bursted out laughing. “Fair enough, fair enough.” She got up. “Well I hope you get to reach your goals, remember that you can do anything you want if you set your mind to it.”
As she walked away she heard the boys whisper to each other, one of them commenting what a weird lady she was. Akane smiled. She pulled out her phone and called an old friend. “I have someone I’d like you to offer an internship to,” She chuckled. “I don’t care that you don’t know him Stephen, he’s a bright lad needing to get out of a rut and you owe me.”
A few more arguments later and it was settled. Satisfied, Akane made her way back into the apartment where Maxime was watching TV.
Later that day there was a knock on the door. Akane stayed in the living room while Maxime went to check on it. A while later she came back.
“That was D, she said that Frank was offered an internship with a large manufacturer. It seemed to come completely out of nowhere.”
“Good for him,” Akane said. “Maybe it’ll help them get on track a bit.”
Maxime’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”
Akane shrugged. “Just a phone call is all, not much. It’s up to the kid to prove himself. Stephen won’t tolerate a slacker.”
“You did that for a total stranger?”
“It’s not much.”
“Thank you either way.”
Akane changed the subject. “What about you? Do you want to stay working here in a pizza place?”
“I was hoping you needed a ride to your next destination.” Maxime grinned.
“Well, I wouldn’t mind a bit of company.”
“What’s your next destination?”
“The London museum. There’s a certain exhibit coming up that I’m interested in and there’s a certain archaeologist whose brain I’d love to pick at.”
“Well, when do you want to leave?”
Opal Kaharis 