Chapter - III

Automatically her hand came over her face and she flurried up and sat on her bed, gasping, inhaling more air. The look of horror was written all over her face. she tried to calm herself down and digested the fact that it was all just a dream. 

Her phone beeped and pulled her out of the bed and nightmare. She held her face in her palms and sighed deeply in front of the bathroom mirror. The first thing she did, was to put her grey color contacts on and then wash her face. 

The purple hair woman saw her friend cum colleague barged out in black tank top and khaki cargo pants same as Her's. She studied her for a brief second and saw the dark hairline. It had been 6 months since we've been working together, and she didn't notice that she likes to dye her hair grey. 

"That's unusual eccentric vibes coming out from you, today." The purple hair teased. 

"Not in a mood for this" she retorted and continued combing her hair. 

"Is that a birthmark?" Purple hair getting on her nerves, she invaded her personal space and tried to remove her grey hair to get a better look.

 "Lou, what are you doing?" She got too annoyed now, she backed away from her and glared. 

"Take it easy girl, we have a long day ahead." She smiled cheekily and got deadly glares in return. But Lou didn't stop just here "What?! All we do is dig into the past; can't this woman enjoy present with her only friend?" 

She finished with a shrug. "Never have I ever lived in so much excitement and drama than while on an archaeological excavation…. A far-off land and nothing but good food, good time and the promise for the discovery." She explained. 

"And getting obsessed with obscure things" Lou added. 

Her phone beeped again, shifting her focus to open the message only to see the message for field survey and suddenly they both realized they were in big trouble for being late. It was the beginning of a new research project and they needed to be on the campsite before night. 

"Swiss army knife, trowel, water bottle, log book to write your daily findings, photocard, video camera, pencil, tape-measure, sharpies, twine- for mapping up their trenches, brushes, dental tools, tweezers, she-wee, toilet papers, sunscreen, bugs spray, wet tissues, first aid, sanitizers, painkillers, protein bars, nuts (dry fruits), hydration packs, protein powder, lotion, lip balm, wrist/ankle braces, a quick dry towel, sleeping bags, yoga matt, swimming suit, sunglasses, head lamp. Power banks, an adapter, tactical leg bag and shoulder bag, some pair of clothes, your computer, and plastic guarding to protect electronic items and a raincoat, is that all?" white hair asked Lou. 

"I'm intrigued, we all are intrigued. We all want to know about those people, that's why we are all here and do you hear the stories, the proposed dwelling is out of keeping with those nearby." She heard and glanced at Lou seeing some video on her phone.

"Lou, are you even serious? we need to leave." She Packed her bag and grabbed her ID's and left. The thud of the door made Lou jump.

"Hey, wait for me" Lou Shrieked at the close door and stop the video in the middle. 

As if touched by an unseen force, Lou's phone awoke, revealing a strange sight. Alas, the video was whisked away into oblivion, and the device shrouded in silence.