Story

It all started on that cursed day, Santi’s birthday and the beginning of Spring. We had always felt something eerie and strange on this day, but we never paid it much attention, writing it off as the residual effects of the hangover filtering through from the day before. Daniel, Violet and Henrik had traveled all the way to Mexico for the occasion, hoping to soak up some sun and tacos in the process. The party had started and we were all having a great time, aided and abetted by ungodly amounts of Mezcal. Suddenly we were approached by an old family friend, a worn and rugged elderly man, looking rather disorientated and scruffy with unkempt hair and dirty clothes. He spoke incoherently at first, rambling on about some of the local sightseeing locations that we needed to visit for inspiration. Being something of a veteran tour guide from his days of youth, he offered us his services as a personal escort through the jungle. Before the end of the party he came back with a small delicacy for us to try - a tiny piece of cactus that apparently possessed cleansing properties. We all needed a bit of cleansing we declared and happily consumed the offering.

We awoke in the jungle on what we assumed was the morning after the night’s party and we each had our bags with us including cameras, phones, clothes and sketch book and absolutely no recollection of having packed these items! We approached the guide and asked him what had happened but he simply replied “Welcome to The Lacandon” before making his way into the jungle. There was a pervasive sense of apprehension and bewilderment amongst the group yet despite this we gathered our belongs and began to follow our guide.

The days began to pass, blurring into a never-ending hike that was broken only to stop for water. The heat and humidity clung to us along with a sense of apprehension and fear of the unknown that actually began to invigorate the group and fill us with endless inspiration and motivation. In time we arrived at a location by the river, overgrown with red mangroves and a pungent odour of stagnant water that combined forces with the sweat and body-heat to invade our nostrils and refuse to leave. Suddenly and without warning we felt the ground shaking and shifting beneath our feet and the river began to violently bubble with some preternatural energy. Our instinct was to run, however an overwhelming combination of fear and overriding curiosity immobilized each and every one of us. Unblinking and our mouths agape we watched dumfounded as a totem began to rise from the thrashing water of the river. It was as majestic as it was terrifying with discs of different shapes and colours levitating around a skull head piece as distorted faces and expressions writhed and rippled throughout the main body.

We turned to our guide with an avalanche of questions that he had no answers to declaring that he had never seen or heard of the totem before however he did offer that he recognised the symbols and artistic designs as Aztec in origin and at that point Violet's eyes lit up in that mischievous expression we have all come to know, and dread… "How would you guys like to be famous…?" she whispered.

We each turned towards her as Violet proceeded to explain about her good friend Nani who was apparently working at the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City and after some discussion the group agreed on bringing the artifact back to civilization and to the Museum for investigation. The totem was heavy and we were going to have to leave a lot of our equipment there by the river in order for the group to haul the piece however we at least had a weight lifting enthusiast in the impressive form of Daniel and despite his complaints and our collective guilt he was able to carry the bulk of the weight.

The return journey was arduous and slow going but we finally got the mysterious totem wrapped and securely stored Nani's flat in Mexico City before returning to the jungle to retrieve our equipment. All our belongings and equipment were there still there although covered in insects and a strange moss like substance. We were almost at the point of leaving when the ambient sounds of the jungle ceased abruptly and we could hear a low pitched unknown language echoing through the trees. It was all around us with no discernable point of origin sounding almost like a voice that was strangely familiar yet unknown. With each passing second the voice grew louder and increasingly hostile whilst snakes and multi-legged insects covered the ground around us creating a writhing squirming carpet of blacks and browns. A sudden shriek from behind us pierced our senses chilling our spines with a cold stab of fear and we collectively spun around - it was Santiago. A huge glistening coil of a snake had landed on his head and his glasses had been dislodged by the reptile and had fallen into the muddy water. As he stood rigid and horrified the snake dropped from his head onto the ground with a wet sickly splash and Violet screamed and broke into a run. Without a word spoken we all knew it was time to get the Hell out of there – we had awakened something in the jungle. Daniel grabbed the camera and he and the guide took off after Violet with Santiago and Henrik running off in other directions.

We managed to reconnect with Santiago in the jungle after a day of adrenaline induced running. As it transpired he never needed glasses, admitting that he just used them to appear intellectual and in his words, pick up girls. However, there was no sign of Henrik. We waited for days until he suddenly appeared in the late hours of the 12th day. He told us he had made it to Mexico City days ago, in fear of being killed first as the only minority member of the group.

The next day was unlike anything we have ever experienced. Small earthquakes and tremors plagued the city, setting off the sirens and strange animals coloured with bizarre hypnotic patterns began to appear everywhere and in our sleep we were haunted by beings of unknown power, raging and screaming in alien tongues. Exhausted with these nocturnal visitations and the un-nerving occurrences in the city we eventually headed to Nani's flat and unwrapped the artifact in hopes we could somehow bring the madness to an end. Upon careful examination we found crumpled ancient parchments lodged in the mouth of the heads that seemed to indicate a map along with several ancient cryptic scriptures offering us clues to understanding the enigma of this catastrophe.

This is the reason we are here today - we believe we understand the reasons behind the recent strange occurrences and unsettling events and we think we have discovered how to reverse the Curse of the Gods that have been awakened. We have been in contact with a great number of spiritual leaders and healers across the globe discovering an individual located in Thailand who we have come to believe holds the answer to this mystery. We must travel to Thailand, meet this healer and obtain the key that brings about an end to this curse. However, in the meantime you can all help us by uniting the Artifacts and the Gods - the more you collect the safer we are and the more rewards you will receive from the Gods who are appeased. Buy us time, buy us sanity and you will be handsomely rewarded for your support! *

*not a financial or spiritual advice