The Lost City of the Mountains: Part Two

     It was hard not to feel excitement as I held the metal square in my hands.  It was heavy.  My hands tingled and every part of my heart wanted to scream that we were that much closer to our greatest goals.  I  wanted to hoist it over my head and shout to the world that we had discovered an ancient artifact from a lost city.  I wanted to call my dad and say, "So, guess what we found after all!"  I wanted to call my professor and hear his enthusiastic response.  I wanted to scoop Jenny into my arms and twirl her around the motel room.

     Well, maybe I wouldn't actually do that last one -- even if this really was an ancient artifact.

     I mean, I would want to, but I wouldn't actually...nevermind.

     It didn't matter because this wasn't an ancient artifact.  This was a local hoax that we were all falling into.

     Jenny leaned forward on her seat, her eyes sparkling.  "Do you realize that we're the first non-local team to actually find anything?"

     Hammer was too happy to sit down.  He leaned forward across the back of Jenny's chair and kicked his feet a couple times.  "Totally awesome, dude!" His red hair and beard looked kinda crazy and for a second, he reminded me of the guy, Dusty, on the old Twister movie.

     "So, actually, guys...I got some news from Karl today." I swallowed hard.

     Hammer grabbed a chair, scooted it in front of me, and launched himself into it like an eager kindergartner.  "He got results on the cloth?"

     "Yeah."  I scratched my forehead.  "It's not old."

     "It's not old?" Jenny's head jerked to glance at Hammer and then back to me.  "Define old."

     "It's not old.  It's less than 30 years." I tried to shrug.  Tried to pretend like this wasn't a big deal.

     Jenny grabbed the end of her pigtail and twirled it around her finger.  "But it has the same markings as the pottery and the knife and the stoneware."  She nodded her head toward the metal square in my hands.  "And that."

     Hammer rubbed his hands together, the way he does when he's thinking or nervous.  "So...the locals just made something to look like the other ancient artifacts they found...to get more business.  I mean...that's believable.  Half of them do artisanry work anyway.  They probably have the skills, you know what I mean."

     "Or..." I left the rest of my sentence hanging, hoping that they would guess without me having to state it.  But they just stared at me, hope dawning in their eyes like they thought I was about to save the day.  I swallowed hard again.  "Or, none of them are ancient."  

     "None of them?" Jenny narrowed her eyes.  "But if you don't think any of them are ancient..."

     I nodded toward Hammer.  "Then there is no lost city.  Like you said, the locals have artisanry skills.  They played a hoax and we fell into it."

     Hammer's eyes went wide.  "Aw, dude!" He grabbed the sides of his head and rocked his chair back.  "Dude!  That would s***.  Our whole trip is a waste?"

     Silence reigned for a while.  I felt bad because I knew they were going through the same feelings that I had.

     Jenny was the first to speak.  "So we have five days left.  What are we going to do with them?"

     "Go home, I guess." I sighed.  "My folks want to see me."

     Fire flashed through Jenny's eyes.  "And give up?" Her words cut me as if she had outright called me a coward and unworthy of the respect of any woman.

     "What would we do here?" I protested.  

     She jumped to her feet and started pacing.  "We have five days left.  We can use those five days to outright prove that this is a hoax and use that as our report.  No more looking for the lost city.  Instead, we dig up whatever dirt we can find in Grin and present that to the scientific journals.  Or..." she paused and dropped her eyes to the floor.  "Or we can start over, clear our preconceived notions, and keep searching for the truth."

     "Jenny," I huffed.  "The truth is in front of you."  I stood up and waved the metal square in the air.  "The pieces of the puzzle fit together.  All the artifacts have the same markers.  One of them has been proven to be less than 30 years old.  NO ONE has ever found evidence of a city.  Conclusion: there is no lost city, Jenn.  It's just not here."

     She squared off in front of me.  "No.  That is just one possibility."

     I rolled my eyes. "How does an ancient civilization make a new piece of cloth?"

     "Maybe they aren't all dead!  Did you think of that?"  Jenny resumed pacing.  "Maybe there are descendants who came from that city.  Maybe there's a secret society.  Maybe there are living representatives."

     "And they just all forgot how to find their old ruined city?  Jenny, you're not even making sense." I smacked my own leg in frustration.

     "No.  No, I'm making perfect sense, Fence.  You just don't want to hear it because you think you already know everything about how the world works."

     "So I'm an arrogant, stupid, cowardly quitter?  Is that what I am?"  I could feel the anger flushing my face.

     She stopped in front of me and stared into my eyes.  "I don't know.  Is it?"

     "Woah, woah, woah...." Hammer scooted out of his chair with concern in his eyes.  "This conversation is just a leeeetle too hot for my liking.  You guys are still friends, right?"

     We both turned and glared at him.

     "Oh, good," Hammer said, placing both fists on his hips and lacing his words with sarcasm.  "You're glaring in unison.  That's how a good team does things."

     I huffed, letting some emotional steam escape from my lungs.

     Jenny rolled her eyes.  "I guess I've had enough celebration for one night." Without facing me, she grabbed the metal square and yanked it from my grasp.  "I'll take my spurned prize and go to bed now."

     I winced.  I guess my revelations felt pretty brutal to her.

     She marched to the door and tugged it open.  It swung slowly and she paused there, silhouetted against the one streetlight in the parking lot of the motel.  "We still got to choose."  She nodded at Hammer and half-nodded at me.  "We...as a team...must choose what to do with our remaining five days.  Because I'm not quitting or moping for half a week.  I believe in this project.  I believe in our team."  She shifted the metal square in her hands.  "Goodnight."