‘Go on a treasure hunt,’ they said.
‘It will be fun,’ they said.
They conveniently left out the part about the bullets. And the many near death experiences. And the psychopaths. Oh, and the literal trail of bodies. Yeah, that was a bad day.
But it’s all in the past now because we have the last clue and there’s no way anyone else found it before us. The instructions were blessedly clear: only the first team to arrive will get the final clue and the keys to the boat. Now, the island loomed large in front of us, ready and waiting with the prize.
The small dock was practically glowing with potential as we pulled up and secured the boat. Five pairs of feet echoed off the wood as the crew and I ran inland. The stairs were on the far side of the mountain, and holy moly there were a lot of them.
“Why is it always stairs?” I mumbled as I started up.
My physical fitness being what it was, I was solidly in the back of the pack when we finally reached the top. The sight that met me was… lackluster, I think. There was hardly room on the small stone platform for all five of us, so I had to stand halfway on the top stair. There was a small pedestal, made of plastic from the looks of it, sitting in the middle of the platform. And on top of the platform sat what had to be our grand prize. Except, how could that be our prize?
It was a single bottle of Liquid Gold, the soft drink currently taking the world by storm. Jeffrey Jason shot me a look as he grabbed the drink and the piece of paper it was weighing down.
“Congratulations! You’ve won a bottomless supply of Liquid Gold for the next year! Scan the QR code to claim your prize. Thanks for playing!” Jeffrey read.
“All of that for a drink!?” I exclaimed.
“I think we probably should have seen this coming,” John D. said, “the whole treasure hunt was sponsored by Liquid Gold. What else would they have given us for winning?”
“I don’t know, maybe some real gold? It’s the least we deserve after all the crap they put us through to get here,” I said.
A few nods of agreement, some noncommittal shrugs, and a little bit of basking in the not so glorious end to the hunt later, and we decided it was time to head back to real life.
We split the bottle of Liquid Gold on the boat ride home, and I was a little upset about how good it tasted.
Thanks for reading! This one’s a silly, informal ode (a.k.a. dig) to my sister and her favorite tv show. There are references to the show throughout the story, and if anyone is able to guess it you will earn virtual brownie points from me!
See you next Thursday!
“All that for a drink...” I may have heard this a few times in 12-step meetings!
Like a dystopian marketing campaign. Love it!