It was 1949 in the wilderness of Brazil where I'd been on expedition for many months.
My name is Matthew and I'd sought for years a hidden location to a gold deposit in the country that was said to have been stored in caves during the years where settlers and travelers would roam through the country. Though it was mainly just considered a fool's errand, I'd spent years obsessed with the potential of uncovering gold for the sake of better understanding history for the world, and garnering an exhibit for my local museum.
It'd been six months in the damp humidity of the wilderness and my team and I had braved the elements and rough terrain to finally make it through a path that was dangerous and warned of demons that protected the area. I was often so driven that I risked life and limb to obtain my goal, and one particular steamy afternoon found my trailing off from my team to pursue a hunch involving animal carcasses found near a brush of trees.
Many were convinced it was cursed ground, but I'd had the sneaking suspicion it was a ploy to keep potential thieves back. Though the others fears approaching the graveyard, I braved it and found myself walking through a dark cave caked with a floor of cold wet mud. I pressed on and held my torch high above my head as I'd ventured deeper in to the cave, and stopped by a small cliff.
I was at an impasse looking around at the darkness, and gazed down in awe at the large pool of blue water at the bottom of the cliff. Unaware of the depth of the pool, I turned to alert the rest of my team and lost my footing. The mud created a slick soapy sheet under my boots causing me to lose my balance in mere seconds. I yelped dropping my torch and watched it go out in the darkness as I held on to the edge of the cliff.
Struggling for a moment I looked down and decided to leave it to the fates and released my grip. After a brief moment I dropped in to the water, and by my luck it was deep enough to allow me to float for a moment as I swam to the edge of the pool. I panted sliding back and sighed in relief looking up at the darkness of the cave ceiling. I sat up in attention looking up as a shadow dashed along the rocks back and forth, almost stalking me in a predatory fashion.
I held my knife up in defense as a low feline growl echoed through the caves. From the darkness I saw the pair of yellow eyes peering through me. I quickly stood up, prepared to defend myself and before I could build up the courage, the beast dropped at my feet in such a roar I couldn't help but fall to the ground again with the knife firmly in hand.