Page 23 of Explorer’s Revenge

TWENTY-TWO

RICK

E verything hurts, and not in a good, I spent the night drinking and fucking type of way, but in a more I tried to fight Godzilla and lost sort of way.

I hear the others yelling my name, but my head is spinning and my ears are ringing, so I let that dissipate before I try to answer.

“Rick!” My brother’s desperate voice is what gets me moving, and I lift my arm.

“I’m alive,” I call before I cough and spit out some dirt. Lifting my head, I take inventory of my body. My pants and shirt are ripped, and I have some cuts and bruises, but nothing seems broken, which is a fucking miracle.

I’ve always been lucky.

I should probably be mortified, but I wasn’t embarrassed when I waxed my balls in high school on a dare to ask out Missy Collins, so I certainly won’t start now.

“Rick!” The yells draw nearer, and I don’t want them to find me on my back. Wilder will freak and try to pull us out of here. He was attacked by a jaguar, fine, but I fall down a hill and that’s a no go.

With a groan, I rub my sore ass and sit up, looking around as the others make their way through the thick foliage to find me. Trees surround me on most sides, so I peer through the closest one to find them, only to freeze at the sight before me.

Holy shit!

The jungle opens up into a clearing below, and even from here, I can tell what it is—an abandoned city.

Lost . . .

“We found it!” I shout as I climb to my knees, ignoring their concern and especially Wilder, who is scanning me as he kneels by my side. “Wilder!” I grab his chin and tilt him around until he sees it too. “Look, this has to be it.”

“I fucking found it!” I whoop. “It’s all skill, baby!”

“More like all klutz, baby,” Logan scoffs. “Glad you didn’t die though.”

“You think that’s really it?” Way whispers as we huddle around the opening I created and stare down.

It’s deep inside a crater, but there are crudely carved steps leading down toward it on each side.

Buildings are carved into the stone walls in a random pattern.

It’s ancient and rough, but it’s a city.

There even appear to be paths or roads of some kind, but it’s a strange layout, like circles leading inwards, growing tighter and tighter.

“It has to be,” Wilder confirms, but then he looks me over. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. Focus on that, brother. We did it.” I grin, and he finally relaxes enough to aim one back at me.

“We did.”

“And we beat Carter,” Logan says. “Win-win.”

“What was that, morons?” We all whirl around to see a figure waving at us on the steps leading down. “It took you long enough. Are you going to lie there all day, or are you going to come see what I found while you were sleeping?”

“Motherfucker,” Wilder shouts, and her laughter fills the air.

I guess Aiy was right—she deserves it.

Maeve Carter found the lost city of Apear.

It’s all hers.