Scolfield holds the jewel encrusted skull up to the light and sucks in a stuttered breath before allowing himself to smile.

“I-I-Is, is it his?” Roberto asks, as two lock eyes he knows the answer before its spoken and begins to laugh hysterically. “HOLY SHIT!” He yells spinning around in a circle like Julie Andrews from The Sound Of Music. “YOU FUCKING STAR!” He screams grabbing Scolfield by the collar and shaking him violently. “THOSE OLD SAS FUCKS SAID YOU WERE MAD, THAT THIS WAS A WASTE OF MONEY AND RESOURCES. THEY SAID YOU’D SURELY PERISH OUT HERE, BUT LOOK AT YOU NOW, YOU FUCKING BEAUTIFUL BASTARD! LOOK AT YOU NOW!”

Scolfield smiles as he wipes the dirty sweat from his brow, “The fools, once I get back and show the world I was right! They’ll be begging me to be part of their little pathetic club. They’ll want ME to talk at seminars across the world, just so they can make sure I don’t bad mouth them to the worlds press. I’m going to be a FUCKING legend and they’re going to be riding my coattails until I grow sick of them!”

Roberto’s smile fades away as he looks down at hi stomach, the red glistening in the darkness. “We’ll have to address this soon you realise?”

Scolfield stares at the skull, ignoring Roberto’s words, “They’ll throw parties just so they can be close to me, and the women, the women will throw the self at me! I’ll bet most of them will already naked in anticipation! It w..”

Roberto smacks Scolfield across the face. “FOCUS MAN!” He yells. “If you don’t get with the program I’ll bleed to death here, and without me you can’t survive the path back.”

“I don’t have time for your tripe and circumstance, I’m going to be the hottest thing to ever happen to in my field, do you think I actually have time to care what happens to you?” Scolfield growls sarcastically as he launches to his feet. “You are a nothingness to my everything. We got this far because of me, and only me. You did nothing, and I’ll not be lectured by someone who can’t even organise themselves to bring but the clothes they wear on their back. If fate has chosen you to die here, then blessed me who is to challenge fate. So say everything you have to say, waste you’re energy. Just know that I will not be blackmailed or threatened by the likes of you! Do you understand?” He boasts loudly, waving a finger at Roberto.

Roberto starts laughing hysterically while Scolfield looks on in confusion. “Has your final screw fallen away?”

“If only my liege, for the screw you so desperately wish was mine, is yours.”

They stare in silence at each other, motionless for some time before Scolfield finally lets a grunt escape from his throat. “Truly you have become lost my old friend, had we been in somewhat of a better situation I would gladly risk myself, to save you. But as it is, you will be remembered gracefully in my tales of this expedition.” He says through nervous lips.

“What’s wrong?” Roberto asks softly, a wry smile upon his face.

“Y-Y-Your shirt, it was drenched in bl-blood not more than five seconds ago, and n-n-now it-it-it..”

“Now it’s clean?” Roberto says as he  interrupts and finishes Scolfield’s sentence for him.

“W-W-What’s going on?”

“Take a look down, and remember,” Roberto whispers as he fades away into the darkness. Scolfield nervously looks down at his stomach and sucks in a breath of terror as he sees his intestines on the ground before him. He looks up upon the jewel encrusted skull one last time, taking in a final glimpse of his treasure and then is no more…