Treasure Hunter

What is treasure?
Gold? Silver? I think -in addition to those, lets not get stupid- that 'real' treasure is simply the places at I go to themselves, and the memories of the people you go there with. Abandoned sanitariums, factories, towers, haunted houses, and ghost towns are all little wonders in themselves. Its like living I Am Legend every time I go into a someplace that society left for dead decades ago. I'm reminded of the scene where Will Smith is buggin out looking for his dog in the subways of NYC knowing full well that he might bump into a group of those zombie-like people who werent killed off by that virus.

The only thing is, I'm not worried about that kind of thing. Bums, teenyboppers with spray cans and bats, property owners, and of course, cops, are all on my mind as I creep down hallways and through the fields, woods, and rooms of places that I ought not be in.

I can hear my heart beating so loud that I'm surprised the windows don't rattle as I pass them. Sweat forms on the sides of my head and front of my hands and I surpass the urge to take a hand off my pistol-grip flashlight to wipe the moisture away.
Is it fear? Perhaps. It's knowledge that frightens me. I laugh because as I'm creeping and carefully picking my way through a building, my girlfriend is cracking up by how much I'm visibly nervous.

Before exploring, I do my fair share of research on a location. Some places, like the hospitals and asylums I visit were scenes of great sadness and despair... I'm quite certain that the spirits of some of those who used to spend time there haven't "left".

I've seen things that most will call 'ghosts', I can't define them as simply as that. I've seen shadows that wont go away even in the light, finally fading after a few seconds under the brilliance of my million-candle flashlight much like a dissipating patch of smoke. I've had my shoulder touched, heard voices, a sneeze, footsteps, I've seen shadows move when I was standing still and in some places you can just feel the spirits around you like a blanket.
Treasure? I've found a lot of it. Not the kind you can bring home and sell on Ebay or put on a shelf: all my treasure is right where I left it: letting mother nature reclaim what was once hers.

-AK