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CHAPTER

25

AFTER ABOUT THIRTY FEET, Matthew reached the end of the third corridor and came to a set of stairs. He turned, holding his hand out behind him toward Jasper. “Flashlight.” Jasper put it in his palm. Matthew hated being so ill-equipped, but it’s not like getting stuck down here had been the plan. He directed the light up the staircase and could see the top. What he saw wasn’t a surprise, but it curdled his stomach.

“What do you see?” Robyn prompted.

Alex was pretty much pressed against his back trying to get a look.

“It’s an entrance or exit, depending on how you look at it, but there’s a slab of stone sealing it off.”

Cal let out a moan of defeat, and it only cemented how Matthew was feeling in this moment. Surely, they had to catch a break that would get them out of here. But it was getting harder to believe they would.

“There’s no way we can move it,” Alex said. “I thought this might happen.”

“Even if we could move the stone, sand would come pouring in,” Robyn pointed out.

“So you’re saying that we can’t get out of here? We have a door, but we can’t use it?” Cal’s voice ratcheted up in volume with each word. He maneuvered his way past the others and pushed on the stone. “None of you happen to have any dynamite handy, do you?” There was nothing jovial about his tone when he asked.

“Trust me, you wouldn’t want it anyway. It would cause a cave-in, not to mention destroy a historical find.” Alex glowered at Cal.

Matthew looked at Alex. Her priorities were a little off-kilter.

Cal turned to face them all, the light from his miner hat dancing as he shook his head. “How are we going to get out of here?”

“Good question.” Normally, Matthew could pull out an ounce of optimism to use in a pinch, but he was all out.

Alex nudged Matthew in the back. “We need to set up the module and the antenna and give it a try. Just in case.”

“In case what?” Cal spat.

“In case my crew is in range.”

“They don’t even know we’re alive,” Cal countered, seeming to have resigned himself to the fact that their fate was sealed, just as their way out was.

Alex took the module and transmitting antenna from Matthew, who hadn’t set them down since they’d entered the tomb. “We have to believe they do.”

“There are a lot of things we’d need to believe in before then,” Cal said. “One, that they know we’re still alive so they are actually looking for us. Two, that the transmitter has battery left, and three, your crew is in this vicinity.” Cal’s discouragement was tangible and infectious. Matthew could feel it bringing his spirits down further, but Alex continued, looping the cable and laying it out in the corridor.

She plugged the antenna into the module. “Very weak signal strength, but I’m giving it a go anyhow.” She punched some keys on the module and held the radio that had been inside the case to her mouth. She pushed a button on the side. “Jeff Webber, do you read me? Over.”

The silence in response was deafening.

“Jeff Webber, do you read me? Over,” she repeated.

Seconds ticked off, and nothing came through.

Alex lowered the radio and bit her bottom lip. “One more time,” she said to them. Then, “Jeff Webber, do you read me? Over.”

More silence.

“It’s not working. We’re going to die down here.” Cal sat down on a step.

“I’ll turn on the emergency signal for a bit,” Alex said, ignoring him.

“What about the battery, though?” Robyn asked, stepping up close to Matthew’s back. “It can’t stay on for too long.”

Alex looked at Robyn, and Matthew could read the resolve on Alex’s face. “We need to wait it out for a few minutes.”

And each second of each minute felt like an hour. Matthew imagined hearing Jeff’s voice coming over the radio and telling them they had a fix on their position. But nothing came.

Alex pressed a button on the module. “I’ll turn it off for now and save the battery.”

No one said anything.

“My crew won’t just give up on us,” Alex assured them. “They might not know for sure we’re alive, but they won’t stop searching for us until that’s been proven.”

“That’s a scary thought,” Cal said. “They could be back at the original tunnel still, and we have to be miles from there now.”

Alex looked at Matthew as if to say, Is this guy for real?

Matthew hitched his shoulders. “He calls things how he sees them. He always has.” He stepped up the stairs, observing that this section was composed of more stone bricks. Maybe they weren’t entirely out of options. “We could free these bricks, maybe get out that way?”

“You’re forgetting about all the sand that’s above our heads. If we remove any bricks, sand will come pouring in. Sorry to be bleak, but…” Alex pressed her lips together. “If anyone has any other ideas, now’s the time to share them.” She stared directly at Matthew, as if expecting him to present another one. But his mind was blank.

Not taking action would get them killed. But taking action would also get them killed.

Alex broke her eye contact. “Maybe we should just get comfortable and—”

“Are you kidding me?” Cal’s eyes were wide. “We can’t just give up.”

“I’m not saying that we give up, but we might need to wait on some outside help,” Alex said. “And if you pray, pray. Rest probably wouldn’t hurt, either. Get our brains functioning at capacity again.”

Cal turned to him. “Matthew?”

Surely there had to be something he was missing. Besides, he wasn’t the wait-and-see type of person, and he definitely wasn’t someone who relied on luck. He’d never been religious, either. But he’d been known to call on a greater being from time to time. It was far better to be proactive than roll over in defeat. In his mind, he walked through the parts of the tomb they’d seen on their journey up until to this point. “The snakes,” he blurted out.

“Matthew?” Robyn prompted, her tone laced with fear.

He met her eyes. “The way out of here has to lie with them.”

“Can’t they burrow through sand?” Cal asked.

“I want to believe they found an easier way in.” Matthew was still thinking as he spoke, not even sure where he was headed.

“What are you thinking?” Alex asked.

“Specifically about the snake that came into what we’re calling the secondary antechamber.” His eyes widened. “I’d like to see what’s on the other side of that wall.”

Alex perked up. “It’s not uncommon for tombs to have hidden rooms.”

“You’re thinking there’s one that might lead to the surface?” Robyn asked, her voice carrying hope, but then she shook her head. “There’d still be sand, and likely another sealed door.”

“Only one way to find out.” Matthew started back down the corridor.

“That wall has a priceless mural on it,” Alex ground out, keeping up with him. “We can’t just destroy it.”

He bit back any response, giving her a momentary pass on drawing attention to her skewed priorities. But when they reached the secondary antechamber, Alex stood back from the wall, hands on her hips. “It just breaks my heart that we have to damage this painting.”

Matthew couldn’t hold back any longer. “It could be the painting or our lives. You do realize that, don’t you?”

Alex blushed. “I didn’t mean it in the way you seem to have taken it. Of course, our lives are more important.”

“Then help us move some of these artifacts out of the way,” he said to her as he and the others started to clear the area beneath the painting.

Alex got down next to Matthew and reached for the first object with hesitancy. He made eye contact with her but spoke to everyone else. “Just be careful not to break anything.”

The corners of Alex’s mouth curved up slightly, and she deliberately blinked as if thanking him.

They set aside the priceless objects one at a time, doing so with thoughtful execution.

“Oh!” Robyn gasped and stepped back across the room. A cobra was slithering out from behind a basket, and its focus was on her.

“Don’t move.” Jasper quickly jumped into action. He wielded the snake hook and got in close to Robyn. He finessed the snake’s attention away from her and on to him. “Everyone back out of the room slowly.”

Matthew waited until Robyn was free from danger, and the four of them crammed into the corridor that lead to the main antechamber and watched from the doorway.

Jasper got a hold of the snake, its head swaying through the air, its tongue flicking, and its body wriggling. He carried it like this and turned to the opening of the corridor that led back to the tunnel and thrust the snake inside it.

Robyn was the first back into the room with Jasper. “The Snake Whisperer to the rescue. Thank you, Jasper.”

“Yeah, don’t mention it.” He wiped his forehead and pointed to a small hole between two stone bricks. “Guess we know how the snakes are getting in.”

“But is there a room and way out behind this wall?” Cal cocked an eyebrow. “Or just a bunch of sand?”

Matthew stepped up next to the wall and reached out a hand to Alex. “Shovel?” She passed it to him. Then Matthew got down on the floor next to the hole and turned to Cal. “Help me out here.”

Cal joined him on the floor. Matthew stuck the shovel between the two bricks.

“Wait a minute,” Alex burst out.

Matthew looked up at her.

“Let’s clear off the picture first and have Cal take a picture of it, just in case it gets destroyed.”

Matthew glanced at Cal, then back to Alex. “Let me just remove a couple of the bricks from the floor level, nowhere near the painting, and see what I see first.”

“No. I’m sorry, but no. We can’t take the chance that the wall won’t crumble.”

“And why doesn’t that make me feel all warm and gooey inside?” Cal lamented.

Matthew shot him a glare. They had just started to latch on to the idea of hope, and he didn’t need Cal’s sarcasm sucking them back into a defeatist attitude. Although, Alex’s comment had opened the door. “Very well.”

Alex flicked a finger toward the painting. “Jasper, please clean it off.”

Matthew and Cal got to their feet. Jasper brushed off the painting as everyone watched him.

“Tell us if you see a name,” Alex said.

Jasper shook his head.

“I’m sorry if you guys don’t understand where I’m coming from,” Alex added, pressing her fists into her hips. “But I’m very passionate about what I do.”

“And we’re passionate about living,” Cal shot back.

Alex narrowed her eyes. “So am I.” She paused, her mouth opening and shutting a few times as if she were a fish gasping for air. “I’m just a very optimistic person.” She shrugged. “There’s no reason to believe we’re getting out of here alive, but I can only accept that we are. And because of that, I don’t want to be responsible for ruining this tomb, its artifacts, and its artwork.”

Her sincerity was obvious. Maybe Matthew had been a little rash to think the find meant more to her than their lives.

“All right, there we go.” Jasper stepped back from the painting and its vibrant colors. “And before you ask again, Alex, there was no name, but I didn’t read everything as I worked, by any means.”

Alex nodded, and contentment rested on her features, as Cal took a series of pictures.

Matthew moved toward the wall, and Cal followed suit. “We’ll be careful and move slowly,” he assured Alex.

“Thank you.”

Matthew put his hand back on the shovel that was still lodged between the two bricks. He moved it and pried a larger space between them. He grasped on to the brick on one end, and Cal grabbed the other. They jostled it until it broke loose. Sand didn’t filter into the room, so that was a good indicator that there might be a room on the other side.

He and Cal continued working. The second, third, and fourth bricks came out more easily.

He passed the shovel to Cal, who handed it off to Alex, and crouched even lower so he could look inside. His headlamp revealed a good-sized room and, thankfully, no snakes.

“What do you see?” Alex asked.

“Well, it’s definitely a room,” he said.

“Do you see a way out?” Cal lowered himself again, pushing Matthew aside.

“Do you mind?” Matthew shot him a glare.

Cal eased back, giving Matthew space to look again. “Excuse me.”

“I can’t see that much from here. I’d have to go in.” He already had his head inside when someone tugged on his shirt. There wasn’t enough space for him to look over his shoulder, so he wriggled back out.

Jasper was standing over him. “Let me go in. Just in case there are more snakes.”

“I don’t see any.”

“That doesn’t mean more won’t come.”

“Please, Matthew,” Robyn said. He looked at her, and her eyes were full of concern.

He moved aside, though he didn’t really want to. He just wanted to find an exit. While he was still determined to find the Tablets, he was a bit of a realist, unlike Alex, and time wasn’t slowing down. They had limited water and oxygen down here, and no food. They had the portable oxygen tanks for when they needed a hit, but it wouldn’t tide them over for long. His gaze went to the hole and Jasper’s larger frame.

“Can you fit through there?” Matthew asked.

“I’ll manage.” Jasper was up to his shoulders in no time. Not long later, his hips disappeared, then his legs and feet. “I’m in,” he said, as if they needed verbal confirmation.

Matthew was watching him through the opening. Cal got up, and Alex joined Matthew on the floor.

Jasper’s flashlight was making it easier to see the actual size of the room. Although Matthew pegged it at seven feet high and ten to twelve feet wide, he couldn’t see to the back wall. But from what he could see, he’d guess it was at least twenty feet long. He also made out something else, just as Japer made an announcement.

“There are more snakes,” Jasper told everyone.

Matthew watched as Jasper did his thing with the hook. But instead of thrusting them aside, he used the tool to help maneuver past them.

Awhile later, Jasper provided an update. “I’ve cleared the snakes, and there’s a staircase.”

“Be careful, Jasper,” Alex cautioned.

“It’s just like the other one.” His voice was becoming distant. “It’s made of stone bricks and there is a door, but it’s sealed.”

Soon Jasper was walking back toward the opening in the secondary antechamber. The snakes didn’t seem to be paying him much mind on the return trip, though.

Matthew and Alex backed up and got to their feet so Jasper could come into the room.

“I see where the snakes are coming in,” he said. “There is another hole between two bricks up there and a spill of sand on the stairs.”

At that, an idea struck Matthew. But it was probably just as lethal as sitting down here, doing nothing, and waiting for a rescue. They could pry those bricks loose and run from the room. Maybe the additional space would accommodate the sand that would likely come pouring in. He’d call it his hourglass strategy.

The sand would fill up the room they’d just discovered, come through the opening they’d just made in the secondary antechamber, and hopefully stop there. But then again, it’s not like he had any way of knowing how much it would fill up. And it would significantly deplete their oxygen. Then, they’d have to dig through the sand to the surface when all they had was one tiny shovel.

“You look deep in thought,” Alex said, watching him.

“It’s nothing.”

She scanned his eyes, and he hoped she wasn’t a mind reader. Because it wasn’t nothing; it was potentially the thing they might have to try if they ever wanted to see their loved ones again. But he wasn’t going to mention it until they had no other choice—not that they really had any options now. But before they could even think of trying to pull off what he had in mind, they needed rest. “Why don’t we check out the burial chamber now and then get some sleep,” he suggested.

“You’re not giving up on me, I hope,” Alex said, a subtle smile on her lips.

“Not at all.”