In the middle of the hunt

Chap 4.

We approached another room. It was rounded with eight large stone benches spread in a circle. Eight shrivelled bodies on each bench, here for possibly centuries.

"What is this?"

Weyland looked around then at Sebastian and his friend as they examined the room.

"This is the sacrificial chamber. Just like the Aztecs and Egyptians, whoever built this pyramid believed in ritual sacrifice"

As I circled the room I glanced at the Italians assistant.

"This is where the chosen ones were offered to the gods"

I walked up to one of the benches and looked down at the body. It was wearing old jewellery and garments, not from any of our times. I looked it over moving the beam of my torch along with my trail of sight. I came to the chest which was gone. The bones were snapped or cut, leaving a gaping hole.

"Those that we're chosen would lie here. They weren't bound or tied in anyway"

Glancing up from the body I looked at Sebastian as he read from something on one of the benches.

"They went to die willingly. Men and women. It was considered an honour"

"They gave their lives...so the hunt, could begin"

The assistant read aloud as he recorded the carved glyphs around one of the benches. A young woman approached the same bench, looking the body over.

"What happened here?"

He looked up.

"It's common in sacrificial rituals to take the heart of the victim"

"That's nice. But that's not where your heart is. Besides, it looks like the bones were bent straight up. Something broke out of this body"

Maxwell called out we were moving on and I walked down away from the benches and followed Lexa, briefly hearing Maxwell give orders to Italians assistant and the girl he was speaking to before, to stay behind in that room with a small team.

We walked in relative silence until we reached another room, directly under the sacrificial chamber. Lexa and Sebastian approached a large object. I stood further away, slowly becoming hopelessly bored. I put in a bit of effort to listen as Sebastian explained it was a sarcophagus that had a code lock to it with dates, months and years. The day it was last set to was 1904. The year everyone went missing in the whalers station.

I glanced over as the Italian entered today's date and the large lid slid open, dust and smog flowing out. He approached it.

"Oh my god. Take a look at this"

Lexa, Weyland and Maxwell all walked up along with Graeme. None of them could decide what the objects were inside. I hadn't even bothered looking. Looking over to my left I noticed Weyland had walked a bit away from the group, gripping his chest as he started to wheeze.

"Oi"

I whistled sharply and Lexa turned to face me. I nodded my head over in Weyland's direction and she left the sarcophagus quickly, coming to his side. I smiled softly and wasn't surprised when she told the group we were heading back for the night. Compassion was her second nature, I see.

"Well you can go back to the base camp, Miss Woods. But we're staying here"

Maxwell looked away from the sarcophagus to give Lexa a look before looking back inside.

"No"

Maxwell's head turned up again quickly to look at the young woman.

"You wanted to leave without proper prep, we did. You wanted to be the first ones here, we are. You've claimed the find, it's yours. Now we move as a team and we leave for the day"

Weyland nodded to Maxwell.

"You heard her"

Maxwell had the look of a man who sighed internally. He gestured to the objects inside the sarcophagus.

"What do you want to do with these Mr Weyland"

"Take them. We'll run further tests on the surface"

One by one they pulled the artefacts from their small stands. Sebastian turned and panicked, moving forward.

"No! Don't touch them!"

One sat still on its stand, with Maxwell's hands around it. He looked up to Sebastian then yanked it free with a carelessness. As soon as it came free, the sarcophagus closed and the door that led out started to close.

"The door!"

Lexa ran to it, pushing on it. She was no match for over a two ton stone door. It closed with a thunk and the stairs in the room slid down, revealing a passageway that lead further down into the pyramid. A gunshot rang through the air above us and screaming quickly followed where the science team had been left. Sebastian and Maxwell radioed the floor above us and was met with silence. Lexa turned to Weyland quickly.

"Was there anything about this place you didn't tell us?"

"Nothing. Your guess is as good as mine"

"Well whatever it is we are not prepared for it. We're going to round up the rest of the team and get to the surface, let's move!"

Maxwell lifted the brief case he had been carrying all this time and flicked it open. Pulling out a rifle he connected the butt to it and slapped in the magazine, loading the weapon. The rest of his men followed, dropping the empty cases. Lexa walked straight up to him with a slight frown.

"What are you doing?"

"My job. Yours is over"

"My job is over when everyone is back on the boat SAFELY and that gun doesn't change anything"

She whirled around and started walking. I looked over to Maxwell who looked to me. I shrugged softly and started walking after her. Maxwell went down the stairs first, rifle tightly in hand. My finger tips itched and longed for the item in my backpack. But after seeing how Lexa reacted to Maxwell's guns I opted to leave it where it was. I couldn't distract her from leading and needed her to trust me. Wanted, her to trust me.

"Ya know it makes a lot more sense how your satellite detected this place now"

Graeme walked up next to Weyland, looking up at the roof.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, a building this sophisticated requires a major energy source. I think that's what your satellite detected. A power plant for this pyramid firing up. Preparing"

"Preparing? For what?"

Before Graeme could reply to Weyland, Lexa beckoned us. I walked down the steps before them, fingers almost burning with desire for the weapon in my bag.