Treasure Hunting 101

Chapter XIV

Heath

Music: Speed from Salamander 2

"I'm bored."

That's the only statement Luke has to offer in an attempt to start some kind of meaningful conversation. The three of us have been sitting with our backs against the door for the past thirty-two minutes. We haven't even tried to escape since our last attempts. The lack of cell service bars us from any contact with the rest of our team, and so far, there's no indication when (or if) they'll show up.

"That's great, Luke. Now solve your own damn problem. Don't go complaining about it to us," Skylar replies, messing with her hair.

"How do you expect me to do that?!"

"Figure something out. It's not my problem."

"And it's not my fault that we're stuck in here." Luke shifts his glare from Skylar to me. Skylar just ignores Luke and goes back to fiddling with her hair.

"Knock it off," I mumble. I'm too tired and frustrated to argue with Luke about this again.

We stop talking for another few minutes. "You don't think the others left without us... would they?" Luke asks, laying back down on his back. This is the third time he's switched positions since we sat down, and the sixth time overall that one of us has switched positions. That's how boring this wait has been. That's also a really great example of what my brain likes to do sometimes. Even in casual settings, I find myself analyzing random objects or keeping track of useless statistics.

"They might've thought we got captured or killed or something... so it's probable," I reply.

"Heath, they wouldn't do that. You know how we roll: They're gonna search every nook and cranny of this maze until they find us," Skylar tells me reassuringly.

Literally on cue, we hear footsteps coming from outside the room we're in. The muffled voices of Sam, Elle, and Avery also reach our ears. "Heath? Luke? Skylar?" the trio calls out repeatedly.

When their voices are right next to the wall blocking us off, all three of us turn around and start banging on the wall, yelling things like "Hey!" or "We're in here!"

"There you guys are!" Sam's voice exclaims. I've never been more relieved to hear that voice in my life. "What the hell happened?"

"Good news: We found the next artifact. Bad news: Heath inadvertently triggered a trap and now we're trapped in here," Skylar answers. Her inclusion of the word "inadvertently" means she's either gotten over my mistake or doesn't want to throw me under the bus to them. Knowing her, it's a mixture of both.

"You morons," Avery mutters. I can't see her, but I'm guessing she's facepalming.

"Have you tried using Luke's rock thingy?" Brea asks.

"That was one of the first things we tried," Luke replies.

"Alright, just hang tight," Sam tells us calmly. "We'll get the hovercraft down here and use that to get you guys out of there."

"Sam, you are a lifesaver," Skylar praises.

A person on the other side (probably Avery) lets out a whistle, meaning that the hovercraft has been signaled. Grateful that we'll be escaping soon, the three of us lean back and let out sighs of relief simultaneously. Luke and Skylar close their eyes and smile, and I'm about to do the same when I spot something... off.

The knight statues are moving. It's no more than a rattling, but it's still movement that shouldn't be possible under these conditions. And they're beginning to lose their solid texture, becoming translucent and paler in color. I nudge Luke and Skylar to get them to notice, and that's when the statues rise up off their feet and begin levitating in thin air.