Treasure for All

14. The Catacombs

Once the crew had the notes, maps, and everything else they needed for their first task, Jongho remained on board to carry out the latter stretch of his punishment from London as everyone else geared up and stepped off of the ship. The camouflage mode was on, so no one else would raid the HALA if they were to come across the field. Sunlight danced in between the forest tree branches, providing more than enough light for their journey. The ground didn't have too much grass, so the crew was able to walk through with ease. Hongjoong was the one leading them, Dahae behind him, and the others trailing behind them with Yunho as the caboose. San stayed glued behind Celestia, and Yeosang carried the necessary medical supplies. Everyone else was busy trying to stay quiet and alert. The forest itself didn't seem to be traveled a lot, but no one wanted to take any chances.

For about thirty minutes, the crew suddenly came to a stop as the captain looked through an opening amongst the trees. In the distance he could see the remains of the arena.

"Almost there," he called back.

A thud and a shocked yelp sounded from behind him. His head turned on a swivel to find that Phoebe had tripped over something. Yeosang helped her up and brushed a few leaves off of her jacket.

"Are you okay?" Hongjoong asked.

"Yeah," Phoebe replied. "This random brick decided it would be funny to catch my foot and make me fall."

"A brick?" Grace-Anne repeated. "In the middle of a forest?"

"There was probably an old building here that collapsed."

"If that were the case, there would be ruins," Celestia chimed in. "Or at least more than one brick."

Phoebe looked down at the faded red piece of cement. That's when she noticed it was still attached to something but somehow still loose.

"Wait a minute," she whispered. She knelt down by it and began to push the surrounding leaves aside. "Holy-"

"What did you find, Phoebs?" Dinah asked as she and the rest of the crew rushed over.

She had uncovered some sort of circular lid made of rusted iron built into the ground. Multiple bricks surrounded it, and the lid had one handle, which told them it would lead somewhere. There was also some engraving in center, but it was written in Italian.

"This probably leads to a sewage system," Phoebe guessed, "but from what we've been studying from the information given to us, this could be the entrance to the catacombs."

Before the crew left the ship that morning, they quickly studied each of the photos and notes to figure out which ones they would need for their first stop. After about an hour of shuffling through the various papers, they were able to piece together their guides for each destination.

Hongjoong set his backpack down and opened it. He fished around in it before pulling out the picture he needed and was able to identify the lid as the entrance to the catacombs.

"I stand corrected," Phoebe muttered.

"This is it," he confirmed. "Mingi, Seonghwa, San, see if you can get it open."

The three of them set down their bags, and made their way to the entrance. With Seonghwa in the middle and the other two on either side of him, all three of them used both hands and gripped the rusted handle. On the count of three, the men used their combined strength and pulled the lid upwards. It was heavy, and each of them let out grunts of effort. However, the sound of metal scraping concrete let them know it was lifting. Seonghwa, San and Mingi pulled once more, and the lid flew open and landed backwards with a heavy thud, the force causing them to stumble backwards a little.

"Well done," the captain praised them.

Everyone moved closer to the now open entrance and looked down into it. It was pitch dark, but they somehow managed to make it out to be a tunnel. San looked up to see which direction it was going, and sure enough it was leading towards the Coliseum.

"What do you think we'll find?" Dahae asked no one in particular.

"Hopefully, a diamond," San answered. "If the sources we have are accurate, at least."

"We won't know if we don't explore," said Hongjoong as he pulled a flashlight out of his backpack. "Does everyone have their flashlights?"

The crew all pulled out flashlights from their bags. Hongjoong then instructed everyone to climb down the ladder that was built into the wall of the entrance. He went first, the railings dusty and cold to the touch. A whiff of something toxic and foul smelling assaulted his nostrils, and he whipped out his black mask with a built in filter.

"Put your masks on," he instructed. Everyone else obeyed before following him into the tunnel.

Seonghwa was next to climb down, and he and Hongjoong helped everyone else who climbed down the ladder. Celestia had help from San and Taeran as she reached the bottom, and Yunho was the last to climb down. Before he shut the lid, Yunho had managed to pull the brick out of the ground and use it as a wedge to keep the lid open for when they left the tunnels.

Thirteen flashlights switched on, illuminating the once dark catacombs, and the crew began their journey through it. The air in the tunnel was cold despite the outside weather having the warmth of early springtime. It was also quiet, the only noises being the crew's footsteps echoing off the walls and water dripping in the distance. The catacombs weren't claustrophobic. Mingi and Yunho's heads barely brushed the ceiling, and the width allowed for two people to walk side by side. The ground beneath them was made of rock, and a few loose stones were kicked with each footstep.

For the first few minutes of their walk, the tunnel seemed to just be nothing but that. No ancient markings, no skeletons (thankfully), nothing. The only sound that now echoed was the city's traffic passing above them.

San pulled out his map of the catacombs and shined his flashlight on it.

"There should be two more tunnels up ahead, captain," he informed.

Sure enough, the crew came across said fork.

"Which way do we go?" Dinah asked.

Grunting in frustration, San answered, "It just says 'Follow Mercury.' How are we supposed to follow a planet when we're underground?"

"We can't use our phones, either," added Taeran. "We have no signal."

"Maybe it means the chemical," Wooyoung chimed in.

"Why would anyone need mercury down here?"

"I'm just trying to help."

Celestia glanced at where San pointed out the instruction, and then used her flashlight to try to shine some light on something. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but a part of her hoped it was something that would help the crew move forward. Her beam then came across something engraved into the red ceiling in the left tunnel. Moving closer, the shape looked like a staff wrapped by two snakes and wings sitting at the top.

"I don't think it's planets or chemicals we're following," she called to them.