Chapter 20 #2
The floor dropped out from underneath us and my stomach shot up into my throat.
Darkness surrounded us and panic assailed by body.
I didn’t know how long we fell for or where we’d go, but suddenly my body plunged into ice water and I kicked out, fighting to get to the surface.
When I broke through, I sucked in gasping air.
The room was light with a faint blue glow from the water.
It reflected off the walls but gave me enough light to see.
I spun around. “Jack? Jack, where are you!”
A moment later he shot to the surface, gasping for air. “Fucking hell, Stasie!”
I spun around and swam to the side of the pool we’d fallen into.
I placed my hands on the ledge and pulled myself up and flopped down onto the rocks there, sucking in deep breaths.
A moment later Jack flopped down beside me.
We lay there with our chests heaving for long moments.
I slowly sat up. “How far down do you think we fell?”
“At least twenty, maybe thirty feet.” He sat up and ran his hand over his hair. “I hit the water hard.”
“You lost your hat.” I chuckled.
“The hat is the least of my concerns.” He shook his head. “I was supposed to just walk in and grab them.”
“It’s never that simple.” I rose to my feet and ran out my hair.
We were in another chamber. This one ran as far as the eye could see.
The ceiling was arched as if the water had worn away and made this chamber over time.
But that wasn’t right. There was a glowing pool at the center of it, but it extended just as far as the chamber.
Small trenches were cut into the walls and floor that led all the way to the pool.
Fresh water moved from the half-pipes and into the pool.
Light reflected from the bottom of the pool as if there were another tunnel and way out from there.
But there was no judging how far of a swim that would be or how deep we’d need to go.
The likelihood that one or both of us would drown trying to get out that way was high.
Every few feet there was a rocky shelf or roughly carved stairs leading down to the water.
Small cutouts in the walls made half-sized rooms off those stairs.
They were littered with ancient artifacts, pots, scrolls, weapons.
I wondered how all of them could remain intact this far down and this close to water.
It could right and fall at any moment, yet here they all were in perfect condition as if they’d been cared for meticulously.
“Jack, are you seeing this?”
He spun around in a slow circle and nodded. “I’m seeing it. There’s got to be a fortune of treasures down here.”
“We just need to find a way out. We should follow the flow of the water. There might be a way out that way.” I pointed deeper into the cavern.
“What about the shackles?”
“Are you serious? We are in an underground chamber with water that could rise or fall at any second. Shackles be damned, I wanna live.” I glanced around, trying to find a way to follow the river, but there was no clear walking path.
Each shelf or set of stairs was cut off by a wall.
We’d be in and out of the water all day if we tried to walk.
“I always thought you had a death wish.” He chuckled. “We’ll look for a way out. If we happen upon them on the way, then we grab them.”
“Fine.” I sighed. “But this is the weirdest shit you’ve ever made me do, and I’m not doing it again.”
“Oh, Anastasia, you’ve done far worse.” He walked over the edge or the water and pointed across the way. “We can use those.”
I followed his gaze and groaned. “They’re so small. We’ll never stay afloat.”
“Let’s just think of this as a lazy river, okay?
It’s papyrus. It should float.” He jumped back into the water and swam across to the other side.
He walked up a set of stairs where he grabbed a small, flat rectangular board that was made up of bound papyrus.
He placed it on the surface of the water.
At first it started to sink, but then it popped back up to the surface, and he smirked at me. “Surf’s up.”
He grabbed the other board and threw it across the way to me. I caught it and walked over to the water and placed it on the surface. “It’ll have to do.”
Jack plunged back in and pulled the board under his upper body. His legs still dragged in the water, but it was buoyant enough to hold him up. “Let’s go.”
“This is such a bad idea.” I dropped back into the cool water and floated behind him, letting the flow of the water carry us deeper into the chamber.
“We don’t really have a choice.”
“Yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” The water flowed easily at first, like a lazy river, and I tried to calm my nerves and not use too much energy. If I kicked out or kept my muscles rigid, I would just expend more of my strength, which I had a feeling I was going to need.
“It’s not so bad. See?” Jack called over his shoulder.
“Famous last words.” As if on cue, the flow of water quickened, and I held on to my board tighter. “You jinxed it.”
Jack cackled. “Yeah, I tend to do that.”
The water moved even faster and the small rooms full of artifacts flew by until we moved into a dark tunnel with no room and the dull glow of the water for light. My board glided from one side of the tube to the other as if I was on a water slide. “I hate this.”
I couldn’t tell if we were getting deeper underground or getting closer to an exit. We went on like this for a long moment until the sound of a waterfall came from up ahead. I tried to slow my pace, but the current was too strong. “Jack!”
“I hear it.” His knuckles turned white as he gripped his board tighter.
Without warning he went over the edge. He was there one minute and gone the next.
His bellow was a distant echo. I turned and faced it head-on.
I forced the board beneath me, trying to use it as a shield from the fall.
My heart raced and I sucked in a deep breath a moment before my own board tipped over the edge.
For the second time I plummeted into darkness.
This time the fall was much shorter. I hit the water below hard, and the board broke my fall but it splintered under the impact.
I went under water and felt my feet hit the bottom.
I bent my knees and pushed up, forcing myself to the surface.
A hand reached out and caught my upper arm, dragging me off to the side.
I threw my leg over a ledge and pulled myself up. “Follow the river you say. It’s lazy you say. I fell down a waterfall, you ass.”
“Stasie.” Jack tapped my shoulder. “Look.”
I followed the direction he pointed, and my jaw dropped. “You have got to be kidding me.”
A large archway stood before us. Above the archway was a crest carved from stone, within the crest was the clear picture of shackles. A shiver went down my spine as I gazed beyond the archway into darkness. Jack took a step toward it. “Come on.”
“Are you crazy? We have to get out of here.”
“And how do you plan on doing that?” He motioned toward the river.
It split into a V-shape right before the archway, with the archway at the center. The two streams branched off and disappeared into even smaller pipes on either wall. “Fuckkk. Fine.”
We walked through the archway and into another chamber. When we passed through the threshold, two torches ignited and I jumped back. “That is freaky. I don’t like this.”
“You of all people know the Greeks were inventive.” He grabbed one torch and handed it to me.
“Why are you so calm about this?” I took the torch and held it out in front of me. It bathed the room in dim light, though not nearly bright enough to chase away the shadows and darkness.
“Because Phillis wants those shackles more than anything. She wouldn’t send us here to die.”
I scoffed. “Unless that’s exactly why she sent us here.”
“I’ve known her for a long time. She wants the shackles.” He took another step into the room, and that clicking sound came once more.
“Fucking hell, Jack.” I held my other hand out. “This time don’t move.”
“Oh, I won’t.” He glanced over his shoulder. “We need to keep that door open.”
“We can dive back on the count of three.” I turned to face the archway, but Jack grabbed my arm.
“No, you go forward and get the shackles. I’ll stay put to keep this open for us. Get the shackles.” He was soaked, covered in grime, and standing on a trap, but he still wanted the shackles?
“That’s stupid.”
“We know the door won’t close so long as I stay here.” He gave me a shaky smile.
“Do we?”
“Just get the shackles!” he snapped at me.
“You’re an idiot.” I turned from him and headed farther back into the chamber.
There at the back of the room sat the shackles. They were hanging on a single hook on the wall. I expected them to be dusty or rusted, but they were a gleaming gold with beveling all over. I hurried forward. “They’re here, Jack.”
“Grab ‘em. Let’s go.” His voice was tight, almost a hiss.
I glanced back at him. “Jack, are you ok . . .”
My words trailed off as I took in the sight of him. Snakes, two vipers, were wrapped around his leg and slowly coiling up his calf. He held that foot still, the trigger foot. “Hurry!”
I turned and yanked the chains off the walls.
The hook shot up toward the ceiling and the room began to quake.
The walls slid back, and snakes began to tumble down from the ceiling, falling all around us.
One dropped onto my shoulder, and I quickly wrapped my hand around it, tossing it toward the forming pit.
I couldn’t run across there without getting bit.
My heart hammered in my chest. Rocks began to fall from the ceiling.
Dust rained down with the snakes and I backed up to the wall. “I can’t get out!”
The wall gave way behind me and fell into a long, narrow tunnel. “Jack! Jack, there’s a tunnel!”
When I shot to my feet, my eyes shot to where Jack stood shaking. Several snakes were winding up his legs. His entire body shook. The water rose up from the waterfall behind him. He caught my eye and gave a half-hearted chuckle. “This is where we part ways, Stasie.”
I shook my head. “No! You can make it here. Come on.”
“I’m going to go now.” His voice was calm. “I’ll meet you on the outside. We’ll both make it.”
I glanced back at the tunnel behind me, then to him. “I’ll be there. Don’t you let me down. You meet me there.”
“Of course.” He gave me a shaky smile. “You take those shackles and go. Get them to Phillis.”
“We both will!” More snakes flowed toward me and a huge chunk of ceiling fell between us. “Meet me there, Jack, meet me!”
“Stasie!” The last thing I saw was Jack lift his foot and leap back toward the rushing water.
“Jack! No! Jack!” The ceiling began to cave in, and I dove for the tunnel, praying there would be a way out and I wouldn’t be buried alive in a den of vipers.