The tunnel before them seemed to stretch on forever, and as much as Sam tried, he couldn't see any reason not to start walking. For a few moments, he just pointed his flashlight randomly. The walls were damp and devoid of any clues, and the water made the floor impossible to see.
"I don't like this," Jerry mumbled, moving his leg to stir the water. "What if we trip?"
"Trip?" Jessie asked. "What if we trigger something?"
There was no doubt in Sam's mind that they would trigger something. The chances of no traps in the tunnel were very slim. He tried to tell himself that maybe it was just a link between two rooms filled with traps, but it sounded too unlikely.
"We should be careful," was all he could say to his team.
As an answer, Kyle came up next to him, shining his light on the ceiling. "Let's get this over with."
They started moving. For the first few steps nothing happened, but with a whoosh that sent Sam's heart into his throat, the ceiling came crashing towards them. Kyle caught it before it reached their heads.
"This is getting really old," Jimmy mumbled. "Let me go first, in case the next portion also caves in."
Sam complied, feeling around in the water with his foot. He hadn't felt anything go down. "Did you guys feel any trigger?"
"Nope," Kyle mumbled, his voice strained. "How about moving on?"
Since nothing came crashing down on Jimmy, Sam and the rest of the group moved forward and allowed Kyle to turn and jump back, releasing the stone. It slammed against the floor and then rose back, hoisted by ancient ropes.
"Let's keep going," Sam said, even if he wanted to never move again and stay in that safe spot. Which was silly, really. Not like it was the first time he was facing something like this.
They had to move, so with tiny steps, they pushed forward. Another falling patch of ceiling later, it felt even worse because two identical traps one after the other made him very uneasy. Also, he had a faint suspicion that they were walking up a very small incline.
"This is interesting," Jerry mumbled.
"What?" Sam asked, turning to him.
Jerry had his flashlight pointed at the ceiling as if on watch for falling bricks. He reached out and pointed. "Look. Actually..." He held his hand up and turned off the flashlight. "I can feel a draft. I think there's a sort of ventilation system which leads outside."
Sam reached out his hand too, and wondered if he was imagining the weak air current just because Jerry had mentioned it. But if he wasn't, the entire contraption was indeed interesting.
"Switch off the lights," he said.
Once everyone obeyed, a very small sliver of light became visible. Sam tilted his head, trying to get a better view. He wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him, but he thought he could spot a round opening in the roof, covered by a stone lid which was only the slightest bit cracked to allow the little beam inside.
"This is interesting," he said. "I think Jerry is right and this is ventilation. We might find more along the way." And it gave him hope, because it was a way out in case of emergency.
"At least we won't suffocate in here," Angie said.
Sam nodded and they turned on the lights and continued forward. For a few minutes, there were no traps, which was worrying. Just as he was considering checking the walls for triggers, the floor lowered under his next step and he jumped back.
YOU ARE READING
Curtain Call (The Jewel Project #7)
Adventure"This is it. The curtain call. Where we go from here is entirely your choice. Funny how we're right back where we started." It has been four years since Sam and his brothers blackmailed the Agency into keeping them on board for the Jewel Project. Fo...
