Piece by Piece

59. It Falls Apart

The dune was tall and abrupt, so it took the entire group a fair time to scale it. Davyn was among the first to reach the top, and he spent the time waiting for the other, brushing the sand off what was obviously a hard surface.

Phillip was among the first to join him, and the two of them managed to clear a portion of stone slabs filled with inscriptions.

"Can you read any of it?" Phillip muttered.

Davyn turned his head sideways. "Not really. Let's just wait for Walt."

They didn't have to wait long. A few minutes there, everyone was there, clearing the surface for Walt.

"Aren't we on the roof?" Harrison asked, pushing sand over the edge of the building. "Because if we are, there will be no door here."

"Unfortunately, clearing the entire building in search for a door would take time we don't have," Edwards said. "We'll have to make do."

"Don't we have the resources to do this fast?" Alan asked. "I mean, I'm sure the Agency can very easily find the manpower to dig out this baby."

The moment the words were out, they all fell silent, Alan included. The answer was so obvious. The Counters didn't want to dig out the temple. If they did, it was free game, and anyone could come and look inside.

"So I'm thinking what we find in there won't belong to a museum," Rachel mumbled.

Simon put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed, warning her not to take this any further. Davyn agreed. Now was not the time to get into discussions about politics.

"We're only here for the jewel," Edwards said. "Once we secure it, the archeologists can have their site."

That sounded somewhat encouraging, so they all turned their attention to Walt, who stood in what appeared to be the middle of the roof, staring at the writing.

"Surprisingly enough, there might be a door up here," he said. He took a few steps forward and knelt, running his fingers on a stretch of hieroglyphics. "Davyn, join me."

He did, brushing his hands on his pants. The symbols didn't really seem to make sense, but they did point to the existence of a door.

"Press the sun?" he asked.

"That's what I got out of it, too." Walt stood, and shielded his eyes before glancing upwards at the sun. "But how do you press that?"

"Maybe it casts a shadow or something?" Though as Davyn glanced over his shoulder, he computed the stupidity of his affirmation. The sun didn't have a shadow. It only cast their shadows on the surface, and the shadows would continue moving as the sun followed its trail west.

"Maybe we need an instrument, like in Raiders of the Lost Arch," Rachel suggested.

It didn't sound half as crazy as it should have in normal circumstances.

"If we do, it's too late for that," Edwards said. "We're here, and we have to get inside."

"Then maybe this way?" Alan stood at the edge of the roof, looking down. But it wasn't at the sand below, but rather at the corner of the building.

The rest of the group joined him as he croched and took out a chisel, and began digging it between slabs. One of them was slightly chipped, and Alan was using his instruments to enlarge the gap. Harrison, Omar, and Phillip reached down to help him, and in ten minutes, they managed to dislodge the slab and make enough room for a person to crawl through.

"I wouldn't try removing more. The roof might cave in," Alan said, pocketing his tools.

"No, this is fine. It's not too obvious." Edwards took out a flashlight and pointed it in the void below. The beam barely revealed anything, so it became obvious that the inside was cavernous. "Now, who wants to go in first?"