The Iron Man [Serial]

The Heart of the Pyramid

We remained in the depths a short while, as Thierry collected samples for his chemical tests, David took some photos, and Alpha sketched the view in his pocket book. In that time, I sat on upon the floor with my lamp beside me attempting a sketch in Conté crayon.

Prim and Murphy were near to me, engaged in conversation about the graffiti within the chambers. On my other side, Howard and Alpha exchanged compliments about each other's renderings.

There was little resolution as to who in the pyramid's long history had known of which chamber and when or who had cut new passages and buried others in the process. There seemed so little to go on, just a series of empty chambers.

Once the records and samples were had, our party left the subterranean chamber and made an ascent along the descending passage. The slope didn't seem to offer much advantage, when different muscles were used to climb the ramp than to walk down. The headroom seemed less an issue, but I felt the tightening in my legs. 

Murphy lagged behind. I dropped back to walk beside him, though he gave me a pained look.

"It's not much farther," I said, knowing this was more a matter of perception than absolute.

When we reached the junction with the so-called robber's tunnel and upper passages, Thierry was waiting.

"Here," he said, offering his umbrella. 

Murphy looked up at him for a moment—Thierry stood in the higher passage—without moving or speaking.

"You and I do not have to be enemies," he said, then added, "Tyron."

Murphy took the umbrella with a slight nod in acknowledgment.

Thierry spun around and walked jauntily away. When I climbed behind Murphy into the  junction of tunnels, Thierry was already up the ladder left propped against the uneven slope between tunnel and neatly-cut ascending passage.

Murphy used the closed umbrella as a walking stick, leaning heavily on it from the look of him.

We came to a level floor in a high-vaulted chamber, where we had the choice between yet another ascending ramp and a small level passage below the ramp. The presence of a bluish glow from the lower of the passages showed the direction our companions had traveled.

Murphy and I crawled through the passage, pushing oil lamp and umbrella before us. Howard's voice carried from the far chamber: something about shafts.

We came to a step where the level of the floor lowered and there was space enough to stand.

"Let's rest here," I said.

Murphy sat beside me on the step. I set the lamp before us on the lower floor.

From the so-called queen's chamber, there was discussion, again, of debris and who had been digging within the chamber.

I reached into my jacket pocket and found the apple I'd saved.

"Here." I offered it to Murphy.

Murphy blinked slowly at me. "You can't eat here."

I laughed. "It's not food from the underworld; I brought it with me. Besides, the Malik already showed me how to eat pomegranate seeds at his camp."

Murphy smiled, then rocked with laughter. "How did you not know?"

"They do not grow naturally in the Americas."

Murphy touched his chest as he suppressed his laughter. "It is not superstition," he said, "Carter will have a fit if you eat inside the monuments."