Sam racked his brain, but for once, he was stuck. He had no idea how to beat the pendulum. After a careful analysis, they came to the conclusion that there was no way to go over it, under it, or around it. The only plausible option was to somehow stop it.
Except they had no idea how. It looked like an unstoppable truck coming towards them again and again. Sam had spotted the mechanism responsible for the swinging somewhere on the left, barely perturbing from the wall, but they couldn't reach it to try to jam it, and didn't really have anything to jam it with.
As the time ticked by together with the pendulum, they searched for alternative doors along the walls not covered by tiny spikes, but only managed to find an exit out of the temple and into a large dune of sand, just as the corridor leading to the pendulum ended. After a few hours of digging, they'd secured their way out, but were no closer to fulfilling their task.
So they retreated to the burial room to rest, eating away time, batteries and water they couldn't afford. Going thirsty wasn't an option either. They needed to be able to focus, to have enough strength for the way back.
"We're so close. So damn close," Sam muttered.
"I have an idea, but it's morbid as fuck," Tom said from his spot on the floor. Everyone turned to him and he elaborated. "I'm thinking that uncle D's crashed side isn't a coincidence. Maybe we could stuff him into the mechanism and jam it."
Sam winced and was actually glad Jerry wasn't there for the first time. He'd probably die of outrage at the suggestion that they stick their dead relative in an ancient mechanism.
"Ew," Angie muttered.
"As much as I hate to say it, bones are sturdier than this furniture, and it's the only thing that would fit in there," Kyle said. "What?" he asked when everyone stared at him. "I've been considering throwing everything into that thing, including the sarcofagi."
Damn it, Kyle was right. There was nothing else that would fit and actually had the chance to stop it, even if it meant desecrating a corpse.
"Family vote? Who's for throwing uncle D into the trap?"
Everyone raised their hands, including the girls. He smiled, pleased that they considered themselves family. He wanted them to be, including Angie who was still putting such an effort into ignoring Tom for whatever reason. They could do this together.
"I guess that settles it." Kyle pushed himself off the wall and headed back into the hallway.
They all followed and crammed into the small space while Kyle picked up the corpse. There was no surprise when his legs fell off. What did surprise Sam was how little remorse he felt about it.
"Okay, we get one shot. Let's make it good," Kyle said to himself.
Sam held his breath as his brother took aim and launched the skeleton into the mechanism. A flaying arm hit the pendulum and flew off, into the wall above them. The rest of the body hit the target. For half a second, the ancient cog screeched before it launched a rain of bones and splinters upon them. They all ducked and covered their heads until the dust and bones settled.
"Well, that's that," Sam mumbled, straightening.
"Now what?" Jessie asked.
Sam bit his lip, trying to decide if his stubbornness to get information was worth all this. "We do have a way out. So it's either we find a way in there, or we just get out and admit defeat."
"We never admit defeat," Tom said, leaning against the wall. He jumped into sitting position as the tiny spikes bit into his skin. "We just need to figure out how to stop this trap."
YOU ARE READING
Lose Control (The Jewel Project #5)
Adventure"It's never going to end, is it? The rivalry, the hatred, the madness. Not even now. Not even after so many years." It has been three years since the last jewel was recovered, and the Agency seems to have put the project to rest. They have a new tar...
