Dark wood, reinforced with metal bands, carved with symbols Cole couldn't read, but knew meant something. It rested on a stone platform, like whoever left it there had meant to honor it, even in hiding. Cole stepped forward, slow, careful. He reached out, his fingers brushing the cold wood. And in that moment, he felt it.
The weight of generations. This wasn't just treasure, this was memory, history made solid, the last thread tying a people to who they were. "I found it!" Cole shouted toward the tunnel, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "I'm bringing it out!" He bent and lifted. Heavy.
Damn heavy. 40, Maybe 50 kilos. Dragging it back through that narrow crawl space was going to be hell. He started backing toward the tunnel, pulling the chest along the ground. One step, two, three.
Then he heard it. A low, deep crack from the walls themselves. Cole froze, completely still. His heart pounded so hard he was sure the boys outside could hear it. "Cole!" Takai's voice came sharp and tense.
"What was that?" "Don't move," Cole said, his voice low but firm. "Nobody moves. Not a muscle." The crack came again, louder. This time Cole looked up and saw it. Small fragments of rock breaking loose from the ceiling.
The cave was shifting. Of course it was. That chest had been sitting there so long, it had become part of the structure itself. Now that it was gone, the balance was breaking. "Listen to me real careful," Cole said, forcing calm into his voice while panic clawed at the inside of his skull.
"When I say now, you pull that rope with everything you've got. I don't care how fast, just pull. Understood?" "Understood." Five voices answered in unison. Cole drew in a deep breath, measured the distance. 15 M, give or take.
He'd have to drag the chest through that crawl space while the cave came down around him. Bad odds. Only odds he had. "Ready!" he shouted. "Ready!" they answered.
"Now!" Cole lunged forward, dragging the chest with a strength he didn't know he still had left. Behind him, the unmistakable thunder of massive rocks slamming into the ground. The cave was collapsing. Dust and shattered stone filled the air, choking Cole Maddox as he clawed his way forward. The rope around his waist snapped tight as the boys outside pulled with everything they had.
His body jerked ahead, dragged across jagged ground that tore at his elbows and knees, but he never let go of the chest. His hands were locked around the iron handles with a grip no force on earth could break. Faster! Coda's voice tore through the chaos. The entrance is closing!
Cole couldn't see a damn thing. The dust was so thick it swallowed all light. Total blackness. All he could do was keep moving. Crawl, pull, breathe, while rocks crashed down dangerously close behind him.