Rex crossed the open path to the temple and slipped between the towering marble columns at the entrance buttressing the roof. He dug the mirror-faced piece of gold from his wetsuit and rotated in a slow circle. When he detected no danger, Rex penetrated deeper into the foyer of the temple. There, chiseled into the stone, serpents coiled up the six pillars on either side of him. Their enormity matched the living snake that had slithered past him not long ago, enormous fangs still sharp on his mind.

He removed the strap from his bang stick and fastened it to his gun, transforming the weapon into an explosive bayonet and freeing up his other hand to survey the path forward with his charmed press of gold.

Past the columns and through the towering, open doors, Rex discovered an incredible treasure room piled high with gold and jewels among a stockpile of bones.

Jackpot! He waved his mirror back and forth, searching. But what happened to Digger?

After finding his friend's severed foot, the likelihood he'd find Digger alive was low, but Rex had to try. He turned his attention from the glinting treasure and combed the inner sanctum of the temple for any signs of his teammate.

When Rex angled his gold mirror deeper into the chamber, his heart skipped a beat.

Sweet mother of God!

***

Two minutes since resuming, they'd trekked a considerable distance down the tunnel. Captain Edgars monitored their progress via his HUD. The team pushed forward with caution, blue orblight guiding them onward.

When the orb rolled into a chamber and the light flooded the room, Edgars' senses shifted gears. His muscles tensed. He squeezed the grip of his weapon and drew in a long and quiet breath. Held it.

"Okay, people." The captain whispered into his throat mic. "Stay quiet and stay sharp."

Brain's voice crackled over the radio channel. "I'm at the end and holding up."

"Good," Edgars said. "Let's try and avoid setting off any more boobytraps. We're smarter than that."

Brain gasped. "I don't think that's going to be a problem, sir. It looks like the next challenge is the boobytrap."

Edgars switched to Brain's video feed at the same time the orb rolled off a ledge a short distance in the chamber. The room darkened, but faint light remained. Shadowy silhouettes on the ceiling squirmed.

The team gathered at the edge of the chamber on the stone apron, where the floor dropped several yards into a basin the length of an Olympic-sized pool. In the pit, snakes slithered over Brain's gadget. Captain Edgars nodded to Napalm, and soon there was light.

The second flare Napalm lit brightened the chamber to the point that they could make out the exit on the far side. Below, the well of snakes squirmed and slithered and hissed.

Simon gazed out at the pool of serpents.

            Death around, death abound.

Death it is that you have found.

Don't tempt your fate.

            Or test the Lord.

            Stay off the ground for your reward. 

Lacey slid her foot to the edge and peered down.

"So, this is the Well of the Serpents," she said, head tilted in contemplation. "I dunno. It kind of has a nice ring to it." Lacey pouted. "But I forgot to pack my swimsuit."

Captain Edgars turned and pointed to Brain. "I want to know how deep this giant aquarium is, and I want to know now."

"Yessir."

Brain unshouldered his pack and withdrew a device that resembled a small frying pan. When he pressed the button on the handle, the face of the tool vibrated. As the vibration strengthened, a high-pitched tone emitted from the special tech.

"Short range sonar indicates there's roughly a meter of snakes below us." Brain methodically waved his device about the chamber until it beeped. "Three-dimensional rendering. Sharing imagery now."

A tiny envelope appeared at the corner of Captain Edgar's HUD.

He blinked twice at the icon and activated the message.

A technical scan of the room's contours sharpened in the captain's HUD as the data built, shining in bright orange lines of a contour gridwork and superimposing in real-time over the chamber wherever he looked. Edgars examined the schematic and liked what he saw. With a flick of his eyes, the mass of snakes faded as the sonar scan added into the HUD readout.

He adjusted the intensity at which he could safely view the deadly threats at his feet and peer through their throng like an X-ray.

Snakes spewed out of a portal on his left in a constant sludge of wriggling bodies. On his right, the snakes drained out of the reservoir through a similar vent, circulating the writhing landfill of scales.

"The sonar's failing to penetrate much beyond the stone basin, walls, and ceiling, sir." Brain adjusted a dial on his device, but few details appeared. "But, from the short distance the sonar is working, the scans show for certain that no boobytraps lay hidden in the chamber."

Edgars stroked his stubbled chin. "Options?"

Brain dug under his fatigues and pulled a long chrome whistle out, tangled with his dog tags. Captain Edgars watch with keen interest.

"It's something I've been working on in our spare time between other missions to the various sites leading up to this one." He untangled the whistle from his tag chain and rubbed it for good luck. "It works on low-frequency vibrations and is modified by an electronic amplifier that channels sound. When I tested it on the last snakes we ran across, back in India, it drove them mad. Some flat-out died. Other larger snakes even ate smaller ones."

Edgars nodded.

Brain put the whistle to his lips and blew.

No sound emitted, but the effect on the snakes was evident.

The serpents twisted and hissed and snapped their fangs up at the group, homing in on Brain and the device pressed between his lips. Snakes stopped exiting the pool, and soon the level of writhing bodies began to rise.

"Stop it, now! That's an order." Edgars all but slapped the whistle from Brain's lips.

Brain stared at his gadget, puzzled, and then tucked it under his jacket. He rubbed his chin. "Sorry. I don't understand it, sir. It worked the last time. Maybe the harmonic of the chamber is playing with the frequency. I think if I just make an adjustment or two, I can—"

"Can it, Brain. The snakes are leveling off in the pit. Current depth read?"

Brain waved the sonar over the poisonous pool and gulped.

"Reading three full meters, sir. Maybe a little more."

Edgars snarled. "Other options."

"Too many to shoot," Lacey said.

She held her boot over the side as if testing the water and twitched her foot. A snake snapped up and bit at the heavy-tread rubber sole. When it clamped on, she shook hard, flinging the serpent back into the hissing waters.

Lacey gazed at the ceiling. "No places to climb over." She surveyed the perimeter of the snake-filled basin. "Nowhere to walk across. The sidewalls go right down into the pit." Stared down. "Too many to wade through." Inspiration spread across her face. "How about the sled?"

Edgars nodded. "Good idea. Get it together—fast." His gaze swam across the surface of snakes. "I don't want to spend one extra moment longer here than we have to."

Hissing and slithering scales filled the chamber for the next minute while Lacey and Brain assembled the special equipment. When they finished, the rifle boasted two stout barrels spaced three feet apart and two shorter ones pointing behind. Two spools of thin, braided wire rested between the gunstocks.

Napalm meticulously inspected the sled once assembled, checked that each piece of the tubular frame was secure. He tested the pulley-system and grunted, kicked the sled with the toe of his booth as if certifying it passing inspection, and reached down for the special bridge-layer rifle.

Lacey hastily wiggled under the harness of the special gun perched atop the low-lying tripod on the floor.

"What? No!" Napalm's face boiled. "I wanted to do that ..."

She leaned forward and peered into the scope. "Sorry. You snooze, you lose. Besides. You're all doped up. You couldn't hit a piñata with a wrecking ball." Lacey flipped a switch, and a tiny monitor mounted on the rifle scope flickered to life. "Relax, I've got this. You need your west, 'ittle baby."

Napalm balled his hands into fists while Lacey snuggled up to the scope.

"Cool it, will ya?" Edgars interjected. "Let the lady shoot. She's a sharpshooter, you know."

Lacey aimed the rifle slightly above the exit on the other side of the chamber. "Would've achieved expert, but the superior officer grading my test wanted me to sleep with her. Pssht. When I said I dig guns and not canteens, she knocked my score down a notch."

Captain Edgars grinned. "I guess breaking her nose wasn't such a good idea, eh, Lacey?"

She shrugged. "Bitch deserved it."

"You could've filed a report against her." Brain shot her a screwed-up expression.

Lacey snorted. "Now what fun would that have been? Besides, the people with power protect other people with power. That's how it works. Clear!"

She drew in a breath and held it.

A green crosshair lit on the gun's monitor, and Lacey fired.

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