The confusion and the cold were a bad mix for their body, they made a quick resolve to return to the truck, get it to work however they could, and leave. James didn't agree. He thought returning to a truck that he knew would not work was not the best idea, the cold would only continue to hit their skins. He grabbed the doorknob in annoyance, turned it, and the door opened.

He went through the door knowing he could get arrested for trespassing. At least, he wouldn't die of cold. He successfully persuaded the remaining four and had them go into the unknown house with him.

As they stepped inside the house, they felt different, the atmosphere inside was of peace and warmth, though smelly.

Harley flickered his nose slightly with his fingers as it caught the rancid and dank smell that travelled through the air. Rotten food. It sent yet another feeling of abandonment to his brain cells.

The lamps that brightened the house were all covered in cobwebs, the flickering chandelier above their heads—that cast their shadows against the floorboards— was with broken strings of crystals. The grey curtains by the window were ripped and old...nothing seemed new in the house.

Julie and Becky bent knees at the fireplace, rubbing their palms for warmth. Harley stood behind them, staring for long at the painting that hung just above the fireplace, trying to decipher the painter's message. It was a painting of a little girl with several people kissing her feet. He tried but couldn't figure it out, art was never his thing anyway.

Big Spence on the other hand now had access to the internet, he sat comfortably on a wooden rocking chair across the room while sliding his thumb across his phone screen.

James, after perambulating the house returned to the lounge where the others were with a glass box in his hands. “Guys, look what I found.”

The box looked more of a crystal but it was glass— tempered glass. It had a strange glowing blue-black object floating in its center with nothing visible holding it in place. James tried getting the object out but the box was too tough to open with just hands.

“Yo! You kidding me right? That's some treasure right there bro. Where the fuck did you find that?” Big Spence, with a face filled with surprise, bounced towards James. “Come on, let's open it up.”

“Come on now, this is stealing, looting, whatever you call it, we shouldn't be doing this. What if the owner comes around?” Becky spoke.

“Exactly,” Julie agreed.

“Checked around babes, nobody here. Nobody, we good,” James replied with a grin.

“No, you guys are not going to open that. We are going to return that where the fuck you picked it up, we gonna get out of here and go back to the fucking truck,” said, Harley.

“Well, you can take your leave bro. Amma open this open, sell it, and when I make the dough from it, amma share the profit with Big S...Right, Big S?” James replied, grabbing a metallic rod that his eyes caught at a corner.

“Yo Harley, don't tell me you don't know how much this gonna worth when we take it back to Virginia. It's big money bro, big money. I'll go with James on this, let's break it open bro.” Big Spence turned to Harley.

Without waiting for permission, not that he needed one after all, James upraised the metal rod above his head, struck the glass box hard with the sharp edge of the rod. Twice, thrice, the box weakened, and on the fourth strike, it shattered into tiny pieces, scattering onto the floorboards. The blue-black object in the box, still glowing, landed gently on the broken glass pieces. It looked more magical and beautiful outside the box, more beautiful than a diamond if you ask.

Harley, Julie, and Becky all watched James in disgust as he picked up the glowing object. Big Spence was full of joy, his heart melted as if he had just seen the most beautiful girl walk across the beach in some sexy blue lingerie. For him, it was like falling in love. Money was love.

Big Spence and James did some weird dances in celebration of their newly acquired treasure.

Their celebration scene didn't last for long as it was cut short by loud rumbles that sounded almost like multiple explosions.

“What—the—hell...was that?” Becky reacted anxiously.