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𝔼𝕍𝔼ℝ𝕃𝕐ℕ'𝕊 gaze remained locked on the ancient carved face as though it held some magnetic pull over her thoughts. The intricate features of the statue seemed to stir something deep within, an odd sense of familiarity she couldn't place. Her trance was suddenly broken by a sharp exclamation. "Oh my God!" Jenny's voice cut through the moment, pulling Everlyn back to reality. Jenny had walked up beside her, her wide eyes fixed on the statue. "It's Egyptian," Jenny declared, her tone brimming with excitement.

That caught the attention of the others. Nick, Vail, and the Colonel approached the group, curious about the discovery. Vail squinted at the massive stone face, unimpressed. "Oh, is that unusual?" he asked, his tone laced with sarcasm.

Everlyn glanced at him, her dark eyes narrowing. "We're in the Persian Gulf, Vail."

He shrugged, clearly not grasping the significance. "Right. Egypt's, what, 1,000 miles away? So, it's unusual. Got it." Everlyn rolled her eyes and muttered, "You're impossible." She turned back to the statue, her curiosity reignited. Meanwhile, Jenny had already moved on, barking orders at one of her coworkers. "Put those down! Hurry! Get the rest!" Nick noticed Everlyn's lingering stare and walked up beside her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She turned to him and smiled softly, nodding. "Yeah, just... I've never seen anything like this."

Jenny was already digging through her bag when she approached the Colonel, her voice confident and persuasive. "Colonel, this is a significant find. I need your men to secure this village." The Colonel raised a brow, clearly unimpressed. "We're not even supposed to be here," he shot back. Jenny wasn't deterred. "It's my job to make sure anything of value stays out of enemy hands. We have no idea what could be down there. The contents of Tutankhamun's tomb alone were valued at 650 million pounds sterling."

That caught the attention of Nick, Vail, and Everlyn, who exchanged a quick glance. The figure Jenny mentioned made their ears perk up, but none of them dared say anything outright.

Jenny turned back to the Colonel. "Understand?"

The Colonel sighed before addressing Nick directly. "Alright, umm... Colonel? If I may," Nick interjected, clearly not wanting to go down the hole. "With a couple of shaped charges, we could just close this hole right up, and Miss Halsey can come back another day." Jenny turned to him, her expression sharp and offended. "Shut up," she snapped.

Nick raised his hands in surrender as the Colonel gave his orders. "You've got two hours, then we're moving out. And you're getting in the hole with her."

Jenny froze, her smile fading. "Him?" she asked in disbelief.

Nick looked equally appalled. "Me?" he echoed.

Everlyn couldn't help it—she burst out laughing. "Oh, this is gonna be fun."

The Colonel turned to her next. "You too, O'Conner. Gear up. That's an order."

Everlyn's laughter came to a screeching halt, and she groaned loudly. "Oh, come on!" she protested, glaring at Vail, who was now grinning ear to ear. "Looks like you're going on an adventure," Vail teased, barely containing his laughter. Everlyn glared at him. "Don't even start." The Colonel wasn't finished. He pointed at Vail. "You're getting in the damn hole too, Vail!" The smug grin dropped from Vail's face as he groaned in defeat. "Oh, come on!" he exclaimed.

Everlyn couldn't help but laugh at his misery, clapping him on the shoulder. "Welcome to the party, Vail."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, shooting her a glare. "Don't think I won't get even for this."

Everlyn just grinned, her teasing tone unmistakable. "I'll be waiting."

𓋹𓂀

The ropes swayed gently as the group finally reached the bottom of the chamber, their boots crunching against the sandy stone floor. Flashlights clicked on one by one, illuminating the vast, ancient space before them. Statues of Egyptian gods loomed in the dim light, their faces stern and timeless. The air was heavy with dust and the scent of damp stone, and the sheer scale of the chamber left everyone momentarily speechless.

Everlyn let out a low whistle as she unclipped her rope. "Well, this is... something else," she said, her eyes darting over the intricate carvings that adorned the walls.

Jenny wasted no time. Pulling out her recorder, she spoke into it with a tone of professional fascination. "I'm in a large antechamber of some kind. There is an inscription on the northern wall—the Litany of Ra." She moved closer to the wall, her flashlight following the lines of hieroglyphs carved into the stone.

As Jenny read, a deep rumble resonated through the chamber. The ground trembled, causing loose sand to trickle from the ceiling. The team staggered to maintain their balance, but Everlyn lost her footing, landing hard on her side.

"Whoa, you okay?" Vail and Nick rushed to her, pulling her to her feet.

"Yeah, yeah," Everlyn muttered, brushing sand off her clothes.

As another small shower of sand fell from above, Vail groaned, shielding his face. "Are you kidding me? This is your fault. Both of you. Nick and Everlyn, totally your fault."

Everlyn rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. "Keep complaining, and I'll bury you in the sand myself."

"Oh, real mature," Vail shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He pointed his flashlight at her face, making her squint and glare.

"Vail," she warned, grabbing his arm to push it down.

But Vail, grinning, raised the light again. She shoved it down once more, only for him to lift it right back up. "I swear," she warned, "if you don't stop, I'm going to shove that flashlight right up your—" Nick laughed, stepping between them. "Alright, alright, knock it off, you two. We're in an ancient tomb, not a playground." Jenny ignored their bickering and focused on the chamber. "It's definitely a tomb," she muttered, her eyes scanning the walls. Before anyone could respond, a strange wet noise echoed through the chamber, followed by a soft plop. Everlyn froze, feeling something cold and slick land on her arm.

Nick glanced over, noticing the same silvery substance on his shoulder. "What the...?"

Everlyn held up her arm, her flashlight illuminating the liquid as it slid down her skin, leaving no residue. "What is this stuff?"

Vail leaned in, his brow furrowed. "Is that... mercury?" Jenny turned her attention to them, stepping closer. "Yeah," she said, her voice tinged with curiosity.

Nick's flashlight revealed more of the silvery liquid dripping from the ceiling above them. Everlyn frowned as she carefully let a droplet pool in her palm. It felt oddly cold, almost alive.

Jenny crouched next to her, studying the substance. "The ancient Egyptians believed mercury weakened evil spirits," she said thoughtfully. Nick snorted. "Well, now we know better. This stuff will kill you." Vail nodded in agreement. "Yeah, right after it makes you crazy."

Jenny ignored their commentary, shining her flashlight upward to where the mercury was seeping through cracks in the stone. "It's dripping into holes in the ground," she observed, moving her light to the floor. Tiny canals carved into the stone directed the mercury into narrow openings, leading deeper into the tomb.

"It's a canal system," she explained, "probably interconnected. It's designed to carry the mercury somewhere... important." Intrigued, she moved toward a larger opening at the end of the chamber. The others followed closely behind her, their flashlights sweeping across the floor and walls. Jenny reached a set of wide stairs leading down to another room. She stopped abruptly, her breath catching.

"Get the lights!" she called out.

Floodlights switched on, bathing the room in bright light. The team stepped forward, stunned by what they saw.

The chamber was enormous, its walls lined with more statues and intricate carvings. Pools of liquid mercury shimmered in stone basins, reflecting the light like molten silver. The air felt heavier here, almost charged with energy. At the far end of the room stood a massive stone sarcophagus, its surface carved with hieroglyphs and intricate patterns.

Everlyn's eyes widened as she whispered, "What is this place?"

The air hung heavy with ancient tension as Everlyn's eyes wandered the chamber, her breath catching at the sheer magnitude of history encased in the stones around her. The flickering light of their flashlights danced across carvings and statues, revealing fragments of a story long forgotten. The scent of time itself seemed to permeate the space, sharp and metallic, mingling with the faint tang of the mercury pooling in the canal.

Nick and Vail's laughter broke the silence as their flashlights fell upon a skeletal figure gripping treasure, its bony fingers entwined with gold. The sight lit their faces with mischievous glee.

"That's what I'm talking about," Nick muttered under his breath, grinning as he patted Vail on the shoulder.

Vail chuckled, his voice low. "That's a lot of gold, Nick." He quickly retrieved a camera, the lens capturing the shimmering artifacts in high definition as Jenny, focused and driven, barked orders.

"Get everything out of the bags," Jenny said curtly, her tone leaving no room for argument.

The two men obeyed, unpacking equipment with a newfound enthusiasm. But Everlyn, her heart uneasy, felt an oppressive weight in the air. Something about this place gnawed at her, its silence whispering warnings she couldn't quite interpret. Still, she joined the others, her hands moving almost mechanically as her mind wandered.

Jenny's voice rang out, clear and crisp, as she narrated her findings into the recorder. "I'm in a large, man-made cavern adjoining the antechamber. Chiselled stairs descend from the ledge, leading to a canal at the centre that feeds a ritual well filled with mercury."

The group began to follow her down the worn steps, their footsteps echoing faintly in the chamber. Jenny's flashlight traced over the carvings and statues as she continued, her voice tinged with scholarly excitement. "Pleated skirts, scarab signet rings... This is a High Priest of Amun from the temple in Thebes. The scarabs and inscriptions suggest a ritual barrier chain surrounds the well—a warning to intruders, meant to keep people out."

As her voice echoed off the stone, Vail wandered to the skeleton, his curiosity outweighing caution. With a quick glance to ensure Jenny wasn't watching, he tugged a gold necklace from the figure, the brittle remains collapsing slightly under his touch.

Everlyn noticed his antics but said nothing, her gaze drawn upward to the mechanics and ropes suspended above the well. Her thoughts wandered further, uneasy and scattered, until Jenny's sharp voice cut through the haze.

"Nick! Don't even think about it."

Everlyn turned just in time to see Nick crouching near another pile of gold, his hands raised in mock surrender as Jenny glared at him. The sight made her chuckle, a brief break in the tension.

Jenny resumed her narration, her voice growing more solemn as her flashlight illuminated six imposing statues encircling the well. Their faces were eerily serene, yet their presence was undeniably foreboding.

"There are six watchers around the well," Jenny murmured, her tone almost reverent. "Facing inward instead of out. Whatever's in there... those chains aren't for bringing it up. They're for holding it down." She paused, her voice dropping to a whisper. "This is not a tomb."

Everlyn's voice, soft but certain, completed the thought. "It's a prison."

The weight of her words settled over them like a shroud. Before anyone could respond, the Colonel's voice crackled over the radio, breaking the spell.

"Lima 2-6, come in."

Vail grabbed the radio. "Copy, sir."

"Get out now. We've got reports of bogeys inbound. We need to move."

Jenny, undeterred, snapped at him. "Tell Greenway we have to notify DTRA."

Vail raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

Jenny's voice was steady and insistent. "I need specialists from Cairo."

"Cairo?" Vail's tone was incredulous, but their bickering was abruptly silenced by the sharp crack of a gunshot.

Everyone turned to see Everlyn lowering her handgun, her eyes fixed on the ropes above the well. The mechanisms groaned, ancient gears creaking to life as the ropes began to pull. The room seemed to hold its breath as a massive coffin, its surface adorned with intricate carvings, rose slowly from the mercury.

Everlyn's heart pounded in her chest as her gaze locked onto the face carved into the coffin. The features were hauntingly regal, the expression frozen between agony and fury. Her surroundings blurred as her mind spiralled, an inexplicable force pulling her away from the present. A sharp noise snapped her back—the skittering sound of legs on stone. Her flashlight darted to the ground, revealing a wave of spiders surging toward them.

Chaos erupted.

"Ah! Ow!" Vail yelped as one of the creatures sank its fangs into his arm. He fired his weapon wildly, the sharp cracks echoing through the chamber as the team ducked to avoid the ricocheting bullets.

"Vail, cease fire!" Nick yelled, shielding his head.

"They're just camel spiders!" Everlyn shouted, her voice sharp with frustration. "They're not even poisonous!" Vail, pale and shaking, glared at her. "I don't care! Can we please leave?" Jenny's voice was sharp. "Are you out of your mind, Vail? This is a historical find!"

"It bit me!" Vail yelled, his voice cracking. "Nick! Everlyn! It bit me!"

As Nick's voice echoed faintly, a desperate attempt to soothe Vail's panic, Everlyn found herself slipping further from the commotion. Her eyes, drawn as though by an unseen force, returned to the coffin. The face carved upon its surface seemed alive, its features fierce yet regal, exuding a sorrow so deep it resonated within her chest like a distant drum. The longer she stared, the less the room around her seemed to exist.

The air thickened, the chamber melting away into a shimmering mirage. The scent of stone and mercury faded, replaced by the dry, warm breath of desert winds. Sand swirled like whispered secrets in a golden dance, the grains moving as if stirred by unseen hands. The horizon stretched endlessly before her, bathed in a light too soft to be real, like sunlight filtered through the veil of a dream.

Through the haze, a figure emerged, his movements slow yet purposeful, as though time itself yielded to his presence. He wore a flowing robe of purest white, the fabric catching the faintest glimmers of the sun and shimmering with an otherworldly brilliance. Each step he took seemed to ripple through the sand, leaving no trace, as though the earth itself revered him too deeply to hold his weight. And then his eyes found hers—dark as midnight, infinite as the heavens. They pierced her soul, speaking in a language that transcended words, ancient and eternal. In those eyes was a depth that pulled at her very essence, a gravity she could not resist.

Everlyn blinked, her breath hitching as her heart pounded against her ribs. She saw him. He was not just a vision, not a figment of imagination; he was real, tethered to her by an inexplicable force that seemed to have waited lifetimes to awaken.

The weight of the chamber, the treasure, and the chaos faded, dissolving into the desert wind. There was no sound, no time—only those haunting eyes and the unspoken promise they carried.

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By: SilverMist707

I hope you enjoyed it <3