Curtain Call (The Jewel Project #7)

8. The Final Sacrifice

The rumbling seemed to go on forever. 

By the time the sound died down, Sam's ears were ringing and the couldn't see anything because of the dust. It seemed to seep everywhere: in his throat, his eyes, his ears.

"Is everyone okay?" he called out.

"Sam, move!"

Kyle's voice put him in motion and he took a step to his left. Nothing happened, so he waited in darkness and silence.

"Okay, I think it's stable for now," Jimmy said from somewhere to his right. "Let's turn on the lights."

Sam took his own flashlight out and in a moment, the giant room was lit well enough for him to take in everyone.

Kyle was ahead of him now and to his right, Kay just one step behind him. Jimmy crouched just one block ahead of them, but on the right edge of the chessboard. Jessie lay next to him, stretched on three squares, her hand over her right side, her face scrunched in pain.

The sight had bile rising to Sam's throat and he quickly continued his search. Tom, Christine and Jerry were to his left, all of them looking dirty but unhurt except for a bloody gash on Tom's shoulder. Angie was right behind him, shaking but unhurt.

A few squares had sunk in permanently and others were completely covered by what looked like stone blocks. After pointing his flashlight at the ceiling, Sam realized there was more than one layer of blocks covering the room. Which meant a lot more could still dislodge and fall on them. A few spears protruded from more squares, and there were openings in the walls as well. The entire room was wired to kill them.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice strong enough to show that he really wanted an answer this time.

"Well, we apparently set off a chain of traps," Tom said, wiping the blood off his shoulder. "And had to move around until it all finally stopped."

"How's Jessie?" Kyle asked, shining his flashlight on her.

"I'm fine," Jessie said between her teeth. "Got scratched pretty badly by one of those flying spears and it stings, but I'll be fine. I just need--"

Jimmy tore of a piece of his t-shirt and helped Jessie tie it around her midsection.

"What traps?" Sam asked still marveling over his dumb luck of ending up in a space devoid of any.

"Falling stone slabs, spears, those tiny projectiles, the floor falling... You name it," Tom said, the beam of his flashlight moving erratically around the room. "Shit," he mumbled.

That was a word Sam never wanted to hear again. At least not in this context. He didn't even ask, just pointed his own flashlight in the direction of the wall in front of them. His breath caught in his throat. Somewhere along the way, spikes had come out of it, filling every inch of it. Was there no door to lead further to the jewel? But then again, who knew what their next sequence of movements would reveal.

"There's a door open behind us," Jerry whispered. "Do you think the jewel could be through there?"

Sam shook his head. "It's probably an exit." The jewel obviously demanded human sacrifice, and that chessboard was the way to get it.

"Good to know that we have a way out," Jessie said. "I'll need to stand and all hell will probably break loose."

"Did anyone notice a pattern?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. There is no pattern," Tom mumbled. "The only constant is that if you take two consecutive steps forward, ya dead."

"Still something," Sam said. He didn't like those spikes at all, but there was a fairly big possibility that by continuing their way across the board, they'd either pull back or a door would open. "Jessie, tell us when you want to move."