Curtain Call (The Jewel Project #7)

30. Alliance

With the power of Snitch Gravel's flashlight, they could look around properly. The bridge they'd seen turned out to actually be two narrow bridges, barely two feet wide, that led to where they were now sure the jewel was. All they had to do was get there.

"I don't like this," Snitch Gravel said. "There shouldn't be two bridges."

Kyle agreed. He saw no point for two bridges either. And if Snitch Gravel was right and they were indeed the first people to ever set foot in there after the builders, it became a lot more complicated. Because it meant they couldn't tell if there were any traps on those bridges or not.

As if guessing his thoughts, Snitch Gravel pointed the flashlight under the walkways, into the darkness. There seemed to be no poles or any other structure beneath . Which only left one possible trap.

"Do you think it will crumble under us?" Kyle asked, his voice even.

"Not both of them. And if my guess is right, not one or the other either." Snitch Gravel straightened and turned off the flashlight. The cavern around them seemed much darker with only the headlamps. "My guess is that parts of the bridges will fall."

That was Kyle's guess, too. It would be too easy if they could just choose one bridge or the other. Burying his confusion regarding the means by which a cave of this size was built and how those bridges were even standing, he stepped to the ledge of the platform. The sound of dripping water kept him company.

"I think it might be a natural cave," Snitch Gravel said, answering the silent question.

"Underground?"

"Why not?" He shrugged. "There are lakes underground. Why wouldn't there be caves as well? They just used what they already had."

Not that it mattered, but Snitch Gravel's theory made more sense than someone actually digging up the place. Filing that bit of information for later, Kyle knelt before the two bridges. There was merely a foot between them which made the whole thing incredibly cramped. But, on the other had, these structures were not meant for people of their size.

"There has to be something different about them," he muttered. 

He hovered his hand above the bridge on the right, wondering if it was safe to touch it. But then again, if their theory was right, they had to step on them. So, taking a deep breath, he brushed the dust off the bridge. There was nothing but a simple stone slab underneath, barely big enough to stand on.

"What are you thinking?" Snitch Gravel asked, leaning over behind him.

Kyle moved to the next bridge and cleared away the dust. This time, the slab was a myriad of tiny suns knitted together, just like the platform above them had been.

"I think we need to step on the suns," he said, standing.

Snitch Gravel crouched before the bridges and studied one, then the other. "I agree, but I also think that we should confirm." He pressed his hand against the normal slab and pushed.

Nothing happened. Tilting his head in confusing, Snitch Gravel moved to the sun slab and pressed that one down, too. The cave stayed silent.

"This is odd," he mumbled.

"Maybe it's triggered by a larger weight," Kyle suggested.

"Good point." Without further ado, Snitch Gravel stood and stepped on the clear slate.

In the sound of shattering stone, the slab crumbled under his feet. He jumped back before he could plunge into the abyss below. 

Kyle clenched his fists, fighting the need to thump him across the head. "You know I could've wrapped the rope around you before you did that, right?"