The other fours agents picked out their guns in preparation. They were nervous for they knew they would be in for the fight of their lives. Chad had no such worries however. He felt great! The closer he got to the temple, the better he felt. It was a strange sensation. He could feel a great deal of power from within the structure and he was eager to get inside. James and Chad led the way, taking the first steps on the gigantic stairway, which led all the way to the top of the pyramid. Another lightning bolt lit the sky. Heavy rain followed shortly after. In a matter of seconds, the area was suffering from almost monsoon conditions. The storm seemed to focus around the temple itself. The group increased their ascent up the stairway in order to get inside before the storm became any worse.
Upon reaching the top of the staircase, Chad noticed that the two torches that the group had seen from the ground were still lit despite the heavy showers. The lanterns stood either side of an opening. It looked like the entrance to the pyramid itself. “Shall we?” said Chad who was the first to enter. As soon as each of them crossed the threshold of the opening, their radio equipment died.
“Looks like we’re on our own guys,” said Sophie, realising as much.
The two twins and Cody looked at each other. Each of them looked nervous at the prospect of having no outside help.
“Ok, stay sharp,” said James, as the group advanced further into the temple. The light was minimal inside, so Chad led the way, closely flowed by James. The three women, Sophie, Jade and Rachel were next and Cody watched the rear.
The walls inside were made of old yellow sandstone, which, despite likely being centuries old, looked completely unspoilt. Indeed, with his enhanced vision, Chad could quite easily have mistaken the walls as being brand new. The agents walked down a passageway. They were very narrow, only enabling up to three people to stand abreast at any one time. Through the shadows, Chad could make out symbols on the walls around them. He could also make out unlit fire torches, which hung high upon the walls. The agent could vaguely see the faintest of smoke coming from the top of them.
Chad began to concentrate hard. He raised his right hand up to around the level of his shoulder and moved it in the direction of one of the torches. In an instant, all of the torches lit themselves and the room was cast into light. The rest of the agents, besides James, looked around in confusion.
“What happened?” asked Cody.
“I’m not sure,” Chad lied.
Chad and James’ eyes met briefly in conformation that they both knew exactly what had just happened. Chad had used his extraordinary ability to manipulate fire to light all the wooden torches in the passageway. For the first time, the group could now see the passageway clearly. Small symbols were scattered across the walls in the area in which they walked. Another opening was visible ahead in the distance.
“I guess we’re going that way,” said James, looking at the opening ahead of them. The group continued onwards. Jade looked around at the newly lit passageway, and more so, at the fire torches which had curiously lit all around them.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” said the twin. The group had ventured a little further ahead when the girl finally took her eyes off the walls and she rushed quickly to re-join them.
The group reached the opening that had been ahead of them. James took a quick glance back and noticed that the passageway they had just taken had been gradually leading them downwards. In fact, they must have descended over twenty feet so far. James leant forward and spoke into Chad’s ear. “You recognise the symbols on the wall?”
Chad looked around at the walls once more. “Come to think about it, yeah.”
“Really? Where from?” asked James.
“I’m not too sure, what about you?”
“I’m the same. I’ve never seen them before, yet somehow they’re familiar…”
“Hey guys, look at this,” said Cody, who had spotted a small gap in the wall. The gap was big enough to fit one person through at a squeeze. The group gathered around it.
“What’s that sound?” asked Rachel. The twin was referring to the sound of movement from the other side of the wall. The movements didn’t sound too close however, they sounded in the near distance.
“Only one way to find out right?” said Chad who attempted to squeeze his way through the gap. He managed to get through, but only just.
“Well? What do you see?” asked James. There was no immediate reply from Chad. “Chad?”
“I think you guys better come and see this,” said Chad, finally breaking his silence.
Sophie was the first of the agents to make her way through the gap. Cody was about to follow but without warning the walls began to move and the gap in the wall sealed itself. James rushed to the part of the wall where the gap had been. “Chad! Sophie!” he shouted, but there was no reply. Not even so much as a sound.
On the other side of the wall, Chad and Sophie stood at the highest point of a large open cavern. The only way to go from here was to head down. The drop was so far down it seemed to go right into the depths of the earth. Only the faintest of a red light could be made out through the darkness of the drop below. Around the edges of the drop was a circular pathway that was visible through very large gaps in the wall as it descended. Through the gaps, the two agents could make out dark figures moving around. There were many of them, possibly even hundreds. They all seemed to be digging for something.
Sophie wanted to shout through the wall to James and the other’s but she daren’t make a sound in case whatever the strange things were became aware of her presence. For now, they were not alerted to her and Chad and she wished to keep it that way.
Chad could feel something else down here, something powerful. Whatever these things are digging for has great power. It’s intoxicating… “Come on, let’s go,” said Chad. He was eager to explore the area. He wasn’t fearful of the strange shadow like creatures in the slightest. Sophie, on the other hand, was far from happy leaving the spot where they currently stood.
“Are you kidding me?” she whispered to him, careful to not raise her voice in fear of being heard by anything below. “I’m not going down there Chad, what about the others?”
“They’ll be fine, they have James with them,” replied Chad, who didn’t even bother to look back at Sophie as he replied. Chad then set off down the pathway, creeping along as silent as a shadow.
“Chad! Come back here! Chad?” It was too late though; there was no stopping him. Sophie took a final look back at the wall that had sealed on the pair, hoping beyond hope that it would open up for her once more. No such luck. “Brilliant!” She muttered to herself sarcastically.
Sophie gave chase after Chad, who had just moved out of sight around a corner. Not wanting to lose him, she quickly rushed after him. Chad was stood against a wall to the left. Sophie stood behind him. Chad took a quick glance over his shoulder, realising Sophie had joined him. “What do you see?” asked the Irish girl.
The pathway in front of them descended in all directions. There were rock formations all around, and water dripped from the roof of the cavern. Strange dark looking creatures walked slowly about the pathway. They stood around eight feet in size and seemed to be wielding pick axes. A shadow like mist omitted from them, and as far as the pair could tell, they definitely weren’t human. They had no visible facial features either. The only features the pair could make out were small white eyes.
“What do you think they’re digging for in a place like this?” asked Chad.
“I wasn’t thinking about what they’re digging for,” answered Sophie.
“What then?”
“I was more thinking…what the hell are these things?”
“Let’s take a closer look then and find out!” said Chad, who set off down the pathway once more. Sophie rolled her eyes and followed. The two stayed close to the shadows, not wanting their presence to become known. Every so often, the pair passed large gaps in the wall to their left, enabling them to see right down into th
e earth’s core. They could also see that the creatures were digging on every level of the cavern going down as far as the eye could see. One of the creatures walked nearby. Chad quickly grabbed Sophie and pulled her against the wall and into the shadows. The creature walked by completely oblivious to the pair.
A loud screeching sound suddenly filled the caverns, which caused Chad and Sophie to quickly cover their ears. The sound was high-pitched and deafening and brought Sophie some genuine discomfort. The noise was originating from beneath them, a long way beneath them in fact. “What the hell is that?” asked Sophie as she held her ears to protect them from the foul sound. All of the creatures began to descend down the pathway with some haste.
A sharp shooting pain began to filter through Chad’s head. It felt like something was calling him. He looked through the gap in the wall once more and looked down. “They’ve found it,” he said.
“Are you ok?” asked Sophie, in reference to Chad’s sudden migraine.”
“I’m fine,” protested Chad who stepped out of the shadows. “I’m going to claim it!” Chad began to run down the pathway.
“Claim what? Chad what’s going on?” shouted Sophie, but it was too late, Chad was already halfway down the pathway.
Chad ran at great speed, using the enhanced muscles in his legs to full effect. Several of the creatures, who themselves, were descending down the pathway, turned around as the agent approached. Chad didn’t hold back, rushing towards them with no fear. One of the creatures began to run towards him as he approached. The agent quickly punched the dark creature around the area of its stomach and then tossed it over his shoulders as if the creature was nothing more than a sack of potatoes. Another creature quickly approached him and grabbed the agent from behind. Chad instinctively elbowed it in the stomach. He turned to face the creature, which launched its shadow like claws at him. Chad blocked the attack and threw the thing on top of the other creature he had just floored. Chad continued onwards down the descending pathway of the cavern.
The ferocity of the thunder and lighting outside could now be heard from inside of the cavern itself. Several small pieces of rock began to fall from the roof. Sophie, who was still stood in the spot where Chad had left her, looked up for a second realising this. She set off down the pathway herself and was soon confronted by one of the dark creatures, likely one that had escaped Chad’s wrath. Sophie pulled out her pistol and began to fire at it. The bullets went straight through the creature, almost as though it was not corporal. Sophie knew this couldn’t be the case as she’d just witnessed Chad take out two of them with his bare hands.
Sophie continued to fire until the gun had unleashed its eighth bullet. The Irish girl clicked the trigger of the empty gun three more times before realising it was empty. The creature wrapped its hand around Sophie’s throat and lifted her off the ground. It placed her up against the wall and began to choke her, slowly increasing the pressure. The creature was incredibly strong and Sophie struggled as she tried to fight its deadly grip. Realising the creature was overpowering her Sophie reached into her belt and picked out one of her trusted blades. In almost an act of desperation, she plunged the knife into the creature’s gut, fully expecting it to slip through the shadow like figure. To her surprise, the blade hit something solid. The creature loosened its grip. Sophie kicked the tip of the knife to plunge it further into the figures body.
Sophie dropped to the ground as the creature realised its grip. The Irish girl nodded to herself, realising guns were no use against these creatures, but apparently blades were. She picked another blade from her belt and continued on down the pathway after Chad.
Speaking of whom, Chad rushed onwards, passing several other pathways to the side of him on his way downwards. He stuck to the descending path, knowing whatever it was that the creatures had found, laid on this route. Other shadow figures came running out of the other pathways, rushing after him as he passed. Chad was undeterred, however; nothing was going to stop him. He rushed on, using one creature that attempted to block his path as a battering ram. He sent the creature hurling to the ground with a loud thud as he crashed into it with a shoulder barge. Another creature approached him but Chad quickly jumped up at the roof of the pathway, which was a low descending rock formation. He grabbed onto a piece of the rock and hanged on it as he kicked the creature back using two feet.
Another large sound of lighting could be heard, however, this time it lit up the entire cavern. Chad turned around as the lighting hit. A few levels down he spotted a gold sparkle. An object was stuck in the rock, and this was what had gotten the attention of all the creatures. So that’s what you’re digging for, thought Chad. He continued on his charge. He ran down the two remaining levels of the cavern as fast as he could. Four more creatures were sent tumbling as they attempted to stop him in his tracks.
Chad rounded the last corner of the pathway to stand before the object that he was drawn to. A golden axe stood embedded in a large rock on the ground. Chad stopped in his tracks as soon as he sighted it. He had seen the axe before in his dreams. The golden axe. In his dreams, Chad became a warrior when he wielded the axe. He felt immortal once he gained possession of it.
Chad’s curiosity overpowered his feelings of caution and he slowly began to walk towards the golden axe that lay within the rock. He could feel great power shimmering from the object as he approached. A large lightning bolt crashed through the roof of the middle of the cavern and gravitated onto the axe for a moment. Chad looked up towards where the lighting bolt had come from. He then focused his attention back upon the axe and smiled. He didn’t know why but the closer he got to it, the better he felt.
The agent got to within ten feet of the axe when suddenly he was punched to the ground with great force. A little stunned, Chad looked up from the ground and saw before him a huge shadow like creature, at least ten feet in size, and somewhat bulkier than the rest. “You’re Big!” said Chad, who was a little impressed that the creature had been able to knock him off his feet. Chad picked himself up and unleashed a fierce right-handed punch at the shadow figures head. To the agent’s surprise, the punch barely phased the creature, which replied with two punches to Chad’s stomach. Chad felt the full force of the blows.
The creature launched itself towards him and both of them crashed into the wall to their left, which shattered upon impact. They fell to the edge of a bank near the long drop in the middle of the cavern. The pair rolled around on the ground, each trying to gain the upper hand in the fight. The creature placed one of its arms around the agent’s neck and applied great force as it attempted to choke him out. Chad tried to remove the creature’s arm with his own but the creature’s strength was much greater than he expected. Instead, he elbowed the creature three times in the chest, which forced it to release its hold on him.
Chad placed his own hands around the neck of the creature in retaliation and attempted to choke it. The creature easily overpowered the agent and tossed him aside. This was the first time Chad had fought someone stronger than himself. He was a little at a loss as how to handle the situation. The creature stormed to its feet and lifted the agent off the floor with both arms. It threw Chad high up in the air, but instead of throwing him down the endless pit to their right, it launched him at the wall to their left. Clearly, the creature wasn’t finished brutalising him. The agent crashed through the wall, landing back on the upper level.
Chad wiped his nose. Blood appeared on his hand. In fact, Chad was cut in several places across his face and head. The blood flowed from the man’s nose into his mouth. It was the first time Chad had tasted his own blood. Indeed, it had been the first time he had ever drawn blood at all. However, Chad’s attention was drawn to the object that now lay directly in front of his face, the mystical golden axe! Chad stood to his feet, brushing off the creatures assault on him and focused on the axe. He felt the power flowing through the object and he smiled once more.
Further down the pathway, Sophie emerged from around the corner.
She looked on as Chad reached down and took hold of the axe’s handle. A flash of white light originated from the object for a moment and then vanished just as quickly. Sophie watched as the light faded. Chad now stood with the golden axe in hand. The creature that had given Chad such a beating climbed up onto the level of the pathway where he was standing and it now stood directly behind him poised to strike
“Chad! Look out!” shouted Sophie.
Chad, realising he was in imminent danger, turned around quickly, swinging the axe as he did so. The axe pierced through the chest of the shadow creature, splitting its body clean in two. The creature’s body turned to ash as it hit the ground. Chad looked at the object in amazement. As he held the weapon in his hand, he felt invincible. A great force flowed through him. It gave him strength and the wounds he had received from the fight only a moment earlier healed themselves in an instant. It seemed that the object enhanced his already extraordinary abilities. Sophie looked on from the distance in awe at what she’d just seen.
#
James, Cody and twins Rachel and Jade made their way through the narrow pyramid passageways. Cody checked his radio, trying to get a signal so he could get in touch with Chad and Sophie. He was irritated by their losing of the pair, but also by the heavy sand they were all walking on. More than once it filled his boot and not for the first time, he took it off and turned it upside down, allowing the sand to fall out. “It’s still not working,” said the young Texan, referring to the lack of a radio signal.
“You won’t get that working in here, there seems to be some sort of force stopping all communication,” said James.
“How do you know that?” asked Cody.
“I just feel it,” replied James.
To the groups left was a selection of large tombs, which were engraved into the stone.
Clash Of Worlds Page 30