“Over here!” Echo shouted, now being dragged along by Ryan, who had taken the lead.
She had noticed a small alcove earlier-a narrow bend just big enough to squeeze into. It had stuck in her mind the moment she saw it, and now she pointed toward it with urgency.
Ryan spotted it at the same time, his instincts aligning with hers.
They both knew the importance of remembering routes-Echo, a thief, and Ryan, a bandit, were both pros at that.
Without missing a beat, Ryan scooped Echo up and lunged toward the alcove. Hawk, Cobra, and the others followed close behind, not caring about ranks or orders anymore.
With arrows whistling dangerously close behind them, they all dove for the narrow escape route, praying they’d make it in time.
Cobra barely made it into the alcove when a loud crackling noise erupted behind them. The sharp sound of the arrows colliding with stone made everyone flinch.
Panting, Cobra turned his head just in time to see a wave of arrows slam into the wall at the turn’s edge, sinking into the stone as easily as a knife slicing through butter. The scraping sound from their impact was so sharp, it sent chills down his spine.
“Damn, that’s intense,” Cobra muttered, finally catching his breath. Seeing no more arrows flying, he stepped away from the wall and stared, dumbfounded, at the forest of arrows embedded in the stone.
Meanwhile, the group, still tangled up in the small alcove, scrambled to get off each other. Ryan, who had ended up at the center of the pile, carefully backed away, revealing Echo in his arms. She was gasping for air, her face flushed from being squished in the tight space.
Echo rubbed her back with a wince. “Damn… my back’s killing me.” Ryan had shielded her against the wall, pressing her into it to protect her from the force of everyone piling in. She understood why-every bit of space mattered in moments like that-but her body felt like it had been nearly flattened.
Standing beside Ryan, Echo looked up at the wall full of arrows, glinting under the harsh beam of their flashlights. Her lips twitched involuntarily. If she hadn’t noticed that turn in time, they’d all be dead. The neat row of arrow shafts sticking out from the stone made her feel a little dizzy.
“That’s crazy,” the local guy muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. “Who would’ve thought something this ancient could be so deadly?”
Like most of the team, he never imagined they’d find themselves dodging traps set centuries ago. In their minds, ancient weapons were no threat to modern firepower-but reality had just proved them wrong.
They’d underestimated how dangerous this old place could be, forgetting that the pyramids were more than just ruins-they were a product of brilliance beyond their understanding.
Hawk chuckled bitterly, nodding in agreement. “Yeah… All this time, we thought we had the upper hand with guns and explosives. Turns out, even the best gear we’ve got can’t do squat against a five-thousand-year-old death trap.”
Just thinking about how useless their weapons had been in that moment left him feeling powerless. Technology may have come a long way, but this place wasn’t about to let them off easy.
Cobra shot Echo a look of admiration. “Gotta hand it to you, Echo. That was impressive.”
Echo gave him an awkward grin, a little embarrassed. “Honestly, I didn’t know it’d be this serious. I just thought it was weird seeing a few loose stones in such a spotless place-that’s usually a red flag.”
It was instinct from her years as a master thief. Little things others ignored could be huge clues, so she’d learned to stay sharp and avoid anything that seemed out of place.
But she hadn’t expected such an elaborate trap to spring from something so small. She wasn’t an expert in ancient mechanisms-her knowledge was limited to modern systems. What saved her this time was pure caution and the habits she’d built from her work.
For Ryan and his crew, though, attention to detail worked differently. They were experts at sensing danger from living threats-any hint of hostility, and they’d pick it up immediately. But they weren’t trained to detect traps hidden in lifeless objects. It was a skill gap that showed: when it came to motion and instinct, they excelled, but when it came to the still and precise, that’s where Echo shined.
Echo rubbed her back, grinning awkwardly at Cobra, who was glaring at her.
Seeing this, Cobra let out a low grunt and muttered, “Well, that’s still your skill.”
Echo felt a flicker of pride, but she held back. Ryan was still looking for Clement, and now wasn’t the time to be getting too cocky.
With no way forward, they had to turn back.
Ryan grabbed Echo’s arm and said, “We’re heading back.”
He started moving, but before they could take more than a step, Echo suddenly reached out and grabbed Ryan’s arm.
Ryan turned sharply, his eyes narrowing. “What?”
Echo frowned, rubbing her back. “Is there something on my back?” she mumbled, feeling around as if something was stuck to her skin.
Ryan’s expression darkened. He pulled her closer and spun her around, inspecting her back.
There was nothing visible, but Echo kept rubbing the same spot like something was bothering her. Without warning, Ryan reached for the hem of her shirt.
Echo’s eyes widened.
“Boss!” she hissed in protest. No way was he going to take her clothes off in front of everyone!
Cobra and the others, catching the tension, quickly turned their backs, giving them some privacy.
Ryan paused for a moment, but his grip stayed firm.
Echo grabbed his hand to stop him from pulling her shirt up. Still running her fingers along her back, she hesitated and said, “It feels like some kind of mark.”
Without waiting for a response, she dragged Ryan toward the spot where they’d just come barreling through.
There it was-an oval-shaped, slightly raised carving of the sun god. It blended into the wall’s intricate stonework so subtly that no one would’ve noticed it-unless, of course, someone had been pressed right against it, like Ryan had pushed Echo earlier.
Everyone stood there, silently studying the design. No one had a clue what it meant.
Echo sighed, frustrated. “We should’ve brought an archaeologist with us.”
Although she had studied Egyptian history and pyramids, her knowledge didn’t extend to decoding their religious symbols. There were just too many, and trying to figure them out gave her a headache. Something about the mark felt off, but she had no idea what it signified.
Ryan, seeing that tapping on the symbol did nothing, grabbed Echo’s arm and pulled her away. “There’s always another way,” he muttered.
If they couldn’t find one, he’d just blow a path open. Though, if he knew that the stones here weighed up to 260 tons each, he might’ve thought twice about which explosives would even make a dent.
Cobra watched them turn to leave, scowling. Frustrated by the strange carvings and the whole place, he gave the wall a hard kick. “I hate this ancient crap,” he grumbled.
Then came the sound-rumble… rumble…
Cobra froze mid-step, startled by the noise behind him. Heart racing, he started running forward while glancing over his shoulder.
BAM!
Cobra crashed straight into Ryan, who had stopped abruptly at the sound. Ryan planted a hand firmly on Cobra’s head, halting his momentum like it was nothing. Cobra stood there awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, as the others stared past him, their expressions calm and focused.
The wall, starting from the oval carving, slowly split apart, rising toward the ceiling. A weak but brilliant beam of light shone from the widening gap, cutting through the darkness.
As the wall lifted higher, the sight beyond left Echo completely stunned.