>>17846618You do not know how long it had been since you fell but you know it was over
The sand stopped flowing, you can finally move around
Moving your hips up, you try to lift yourself out of the sand. You take a long inhale, you are able to breathe once more
Marine is right next to you, still unconscious
You look around. A corridor, glowing crystals on the ceiling illuminating your view, rocky walls with tribal carvings on them. This was a temple
The treasure is definitely close by
"Anon... where are we?" Marine says as she steadily gets on her feet
"A temple of sorts..." you answer
"Ahhh! The treasure must be here then!! Let's go!" Marine came running head first
Your instincts kicked in immediately. You reflexively knew what was about to happen. "Marine, stop!"
As your voice escapes your mouth, Marine barely heard you when she felt felt a searing burning pain from her feet
Marine's scream echoes through the temple corridor. You knew it was going to happen. You slowly make your way to her, watching the floors for any signs of traps
Marine is sitting on the floor, crying in pain. Her right leg kneeling shakily. Blood on her boot and on the sandy floor. A hole where her feet was
A spike trap. It was brief but it was dangerous. A metal spike pierced through Marine's right feet. You tore her boot off and inspect the wound
It was not a regular spike, you could tell from the complexity of the wound. It was serrated
Her foot had its insides crushed and eviscerated on the inside, leaving a clean burrowed wound. This will cause uncontrolled bleeding if not treated soon.
You grab her by the ankle and hastily wrap her feet. The bandage is not going to hold it back off
Despite what you've been through, you cannot leave her like this
"Captain, we need to get out quickly. We need to get you treated soon." you say as you wash off her clean the bloodied sand off your palms
"W-we need... to go now..." she shakily says, holding back her pain. You lift her up and help her limp forward
You look at every nook and cranny as you walk. You know there are more traps in this place. But you do not know where there are and when they respond
A dead end. No, not dead. There is a platform overhead. And a ladder. Your heart sank as you understand the risk of climbing this in a place like this
Marine is the first to grab on and make her way up
"Don't force yourself, captain. You'll lose more blood." you advise Marine as she tries to climb up the ladder
"I'll make it, Anon... We'll get.. huff huff... out of here and we'll... huff... find that tre-" In an instant, you heard an explosion
"Captain!" you ran to catch Marine as she lost her grip of the ladder. With a thud you stopped Marine's fall with your body
There is a bloody hole in her abdomen. You look up to see a smoking hole on the wall behind the ladder
Marine is shaking, her body now cold from blood loss. "Anon... w-what was that..." she squeaks out a question
It was another trap. She grabbed on a wrong step and it triggered a gunpowder mechanism
With your last bandage, you wrap the wound around Marine's tummy. You do not know how long she can hold off blood loss
She is now incapable of moving around. You told her to grab on to you as you climb up
With an extra load on your back, you had to climb the ladder carefully to avoid both traps and falling off, with each step you take you can feel her warm blood seeping through your clothes
It was a miracle, but you finally got up. With Marine on your back, you resume walking down the corridor
At the end of your path, you both arrive in a chamber. Its sight was a glorious one to behold
Walls lined with armor and weapons. Coins littering the floor in piles. Platforms with jewelry hanging off. A golden altar in the middle.
The treasure chamber. You both finally made it. Even in her weak state, Marine could give a weak smile as she knows her journey is fruitful
But your gut twists when you study the chamber carefully. There is no way out
The ceiling is solid tight. The treasures pile up against the walls
That leaves only the altar left unchecked. A flat altar, about the size of a bed. And four cups of gold. Each bearing a different symbol
To the left of the altar is a dagger. Beneath the altar, the floor is decorated with carvings. A pattern originating from the closed off wall in front of you
These are not carvings, they're drains. You immediately know why it leads to a wall
It's the only way out...
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