The truck rumbled along the uneven forest road, its tires kicking up dust and small rocks. The faint hum of Blinky filled the silence inside the vehicle as Mallory stared out the window, her fingers absently tracing the glowing orb now secured in a small pouch around her neck.
"So," Greg began, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed. "We have a shiny, glowy orb, no manual, and no idea what it does. Does that sum things up?"
Alex smirked from the backseat, where he was fiddling with a gadget. "Sounds about right. Don't forget we're also heading to a completely unknown location based on another map that might lead us to either salvation or our doom."
"Cheerful," Quinn muttered from the driver's seat.
"I'm just saying," Greg continued, gesturing dramatically, "at what point do we admit that maybe following cryptic coordinates from glowing rocks and half-finished journals isn't the best strategy?"