The Pyramid

Date: 16/09/1723

Location: Egypt

"This has got to be the one" Thomas wipes away the sweat from his forehead as he agonisingly stood up. The area Thomas and his team had started exploring was the last of the four great pyramids. Against the advice from his colleagues back in the UK, Thomas followed the story from his home in London all over the world. This was the treasure he needed to find. Thomas could feel a calling ever since he was child that something wanted him to find it.

"WELL IT CAN'T BE IN THE OTHERS!" Exclaimed Thomas' best friend Richard, his voice echoing off the walls of the pyramids interior.

"You never know my friend" Thomas said at his regular volume as to not deafen his friend. Thomas had always considered himself an intelligent man and Richard knew this to be true as he backed every attempt to get this trip green lit. Richard had always seen Thomas as his brother, they'd come up together and managed to get out of those dingey workhouses. "Definitely smells better than being back at home don't it?" Thomas asks his friend as he wanders further and further into the darkness.

"Thank god we've got these torches" Richard waves his torch. Thomas sees some engravings on a wall in the distance, picking up speed as to get there faster. "Wait a minute, I'm still sore from climbing is here" Richard complains as he jogged looking his bowels had failed him.

Thomas got out his magnifying glass and examined the carving intently. "You see here" He points at the engraving that looked like a ball. "That's what I've seen in my dreams" Thomas takes a couples of steps back.

"Looks more like a door than one of the walls we saw back there" Richard pointed back into the direction they'd come from. "See here" Richard dropped to the ground to see the bottom of the door. " there's a gap down here, just got to find the handle"

"Good work Richard" Thomas used his magnifying glass in an attempt to get a better look in the room.

"And that my friend, is why we make such a good team" Richard replied as he picked himself back up, now feeling the door for anything that felt like the switch to open it. A tile that Richard felt had reacted to his touch and the door began to open.

With the opening door came a rush of wind and a faint glow that could be seen at the furthest part of the chamber. Without skipping a beat, Thomas rushed straight towards the light.

"WAIT!" Richard shouts. But it was too late, Thomas had stepped on a trap. Richard being as fast as he was managed to spot an axe coming from a wall on the right-hand side, pushing Thomas out of the way to save his life.

The swinging axe swiped through Richard. Thomas threw up at the sight of his friend dangling on the axe, his arms swinging with the sway of the trap.

"Was this a mistake?" Thomas thought to himself. "Should I turn back?" he knew he couldn't or else all that effort he'd put in to get this far would have meant nothing. "at least if I die here I won't have to admit defeat back home" Thomas says out loud to himself.

Stepping closer and closer through the chamber towards this artifact, Thomas was managing to hold himself together quite nicely. "If this had happened to anyone else" Thomas steps closer. "they'd turn around and run away, not me…not me" he mutters to himself.

Reaching the light, Thomas could see that it had taken the shape of a sphere. "Why does I feel warm?" Thomas asked the Sphere. "No point trying to get anything from you is there?"

The weary adventurer out his hand out to the glowing red sphere.

"do it, do it"

"What?" Thomas pulls his hand back. "Was that you?" he asked the ominous sphere.

"I won't hurt you Thomas" The Sphere calls out to him. This voice felt familiar to him and on the reassuring words, he puts his hand onto it.

Thomas' heart stopped. He lets out a gasp, likes he's trying to hold on but collapses to the ground.

Mere seconds later Thomas opens his eyes. In front of him, in place of the Sphere stood his friend.

"Richard?" Thomas asks as he tries to make sure that what he was seeing was real.

"NO!"