Charlie Addams's Story

Two days. It had been two days since the group of students from LindenWood, had found themselves leaving the comforts of what was considered to be their new home back in New York. All while being led by their Professor. Who, by all means knew what he was doing, well, for the most part. There were times where his assistant, Kayden, would have to step in and lead the otherwise clueless bunch. Was indeed a sight to see as a small Irish woman led a brigade of International students, and their clueless and often time scatter brained British Professor. To say getting around the airports wasn't easy, well, you can only imagine. But now the group found themselves in what would be considered their new home for the next month, the Dusit Thani LakeView Hotel, in Cairo, Egypt.

Currently, the hot sun of Egypt had been beating down overhead, onto the small group of travelers, nearly exhausted from the full day of exploring. The first day was spent exploring the city itself, the food, the culture, the people, and a few landmarks such as the Abdeen Palace and the Khan el-Khalili bizaar that were in the capitol.

Arguably though, today’s activities were perhaps the most exciting and nearly everyone was looking forward to it. The day began with a short bus ride to the outskirts of Cairo in Giza, where the students were allowed to explore one of the seven wonders of the world. The Pyramids of Giza. The impressive structures were a breathtaking sight and it wouldn’t have been complete without a lengthy lecture from Professor Price. They had already spent about four hours at the site before the sun had just begun to set in the Western horizon. Most of the group would have thought the day would’ve been called quits there. Seeing as the sun was beginning to set, and it was best advised to settle indoors after that. Since the group first arrived, they had been told countless times by locals to be wary after the sun goes down. Local tales had been spread about the group in the oncoming two days, even if Tarren and even Eden had thought that they were nothing more than old lore and stories told, especially to scare off tourists. The less trouble they caused, the better.

But, as their luck would have it, Professor Price had a different idea.

Tarren knew that the moment Professor Price just simply mentioned the field trip to Egypt, that things weren't going to end well. Tarren had never been out of the country before aside from a few trips back home to Brisbane for their mother. Other than that, Ren had never been to a place with endless seas of sand, and blazing suns, it was a stark contrast in culture to what they knew for the better half of twenty-plus years. But they figured that they might as well go, especially due to some pushing from Price, and some of their friends in the days that followed. While the prospect of earning a few more credits and offers after going on the trip was originally the only thing that ultimately made them go, knowing that some of their friends truly wanted them along was enough of a push. And so they made their decision.

The first few days were rather, uneventful if Ren was being honest. Not much of anything happened except for small travel, and touring some of the surrounding cities. Not that it wasn't interesting or boring, it just wasn't exactly what they had been expecting. It was now the second day and the sun had already started to slowly go down, as well as the majority of the tourists were beginning to head back to the buses and leave for the night. Tarren had stayed back amongst the group and waited for news on what they would be doing.

The buses began to fill, leading the tourists back to the capital, Price instead had the group stay behind as he wanted to see one last thing before they headed back. His request was met with unsurprisingly, unanimous protest - after all they had been trekking nearly all day, not to mention whatever the man had in mind was definitely not on the itinerary. It wasn’t until about a half hour after they had been wandering aimlessly around the desert that it was obvious they were more than a little lost.

It was only when Price told them all to follow him and that they weren't exactly done just yet, much to the vocal dismay of the others. While everyone was getting either burned or complaining of the heat, Tarren had welcomed the sun. They oddly dressed with a jacket and shorts, with plenty of sun screen applied, of course. With sunglasses in hand, they had no reasons for complaining, at least not now. They figured in the morning they would feel the aftermath of the Egyptian sun that shone down on them mercilessly for hours. But for now, feeling that familiar sun here, like it was back in Brisbane.

Tarren looked to some of their friends for a moment, giving them a don't ask me look, before they walked up alongside Price and Hallows. "Excuse me, Professor?" Tarren started, but only received a poor excuse of an answer in the form of a shoulder shrug and mumbling. Seeing as the two co-leads were busy looking over the map. Tarren turned back to look at the others, shrugging their own shoulders before continuing to walk up alongside the Professor and his assistant. "Don't mean to....intrude, but, the others and I were wondering where we're actually going? The sun is setting, so shouldn't we be headed back already?" Tarren questioned casually.

The other two mumbled about themselves a bit more, before Kayden turned around partially to face Tarren, giving them a bright smile, "We'll be going back in just a bit. The Professor just wants to trekk on a bit more, and then we'll be heading back. Promise." Kayden looked back, as Trevor exclaimed to himself and headed off in the direction he was facing. Kayden and Tarren exchanged glances between each other, and then the group, before gesturing for the others to follow their wayward Professor.

The group had been led further past the Pyramid of Menkaure to the Queen’s Pyramids, a set of three Pyramids that were smaller in comparison to the others each built for a famous Egyptian Queen. Long gone were the signs placed conveniently for the tourists, it was beginning to look like mountains upon mountains of sand dunes awaiting them when the ground suddenly dipped down into a small ravine. Trevor skidded to an abrupt stop at the sudden dip in the ground and his eyes lit up. ”Fascinating...” he mumbled under his breath lowering his map as he looked at the ruins.

Nowhere did it list the presence of a tomb or a current excavation taking place. To anyone else, this place might not have existed. So, how in the hell, did they manage to find it? Nevermind go in the right direction to possibly stumble upon something? This immediately didn't sit right with Tarren, nor Kayden. But Trevor, he seemed all too excited. A little bit too much, if they were being honest. The two women shared another look at each other, before walking up alongside the Professor. "Trevor?" Kayden began, folding her hands before she continued, "Don't you think it'd be best if we started to head back? Come back in the morning, and when we're not all exhausted? And...you know...Sunlight?" she questioned, gently tapping Trevor on the shoulder.

A small chuckle escaped his mouth as he looked up finally at the two, ”It would, but we don't have time for that! We want to be able to say we explored it first, don't we? Besides-" the Professor turned fully around to look at the full group of students, ”We go in and explore, just a bit. And I'll give you all passing grades for this class, and even more so, we can take the rest of this trip easy afterwards. We just have to take a little peak inside the tombs first." he grinned.

Trevor gestured for the group to join him by the edge of the slope, and looked down once more into the ravine. At the bottom of the crevice, set a massive entrance to some sort of temple that was half buried in the sand. The place looked like it was just a breeze away from toppling over. Threatening statues of Pharaohs were in the front staring menacingly down at them, almost as if they were guarding whatever was hidden away inside the tombs. The sight made Tarren’s stomach turn with that all too familiar sense of adrenaline. But the rational part of their brain flickered for a moment. There was no way that something like this had sat here for this long without being discovered. With all the tourists, explorers, and locals poking around the desert? There was no way this place had been undiscovered. Right?

Tarren looked at the others, then back at Trevor, "I have to agree with Kayden, Sir. We can come back tomorrow. We'll have more time, and natural lighting to explore the tombs. Besides, who says this hasn't been explored yet-" Trevor lifted his hand, ”Want a promised passing grade, or not, Havenfield?" he questioned, eyebrows raised before a grin formed on his face. ”Whoever wants to come along, make haste. But for those who wish to remain outside, feel free. We'll just take a peak, and be done with it, ya?" He didn’t really wait for much of an answer from the others, as he had already began to carefully move down the edge of the ravine. Taking just a moment to beckon for everyone to follow him. Before disapearing further down.

Kayden gave a wary glance to the students, “We have to go after him don’t we?” Kayden paused, then looked back to the direction of which Trevor left. “We have to go after him.” She said more to herself than the others, and slowly she began after him, sliding down the slope. A few rocks scattering down from the impact of her feet. The audible crack of rocks clattering below.

Professor Price reached the base of the ravine just in front of Kayden, and whoever else was behind her. Placing his hands on his hips as he gazed at the towering Pharaoh statues to the dark cave of an entrance. “Professor none of us really think this is a good idea we-” Tarren's face paled slightly as they watched him slip off his backpack and crouch down. Quickly beginning to dig through it furiously until he retrieved a torch.

He tapped it on his knee a few times before the faint light flickered on. “You, you can’t be serious.” Kayden mumbled out as a look of disapointment appeared on her face. Even for her, with all of the years she knew Trevor, even this was a bit much for him. Trevor just returned her gaze with a small glint in his eyes. He quickly stood up, brushing sand off of his pants. Brandishing the flashlight in his hands. ”I know this might seem a bit insane to some of you but…Wouldn’t some of you like to have a piece of your name written into history? You all signed the waivers didn’t you…?” The briefest smile flashed across his face, before turning to look at the old entrance of the ruins. “I’m not forcing any of you to follow me, in fact, by all means stay out here. I’ll just have a brief look inside…” He trailed off, as he gazed back at the entrance. “But, for anyone who would like to join, I won’t stop you either.” and with that, Trevor made his way into the entrance of the tombs, and whatever it was that awaited inside...

Thoughts wracked around Tarren's mind as they thought to themself for a moment. If something was truly down there, and if they were a part of a possible large discovery, it could possibly end up with some way of helping their situation back home. If this came with some sort of financial pay, well, Ren could feel a slight nagging feeling in the back of their head. Something telling them not to. But at the same time, they had no real choice.

Going against their better judgement, Tarren shifted through their own backpack that they had with them, quickly retrieving their own flashlight and turning it on, exposing some of the smaller details of the entrance as they took a few steps forwards in the direction the professor went off in. "Well, I for one say that we need to get him back, but...As long as we don't come across any more scorpions or centipedes, I know I'll be fine." Tarren said with a large grin, "But I doubt that'll be the case..." they shuddered, thinking about the scorpions they already came across. While, in reality, Ren was both terrified and excited for what could possibly be ahead, even if what was about to come could be a mistake. What was the harm in snooping around for a little while, right? And obviously, retrieving Professor Price...

It took a lot to curb Nova’s enthusiasm for life and for exploring new and exciting places. Day one of the tour, she’d been full of life and energy, excited to explore the city and get to grips with a new culture. She’d already picked up her fair share of souvenirs, including a new tea cup she’d found at a random stall and had immediately fallen in love with. And, as far as room assignments went, she’d gotten exceptionally lucky, it seemed.

But on day two, the heat and the jet lag were starting to get the better of her. They hadn’t completely won out, her excitement replenished by the promise of getting to see the Great Pyramids, but she was perhaps less excitable than she had been. By the end of the day, her energy was starting to wane, and truth be told, when the professor said that they wouldn’t be getting the bus back to the hotel, there was a part of Nova that could have cried. When it became apparent that they were lost, a significantly larger part of Nova could have cried. She wasn’t one for superstition and ghost stories, but she’d also seen enough horror movies to know that avoiding the local’s warnings about staying out after dark was a sure fire way to find yourself in a horror movie. She just wanted to go back to the hotel and read her book.

But she stayed following the group. The promise of a passing grade wasn’t much of an incentive to Nova; she was already somewhat confident she’d pass the class regardless, and it wasn’t even that relevant to her degree. Honestly, she’d only taken it because she’d felt particularly nostalgic when picking her classes and wanted to take a history class to relive the stories her father used to tell her. “Sir, I’m not sure any of us are capable of giving you a piggyback back up that ravine if you break a leg,” she joked as Kayden and Tarren mentioned the bad light.

She might have remained outside, had he not mentioned something about having their names written into history. It was as if she could hear her father telling her to go for it, to have an adventure for once. Her determination and curiosity renewed, she nodded at Tarren and followed them into the chamber.

Charlie still wasn’t sure how she’d managed to land herself on this trip. But her scholarship had agreed to cover the cost, so evidently people believed that it was relevant. She’d been excited to get to vlog the trip and to get to explore somewhere she’d never thought she’d get to go. And then she saw the room assignments for the hotel, and everything turned up on its head. She’d stayed out of the hotel room until the last possible minute the night before, and she’d changed in the bathroom and gone straight to bed, barely saying more than a few words to Adam. She’d dove into a random store to avoid Sol noticing her the day before.

But avoiding them today would not be as easy, as Professor Price brought them on a tour of the pyramids. She was stubbornly refusing to look in their direction, while also refusing to give them the satisfaction of knowing that she was trying to avoid them. It involved quite a lot of vlogging, taking photos, and striking up a conversation with whoever happened to be standing near her that wasn’t Adam or Sol.

She was ready for the day to be over, truth be told. She just wanted to go for a few drinks with Eden and Ten and whoever else, and forget about the whole thing. But she begrudgingly followed the professor towards wherever the hell they were heading. She wished she could say she was surprised when they found themselves lost, but that would have been a lie. And of course, the professor was too damn enthusiastic to give up at that point. Eventually, they reached the edge of a ravine and peered down into it. On first impressions, Charlie was wholly unimpressed.

The promise of a passing grade wasn’t enough to entice Charlie down into that ravine, at first. She wasn’t sure the twisted ankle was worth it. But as she watched some of the others descend, curiosity got the better of her, and she began to creep her way down the slope. As they discussed the merits of actually going in, Charlie shrugged a little, peering in after the others.

“We’re down this far, right? May as well venture a little further. If we get lucky, we might all get cursed and die interesting deaths,” she said.

Tarren and Eden shared one more mutual glance at each other before they both began to make their way into the chamber's entrance. Ren almost jumped out of their skin as they felt a hand suddenly grab them by the shoulder, looking back to see Alex. Eden looked at the two and gave a small nod as he continued on ahead, "Yeah, bud?" they asked, an eyebrow quirked upward at their cousin. Alex paused for a moment, "I'm gonna hang back out here with some of the others, you go on ahead yeah?" Alex gave a small smile. Tarren simply shrugged in response, "Okay. If we all die of some ancient curse in there, my ghost is gonna come back and haunt your ass." Tarren joked, before turning back and entering the chamber of the tomb. They shone their flashlight against the walls and pillars, the inside being far larger than they would have anticipated, or expected. It seemed to be more of an outdoor courtyard, than a normal entryway of a tomb. But, they didn't know much about Egyptian culture to be completely sure.

By the time that Tarren had caught up with the others, they were more towards the middle of the group, silently walking beside Nova and a few of the others. "Wonder how long it'll take for us to get lost in here, before the professor realizes?" Ren whispered to Nova. Eden leaned towards them as a smirk spread across his face, "I give about fifteen minutes before we're all possessed by some ancient dieties or something. Or get eaten alive by giant, mutated spiders." he joked. Tarren tolled their eyes at his response, The day we get possessed, I'll hope that they'll use my body to beat your ass for jynxing it." Ren joked in return, gently pushing him.

The group collectively continued onwards, further into the entryway. Originally they were able to walk shoulder to shoulder, but the longer they walked, eventually the halls became thin enough to have to walk in single file. Professor Price and Kayden were somewhere up ahead, before another large room opened up ahead of them. There was ancient texts and images covering the stone carved walls, whatever was chisled into the old stone was barely telligble, even if someone knew how to read it. They were long since faded, and just barely able to be seen with the use of flashlighs and other means.

Tarren and a few others broke off from the main group, and so did some of the others, but staid in the same chamber they were in. As they walked along, looking at the carvings in the wall, Tarren suddenly shot out their right hand, pushing back whoever was next to them. They anchored their feet into place as they looked down at their feet, just barely a few inches to their right, the earth had long since opened up, creating what could only be described as a sinkhole in the ground. "Best to watch where your feet go, mate." Ren rattled off, their eyes glancing back to the wall. "Hey Professor?" they called out, looking up at a large mural along the large wall in the chamber they were in. Trevor turned to look away from the current wall he was looking at, clearly trying to translate whatever text was carved in, Yes, Havenfield?" he asked as he slowly made his way over, being careful of where he walked.

"What do you think is?" Tarren shone their torch against the wall. The mural along the wall was faded, but enough could be made out after a few minutes of study. Trevor's eyebrows furrowed as he looked over the entirety of the wall, using the flashlights of a few students to help illuminate the full image. "Well, I'm no ancient philosopher but...My best guess? Would be some old battle that took place thousands of years ago. See-" he began, pointing at one end of the wall, "That right there, is Set. Egyptain God of Chaos and Storms. What it appears to be, is a long told story of him and the others Gods of old engaging in some ancient battle." his hands tracing the images to the other end of the stone. "And that, is Horus. God of the Sky. And of course, the others-" he gestured to all of the other drawings of Anubis, Osiris, Sobek, and many of the others and their armies led under their control. "But I don't remember reading of some battle like this. As it looks like the Gods are fighting among themselves even, not just against Set?" Eden chimed in.

Price smiled and nodded at Eden, "Very good, Mr. Montgomery. Very good observation indeed." Trevor said a bit enthusiastically. "I'll need to take some notes of this down for later...Interesting indeed. But, they were always known for their stories, and if this indeed an undiscovered tomb? Who knows what stories and battles are told within these very walls!" Trevor giggled excitedly, jotting more notes down into his notebook. Tarren and Eden exchanged a look as they shrugged their shoulders. He's officially lost his plot, the look said.

Kayden finally wiggled through the group that had formed around the others, looking up at the mural, "This is all well and good, Trevor. Really. But, We've gone further than we initially said. And even I feel like now would be a good time to turn back and head to the hotel. Get some sleep and come back tomorrow?" Trevor turned his head to look over at her, "Yes, but-", he started once more. "But I just...I got a feeling. We just go a little longer, and I just know there's something worth pressing on for." he said with a twinkle in his eyes. Kayden and some of the students are rolled their eyes and groaned in sync at the answer they were all give. "You're impossible..." Kayden huffed under her breath as she looked at him. Trevor simply shrugged, before begining to walk again, headed into another chamber as he scrawled more notes into his notepad.

Tarren exchanged a look with Kayden, and some of the others, shrugging their shoulders once "Someone's gotta get him...Mother fucker..." Tarren groaned, throwing their head back for a moment, before walking after Trevor, and into another chamber up ahead. It wasn't much longer after Tarren had walked in after Price, that there was a blood curdeling scream that rang out from their direction. Eden didn't waste anytime and ran into the next chamber to see what had happened. "What? What happened, Ren??" he questioned as he found them frozen a few steps ahead. They took a few deep breaths before turning to look at their friend, "It was the biggest fucking, mother fucking fucker fuck that I have ever seen in my life-" they started, before shuddering. A large grin formed on Eden's face, before a loud bellowing laugh escaped his lips. "You know, the bigger they are, less threatening, right?" he chuckled. "I'm serious, you asshole! It ran across my foot and everything. I fucking hate them, and you know that. I don't get how you like them so much." they said with another shudder.

"Well, like most things in life, Ren? You warm up to them over time." he said with a shrug. Tarren shot him a glare, "Only way I'd warm up to them, is if a flame thrower was involved." they bit back. Eden chuckled, and wrapped his arm around Tarren's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll stay right next to ya, so no more scary creepy crawlies scare ya."Eden teased as they continued onward, looking for their wayward professor. Who, now seemed to be nowhere in sight. They both could have sworn he was standing right there, alongside Kayden. But the moment they had looked at each other, and then back ahead of them, further in the chamber, they were gone. This wasn't good.

Nova snickered at Romeo’s comment. “Maybe the gods of old will detect our presence and awaken to declare me the rightful queen of D&D,” she quipped, turning on her own phone’s flashlight. “So prepare to bow down, dear Romeo.” As she heard Ethan calling out to Sol about Adam, she laughed again to herself. While she didn’t really have anything against Adam as such, she also wasn’t totally sure that he would catch Sol. But he’d have hell to pay if he didn’t, that much she did know.

She ended up catching up with Tarren and Eden, peering down the dusty hallways to see what lay ahead. At the mention of the professor getting lost again, Nova just grinned and rolled her eyes. “Bold of you to assume we’re not already horrifically lost,” she whispered back. It was a joke, but as they delved further into the tomb, Nova began to wonder if she was right. Eventually, they emerged into a larger room, the inscriptions on the wall immediately catching Nova’s attention.

Truth be told, she’d always been more interested in the culture and customs as opposed to the mythology, so she lost a little interest when they began talking about the gods and their wars, instead focusing her attention on the structure of the room and seeing if there was anything else of interest. When Kayden suggested they leave, Nova couldn’t help but agree. Just seeing this much was cool and more than enough to explore. But no, of course, the professor insisted they went further.

Nova was only a few steps behind Eden, and broke into a run as well when the scream rang out through the chamber. Once she’d established that Ren was fine, Nova turned to see where the professor and Kayden were. There was no sign of them, despite Tarren having been right behind them, and they surely would have heard the scream as well. Had they gone on further and just not turned around? “Where did the prof and Kayden go?” She asked, vocalising what they all had to be thinking.

“Charlie - you make it down alright?”
“Yeah!” Charlie confirmed, brushing herself down. A few seconds later, Rahmi appeared beside her and swore, making Charlie grin. Following the lead of some of the others, she dug in her bag and pulled out a torch, switching it on and stepping into the tomb. Almost immediately, something in her began screaming to get the hell out of there, but she ignored it, instead choosing to follow the rest of them in.

As the passageway got narrower, the feeling just grew that something was off about the whole situation. She and Ten had gotten separated when Ten went to yell at Cassidy, and she hadn’t managed to find them yet. Eden was closer to the front of the group, so Charlie just stuck as close to Rahmi as she could. The exit seemed to get further and further away, and the realisation that if things went wrong, they wouldn’t be able to escape, was beginning to freak Charlie out big time. When they stepped into a larger chamber, part of Charlie managed to relax somewhat, but she still had a really bad feeling about everything. When a part of the floor crumbled away on the other side of the room, she instinctively backed up to the small entrance they’d come through.

She could have cried with relief when Kayden suggested they went back. The professor had always seemed a little eccentric, but he’d apparently gone full mad historian at this point, with no regard to their safety. Maybe that was the point, she thought. He wanted to draw them in far enough that they wouldn’t be able to run. When he went into the next chamber, Charlie didn’t move, instead turning to look back the way they’d come to see if she’d make it out alone. When she heard a scream, she almost bolted, but her feet were fixed to the floor. Something- curiosity, perhaps, or the fact she thought she could hear Eden and Tarren’s voices- finally urged her forward into the chamber. But the professor and Kayden were gone. Charlie’s stomach twisted. Perhaps she should have ran after all.

By the time that most of the others entered the chamber that Tarren and Eden were in, they had been mostly calmed down. It was only when Nova asked where the professor and Kayden were, that they turned to look at the others. Tarren honestly didn't have an answer to that question. Ren had been so close behind them and had even seen them seconds prior before being scared by that damn scorpion. But right before that happened, they remembered seeing both Kayden and Trevor looking at a wall further down the chamber. Which, had caught their attention as odd.

The moment that Tarren heard Sol start going off on the others, they were going to shut her down, this really wasn't the time for one of her damned outbursts. But Eden grabbed Ren by the arm, stopping them as Ren was given a knowing look by their friend. Looking off to see Adam trying to deesculate the situation. Which, was honestly impressive enough for the guy, all things considered. Instead, Tarren reached down and grabbed the flashlight from the ground that they had dropped, and walked over towards the wall that Trevor and Kayden had been looking at.

Some old text was engraved into the stone, right above it was a large portrait of Anubis, God of Death and Embalming. From what Tarren remembered, he was also the son of Set and Nephthys, and brother of Osiris. At least, in some versions of the mythos anyway. Ren at least knew that for every Egyptian mythos, there were at least five other versions that were different. Their eyes trailed over the wall and text, trying to get some idea of what it all meant, when another figure was engraved into the wall. "Any idea what this one is, History Boy?" they teased, looking to their side to see Eden.

There was a brief pause before he replied. Apparently it was Serqet, Goddess of Scorpions. Tarren chuckled a bit before looking up at Eden, "Sounds like your kinda lady." Ren jabbed Eden in the shoulder, before they continued walking again, their fingers gliding over the wall as their eyes examined further. But the further they looked, and more of the ancient texts, the more it left Ren confused. Not because they couldn't comprehend what was being told, but because there was no possible or physical way for Kayden and Trevor to have left. This chamber was a bit smaller than the previous two they had been through. It was wider sure, but it came to an end at a large wall. There wasn't any hidden doors or drop offs. There wasn't any crevice or anything for them to have passed through when the group got distracted. So...Where the hell did they go?

It was only then that Tarren noticed it, a low, soft-pitched ringing sound. It started innocently enough in their right ear, before it slowly started in their left ear as well. Ren initially thought that it was due to them simply being tired and having been out all day long but, this wasn't the normal ringing people could hear. It just...Didn't feel natural. Ren pinched the bridge of their nose, hoping to ease the tension and pressure building in their head, and even attempted to turn around to ask the others if anyone else was feeling off, but they were all doing the same thing. Looking slightly disointated and confused, pinching the bridge of their nose or rubbing their temples. Anything to help relieve the pressure. And that was when it finally happened. Tarren felt fine one moment, and then the next they were light-headed, and unconciousness swept over them as everything went dark and then silent.

Tarren didn't know how long it had been, but they finally found themself stirring from their sleep, or whatever it was that overtook them. Their head was just as fuzzy as it was when they had fainted, or, whatever it was that happened. But the more they looked around as they sat up, their head began to clear once more. The ringing finally coming to an end about a minute after Ren had woken up. After blinking a few times, they realized that they could see without the need of a torch. Looking about whatever kind of room they were in, there was a small crevice in the corner of the wall, allowing light to filter in. At first, that brought some relief to Tarren, but after they thought about it, panic and anxiety began to fill them. Why was there sunlight already coming through? Had they passed out and spent the entire night in the tomb? But surely someone would have come to wake them up and check on them, right?

And that's when it hit them. Ren slowly looked around the room they were in. This was an entirely different chamber than the one they were in the last time. This one was much smaller, but it still retained the same style of engravings and imagery across the walls. Tarren looked around and found their backpack only a few feet away, and immediately scrambled over to get it, looking through it to make sure everything was still there. Thank god, everything was still there. Even their torch. Which, was odd to say the very least. Another thing finally came to mind, were they alone? Tarren looked around more, finally taking in their surroundings fully. The chamber was entirely empty, aside from the four walls and roughly twenty feet in total in this chamber. And...another form was lying on the ground.

It took Tarren a few moments to realize who it was. Soledad De Leon. Of course it would be her. Out of all people, it was her. Why wouldn't fate or whatever it was, be so cruel. A look of worry flashed across Tarren's face for a moment as Sol was still unmoving. But sighed, as they could hear breathing that wasn't their own, and made their way over to the woman, who seemed to be finally coming to as she stirred awake. Tarren stayed back a few feet from her, crouching down in a none threatening manner, both hands raised up slightly infront of them, "Okay look, before you accuse me of anything, I didn't do any of this. I just woke up less than two minutes ago and...I have no idea what happened." Tarren started, looking around the room a bit before looking back at Sol, "I don't know what's going on but...Looks like we're both stuck together....And I'm not any happier about it than you are...But I suppose things could always be worse." Tarren said as they got to their feet.

Finally retrieving the torch from their backpack, and flicked the light on to help get a better view of their surroundings. After a few minutes of silently examining the chamber they were in, their suspicions had been confirmed. There was no entry or exit way from where they currently were and there seemed of being no sign of anyone else around, or even a trace of anyone else having been there. Tarren finally looked back at Sol, eyeing her over once to make sure she was truly okay, at least physically. "...You doing okay?" their tone was sincere with the way they asked, even to the point of where genuine concern could be seen on their face and in their eyes. No matter how seemingly cold and outwardly unfriendly Tarren was to most people, they were above all, someone who wanted to make sure others were okay. Even if things weren't always perfect between them, and if they always bickered and argued, Tarren wasn't above showing some concern for her. Especially in a situation like this.

Nova shrugged as Romeo asked what they were supposed to do. "Bit rude of them to just wander off without us, really." She remarked, shooting a glance at Ethan with a half-smile to reassure him. "Price probably just saw some interesting rocks he'll claim were somehow used in a ritual none of us have ever heard of, or they're... the remnants of Set, and if we disturb them, he'll come back to haunt us all." Truth be told, Nova had a lot of respect for the professor, but his eccentricity knew no bounds. While Nova was mostly making it up to make the others feel better, they all also knew that it was entirely possible that he would make those claims. And that made it all the more amusing.

The pressure growing in her temples and the ringing in her ears was the first confirmation that something was very, very wrong. She tried to fight it, but it just got worse. With an overwhelming wave of dizziness, her legs buckled from beneath her, and she hit the ground, already unconscious.

Nova had never had vertigo in her life, but at first, she assumed that that was what it had to be. A bad case of vertigo, brought on by... weird desert dust or something. But when she opened her eyes and looked around, that possibility suddenly seemed much less likely. She wasn't in the room she'd been in, and she wasn't in any they'd passed through either. When she sat up, her head didn’t spin like she would have expected if that had been the case. And then there was the fact that there was only one other person in the room, and he wasn’t the type she would have expected to come running to her aid if she had passed out.

"Fucking hell, what happened?" She asked as she looked at Adam. "Where are we?"

Charlie was seriously beginning to contemplate leaving and taking her chances on the way back out of the tomb, when somebody collided with her. Instinctively, she reached out and caught their arms, steadying them so they wouldn’t fall. They had shoved her back before Charlie even realised who it was. Her stomach plummeted as she realised it was Sol. When Sol turned her attention to Fletcher, Charlie was more tempted than ever to just turn and run. But she was frozen to the ground until Sol turned her harsh gaze on Charlie. That look of pure venom, of pure hatred, was enough to make Charlie feel like she was shrinking into the ground, which, frankly, was where she wanted to be. And then, as if she wasn’t feeling terrible enough, Sol tore into her. It was only as Sol finally turned her attention away that Charlie also realised Sol had been filming the whole time. Only a handful of people had ever managed to make Charlie feel that small, that humiliated, in her entire life. It seemed like everyone else just looked past her, just as they always had.

And then, of course, Adam appeared. He was the last person she wanted to see, and still, a part of her lifted at this attention. Had he just apologised for Sol, that would have been enough. But instead, he stepped towards Charlie. Charlie felt like her heart was in her throat. When he leaned in, though, she flinched, taking a half step back without even realising. She missed the beginning of his apology, the panic drowning out everything else around her. She couldn’t look him in the face, just stared at the floor somewhere behind him. Sol’s words echoed in her head, sounding more and more like her father’s voice as it echoed.

Adam’s words, however, couldn’t have been further from the venom she was so used to.There was a part of her that screamed that she didn’t deserve his kindness. Another part of her reminded her that he had made it very clear that he didn’t really care. The minute Sol had shown any interest in Adam, he’d unceremoniously abandoned Charlie to go back to her. He was probably only just keeping his options open. And then there was that tiny part of her that believed his words so much, that wanted- no, needed- them to be true. That tiny part was why she stayed staring at the floor, for fear if she looked him in the face she’d betray her own emotions and see the emotions she didn’t want to see.

She was forced to acknowledge him and look at him as he said they needed to talk about it later. She sighed and nodded. “Sure. If we make it out of here alive, we’ll talk about it.” She wanted nothing less than to talk about it with him, but she also got the impression that he probably wouldn’t let it drop and leave her alone until they did talk about it. And maybe this way, she could ask him to leave her alone.

The way that everyone seemed to look past her didn't escape her attention. All of the attention seemed to be on Fletcher, while their eyes passed over her as if she wasn't there. It was like Charlie was sixteen all over again; terrified, with nobody even seeming to notice her. If they did notice, they didn't care. Everyone ignored her. Everyone. The lump in her throat was threatening to choke her, and she wanted to shrink into the wall behind her, wanted to become as invisible as she felt. When Nancy appeared and took her hand, though, that seemed like a gesture too far, and Charlie could feel the tears stinging her eyes and her chest beginning to close up. So she just nodded and pulled her hand away from Nancy’s, taking a couple of steps away to try and take a few deep breaths. She refused to let Sol see her like this.

When the pressure began to build in her temples and behind her eyes, she thought it was just the fact that she was fighting back tears with everything she had. That was, until it became so strong that it made her dizzy. There was a part of her that was almost glad to sink into the blackness of unconsciousness.

When she opened her eyes, she was somewhere else entirely. The panic was enough to clear her head and wake her up fully, as she scrambled to her feet. It was only then she spotted somebody else on the ground. Fletcher. There was a part of her that was frustrated that, of all people, it was him, after everyone had ignored her in favour of him. She folded her arms. "You okay?" She asked.