An excerpt from my story "Temple of the Life-Giver," part of Hallowed Volume II:
Frank finally held up his hand. “Settle down, now. Settle
down. The door is closed shut. We can’t get out that way. But there has to be
an exit in here somewhere. We just need to find it.”
Eddie frantically informed, “We’re trapped in here! If there
were another entrance, don’t you think we would have seen it?!”
Old Pete shook his head, “Quite a predicament.”
Bartleby reminded, “I don’t like it in here, Frank.”
Jesse asked, “What can we do?”
Frank shouted, “I said settle down!” He studied their faces
in the torchlight. “Now, the one thing we’re not going to do is panic. You got
me? Any man loses it, and I’ll kill him myself.” He pulled out his knife and
swiped the air a few times, for good measure.
They stared back at him, but remained silent.
He continued, “Now, we can’t get back out the way we came
in. So, we find another way. Meanwhile, we keep looking for the treasure. No
sense in wasting time or what may be our limited supply of air. Although, I
just have to believe that there is some ventilation built into this place.” He
moved down the darkened hall, and then reached up with the torch in his hand.
When he pulled it away, a growing light remained. Frank explained, “This place
is too dark to conduct a proper ritual. So there are lamps installed all along
the halls. Spread out and let’s shed a little light on the subject.”
Reluctantly they moved about, lighting lamps until the
surrounding area began to glow with reflected radiance. There was enough light
to see by, but the temple still had a gloomy appearance.
Jesse whispered to his brother, “How long do you think the oil
will last?”
Frank replied, “Long enough, I hope.”
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