The desert night was deathly still. The wind had died down to leave a heavy, suffocating silence. The small camp sat quietly beneath the stars, illuminated only by the dim glow of the dying fire. The fire crackled weakly in the center of the camp, casting flickering shadows across the faces of Elias, Marie, and Jonas as they sat in a tense, uneasy circle. The weight of the decision before them pressed down like an invisible hand, and no one seemed eager to speak.
Elias stared into the fire, his mind consumed by thoughts of the stone and the entity still sealed beneath the desert sands. The whispers had quieted, but they hadn't disappeared. They hovered at the edge of his consciousness, like a presence waiting for the right moment to strike.
Marie sat across from him, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. She glanced from Elias to Jonas, her expression a mixture of fear and frustration. She had made her stance clear—leaving was the only option that made sense. The stone was too dangerous to mess with, and the collapse had only reinforced that. But the thought of Garrow returning, of him unearthing the entity and unleashing something even worse, weighed heavily on her.
Jonas, always the pragmatic one, leaned back in his chair, his knife still in hand as he stared out into the dark. He was more concerned about Garrow's immediate threat than the supernatural elements at play, but even he couldn't ignore what had happened in the pit. The stone had reacted to them—physically, violently—which wasn't something he was willing to overlook.
"We're running out of time," Jonas said, breaking the silence. His voice was low, almost a whisper, as though speaking any louder would wake something up. "If we're going to do something about Garrow, we need to do it soon. He's going to make his move."
Marie sighed, her eyes flicking to Elias. "We don't even know if we can stop him. You know what he's capable of. If he wants to come back with a crew, he will. We can't guard this site forever."
Elias nodded, his thoughts racing. Garrow wouldn't wait long. He had already made it clear that he saw the potential in the discovery, and Elias knew from experience that Garrow wasn't one to let go of something valuable. He would come back, and if they didn't do something now, he would take everything from them.
But what could they do? The stone was buried beneath the collapsed pit, and they had neither the equipment nor the manpower to excavate it again—not without risking another collapse or triggering whatever force had reacted to them the first time.
"I know Garrow," Elias said after a long pause. He'll be watching us, waiting for us to leave. If we pull out, he'll bring his crew back and get to the stone."
Jonas nodded grimly. "So we stay?"
Marie shook her head. "You can't be serious. Stay and do what? Try to dig that thing up again? We barely got out of there alive."
Elias clenched his fists, his frustration mounting. "We don't have to dig it up again. Not yet. But we can't let Garrow get near it. We don't know what he'll do if he gets his hands on the stone."
Marie's eyes flashed with anger. "And what makes you think you're any different, Elias? You've been just as obsessed as he has. If we stay, it'll only pull you in deeper."
Elias opened his mouth to argue, but the truth of her words stopped him. He had been obsessed. The stone's power, the whispers, the promises had all taken root in his mind. But he couldn't walk away, not now. Garrow would take the discovery, and Elias's years of work would be for nothing.
Jonas stood up, stretching his arms and glancing at the dark horizon. "We need a plan. If we're going to stay, we need to make sure Garrow doesn't sneak up on us."
Marie gave Jonas a hard look. "You're not seriously considering staying, are you?"
Jonas shrugged. "I don't like it. But I like the idea of Garrow getting his hands on that stone even less."
Marie's frustration boiled over. "This isn't about Garrow anymore! This is about survival. That stone—whatever it is—was sealed for a reason. And the more we push, the more dangerous it becomes. You both saw what happened."
Elias stood, his eyes locked on Marie. "I know it's dangerous, but walking away isn't the answer. If Garrow gets that stone, he'll unleash whatever's inside without a second thought. He doesn't care about the risks. At least we know what we're dealing with."
Marie stared at him, her expression one of disbelief. "Do we? Do we really know? Because from where I'm standing, we're in way over our heads."
As the night deepened, the fire burned lower, and the whispers began to creep back into Elias's mind. They were faint like echoes carried on the wind, but they were there, speaking in a language he couldn't fully understand. His skin prickled as the temperature around him dropped, and for the briefest moment, he thought he could feel the stone's presence, even from miles away.
He looked around the camp, but neither Jonas nor Marie noticed. They were too busy arguing, their voices rising in the stillness of the desert night.
"We're not staying here to wait for Garrow to make his move," Marie insisted, her voice firm. "We leave at first light. We can't risk this any longer."
Jonas grunted, clearly torn between the desire to stop Garrow and the reality of the danger they faced. "And if we leave, then what? We let Garrow take the stone? If it's as bad as we think, that thing could wipe out an entire city."
Marie threw her hands up in frustration. "Then we warn the authorities! We don't have to dig it up ourselves. We can make sure it stays buried."
"And you think Garrow won't find a way around that?" Jonas shot back. "You think he won't find a way to manipulate the system, get a permit, and dig it up himself? He's done it before."
Elias, still standing off to the side, clenched his fists. The whispers were growing louder now, more insistent. They weren't just background noise anymore—they were calling to him. He could almost make out words, fragments of ideas, but they were too disjointed to understand. Still, the pull was undeniable.
"I'm not leaving," Elias said quietly.
Marie stopped mid-argument, her eyes wide. "Elias—"
"I can't," he continued, his voice firmer now. "We've come too far. We've uncovered something extraordinary, something that could change everything. I won't let Garrow steal that from us. And I won't let him unleash whatever's down there."
Marie shook her head, fear and anger warring in her expression. "You're letting it get to you, Elias. The stone—it's affecting you. You can't see it, but I can."
Elias met her gaze, his jaw tight. "I see it. But I can't walk away."
Jonas stepped between them, his voice hard. "If we're staying, we need a plan. We can't just sit here and wait for Garrow to show up."
Marie opened her mouth to argue again, but something in the distance caught her attention. She froze, her eyes widening as she stared out into the dark.
"What is it?" Elias asked, following her gaze.
A light. A faint, flickering light in the distance, moving toward them.
The group tensed, their attention locked on the approaching light. It bobbed slightly as if attached to a vehicle moving across the uneven desert terrain. Garrow. He wasn't waiting anymore—he was making his move.
Jonas cursed under his breath, grabbing his gear. "I knew it. He's coming."
Marie's face was pale, her voice barely a whisper. "What do we do?"
Elias's heart raced as the light grew closer. Garrow was coming, and there was no telling what he had planned. They couldn't let him reach the pit, couldn't let him dig up the stone. But what could they do to stop him?
"We can't let him get to the site," Elias said, his voice steely. "We stop him here."
Jonas nodded, checking his knife before strapping it to his belt. "Agreed."
Marie hesitated, her eyes flicking between Elias and the approaching light. "And if he tries to fight us? You know Garrow—he'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants."
Elias didn't answer. His mind was already spinning with possibilities and scenarios of how to stop Garrow before he could reach the pit.