The distant light grew brighter as an approaching engine echoed across the still desert night. Elias stood at the edge of the camp, his pulse quickening as he watched Garrow's jeep cut through the darkness, heading straight for them. The wind had picked up again, swirling sand around their feet as Jonas and Marie prepared for whatever was coming.
"He's not going to back down," Jonas muttered, his voice tight with anticipation. "Garrow never backs down."
Elias didn't respond, his gaze fixed on the approaching vehicle. He had expected this, though not so soon. Garrow was making his move, and if they didn't stop him here, the stone—everything they had uncovered—would fall into his hands. The thought of Garrow gaining control of the discovery gnawed at Elias's insides.
Marie stood beside him, her arms crossed as she watched the light draw closer. "This is going to get ugly, Elias. You know that, right?"
"I know," he replied, his voice cold.
The jeep slowed as it neared the camp, the headlights casting harsh beams across the sand. The vehicle stopped a few yards away, and for a moment, the only sound was the soft hiss of the engine cooling in the night air.
Victor Garrow stepped out, a smug grin plastered across his face as he surveyed the camp. His hat was pulled low, casting a shadow over his eyes, but his demeanor was one of absolute confidence. Behind him, two men climbed out of the jeep—hulking figures who looked more like hired muscle than fellow archaeologists. They lingered near the vehicle, their hands resting on their hips as if daring Elias and his team to make a move.
"Well, well," Garrow said, his voice cutting through the tension. "I didn't expect to find you all sitting around the fire. Quite cozy, really."
"Garrow," Elias greeted him with a sharp nod. "You're not welcome here."
Garrow chuckled, his eyes gleaming in the firelight. "Oh, come now, Vayne. Let's not pretend this is a matter of hospitality. We both know what this is about."
Elias stepped forward, his posture rigid. "The stone is ours. You won't get near it."
The smile on Garrow's face widened, but it didn't reach his eyes. "That's where you're wrong, my friend. The stone belongs to whoever has the foresight—and the means—to unlock its secrets. And right now, you're sitting on something far too important to be left in your hands."
Marie stiffened beside Elias, her voice cold. "You don't know what you're dealing with, Garrow. That stone is dangerous. If you dig it up, you could unleash something far worse than you can imagine."
Garrow's expression didn't change, though his eyes flicked briefly toward Marie as if considering her words for the first time. Then he shrugged, his tone dismissive. "Dangerous? That's precisely why we need to study it. Don't let fear cloud your judgment, Miss Halstead. We're here to make history, not hide from it."
Jonas stepped forward, his hand resting on the knife at his belt. "History won't matter much if we're all dead."
Garrow's smirk faltered for a moment, but he recovered quickly, glancing at his two hired men, who shifted their weight as if waiting for his signal. "I didn't come here for a fight, Vayne. But I will do whatever it takes to ensure that stone is mine."
Elias's heart raced as he stared Garrow down. He could feel the tension rising between them, the weight of the decision pressing against his chest. They couldn't let Garrow get near the stone. The power it held and the darkness sealed away couldn't be controlled. Elias knew that now, even if part of him still longed to understand it.
But Garrow didn't care. He was driven by ambition and greed. He wanted to unlock the stone's secrets, no matter the cost.
"We're not letting you take it," Elias said firmly, his voice carrying the finality of a decision already made.
Garrow's eyes narrowed, and the smirk faded from his lips. "I don't think you understand your position, Vayne. You're outnumbered, outmatched. If you stand in my way, it won't end well for you."
Jonas stepped up beside Elias, his voice low and threatening. "I think you'll find we're not as easy to push around as you think."
For a moment, the desert seemed to hold its breath. The two sides stood facing each other, the tension thick in the air, waiting for the first move. Garrow's men shifted uneasily, but neither side made a move.
Elias felt his heart pounding in his chest. He didn't want this to end in violence, but Garrow wasn't giving them a choice. The whispers in his mind returned, louder now, urging him toward something he couldn't quite understand. The pull of the stone, the power it represented, called to him. At that moment, he realized that no matter what happened here, the stone wasn't finished with them.
As the standoff continued, the ground beneath their feet seemed to tremble, a faint vibration that grew stronger with each passing second. Elias felt it first, a deep rumble beneath the sand, as though something beneath the surface was stirring.
Marie's eyes widened in alarm. "Do you feel that?"
Jonas nodded, his face pale. "What the hell is going on?"
Garrow's smug expression faltered as the tremor intensified, his men looking nervously at each other. The desert around them began to shift, the sand rippling like something was moving beneath it.
"What's happening?" one of Garrow's men muttered, stepping back toward the jeep.
The ground shook violently, and the whispers in Elias's mind suddenly roared to life, filling his thoughts with a cacophony of voices, too many to make sense of. His vision blurred as the world around him seemed to warp, the air growing colder and heavier.
It was the stone. Even buried beneath the collapsed pit, its influence reached out, reacting to the tension and conflict. The entity inside wasn't asleep—it was waiting, watching, feeding off their fear.
"We need to leave," Marie shouted, panic edging her voice. "It's happening again!"
But Elias couldn't move. The whispers had consumed him, pulling him deeper into the abyss of the stone's power. He could feel it now—something ancient, something vast, and it was awake.
Garrow stumbled backward as the ground shifted again, his confident mask slipping for the first time. "What the hell is this?"
Jonas grabbed Elias's arm, shaking him. "Elias! We have to go now!"
But Elias couldn't tear his eyes away from the pit. He could feel the entity's presence, pressing against his mind, its hunger, its need to be freed.
"Elias!" Marie's voice broke through the haze, and he blinked, snapping out of the trance just long enough to pull back from the edge of the pit.
Garrow's men scrambled toward the jeep, shouting orders to one another as the ground shook. But Garrow stood frozen, his eyes locked on the pit, as if he, too, was hearing the whispers and feeling the stone's pull.
"Garrow!" Elias shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Get out of here! It's too dangerous!"
But Garrow didn't move. His expression had changed—no longer the arrogant smirk of a man in control but the wide-eyed look of someone who had seen too much. He took a step toward the pit, his hand outstretched as though reaching for something.
"Garrow!" Elias tried again, but the ground buckled beneath him, and he stumbled, nearly falling.
Jonas grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away. "Leave him! We have to go!"
Marie was already moving toward the jeep, shouting for them to follow, but Elias hesitated. He didn't want to leave Garrow behind, but something inside him—the same thing that had drawn him to the stone first—whispered that this was Garrow's fate, the price of his greed.
With one last glance at the pit, Elias turned and ran, following Jonas and Marie toward their vehicle as the tremors grew stronger. The ground threatened to open beneath their feet.
They reached the jeep just as the tremors peaked, the earth buckling and cracking behind them. Elias climbed into the passenger seat, his hands trembling as Jonas started the engine and threw the vehicle into gear.
"We have to go!" Jonas shouted over the engine's roar as the jeep lurched forward, speeding away from the collapsing site.
Elias looked over his shoulder, his heart pounding as he watched the ground shift and rumble. Garrow was still standing by the pit, his silhouette framed by the chaotic movements of the earth. His men had already fled, but Garrow stood alone, transfixed by something Elias couldn't see.
"Garrow!" Elias shouted, but the man didn't move. The ground beneath him shifted again, and in an instant, Garrow disappeared from view as the earth collapsed, swallowing him whole.
Marie gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "He's… he's gone."
Elias turned back to face the road, his mind reeling. Garrow was gone, consumed by the discovery he had sought to claim. The pit, the stone, the whispers—they had taken him, just as they had threatened to take Elias. And yet, he felt no relief, no satisfaction—only the lingering presence of the entity echoing in his mind.
The jeep sped away from the site, leaving the ruins and Garrow's fate behind. But as the whispers faded, Elias knew the stone's influence wasn't gone. It was still there, waiting, watching, and had left its mark on him.