The tremors subsided after what felt like an eternity, leaving the chamber in an eerie stillness. Emily, Marcus, and Sarah exchanged uneasy glances, their breaths coming in shallow gasps. The cave seemed to settle, but the air was charged with tension—like the calm before a storm.
"We can't stay here," Marcus said, his voice shaking. "Tommy's gone, and if we stay, we'll be next."
Emily clenched her jaw, torn between her ambition and the undeniable fear creeping into her mind. She was starting to feel it too—the malevolent presence that lurked in the cave, watching, waiting. But her obsession with the discovery was overpowering.
"We're so close," Emily muttered, half to herself. "There's more down here, deeper. I can feel it."
Marcus rounded on her, fury in his eyes. "You're not thinking straight! Look around, Emily! This place is warping our minds. We've lost Tommy, and we're next. Whatever's down here isn't worth our lives."
For a brief moment, Emily hesitated. The weight of Marcus's words sank in, but before she could respond, Sarah gasped, clutching her head.
"I hear them," Sarah whispered, her face contorted in pain. "The whispers—they're inside my head. They're calling to us."
Marcus rushed to her side, his expression one of growing alarm. "Sarah, focus! It's just the cave—it's messing with your mind."
But Sarah's eyes glazed over as if she were seeing something they couldn't. Her body trembled, and she fell to her knees, hands gripping her temples. "No, no, no. It's too loud. They want us... they want us to stay."
Emily knelt beside her, shaking her. "Sarah, snap out of it! You're not making sense!"
Suddenly, Sarah's head snapped up, her eyes wide with terror. "They're feeding on us. It's what they've always done—centuries of sacrifices, all to keep them at bay. But we've woken them up, and now... now they're coming for us."
Emily recoiled, stunned by the intensity of Sarah's words. But Marcus didn't need any more convincing. He grabbed Sarah's arm, pulling her to her feet.
"We need to leave. Now."