The Hidden Chamber
Eye of the Beholder - Chapter 7
This is a continuation of my epic awakening adventure Saga: Eye of the Beholder - A Story of Remembrance!
If you haven’t begun the Eye of the Beholder series please start here:
The moon cast an eerie glow over the ruins of Machu Picchu as Montez, Sam and Lisa stood before the towering stone walls of the Temple of the Sun, David always hovering nearby scanning and analyzing the stones and inscriptions. The mist curled around them like spectral fingers, and the rhythmic sound of the Urubamba River below added to the sense of the unknown. They had evaded BBG's pursuit, but they knew time was not on their side.
David broke the silence. “According to the calculations derived from Incan star maps, the entrance to the hidden chamber should be here, beneath the temple’s foundation.”
Lisa traced her fingers over the cold stone. “There has to be a mechanism, something they used to seal it away.”
Montez stepped back, scanning the temple with a trained eye. “Ancient builders always left clues. Look for symbols, patterns—something that doesn’t belong.”
Lisa crouched, running her hand along the base of the structure. A series of barely perceptible carvings caught the moonlight—serpents winding around a sun disk, interwoven with glyphs they couldn't immediately recognize.
David processed the imagery. “These glyphs bear resemblance to a pre-Quechua script, potentially a fusion of early Hebrew and Andean iconography.” Montez nods in agreement.
Lisa’s breath hitched. “Hebrew?” She exchanged a glance with Sam. “The lost tribes of Israel… Some believe they journeyed here.”
Sam nodded. “If the BBG suspected this connection, they’d want to suppress it at all costs.”
David’s voice took on an almost reverent tone. “There’s an inscription partially eroded: ‘Blood of the children… opens the way.’”
Lisa swallowed. “Children of who?”
A low gust of wind howled through the ruins, as if answering. Sam took out his knife, exchanging a glance with Lisa. “There’s one way to find out.”
Lisa hesitated only a moment before extending her hand. Sam made a shallow cut on his palm, and then did the same for her. As their mingled blood touched the stone, the carvings pulsed with a soft, golden glow. A deep rumble resonated through the Earth, and slowly, the stone base began to shift.
With a final groan of ancient stone grinding against itself, a hidden doorway revealed itself, descending into darkness.
Lisa exhaled. “Well, that’s not something you see every day.”
David’s voice crackled again. “We’re not alone. The BBG is approaching from the northern ridge. We need to move. Now.”
Sam took Lisa’s hand, pulling her forward. “Then let’s find out what’s been buried here for centuries.”
Together, they stepped into the hidden chamber, disappearing into the unknown.
The air grew cooler as they descended the worn stone steps, their footsteps echoing in the enclosed space. The golden glow that had flickered across the carvings above now pulsed faintly along the walls, illuminating ancient symbols and inscriptions lost to time. David hovered just behind them, his sensors scanning the chamber’s depths.
"I’m detecting an energy signature ahead," David reported, his voice low. "Something old. And active."
Lisa ran her fingers along the engravings, her pulse quickening. Montez explains: "These symbols… they look like a mix of Aramaic and Quechua. It’s almost like a fusion of the Old World and the New."
Sam exhaled sharply. "Which means we’re on the right track."
Behind them, the faint sound of boots scuffing stone signaled the urgency of their situation. The BBG was closing in.
"We need to keep moving," Sam urged.
The passageway opened into a circular chamber; its ceiling lost in the shadows. In the center stood an ancient pedestal, carved with intricate spirals and geometric patterns. Atop it rested a pitch-black obsidian disk of unknown composition shrouded in dust. It couldn’t be more than four inches across. The moment our trio stepped closer, the disks dark glow intensified, as if recognizing their presence. One of the sigils on the disk was an engraving of a cup, no a chalice, Sam mutters: “Is that what I think it is?”
Montez chimes in: “That, my dear friend is the true image of the Holy Grail! The real one, not the one drawn by DaVinci, but the pre-diluvian, Lemurian version! I know of only one man, an English Scholar by the name of Penfield that could decipher these clues. He could make sense of the use of this disk and may know where the Grail is, with the high probability that you will find it in Britain!” Montez reached out for the disk and his hand bounced off of an invisible protective barrier. “Hum. Fascinating. I cannot reach it.”
David confirms: “Yes it seems like some kind of force field or protection spell. I cannot decode it’s composition. I’m also picking up an encrypted resonance within it. Whatever this is, it’s more than just an artifact. It contains information."
"That’s it," Lisa whispered, her breath hitching. "One of the relics."
Sam trying his luck, reached for the disk; a little surprised that he could get through the field, his resonance matching the shields’. But as his fingers brushed its surface, a deep tremor rumbled through the chamber. Dust cascaded from the ceiling as ancient mechanisms groaned back to life. A low hum resonated through the walls, and suddenly, a secondary passageway illuminated at the far end of the chamber.
Lisa grabbed Sam’s wrist. "We might have just triggered something big."
David’s sensors flared. "The BBG is almost here. I suggest we take whatever path just opened up."
Sam nodded. "Then let’s move."
As they sprinted toward the glowing passage, David trailing behind, the sound of shouts echoed from the stairwell behind them. The chase was on.
The narrow corridor twisted sharply, the walls closing in as the golden glow flickered uncertainly. Lisa led the way, her breath ragged as they weaved through the labyrinthine tunnel. Sam glanced over his shoulder—dark figures stormed into the chamber behind them, their flashlights cutting through the dust. The BBG team was gaining ground.
"They’re right behind us!" Sam hissed.
"Keep moving!" David urged. "I’ve mapped an alternate exit ahead. Fifty meters."
The passage sloped downward before leveling out into another ancient chamber. The walls were lined with faded murals, depicting celestial patterns intertwined with ley lines. At the far end, an arched stone doorway stood slightly ajar, leading into an upward passage.
Lisa threw herself against the door, pushing it open just enough for them to squeeze through. "Come on!"
As they scrambled through, David hovered just inside, scanning the archway’s mechanisms. "There’s a way to seal this exit. Ancient counterweight system. I can trigger it remotely."
Sam turned, catching sight of the agents spilling into the chamber. "Do it. Now!"
David’s core pulsed, activating the mechanism. With a deep groan, the archway’s hidden gears shifted, and massive stone slabs dropped from above. The passage slammed shut just as the BBG agents reached it, sealing them inside.
Muffled shouts and pounding echoed from the other side, but the ancient doorway held firm.
Lisa let out a breathless laugh. "We actually did it."
David spun toward them. "We need to keep moving. There’s a concealed exit nearby that leads out of the ruins."
Sam nodded, gripping the relic tighter. "Then let’s get the hell out of here."
As they followed David’s guidance, the passage led them toward the fresh air of the Andean night, their enemies trapped behind them. For now, they were safe.
SO WHAT DID YOU THINK?
PS: Sorry for the inconsistency of the images, Chat has been acting up since it’s last update… the memory is way off… anyone else having these issues with it or its Image Generator?
If you haven’t started the series please start here:
How to recommend your favorite pages and support them the most:
If you are feeling a little bit of overwhelm in these times of transition, and things are going a little bit too fast for you. You are at the right place. I’m here to help you navigate the shift! Please complete this survey and I will know what your main concerns are.
And I hope you are enjoying my thrilling and awakening adventure series.
Many more still to come so please consider helping out a struggling author and buy me a coffee:
Finally, here are some early reviews: