Page 284 of Volik

Earthquake?

The big rock moves, slowly sliding several feet to the side. And reveals what it was hiding.

Another entrance. To another room.

I walk forward.

I can’t do anything else.

And as soon as I step into the cavern beyond, my pulse quickens.

There’s something familiar here.

I inhale.

It’s raining outside. But in here… it smells like a thunderstorm.

It smells like right after a lightning strike. When ozone lingers in the air.

I fill my lungs again. The scent is somehow calming.

It’s even darker in here, but I can still see.

I narrow my eyes.

And I can’t stop myself from walking toward the giant slab of rock in the center of the room.

It’s low.

Flat.

Like a sacrificial altar.

I don’t want to get closer.

I walk forward.

I have to get closer.

The table isn’t empty.

Is that… a man?

My hands shake as I step up to the edge of the slab. My thighs just an inch from the stone.

Maybe it’s a sculpture.

A pull in my chest tugs me even closer, and I lean over him.

It’s not a sculpture.

My heartbeat quickens until I’m fighting to breathe.

But I can’t look away.

He’s so still.

But he looks real.