"Impossible. There's no way your little toy could support it. That coffin weighs at least a ton."
"Roughly three tons, actually. Two for the bottom half, one for the lid." He smiled proudly. "She may not look like much, but Eve can handle twice that amount, if not more."
Miranda studied the sarcophagus. "It's stuck fast between those rocks. You'd need a truck to haul it out of there."
"It's easier than you think. The bottom is textured, slanted. We can jack it up a few inches, slide Eve's arms in, and yank it out."
"That's insane. You'd destroy the inscriptions, not to mention the context."
"Don't worry," I said. "We've done this sort of thing before. We use lots of padding to minimize the damage. Anyway it's just a last resort."
"I want both of you out of here." She clenched her fists. "Now."
"Hang on—"
"This could be the most significant discovery in centuries. I'm not going to let a couple of shovelbums ruin it."
My brow tightened. If there was one name I hated more than grave robber, it was shovelbum. "If there's a cave-in, all bets are off. The sheer force could break the lid. If it hasn't already been breached, the interior will be exposed to the elements and insects. We just want to make sure that doesn't happen."
"It won't." She stormed over to Eve. "How do I move this thing?"
Graham's jaw dropped. "What the hell are you—?"
Her fingers mashed the buttons on the control panel. Eve jolted. Her arms slashed out, jabbing into the thin space beneath the sarcophagus. Stone crunched. Metal squealed. Graham shoved Miranda out of the way and tried to undo the damage.
The ground rumbled. The chamber vibrated. I turned slowly to the north. Dirt and tiny pebbles fell to the ground. The stone blocks shifted.
I heard a deafening crash. Several other crashes followed. Smoke curled into the chamber, blinding and choking me at the same time. Coughing loudly, I peered through the haze.
The north wall, which had stood for hundreds of years, vanished before my eyes, leaving behind a large pile of rubble. Too late, I realized the sarcophagus wasn't just an artifact.
It was also a keystone.
Chapter 7
"It's a trap," I shouted. "This whole place is coming down."
The ceiling roared in anger. Dust blanketed the chamber. Pebbles and stones pelted us from above.
I slipped. My knees and palms smashed against the ground. My blood seeped onto the rocks.
The chamber churned. Larger stones started to fall. The dust thickened.
I scrambled forward. The chamber shook even harder. More stones fell.
I grabbed hold of Eve. Caught my balance. The tremors increased. My head felt like someone had stuck it into a blender.
I looked around. Miranda lay nearby, sprawled on the ground. A stunned expression engulfed her face. "I need your help," I said.
She gave me a dull look. "I didn't mean—"
"It was an accident."
She swallowed hard. "What do you need?"
"Go top side. Get that tractor of yours over here and lower the digging bucket. Oh, and tell Beverly to send down the pads and cables we used to secure Eve."
"But—"
"Now."
As she scurried into the tunnel, Graham limped toward me on his good leg. I caught him and propped him against Eve. "You need to go."
"What about you?"
"I'll be right behind you."
"You stay, I stay."
I exhaled. "We've got five minutes, tops. Can you get this thing out of here?"
"I guess we'll find out." He nodded at the statue. "What about that?"
"Forget it."
He grabbed Eve's controls. She burst to life, buzzing and emitting sparks. I bent over and cleared a path across the floor, sweeping away rocks and mounds of dirt in the process.
I glanced over my shoulder. The massive stone sarcophagus now rested snugly in Eve's articulated arms. Shifting the controls, Graham directed her toward the tunnel.
More rubble fell. A light fixture toppled over. It exploded and darkness engulfed the southeastern end of the chamber.
I ran to the shaft. "Beverly?"
"Stand back," she shouted.
I heard whooshing noises. Then a couple of protective pads and steel cables crashed to the ground at my feet. I scooped them up and raced back to the chamber, skidding and sliding the entire way.
I flung the pads on top of the sarcophagus. Quickly, I adjusted them and secured everything with the cables.
Eve picked up speed. The stone floor quaked. More dust filled the air and my lungs. A coughing fit seized me and I was forced to halt.
Stones shrieked overhead. A giant slab crashed in front of me. I stumbled backward. Another slab smashed at my side. I chanced a look at the ceiling. The ancient chamber was moments away from a total collapse.
Looking ahead, I saw Graham direct Eve into the tunnel. I ran after him, hurling myself across the chamber. Stones poured from the ceiling like hail, crashing on all sides of me.
I leapt on top of a large block and slid across it. As I landed on the other side, I noticed the tunnel entrance start to crumble.
I sprinted toward it. Large blocks slipped loose and hurtled to the ground.
I dove. Loud crashes deafened me. Dust clogged my nose and mouth. I felt a tremendous, painful jolt.
And then all was still.
Chapter 8
I breathed. A single thought ran through my brain.
I'm alive.
I lifted my head off the ground. My clothing was torn. Warm blood and abrasions covered my limbs.
A thick veil of dust particles hung in the air. The chamber, or what was left of it, was now completely sealed behind several tons of rock and dirt.
The rubble exhaled, shooting more dust into the tunnel. Small pebbles skittered down broken chunks of stone.
I listened hard. The sounds of crashing rock had all but ceased. The ground was still. My rapid breathing began to slow.
Maybe it's over.
The tunnel quaked. Dust flew into my face. Quickly, I pushed myself to my feet.
Or maybe not.
"Damn it." Graham's voice reverberated in the tunnel. "When's this going to end?"
I limped past him and Eve. My left knee stung each time my foot hit the ground. "I don't think it is. The sarcophagus didn't just keep the chamber from collapsing. It held the entire tomb together."
I reached the shaft and grabbed hold of four heavy-duty blue straps from the pile of cables and extra pads. Swiftly, I untangled them.
Graham directed Eve into the shaft. He turned off the controls. The buzzing noise stopped. Life drained out of Eve and she settled into place. Graham squeezed past her and helped me weave the straps around Eve and the sarcophagus.
I heard distant barking and looked up. Bright sunlight nearly blinded me. Then the shaft quaked. Uneasily, I steadied myself against the wall.
It quaked again. However, this tremor felt different than the other ones. The quaking increased and I heard the deep rumble of a powerful engine. Then a large two-part articulated arm appeared overhead. The boom shifted outward.
"How's that?" Twenty feet above me, Rigoberta's voice rose above the din.
"Perfect," Miranda called out. "Lower the bucket."
Mechanical clunking followed. The dipper and its substantial digging bucket descended into the shaft, reaching out to us like the Hand of God.
I hoisted myself onto the sarcophagus and helped Graham climb up on its other side. Together, we lifted the loose ends of the heavy-duty straps and secured them to the bucket.
The ground rumbled. I shot a glance toward the tunnel. It quivered for a second. Then it collapsed.