Page 100 of Death and Do-Overs

“I found another carving of a scarab.” Levi pointed. “It’s the right size. Should we put one in?”

“This is a door, which means maybe the scarabs are the key,” I said. “How many holes for them are there?”

We scanned the carvings.

“I see three, including the one that’s already filled in,” Levi said.

What had first seemed implausible was beginning to feel like a warning sign of purposeful deception. Coincidences didn’t happen.

“Is someone messing with us?” I asked. “If these are the keys to unlock this weird door, who would leave one scarab here for someone else to use?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s suspicious,” I said.

“Possibly.”

“Definitely.”

“Or fortuitous.”

“Maybe,” I said.

“Even so, we have to go in,” Levi said. “We need answers.”

He was right. If we were to compare opening this door to yelling at the grim reaper or charging into a people-eating goblin cave, the risk level here was practically nonexistent. It was silly for my resolve to waver now.

I placed the scarabs in their holes. They fit perfectly.

With the groan of stone grinding stone, the huge circular door began to turn. It rolled slowly to the side, revealing a dark room beyond.

With the flashlight on my phone to guide us, we stepped inside.

The room was fairly large, with stone walls and card tables lining the walls. There were no cobwebs, no dust, and seemingly no other entrances or exits.

“It’s clean,” I said, surprised. I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d expected to find behind the stone door, some forgotten storage filled with treasure, maybe.

“I didn’t expect the room to be regularly used because of the vines that lay over the door,” Levi said.

I nodded.

He turned on a lamp I hadn’t noticed by the entrance. Switching off my flashlight, I headed toward the first table.

A grinding sound came from behind us. We turned.

The heavy stone door clicked shut, cutting out the sun and our means of escape.

I hurried to the door and searched the smooth surface for a button or latch or some way to reopen it.

“We’re trapped,” I said.

“There has to be a way out,” Levi said. “For now, no one else will be entering in behind us, so we might as well complete a thorough search.”

“If snakes start pouring from the ceiling, I’m sacrificing you to buy myself time,” I teased.

“You wound me, Marshmallow,” he teased right back, with his hands over his chest. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Every one of my bones is ruthless,” I said.

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