The Pyramid Chronicles: Tyche Point (#1)

Chapter Thirty-Six: Arrival

The van reached the top of the final hill, offering a view of Delta Labs through the front windshield. And the sight of dark clouds on the horizon.

Eric groaned. "I really hope it doesn't rain on us."

"Oh, right," Sam said from the front seat. "You're afraid of rain."

"I'm not afraid of rain!" Eric's tone came out defensive. Quieter, he added, "Really, I'd be fine. I would just...prefer if it didn't." He really did do okay in light rain. That being said, it would make using his powers more of a challenge, if they had to fight outside.

Sam threw a glance at the backseat before letting the vehicle continue down the crest of the hill. "Where should I park?" he asked.

"You can park in the lot, if you want," Willow told him.

"I don't like the idea of leaving the van anywhere near that place," Veronica said. "Just park at the side of the road here. We can walk the rest of the way."

No one had any complaints, so Sam pulled over, and the group of six climbed out of the van. As they walked toward the fractured building looming in the distance, Willow pulled a tablet from her bag.

"I'm going to trip an alarm in the lower sublevels, in an area outside the path to the chamber. That should divert a fair amount of their security and make it easier for us to get through," Willow said. "Oh, and there's a code to the chamber. 8221."

They trekked down the hill while she typed and stopped when they reached the edge of the parking lot. Tense silence crept into the air. Eric slid his hands in his pockets, then pulled them back out and folded his arms, then switched to pacing back and forth along a particularly deep crack in the pavement.

Finally, Willow gave them the go-ahead.

"We'll take the main staircase from the lobby down to the basement," she said as they approached the front doors. "That leads into a hallway. Ignore the smaller halls that branch off and go straight. It'll take you to another stairwell that you can follow down a few floors. At the sixth sublevel, you'll have to go back across the hall to the other side, and that stairwell will take you to the floor the chamber is on—"

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Adam cut her off. "Aren't you coming with us?"

They passed through the entryway. Eric paused for a moment to take in the lobby. The damage to the walls made him nervous. How sure were they that the building wouldn't collapse on top of them? And that strange graffiti wasn't exactly comforting, either.

"I'm going back to that office we found," Willow said. "I want to try accessing those online servers."

The group, still walking, had almost made it to the staircase. Eric jogged to catch up.

"I'll come with you, then," Adam told Willow.

"Why?"

"So that you're not running around a secure government facility alone. I mean, if someone finds you, don't you want backup in a fight?"

"I..." Willow sighed as she started down the stairs. "Fine. I guess that's a good idea." She glanced back over her shoulder. "Are the rest of you okay to find the artifact chamber? We'll catch up with you when I'm done, but I'm not sure how long it'll take."

Eric exchanged glances with Summer, Sam, and Veronica before speaking. "Yeah, I think we can do it."

"Sam can sense where the guards are, too." Summer said. "Right?"

Sam nodded.

"Okay," Willow said. "Like I said, you'll have to take another hall at the sixth sublevel and cross to the stairwell on the other side. It's pretty straightforward from there. There will be one more hall at the bottom, but it only leads to the chamber. There's nothing else on that floor."

They split up a few sublevels down. Before Adam and Willow took the hall to the computer room, Adam clapped Eric on the back hard enough to make him stumble forward.

"You got this," Adam said.

"Thanks," Eric said as he straightened up. "But you better be close behind."

"We will. See you soon."

Sam led the way after that, warning the group when people were approaching and unlocking doors so they could hide in various rooms while agents passed by. Most of the rooms had been untouched since the accident, covered in a thick layer of dust and only filled with furniture that was overturned or broken or both.

They were halfway down yet another flight of stairs when Sam held out a hand to stop them. "Five agents are coming," he whispered.

"Should we go back up?" Eric asked.

Sam closed his eyes. "No, there's more in the hall just outside the stairwell. Coming this way."

Veronica glanced back, eyes widening. "So, we're trapped?"

Summer lifted her chin. "It was only a matter of time before we ran into agents. We knew we'd have to fight." She lifted her hands. "I'll handle these guys. Everyone ready?"

Eric and the others nodded. Summer moved to the front of the group. Eric, Sam, and Veronica followed her down the stairs and, after a brief pause, out of the stairwell.

In the blink of an eye, the agents in the hall were drawing their guns and taking aim. One of them shouted, "Freeze!"

The guns flew out of their hands. While Sam focused on keeping the weapons hovering in the air, Summer strolled forward. Electricity burst from her palms. One by one, the agents dropped to the floor, writhing in pain.

"They won't be down long," Summer warned. "Come on!"

Eric and the others raced after her and entered the next flight of stairs.