“I thought we agreed to not touch anything!”Dom cried, panic rising in his voice as he slowly turned to glare at his twin sister, Evelyn. The ground quaked beneath their feet, distant thunder rumbling from above as dust settled like a blanket on their shoulders as they stood frozen in place.

  “Me?!” Evelyn shrieked. “Please remind me who stepped on the pressure plate that forced us into this room in the first place!”

  “Oh, excuse me! Maybe if the plate had been labeled ‘CERTAIN DOOM,’ I wouldn’t have stepped on it in the first place!” He snapped, struggling to keep his balance. Just then, the trembling ceased. A large stone doorway in the distance cracked open and the twins released a shared sigh of relief.

  “See? That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Dom said with a weak smile, wiping sweat from his brow.

  A burst of high-pitched laughter echoed through the stone halls as Evelyn doubled over, wheezing uncontrollably.

  “What’s so funny?” He asked as he blushed.

  ”You were so scared I’ve never seen you so-“ She couldn’t finish as every attempt to speak was overtaken by uncontrollable giggles and wheezing laughter.

  Dom’s face flushed even more red. “Happy you’re enjoying yourself.” Evelyn’s laughter was cut short by a monstrous screech echoing close by.

  “What the hell was that?” Dom gasped, grabbing Evelyn’s arm and helping her to her feet, “seriously, what was that?”

  “Not sure,” Evelyn replied, “maybe one of your mistresses coming to collect?” She said with a smirk as she brushed the dust off her clothes.

  “Oh har har little sis. Very funny, Ev. That didn’t sound natural.”

  “For one, little sis? We are the same age jackass. Twins.” Evelyn replied while scanning the ruins. “And two, Dom anything that might have lived in this place has probably been dead for centuries. I don’t know, Maybe-“

  “Maybe it was the stone settling? Or the wind?” He interrupted, rolling his eyes. “Are you seriously hearing yourself right now?” The screech roared once more, echoing loud, closer this time. Evelyn’s expression shifted, her cheeky grin quickly erased.

  “Okay. Yeah. Whatever the hell that was, It’s much closer.” She continued scanning around the ruins. “There! That doorway, was that open before?”

  “Sure wasn’t.” Dom replied.

  “It must’ve opened during the quake. Let’s get the hell out of here!” They took off making haste in hopes of putting distance between them and that mysterious scream.

  Once through, Dom slams the door shut. Evelyn grabbed the bag hanging on her side and pulls out the holographic map handed down to her from her father. Analyzing the data given by the map, she soon realizes they are in a previously unknown chamber within the temple. The symbols that riddled the stone walls gave off a soft vibrant red glow revealing that the ground in which they stood was-

  “Gold. Dom. Is this-“ Ev was breathless as she kneeled to take a closer look

  “My God!” Dom exclaimed, “It’s solid gold!.

  “That means it’s gotta be here!” Suddenly a loud gunshot rings throughout the empty chamber, a bullet zipping by narrowly grazing Evelyn’s cheek. They frantically rush to safety hiding behind a thick stone ledge for shelter.

  “Sorry love! That bullet wasn’t meant for you, it was meant for Dom.” A woman’s voice calls from the shadows, standing above them from afar staring down at them.

  “Dom, Who the hell is that!? I thought this place was abandoned.” Evelyn cried while she ran her fingers over her superficial wound to assess any damage that may have been caused. She then turned her sights on Dom who had a horror stricken look frozen upon his face.

  “Brother? care to explain why this woman is not only here, but standing in a place that hasn’t harbored any signs of life for thousands of years,” she paused angrily squinting at Dom while giving him a chance to respond. When he didn’t, she continued with a voice that got higher and higher pitched with each syllable, “but also, why in the hell does this, person somehow in some way, know your name?”

  Dom peaked over the ledge ever so slightly to catch a small glimpse of the hostile and slide back down with a sigh. Not a sigh of relief but a sigh of anguish.

  “My darling sister,” he said while releasing yet another sigh, “what was it that you said earlier, my mistress.”

  “MISTRESS?!” The voice called from the shadows, smooth as silk but equally dangerous like a venomous bite from a cobra. “I’d hardly call what we shared reduced to such a title reserved for desperate housewives and filthy corrupt politicians trying to hide their skeletons.” The woman emerged from the shadows like a myth caged in flesh. Lights from the ancient walls flickered upon her bronze kissed skin and form fitting armor, a mixture of lightweight flexible plate lining a sleek fabric that allowed her to possess the reflexes of a cat. Her piercing yellow almond shaped eyes burned with passion like an ancient fire as if lit by the glowing runes around her. A confident smirk tugged at her lips. She seemed amused but also stricken with disappointment.

  “I truly expected more from you, my Love. But then again disappointment seems to be your forte.” The woman said.

  “Why do you seem less pissed that I called you my mistress and more pissed that, it was sort of accurate.” Dom jokingly called out, still crouched behind cover with a slight chuckle, clearly enjoying whatever it was between the two.

  “Oh darling!” The woman laughed, “If I were your mistress, you’d still be mine, sipping fine wine and talking treasure. Remember who let who go. Now let’s cut the witty foreplay that you were never good at and skip to why you stole from me and broke my heart back at the docks of Port Azhura.” Just then Evelyn stood up, a deadly spark burning in her eyes.

  “Port Azhura?! On my birthday! You left me on my birthday while in Port Azhura to play around with some Harlot at a brothel?” Evelyn yelled at Dom with rage as she clinched her fists.

  “Excuse me??” The woman screamed, matching Evelyn’s anger, “I assure you I am no harlot! You WILL pay with your life for those words for I am Inara-“

  The walls tumbled down behind the woman revealing a creature nearly ten feet tall, hunched yet seemingly massive. The twins watched with horror as the creature struck the woman down and tossed her lifeless body near their feet with ease. Its agile movements were fluid and eerily precise. It harbored an outer shell of what looked to be petrified, grayish cracked flesh stretched over gold and obsidian plating. Its inner workings revealed through jagged ribs, gear like organs pulsating and rotating with life that is unnatural. In the middle of its chest, a strong vibrant glow caught Evelyn’s attention, The Heart of Tammuz! She thought as her heart raced.

  “Dom! Look! At the center of its chest! That Guardian’s chest has The Heart!” Evelyn yelled with excitement while pointed as the Guardian fixated its sights on them and screamed. “DOM! FOCUS!” For a split second Dom thought about checking to see if Inara survived the fall. She wasn’t within arms reach. Snapping himself back into focus, he looks at where Evelyn is pointing.

  ”I read in father’s texts that the only way this thing will die, is to remove The Heart of Tammuz. But how?! That thing will crush our bones to dust if we get close to it!” Dom cried frantically.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “There!” Evelyn quickly scanned the chamber. “You’re stronger than I am, I will distract and lead it over to that pillar!” Evelyn began charging toward the beast. “Find a way to break that pillar off and bring the ledge down onto it!”

  “Are you crazy Ev!” He yelled out to her. “You’re gonna get yourself killed!” But it was too late, once her mind was set there was little anyone could do to change it. It was life or death at this point and they’ve come too far to die in such a pathetic way at the finish line.

  “Over here you ugly son of a bitch!” Evelyn shouted, her voice defiant and shaken all at once.

  The Guardian lunged at her swiftly despite its bulky form, its clawed limbs carving grooves into the ancient gold flooring. Evelyn’s heart raced as she narrowly escaped its claws as she slid beneath a fallen beam. She then climbed to a platform above, taunting the Guardian down below. “Up here you slow sack of shit! Is that all you got?! Come get me! I’’ll give you one more chance to embarrass yourself before your Gods!” She yelled as she scurried off. Without effort the Guardian jumped high to the platform above and began its persuit of Ev, its eyes glowing bloodshot red with anger.

  Dom began scanning the base of the pillar and noticed it was weak on one side. How the hell am I going to push this down? He thought to himself as he remembered the stick of explosives buried within his satchel. As Dom placed the explosives at the base, he looked up and noticed that the Guardian has cornered Ev.

  “Dom this would be a good time to do something!” She exclaimed, fear now building within every fiber of her being.

  “Give me a moment!” He yelled back. After failing to light the explosive for the third time, he began to panic after burning his finger in the process. “Shit! That hurt!”

  “DOM!!!” She yelled again. As desperation poured through her words, she noticed a small opening above her. She had just enough time to climb up it, buying her a small amount of time and distance from the Guardians grasp.

  “DOM NOW!!” She yelled.

  “GOT IT!” He yelled as he finally lit the fuse, “TAKE COVER!!” Dom rushed to safety as the dynamite ignited, throwing debris in every which direction that offered a path of least resistance. The plan worked as the platform which the Guardian stood came crumbling down sending a shockwave through the chamber weakening every foundation within its stone structure.

  Once the dust settled and she was able to regain her hearing, Evelyn called out, “Dom! You idiot! What the hell was that?!” But her calls were met with silence. “DOM!”

  Emerging from the rubble, Dom stood high, bruised and bloody, but alive.

  “WOOOHOO! Now THAT was grade A shit!” He shouted with laughter, wiping the dust and debris from his face and body.

  “You could have killed us! What were you thinking! Was that the K-9 explosive I told you NOT to bring!” She exclaimed, still in the crawl space up above. Dom knodded, still attempting to catch his breath.

  “I seen a ladder somewhere over there, I’ll get you down, give me a second, and then we can-“

  Dom was interrupted by a loud quake coming from the ground, the Guardian rose from the rubble ten feet high with a screech of madness that would make the Gods tremble in fear. With one swing of its arm, the Guardian struck Dom with such force tossing him across the Chamber.

  “NOOOO!!!!” Evelyn screamed with rage as she jumped from her hide away onto the Guardian’s shoulders, slapping it repeatedly across its face and eyes. Dom lay clinging to life next to Inara. Luckily the Guardian was severely weakened from the blast, otherwise Dom would have been gravely injured or even killed. While he lifted himself up from the ground he noticed a shiny object next to Inara, a strange looking dagger resembling the same shade of light coming from The Heart of Tammuz.

  ”That’s it!” He said as he grabbed the strange relic and rushed to Evelyn’s rescue.

  The Guardian grabbed Evelyn and pulled her from its shoulders. She could feel her ribs beginning to crack as the Guardian squeezed tighter and tighter with every passing second. “D-UGH.. DOM!!!” She let out a pathetic whimper, one last cry for help. “Dom, pl- please.. I can’t..” her vision beginning to fade as she prepares herself for her last breath when suddenly, the Guardian’s grip lessens, allowing her to finally breathe. Falling to its knees and screaming in pain, the Guardian dropped her as she fell into Dom’s arms.

  “Gotchu!” He said as he held her tight, “I thought you were gonna die!”

  “I thought we both died!” She said with tears rolling down her face.

  The Guardian was face first in the ground, flailing in agony.

  “Damn, you think it actually feels pain?” Evelyn asked with a voice empathy.

  “No,” Dom replied, “it’s just a machine with a purpose to guard this place and take any life that stands in its way. Intelligent though, it’s hoping we feel sorry for it, hoping we could stop his pain so it can regain its strength only to crush us.” Whether he was right or wrong, one thing was for sure, they were about to achieve their father’s life’s work. Retrieving The Heart of Tammuz.

  The chamber being rumbling, the stone structures around them began collapsing.

  “Do you think it’s because the Guardian is dying or your stupid ass explosion?!” Evelyn said with excitement.

  “Oh you mean the K-9 you told me to leave at home but ended up saving your ass!” Dom replied.

  “Grab the Heart and let’s get out of here!”Evelyn exclaimed while searching for an exit.

  Dom dug The Heart of Tammuz from the chest cavity of the Guardian, which resulted in permanently powering down the creature. It’s mechanical organs stopped operating and its bones began to crush to dust before his very eyes.

  “DOM, THIS WAY!” Evelyn shouted from a distance, Dom hurried off and exited the chamber as the walls came crumbling down sealing off the unknown room.

  The Sun shined bright and the sky was a piercing blue. They finally made it back outside. Beaten, bloody and bruised, but alive, they made out with their lives intact.

  “Outside!” Dom exclaimed as he dropped to his knees and began kissing the ground, “the ground oh my god the ground!”

  “Don’t be such an idiot! Get up!” She said as she forced Dom to his feet. “Let’s get home, I need a nice hot bath!” They both laughed as they started their journey back home. Dom would never admit it to himself. He confidently played it off but he couldn’t help shake the feeling they were being watched.

  The next morning after they settled home and tended to their wounds, they began examining The Heart of Tammuz.

  “What do you think it is? Do you think the legends are true? The ones father believed?” Dom asked.

  The way he speaks of father is like a ten year old boy speaking about his hero. Evelyn thought to herself with a small grin.

  “I’m not too sure there, Buddy, I sure hope so.” She playfully replied.

  “Buddy?” Dom snapped, “I’m eighteen, not some child.” He crossed his arms, clearly offended by it.

  “Dom, shut up.” She replied as she placed the Heart into a small handheld scanner. “Welp, Here goes nothing.” As she closed the lid shut, she places the device on the table, anxiously awaiting the results.

  A faint hum of vibration begins radiating from the device. The gem glows its vibrant red like it did inside the Guardian. As the device begins to stabilize and the humming ceases, the holographic screen starts to read the results.

  MATERIAL: UNKNOWN CRYSTALLINE COMPOUND…

  AGE: IMMEASURABLE…

  VALUE: RARE, PRICELESS…

  PURPOSE: UNKNOWN…

  FUNCTIONALITY: NONE DETECTED…

  A petrified look fell before her face as she frantically searched her pockets. “No no no nooo.”

  “What?! What’s wrong?” Dom asked while he stood up from his seat.

  “It’s just a rock?” Her voice cracked as her jaw began to tighten. Her eyes remained locked on the words on the screen. “This doesn’t make any sense, it’s useless! He died chasing a useless rock! For years believing it held some sort of truth to the purpose of man! The purpose of life!” Evelyn lowered her head in defeat.

  “But hey, I mean, it’s valuable, if it isn’t needed in our quest then why don’t we just sell it to fund our next expedition?” Dom smiled. While he was also upset, his free-willed spirit would never allow himself to show such defeat.

  “You don’t get it, I don’t care for riches.” She said as she walked over to her satchel. “I also lost the map during the struggle with The Guardian. It”s over. We lost.” A single tear ran down her cheek. A tear of pure anger, not of sadness.

  “Ev, it’s okay.” Dom said attempting to reassure his sister, “we can just-“

  “NO!” She exclaimed, interrupting him mid sentence. “It’s over, I’m done.”

  “You’re done?!” Dom asked, confused. “What do you mean, you’re done?”

  “I’m tired, Dom! We’ve been searching for this thing for three years chasing ghosts! We almost died in the process. Then we do find it just for me to end up losing the map! What if this thing isn’t the real Heart, what if it’s still out there. Now we don’t have a way to track it down, we don’t possess a proper map! We are FINISHED!” Her emotions rang violently with each word that escaped her mouth. “So yes, I’m done. I want a family, Dom. I want a husband, I want children I want a small boring housewife life.”

  “I understand.” After a moment of silence passed, he replied while turning away, “I now understand why you’re running away.” Dom’s voice begins to quiver with hatred. “You think he died for you? He died because of you!” He scoffed. “The way you always drug your feet, second guessing his every lead. You always found a way to slow him down. He’d still be alive had you not been there that day. You weren’t his partner, you were his mistake!” Dom shouted, instantly regretting the words once they left his lips. He was just hurt and he felt betrayed. But that was just a lie he told himself for comfort. He was just scared. He felt responsible for his father’s death because he felt weak, he felt like the mistake.

  Evelyn stood in shock, speechless at what she just heard come from his mouth. They have been inseperable since birth, they have been all they’ve ever known. Evelyn slowly turned her back to her brother, gripping the knob of the door, and left without saying a word. Dom then ripped The Heart of Tammuz from the device with anger and strength fueled by fear throwing it against the wall. The Heart burst into multiple tiny shards littering the ground is glittering jewels.

  What have you done? Dom thought to himself and he fell to his knees, sobbing. What have I done?