Chapter 65

Tyler had taken advantage of the unexpected and moved swiftly, slamming his arm as hard as he could. The flame struck Hugh's and his men’s temples, sending embers and flames crawling around his skull.

The huge man swayed for a split second, dizzy from the impact. He instinctively dropped his revolver and rushed up with both hands to his face, screaming in anguish. Tyler retaliated with another swing. His men’s scream echoed in the chamber when he fell from the platform.

Hugh screamed, “Haaaa!” his face was burning, and one of his men attacked Dave and one attacked Mary, while Elizabeth went to the golden Buddha statue.

Mary screamed, "Tyler, to your left."

He was surprised; he hadn't expected Hugh to be able to stabilise so quickly, even though his face was burning. Hugh took the lamp with one hand and Tyler's throat with the other after blocking his attack. Tyler tried to dislodge the fingers that were squeezing his breath, but the grasp was too tight. He swung hard at Hugh’s face, landing just a few glancing strikes that appeared to be futile. As the shortage of oxygen began to take its toll, the chamber began to spin. Tyler's lungs pleaded for air, but he couldn't push his neck open. Tyler's legs broke free from Hugh’s clutches, sending him falling back towards one of the statues.

Tyler sprawled on his side and coughed for air, his lungs gladly filling with relief. But he just had a split second because Hugh had caught himself and was charging at him like a bull.

On the far corner, Dave fell to one knee; his hand remained on the ground. Another of the dais burned brightly a few feet behind him. The thought came swiftly enough as he hit one of Elizabeth’s men. Then another shot echoed in the chamber as two of Elizabeth's men lay dead. Mary winked at him. "You are welcome, brother.”

“Sis, are you okay?” Dave yelled.

“Yes! Don't worry about me,” she shouted back.

Back on the third platform, at full speed, Hugh straightened his shoulders into a tackle position. He screamed, "I'm going to kill you, Johnson." He grumbled, preparing to knock Tyler to the ground. However, Tyler rolled out of the path and caught Hugh with his boot just as he was about to attack him. Hugh fell forward uncontrollably, and before he could stop, he collided with the burning dish, knocking it to the ground. As he fell, he stretched out his hands to the floor, but he landed in the flames that had already spread across the floor. He let out a yell, and his body slumped into the flames. In a blast of bright orange fire.

"Hugh!" Elizabeth’s scream echoed through the chamber, then Dave shot another round at the remaining assassin.

Hugh screamed and struggled to roll out of the flames to safety as his entire body became engulfed. Finally, after a moment, he was able to worm his way onto a part of the stone surface where the fire hadn’t reached, and he continued to turn over in the dust. A few seconds later, the flames had been smothered. The skin on his face and hands peeled and blistered from the burns, and his hair had been singed down to the scalp. When he opened his eyes, he saw Tyler Johnson standing over him, holding his gun. “Now, it's quite a fire, huh?” Tyler lifted his weapon and fired a shot without hesitation. The bullet shattered Hugh’s kneecap, fracturing it into a bloody mess of bone and cartilage. “Ahhh!” Hugh slumped onto his side, wailing, both hands gripping the gory mess where his kneecap used to be.

On the other side, Mary went to Elizabeth's side, and the two began fighting. Dave only smiled as Elizabeth screamed at his sister's unrelenting attack. With another blow, Mary was relentless. "Take that bitch," another one. "That is for murdering my child." Another punch followed, "That for wrecking up my life!" Then she kicked her on the knees, which made Elizabeth fall to the ground. Elizabeth screams, helpless and defenceless, reverberating through the chamber. Mary took advantage of Elizabeth's surprise fatal ball position and kicked her in the stomach many times as she advanced quickly, pressing her hands to her face as hard as she could. While another torch fell from the dais and fell on Elizabeth's face, the flame struck her temple, sending embers and flames crawling through her hair as her screams became more frenzied by the second.

To their left, Tyler raised a brow. "Don’t move, Hugh, or I swear, I'll shoot you in the head!" Tyler remarked casually as he turned to leave Hugh twisting in agony on the floor.

Tyler’s attention went to the other side of the chamber as the ancient elevator-like ground continued its ascent.

“Tyler! It's still moving," Dave grumbled. He was hanging onto one of the assassin's feet for dear life. Tyler gasped. The man took off his skin-toned mask, followed by his blond fake hair. He smirked and turned his head to Tyler. It was Alfonso Johnson II, his uncle.

“How the hell?” Tyler grumbled under his breath. It was beyond him how the man managed to deceive Elizabeth. He was pretending to be one of her assassins, all the while waiting for the exact moment to attack. Then he saw Alfonso smirking at him. "I told you I'm going to end your life, boy!" He said as he dragged Dave along. Then the ground trembled, and Alfonso dropped to his knees, struggling to get to the gun that was only a few feet away. Across the chamber, both combatants saw an orange-yellow flash, followed by a howling scream and then a gunshot.

Neither one could see beyond the giant column that was pushing the platform of the elevator up. Alfonso was only a few inches from the gun. His fingers scratched against the hard floor in an attempt to pull himself closer to it. He kicked Dave a couple of times, once catching him in the face. Still, Dave would not let go.

Though Dave understood, his attempt to obstruct the man was pointless. He was so close to the gun. The impact of the black shoe on his jaw hurt, and he could only think of one thing to do. He abruptly released Alfonso, who tumbled forward barely beyond the gun. Before Alfonso could fire a shot, all Dave had to do was duck behind one of the marble crates for safety. “Jesus, that was close," he mumbled.

Alfonso had just been thrown off for a few seconds by the unexpected momentum. He swiftly recovered and grabbed the weapon, firing three fast bullets at the writhing Dave. The bullets bounced off the statue and rattled around the room for a brief while. "You're quite bright, boy!" Alfonso stood up and fired another shot right behind Dave's back, his voice nasty. It bounced against the golden wall next to him. "But your little game is over," Alfonso added. He took a stride forward, ready to strike, when another rifle came up from somewhere else in the chamber.

Alfonso came to a halt. He observed blood slowly seeping into his clothes as he looked down at his chest. He swiftly swung around to return fire, but it was too late. Three additional shots were fired from the other gun, all of which struck Alfonso's body. His legs faltered for a time before giving way, dropping his now-heavy body to the dirt.

Tyler lowered his weapon and approached his uncle on the cold stone floor. "What a shame, uncle. Grandad trusted you too." He groaned. Alfonso's face was covered with blood from the corner of his lips. His piercing blue eyes widened in surprise. His lungs spluttered beneath the red-drenched shirt, battling the damage caused by the gunshots. Alfonso attempted to raise his gun in a final show of defiance.

Another loud bang from Tyler's gun pierced Alfonso's brow, and his hand holding the gun slid lifelessly to the floor.

Dave peered over the corner of the marble crate. He noticed his brother-in-law standing over Alfonso's body. He looked around and saw Hugh lying dead in the corner. Tyler placed the pistol close to the body on the ground.

"Wow! Remind me not to piss a Johnson," Dave chuckled as he looked down at his captor. "Sorry. I was a little preoccupied earlier; thank God I wasn't too late or Mary will kill me," Tyler said, then he pulled his thumb backwards in the direction of Elizabeth, who was groaning, her once fake face covered in blood.

"Wait, you will let her live?”

Tyler nodded.

“Sis, what the hell did you do to her? She looks dead!" Dave inquired at Mary, who sat at the corner near Elizabeth, unsure if he wished to know.

"Let's just say she'll never see the light of day again," Mary said, putting up a brave face as she surveyed the place.

"Should we bring the elevator back?" Tyler nodded. The ancient elevator had returned all the way to the top. "Wait, just a second, Dave." He slapped his palm across Dave’s back. "This is what you've been looking for, right? Adventure?"

“Yes,” Dave smirked. Tyler sighed when they surveyed the massive golden chamber. “WOW! What a view!” They were both taken aback by the stunning scenery in front of them. Their heads twisted completely around to take in the scene.

"It's incredible. I still can't believe we discovered it. Do you understand we're possibly the first people in a hundred years to see this?" Dave asked.

"Maybe you deserved it; maybe paint it for my children to see; so far, this place must be back on Thai’s government. This is their story, their treasure, their ancestor."

Dave smiled as he turned to face Tyler. "Thank you so much, Tyler. I knew you'd show up. But please don't hurt my sister or—”

Tyler gave a nod. “She is my everything, Dave! But someone has to look after your dumb ass from time to time," he remarked with a big grin. "But of course, I will take care of her for the rest of my life."

"Good, now let's get her out, or no honeymoon for you."

"Sure, let's wait for Detective’s men to help us with the mess and let the Thai authorities handle everything from here," Mary muttered behind them.