"I hope this is the right place and not some mythical shit," Teddy, a young teenage girl, muttered to herself as she sneaked into an abandoned temple.
Her voice sounded too loud in her own ears, even though it barely carried past her lips. She paused just inside the entrance, listening. Nothing answered her. No footsteps. No echo of movement. Just silence sitting heavy in the air.
The whole place smelled Gothic just by the look of it. Old stone. Dust that had not been disturbed in years. Shadows clung to the walls like they had grown there. Teddy swallowed and stepped forward anyway. She did not come all this way to turn back now.
She was on a mission, one that could stop a family curse. This was her only hope. The only way for her to make it past 21 years of age. A generational curse passed down from offspring to offspring, and Teddy was determined to cheat it.
Everyone in her family died young. No matter how careful they were. No matter how healthy they lived. Accidents. Illnesses. Sudden deaths with no explanation. 21 had always been the limit. Teddy had grown up watching birthdays feel less like celebrations and more like countdowns. She refused to accept that her life had an expiration date.
She pushed up her glasses as she used her torchlight, scanning for something. The beam cut through the darkness in a narrow path. Her hands trembled, and she tightened her grip, forcing herself to breathe slower. She had been researching this place for days and what it held. Sleepless nights. Endless tabs open on her phone. Forums. Old articles. Half written warnings buried between conspiracy theories.
She got the information from a website that published articles about ancient history. Most people would have scrolled past it. Teddy did not. She read every word twice.
When she reached the altar, artifacts were scattered everywhere. Broken pottery. Rusted tools. Things that looked like they were dragged out and tossed aside without care. Someone must have burglarized the place. That thought made her stomach twist. She was not the first one here. That meant whatever waited in this temple was real enough for others to risk coming back for it.
Blood was stained on a freaky, weird golden statue. Dark and dry, smeared across its surface like someone had panicked. Judging by the look of it, someone had tried hard to take it. There were signs, marks and drill holes carved into the gold, ugly and desperate. According to the article, no chainsaw or drill could take the statue down. It even said it once took the lives of greedy people.
Teddy stared at it longer than she meant to. Some performed sacrificial rituals just for that statue. Others thought it was some horny statue, anything, because gold nowadays is more valuable than humans. People jerked off and masturbated in front of it, hoping the statue would let them take it.
The thought made her shudder. But the statue was still stuck on the altar. Untouched. Unmoved. Like it was mocking everyone who tried.
That statue was not what Teddy came for. She was here for something else, or should she say, someone. Her heart picked up speed as she forced herself to turn away. Teddy flashed her light around the walls of the temple, hoping to find a switch or a red button. According to the site, there should be one that would bring out another altar in the form of a table. Hidden. Protected. Only revealed to those who knew what to look for.
"Where is the fucking button?" she said in frustration.
Her voice cracked. She wanted to smash the light in her hand just to release the tension buzzing through her fingers. Regret crept in fast and sharp. She had taken a seven hour bus ride all the way from her town to get here. The ride felt longer now that she stood alone in this place. She did not even tell anyone about her whereabouts. No goodbye. No note.
Thank goodness it was Saturday. But she did know one thing. Her slutty best friend Darney was going to be looking for her because they had plans. Darney would probably be blowing up her phone by now. Teddy ignored the thought. This was more important than whatever Darney had planned to do today. More important than apologies. More important than fear. When all odds seemed lost, Teddy began to touch every corner of the wall. Stone scraped against her fingers. Dust clung to her skin. She moved slow, methodical, her breath shallow as minutes passed with no result. No click. No movement. Nothing. Her chest tightened.
She went back to the altar, staring at it, trying to see it differently. That was when she noticed the eyes of the golden statue. They looked funky and abstract, not carved like the rest of it. Too smooth. Too deliberate. Teddy hesitated. Then she reached for it. To her surprise, the eye shifted. It pushed in like a button.
For a split second, nothing happened. Then immediately the whole place was light. Not a soft glow. Not a flicker. It burst out so bright it outshone the flashlight Teddy was holding. She cried out and raised her arm, shielding her eyes as white burned through her vision. Her head throbbed. Tears welled up without permission. Some said it could blind one's eyes.
After some time, the bright light dimmed enough for Teddy to see again. Her heartbeat roared in her ears. That light was a sign for her that what was about to happen was not a myth. It was real.
"Holy shit," she muttered in awe.
At the center of the temple, something began to rise. Stone grinding against stone. A shape forcing its way up from the ground. A rectangular table. Teddy took a step back, then another, watching as it slowly came into view. When it finally stopped moving, she stood frozen, staring.
She walked over to it, her legs feeling weak beneath her. The rectangular table was made of crystal marble. Smooth. Cold. Too clean compared to everything else in the room. Teddy wiped the surface with her sleeve for a clearer view. A symbol was engraved on it.
QUICUMQUE HOC APERUERIT, POENAS IN AETERNUM FERET.
The words looked ancient. Heavy. She tried to read it out loud, but her tongue stumbled over the sounds. The letters refused to cooperate, like they did not want to be spoken. Her hand hovered above the surface. Then she pressed a red button. The surface slid open with a sharp sound. Inside was a body, pale and white as snow. Perfectly still. Lips slightly parted. Skin untouched by time.
Teddy sucked in a breath. Just as the site had written, she brought out a knife. Her fingers shook as she held it. She stared at her hand for a second longer than necessary, then dragged the blade across her skin.
"Oh my God, this is so painful. How do they do it so easily in movies? This is painful," she said, her voice trembling.
Pain exploded through her palm. Blood pooled fast. Her knees nearly buckled, but she stayed upright. If this pain was all what it takes to get what she wants, then be it.
She placed her hand above the mouth of the pale body. Drops of blood fell slowly. One. Two. Three. Each drop felt louder than the last. She watched as they disappeared between its lips.
When her hand stopped dripping, she waited.
"Wait, that is it? Why is the body not waking up?" Teddy said.
Nothing changed. No movement. No breath. No reaction at all.
Her chest tightened again. Panic crept in. She tore the bottom of her shirt and wrapped her hand, pressing hard to stop the bleeding. She stepped back, waiting, listening for anything.
Then everything began to shake. The ground trembled beneath her feet. The walls groaned. Even the golden statue fell off the altar with a crash that echoed through the temple. Teddy stumbled, barely keeping her balance. Her heart slammed against her ribs as one thought filled her head. The whole place was going to collapse. Before she could think through anything else, something grabbed her. Hard. She was slammed against the floor, the air knocked out of her lungs. Teddy grunted, her back screaming in pain as she struggled beneath the weight pinning her down. She turned her head just enough to see what it was.
It was the pale body. Silver fangs gleamed in its mouth. Its eyes were open now, glowing silver, locked onto her with something dark and furious. The creature growled. Teddy screamed, the sound tearing out of her as sharp claws dug into her neck. Pain flared hot and wet. Her hands scrabbled uselessly against the floor.
"You have ruined everything," the creature said.
Its voice was low. Cold. Filled with something ancient.
"Now bear the consequences."
It leaned down, about to bite Teddy.