The air inside the museum's storage room was musty, filled with the sll of forgotten relics and dust. Old crates, broken statues, and shattered picture fras were scattered carelessly, as if waiting for their final disposal.
Jace Martinez stood in the doorway, his tall, muscular fra nearly filling the space. His dark brown skin glistened slightly under the dim light, and the scar cutting through his left eyebrow gave him a perpetually intimidating look. He pushed his buzzed black hair back with a frustrated hand and narrowed his piercing dark eyes.
"Axel, are you sure you saw it here?" Jace's voice was deep, gruff, and filled with skepticism as he surveyed the room.
Axel Rivera stood further inside, rifling through a pile of junk. His wiry, tattoo-covered arms moved quickly as he muttered to himself. Loose strands of black hair fell over his face despite the ponytail trying to keep it back. He smirked, his silver nose stud glinting. "Yeah, man. I'm sure. I saw it on a TV advert. I swear."
Jace scowled, stepping over a broken crate. "An advert? And how do you even know this thing's valuable?"
Axel turned, his sly grin spreading. "Because my grandpa spent his whole damn life looking for it. He called it the Seal of Arkhara. Said it was so ancient artifact worth billions. Trust , bro. We find it, we're set for life."
Jace grumbled sothing under his breath but kept looking. "Yeah, well, I'll believe it when I see it."
They hadn't been searching long when Jace suddenly paused. A circular, disk-like object sat partially buried in a pile of discarded wood and rags. It looked old—really old—made of faded stone and carved with strange symbols that ant nothing to him. He bent down and picked it up, holding it between his large hands with a frown.
Jace snorted, glaring at Axel. "This? You've got to be pissing on . You dragged on this stupid trip for this crap?"
Axel turned sharply, ready to argue, but his eyes widened when he saw the disk in Jace's hands. "Wait… Wait, wait—YES! That's it! That's the Seal! We found it!" Axel lunged forward, grabbing the artifact from Jace's hands like it was made of gold.
"Yes! We did it! We have it! We're rich, man!" Axel laughed loudly, spinning in excitent. In a rare mont of joy, he even hugged Jace, only for the taller boy to shove him away roughly.
"Get off , idiot." Jace's voice dripped with irritation. "You're putting on a damn show for , aren't you? This? This is trash. Hell, I wouldn't waste a dollar on this thing, and you're telling soone's gonna pay billions?"
"It's worth it!" Axel shot back, holding the Seal close to his chest, his grin never faltering.
Before Jace could retort, the door creaked open. The two boys froze. Nate stepped in, his thin fra looking even smaller in the dusty, cluttered room. His unkempt dark brown hair half-covered his nervous green eyes as they darted between Jace and Axel.
"What are you doing here, freak?" Jace's voice bood, his towering form advancing toward Nate like a predator.
Nate swallowed hard, his voice shaking. "T-The teacher… Everyone's looking for you. W-We're supposed to—"
"Scram."
Jace didn't wait for Nate to finish. His sharp tone and nacing glare were enough to send Nate stumbling backward. He tripped over his feet and fell onto the dusty floor, wide-eyed.
Axel glared at Nate as well, quickly tucking the Seal of Arkhara into his shirt, hiding it from view.
Nate scrambled to his hands and knees, his face flushed with humiliation as he crawled out of the room. The mont the door clicked shut, Jace shot Axel an irritated look.
"Don't talk to until we get back ho, you idiot," Jace growled, shaking his head.
Axel just smirked, one hand resting protectively over the Seal hidden beneath his shirt.
Jace and Axel finally erged from the dusty backrooms of the museum, stepping into the grand hall where the rest of the students were gathered. The group fell quiet for a mont as the two boys approached, the shuffle of footsteps echoing across the high ceilings.
Nate spotted them first. His face paled, and he instinctively stepped back, bumping into another student. Sweat beaded across his forehead as Jace shot him an amused smirk.
"Relax, freak," Jace muttered under his breath, shoving his hands into his pockets.
The mont of tension broke as relief swept through the group.
"Finally!" soone shouted from the back. "I thought we'd be stuck here all day!"
"I swear, if I miss my football match because of this, I'm dropping out," another boy complained, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"God, I miss my gaming rig," a girl moaned dramatically, running a hand through her hair. "I need to be in my capsule with my headset now."
"Man, I haven't eaten since breakfast," another muttered. "Can we please get out of here already?"
"Worst trip ever," grumbled a boy with glasses, pushing up his fras.
The students shuffled toward the exit, the low buzz of grumbling and idle chatter filling the hall. So muttered about the heat, others checked their phones, and a few simply stared longingly at the museum doors, eager to be free of this place.
In a quieter, darker section of the museum—far from the students—the teacher stood with three n, their low voices echoing faintly off the stone walls. The air felt heavier here, thick with tension.
The teacher, an otherwise mild-mannered man with neatly combed hair and spectacles, now looked far more serious. His tone was clipped as he addressed the three n. "Did you find it?"
One of the n, dressed in a dark suit, shook his head. "We searched everywhere. Top to bottom. It's not here."
The teacher's jaw tightened. "Are you sure you searched everywhere?" His eyes darted between the n, as if daring them to lie.
"Yes," another man confird, his voice gruff. "It's not in this museum. Either it was moved, or soone else got to it first."
The teacher adjusted his glasses, exhaling sharply through his nose. "To the next museum, then."
"What about the plane?" one of the n asked.
"We can't miss it," the teacher replied, his voice steady but low. "We'll regroup back ho and make a new plan. Let's move."
The n exchanged brief nods and turned, their footsteps echoing as they disappeared into the shadows. The teacher lingered a mont longer, his expression unreadable, before finally following the students.
****
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