Finding yet another set of stairs in their continuing search, Maggie, Tommy, and Antonio had reached the top floor and now entered the room with the yellow gem sitting right there on the podium pedestal. There didn’t seem to be anything else in the room besides that, though, which troubled them.
“There it is.” Maggie pointed out. “Now as long as no one says—”
“This’ll be easy!” Tommy happily interrupted.
“Why did you say something!?”
“What?”
“Never mind, let’s just get this thing.”
“Wait!” Antonio tried to stop her, but she was already way ahead of him at that point. She marched up to the small set of stairs and grabbed the gem from the podium.
“All right, one down.” She announced, lifting it in the air.
The scene before him left Antonio puzzled. “But how can that be? There should have been traps set, but there weren’t any?”
“Well, maybe... that’s not the real one?” Tommy guessed.
“You mean this one’s a fake?” Maggie questioned.
“He’s right,” Amy replied from the crystal walkie-talkie. “The booby traps aren’t activating, and that gem isn’t floating, either.”
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“What? Then where could the real one be?” Maggie looked around the room.
“Maybe it’s hidden around here somewhere?” Antonio predicted.
“Ugh, guess we better look for the real one. It’s got to be around here somewhere...”
Tommy placed his hands on the walls and ran them along with the surface, hoping to find a sweet spot that would activate a secret compartment. Maggie looked at the floors to see if there were any hidden clues somewhere along the floor tiles, and Antonio searched across the ceiling and around the podium, hoping to find something worth noting.
It felt like they’ve been at it for a while until Tommy pushed something on the wall that activated the door. He lost his balance and fell inside, leaving the door to close behind him. The loud thump made Antonio and Maggie snap around, only to find Tommy disappeared.
Antonio stepped ahead to investigate where Tommy had gone to when Maggie accidentally stepped on a hidden switch on the floor beneath her. It activated a trapdoor that opened the floor under her feet, causing her to fall through the opening, as it quickly closed above her.
Antonio spun around as Maggie gasped and screamed. He found himself to be alone. He couldn’t find the crystal radar either; it appeared to have come off the laptop somehow. Antonio knew he had to figure a way out of here and find the yellow gem. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he had to try it regardless, or he might not see his friends again.
Just then, Antonio noticed something on the side of the podium and strolled over to inspect. There, he saw an inscription written on it and adjusted his glasses to get a better look. He then placed both of his hands on the podium base and gently pushed it. The podium moved slightly as it revealed a secret passage with stairs leading him a long way down.
Thinking he had no other option but to press on, Antonio took a deep breath before taking his first step down a long flight of steps. It would be up to him to find Tommy, Maggie, and the gem.