“Just be ready to push,” King said, continuing his circuit around the room, hopping on one pillar after another. His hope was that one of the pillars would trigger some kind of release for the sarcophagus. His fear was that it was one of the pillars buried beneath the stone and dirt that filled half the room.

He hopped up on the last of the large pillars and felt it give a little beneath his weight. A loud clunk sounded beneath the stone floor. “Push!”

Alexander pushed hard. Stone scraped against stone. A hiss of escaping air filled the chamber. The ancient seal was broken. The sarcophagus slid open revealing a smooth tunnel that spiraled out of view. But it wasn’t tall enough for a man to walk or even crawl into—it had to be slid into.

When the sarcophagus had shifted ninety degrees, it could no longer move. A second clunk sounded immediately and Alexander grunted. “It’s moving back! It may not reopen!”

King hoped off the pillar and rushed to his side. He looked at the small, downward sloped tunnel and shook his head. Time to find out if I’m claustrophobic, he thought.

“Hurry!” Alexander urged. “It’s going to move faster when I let go.”

King put his flashlight in his mouth and dove into the tunnel headfirst. Contrary to how it looked, he didn’t slide down. The rough stone clung to his body like Velcro. Dragging himself forward, he moved down and around into the tunnel. A moment later, he felt Alexander’s hands on his feet, pushing him forward. He scrambled as fast as he could, feeling his elbows and knees already becoming raw.

“Despite being able to grow back limbs,” Alexander shouted as the sarcophagus began squeezing his feet, “I don’t enjoy the experience of losing them.”

King felt Alexander lunge forward, bringing his body up on top of King’s legs, pinning them to the floor.

With a thud, the sarcophagus sealed over them. They were in a downward spiraling tunnel barely tall enough for King to raise his head. And with Alexander’s weight crushing his legs to the sharply rough floor, he could no longer move forward.

King took a deep breath, steadying himself before claustrophobic panic could set in. He pictured the situation behind him and quickly came up with the solution. “Exhale as much as you can and press yourself against the ceiling.”

The pressure on King’s legs lessened as Alexander complied, but not by much. They were packed tighter than he thought. Gritting his teeth against the flashlight, King reached out and pulled as hard as he could. Pain stabbed his knees as the rough floor tore into them. He grunted and stopped. “One more time.”