Chapter 12: The Lost Artifact

Cornered against a dead-end wall of bubbling dough, Sarah felt the heat of the approaching Minions on her neck, their wet, clicking sounds a chorus of hunger closing in. Joseph’s flashlight beam swept the floor, his logical mind struggling to find a way out, but his focus was entirely on Sarah. He felt a desperate, gnawing fear—not for himself, but for the woman whose creative fire he had sworn to protect. Sarah’s flashlight beam caught a faint, golden glimmer buried beneath a pile of discarded, ancient pizza boxes. She scrambled toward it, ignoring the snapping jaws of the nearest Minion.

As she cleared away the debris, her fingers closed around the handle of a Golden Spatula. It was an ancient relic, heavy and cold, humming with a pure, metallic energy that cut through the oppressive, stifling heat of the cave. The moment she lifted the artifact, a shockwave of brilliant light erupted, momentarily blinding the shadow creatures.