Odyssey Of Survival

 The air inside the museum's storage room was musty, filled with the smell of forgotten relics and dust. Old crates, broken statues, and shattered picture frames were scattered carelessly, as if waiting for their final disposal.

Jace Martinez stood in the doorway, his tall, muscular frame 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 some ancient artifact worth billions. Trust me, bro. We find it, we're set for life."

Jace grumbled something 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 meant 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 me. You dragged me 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 excitement. In a rare moment of joy, he even hugged Jace, only for the taller boy to shove him away roughly.

"Get off me, idiot." Jace's voice dripped with irritation. "You're putting on a damn show for me, aren't you? This? This is trash. Hell, I wouldn't waste a dollar on this thing, and you're telling me someone'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 frame 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 boomed, 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 menacing 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 moment the door clicked shut, Jace shot Axel an irritated look.

"Don't talk to me until we get back home, 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 emerged 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 moment 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 moment of tension broke as relief swept through the group.

"Finally!" someone 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 frames.

The students shuffled toward the exit, the low buzz of grumbling and idle chatter filling the hall. Some 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 men, 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 men. "Did you find it?"

One of the men, 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 men, as if daring them to lie.

"Yes," another man confirmed, his voice gruff. "It's not in this museum. Either it was moved, or someone 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 men asked.

"We can't miss it," the teacher replied, his voice steady but low. "We'll regroup back home and make a new plan. Let's move."

The men exchanged brief nods and turned, their footsteps echoing as they disappeared into the shadows. The teacher lingered a moment longer, his expression unreadable, before finally following the students.