Chapter 5-2 A Dark Past

Teodora’s apartment was full of residents from the Esmeralda building, hastily gathered after an urgent summons. The familiar faces of Mrs. Martínez, the twins from the second floor, and even the always grumpy Don Horacio from the third floor were watching Teodora with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. Some murmured among themselves, wondering why they had been summoned.
“Why are we here, Teodora?” —asked do Horacio crossed his arms. "Does it have to do with the noise we all heard last night?"
"And with that man on the top floor," added Mrs. Martinez, adjusting her glasses. "He always seemed suspicious to me."
Teodora raised a hand, asking for silence.
"Listen. What I'm about to tell you won't be easy to understand, but it's the truth. This building, our home, holds a secret that is now in danger."
Some neighbors looked at each other, incredulous.
"A secret? What are you talking about?" asked one of the twins.
Teodora looked at siblings Leo and Lucía, who nodded firmly. Then she took out the metallic sphere and placed it on the table, allowing the neighbors to observe it closely.
"This is what that man is looking for. It's an ancient artifact that has been in the building since its construction. Its power is immense, but it's also dangerous."
The murmurs intensified. Some neighbors leaned forward to get a better look, while others took a step back, clearly suspicious.
"Dangerous?" Mrs. Martinez asked. "What exactly does it do?"
"It's capable of revealing and destroying secrets," Teodora replied seriously. "If it falls into the wrong hands, it could cause irreparable damage, not only to this building, but to all of us."
"And why is it in this building?" Don Horacio asked, visibly irritated. "Why wasn't it destroyed years ago?"
Teodora sighed.
"Because those who built this place believed it should be protected, not destroyed. But now, someone is actively searching for it. If they manage to gather all the necessary pieces, they will activate a mechanism that could free it or... unleash its destructive power."
Silence fell over the room, broken only by the purring of one of Teodora's cats. Finally, Mrs. Martinez spoke, with a mixture of disbelief and concern.
"What can we do against something like that?"
Teodora straightened her shoulders, her gaze determined.
"I need your help to protect him. We can't face him alone. He's already proven he won't stop until he gets what he wants. But together, we can stop him."
"How?" one of the twins asked, still incredulous.
Lucía spoke, her voice firm.
"We need to find one last piece of the mechanism that can seal this artifact forever. We don't know exactly where it is, but it's clearly somewhere in the building."
Leo quickly added,
"And if that man finds it first, it will be too late."
The neighbors looked at each other, some with doubt and others with a spark of determination. It was Don Horacio who finally spoke, in his usual brusque tone.
"Okay. If this guy is endangering our lives, I'm not going to stand idly by."
Mrs. Martínez nodded.
"Me neither. This building is our home. We can't let them destroy it."
One by one, the neighbors began to accept the challenge. Teodora gave them a rudimentary map of the building, pointing out areas where she thought they might find clues or hidden mechanisms related to the missing piece.
"Let's split into teams," the old woman said, taking control of the situation. "The twins will check the attics. Mrs. Martínez and Don Horacio will search the upper floors. Leo, Lucía, and I will go to the basement again."
"The basement again?" Lucía asked, with a worried expression.
"It's where it all began," Teodora replied. "If there's anything else to find, it'll be there."
When Leo, Lucía, and Teodora arrived at the basement, the atmosphere seemed heavier than before. The shadows were deeper, and the echo of their footsteps spread through the dark corners. Teodora carried the book with the diagrams and symbols, while Lucía nervously held a flashlight.
"What exactly are we looking for?" —Lucia asked, sweeping the light over the basement walls.
Teodora stopped in front of the metal door, which was now closed again.
“Something that matches this symbol,” she said, showing a page from the book. On it was a drawing of a star surrounded by a circle, with inscriptions that seemed encrypted.
Leo looked at the drawing and began scanning the walls, looking for any similar reliefs or inscriptions.
“There’s something here,” he said, pointing to a corner where the walls seemed older and more cracked.
Teodora moved closer, examining the area carefully. After a few seconds, she pointed to a small metal plate embedded in the wall, barely visible beneath the dirt.
“This could be what we’re looking for,” she said.
Lucía shone the flashlight on the plate, revealing that it bore inscriptions similar to those on the artifact.
“What do we do with this?” she asked.
Teodora took a small knife from her bag and began scraping away the dirt covering the plate. As he did so, a hidden mechanism activated with a soft click.
The wall moved slightly, revealing a small, hidden cavity. Inside was a shiny object, similar to a medallion, but much more elaborate than the one I saw. the previous ones.
"It's the missing piece!" Leo exclaimed, carefully taking the medallion.
However, before they could celebrate, a sound of footsteps echoed on the stairs.
"Someone's coming," Lucia warned, quickly turning off the flashlight.
The three of them hid in the shadows, holding the newly found piece tightly as they waited for the danger to reveal itself.
The footsteps echoed with a deliberate cadence, each one closer than the last. Leo, Lucia, and Teodora stayed hidden in the shadows, their breathing controlled as they tried not to make the slightest noise. The newly found medallion glowed dimly in Teodora's hands, as if responding to some invisible energy in the basement.