by S Alexander
His to Protect
A Sci-fi Alien Romance
S. Alexander
Contents
Title Page
His to protect
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
His to protect
By S. Alexander
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 S. Alexander
All rights reserved.
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Chapter 1
Jessica
“Jessica, come right away. They found a secret passage in the Pyramid,” Emma shouts as she rushes over. She takes a deep breath and wipes the perspiration off her forehead.
“I’m so excited, Emma!” I tell her and grab a flashlight and my camera. Maybe this is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for my entire life. The Mayan civilization has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. I spent years researching everything about them and nobody seems to know why their civilization had suddenly vanished, or how they had built these magnificent cities.
We have been here, in this beautiful Mayan city, for almost two days now. I have a team helping me discover the hidden secrets of the lost civilization of the Maya people, and my wonderful assistant and dear friend, Emma.
“Dr. Brown, we think the passage leads to the center of the pyramid,” Mike, one of the team members says to me as he enters my tent. We set our camp just somewhere near the enormous pyramid. Luckily, NYU University pays all the expenses of this research expedition. All I need to do is uncover the secrets of these people and the reason they had disappeared, leaving their cities in almost perfect condition. Even now, after thousands of years, the pyramids and buildings are in great shape.
“Let's go, guys,” I tell them. “I really don't know what to expect. “
“What do you think is there?” Emma asks as we trace back the path to the main entrance, pushing the vegetation aside.
“Fingers crossed,” I say, my heart beating so fast as if wanting to escape my chest. “I bet you’ll make the headlines: Dr. Jessica Brown reveals the mystery of the Maya civilization,” Mike says.
“I don’t care about that, Mike. It’s not the headlines I’m looking for.” I am so excited about all this. I really want this to be a major discovery. I mean, I’ve spent so much time researching it and I don’t know how much longer the university will support my research. If this fails, I won’t get a second chance.
“Ok, team. It’s now or never. We have to go through the passage all the way to the center.” I try to encourage them, but the one who needs encouragement is me. Deep down inside I fear we won’t find anything. I fear I’ve wasted my life searching for something that doesn’t exist. I fear I gave up on love, marriage, a family for an illusion.
Mike cuts our path through the tall jungle with some sort of sword. I’m clueless when it comes to technical stuff. We’re almost there. The city is colossal and going through the thick jungle really drains you of energy.
“Here it is!” I turn to face Emma. Her face lightens up when she looks upon the great pyramid.
“It’s gorgeous!” She stops and gazes at the impressive monument in front of us.
“It is an amazing structure,” I add and look up to the highest point of the Pyramid.
“The men are already inside,“ Mike tells us and points to the entrance. He seems excited about the entire thing. He's helped me out a lot with the expedition and he is a person I can really trust.
“I don't want anyone to enter the passage.” Maybe I’m selfish, but I want to be the first one to see what’s inside that passage. Ok, maybe I'll let Emma join me.
“Ok, then. I will instruct the men not to enter.” Mike takes out his phone and calls someone inside the pyramid. “Nobody's allowed to enter the passage. Dr. Brown’s orders.” He frowns a little and slides his mobile back into his pocket.
Now, the tricky part. We have to climb the pyramid to reach the entrance. Mike climbs first and then throws a rope down.
“Hold on to this rope and I'll pull you up.” I grab the rope and grit my teeth as I begin the ascent. The muscles in my body burn as I push myself to reach the entrance.
“Oh, shit. I'm gonna fall,” I shout and look down. Emma's there, looking up. She's got wide-open eyes, and she seems stunted.
“You can do it, Jess,“ Mike encourages me and pulls harder on the rope.
“Oh, fuck!” I grab the rope tighter and use all my strength to reach the top. Mike grabs my arm and helps me climb over the edge.
“This is the hardest thing I've ever done.“ I roll on my back and try to catch my breath. I take my hand over my eyes, pushing my hair over my head. Drops of perspiration run down my face.
“I'm not going up there,” Emma shouts from below. She looks in terror at the height above her, her facial muscles paralyzed.
“I know it looks scary, but you can do it. Hell, I could do it and you know I hate heights too.” I shout to her and throw down the rope.
“Grab on and we'll pull you up.” Mike leans over, his left knee on the ground. He grabs on the rope and pulls hard. I get up and go behind him, trying to pull with all my strength.
“Don't look down,” Mike shouts.
“Oh, God! Mike, pull me up and I’ll do anything.”
“How about a kiss?” Mike grins and pulls my friend up. He helps her over the edge, grabbing her body under her arms.
“Thanks!” Emma gets near and kisses Mike on the cheek.
“That’s not the kiss I had in mind,” Mike winks, a smile escaping the corners of his mouth.
“Come on, cut it out!” Emma pushes him away and sits down, trying to catch her breath.
We’re only steps away from what may be the biggest discovery of my career. I stand up and look around me. All the ruins of the ancient city look amazing from up here. My pulse quickens at the thought of entering the secret passage. I take off my backpack and reach for my flashlight and camera. I want to be sure I won’t miss anything important.
“Let’s go guys.” I head towards the entrance. Emma is behind me, a few steps away. Mike is still there, gathering his rope and putting his backpack on.
“Where is everyone else?” Emma asks me, as we enter the great pyramid.
“They’re in the big room,” Mike says from behind us. “I told them not to enter the passage until we’re there.”
We enter this narrow corridor. I can see traces of ancient paintings on the walls. I stop for a moment to observe these drawings. They look strange and the colors are faded out. I can almost make out the s
hape of a spaceship, and the people in these drawings seem to fly in some kind of aircraft. This is strange, considering that they drew these thousands of years ago. I brush my hand against the walls, touching the stone, which feels moist and cold.
“Where did your men find this passage?” I ask as I turn my head to face Mike.
“Well, I equipped my team with scanners and sonars and they could see there’s this giant open space within the walls of the pyramid. They searched over the entire length of the walls and came to an enormous block of stone. It took five people to move it a bit to the side. This gliding movement made an opening emerge within the wall. It must be some kind of mechanism. There's got to be something big. Nobody else has set foot in there for thousands of years.“
I walk along the corridor and almost trip on a small block of stone. The space is so small and I almost feel unable to breathe. Maybe it’s just my anxiety tripping in, maybe I’m just claustrophobic. We finally reach the end of the corridor and enter a rectangular-shaped chamber. The space is lit from above by an opening on top of the pyramid. There are people running around, a man is scanning the east wall with a device, another is measuring the length of the floor. On the right side of the enclosure, I see an opening in the wall, dust and debris all around it. It must be the entrance to the secret passage. My heart races like crazy, blood pumping rapidly through my veins.
“Hello, Dr. Brown. You’re here. We could find the secret passage which leads to the hollow space within the pyramid. It’s a space unseen for thousands of years,” John, the team sound engineer informs me. He comes near me and hands me a screen. The ultrasound scanner showed a huge open space within the heart of the pyramid. It seems to lead below us by a few meters.
“Thank you so much, John!” I take the device and inspect the images. I can clearly see a vast hollow deep under our present location.
“Well, this is it. I need to see what’s in there. Emma, I need you there.” I turn my head to face Emma. I see her face quite pale. She seems absent, scared.
“Jess, do I have to?” she asks. I can barely hear her. I approach Emma and lay my hand on her shoulder. “I need you, Emma!”
“Fine, but if there’s anything weird in there, I’m going out,” she says, her voice trembling as she utters those words.
“Fair enough,” I say and pat her on the shoulder. I know Emma is scared, but she’s the only one I can really trust. Deep down, under this fragile surface hides a powerful woman who would move mountains for me. She’s been my best friend for as long as I can remember and we’ve always been there for each other for better or for worse.
“OK, guys. I want to go down the passage. Emma will join me.” I get my backpack, my camera, and flashlight and wait for Emma to come along.
“If you need any help, just let us know,“ Mike says and hands me a walkie-talkie. “Good luck!”
“Don't worry, we're big girls.” I can't deny the anxiety is getting to me. My hands are sweating like crazy and there's a weird sensation throughout my body.
I go through the small opening in the wall and turn on my flashlight. Emma is right behind, only a few steps away. The corridor is narrow and seems like it’s carved in the stone. My breath quickens, my face dripping with perspiration. The heat is almost unbearable. After a few moments, we reach the top of some twirling stairs which seem to go down in a spiral.
“Damn it, Jess! Why the fuck did you want us to go here alone? I’m terrified of this place. It scares the shit out of me,“ Emma mumbles from behind in a low voice.
“You are the only one I trust. We might be onto something big here. It's my research, my work, my fucking wasted social life.” I raise my voice and face her. I want to be the one to document the discovery of the truth about the Maya civilization. It is like an obsession, something that has occupied my entire existence for so long.
“You’re delusional! You're so obsessed with this stupid Maya crap. They're dead, gone, ashes. Who gives a fuck about that? For what I care, aliens may well have abducted,” Emma continues to argue.
“Funny you should say that. It's one theory. All their drawings, statues, art reflect spaceships and humanoid creatures. So, Emma darling, you might be on to something.” We go down the stairs, one step of a time.
“You’re crazy! “Emma shows high levels of anxiety and fear. Her hands are shaking, her voice trembles as she speaks. I’m not that far off either. I am scared to death, but I will not let that stop me. Not now. Not when I am so darn close.
We reach the end of the twirling stairs and continue our way through the passage. We take a few more steps and suddenly there’s a loud noise behind us. My ears hurt from intensity of the sound and I’m unable to breathe from the splattered dust and particles.
I fall to the ground, hitting my knees against the hard stone floor. The whole structure shatters from the collapse.
“Oh, my God! We’re gonna die in here,” Emma shouts in horror. She falls to the ground too, unable to keep her balance. The place moves like there’s an earthquake or an explosion. I reach for my walkie-talkie but drop the damn thing and it breaks to small pieces.
“Oh great, just great! Now we’re trapped in here.” Emma cries at me and punches my arm, tears running down her cheeks.
“Don’t lose it, Emma,” I try to make her snap out of her panic attack. I grab her by both arms and look straight into her eyes. “We’ll be fine. You hear me? You won’t die in here. I won’t let that happen.” She cries her heart out and hugs me, her head resting on my shoulder.
The movement stops and we’re able to stand up. We go back to the stairs, now a huge pile of collapsed stones. There’s no way back now. We continue our way along the passage and finally reach this immense room. The moment we enter, the entire room is lit by a dim blue light. There’s no need for a flashlight. It makes no sense to me. This is thousands of years old. Where is the light coming from?
“How is it possible?” Emma shakes her head in amazement.
“Beats me.” I look around the place. “Look at the walls!” There are hundreds of drawings, images depicting flying spaceships and humanoid figures. The ceiling is amazing. On the right side, I can make out our solar system. The drawing is very accurate and realistic. “How could these people have known about our solar system?” A million thoughts run through my mind. Another drawing gets my attention. It looks like another solar system, but this one has two suns. I am unfamiliar with it.
“Emma, they drew a different solar system. There is ours on the right, but look on the left side of the ceiling.” I point to the left area and show her the solar system.
“Look at that spaceship. It looks like it will land on that planet over there.” Emma points to the fourth planet from the two suns. The suns are close to each other.
“Oh, yes… you’re right. I didn’t see that.”
I lower my eyes and glare at the center of the room. There’s this weird thing standing on a block of stone. I approach it and notice its tremendous size. It looks like it’s made of metal. What puzzles me is the shape, a perfect decagon with spikes that flare up and bend toward the middle. On one side I spot what seems a control panel, with pink and bluish crystals on the front side.
“What is that thing?” Emma strolls toward the object and climbs up, her hand brushing against its spikes. “Look here… They’re crystals,” she says to me, her index finger touching the big crystal in the middle. I climb up the block myself and gaze mesmerized at the strange writings on the metal. I wonder what they mean.
I let out a breath, my eyebrows raised. This is so confusing. I don’t understand how an ancient civilization could build this.
“These crystals are so beautiful,” Emma exclaims and presses hard on the crystals, her hands joined for more force. A buzzing sound emerges, and the ten bent spikes start spinning around us at top speed. White light surrounds us as the spinning reaches incredible speeds. The buzzing sound gets louder and louder. The feeling is like being in a globe of white light. I b
reathe in and out and feel dizzy, my stomach in my throat. I collapse and everything goes black.
Chapter 2
Jessica
I slowly open my eyes, the bright light making it difficult to make sense of my surroundings. My body rests flat on the ground, an incredible ache running through my muscles. I turn my head to the other side. Emma's there, a few feet away, lying unconscious. I rest my head and look up at the bright sky. My eyes open wide with confusion as I fix my gaze on the two suns towering over the blue horizon. My mind refuses to comprehend how it is possible. My confusion is overwhelming.
I gather all my strength and stand on my feet, my eyes searching for anything familiar. The bluish shade of the ground gets my attention. That's not what I’d call familiar. It's so strange. I focus my attention on Emma, who's getting to her senses. I walk to her, slugging my legs in a disoriented line. I am so dizzy and so cold. I cross my arms, my back crouched, in an attempt to keep myself warm, but I'm freezing.
“Emma, are you OK?” I offer my hand and help her get up.
“I'm fine. It's just my head… It hurts so badly.” She pulls herself up, her gaze searching around. “Where are we?”
“I have no idea,” I say, my hand resting on her shoulder. I can sense her muscles shaking from the cold, her lips purple and dry.
“FUCK… We’re gonna die!” She cries and falls to her knees, palms over her face. This time I fear she may be right. I kneel beside and put my arms around her, rubbing her back. “We need to stay strong. We'll figure something out.”
The ground is bare, blue dust covering most of it. I see a few scattered trees in the distance, but nothing I’ve ever seen before. They appear to be huge, with branches twirling up. And they're blue. Blue trees! I must lose my mind. The cold must get to my sanity and make me imagine things.
A terrifying roar disrupts the shivering of my body. I draw a big breath and look both ways, my eyes searching for anything that might make such sounds. My heart beats so fast and my breath quickens. I rub the back of my neck and stand still. There's the roar again. It's coming from above.
