by K C West
We resumed our up-trail hike toward the now unrecognizable site. Thoughts floated about in my head like the well-disturbed dirt that floated about us with every step we took.
Oh dear, PJ, am I capable of giving you what you want, of being all things that you expect of me? Can I be the lover who will satisfy your physical needs? What am I going to say to you when we finish up here and I run out of excuses to put it off any longer? We’re going to come to a point where we will have to part ways or continue on together. Are you fully prepared, I wonder, to devote your life to me? Am I prepared to risk being hurt again?
We were met at the site by Sean Jackson and Diego Rodriquez. “Good Morning, Doctor Blair, Doctor Curtis. All’s quiet up here.”
“Yes, I’m sure it is,” Kim said. “We’re just going to look around and see if there is anything salvageable.”
“I doubt it,” Diego said sadly. “There’s nothing much left of the way it was. I’m sorry your work here ended like this.”
I wondered why I hadn’t noticed Diego’s eyes before now. They were beautiful, black pools, windows into his Navajo/Mexican soul. The open neck of his light blue shirt revealed a silver crucifix resting in the curly, black hair of his chest.
Sean, on the other hand was typical Irish, even to his red, unruly hair. They were good men.
“There’s really no reason for your staying here any longer, so if you’ll stop by my motor home later today, I’ll pay you off. You’re entitled to a decent severance and I’m going to see to it that you get one.”
“Thank you,” the two men uttered in unison.
“It’s been a pleasure working for you,” Sean added, “a real pleasure, and I’m sorry it’s over.”
“We won’t leave until after you do,” Diego said, “just in case you need anything. Then, we’ll pack up our stuff.”
“Not much to do there either.” Sean said. “The quake dismantled our hut for us.”
“I’ll see you later then, at the motor home,” I said, dismissing the men.
It was dirty work, sorting through the dirt at the tent site. All that was left of the tent were two bent poles and a shred or two of tenting material. We wore masks and worked in silence. There wasn’t much to salvage. We found a few scattered papers and the battered remains of my folding chair. The strapping was torn and the metal frame twisted. The tent itself, the laptop, books, and everything else was buried. It would take heavy earth moving equipment to dig them out.
I gathered what few shards of the Krater I could find and dropped them into a plastic bag.
PJ came and knelt beside me and took my hand. “Don’t worry about those. I’ll get you another one.”
I looked into her eyes and remembered the feel of the Krater in my hands. “It won’t be the same, PJ, as this one … so special … it was so special.”
“Keep it in your heart, Kim. And maybe, someday, you’ll find room for me there, too. If you don’t … well, it wasn’t meant to be.”
Her expression revealed the pain in her heart and the courage it took to utter that last sentence.
I had to respond … with something, but to extend hope … would that be fair to her?
“You’re already in my heart, PJ, and you’re likely to be there for a long time. That isn’t the point and I think you know that.”
“I do and I’m not pushing, it’s just that… Aw hell, let’s get back to work, shall we?”
She grabbed the shovel she had carried from the Tracker and started scraping away at the dirt, turning over rocks and pushing aside loosened brush in her search for anything of ours that might have survived the quake and rock slide.
We were stopped dead in our tracks on numerous occasions as small aftershocks rumbled through the ground beneath our feet. They were mild, but strong enough to set small stones rattling downhill. Even though the disturbances lasted only a few seconds they were enough to freeze us in place, as if any movement on our part would bring the rest of the mountain down on top of us. Nothing was as it should be any more. The Amazons were gone and I was struggling with issues concerning PJ. Besides that, the very instability of the ground was driving me to the edge. How much longer can I hold myself together?
“This is futile,” I said, after we had been scratching through the dirt for what seemed like hours.
PJ agreed. “We need bulldozers to dig through this mess.”
“Well, we’re not going to those lengths.” I stood up and brushed off my jeans. “Luckily, I have most of our stuff backed up on computer disks at the motor home. That’s what I was doing the night you stayed up here with Laine and Josie, bringing my master files up to date.”
“That seems so long ago now … as if it happened in another life.”
“It did, PJ. Everything pre-quake happened in another life. Things changed the moment the earth shook and the mountain came tumbling down.”
” ‘The Damndest Finest Ruins,’ that’s what they said of San Francisco after the earthquake of 1906. In fact I believe someone wrote a book with that title. Is this, Kim, our damndest finest ruin?”
“It qualifies.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure that between us,” PJ said, looking around and shaking her head as if contradicting what she was saying, “we can reconstruct whatever is missing.”
“You’re right. So let’s go pay our respects to Marna and Leeja, then get the hell out of here.”
PJ reached for my hand. “Kim, would you prefer to do that alone? I’ll wait for you here.”
“Nonsense, we’re in this together. You’re as close to them as I am.”
She smiled. “Not quite.”
We climbed over rocks and boulders, dirt, fallen trees, and uprooted, low growing, desert shrubbery.
After twenty minutes of scrambling we had arrived at the spot that, though unrecognizable, we thought was right above the cave.
I looked at PJ. “I have to say a few words.”
“I’ll wait over there.”
“No, I want you here with me.” I took her hand in mine and bowed my head. “Marna, Leeja, it’s been a pleasure. I’ll never forget you. And, Marna, well, I guess, like it or not, you’re part of me and I’m part of you. May your Gods and Goddesses keep you safe wherever you are, and if you’re inside of me, may they show me the way to honor your memory.”
I started to leave but PJ pulled me back. “Wait!”
“Ladies,” she said, her head bowed. “I’m not as close to you as Kim, nor can I understand your connection, but you’ve helped me come to terms with my life … you’ve given me a reason for being and I thank you for that.”
As we turned to leave, PJ stumbled over some loose rock. I steadied her.
“Kim, what’s that?”
We dropped to our knees and scraped some dirt aside to get a better look at a shiny object that was caught between two boulders. It appeared to be a metal disk on a leather strip, like a thong. PJ pulled on it but it was well and truly stuck. A second thong was entwined with the first one.
“Damn, I left my pack at the tent site,” PJ said. “If I had a tool I could pry…. I’ll go get it.”
“Wait,” I reached into my pocket for my Swiss Army Knife. “I have something here that might work.”
I pushed the stubby screwdriver down into the crack and wiggled it, taking care not to damage the object or push it farther into the crevice. I pushed and pried while PJ held the thong taut. Then I used the butt of the knife as a lever. After a while it started to rub a blister in the palm of my hand and my shoulder was screaming its displeasure, but I felt the object move ever so slightly. We changed places. I pulled on the thong while PJ worked the knife blade down into the rock. Suddenly, the medallion was free of its rock prison. The second thong was attached to a dried up, leather pouch. Inside was another medallion, identical to the first one.
“What do you make of them?” PJ asked.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to take them back with us and do some research.”
“W
hatever they are, they’re not indigenous to this area.”
“You know, PJ, looking at the lettering, they could be ancient Greek, which means they more than likely belonged to our Amazons.”
“But why didn’t we find them before, in the cave, or outside?”
“I can’t answer that. Perhaps we weren’t supposed to find them until now.”
“Now, Kim, don’t get all funny on me again.”
When I looked up, she winked. “Just teasing.”
“I’ll get you for that, you know.”
“Is that a promise?”
I raised an eyebrow, swallowed, and turned my attention back to the medallions. The two appeared, on the surface anyway, to be exactly alike. “You know, PJ, don’t you think it strange that they’re so shiny? If they’d been here all along, they’d have been dulled with age.”
“What are you suggesting?” PJ asked.
Geez, I’d like to kiss that frown from your forehead. “I dunno … perhaps it was no accident that we found them.”
She looked at me intently. “There you go again, getting all spooky…”
I stiffened and grabbed PJ’s arm. “Don’t move … Stay very … very … still.”
“What…what is it? Kim, you’re scaring me.”
A snake with various brown, geometric markings slithered across the rocks in front of us. It had a flat, triangular head.
“Kim, is that what I think it is?”
“If you’re thinking rattler, the answer is yes, but if you stay perfectly still chances are it’ll glide on by.”
“That works for me,” PJ said, her voice weak and shaky. Her nails dug into my forearm.
“Shit,” I muttered, as we knelt rigidly across from one another.
“What now?”
“There’s a couple more.”
“Sweet Jesus! What do we do?”
“Try to relax.”
“Relax! You’ve got to be kidding. I’m about to pass out. But, I don’t want you to get bitten when I fall and they strike, so-“
“PJ. Please shut up. You must remain calm.”
She gave me a lopsided grin. “Maybe we’re going to stay here with the Amazons after all.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic. They’ll meander along and we’ll be on our way.”
We heard the low throated growl from somewhere behind and off to my left.
“That was your stomach, right?” PJ said, “And not a hungry grizzly or something equally horrific.”
“Pup, quiet,” I ordered softly. I had to repeat myself, but he got the message, though a low whine now and then indicated that he was not happy about not being allowed to protect us. He stayed put while the longest minutes of our lives ticked by.
“Kim. I’ve gotta pee.”
“Well, either squeeze your legs together or pee your pants, but don’t you dare move.”
“Some help you are when my eyeballs are floating.”
I stifled a giggle. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be with at a time like this.”
“Thanks a lot.” PJ was pale under her suntan. “You want to be with me in the last moments of our lives. Where the hell were you when I had years ahead of me?”
I was scared, too, but I didn’t want to let on to PJ that I was. Our first aid kit was in the buried tent.
If they strike there’s little we could do to treat the bites. I wonder if Jackson and Rodriguez have left. Maybe not … they said they’d wait until we left.
Now that I have a chance at happiness, a love in my life, has it come too late? And if we get out of here alive, will I have the courage to give myself to her, or will the dread of future pain keep my heart in a deep freeze?
The standoff ended finally when the snakes slithered into a crack between the rocks.
PJ was trembling. I pulled her into a hug, unable to ignore how comfortable she felt against me with her head tucked under my chin. “It’s okay,” I said, rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head. “We can leave now.”
“This feels so good,” PJ said, “that I’m not sure I want to leave right now.”
I chuckled. “There could be more rattlers.”
“That’s it! I’m out of here.” She broke apart from me, stood off the jumbled rocks. “Gawd, my legs feel like Jell-O.”
I followed her, but stopped for a moment when we reached the trailhead. I turned to take one last look back. There’s nothing left for us here. The Amazons, of course, but they live in my heart. I glanced at PJ. In our hearts. I stretched my eyes toward the cave’s location. “Sleep peacefully, Warriors.”
“We’ll never forget you,” PJ added quietly, reaching for my hand. “C’mon. Kim, let’s go. You’ve done what you set out to do.”
We were dust covered and grimy so the first thing we did on arriving back at the motor home was to clean up. I sent PJ into the shower first. When she emerged, she looked a great deal better.
I had a cup of Earl Grey ready for her. “You know, you really do justice to my old sweats.”
Sexy, too, with your hair still wet. What are we going to do, PJ, about us?
“Yeah. Well, they’re a little baggy. Thanks to those rattlers, I lost ten pounds in sweat.” PJ said, as I handed her a cup of tea and a cookie.
I swallowed a couple of mouthfuls of tea and headed into the shower.
After showering I put on my oldest and most faded sweats. I was still toweling my hair when I joined PJ in the living area.
She smiled. “And you look mighty … uh …well, never mind.”
“I hope your thought was complimentary.”
She shot me a saucy grin. “I tried to get into the computer,” she said, “but the power went off again and I didn’t know how to fire up the generator.”
“You just need to flip this switch, the red one here under this cabinet.” She had turned around to see where in the kitchen it was. I flipped the switch and a moment later I heard the generator hum and saw the surge protector glowing brightly, indicating that we had power.
I turned back to the living area and stood beside the table. “I’m curious about those medallions … I have a feeling that I’ve seen them before.”
“Kim, don’t start…. I’m so firmly rooted in the here and now that it spooks me when you get into this former life thing.”
“Relax. I meant only that I’ve seen something like them before … in a museum in Athens. I was there for a conference and was waiting in line to check in and pick up my packet … there were glass cases along the wall displaying small artifacts, one of them held some medallions and coins… Damn, I could kick myself for not having paid more attention, but my mind was on the conference schedule.”
I reached into the passenger compartment for a pile of archaeological and mythological journals and papers. “But I do remember seeing some drawings in one of these … here, you take half and I’ll take half.”
I handed her one of the medallions for comparison purposes. I kept the other one on the sofa with me. But before delving into the books, I studied the medallion closely under a simple magnifying glass.
I handed the glass to PJ and cracked open one of the journals.
“We’ve nothing on hand to decipher the script,” PJ said, after studying the medallion, “but I’m positive it’s of Greek origin.” She paused and looked at me. “You know what bothers me?”
“No. What?”
“These are metal medallions … why aren’t they corroded or weathered or dirtier, or something?”
“Now who is hinting at the unexplained?”
“Not really … I just…well, it’s a little strange, that’s all.”
“PJ, are you suggesting that they’re fake … that someone planted them?”
“No, Kim, nothing like that.”
I put my journal aside, got up, and slid onto the seat beside PJ. I rested my arm across the back of the seat. “There are powers at play here that I can’t explain. You’ll just have to go along with me on this, however strange—�
�
“No, Kim, not that again—”
“You brought up the condition of the medallions. And how do you explain all that has happened?”
“I can’t, Kim, that’s the problem. But I’m not able to accept that there are forces beyond our control playing with us.”
“Darling, they’re not playing with us, they’re speaking to us.”
“Did you mean that?”
“I have to … how else can I explain—”
“Kim, you called me darling. Did you mean it?”
“I did?”
“You did.”
I covered PJ’s hand with mine, squeezed it, and moved back to the sofa. “We have work to do.”
“Kim, what are you going to do when you run out of excuses?”
I grinned. “Wing it.”
“Yeah, and I bet you will.”
For the next half hour or so the only sounds in the motor home were those of pages turning and Pup’s heavy breathing as he napped beneath the table.
“Kim, I think I’ve found the drawings you were talking about.”
“Here,” she slid the journal in front of me and while I looked at the drawings, she typed something into the computer.
I studied the drawings. “Yeah, I’m sure these are the same ones I remember seeing.”
“And here they are again,” PJ said, pointing at the monitor. “Photographs from The Archaeological Institute based in Athens.”
“Good work, PJ. They’re so similar to ours, if not exactly alike.” I put my arm around her shoulder and hugged her to me.
“Mmm, I like the reward for a good job done so if there’s anything else you need, I’m your woman.”
I side glanced her with a raised eyebrow before turning my attention back to the journal.
“It says here that, according to legend, they were Amazon insignias of bravery much like our Medal of Honor or Purple Heart. They were awarded by the reigning Amazon Queen for bravery and wounds received in battle.”
I picked up the medallion and noticed something strange. I reached for the other one, which was still lying on the sofa along with my stack of journals. When I held both of them, one in each hand, one felt warmer than the other, as if possessed by some powerful magic.
