by David Meyer
"Well, I'll be damned. But what about those blobs around the edges?"
I stared at the blobs for a long time. "I don't know."
"I almost forgot." He pointed at the image. "Check that out."
I followed his finger to the bottom of the wall. Light red lines outlined a large stone block. "There are hollow spaces around it," I said softly.
"Do you know what that means?"
"It's not a block. It's a plug." My heart thumped against my chest. "You found the entrance."
Chapter 61
"Step on the gas," I shouted. "We need more force."
The tractor's engine raced. The treads spun, sending gobs of foliage and wet soil into the air. But the giant stone plug refused to move.
At first, I'd been reluctant to use the tractor. Between the rain and the soggy marsh, I was certain it would bog down. But Rigoberta had climbed into the cab anyway and before long, the tractor was heading for the pyramid, chewing up the water and wet soil with ease.
"It's not working," I called out. "Turn it off for a second."
Rigoberta cut the engine. I rotated toward her and saw the rest of our group. Like me, they wore respirators.
Graham and Beverly stood together, chatting quietly. Tum and the Maneros were spread out. With Alonzo's help, they kept a close eye on the jungle. Miranda and Pacho had taken up position near the tractor, offering words of advice and encouragement to Rigoberta. A few feet away, Emily and Crowley watched the pyramid, seemingly transfixed by it. Even Dr. Wu, who had barely left his clinic since our arrival, had come out to see us try to remove the plug.
"See?" Miranda's soft voice drifted across the marsh. "I told you it wouldn't work. It must be catching on the soil."
"Have patience," Emily called out. "Aren't you the one who told me archaeology wasn't a race?"
"This isn't archaeology," Miranda retorted.
I knelt down to study the stone plug. It measured four feet tall and was partially buried in the marsh. It carried a width of about six feet. Outside of a few small gaps, it was a nearly perfect fit with the north wall.
I'd used Graham's image to track down the plug. Then I'd placed my cheek next to its edges. I hadn't felt any airflow. So, I'd lit a match. Cupping it carefully, I'd held it close to the gap between the plug and the block above it. The match had blown out.
"Not as easy as you thought, huh?"
I glanced at Graham. "I suppose you've got a better idea?"
"Sure," he said. "We use the saws."
Between her two trips, Emily had brought every possible tool into the canyon. That included a pair of diamond saws. Assuming they'd survived the EMP, I knew they'd be effective. Still, I had reservations. "They'll destroy the plug."
"Exactly."
"I'd rather preserve it."
"Suit yourself. But I don't know how you're going to get it out of there."
I studied the plug. There was no way to cut around it. And it was far too heavy to move by hand.
"Let's try again," I said. "Maybe we'll get lucky this time."
Rigoberta wiped her brow and started up the engine. Half a dozen steel cables grew taut. They were attached to anchors, which Beverly had secured deep into the plug.
The plug trembled, but refused to budge. I leaned in for a closer look and noticed it had shifted a fraction of an inch into the air.
"Shut it down," I shouted.
Pacho signaled Rigoberta. Rigoberta cut the engine. A brief moment of silence overtook the clearing.
I waved at Beverly and Graham. They joined me by the pyramid.
"What do you need?" Graham asked.
"Metal sheets," I replied.
"Where are we supposed to get them?"
"The helicopter cabin. See if you can strip a few floor panels."
"What do you want us to do with them?" Beverly asked.
"We're going to build a path for the plug to slide on."
"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? We haven't even gotten it out of the pyramid yet."
"Leave that to me."
Beverly arched an eyebrow at Graham. He shrugged. Turning around, they slogged toward the helicopter wreckage.
I walked to the tractor. Rigoberta sat in the driver's seat. Pacho stood in the marsh next to her. Both his hands were extended inside the open door. I heard the sounds of clanging metal. "Hey Pacho."
He pulled away from the door. "Yeah?"
"I need metal pipes."
"I think I can scrounge some up. How many do you need?"
"As many as you can find."
He gave me a questioning look. Then he put down his tools and trudged after Beverly and Graham.
Thirty minutes later, we regrouped at the pyramid. Beverly and Graham placed a series of thin metal sheets into the marsh, forming a makeshift path leading away from the plug.
Pacho handed me six pipes and returned to the tractor to continue his work. I examined them closely. They felt light and flimsy in my hands. But were they too light? Too flimsy?
Pacho finished his adjustments. At my mark, Rigoberta started the engine. The stone plug rose half an inch off the ground. She pushed the gas pedal and the plug rose another half inch into the air. I ducked underwater and shoved one of the pipes under the plug.
The plug slid slightly forward. The pipe bent under its enormous weight and I held my breath.
Slowly, the plug moved on top of the sheet. The sheet sank an inch, causing soil to spit out into the marsh. Swiftly, I shoved another pipe in front of the first one.
The plug slid onto and over the second pipe. I surfaced for air. Then I added more pipes to the mix.
The tractor caught a little traction. The cables jerked on the anchors. The stone plug groaned as it eased out of the wall.
Ancient dust flew out of the gap and shot into my face. Fortunately, the damp respirator kept it out of my nostrils and lungs.
Rigoberta idled the engine. The stone plug now rested in the marsh, several feet from the wall. Turning to the side, I noticed a black hole where it had once stood. Water partially filled the hole.
My heart thumped. So far, Hunahpu's creation had defied us. But that was about to change.
The wind kicked up. Dust and bits of mud scattered into the air. Alonzo barked and retreated from the pyramid. Meanwhile, I took a few steps backward and brushed the debris from my clothes.
Miranda walked across a short stretch of marsh. "Dora," she called out. "Renau. Look at this."
The Maneros took one last look at the jungle. Then they hurried to the plug. Leaning over, they inspected its top surface.
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's an inscription," Renau said. "Written in Classic Maya script."
"Fortunately, it's short." Dora produced a notebook and pencil. "It shouldn't take long to translate it."
I glanced at the gaping hole in the wall. It took all my self-control to keep from entering it.
Twenty minutes later, Dora returned the pencil to her jeans. A troubled look crossed her face as she showed her notebook to Renau. He examined it quickly and gave her a solemn nod.
"Well?" I said impatiently.
"I need to double check a few things. That being said, it goes something like this." Dora glanced at her notebook. "A warning to those who desecrate this cursed ground. The death gods await you. Your end will be swift. It will be painful. And it will be complete."
Chapter 62
"Pretty pathetic." Graham folded his arms across his chest. "Where did Miranda dig up these bozos anyway?"
"What's wrong with you?" I watched Pacho and Rigoberta struggle to free the cables from the stone plug. "They're not one hundred percent yet."
"That's no excuse."
I walked to the tunnel entrance. My flashlight beam revealed a long passage leading into the pyramid. Water from the marsh filled the passage's lower half.
As I ducked my head, I felt uneasy, anxious. I considered myself a rational person. But rationality had its limits. Every man and woma
n, bar none, was occasionally subject to fear and craziness. It was a part of our species, part of our DNA.
So, I didn't believe in the curse etched on the plug. It was the ancient equivalent of an idle threat. But I still couldn't get the words out of my head.
A warning to those who desecrate this cursed ground. The death gods await you. Your end will be swift. It will be painful. And it will be complete.
The tractor's headlights shone into the passage. But they only managed to illuminate a small portion of it. Using my beam, I saw the passage was the same size as the plug, four feet high by six feet wide.
Awkwardly, I sloshed forward. The passage increased in height and after about fifteen feet, I reached a small room.
"Looks like you guys were right." Emily said as she crawled into the room after me. "Nice work."
I still hadn't confronted Emily about her strange outburst in the summit shrine tunnel. I made a mental note to question her about it later that evening. "Actually, Dutch figured it out," I replied.
My beam illuminated traces of green and purple paint on the large stones surrounding me. Vegetation and bits of mold poked out of the cracks.
A single tunnel ran to the southwest. A strange, yet regal arch hung high overhead.
I aimed my beam into the tunnel. It was about twenty feet long and ended in an ascending staircase.
Emily's flashlight beam danced across the walls and lingered on the ceiling. "It's beautiful."
I glanced at the arch. "I suppose so."
"It's a corbel arch," Miranda said as she crawled into the room. "But most of my colleagues refer to it as a Maya arch. They're quite common in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican architecture."
Beverly followed Miranda into the room. "How can you distinguish it from other arches?"
"It takes a seasoned eye." Miranda slid past Emily and shifted her beam across the ceiling. "See how it forms an inverted V-shape? That's the telltale sign of a Maya arch."
"I don't understand."
"A normal arch consists of rocks pressed against each other. The design transforms tensile stresses into compressive stresses, which allows the arch to be self-supporting. A Maya arch, on the other hand, consists of layers of stone that increasingly jut out into space, thus forming an inverted V-shape. It can't support its own weight so it requires larger stones and considerable secondary fill to keep it from collapsing."
"You definitely know your arches." I shifted my gaze to the walls. "It must've taken a lot of work to build this place."
"Eighteen years, according to the Maneros."
"I can't imagine people hauling these blocks by hand. They must've used carts or wagons."
"The Mayas didn't have those things." Pacho crawled through the tunnel and joined us inside the room. "They knew how to make wheels. They even used them to build pull-toys for children. But they never figured out real-life functions for them."
I walked into the tunnel, splashing water along the way. Outside of a little moss, the walls were devoid of life.
I reached the staircase and quickly scaled it. At the top, I swept my beam across another small room.
Oh no.
A massive stone slab blocked our path. I aimed my beam at its top left corner. The slab appeared to extend past the ceiling. At the same time, it wasn't quite flush with the left wall. "It looks pretty solid," I said.
Pacho climbed the staircase and moved closer for a better look. "We can't use the tractor here. We'll have to find another way to remove it."
"Do you have any ideas?"
"We've got explosives and tools." Pacho put his hands on his hips. "But I'd rather stay away from those things. Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll be easier to move than we think."
"I—"
A high-pitched shriek rang out. I twisted around. Emily knelt at the top of the stairs, bashing the sides of her fists against the ground.
"You can't have it," she shouted. "I found it."
I started toward her. Then I heard faint scuffling noises.
"Hey," Pacho shouted. "Watch—"
He flew past me and lost his balance. His back struck a large stock block. His skull cracked against the surface.
With a thunderous bang, the block's front end dropped a couple of feet. It slid away from me, taking Pacho with it.
What the …?
I reversed course and darted toward him.
The block hurtled down a hidden descending ramp. It passed underneath the slab and slipped into a dark void. Seconds later, it smashed into rock.
The ground shook as I leapt onto the ramp. The slab started to shudder. Too late, I realized it wasn't another plug.
It was a gate.
I sprinted toward the void. But the slab slammed to the ground before I could reach it, cutting me off from Pacho.
I skidded to a halt. "Pacho," I shouted. "Can you hear me?"
There was no response. Frantically, I began pushing the slab, testing it for weaknesses.
Beverly sprinted toward me. "What happened?"
I glanced at Emily. Her eyes looked unfocused. Her fists were covered in blood. My gaze flitted to Miranda. Her face was white. Her eyes were fixed on the trap. Something about the entire situation bothered me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
"It's a cage trap," I said. "When the block slid down here, it must've knocked out a support structure. That caused the slab to fall."
"But how'd the block slide so fast?" Beverly asked.
"I think I know." I exhaled a long breath. "It looks like Hunahpu figured out how to use wheels after all."
Chapter 63
"Watch out." A buzzing noise and clouds of dust greeted me as I shoved my way to the front of the crowd.
Graham, protected by safety goggles and a respirator, knelt in front of the slab gate. His gloved hands grasped a small handheld circular saw. The diamond-encrusted blade shrieked as it chewed through the rock. It was making progress. Unfortunately, that progress was far too slow.
"Dutch."
He applied additional pressure to the blade. More dust kicked into the air. It permeated the entire passage.
I waved it away from my face. "Turn it off," I shouted.
He flicked a switch on the circular saw and the blade stopped spinning. His head twisted toward me.
"We need to try something else," I said.
"Like what?"
"Like this." The small crowd parted as Beverly hustled off the stairs. She held a small block of yellow material in one hand and a blasting cap in the other one.
"Is that semtex?" Graham asked.
She nodded. "I would've preferred ammonium nitrate. But this is all Emily brought."
I ran to the slab and pressed my ear against it. I didn't hear anything. Either Pacho was unconscious or the slab was thick enough to block sound.
I cupped my hands around my mouth. "Get back," I yelled at the top of my lungs, "We're going to try to crack this rock open."
Rigoberta stormed down the ramp and grabbed my arm. Her grip felt weak. "You can't do that."
"We don't have a choice," I said.
"But you'll kill him."
"If we don't get him out of there fast, he's dead anyway."
"What are you talking about?"
I pointed at the slab. "It's a nearly airtight fit. His oxygen is probably running out as we speak."
She gave me a helpless look. Then she retreated up the ramp.
"Everyone come with me," Miranda shouted. "Give them space to work."
As the others exited the room, I twisted around and watched Beverly secure a small piece of semtex as well as a blasting cap to the slab. She seemed to have things well in hand.
I studied the trap. The floor block had most likely been outfitted with axles and thick stone wheels. Then it had been carefully balanced on the hidden ramp, with small protruding rocks supporting its far end. The slab, which was far longer than it had first appeared, had been secured inside notches and held aloft by a support structure.
&
nbsp; When Pacho had fallen on the block, his extra weight had caused the protruding rocks to break away. The block fell onto the ramp. Aided by gravity and the wheels, it had rolled forward.
As it passed underneath the slab, it had knocked away the support structure. The slab, controlled by the guiding notches, had fallen straight down, trapping him in the room.
It was devilishly simple, yet sturdy as hell. It hadn't depended on ropes or other easily perishable materials. Instead, it had been deliberately constructed to last the test of time.
"I'm ready," Beverly said.
"Get back," I shouted to Pacho one more time for good measure. "And try to get behind something."
Beverly unwound a long wire. It connected the blasting cap to a small device in her hand. I followed her up the ramp and down the steps. We met Graham at the bottom of the staircase.
Graham knelt down and pushed his hands against his ears.
I crouched down and covered my ears as well.
Beverly studied the device. Then she pressed a button. A loud boom split the air. Smoke and dust curled toward us. I didn't bother waiting for the particles to dissipate. Instead, I climbed the steps and ran forward.
Multiple cracks lined the slab. Large chunks of stone had been ripped out of it. But the explosion hadn't destroyed it completely.
"Pacho?" I called out.
When he didn't respond, I dug into the rubble. Beverly and Graham joined me and we started breaking away sections of the fractured slab.
I found a weak spot. Lying down, I kicked at it with both feet. It held firm for the first three blows. Then my right foot crunched through the slab. With Graham's help, I pulled away a giant piece of broken stone. The cage's dark interior appeared.
I started to enter it, but a lack of breathing air slowed me up. Pulling out my flashlight, I aimed it into the cage. Inside, I saw Pacho. He lay motionless on the block. Underneath the block, I caught a glimpse of wheels.
I grabbed Pacho's shoulders. Carefully, I hauled him out of the cage and set him gently on the ramp. Then I removed his respirator.
Dr. Wu appeared. He sprinted to Pacho and checked the man's pulse. His eyes narrowed.
