Yochi and his Claw Team were to my right. Immediately behind our two fireteams was the Sting Team, with one remaining Warrior on either flank. The síina’an kept coming towards me without hesitation and it seemed that my golden blaze was not strong enough to deter its determination. I turned to the left and got the síina’an’s total attention. It turned to face me and pointed its two claws directly at me. I raced towards the left claw while Yochi started turning towards the right claw, Hulse and the Sting Team along with the two other free Warriors following him. I slowed down so that Yochi and I could approach the claws together. The two other Warriors were separating as they ran forward, each moving towards where the claws were attached to the body. The Sting Team made a bigger arc as they moved on the right side towards the tail. I did not see Emataly and Nikai. Nacons. You are responsible for your Warriors, to ensure that they secure themselves on the back of your síina’an, to leave Xibalba and live once again on U Wach Ulew. That is your only duty. Do not concern yourself with anything, anyone else.
I saw both claws coming down towards us. I was so bright that golden reflections flared on the silver-grey claws as the síina’an brought them downward. I had never been the prey of a síina’an and my battle almost ended when the claws descended rapidly and forcibly to lie on the field. I hurled myself down as one of my Warriors jumped towards the right claw, smashing his ba’at against it. But the ba’at just bounced off and, with a quick movement, the claw closed on my Warrior. He gave a fierce war whoop, not a cry of terror, as the dreaded síina’an eagerly took him with both claws to its mouth, there to have its jaws and stiff bristles tear my Warrior apart into small pieces, there to have his remains tossed into the inner mouth parts of the mystical creature. I would lament later.
The two free Warriors raced forward, one reaching Yochi who was at the joint where the right claw was attached to the síina’an’s body. I rushed with the remaining two Warriors on my fireteam towards the left joint which was on my side. The other free Warrior was already there hacking into the soft area between the segment and the body. We had to attack the claw at its base, try to separate it from the body and the Warriors had already realized that. As soon as we arrived at the joint, my two Warriors picked me up and threw me onto the arm. The second Warrior was soon up with me. We both sank our ba’ats between the segments to hold us in place and I started chopping with my machete and he with the blade of his bate’, while the other two Warriors were hacking from below. The síina’an moved its body in response to our attack and raised up both claws, bringing them down powerfully. We held onto our ba’ats while sinking the machete and bate’ as deep as we could so that we were not thrown off the arms. Our legs rose into the air as we went downward, giving me the sensation of flying helplessly. The two Warriors below hurled themselves out of the way of the giant arm that was swiftly descending. As it hit the ground, the Warriors were immediately up again, sinking their ba’ats as deeply as they could get it. As the claw rose again, they rose with it, holding on to their ba’ats with one hand and cutting into the arm with the other.
I had to know what was happening with the rest of my section, so I looked towards Yochi’s team. They were battling the same way we were, also having determined it was the best way to attack the claws. As we dug deeper between the segments, the síina’an began trashing. Biting noises came from its mouth, either in anger or because of the prospect of eating its next unfortunate prey.
It was becoming difficult to hold on and the only thing helping us was that, where we were, the joint was very close to the body and so there was not as much movement as there would be further out along the arm. I looked up and saw the tail arching over and Warriors holding on to their bate’s and ba’ats which they had sunken into the last segment before the sting. Two were hanging and two had their feet stuck within the segments, but I could not see which one was Hulse. Let nothing distract you, Warriors. I tore my eyes away. The thumping of the bate’s had stopped and the huge body of a síina’an was on my left in battle with Ichik, two on my right in battle with Ikan and Iztali. All Warriors were fighting for their lives and their escape from Xibalba.
My síina’an swung its body from side to side, but it was unable to lift its two arms and claws and they were dragging on the ground. We had severed enough muscle or nerves to interrupt its control of those limbs. Frenzy developed in its tail as it alternated between its upward combat position and lying straight out against the terrain. The Sting Team gripping on precariously, swinging wildly with each movement of the síina’an’s tail and I knew they would not be able to hold on much longer. I looked towards Yochi and pointed my machete towards the tail of the síina’an.
“Ko’one’ex,” I shouted and my fireteam and I jumped off the arm onto the ground and raced under the legs towards the tail. We started climbing the first segment between the tail and the body, using our ba’ats and bate’s. We reached the top, joining Yochi and two Warriors who were already there. Yochi raised his bate’, indicating that we should proceed towards the eyes and not try to rescue the Warriors hanging near the sting. As we were already on the back of the síina’an, I could have given the order for us to move directly ahead to the positions necessary for escape, but that would have meant leaving the sting still active and the four Warriors to their deaths. I could not do that. Those Warriors were fighting to leave Xibalba, one of them was Hulse, but they were not only fighting for themselves, they were also fighting for me. I shook my head at Yochi and started towards the tail. I heard Yochi cuss as he and his Warriors followed me.
The segments of the tail were only about three feet apart where we were so it was not too difficult to use our bate’s and ba’ats to anchor ourselves as we moved along. It became arduous, however, as the síina’an kept its tail in the combat position and we had to be moving upward. We had to get it to bring back down its tail. I shouted at Yochi and started spearing within the space between the nearest segments. The tail began to tremble violently, and one of the Warriors dangling above us was hurled towards the ground. The only call that came from the Warrior was the war whoop as he fell and his body broke. I looked away. We had to work fast to save the other three Warriors. Seven of us worked hard at stabbing into the segments and, suddenly, the síina’an rose high on its hind legs and started a slow turn towards the river. The tail was slowly coming down, allowing the remaining Warriors to begin stabilizing themselves. Kish had told us that we had to get rid of the sting before the síina’an returned to the water so we started advancing more quickly towards the sting and, even though the síina’an was lurching its tail from side to side and lifting it up a few yards and dropping it down back, we were able to advance as the tail was mostly horizontal. The three Warriors, Hulse included, were already hacking at the segment before the sting when Yochi and one Warrior from his fireteam, my two Warriors and I, joined them. The sting suddenly twisted to one side and the síina’an made one last effort to lift its tail, and it did, about twenty feet in the air and then dropped it racing to the ground. Two of the Warriors lost their grips, one was Yochi, and I saw them hurled over the side and disappear.
The sting was practically off the tail and that was good enough for me. I turned and we began racing back up the tail, having our weapons ready should we need to sink them into the síina’an in order not to be pitched off. We reached the joining of the tail with the body. The three lower segments were about four feet apart while the gap between the higher ones got less and less. I didn’t know if the síina’an was in pain or just confused at what had happened to it, how it didn’t have control over its claws and had essentially lost its sting, but it moved slowly as it turned, giving us the opportunity to run across its body and take up the places Kish said we should take. The síina’an continued its slow turn towards the river, the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans.
One Warrior and I were on the first segment, the other six, including Hulse, each on one of the preceding segments. “Secure yourselves’, I shouted and al
l of us began plunging down our bate’s and ba’ats as deeply as we could. That greatly agitated the síina’an and it began to move its body and increase its speed, but we were already in place. The Warriors were soon removing their loincloths and tying their bodies unto their long bate’s. When they were finished, each threw off his armor and secured himself further with the strap attached to his weapon, the strap from the bate’ to one arm and the strap from the ba’at to one leg. I could not secure myself as yet, but had taken the long bate’ Yochi had secured on my back and sent it and the ba’at as deep into the síina’an as I could. I thought of Yochi and the other Warrior briefly then threw them from my mind.
I looked back again at the Warriors and for some fokin unknown reason I still can’t fathom, I thought of a book I had read where men rode giant worms on a dusty desert planet.445 Let nothing distract you, Warriors.
I looked ahead and saw that the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans was close. I let go of the bate’ and raced across the scorpion’s head towards the eyes, armed with my machete. I stood over the pair of eyes and looked into them. The scorpion immediately began to heave and charged forward, almost sending me to my death. I sunk my machete down between two plates that covered that part of its body. I was just about to pull out the machete and step forward to plunge it into the first eye when smoke started rising from both eyes. The eyes of the síina’an were very sensitive to light and my emotions had reached such a height that the golden glow of my skin grew into a brilliant eruption of golden flames, burning its eyes, making the síina’an bolt to the safety of the river. I raised the machete, moved forward, and sent it down into the first eye. The síina’an almost stood on its tail and I grabbed on to the machete handle with all the strength I possessed not to be thrown off. As it rose into the air, I stood far above the raging battle and golden light spread out from my body, encapsulating the entire area that surrounded us. Smoke rose from the eyes of the other síina’ans.
My síina’an came back to the ground with a crash, heaving and thrashing. I didn’t let go of the machete for fear of being thrown off. Fok! Fok! Fok! I had to make sure the second eye was destroyed. I could not take it for granted that my golden light had done the job completely. That was not the Way of the Warrior. I was being distracted then Yochi was beside me and he sent his bate’ deep into the second eye. Once again, the síina’an leapt and when it came down water splashed, ascending hundreds of feet into the air and onto the nearby bank where it quickly became a dark growing mist. Yochi slipped his hand into the strap of his bate’ and pulled off his loincloth. He reached over and dragged me and my machete towards him.
“Hold the bate’,” he shouted. He took my machete and sunk it into the síina’an as I grabbed the bate’. He took his loincloth and tied me quickly and securely to the bate’.
“What about you,” I cried out. He reached and pulled off my loincloth, wrapped it and tied it about the two of us as swirling water rose rapidly. We tore off our armor and it fell away. I glanced towards the bank of the river. Two women stood there. Then the water was at my throat then completely over Yochi and I as the síina’an took us into the deep black waters of the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans.
I felt Yochi continuing to send the bate’ deeper, then he checked the loincloths in the wet darkness. I felt him squeeze my arm as he hugged me then I felt his body go limp and I remembered Kish’s words, “You must be like the áayin as it sleeps in the chokoh.” I relaxed my body, thinking of the áayin as it sleeps in the chokoh. I began to calm and I saw the golden color of my skin begin to fade. I began to feel watery hands holding my chest, pressuring my chest, making it difficult to breathe, then, for the fourth time in my life, I held onto Bas’ Green Scapular as it glowed green in the darkness and I slipped into unconsciousness, dark water all around me, like the áayin as it sleeps in the chokoh.
THIS JOURNEY ENDS
ANOTHER BEGINS
SISIMITO III
TOPOXTE
A preview of the third book of the Sisimito Series.
THE SURFACE WORLD:
U WACH ULEW
CHAPTER ONE
JA’ XAKANUL - CRATER LAKE
K’iin 9 - The Uinal of Yaxk’in’
Tuesday, May 8, 1973
I felt someone kicking me in the butt and knew I was alive. I opened my eyes and closed them quickly. Even though there was heavy overcast, it was still bright enough to sting my eyes. I must be out, out of Xibalba. Having been in the Underworld for eight days, my eyes needed time to adapt so I sat up, my eyes still closed. I slowly opened them to see Yochi kneeling beside me. “Yochi, my friend,” I said, trying to stand, but I was weak and disorientated. The air stunk and there was the distinct smell of sulfur and the ground was black with ash and small pebbles. “Oh fok!” I shouted, absolutely distraught. “We’re not out.”
“We are,” he responded. “Rest. We have time.” He stood up, looking into the distance. He had no weapons, no armor, no loincloth, nothing except for a very wet skin and lej-xajäbs. I was dressed exactly the same, except for Bas’ Green Scapular.
“Where are the others?”
“We are the only síina’an to surface so far and we have just got out of the ha’. You didn’t wake. I brought you to shore.”
I was still disorientated, my mind clouded, as I turned to look where he was looking. We were on the edge of the bank of a large lake, ha’, about a mile wide, having a distinct green color. Gasses were bubbling from it, and the surface was quite rough, a strong wind blowing overhead. What I had regarded as a bank was, in fact, a stony ledge about twenty feet wide which formed the rim of the lake. The ledge had a moderate incline downward to the water which actually reached almost as high as the ledge in some places, waves occasionally washing over it. I glanced around. We were on the summit of a mountain and the lake was definitely a crater lake.
I felt drizzle and gazed upward. It seemed so long ago that I had felt drizzle, or rain. I put out my hands. Storm clouds rushed overhead and, as I looked around, I saw that some of the higher mountains and valleys between them were completely covered in clouds or mist. Those mountains were volcanos and there were at least four west of us and one to the east. Even through the storm clouds, I saw occasional flashes of flames as the volcanos spewed fire and molten rocks into the air.
There was some beauty and peace in the landscape and even through it brought flashbacks of the Underworld, the feeling it gave was very different. Perhaps, it was just knowing that we were no longer in the lair of the Death Gods. But that beauty and peace were jerked away.
Abruptly, from out the lake rose the giant form of a síina’an without claws, its underbelly facing us, ascending so high it seemed to be standing on its tail, green water falling all around it. It turned in the air and there were Warriors on its back. I automatically held onto Bas’ Green Scapular, for the síina’an was tilting backward and it was going to crush the Warriors as it fell onto the surface of the lake. Then, with what seemed to be one command, the Warriors all leapt from their positions hurling off the sides of the síina’an, the síina’an slamming the surface while the Warriors were still falling. The síina’an did not move at first then slowly began sinking into the darkness as the Warriors fell around it.
I stood up hurriedly and made to go to the lake, but Yochi held me back. “You are safe here. You will not endanger yourself further …”
APPENDIX
THE GODS
Ah Peku: a God of Thunder.
Ah Tabai: a God of the Hunt. Yum Kaax is also a God of the Hunt.
Ahmakiq: God of Agriculture. He locks up the wind when it threatens to destroy crops.
Akhushtal: The Maya Goddess of Fertility and Childbirth.
Bacabs are four brothers whom Itzamná placed, when he created the world, at the four points of it, holding up the sky so that it should not fall. Connected with the worship of these Bacabs were four stones, the Red (East), White (North), Black (West), and Yellow (South). The
y were intimately associated with the Chacs.
Bahlam: Any of a group of Jaguar Gods who protected people and communities.
Baläm Qajaw: Jaguar God.
Bolontikú: Group of nine Underworld gods that live in the depths of the Yaxché roots. It also refers to the nine underworlds of the Yaxché. A total of 122 deities lived in Yaxché.
Buluc-Chabtan: This deity, also known as ‘God F, is the God of War, Violence and Death to whom human beings were sacrificed regularly. He is also depicted as setting homes on fire, killing people and roasting them on skewers over a fire.
Cabrakan: The Mountain God. He is also listed as one of the Earthquake Gods and is the son of Vucub Caquix and Chimalat.
Cakulha: A God of Lightning.
Camazotz was a Bat God.
Chac Uayab Xoc: The Fish God. He was regarded as the one who provided fish for the fisherman, but he also devoured drowned fisherman.
Chac: The God of Rain and Storms. Like other major Maya gods, Chac also appeared as four gods, the Chacs. The four gods were associated with the points of the compass and their colors: white with north; red with east; black with west; and yellow with south. Chac was also the enemy of Camazotz.
Chalchiuhtlicue: The Goddess of Running Water.
Coyopa: A God of Thunder and the brother of Cakulha who is a God of Lightning.
Ek Chuah: The ‘Black War Chief’, Patron God of Warriors.
Sisimito II--Xibalba Page 60
