Her hunger burned inside, radiating outward from her stomach. The feeling was hard to describe. It was like a primal force of pure emotion egged her on to survive at all costs.
That small morsel had not been enough to quell it. But there wasn’t anything else around. She had no idea where she was, never mind where she should look to find more. Yet, she was compelled to follow the creature, Wak. The monster no longer carried her, instead it merely slowed its pace. When they had transitioned from the river into the ocean, the massive animal had dragged her along as it swam. For how long, she could not be sure.
Dodging all contact with humans, it dove under the waves and hid in the shallow littoral waters whenever it felt the threat of a person. It had seemed odd to her that it avoided human contact. She had presumed it would want to kill. But no, it was fixated on a destination. She could feel that much. Exposure would likely mean failure.
After a day or so of swimming, they clambered into an estuary. The brackish mud deepened as they approached a port of some kind. Large ships carried massive metal containers in and out, their cargo delivered and taken by gigantic cranes. It was a hive of activity which made Wak uncomfortable. Strangely, it made Victoria uncomfortable, too. She was wary of the people and confused by their actions. She was constantly ready to surprise them—to attack them—in order to escape if necessary. But it hadn’t been necessary. Wak had been methodical, working the edges of the estuary. Wherever they were headed, there was no rush, only blind determination.
A ripple in the water drew Victoria to the edge of the mud, where freshwater and seawater mixed. She stared at her own reflection, obscured by miniature waves rolling across it. Her hair was no longer in braids. Instead, it fell about her face in a greasy, limp mess. Her pallid skin was clammy and smeared with dirt and grime. Crimson eyes stared back at her. But she wasn’t repulsed. The reflection didn’t feel like hers. It was someone else staring back—watching her. No, she was still inside this shell, this creation—somewhere.
God would find her. God would protect her. Wouldn’t he? Perhaps not. She’d been defiled by the scientists and infected with the flesh of an animal. But she had to hold on and believe such things were sent to test her.
She closed her eyes and tried to remain calm, concentrating on the dark behind her eyelids. It wasn’t calming. The nothingness was unnerving, scary even. Her heart beat faster, harder, drumming on her insides. Her breathing quickened, and her muscles tensed. She opened her eyes to see Wak beside her, also panicked and breathing rapidly, a look of anxiety on its face. She followed its gaze to two men who had spotted them and were walking their way.
“Hey!” one of them called. “Are you okay, lady?”
Victoria didn’t respond. A mix of emotions emanated from Wak—a conflict between the desire to run and the thought of killing the men to protect itself. Fight or flight. But, why was it conflicted at all?
“Hey, lady? Are you okay? What’s that thing?”
The men were now no more than fifty yards from them. They had stopped walking, studying her and the creature.
Victoria chose to run, turning inland as fast as the mud would allow her. Wak hesitated for a second and then bolted after her. But their limbs became trapped in the mud, sucking them into the bog.
The men, confused and assuming the animal was chasing her, followed, wielding a large screwdriver and wrench. Being much more suited to working in that environment, they quickly moved between rocks and areas of solid earth.
Victoria saw the advancing men would likely reach Wak first. She should have been glad—relieved. Perhaps they would save her. Instead, she was afraid—afraid they would hurt the animal—and then anger. Her anger turned to an uncontrollable rage.
She made a complete U-turn and trudged toward the men. They watched her, confused. A primal scream poured from her mouth as she leaped on the first man, driving him into the mud. With both knees on his stomach, she pounded at his head over and over until his weeping stopped and his skull caved in.
She looked up to view the other human, but he was already dead. Wak’s massive hand was laid flat over the man’s crushed face, his body contorted in an awkward upward diagonal from the mud.
Victoria’s shoulders heaved with her breathing—with the rush of adrenaline. She searched the horizon through the lank hair that fell over her face. She searched for something else to kill. Inside, she knew she should feel guilt, but all she could find was bloodlust. Hunting—killing—felt good.
Location: Teotihuacan, Mexico
The cool desert wind whipped by the large green tent, flexing its thin walls. Gritty particles of sand sought out every gap and crawled their way in, filling the dwelling at a glacial pace. The orange disc in the sky was descending, taking with it the warmth of the day, leaving only the cold of the exposed land.
Still fully clothed, Kelly tossed and turned in his sleeping bag. His garments twisted and wedged themselves between the creases of his elbows, knees, and groin, making it difficult to be comfortable.
He huffed loudly and sat upright. This wasn’t going to work. He couldn’t rest anyway. It had been almost two days of waiting. He was thinking about Victoria and wondering if she was all right. Their chance meeting on the Amazon, more than a year ago, had resulted in her being dragged into this. Actually, her competitive nature had dragged her into this. Her need to prove she was every bit as good as her teacher-cum-rival. He hadn’t asked at the time, but he was sure that was why she’d volunteered to come along on their little jaunt to the South China Sea in the first place some twelve months ago.
He thought back to their early time together. After he’d rescued Victoria from the elephant seal and she had followed him around for months on end, the flirtation had become more of a rivalry. When it had become clear he would never actually make good on his quick quips and cheeky remarks, Victoria had channeled her energy into being just as good at her job as he was. And she was—at least at the photography. But she was never the diver he was. His freediving skills were unparalleled and highly desirable for taking pictures of marine animals that were easily scared by the exhaled carbon dioxide from standard scuba gear.
Eventually, she’d gotten bored and gone off to do her own thing. He hadn’t seen her for a few years until she’d turned up that fateful day on the Amazon. He heaved a sigh. Somehow, it was all his fault. People connected to him just seemed to get hurt. Anyone who loved him ended up dead—Izel, Carmen, Chris, and now Victoria was as good as ... Fuck this. He needed tea.
Kelly stood up, grabbed up his satchel containing the Ayahuasca tea, flicked open the flap to his tent, and marched into the citadel. Compared with the toxic atmosphere of nearby Mexico City, the air around Teotihuacan was crystal clear. The night sky was a purple wash with a million white and blue stars that lit his surroundings. He peered down the Street of the Dead and admired the Pyramid of the Sun, set slightly to the east of the avenue, and the Pyramid of the Moon, which sat at the extreme north. The citadel, where they had decided to camp, sat in the middle of the two and a half mile long road. Though it was normally surrounded by gray-green scrubland, at night everything appeared to be eerie blue.
To his left, about one hundred feet away, was the Chinook, almost camouflaged against the dark sky. Directly in front of him, Freya and Teller sat huddled around a military issue stove on which Teller was cooking something.
“Something interesting?” Freya called from her seat.
Kelly blinked, jolted back to reality. He had stared at her for a few moments too long. Freya—she was so beautiful. Her huge, green eyes lit up every time she saw him. He fought back a smile and quenched the warmth that had begun to creep over his heart. No, she was better off with the Star Trek nerd who sat so loyally next to her.
“Kelly? You okay?” Freya’s expression had become one of concern.
He restarted his march toward the group. “A camp? Really? We gonna cook S’mores and sing ‘Kumbaya?’”
Teller glanced up from his pa
n, which held a few small hot dogs. “My men are patrolling. And we need to eat. Survival isn’t about sitting here sucking on ants. If the creature is coming, I want us fit and ready.”
His argument was hard to refute.
Kelly plonked himself on the ground and kept silent. At least for a few seconds. “So what’s the plan?”
Teller gave Freya an awkward glance.
“Tell him,” she said.
Kelly frowned. “Tell me what?”
“We have a complication,” Teller said.
“Complication? Is that military speak for giant fuck-up?”
“Not a fuck-up, Mr. Graham. A problem.”
“Spit it out.”
Teller took a deep breath. “You remember how we pissed off the Chinese, took the clone, tried to steal the orb, and they ended up kidnapping you and releasing a virus into California?”
“Vaguely,” Kelly said.
“Well, the people behind all of that are part of a Chinese cult. And it seems their leader has taken a shine to our little outing. He’s coming for Wak.”
“Good luck to the crazy bastard. We can’t even find it.”
“That’s not all. We think he has a nuclear weapon, too.”
“Oh, fan-fucking-tastic. I do love things super complicated and world-endingly dangerous.” Kelly leaned back. “Look, right now, all I give a shit about is getting Victoria back. Have you been able to track her?”
“Satellite tracking showed us she and the creature exited the Rio Grande into the Gulf of Mexico and popped up again at Tampamachoco Lagoon, which is just down the coast. But satellite is only good when we have daylight and something in orbit in the right position. We lost them.”
Kelly screwed up his face in confusion.
“Something wrong?” Freya asked.
“Tampamachoco Lagoon. It’s more than one-hundred-fifty miles from here. They’d have to hoof it, which just doesn’t seem right.”
“Agreed,” Teller said, still poking at his cooking. “It’s pretty mountainous between there and here. There must be something we’re missing.”
“You didn’t think about their route when you knew where we were going, oh brainy one?”
“Yes, I did. But this is where our information led us. The creature is not proving to be dangerous unless provoked. We have tracked as best as possible by satellite. Logic dictates we stick to the plan.”
“Tom and the other soldiers are circling the perimeter.” Freya pointed and drew an imaginary circle around the camp. “We’ll know as soon as Victoria and Wak turn up.” She paused, then added, “Don’t worry.”
Kelly nodded absently. He didn’t like Teller all that much, but the man wasn’t stupid. He at least deserved respect.
“Kelly?”
“Yes, Freya?” he replied.
“I was just talking with Jonathan about K’in’s species and how his kind is supposed to have given us civility. You are the only person to have been linked with one of them or, at least, the only one who can talk about what you’ve learned.”
“You asked me about that earlier.”
“No,” Teller said. “We asked what it was like being connected to K’in. Freya is asking about the wider perspective. What has the whole experience taught you?”
Kelly clenched his jaw, irritated at being interrogated again. “What have I learned?” he began, his tone implying, do you really want the truth? “I learned that ...”
* * *
Minya watched the three Americans talking by the campfire. She hated being there. It was so mentally exhausting. It was cold and she needed the warmth of the fire, but she just couldn’t bear being part of their plebeian conversation.
She carefully took a seat at the edge of the circle, far enough away that their voices were muted but close enough that the camp fire gave a little comfort. In her hands, she toyed with the small black communication device that stayed on her person at all times. But her warm solitude didn’t last long. It was interrupted by the loud and obnoxious voice of Kelly.
“Quite the spot they picked, huh, Minya?”
“Hmm? What?” She fumbled with the transmitting device and stuffed it into her pocket.
“Here, the Street of the Dead. Seems oddly fitting. Don’t you think?”
“Oh, da. It is.”
“Street of the Dead?” Freya repeated.
“Da, it is what this place is called. To opposite end of avenue, you have Pyramid of the Moon. And over there, the temple of the feathered serpent.” She pointed to a temple at the far eastern side of the citadel.
“Feathered serpent,” Freya said. “Just like K’in.”
Kelly bobbed his head in agreement, though his attention was fixed on Minya, who squirmed.
After a moment, Kelly leaped to his feet. “Want a walk, Minya? You can go on about the archaeological crap if you like.”
She eyed him suspiciously. His lopsided smile. His overconfidence. He annoyed her. But then again, would it be worse than sitting with a whole group of Americans? Perhaps not. “Devai.”
She climbed to her feet and trotted after Kelly, who had already started toward the temple of the serpent.
Freya stared at them. Teller watched Freya.
* * *
As they trudged toward the great stone monument, Kelly decided they were far enough away that he could now speak. “You okay, Minya?”
“What?” she snapped, annoyed at being wrenched from her thoughts.
“I said, are you okay?”
“Oh, da. Much has happened. It is not good waiting.” I hate it here.
“I hear ya. I’m pretty antsy myself.”
Minya stopped walking and raised her head to examine the temple. The six stage pyramid was more than seventy-feet high and was amazingly well preserved. On the stones, small fragments of colored paint remained—a sign of the importance of this temple many years ago.
Stepping around the base, Kelly examined the central stairway. Protruding from the facing blocks was a series of massive, serpent-like heads armed with fangs, each on an elongated neck ringed with a large plume of feathers.
“Quetzalcoatl,” Minya said.
Despite the evil appearance of the sculptures, all Kelly could see was K’in—innocent and curious and always in his way or under his feet. He glanced over at Minya and studied her for a moment before prying again. “I noticed you have a tattoo on your shoulder. It’s quite a specific—”
“Da? So?” she snapped.
“Hey, I’m just saying that ...” He stopped and sighed. “Look, you seem uncomfortable.”
You have no idea.
“I understand you. I really do.”
She stood there silently, for what felt like an eternity, before simply saying, “We should walk back.”
They trudged back through the citadel and toward the camp. Yet, to Kelly’s astonishment, Minya strolled right on past and made her way to the large stone stairs at the north ridge. He paused for a moment and glanced at Freya and Teller, who were watching him. Kelly shrugged before jogging after Minya.
“Hey, where are you off to?”
Irritating man. I need to send message. “Just for a walk.”
“I’ll join you.”
“Fine.” She lit a cigarette, hung it from her lips, and climbed the huge stone bricks.
Kelly scrambled after her.
As they crested the embankment, Minya turned north and led him along the street. Kelly glanced around, studying the enormous mounds on both sides, and the regular high partition walls with well-constructed sluices at their base.
Minya sensed questions beginning to rise in the American’s throat, so she decided to preempt him. “You know, it is unclear who built this place.”
Happy she had spoken, Kelly didn’t interrupt. Flowing conversation was key if he was to get any information from her.
“The Aztecs gave the pyramids names when they arrived here. But it is unclear why they chose them. This is very ancient place. Even name, Street of the De
ad, was given by visitors—the conquistadors. They thought the mounds were graves.” She waved the hand holding the cigarette at either side of the street.
“And what are these big partitions for?”
Minya craned her neck to see them. “As with much, there is no clear answer.”
“Oh.”
“But ...”
“But?”
“But one of your countrymen, Dr. Schlemmer, had a theory. He believed this was not street at all but row of linked reflecting pools. Water would have flowed from a loch at Pyramid of the Moon down to citadel.”
“Do you believe that?”
“This place is known to have a series of canals and waterways that extend to Lake Texcoco. So it is not so crazy to consider.”
“That’s more than ten miles away.”
“Da.”
Kelly stopped walking and looked around, taking in his surroundings. He closed his eyes and conjured the image of the great pool system. The starlight reflecting off the water’s surface, glowing ripples sliding from one edge to another. It would have been the perfect place for K’in’s people. Yes, this Dr. Schlemmer might have been on to something.
“Falling asleep there?” Freya had come to investigate.
Kelly pried his eyes open. “No, just thinking.”
Minya huffed. Great. Now two of them.
“Just thought I’d come and see what was so interesting up here.”
“Jealous much?”
“You wish,” Freya snapped.
Minya groaned.
Kelly changed the subject. “You got any news on the whereabouts of Wak or Vicky?”
“No.” Freya shook her head. “It’s a little strange. I’m just not sure how they’re going to make it across the mountains to here.”
“Perhaps they do not go over,” Minya said aloud.
Children of the Fifth Sun Page 39
