Vanished

by S. L. Menear

  Banger dropped his shield and rushed in. I followed.

  He grabbed the side bars as the door closed. “What exactly is a Faraday cage?”

  “An English scientist named Michael Faraday invented it to shield the occupants from electric currents and EMFs.” I glanced around, expecting something bad to happen outside the cage. “Looks like the Atlanteans built one several thousand years before he did.”

  Banger shined his flashlight on the metal bars. “Seems to be made of the same unobtainium as the sphere.”

  The cage shook as blue lightning bolts flashed on the outside, and the pyramid’s vibrations became more intense. A deep rumbling like an earthquake preceded a shift in the blocks around us. The stone supporting the cage moved us into an opening created when adjacent blocks slid sideways, up, and down, like pieces in a 3-D puzzle, and enclosed us in a vertical shaft.

  I looked up into the long passage, and a scary image popped into my head.

  Uh oh.

  I pulled Banger’s paraglider and the harness we’d saved from my damaged chute out of my backpack and then donned my harness and empty backpack.

  Handing him the chute, I said, “Uh, Banger, I think you’d better strap on your paraglider.”

  He shined his light up through the overhead bars into the vertical shaft. “What aren’t you telling me, Sam? Is this cage about to launch us into the sky?”

  “Maybe. Hurry and strap in so I can clip my harness to you, um, just in case.”

  He looked at me and shook his head. “Ah, my queen, you never disappoint.”

  While he rigged his paraglider, I double-tied the sphere’s satchel to my harness and my belly pack in case I was right about what might happen next.

  “Ready.” He turned me around, tugged me backward, and clipped me to his harness in four places. “Now you’re going wherever I’m going.”

  Blazing fingers of dancing light all around us made me see stars. My ears rang, and my head spun, dizzy from the strobe effect.

  Banger handed me a section of the folded paraglider. “If we somehow launch into the sky, hold this close to us so it doesn’t snag on anything on the way out.”

  I held the fabric against me. “Better hope we can get it open before we become dirt darts.”

  Deep humming increased to a high-pitched whine, and the Faraday cage shot straight up the shaft.

  “Get ready,” Banger said as he put his arms around me and held me against him.

  “I hope the roof opens before we get there.” I slid my hands over his and gripped them like a lifeline. He must’ve felt my body trembling, but he didn’t say anything. Our super-charged ride was too scary for a sarcastic quip, even from him.

  The stone ceiling loomed over us, threatening to smash us into a mess of broken bones and metal bars. When we were about fifty feet from the top, a stone slid aside, revealing a dark, cloud-covered sky.

  Our cage increased in speed, and its metal top sprang open. I tightened my grip on Banger’s hands.

  We ascended so fast everything was a blur. When we reached the opening in the roof, the cage halted, but we didn’t. We shot out of the pyramid like we’d been fired from a cannon.

  When our vertical path upward arced into a descent, we flung out the black chute and waited for it to open. A sudden jerk confirmed it had filled with air.

  Exhaling, I said, “My heart rate just broke a world record.” Cool air swirled around me as my hearing and vision returned to normal. “Holy crap! The pyramid is shooting energy beams out the shafts the Egyptians thought were air vents. Better steer clear.”

  “That’ll be easier than avoiding all those soldiers.” He pointed. “Good thing they’re staring at the electric storm, but we’re only five hundred feet above them, which means we have less than thirty seconds before touchdown.”

  “I have an idea.” Speaking in Atlantean, I commanded the sphere to pull us to the airport.

  The globe surged forward inside the satchel, yanking us away from the pyramids.

  “What’s happening, Sam? I can’t see what you’re doing.”

  “The sphere is towing us—probably flies using some kind of anti-gravity technology. I told it to take us to the airport.”

  It was a good thing our throat mikes and earbuds allowed us to communicate in whispers.

  “We’d better inform the team,” Banger said. “They’re probably freaking out, wondering what’s happening with us and the pyramid.”

  “You’re right—I doubt they saw us with the clouds blocking the moon.” I keyed my transmitter. “Mike, can you hear me?”

  “Sam, where are you, and what’s happening with the pyramid?”

  “We’re flying together in Banger’s paraglider. The sphere is pulling us back to the airport. Meet us at the airplane. Hurry.”

  “Roger, team is RTB.” Mike clicked off.

  Next, I called our pilots. “Gulfstream, this is Sam.”

  Bill answered, “I read you, Sam.”

  “Plan wheels-up in fifteen minutes—could be exciting.”

  “Copy wheels up in fifteen. What’s our destination?”

  “Probably Ethiopia. File for somewhere outside Egypt and change it after we’re airborne.”

  “Understood. Gulfstream out.”

  The device began pulling us so fast, our chute dragged behind us at a forty-five-degree angle. It wouldn’t hold together much longer at that speed, so I commanded the sphere to slow down. In seconds, we were gliding along at about twenty knots with the rectangular canopy above us.

  Banger said, “I’d feel better if I knew whether your little buddy could keep us airborne if the chute breaks.”

  “Let’s hope we won’t have to find out the hard way.” I gulped in the crisp night air and pointed. “There’s the airport about five miles away.”

  “The sooner we’re back in the jet the better.” He paused. “Mike won’t be happy about the pyramid.”

  “Maybe not, but the Egyptians should be grateful. It could provide free electricity for their entire nation.”

  “Only if they figure out how to harness it.” He paused. “We could send an anonymous tip to look inside the room under the left paw.”

  “But then they’ll discover someone recently blew up the room under the right paw. Can they trace the explosives back to America?”

  He chuckled. “Come on, you think I’m an amateur? I used Chinese materials.”

  “Of course, you did. How could I doubt you?”

  He nudged me. “See those flashing lights in the distance?”

  “Looks like cops headed to the airport. I hope they aren’t chasing our team.”

  Banger pointed to the right. “That’s our jet over there. Deactivate the sphere, and I’ll land behind the airplane. No one will see us in the dark with this black canopy.”

  I commanded the little guy to stop pulling us and shoved the satchel back inside my belly bag. “The sphere is secure.”

  “Ten seconds to touchdown, and there’s the team walking to the airplane.” Banger guided us to a gentle landing behind the jet.

  “Perfect timing.” I helped him gather the silk and roll it up.

  We strolled around the tail as if we’d been doing the exterior preflight inspection. He opened the baggage compartment and tossed the chute inside along with our backpacks and my harness.

  Mike trotted up to us. “Hey, Banger, good job keeping my sister in one piece. Come inside and tell us what happened.” He hugged me and ushered us up the entry stairs.

  I waited by the door until everyone was aboard and retracted the boarding steps.

  “What are you doing?” Mike asked.

  “Closing the door.” I peeked out the side window. “Authorities are probably closing in. We need to leave now.”

  “We can’t leave Egypt until you fix that giant safety hazard you created.” Mike raised a brow. “What did you do to the Great Pyramid, sis?”

  I closed the entry door, and Bill and Laura started the engines.

>   “We have to go while we still can.” I elbowed Banger. “Tell him we can’t afford to get stuck here.”

  “She’s right, Mike.” He glanced at Laura, who’d left the cockpit to get an update from us.

  She asked, “Where to this time?”

  “Take us to whichever airport is nearest to Hadar, Ethiopia. It’s in the Awash Valley of the Afar Triangle,” I said. “We’ll need an SUV when we get there.”

  She glanced at Mike for confirmation.

  Mike nodded. “Get us out of here as fast as possible.”

  “One more thing,” I said to her. “Be careful to avoid the energy beams shooting out of the Great Pyramid.”

  “Energy beams? Seriously?” She glanced at the team to see if I was joking.

  Banger nodded. “We’re serious. You’ll see them after takeoff.”

  She shook her head. “Who are you people?”

  Banger moved closer to her. “Don’t forget we have diplomatic immunity, so no matter what ATC says, get us airborne and the hell out of Egyptian airspace. Understand?”

  “No, but we’ll do it anyway.” Laura turned and entered the cockpit.

  As we taxied to the runway, I looked out a passenger window and spotted two police cars racing toward us with their lights flashing. The pilots must’ve seen them. Our jet increased speed, skidded onto the runway, and went to full takeoff power.

  Our entire team was glued to the windows.

  “It’s going to be close,” Lance said as we rocketed down the runway.

  When the drivers realized the jet wasn’t going to stop, they panicked and spun their cars, crashing into each other. They climbed out and shook their fists at us as we blasted past them.

  “I knew we could count on Bill and Laura.” I blew out a sigh and sat back as we accelerated away from Egypt and the chaotic lights over Giza. The Great Pyramid was still putting on a spectacular pyrotechnic show.

  Lance leaned in and hugged me. “You okay, Sam?”

  “We’re good, just a couple of burns … hey, mine are gone.” My jaw dropped as I held out my right hand and stared at the area where the copper device had burned me. My skin looked normal. I turned to Banger. “Do you still have that burn on your arm?”

  He checked his right forearm, and his eyes widened. “It’s gone. How’d that happen?”

  “One of my devices must have healing technology. I wonder which one?” I glanced at the gold bracelet I’d taken from the engineering chamber. The diamond wasn’t illuminated.

  “Ooh, pretty bracelet.” Lisa leaned closer. “Where’d you find it? That diamond’s huge.”

  “It was in a chamber under the left paw of the Sphinx. I tried it on, and it attached itself to my arm. I can’t take it off.” I made a show of trying to remove it.

  Mike perched beside me. “Did you find the Blue Dragon?”

  I frowned. “No, sorry.”

  He slid onto a seat across from Banger and me. “All right, explain what you did and why you can’t undo it.” Mike crossed his arms.

  Banger nudged me and said, “I’ll start. Uh, remember that separate SEAL mission we were assigned?”

  Mike hesitated, then his eyes widened. “You destroyed it?”

  Banger nodded.

  “Destroyed what?” Bryce looked at us.

  Banger glanced sideways at me. “A WMD we found under the Sphinx. The detonation caused a cave-in inside the tunnel that connected to the Great Pyramid.”

  “We were trapped until we discovered that the sphere obeys my commands as long as I speak Atlantean.” I patted my belly pack. “It’s my new best friend.”

  “Yeah, the little ball annihilated a huge stone that blocked our path, and later, it pulled us back to the airport in the paraglider.” He grinned.

  “It did other stuff too.” I hugged the bag holding the sphere. “I really like it now.”

  “But what about the pyramid?” Lisa looked at me.

  “We discovered a chamber under the Sphinx that had engineering diagrams carved onto the walls, indicating the Great Pyramid was a power plant. I thought maybe if we fired it up again, a hidden chamber would open and reveal the Blue Dragon.” I shrugged. “No such luck.”

  “But why can’t you shut it down?” Lance leaned forward.

  “We barely escaped electrocution in a Faraday cage that launched us into the sky.” Banger smiled at me.

  “But the Egyptians must’ve had a way to turn on the power plant without getting fried.” Lance looked from Banger to me.

  I shook my head. “The Egyptians didn’t have a clue—Atlanteans built the power plant. The normal way to activate it was in the pumphouse beneath the pyramid. That was back when the necessary components were already in place in the electrical corridor. Someone would open the valve to let in water from the Nile, and when the hydrodynamic pressure built to the point that it vibrated the pyramid, the crystals would produce electricity. By then, the operator had left the pumphouse and returned via the tunnel to the chamber under the Sphinx.”

  Banger nodded. “But we didn’t have that option because the electrical devices in the pyramid had been stolen a long time ago. We found spare parts in the engineering chamber under the Sphinx and hauled nine heavy crystal pyramids all the way to the power plant.”

  I jumped back in. “I thought we’d have time to put them on their terminals before the pump created enough pressure to vibrate them into producing electricity. Plus, we didn’t know we weren’t supposed to be inside the pyramid when the power was on.”

  Banger glanced at me. “And we couldn’t return through the connecting tunnel because it was blocked.”

  “We lucked out finding that Faraday cage, which was an escape device.” I high-fived Banger.

  Mike rubbed the back of his neck. “So now we’re in deep shit with no way out.”

  “Wrong, brother dear. We did Egypt a huge favor, supplying them with free electricity.” I shrugged. “The original plans showed the pyramid sending energy beams into obelisks strategically placed around the country, but several of those are missing now.”

  Banger nodded. “They should thank us—a few modifications and they’ll be good to go.”

  “No way in hell are we admitting we did this.” Mike glared at us.

  “Relax, Mike.” Banger nudged me. “Sam will send an anonymous message, explaining where to find the diagrams for the power plant, and Egyptian engineers can figure out how to harness the energy. Problem solved.”

  “The problem is not solved. It could take months or years to harness the power. Meanwhile, energy beams are shooting out of the pyramid. There has to be a way to turn it off.”

  I thought about the design. “If they shut off the water flowing in from the Nile, the hydrodynamic pressure will drop, the blocks will stop vibrating, and the crystals will stop producing electricity. The drawings in the room under the left paw will show where the pipe connects to the Nile.” I looked at Mike. “Once their engineers see those diagrams, they’ll realize that shutting off the water will turn off the powerplant.”

  “Maybe that will work, but what am I supposed to tell Commander Metz? He’s expecting a report, and the man’s not stupid. He’ll know you did this.” Mike shook his head.

  “Tell him the truth.” I shrugged. “Just don’t put it in writing.” I pulled out the Eye. “I’m going to try something simple.” I said in Atlantean, “Show me where the Blue Dragon is hidden.”

  The Eye filled with light and projected a hologram of gold lettering written in the ancient language.

  “Stupid hologram,” I shouted, exasperated.

  “What does it say?” Lisa stared at the strange words.

  “It says an Atlantean queen must find the Blue Dragon where it’s hidden in the Dark Continent, ensconced in an arid enigma and a primordial paradox, cloaked in eternal darkness.”

  “Well, bugger that.” Lisa punched her seat, releasing her frustration.

  Lance pointed at the Eye. “Ask it if we’ll find anything importan
t in Hadar.”

  I asked, and the Eye projected a new hologram that showed the entrance to a cave along a riverbank beneath a huge oak tree—the only tree in the vicinity.

  “Oh, good.” I rolled my eyes. “Another cave.”

  Banger crossed his arms. “There you go, stealing my lines again.”

  Mike sighed. “All right, everyone, get some sleep. Ethiopia isn’t that far from here. We’ll probably land in a couple hours.” He reclined his seat and closed his eyes.

  Seventeen

  Hadar, Ethiopia

  The roaring of thrust reversers jolted me awake much too soon. I peered out a window as we landed in Ethiopia and taxied to the ramp. I hope the Blue Dragon is in Hadar. I can’t stand the thought of Sweetwater killing Ross if I don’t find it.

  Mike tapped my back. “Any chance this’ll be a quick in-and-out?”

  I turned and yawned, covering my face with my hand to conceal my raw emotions. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “All right, here come the customs officials,” Mike said to the team. “Pull out your diplomatic passports.”

  As soon as customs left, we sent our pilots to a hotel and closed the airplane’s window shades. Once again, I pulled out the Eye and said in the ancient language, “Show me where to go in Hadar.”

  Again, a hologram displayed a cave on a riverbank, directly beneath a lone oak tree.

  Lisa paged through a guidebook for Africa. “That doesn’t look like the cave complex for the Cradle of Humankind in Hadar.”

  I peered over her shoulder. “It’s not, but that’s a good thing—no guards.”

  “Good, maybe we’ll have an easy go of it for a change.” Bryce checked his weapon and shoved it inside his backpack.

  Banger patted Bryce’s back. “Nothing’s ever easy when Sam’s involved.”

  “Well then, we’d better take along those flashlights with the hundred-thousand-hour lithium batteries,” I said as I raised a brow in Banger’s direction.

  He grinned. “My queen, I do believe you’re getting the hang of SEAL banter.”

  “I might need years of therapy to undo all the terrors I’ve experienced with you.” Forgetting what had happened last time, I socked his biceps. “Ow! Your arm feels like it’s made of concrete.”