Vanished

by S. L. Menear

  “Did you miss me?” I asked, pretending I hadn’t been terrified.

  Five flashlights shined into my face, and the door thudded shut behind me.

  “Here’s the rope.” I tossed it to Mike, sat on the floor, and wiped blood from my face with my hand.

  “Sam, you’re hurt.” Lance scooped me into his arms and held me on his lap. “Somebody, grab the dang first aid kit.”

  “Relax, I’ve got this.” I placed my shaking right hand on my head. In an instant, my bracelet lit up, and the wounds healed quickly. “I just need something to clean off the blood.”

  Lance wet a cotton kerchief with his water bottle and gently wiped my face. He checked my head with his light. “The bleeding has stopped, and the wounds have healed.” He sighed and hugged me. “Ross will never forgive me if I let anything happen to you.”

  “I’m okay. My spherical friend saved me, and the bracelet healed me. I just need a minute to catch my breath.” I took a sip of water from Lance’s bottle. “My fall wasn’t anyone’s fault. That crazy eagle zapped me.”

  Mike squeezed my shoulder. “Glad you’re back safe. I assume you told the sphere to pull you back up here before you hit the ground.”

  “Yeah, that little device is really coming in handy.” I patted my belly bag.

  “I didn’t think about it until you fell, but we really depend on you and your artifacts,” Bryce said. “We could’ve been trapped in here.”

  Banger patted his backpack. “That’s why SEALs carry explosives. You never know when you might need them.”

  I stood and brushed sand off my chest and arms. “I’m recovered now, so let’s get back on mission.”

  Stone steps led downward into utter blackness. “This looks a lot like those steps under the church in Lalibela. Ready?” I took the first step down, and my pulse quickened as the walls closed in on me.

  “Lead on, my queen.” Banger followed me with the rest of the team behind him.

  Sweetwater’s Hideout

  Ross reclined with his eyes closed, trying to conserve his energy as the hot sun blazed through the bars of his cage. A vision of Sam invaded his head. She was holding a rope and dangling off the side of a cliff when a golden eagle dived on her and gouged her head with its powerful talons. She lost her grip on the rope and fell, blood flowing over her face.

  “No!” Ross sprang up into a sitting position and opened his eyes.

  Derek grasped his arm. “What’s wrong?”

  He glanced around and whispered, “I just saw Sam fall from a cliff. She must’ve been killed or seriously injured.”

  “Don’t jump to conclusions.” Derek squeezed his shoulder and whispered, “Call her.”

  Ross sucked in his breath. “I’ll try.” He closed his eyes and concentrated on calling Sam’s name in his head.

  Sweetwater paced in his air-conditioned hut as he responded to the caller on his satellite phone. “I want those vials of Atlantean DNA. They could be the key to eternal youth or intellectual superiority.”

  “I can’t risk it. Navy Intelligence and the DIA are actively searching this base for your spy. I suggest you steal the two they promised to send to Harvard. Your people can break into a university, no problem.”

  Sweetwater clenched his fist. “You’d better be right about Harvard. I don’t want to miss a chance to get that DNA. It would be far easier to snatch the tubes while they’re still in Somalia.”

  “That’s why Commander Metz sent them back to the States on a fast mover an hour ago.”

  “Bugger!” Sweetwater pounded a table. “Is Miss Starr responsible for powering up the Great Pyramid?”

  “Yeah, she discovered engineering drawings and spare parts for the power plant. A SEAL helped her restart it. Too bad the Blue Dragon wasn’t there.”

  “What about the gold cylinder, the bracelet, and the ring she recovered? Can you get them?”

  “The gold cylinder was sent to the States along with a metal canister containing the scroll and vials. Miss Starr is still wearing the jewelry. She claims she needs it for the mission. She’s also keeping whatever’s in that little leather pouch and a small metal sphere with a laser.”

  “No matter. I’ll get it all when I get her. Where is she now?”

  “She took the team to Tassili n’Ajjer in Algeria to search for a lost civilization under the Sahara.”

  “So far, she hasn’t looked in any of the places my researchers wanted to search, and yet she’s already recovered several important ancient artifacts. Good thing I have a way to force her to work for me.” He paused and checked the monitor that showed his two prisoners caged inside the lion pen. “Keep me informed on her progress.”

  Tassili n’Ajjer

  “Sam! Sam! Sam!” Ross’s voice blasted inside my head.

  I held up my hand, stopped on the steps, and closed my eyes. “Ross, it’s me. Are you okay?”

  “Thank God you’re alive, Sam. I saw you fall off a cliff. Did I imagine that?”

  “No, but I’m fine. My team is in Algeria, looking for the Blue Dragon. I promise we’ll do everything we can to find it and rescue you and Derek.”

  “Sam, I don’t want you risking your life to save me. Focus on helping the military find us.”

  “The military is giving our mission priority now that they believe the Blue Dragon might be another weapon of mass destruction. If I find it, they’ll never hand it over to Sweetwater, but he’ll have to give me delivery instructions, and then we’ll know where you are.”

  “Just as long as you don’t come here. Let the SAS rescue us.”

  “Okay, but in the meantime, do whatever’s necessary to stay alive. I love you, Ross.”

  “I love you too, Sam. Be careful.”

  His voice vanished from my head.

  Banger put his hands on my shoulders. “Another call from Ross?”

  I nodded. “He saw me fall and panicked.”

  “Your psychic connection is getting stronger.” He turned me around.

  Surprised, Mike said, “You talked to Ross?”

  I nodded. “This was our second conversation. The first one was inside the Great Sphinx. So much has happened since then, I forgot to tell you. Sorry.”

  “That’s all right.” Mike looked over his shoulder at Lisa, Lance, and Bryce. “Keep Sam’s telepathic communications with Ross a secret. We can’t risk Sweetwater finding out about it.” He looked at me. “Let’s get going.”

  I shined my mag light down the winding staircase and noticed strange drawings. Tall, slender people, like Atlanteans, adorned the walls. They were depicted in various scenes with lush landscapes and domestic animals.

  I rounded a corner, and the stairs abruptly ended on a landing at the edge of a dark void with no bottom in sight. “Halt!” I yelled, panicked my team would accidentally push me over the edge.

  Banger eased up behind me and held my waist. “I’ll pop a flare and see what’s down there.”

  “Use this one,” Mike said as he pulled one out of his backpack.

  Banger activated the flare and dropped it into the pitch-black pit. A bright circle of light descended for at least a minute, becoming smaller and fainter as the distance increased. It ended as a tiny pinpoint at the bottom of what might be nothing more than a hole to nowhere.

  “Looks deep.” Banger eased me around and looked into my eyes. “You’re trembling. Is the claustrophobia kicking in again?”

  I planted my face in his manly chest. “Maybe just a little, my liege.”

  He hugged me. “I’ve got you, my queen, but there’s one question you need to answer for us.”

  I looked up at him, my heart pounding. “What’s that?”

  He arched a brow. “What would the Queen of Atlantis do in this situation?”

  I paused. “She’d use the sphere to carry her down so she could investigate.”

  Banger squeezed my waist. “And she’d take me with her, because a queen needs her mighty warrior.”

  “What if that th
ing can’t fly with the weight of both of you?” Mike peered into the pit.

  Banger replied with his snarky tone, “We’re not amateurs. Obviously, we’ll test it first.”

  He rigged a harness and secured us together with me in front of him, facing forward. “Tell it to lift us straight up two feet off the ground and hold us there.”

  I gave the commands, and it responded instantly. We hung two feet above the landing like we were welded in place. The problem was the sphere was lifting us from inside my belly bag, which made us hang horizontally and strained my back. I grunted a command, “Lower us two feet to the floor.”

  “That was not a comfortable maneuver,” Banger said as he stood up.

  The team snickered despite the tense situation.

  After Banger untied us, I placed the sphere inside my backpack so it could lift us vertically. He tied us together again, and we tested it one more time.

  My little friend easily held us above the landing. “Okay, we’re good to go.”

  Banger gave me a squeeze. “If it can hold you and me, that means it can hold you and anyone else on the team. Fly us down, my queen.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at Mike. “If we find a place worth exploring, I’ll come back for everyone.” My next words were in Atlantean, and the sphere took us down at a slow, steady pace so I’d know it was in control of the descent.

  By the time we reached the bottom, which was approximately fifteen hundred feet down, the flare on the ground had burned out, and my blood pressure had shot up. We shined our flashlights around and found a dark tunnel branching out from one side of the chasm.

  “Think we should take a look in there?” I pointed at the tunnel, hoping he’d say no.

  “Give me a minute to untether us so we can walk.”

  Stealing a line from him, I said, “It’s not like I have somewhere else to be.”

  “Funny, Sam. I’ll make a SEAL of you yet.” He draped the rope over my shoulder. “The harness must remain on you for obvious reasons.”

  “Alrighty.” I sucked in a deep breath, took a step toward the tunnel, and resisted the urge to grab his hand. Claustrophobia sucks. I struggled to keep from panicking as goosebumps prickled my skin. “Think bats might be in there?”

  He laughed. “That’s what you’re worried about—bats?”

  Our lights only stabbed maybe twelve feet into the endless blackness, and the smooth, dank walls magnified every sound we made.

  I swung the beam along the right wall. “Huh, since somebody took the time to decorate this passage with all these paintings, it could mean it goes somewhere important.”

  “Good. We don’t want to waste time on boring stuff.” He urged me forward. “Admire the art later.”

  “I can’t recall any boring stuff since we first landed in Somalia.” I paused. “Could be a welcome change.” I was trying to distract myself from the growing claustrophobia nagging at my brain as I eased deeper into the dark tunnel. Cool, moist air enveloped me.

  “Surely you don’t want boredom, my queen.” Banger chuckled. “Adrenaline is your friend.”

  “All right, but let’s get one thing straight.” I stopped and faced him. “If we encounter any snakes or spiders, it’s your job to deal with them.”

  He laughed. “You tamed a giant crocodile. The least I can do is wrangle a few spiders and snakes.”

  “Good, because I don’t react well to creepy critters. You should’ve seen the enormous bird-eating spider Lance and I encountered in South America.” I shivered at the memory.

  “Yeah? What did you do?”

  “I climbed up Lance, like a frightened cat scaling a tree. Not one of my finer moments.”

  A strange sound filtered into the cave. It was too distant to discern the origin.

  I grabbed Banger’s arm. “Was that a growl?”

  “Way down here?” He shook his head. “Unlikely.”

  I hesitated as an icy chill shot down my spine. “Did you feel that?”

  “Feel what?” He looked around.

  Twenty

  “Wind. A cold, light breeze.” I paused. “There it is again. The air smells wet, like after it rains.”

  “You’re right. It feels like it’s coming toward us. We must be near the end of this tunnel.”

  We covered another forty feet, and the tunnel opened into a vast cavern with a ceiling that rose at least three hundred feet. A large lake dominated the central landscape, and dimly lighted crystals revealed shadowy structures throughout the vast subterranean city. The eerie metropolis extended for miles.

  “Definitely worth the trip.” I paused and took in the panoramic view.

  “Time to gather the team.” Banger put a hand on my shoulder. “Want me to walk back with you?”

  “Would you mind?” I didn’t want to face that dark tunnel alone.

  “I live to serve you, my queen.” He grinned, handsome as ever, even in the dim light.

  “Tiesha is a lucky woman.” I sucked in my breath. “Let’s go.”

  We covered the distance more quickly on the return, knowing what to expect. Soon we had reached the bottom of the deep chasm.

  “Ready to fly up and get our team?” Banger looked up.

  “I wonder if I can bring back two at a time. Then I’d only need two trips instead of four.”

  “Test it with Lance and Mike, like you tested it with me. If it holds all three of you, go for it.” He saluted me.

  I returned his salute. “Stay out of trouble while I’m gone.”

  I spoke commands to the sphere, and it lifted me up and carried me to the landing where my team waited.

  Mike pulled me in. “What’s down there?”

  “We found a massive subterranean city with a big lake in the middle. Could be the Lost Sahara Civilization.” I handed him the rope ends. “I’d like to test carrying two at a time with me, starting with you and Lance. We’ll check the weight capacity first, like I did with Banger.”

  Mike and Lance secured themselves to the front and back of me, sandwiching me and the sphere in the middle.

  Mike tapped my shoulder. “All right, Sam, try a test lift.”

  I spoke the command for a short lift and hold. The sphere hoisted the three of us as easily as it had lifted Banger and me.

  “Okay, Lisa and Bryce, I’ll come back for you in a few minutes.” My commands resulted in a swift trip to the bottom of the chasm with a soft landing.

  Banger helped the men untie themselves from me, and then I slung the ropes over my shoulder and headed up again.

  “Ready for your anti-gravity flight?” I asked Bryce and Lisa.

  “I’ll fasten myself behind you.” Bryce began tying the ropes.

  “Looks like you’re stuck facing me.” Lisa tied us together a little tighter than necessary.

  “I would like to breathe on the way down.” I tugged at the tight rope.

  “You can breathe when we get there,” she said in a higher pitch than normal.

  “Alrighty, everyone ready?” I heard two affirmative grunts.

  Lisa clamped her arms around me in a death grip as we made a quick flight down and another gentle landing.

  I looked at her. “You can open your eyes now. We’re on the ground.”

  Her eyes popped open as Banger and Mike untied us. She squeezed my shoulder. “Good flight.”

  “I think you’ll enjoy seeing the city. The entrance is a hundred yards down that tunnel.” I pointed.

  “Yeah, the city is huge—covers several miles.” Banger turned. “Follow me.”

  It wasn’t long before we reached the end of the tunnel. I shined my light around the area, looking for symbols that might lead us in the right direction.

  Mike pointed. “Is that rock shaped like a trident?” He shined his light on it.

  “Yep, let’s check it out.” I followed a narrow path that led to the trident rock.

  “There’s dim light coming from these crystals.” Lisa examined one. “Did you go in ahead of us and
turn them all on?”

  “No, they were like that when I got here.” I studied the trident-shaped rock. A small crystal was mounted in the shaft below the three prongs. I touched it, and it filled with bright light. In seconds, all the crystals scattered throughout the city went from dim to bright, and we could see everything.

  “I guess this is the master switch.” I glanced around the vast landscape. “Wish I knew where to go next.”

  “Isn’t that what the Eye is for?” Lisa pointed at my leather pouch.

  I slapped my forehead. “Sorry, my brain’s in a claustrophobic fog.” I pulled out the Eye, and it projected the image of a circular, white marble building with nine spires evenly spaced around the roof’s circumference.

  “There.” Banger peered through binoculars and pointed at a tall building on a hill beyond the other side of the lake. It appeared to be at least ten miles from us.

  I slipped the Eye back into its leather pouch. “Oh, good, only ten miles away.”

  “There you go, stealing my lines again.” Banger glanced around. “Looks like that path might take us there.”

  “Lead on, my liege.” I followed my big buddy.

  We weaved our way past unusual statues depicting tall, slender people with angular faces and long, spindly fingers. The statues ranged in height from seven to eight feet, like the Atlanteans I’d met in a secret enclave in the Himalayas.

  Lance took in the scenery. “I’m beginning to wonder if there’s any place on Earth the Atlanteans haven’t been.”

  “Their influence does seem to have been far-reaching.” Bryce peeked inside a nearby building. “Was this a jewelry store?”

  Lisa stepped inside. “Ooh, look at the diamonds. Maybe I can find a healing bracelet like the one Sam has.” She began trying on diamond rings, earrings, and bracelets. “Don’t you want some of this, Sam?”

  “I’m already loaded down with plenty of artifacts.” I tightened my belly bag. “I should probably save room in case I have to wear more stuff that affects our mission. But the rest of you should grab a few things. It’s not like there’s anyone here to care.”