by Greig Beck
CHAPTER 50
Aimee lifted her flashlight to examine their surroundings, joining the other small glowing circles that danced around within the tunnel. The tiles beneath her feet were worn, but at the edges were hints of the original colors. Blue, green, and flashing reflective mica sparkled in their flashlights. The walls had magnificent carved frescoes leaning out at them with smiling, leering, and tongue-lolling faces in the broad style Aimee recognized too well. Above her, corbelled archways of fierce creatures interspaced with large oval stone heads with benevolent stares watched over them.
She let her beam momentarily trail towards Alex, before quickly moving it away. But her eyes remained.
The man made anger burn inside her. After all these years, the first thing he did was to scold her? How dare he! She bristled the more she dwelled on it. She continued to watch him. Her head held onto the indignation, but in her core, there was still a feeling of attraction and familiarity that was as intoxicating as it had ever been. She wanted to scream at him, curse him, and make him say sorry for lying to her, and all that sat uneasily beside a deep desire to rekindle something she had only felt in her dreams for many years. She pushed her thoughts away and focused on the tiles.
“This is unbelievable.”
“Jesus.” Aimee jerked her light around, directly onto the woman’s face.
The woman squinted, smiled, and held out her hand. “Hi, Cate Canning, Dr. Cate Canning, evolutionary biologist and team leader on Project Ellsworth. It’s, ah, a government funded study of the buried lake.” She pointed at the ceiling. “From somewhere wa-aay up there. I hitched a ride …” She half smiled, shrugging. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“Dr. Aimee Weir, petrobiologist and suicidal fool.” She shook Cate’s hand. “Still think it was a good idea?”
“Ask me again, when we’re topside,” Cate said, panning her light over the flooring, and then raising it higher. She turned to smile again at Aimee. “If … I mean, if we get out.”
“We’ll get out,” Aimee projected more confidence than she felt.
Cate turned her light towards Alex, who noticed them looking and nodded. “Well, if anyone can get us out, it’ll be that guy.” Her eyes slid to Aimee. “Saw you watching him before. You should see him with his shirt off.”
Aimee turned a little too quickly. “What?”
Cate momentarily pulled back at Aimee’s reaction, and Aimee immediately regretted it.
“Uh oh, you two know each other, huh?”
“No, yes, forget it … long time ago.” Aimee waved it away.
“Good.” Cate’s eyebrows flicked up momentarily and she grinned.
Aimee sighed, feeling a twinge of something inside that she hated. You are not jealous, she told herself.
Cate wandered further into the dark tunnel and Aimee followed her. “Amazing,” Cate said, her light moving up and down. “Just, damned, amazing.”
Aimee knew what she was experiencing; she had felt the same sense of wonder when they first found the buried city. And here, even after countless centuries, the architecture was still striking. Interspaced Doric columns and large trapezoidal stones fitted together without a hair’s breadth between them. Vestiges of color clung to some of the images, and even the mosses and mineralized waters now staining them in all manner of rainbow hues couldn’t fully mask their magnificence.
“It’s just like Tikal, the Mayan temple ruins … and just as old, I’d say.” Cate turned. “I’ve been there. It’s called the Temple of the Two Headed Snake, built by King Yaxkin Caan Chac in 470AD.”
“No, it’s older than that,” said Aimee. “Much, much older. This place was a memory before Tikal was even a dream.” She turned to find Alex coming up behind them, and she pointed to the carvings. “Just like Aztlan.”
He nodded. “So, maybe some of them did make it down here after all,” Alex said softly. “We always wondered.”
“Aztlan? What the hell is Aztlan?” Cate asked, stepping in closer to the pair.
“Something much older than the Mayans,” Aimee said, shining her light onto the glyphic images. “These guys predated the Aztecs, Egyptians, Mayans, and even the Sumerians, by thousands of years. In fact, as they were originally a seafaring people, they may have created those other races, seeded them.”
“Buried beneath the Antarctic ice?” Cate scoffed. “I know what you’re inferring … Aztlan, is Atlantis, right?” She looked at Aimee from under her brows. “Please tell me you’re not really saying that?”
“I’m not,” Aimee said. “This down here is nothing like Atlantis. This is just the remnants of that. It’s real name is – was – Aztlan, and that great city, perhaps the first great city on the planet, is above us, buried just under snow and ice. A civilization that flourished when this continent was mostly ice-free.” She walked to the wall, placing a hand on one of the moss-covered images. “When the final ice age took hold, many escaped, perhaps becoming one or all the world’s first great races. But others stayed behind, and became trapped in the dark. Some obviously came down here, and …” She shrugged. “And then, I don’t know.”
Aimee moved her light to the next image. It was of a coiling mass, with a huge eye at its center. “But I can guess.”
*
“Yo, boss.” Rhino led Jackson and Yang back to the group.
Alex noticed that Shenjung and Soong didn’t move to welcome Yang, but stayed with Cate and Jennifer Hartigan, who talked quietly with Casey Franks.
“What’ve you got?” he asked when they stopped before him.
“Multiple caves, and more. This place is enormous – buildings, rooms, a freaking city. Or what’s left of it.” Rhino stopped, the equally huge Jackson beside him. “Something bad happened here, maybe an earthquake – a lot of damage. Seems long deserted, but …” He shrugged. “You kinda get the feeling, that, I dunno, there’s someone still here.”
“Impossible,” Cate said.
“More like, improbable,” Aimee said. “These guys were born survivors.”
“Well, we found more of the weird markings on the walls that we saw in the upper caves.” Rhino pointed at one of the ancient carvings of a warrior. “Not like these, they were more recent, but they were rougher, crude, like they were done by someone a lot less skilled. Like what Hagel said he found with a bunch of skeletons in a dead-end cave that was higher up. He said it was as if they were trying to tunnel towards the surface. They never made it.”
“They went in both directions,” Alex said. “Some tried for the light, maybe others for the eternal twilight of this place.”
“Well, down here worked out well, didn’t it?” Casey said, joining them.
“It did for a while,” Aimee said. “About 12,000 years ago, when the land iced-over and trapped them, enough of them came down to be able to create all this.” Aimee waved an arm around. “They re-established, but then something happened, and their civilization collapsed.” She looked towards the mouth of the cave. “No sunlight, and no hope with that thing out there.”
“Why didn’t they just head back up?” Jackson asked.
“Because this would be preferable,” Cate said. “They make it to the surface, and all they’re going to find is a frozen desert. Imagine what they would have thought of that blinding white and freezing world after thousands of years in the warmth and dark? They’d see it as hell.”
“Yeah, well, with that thing down here, I’d take that over this place any day.” Rhino frowned. “But Aimee’s right; these guys must have survived just fine for a while. Before slipping back or something.”
“Slipping back to the stone age,” Cate said. “There is something called the Olduvai theory. It postulates civilization always sliding backwards, regressing after a certain period.” She shrugged. “It’s inevitable – war, disease, natural disaster, using up resources, all can lead to great powers simply collapsing, fragmenting, and the people scattering, leaving the great cities deserted or in ruins. Like this place.” Sh
e looked around. “And I can tell you, as an evolutionary biologist, 12,000 years is about 50,000 generations – more than enough time to force adaptations … evolutionary adaptations.” She smiled. “Maybe they flourished, again, but didn’t need the things that the first arrivals did.”
Rhino raised his eyebrows. “Like what, no roof over their heads?”
“Seriously?” Cate gave him a look. “Look up, soldier. Here, everywhere you go, there’s a roof over your head.”
Jackson sniggered. “Boom. She wins that round, big fella.”
Rhino grinned. “Well, let’s see what …”
“That’s enough, Rinofsky,” Alex said. “Any other observations?” He looked from Rhino to Jackson, and then to Yang, who stood brooding a few paces back.
“Well, yeah, you couldn’t help feeling that someone was there … just out of sight,” Jackson said. “Spooky.”
“We were being watched.” Yang lifted his head and Rhino nodded. “I could feel it.”
Alex looked at the men, knowing they were probably right – he felt it himself. He could sense there was more in the tunnels than lichen-covered statues. Even now, he could feel that somewhere in the dark, there were eyes upon them.
“We need to move.” He turned slowly, trying to see into every crevice and dark corner. “Being in here is no guarantee of our safety.”
“Got that right,” Rhino said. “We lost Parcellis in a freaking crack in the wall, no bigger than …” He stopped when he saw Alex’s expression.
“We all know what we’re up against.” Alex looked to the group who were now all watching him. “We need to fully investigate this place. If there’s a way out, we need to find it …” He looked hard at Yang. “And, we need to find our submarine.”
“A way out? Yeah, works for me,” Jackson said.
There was no bioluminescence in the tunnels, and without the flashlights, the darkness would have been absolute. Alex turned slowly, concentrating. The silence was so thick, it was as if it was suspended in the humidity. But there was something … he sensed activity, or furtive movement all around them. He turned back to Rhino.
“Where’s Blake? He should have been back by now.”
Rhino frowned. “Yeah, damned right. He was ahead of us … should have been back first.”
Yang bullocked his way past the taller Jackson. “And where are my men?”
“How would we know?” Rhino put his hand on the Chinese captain’s chest.
Yang knocked it away, and glowered at Alex. “So, I agree for you to lead, and we immediately lose people. This is leadership, American style?”
“Get a load of this guy, would ya?” Rhino shook his head.
“That’s enough,” Alex said. He turned to Yang. “Listen, our man is missing as well. I get the feeling this place is huge, but we’ll find them. Probably just exploring further than they expected.”
“Or my men are dead; killed by one of your assassins.” Yang’s features were set hard.
Rhino chuckled. “Assassin? Blake’s gonna love that one.” He leaned over Yang, putting a large, blunt finger in his chest. “Then where’s our assassin; why hasn’t he returned either?”
“Hiding,” Yang said, turning to stand square on to Rhino.
“Someone cracking under pressure are they?” Casey muscled in, getting between Yang and Rhino.
“Lighten up, all of you.” Alex pulled them apart. “We’re all wire-tight right now. But we’ve got to stick together.” He stared hard in the direction the men had disappeared, straining to hear or get a sense of them. His neck tingled from a feeling of imminent danger that refused to materialize. “We stay alive, find the sub. But first … we look for our missing men. Everyone stay close,” he said, looking towards Jennifer and the two Chinese scientists. “Rhino, you and I will take point, Jackson, at rear.” He looked at Casey, and then nodded at Yang. She understood immediately, and got close to him.
Alex waved them on. “Let’s go.”
“I’m also at front,” Aimee said quickly.
“So am I,” said Cate, pushing past the others.
“Hey?” Casey grabbed for her, but Alex waved her back. He wanted Franks on Yang. He had a feeling that taking orders from an American hadn’t been in the man’s job description. And if he got a chance, he might take the opportunity to rebalance the power dynamics by putting a bullet in the back of Alex’s head.
CHAPTER 51
Yang felt the female HAWC at his shoulder. She was of no threat to him; he knew he could disable or kill her whenever he wished. His primary threat was the leader of this Special Forces group. But he was also his biggest opportunity.
He bristled at the thought of his missing men, and now needed to rely on Soong Chin Ling and Shenjung Xing for support. He had reservations about their patriotism, but he knew a quiet word reminding the pair of what lay in store for them back home, if they failed to remember where their true allegiances lay, would bring them back into line.
Yang inhaled the humid air of the tunnel, and watched the back of Alex Hunter. Following close to him was Dr. Aimee Weir. Perhaps this was why Yang had been chosen to lead the mission. It was payback or an opportunity for redemption for the failed mission to procure the child – Joshua Weir.
Their own top secret Advanced Soldier Program had stalled, stuck in a cul-de-sac of producing giants like Mungoi, but not being able to complement their strength with intellect. Their soldiers were little more than two-legged battering rams and what they needed was something better.
Yang continued to watch Alex Hunter. Where they were stalled, the Americans had succeeded with this man who was known as the Arcadian. With his own eyes Yang had witnessed the ease with which Hunter had defeated Mungoi, making the big PLA soldier, their most advanced breed, seem like an outdated model within seconds.
He felt his spirits lift. If this was an opportunity for redemption, he would seize it with both hands. He would secure the submarine for his country, and also the body of the Arcadian. He turned again, and smiled at the stocky female HAWC. She sneered in return. His smile broadened – he was right where he needed to be – on his way to the submarine, and now embedded within the enemy camp.
He sped up as he remembered an ancient proverb: patience is power. He could wait, and he would be ready to act.
*
Soong and Shenjung followed next, just in front of Jennifer, and Yang trawled behind them, with Casey on his shoulder.
“This way.” Rhino led them up a mound of broken rock that suddenly turned into age-worn steps. Even now it was clear that these had not been rough-hewn risers, but once were carved of something shining and smooth. The stumps of broken balustrades were of a dark stone that was ebony black, and could have been the finest polished marble. The stairs themselves were soft, carpeted by thick mosses that squelched as they stepped up on them.
They next crossed a wide balcony and then entered a curved tunnel. Overhead there were once polished lintel stones, each with their own intricate carving of a face with a different expression, now all with beards of lichen that they needed to duck beneath.
Alex stopped before one wall, looking along its length, feeling the sense of misery and dismay in the images portrayed. He exhaled slowly and then waited for Aimee to catch up. He motioned with a nod. Aimee followed his gaze and shined her flashlight along the carved relief, exhaling softly.
“An old friend,” she said.
“More like the ancient enemy,” Alex responded.
The coiled mass with an unblinking eye at its center dominated the wall. The Aztlantic carving style was a mix of raised glyphs, faces, but now the once benevolent visages were twisted in horror, fear, or pain.
Alex tilted his head back, staring upwards, feeling like he was seeing through the miles of stone to the ancient city he knew was buried just below the snow and dark ice. Many years ago, he had encountered a similar tableau to the one on the wall, but the scenes then were of the land, sunlight, and happier times. Now, down here, a
darkness had not only permeated the lives of these forgotten people, but had even influenced their art.
“Wow.” Cate joined them, her mouth hanging open as she stared at the glyphs. “Amazing, isn’t it? It’s like the pre-Columbian stone artisan work, but different somehow. Not more primitive, just … different.” Cate walked quickly to the wall, laying her hands on some of the images. “I wish I could understand them.”
“Possibly the most ancient formal language ever known. A linguist who was with us, Professor Matt Kearns, said the Aztlantian words might even be the skeleton key – the root language for all languages.”
“And those who stayed in the city above, just sat there and froze in the dark.” Cate exhaled through compressed lips.
“No.” Aimee turned to Cate. “We found evidence in the city above, where the orthocone managed to find its way in, snaking in through cracks and holes, and snatching the remaining inhabitants in the dark. It would have been a nightmare.”
Rhino grimaced. “Like with Parcellis. This thing can get in anywhere, and it’s smart, been fucking with us the whole time.” He lifted his light to the coiling mass. “I bet that’s what happened to them.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Alex said. “The creatures, these Kraken species, have made a home here for countless millions of years. And the Aztlantians must have been here for centuries as well. These structures take time to plan and build. They could never have created them if they were being constantly attacked. Somehow, they learned to coexist.”
“Maybe you’re right on that part.” Cate stepped back from the wall, shining her light along its entire length. “Everything, every image; it’s all about the beast.”
Aimee sighed. “The mighty Aztlan people, rulers of the world, before even the Egyptians lifted their pyramids, or the Persians built Persepolis. Who worshiped the sun, and the wind, and the sea, and were suddenly forced to believe in only one god, this thing, this monster in the dark.”
