Kiya caressed the sconce gently before she turned around and stomped back to him. “Sorry, but I couldn’t help myself and as you can see, I’m perfectly fine. Nothing happened. Besides I needed to verify they were made of metal,” she fired back.
“And are they?” he questioned.
“Yes,” she said and smiled up at him in wonder. “They’re cold and smooth to the touch. Holy moly, how in the hell did our ancestors have the knowledge or tools to create something so modern? I literally felt no edges or ridges,” she blurted out in bewilderment.
“I have no idea, but I hope they left clues for me to find out,” replied Aarik, in reverence. “Cooper! Taylor! Where are my lights!” he yelled out in frustration, only to be surprised to see Diego force his way past the obnoxious woman from breakfast earlier, Larissa. He stood there with a look of vindication. Larissa looked like she might be second guessing her career choice, by the look of fear on her face as she stood unfazed by Diego’s heavy hand.
Thankfully, Cooper and Taylor were not far behind with the lights, sidetracking Aarik from Diego’s rude and strange behavior. “Well, would you look at that, never thought I’d see the day when history is rewritten!” exclaimed Cooper, as he turned on the large strobe light that illuminated a hallway with additional hallways leading off the main hallway in both directions. Taylor finished bringing in the extension cords to plug in more lighting and stood up when he finished as he focused all of his attention on the cuneiform like writing above the entrance. The hallway flooded with unnatural light and revealed a cave-in blocking the hallway about 100 feet down the hall.
“Alright everyone, you know the drill. Let’s get some camera’s down here and start documenting everything before one of us messes anything up. Old Coop, over there, hit the nail on the head. If we do our job right, and leave no room for naysayers to wiggle in with possible flaws in our findings we might have a historic discovery on our hands,” Aarik said in awe, as he smiled at each of his crew in turn and was met with equal enthusiasm and grins.
“Kiya, would you mind finishing what you started?” asked Aarik politely.
“Not until everyone is out of here!” she whined. “I refuse to be the cause of everyone’s death. I nearly had a heart attack the first time,” she admitted with reluctance.
“You are absolutely right. Sorry, I’m just excited to start exploring. It’s better than Christmas morning. Alright guys, you heard the lady, clear out. Gather all our equipment and meet near the front of the campsite. Taylor will be posed at the main entrance and will relay progress through the radio as well as record it. Cooper, you are in charge of Riley,” Aarik barked.
“Who is Riley?” Kiya asked.
“More like what, Riley is our nickname for the drone we will use if we run into any tricky spots. He can be our eyes and ears if need be,” explained Cooper.
“Wicked!” exclaimed Kiya.
“We have another miracle to witness people. Get a move on it,” said Aarik, as he promptly walked out, expecting everyone to follow him.
Chapter Eleven
Kiya
Kiya followed everyone out and jogged to her equipment praying the whole way that she could pull off the biggest scientific breakthrough of the century without bringing down a mountain in the process. She crossed her fingers as she approached her computer and started up the application again. Luke and Aarik weren’t far behind and as her finger hovered over the start button she paused to take a breath.
“I’m in radio contact with Taylor. Ready when you are, Kiya,” Aarik offered from behind.
Kiya held her breath and hit the button with trepidation. She increased the power in slower increments this time around and waited with bated breath for a repeat earthquake or more preferably, word from the front lines that it was working. The first crackle of the walkie-talkie could be heard at the same time as the earth rumbled to life again but with less intensity than the first time. “It’s moving! It’s moving! Whatever you’re doing it’s working,” Taylor screamed in excitement over the radio.
Aarik beamed down at Kiya in approval before answering, “Let us know when the door is flush with the wall. Oh, and if you hear or see anything, from a distance of course, that indicates there are any kind of mechanics involved in the door.”
“Will do, Aarik. Five feet and counting, it’s moving at a steady rate and should be done in just a moment. Stand by,” said Taylor, in an anxious voice. “Houston, we have touchdown,” Taylor hooted in joy seconds later.
Aarik radiated gratitude as he gazed into Kiya’s eyes. “Wow. Just wow! Where did you come from?” he whispered quietly. Kiya returned his smile and tried to pretend that his statement didn’t make her want to melt like a twitterpated teenage girl at her first boy band concert.
“From stardust, I’ve been told,” she chuckled nervously, “Quit staring at me and let’s go find some treasure,” she blurted out.
Luke laughed at their antics and shook his head before he said, “You two act like you’re a married couple. I’d say brother and sister, but the way you two stare at each other would give me the creeps,” Luke said, and escaped before they had a chance to respond.
Aarik blushed, but didn’t deny he was staring, before he followed behind Luke in a hurry. Kiya turned off her computer, preparing to follow, when Diego made an appearance from the direction of the campground and startled her. He shoved his cell phone in his back pocket and stepped around the table to confront her.
“Quite the accomplishment, Kiya. Our employer will be pleased he’s getting his money’s worth,” Diego crooned. “Can you control it?” His voice dripped with venom which contradicted his words and bright white smile.
“Thanks, I think. Not yet, I have some theories, but will need to run more tests. Maybe change locations tomorrow,” she replied nervously, confused by the conflict between his verbal and nonverbal communication.
“I see. Why, might I ask, are you not working on it now? You are not being paid to go, what was it you said? Oh yes, treasure hunting. I want to know how to control what you move and where,” demanded Diego, as he stepped closer to her like he was trying to use his size to intimidate her.
Kiya was flabbergasted by his demands and annoyed by his treatment. “First of all, who are you to talk to me like that? You were around for the first and second tests when the ground was shaking, right?” she asked, struggling to control her temper. “I just admitted that I don’t have control of what is moving or where it is moving to. Do you think that your demand will make the answer come any faster?” she questioned. “I don’t know what will happen next when I change frequencies because this has never happened before in documented history. Knowing people are inside that cavern, there is no way that I will be testing until we can work out a schedule!” she spit out, seething in anger by the time she was finished.
Diego looked surprised by her vehemence and, right before her eyes, it was as if a switch flipped in his brain and he reverted back to a part he was playing, that of a clean-cut, normal guy. “You are absolutely right. Forgive me, I guess with all the excitement, I forgot myself. I just know when I call in, our employer will want to be able to explore the capabilities of your work. After all, he is a businessman. He’s usually not a patient man, I might add,” he offered, in an awkward apology.
Anxious to get away from Diego, Kiya moved toward the trail and said, “Well, as soon as I learn more, I’ll be sure to keep everyone informed. You coming?” she asked.
“I’ll be right behind you. I just want to report your success to our superiors and find out what direction they want us to take,” said Diego, as he pivoted to leave and pulled his cell from his pocket. Holding the phone out looking for a signal, he sighed dramatically and said. “Scratch that. I might be a bit longer. My reception out here is shit. I might need to go into town.”
With that, he stormed away towards the camp, leaving Kiya stunned with his erratic behavior. She was positive he had been using his phone when he walked up but co
uldn’t figure out why he would have a reason to lie about not having any service. Filing away the mystery for later examination, Kiya ran to catch up with Luke and Aarik before they could start without her.
She caught them just as they were entering the chamber and called out to get their attention. “Don’t think you’re going in there without me, Aarik,” she panted out, trying to catch her breath from her record-breaking sprint.
Aarik chuckled and said, “I wouldn’t dream of it, Kiya.” He made sure he enunciated her first name clearly. Kiya looked confused until it dawned on her that, through the chaos of the day, she had dropped her formal use of his title. She glared over at him until he started laughing at her reaction, causing her to smile in her submission.
Kiya dropped her shoulders and let her head drop forward as a deep belly laugh grabbed hold of her insides and refused to let go and until she released it in a volatile eruption. Grabbing her stomach, Kiya laughed until she snorted, causing the both of them to erupt in a fit of laughter together.
“Are you two finished?” said Luke, interrupting their newfound camaraderie. “I want to go in now.”
“I’m sorry, Luke. You are absolutely right. Aarik?” Kiya looked to Aarik for direction.
“Let’s check with Taylor and see if everything is set to go. I want to make sure the cameras are rolling before we disturb anything further,” Aarik stated, before hurrying away.
Kiya followed behind Aarik with nervous energy and watched while he rounded up the others and organized their entry into the tunnel. While she waited, her gaze strayed to the hallway entrance in astonishment. The size of the stone door and how it moved with only the force of sound was proof that our ancestors were more advanced than we gave them credit for. She marveled at the advanced techniques employed and envied Aarik a little, it would be his job to solve the mystery.
The results from her test today were nothing she'd planned on. Her hypothesis of using the earth’s magnetic energy in conjunction with her equipment to amplify the energy needed in order to move large objects had undeniably been confirmed. Her experiment eclipsed what scientists had achieved with any experiment to date in a controlled laboratory using the same technology. At most, they have managed to levitate objects like water droplets, lightweight wood chips and small electronic capacitors.
Kiya was stumped, it didn’t make sense that the only thing that levitated was the door. She expected the pebbles to be caught in the antinode of the standing wave and lift but instead the ground rumbled, and a door opened. She required more time, without the fear of causing injury, and needed to let Aarik know she was willing to compromise on a schedule if he was. Kiya was torn between wanting to explore the cave and returning to her computer to run simulations with the newly acquired data to see if she could recreate the occurrence with the computer modeling software that she built.
Curiosity won out when Aarik interrupted her thoughts and called out her name. “Kiya. Earth to Kiya. You in there? Time to get a move on,” he said, jerking his thumb toward the tunnel in a questioning gesture.
“Yes. Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said, joining the others.
Chapter Twelve
Aarik
Aarik ordered his crew members around and appeared calm, cool, and collected to those present in the room, but his mind was reeling. If he hadn’t witnessed the moment Kiya turned on her sound machine and felt the vibration of the sound waves it created for himself, he wouldn’t have been able to rationally believe they were connected, but seeing truly was believing. Taylor handed him a radiation monitor to wear, like the Radiology Technicians wear in hospitals to warn them of high exposure levels. Aarik gave him a thumbs up when he attached it to his belt loop. “Sure hope these won’t be necessary. You ready for this, Taylor?” questioned Aarik, like he was asking himself.
“When we met four years ago, I thought you were full of yourself. You set this, what I thought was unachievable, goal of graduating with your PhD in half the time. As I watched you take on high credit loads or challenge exams for credit over the years, I came to realize you weren’t full of yourself but aware of yourself. You are aware of your capabilities and what you want, and you don’t let anyone tell you differently. Last week, when you begged me to take a chance on this adventure, I didn’t hesitate. Nothing I do will ever make me ready for what you throw at me next, but I can’t wait to find out. Plus I’m dying to get a look at the entrance again,” Taylor responded with reverence, with a ladder under one arm as he waited patiently to get a chance to view the engravings.
Aarik looked over at Kiya as she gazed at the stone door in wonder. He called out to get her attention, but she was lost in her thoughts. “Kiya. Earth to Kiya,” Finally getting her attention, he said, “You in there? Time to get a move on.”, jerking his thumb toward the tunnel.
“Yes. Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said, and walked over with less enthusiasm than he expected.
“Yeah, don’t mind me. My brain rat is on the hamster wheel, I’m sure all I need is new stimulus to derail him,” she replied, in an attempt to lighten the mood.
“If it’s stimulus you need, it’s stimulus you shall receive. Follow me, please, and this time stay behind me until I deem it is safe?” he said in a pleading voice.
“Alright, everyone. On the count of three, I want all instruments on and the cameras rolling. Hold all flashes until we know what we are dealing with. Three, two, one. Action!” he roared with excitement and walked through the doorway for the second time that day.
Aarik chuckled to himself as he walked forward, feeling giddy as he marveled at the ancient cavern. Leaving Taylor behind to study the writing on the wall, Aarik took in his surroundings. The hallway was void of any artifacts or additional writing besides, the unlit metal sconces attached to the walls. The earthquake from earlier seemed to have no effect on the internal structure of the cave, as no cracks could be found along the walls. The hallway ended with a cave-in about 100 yards down the corridor, but roughly 30 yards ahead an arched doorway opened to the left. Not one of his crew uttered a word as they crept behind him slowly, until they stopped in front of the archway and looked up at the fifteen-foot entrance. Gasps could be heard as each of them noticed the symbols engraved within the stone archway.
Aarik called back to Taylor and said, “There’s more up here!” Taylor brushed passed Aarik, craning his neck back the farther he shuffled forward and muttered to himself, “Jackpot!” He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out his notebook, plopped himself down and proceeded to scribble frantically.
“Cooper, try and get close ups, will you? I think Taylor will be a little busy drawing the two arches to get any for himself. In fact, I doubt we’ll be hearing anything from him any time soon,” Aarik called back, as he squatted next to Taylor and whispered into his ear, “I’ll let you know if I find anything else. Meet me in my tent tonight after supper and we’ll compare notes.” Taylor grunted out a “Yeah,” never taking his eyes off his notebook.
Standing up with one last glance at the archway, Aarik raised his handheld flashlight up and revealed a sloped tunnel curving down and to the right. Before going down into the unknown, Aarik glanced back to find Kiya close behind, smiling up at him with encouragement. He returned her smile and proceeded down the declining hallway. The longer they spiraled down into the mountain, the more Aarik’s heart rate increased, so that by the time they reached the bottom, he thought he could hear it reverberate throughout the large cavern. Kiya stepped up next to him and butted his hip playfully, “I can’t stay behind you if you’re just going to stand there!”
“Point taken. Keep your eyes out for artifacts and everyone stick together,” he said, taking a breath before moving further into the room.
Looking around, Aarik noticed twenty more arched doorways, of differing heights, leading off of the main cavern. He glanced up and was amazed to see the cathedral-like ceiling high above his head. Shaking his head, he joked with the group, “Eeny, Meeny,
Miney, Moe, anyone?”
“Naw, let’s be methodical. Starting clockwise, with that one over there,” Kiya offered with confidence.
“I like my idea, but that works,” he said, and walked toward the first archway, looking up as he approached, He was slightly disappointed when the archway didn’t reveal more writing.
Not sure what to expect when he entered, Aarik was only mildly surprised to find living quarters carved out of the rock, with edges that looked rounded and smooth. Crossing the living area, he entered the kitchen and knelt next to the large cooking pot hanging within a fire pit carved into the back wall, straining his neck looking for an air shaft or damper release valve. The walls surrounding the fire pit were free of soot, so he was positive it existed, and growled in frustration when he couldn’t find either. He was turning around to ask for more light when he noticed Kiya hadn’t moved away from the entrance and was staring at the fireplace like she had seen a ghost.
“Kiya, you okay? You’re looking kind of white,” Aarik called from across the room.
Blinking, she focused on him and nodded her head submissively before returning her stare to the wall behind him. “Beyond words,” she muttered, and wandered towards Cooper in a daze.
Two members of Aarik's team, Ivan and Phil, clambered over to offer their lights, and distracted Aarik from Kiya’s unusual response. He would need to question her later and make sure she was alright, after they were finished for the day, but for now he directed his attention to finding the flue. He could see one of the stones at the apex had less soot but couldn’t see what released it. “Not everything will be solved today, that’s for sure. Let’s see the rest of this place and save the puzzles for another day. We still have the other hall to explore as well before the end of the day.”
Sounds of the Forgotten Page 7
