by Nick Thacker
“This is a little disappointing,” Jeff said under his breath.
“You expecting a welcoming party?” Wayne asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” Vilocek snapped. “We’re not here to marvel at the architecture. We need to find that crystal, and we need to find it fast — Madu’s team must be here somewhere. We don’t want a repeat of Petra on our hands.”
No, we certainly don’t, Bryce thought. As he walked, his nerves and instincts seemed to play with his mind, as if his intuition was keeping something from his brain.
He wasn’t alone in his unease.
“What’s that? An earthquake?” Karn asked.
“Spooky,” Jeff said, taunting. Wayne and Bryce simultaneously shot him a “shut up” glance. They raised their weapons, backing against the nearest wall. Corinne reached for Cole’s hand, but he yanked it away.
Cole started running toward the shaft in the middle of the atrium. “What is it?” Corinne said in a half-whisper.
“I’m feeling something — like outside, around those other statues.” He ripped up his shirt sleeves and looked at the underside of his arms. After a few seconds, the unmistakable bluish glow appeared just below his wrists. Something had triggered the effect, and now the rest of the atrium reflected it as well. Starting at the floor and moving up the walls, the mysterious symbols appeared all around them. They were bright enough to light the entire space. A door, a mirror-image of the one they’d come through stared back at them from the rear wall. The symbols grew ever brighter until it was almost hard to look at them head-on — like lightbulbs without shades.
A sudden eruption of light caused them all to recoil. Cole jumped sideways against the right wall, and Corinne backed into a corner. The shaft in the center of the room suddenly and violently began emitting a thick, slightly blue-hued beam of light. It shot straight up into the top of the dome.
But it didn’t stop at the domed ceiling. They hadn’t noticed it before, but the temple was on a raised mound directly underneath the small hole at the top of the dome. Now, the light shot through not only the open top of the square temple’s roof, but through the top of the dome itself.
The effect was immediate and near-blinding. Some sort of architectural feature split the beam of light into millions of directions and reflected it back down over the gigantic underground metropolis. The entire city became lit by a vibrant, living light source. As the group straggled out of the temple to escape the intensity of the beam, they looked in awe over the causeway and sectioned areas of the city below. Far in the distance, they could see the fields they’d passed on their way in. As they looked out across the city, dots of blue light begin to appear outside of buildings and houses, like individual porch lights and lampposts.
It was beautiful.
55
10:34 am
Madu unclasped the carabiner from his belt and wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead — he’d been sweating heavily throughout the traverse over the inside wall of the giant dome. Most of the men had already crossed, obeying their orders to scout ahead and remove any unforeseen obstacles. He’d gotten radio confirmation some time ago that they were, in fact, in a dome, and once he got through this upper layer of fog, he’d be able to see down into the center of the bowl.
Madu had just started walking down the pathway on the side of the cavern when his radio crackled to life. “Sir, we have reached a protruding ledge on the side of the cavern. It is close to the floor of the cave, and we are holding up here to wait for the rest of you.”
Madu lifted his radio to respond, but the man on the other end of the line continued.
“…And, I do not know how to say this, Commander. You need to see this for yourself.”
Madu frowned and continued on. The descent was now a simple hike, the path leveling to the point that he barely needed to use his hands to steady himself. He couldn’t help but notice that the route they’d taken on did seem almost like a pathway — a trail intentionally cut into the side of the gargantuan cavern.
A few more paces down the ledge and Madu reached the remainder of the team. The men were mostly sitting, kneeling, or lying down, catching a quick break. Four of the soldiers maintained a watchful eye over the center of the cavern, its hollowed-out interior large but completely in front of them, offering an easy view.
As Madu stepped around a large stalagmite jutting from the floor, the sight of an ancient city, steadily revealing itself with each step, made him catch his breath.
A soldier strode up, and both men stood staring at the expansive city. Madu’s mind was racing; the city was abandoned — not a sign of life — yet everything else was in place. What looked like farmland stretched out below, followed by rings of ancient water systems that divided the city into specific areas. One segment was made up of small rectangular houses, and the next seemed to be more commercial — open-air markets, trading areas, and larger buildings. Beyond it all, Madu saw the raised mound in the center of the old city, with its large temple on top.
Running toward the temple was Tanning Vilocek and his team.
“Get down there! Intercept them!” Madu shouted. They all bolted from the small ledge and took the path toward the city. Madu hoped they’d be able to corral the opposing forces inside the temple. If Vilocek decided to head somewhere else in the city, Madu would have a much harder time tracking them down.
He thought through his options, and remembered that he already had eyes up above.
“Musim!” he barked into the radio. He hoped the two snipers were still up on the platform at the top of the dome. “Hold your position — try to get a clear shot,” he said.
“Copy that, commander,” Musim answered. “We are with Bayoumi and Mounier. We’ll wait for your orders.”
Jabari confirmed the order, and watched as the rest of his team reached the second ring and crossed the stone bridge. They were making excellent time — and assuming Vilocek was still inside the temple, they’d be able to catch up and trap them in a firefight inside.
Looking up, he tried to see the four soldiers posted somewhere above. It was difficult to see anything through the mist, but he thought he could make out the bottom of the platform attached to its hanging stalactite.
As he squinted into the darkness, a low rumble came from the center of the city, followed by a flash of light. Looking toward the temple, he saw the light grow in intensity and fill a square hole cut in the temple’s roof. The light didn’t subside, and it took on a rounded shape as it shot from the ancient stone building.
He watched the beam’s trajectory, following its path upward to the ceiling of the dome — directly toward the platform with his four men.
Madu realized what the “platform” really was as the city around him was bathed in light. The platform acted as a natural chandelier, reflecting the beam of light into the far corners of the large cavern.
He also noticed that the platform was transparent.
The fog had dispersed, and Madu could clearly see that the stone platform was made of a quartz-like mineral — which acted as a prism and reflected the light throughout the city. But it also allowed the beam to pass through it — directly to where his men were standing.
As he watched, he saw a single rifle fall from the platform, followed by a boot still tightly laced around part of a soldier’s leg.
The beam of light had vaporized his four men.
His remaining men had just about reached the final bridge separating the smallest ring from the rest of the city. Having nothing else to do, he jogged down the pathway toward the ring of farms around the metropolis.
He knew that the beam had likely been triggered by their entrance into the city, but he entertained the thought of Vilocek purposefully using the light as a weapon. The idea added fuel to his rage as he ran.
56
10:40 am
“Amazing,” Bryce whispered.
“It’s like the city just woke up,” Cole said. “Like it’s all on some central power grid!”
/>
“The light must have some sort of ultraviolet properties, to maintain life down here,” Karn said to Vilocek.
“I’m starting to recognize the layout of this city,” the older man replied.
“And,” Beka added, looking toward the central shaft of light, “I bet you I know where your crystal is.”
Vilocek smirked a little, then cocked his head sideways. “Did you hear something?”
Bryce had heard it too — something from the other side of the temple, in the other entrance. “Get to cover — I think Madu’s team just got here!” he shouted.
They all dove behind Moai statues. There wasn’t enough cover for everyone, and Bryce quickly changed his mind. “There’s no way we’re going to be able to hold them off in here — we need to get back outside and try to flank them around either side of the temple.”
Vilocek had other ideas. “I’m not walking away from that crystal! You go out there, and you’re on your own.”
Suit yourself, Bryce thought as he turned and ran out the entrance. He turned left after scaling the three large steps, Wayne and Jeff on his heels.
“Shit!” Bryce had almost forgotten about the two civilians still inside. He had absolutely no trouble abandoning this mission and hightailing it out of there, but he did have an issue with leaving innocent bystanders in the middle of a firefight.
Wayne and Jeff took positions outside the door of the temple. Wayne watched as Bryce ran back inside, just as Madu’s forces converged on the opposite entrance 200 yards away. Vilocek and Beka had pushed over a few of the Moai onto their flattened backs to use as cover. The Israeli soldier and Karn were on the right side of the temple, where Cole and Corinne were ducking in a corner. They crouched behind the Moai and waited.
Cole and Corinne bolted from their corner and headed for the door. Bryce was about five feet into the temple when he saw them coming. He dropped to one knee to cover them, just as Madu’s team opened fire.
Bullets pinged from every wall and surface inside the temple, and Bryce instinctively ducked. Cole and Corinne made it to the exit, but Vilocek shouted after them. “Take another step and I’ll kill you myself!”
Corinne was crouched near the entrance, looking at Bryce in confusion. “Forget that, Vilocek!” Bryce yelled. We need to get out now!”
“I’m not forcing you to stay,” Vilocek shouted back. “Take the girl and leave — but the boy stays with me!”
The implication suddenly struck Bryce.
Whittenfield had cryptically mentioned something about Cole being the key to this whole fiasco. Vilocek had obviously injected him with some sort of serum based on the crystal’s properties, and needed Cole for whatever it was he had planned.
Shots rang out as Madu’s men continued their assault.
Vilocek and his team ducked down. Wayne and Jeff yelled at Bryce to fall back. Cole and Corinne were standing in the open, frozen and exposed.
The Egyptians had the benefit of numbers. They were split into two groups, leap-frogging each other from statue to statue. They were almost to the center of the chamber, where the rectangle of brilliant light made it almost impossible to see anything beyond.
They were out of time. Corinne squeezed Cole’s hand, and he could hear her breathing quicken. He knew they had to move, but it was like his body was locked down.
He looked toward Bryce, silently begging for help. Bryce was already barreling toward the pair at full-tilt. “Come on!” he shouted. “To your left!”
Cole braced himself. Bryce’s forehead drove into his chest, and Cole heard something crack. His mind went blank and his vision filled with stars. He felt himself falling; the serene calm of unconsciousness washing over him.
57
10:57 am
Corinne was still holding Cole’s hand when he went down. She too had seen Bryce coming, and though it seemed like he’d slowed a bit just before the tackle, it still sounded like a pretty hard hit. She noticed Cole’s eyes roll backwards a bit, and as he fell she reached for his arm to help stabilize him, grabbing him under the right armpit.
Bryce wrapped around Cole in a textbook tackle, but rather than taking the boy to the ground, he rolled to the right, pulling him down. Corinne was yanked along as well.
The three of them tumbled to the left. Wayne ran from behind the Moai, anticipating Bryce’s move. He grabbed the three and dragged them together to safety while Jeff, Karn and the Israeli laid down cover fire.
Corinne collapsed on the floor, safe behind the giant Moai. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on not hyperventilating. She was struggling to keep it together.
As she regained her composure, she looked immediately to her left, where Cole lay on his back. Her first thought was that Bryce’s hit had been much harder than either of them anticipated, but she soon realized that something else was wrong.
Bryce was rifling through his pack, looking for something. Wayne and Jeff were firing on the advancing forces. Corinne placed her left hand next to Cole’s head, leaning over to try and see what was wrong. As her hand touched the floor, she felt warm liquid near his shoulder. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized it was blood.
Cole had been shot. Now, from the safety of the statue and the penetrating light of the crystal’s beam, she could see the open wound in his right shoulder; it was bleeding steadily and forming a large pool under him. Bryce looked at her.
“He was hit right when I got to him — it’s a flesh wound; went right through. But if we can’t get it bandaged up, he’ll lose a lot of blood.” He went back to rummaging through his pack.
Bryce finally found a syringe and a roll of gauze. After examining the syringe and removing its safety tip, he prepared to insert it next to Cole’s wound.
“Don’t!” Vilocek shouted, looking in Bryce’s direction. “I don’t know how his body will react to that — it hasn’t been fully tested!”
Bryce clenched his jaw. Without the medication, the blood wouldn’t clot quickly enough. He set down the syringe, and looked back at Corinne.
“Here — help me prop him up. We need to keep him relaxed so his heart slows down.” Corinne helped Bryce lift Cole to a sitting position. She wiped a single tear away with her free hand. Am I concerned about Cole this much?
Bryce started wrapping Cole’s shoulder to provide support, bringing the bandage behind his neck and finally around the seeping wound. Corinne watched him work, gently lifting Cole’s arm each time Bryce came around with the bandage. After a few wraps, Bryce brought the bandage down and prepared to cover the open wound. Corinne grabbed his wrist. “Wait.”
“Why? What — “ Bryce looked intently at the hole in Cole’s shoulder. A bubble of blood had formed, but didn’t pop. The seeping seemed to slow, then actually stopped.
“It looks like his blood’s thickening up already,” he said. He watched as the young man’s shoulders heaved slowly up and down with his breathing. Bryce used a section of gauze to wipe away some of the blood on the wound, and waited for the bleeding to continue.
But there was no more bleeding. The oozing had stopped, and when Bryce removed his hand, they could see the clean hole the bullet had left. “Are you seeing this?” he asked.
“It looks like it’s getting smaller. Is that normal?”
Bryce thought back to his own gunshot wound — months in the hospital, weeks in therapy. “Yeah. After a seriously long stay in a hospital and proper medical care, it’s normal. This is healing right now.”
As they watched, the hole diminished to a barely noticeable mark on his shoulder, and Bryce wiped away more blood. He broke out into a grin. “Whatever he’s got inside him seems to be not only stopping the bleeding, it’s actually healing the wound!”
“I think he’s waking up!” Corinne said, as Cole’s eyes beginning to flitter and he let out a small yawn.
Slowly, his cheeks regained their color, and he coughed and cracked his eyes open a slit.
“Cole!” Corinne was almost laughing. “How do you feel
?”
He coughed again, clearing his throat. “Not too great, I guess.” He tried to move his shoulder and winced. After a few more seconds, he opened his eyes completely and shook his head a bit. “Actually, I am starting to feel better now — my shoulder feels okay — I just have a headache.” His shoulder now looked completely healed; only a few streaks of dried blood remained. Bryce couldn’t believe what had just happened — whatever was turning Cole’s skin blue was also acting as a rapid platelet-dispersal , causing the open wound to heal and rebuild at an extremely rapid pace.
Vilocek had been watching from his hiding place. Bryce looked in his direction, raising his eyebrows. Vilocek nodded, and frowned a bit. It was as if he was deep in thought, calculating. Bryce turned his attention back to the battle.
It seemed at first that they were holding their own, keeping the Egyptians at bay. Then Bryce realized that the Egyptians weren’t trying to overrun his position; they were only advancing to the central area, where the square shaft was in the temple floor. There they stopped, forming a perimeter around the shaft, and Madu Jabari himself walked forward and peered into the open hole.
He’s going for the crystal, Bryce thought.
And if what he had just witnessed with Cole was any indication of what this crystal was capable of, he was starting to understand how important it was to get to it first.
“Okay, Captain,” Vilocek said. “You win — let’s get around the sides. They’ve still got to get down that shaft, so that should buy us time. There’s no way we’re going to get through their perimeter anyway — let’s see if we can flank them, or at least split up their forces.”
They took turns running out the front door of the temple, turning at the entrance to lay cover fire for the next person in line. When they were all out, they followed Vilocek around the right side of the temple. Bryce took a last look inside, and saw five men peel off from the rest of the group to chase after them.
