by carl ashmore
‘Here we are … Kaieteur Falls,’ Uncle Percy said, aiming the campervan at the shoreline. He steered Bertha over the muddy bank onto hard turf and brought her to a halt, before turning to Becky and Joe. ‘The jungle is far too dense to take Bertha so we’ll be on foot for the rest of the journey. Oh, and you’d better put these on just in case we come across any locals.’ He passed over two pairs of Transvocalisers, one for Becky, one for Joe, which they applied to their necks and ears as they had done before.
Exiting Bertha, Becky’s gaze trailed the river as it vanished on the horizon. Despite being some distance away from the waterfall’s edge, the sound was already thunderous.
‘Would you like to see the Falls?’ Uncle Percy shouted over the din.
Becky nodded eagerly. ‘Yes, please.’
‘Good, but don’t get too close to the river,’ Uncle Percy replied. ‘It’s riddled with Piranhas.’ He turned and started out along the narrow riverbank.
‘Of course it is,’ Becky muttered. She followed Uncle Percy until he came to a small rocky outcrop damp from spray. The sound of the waterfall was so loud it shook the very ground.
‘Take a look … but be careful,’ Uncle Percy said, pointing ahead. ‘It’s rather slippy and there’s an eight hundred and twenty feet drop on the other side.’
With a gulp, Becky crept closer to the sandstone edge, stopping a few feet away and peering over. Her mouth fell agape. She felt as though she were on top of the world. The spray below created a milk-white cloud through which she could see water smashing onto rocks and an endless expanse of rainforest that stretched as far as the eye could see. Hundreds of swifts zoomed headlong into the waterfall to their nests somewhere behind the curtain of cascading water.
Uncle Percy noted Becky’s look of wonder. ‘It’s the largest single drop waterfall in the world and over four times as high as Niagara Falls. It’s a very rare and beautiful thing.
‘It’s breath-taking,’ Becky replied.
Joe, however, wasn’t impressed at all. ‘Maybe, but it’s not El Dorado,’ he said coolly. ‘And that’s why we’re here.’
‘Perhaps you’re right, Joe,’ Uncle Percy replied. ‘Then let’s go and see if Sir Walt’s suppositions are correct, shall we?’
Instinctively, Joe’s fingers teased the grip of his sword. ‘Let’s do that.’
Uncle Percy unfurled Raleigh’s map and studied it closely. ‘Now obviously this isn’t the most detailed map, but it appears we should head in that direction.’ He gestured to the east. ‘So stay on your guard and keep your eyes open … the Guyanese rainforest is fascinating but it is also home to some of the most - err – uncommon creatures known to man.’
Becky detected something strange in his tone. ‘What kind of uncommon creatures?’
‘Nothing to worry too much about.’
‘Too much?’
‘It’s the rainforest, inevitably there are creatures that will … shall we say defend themselves if they believe they’re in danger.’
Becky was getting increasingly concerned. ‘For example?’
‘Well, Theraphosa blondi, for instance … the South American Goliath Birdeater.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘It’s the world’s largest arachnid.’
‘That’s a spider!’ Joe said, grinning at Becky, whose face had turned pale. ‘Becks hates spiders. How big is it?’
Uncle Percy knew he’d given the wrong example. ‘It doesn’t matter how big it is.’
‘Go on,’ Joe pressed. ‘Tell us …’
‘As big as a puppy,’ Uncle Percy mumbled.
‘A puppy?’ Becky gasped.
‘Yes.’
‘What kind of puppy?’ Joe pressed.
‘Does that really matter?’
‘And is it poisonous?’
‘It is,’ Uncle Percy sighed. He smiled guiltily at Becky. ‘But don’t worry, it’s not deadly to humans. There are much deadlier spiders in this jungle…’ It was only after he’d finished he realised how much worse he’d made the situation. ‘Sorry, Becky, I only meant –’
‘Do you want to stop talking now?’ she said.
‘Perhaps I should.’
The moment they entered the jungle, Becky felt eyes upon them from all sides. Life was simply everywhere. An electric-blue morpho butterfly fluttered above her; mosquitoes buzzed round her ears; parrots screeched from branches overhead. The air was damp and suffocating and within seconds her shirt clung to her figure like glue. She was not happy at all.
They had only moved a few steps when a tremendous scream rent the air. In a flash, Joe had extended his Joe-Bow. ‘What’s that?’ he said.
‘It’s just a howler monkey,’ Uncle Percy replied. ‘Nothing to worry about - they’re common round these parts.’
Becky wished with all her heart they weren’t.
As they advanced, a thick mist settled between the trees, illuminated by the few shreds of sunlight penetrating the treetops.
After ten minutes, Becky heard a low hooting sound, eerie and unnerving. It was coming from a solid wall of trees that blocked the way ahead. She looked up. Dangling from their branches were tubes of bamboo cut into different lengths, secured by coils of twine. It was then she heard Joe’s voice.
‘Look at these,’ he said, pointing at the trunk of the nearest tree.
Becky trailed his finger and saw that etched ornately into the gnarled bark were very distinct human faces, their mouths open as if in agony. Her gaze shifted from tree to tree. They all had identical symbols carved into them, from root to crown. ‘What are they?’
‘They’re warnings,’ Uncle Percy replied grimly. ‘I’ve seen similar ones before … but nothing like this. There are thousands of them.’
‘Who made them?’ Becky asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Uncle Percy replied. ‘It could be the Patamona tribe, an ancient Amerindian people from this region, but there are so many tribes in Guyana it’s impossible to tell which one. Still, whoever made them … they were certainly at pains to stress their point…’
‘And what’s that?’ Joe asked.
‘Do not enter.’
His words triggered a heavy silence in all of them.
‘So what’re we going to do?’ Becky said finally.
Joe looked at her as if she was speaking a different language. ‘We’re entering!’ he said. He stepped forward and was immediately swallowed by the undergrowth.
With a sigh, Uncle Percy raised his sword and said, ‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more...’ He followed Joe in.
Dread filling her, Becky trailed them both into the trees.
As they pressed forward, the rainforest assumed an increasingly sinister air, like a dark forest in a chilling fairy-tale. The trees grew taller, blacker and misshapen, their pendulous leaves heavy and monstrous like giant hands. Even the birds had lost their voice. Only the raucous chatter of monkeys met their ears.
It was then a strange sensation swept over Becky. She had a crushing sense of familiarity with everything around her – like déjà vu, but stronger, much stronger. She had been here before. Her vision had come true.
She froze.
Joe noticed. ‘This is what you saw in your vision, isn’t it?’
Becky nodded slowly. ‘Yes.’
‘We’re nearly at El Dorado,’ Joe said, scanning the area. Then his eyes locked on something in the undergrowth. ‘We must be close!’ He pointed forward.
She looked but already knew what he was pointing at: the gigantic golden statue of a king seated on an ornate throne.
‘I think you’re right, Joe,’ Uncle Percy said, mopping his forehead with a handkerchief.
‘Is that – is that solid gold?’ Joe asked.
‘Unquestionably,’ Uncle Percy replied. ‘And it’s precisely as you described, Becky.’
Becky felt conflicted. This was the first time she had proof she could foresee the future. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it. ‘Yes,’ she replied
in a quiet voice. As if in a dreamlike state, she approached the statue, transfixed. It was even more impressive than she remembered. As she studied the intricate detail, her eyes were drawn to the object cradled reverently in the king’s hands. ‘And he’s holding a cup … a chalice.’
‘So if the statue is the gateway to El Dorado,’ Joe said, ‘Are you gonna get your Missus and we’ll go and find it?’
Uncertainty flashed across Uncle Percy’s face. ‘If you’re talking about Lady Raleigh then I’m not sure I should –’
‘You are going to get her,’ Becky cut in firmly.
‘But it could be dangerous.’
‘I understand you want to protect her but you gave your word,’ Becky insisted. ‘And more importantly so did I.’
Uncle Percy hesitated as if he was going to say something but changed his mind. ‘I suppose you’re right.’ He raised his right cuff and input six digits on his portravella. ‘I’ll see you in a moment.’ At once, tentacles of light zigzagged up his arm, before spreading across his body. In an explosion, he vanished.
‘Do you think he does fancy her?’ Joe asked Becky.
Becky was on the verge of replying when a flickering orb of light appeared at the spot Uncle Percy had stood. Growing in size, it exploded, leaving two figures standing in its wake.
Becky stared kindly at Lady Raleigh, who was trembling. ‘You’re okay, Lady Raleigh, it’s over now.’
Lady Raleigh was lost for words. ‘By the saints, I have ne’er felt such an irregular occurrence.’
‘The first time’s always the worst,’ Joe said.
Lady Raleigh tried to compose herself. ‘You really do journey the ages like a sailor doth the ocean.’
‘We do,’ Uncle Percy replied. ‘And now you have your wish. You’re in Guyana … at the gateway to El Dorado.’
Lady Raleigh’s gaze fell upon the statue. Eyes widening, she walked over to it. ‘And is this pure gold?’
‘As pure as you, M’lady,’ Uncle Percy said with a wry smile.
‘And the city?’ Lady Raleigh said. ‘Where is the city?’
‘We’re close,’ Uncle Percy said.
Lady Raleigh’s eyes misted over. ‘To think my beloved Walter hath walked these steps does me good.’
‘And your late son … Wyatt.’
‘Yes,’ Lady Raleigh replied. ‘My beloved son.’ She approached Uncle Percy and took his hand in hers. She bowed and kissed it softly. ‘Sire, I give you gramercy for bringing me to this place.’
‘It’s where you should be,’ Uncle Percy replied. ‘I see that now. However, I must warn you the next stage could be perilous.’
‘I am prepared, M’lord.’
‘I’m sure you are,’ Uncle Percy said. ‘Then we should get going. Unless I’m mistaken, this is the point where things get very interesting …’
Chapter 27
The Lost City
Becky was immediately impressed by Lady Raleigh’s demeanour. Despite the bizarre nature of the situation, she handled herself with such confidence that Becky couldn’t help but think of her as an excellent potential suitor for Uncle Percy, despite his outward reticence.
As they disappeared into the undergrowth, Joe took a last lingering look at the King’s statue and muttered, ‘I’m comin’ back for you, mate.’
With each step, Becky’s pulse rate quickened. If the statue was indeed the gateway to El Dorado then something remarkable could surface at any moment. But what about Sir Walter Raleigh’s warning about the Ewaipanoma?
Could they really exist?
The trees thinned slightly as they crossed a shallow stream that wound its way to a towering expanse of rock, shrouded by vegetation, which divided the rainforest like a vast prison wall.
All at once, Becky noticed an eerie silence had settled all around. Even the monkeys had stopped chattering. Glancing to her right, she saw an opening in the rock face. She was about to mention it when –
From nowhere, the crunch of snapping branches echoed; great swathes of leaves rustled and crackled overhead, as if the trees themselves had woken angrily from a contented sleep. Then a bloodcurdling shriek echoed, sounding both vaguely human, yet as far from human as could be.
‘God’s blood!’ Lady Raleigh yelled.
‘Tell me that’s a howler monkey?’ Joe said.
‘I’d like to,’ Uncle Percy replied. ‘It’s not.’
From over their heads, a great figure leapt to the ground, landing with the grace of a dancer despite its huge size.
The creature looked simply bizarre, unlike anything any of them had ever seen before; it was petrifying in its absurdity. Two large, shark-black eyes, lidless and dull, were set above its breastbone, below which were two slits for a nose and a mouth that spanned its stomach. Oversize shoulder muscles disfigured its headless torso and its powerful hands gripped a long spear whittled from bone.
As Lady Raleigh let out an ear-slashing scream, the Ewaipanoma’s mouth opened wide, exposing a row of saw-like teeth and a tongue as thick and black as an eel.
Becky didn’t know whether to faint or vomit.
‘You’ve gotta be kidding,’ Joe gulped.
‘Not to worry,’ Uncle Percy said, raising his pistol and taking aim. He fired.
The blast struck the Ewaipanoma in its mouth, encircling it in a cocoon of light. With a CRACK, it vanished. ‘See… simple as tha –’
Uncle Percy’s words were cut short by a mass of repulsive shrieks from above. Terrified, Becky’s gaze shifted upward as the trees erupted with life; dozens of Ewaipanoma were swinging down, landing all around, teeth bared in fury.
‘Good heavens,’ Uncle Percy said.
Joe sent out arrows at a rapid rate. ‘There are too many of them!’ he yelled. Then he had an idea. Plunging his hand into the red quiver, he withdrew a Thunderbolt. Fixing it to his bowstring, he targeted a tree and fired. The arrow thumped into the tree’s trunk, before exploding in a column of fire, which mushroomed outward, setting ablaze everything in close proximity.
Startled and alarmed, the Ewaipanoma halted their attack, screaming wildly.
In that instant, Becky seized her opportunity. ‘There’s a gap in the rock. Follow me!’ She grabbed Lady Raleigh, who had frozen with fear, and together they powered over to it. Uncle Percy and Joe sped after them.
Entering the gap, they found themselves in a narrow tunnel, pitch-black and cool, a hundred metres in length, leading to daylight beyond.
Too scared to worry about slipping on the damp floor, Becky charged up the passageway, her pounding heartbeat masking all other sounds. She glanced back. The Ewaipanoma had overcome their fear of the explosion and were swarming into the tunnel now, gaining fast. What could they do? Through her panic, an idea entered her head. She turned to Joe, who was just a few feet away. ‘Joe,’ she puffed. ‘Blow the tunnel!’
Joe understood immediately. As he ran, he pulled free two Thunderbolts.
As they emerged into brilliant sunlight, Joe swivelled round, and in one fluid movement attached the Thunderbolts to his bowstring. He fired into the blackness.
BOOOOOOM.
In a blinding flash of fire and smoke, the tunnel ceiling exploded. With an ear-splitting crack, the ceiling collapsed, tonnes of rock pounded down, crushing all in its path, sealing the tunnel forever.
The Ewaipanoma never stood a chance.
Gulping air into her lungs, Becky stared back at the giant cloud of dust where the tunnel had been.
‘Well done, Joe,’ Uncle Percy panted. ‘You saved our lives.’
‘Thanks to your Thunderbolts.’
Becky approached Lady Raleigh and touched her arm gently. ‘Are you okay, Lady Raleigh?’
Although clearly shaken, Lady Raleigh said, ‘I am, child.’
Just then, Becky’s attentions were distracted by a golden butterfly which fluttered past her eyes. Following its path, she was astounded by what she saw. All around, the dark, dank rainforest had been replaced by a very different scene. Flowe
rs flourished in every colour, sunlight burst through a copse of trees illuminating a wide pool of the bluest water. It was like they’d stepped into another world entirely – an enchanted world, one flushed with boundless beauty and magic.
Becky was about to speak when a doe with a dazzling golden pelt padded lightly from the trees to the pool, where it knelt down and drank from the water; a swan, coloured too in golden tones, swam past it, carving the water gracefully.
A stunned hush swept through them all.
Then Becky’s eyes widened further. Through the trees, a great golden wall rose from the ground like something in a fairy-tale.
‘Oh my God!’ Joe breathed. ‘El Dorado. It’s actually real!’
‘It really is,’ Uncle Percy replied in a whisper.
‘And this Holy Chalice … it fashioned this from nought?’ Lady Raleigh said.
‘Apparently,’ Uncle Percy replied.
‘Then we should locate it,’ Lady Raleigh said.
Uncle Percy flashed her a smile. ‘That’s why we’re here.’
As one, the four of them set off, passing through the trees slowly, humbly, silently, their eyes never straying from the astonishing sight before them.
Becky trembled with awe as she approached an open draw bridge. Barely breathing for fear the noise would shatter the moment, she crossed the bridge, Sir Walter Raleigh’s words echoing in her head: ‘‘Tis a city sculpted by God’s own hand... a haven of true wonder and lavish spectacle…’
And she knew he was right.
It felt like she was entering the very gates of heaven itself.
Chapter 28
Down the Valley of the Shadow
Entering El Dorado would be a moment none of them would ever forget. Bathed in gold, they passed through an enclosure with a golden fountain sprinkling water into a basin below. Golden towers and turrets and spires spiked the crystal blue sky. An unearthly, effulgent glow fell all around, never once burning their eyes, filling them with an inner peace, a euphoric serenity they could have never thought possible.
For a moment, Becky wondered how the city had been built, but knew ultimately there was no point dwelling on it. Higher powers had been at work, ones she could not possibly begin to understand.
