by Leela Ash
“Mel!” a voice called from a distance.
She spun around on the leather coffee house chair and scanned the crowd of fellow travelers placing orders, swimming around duty-free shops and having pre-flight drinks to calm their nerves. She saw his hand in the air before she saw his face, but nonetheless she knew it was him. Jake stood tall and proud as he marched through the crowd to reach her, and Melissa stood up reluctantly to greet him.
“How’s it going?” he asked as he slung his backpack down to the floor by her table.
“Great,” Melissa smiled, unsure of what else to say.
“So I guess this is kind of weird,” Jake shrugged. “The two of us, heading off for a fortnight of fun in France.”
He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. Melissa found herself wanting to wince.
“Yeah,” she smiled. “It is a little strange…” She looked down at the floor and decided to go back to her seat. Tension between her and Jake had been mounting since the Christmas party when they’d both gotten obscenely drunk and ended up getting to know each other a little too well in the lab’s stock cupboard. Melissa liked Jake a lot at first until she found out he had a fiancé at home. Now Melissa tried to avoid him at all costs and thought of him like the love rat that he was. She didn’t need someone like him in her life, and she was almost free until the original archaeologist planned for this expedition crashed his car and broke his leg, rendering him unable to travel. So now it was just the two of them traveling the eight-hour journey from JFK to Charles de Gaulle, and Melissa couldn’t wait to finally meet up with the rest of the crew so things weren’t so one-on-one.
“Guess I’ll get a drink then,” Jake said as he rooted for his wallet and crossed over to the counter.
Melissa watched him. Since the night they had sex in the laboratory, she knew that he had broken up with his fiancé, but she still couldn’t consider him a good choice for a boyfriend. There was something about him that made her skin crawl.
Melissa reached into her purse and pulled out her journal. She had been making notes and references ever since the cave was discovered, and she wanted to do nothing on the flight except continue recording her ideas and research theories. She had always been the type of girl to put her personal life on hold while she pursued her career, and her present situation was no exception. She would have to push Jake and their predicament to the very back of her mind while she threw herself into the excavation and investigation. This cave was still a secret to the world and what was down there no one truly knew.
She flipped open her laptop and opened a document she received the previous week. It said CONFIDENTIAL across the top and was only viewable to her by password. She still couldn’t believe what it said. She scanned the document again…
An underground cave-like structure has been discovered in the Dordogne region of Southwest France by farmers working in the area. Early reports suggest the presence of prehistoric paintings similar to those of the Lascaux Caves in the same region. The Lascaux Caves have been sealed to researchers and all visitors since the discovery of fungi which began destroying the paintings, rendering them irreparable. If this recent discovery of a new structure is what it appears to be, this may be one of the most significant pre-historic discoveries of all time…
Her heart was beating fast in her chest as she looked at the initial snapshots captured by the farmers on their cellphones as they loitered at the opening to the cave. It was an incredible sight, even for someone like Melissa who had spent her whole life studying similar images. She knew this was something big, and she couldn’t wait to get there.
2.
The flight across the Atlantic went without incident except Jake making a cringe-worthy suggestion that maybe they should join the mile-high club. Melissa had flashed him a fake smile and turned her shoulder to block him out as she read through her notes and jotted down some other things that came to mind.
Jake had never been on a serious expedition before, and it was becoming more obvious with each passing moment. His inexperience oozed from him and his questions to Melissa were both irrelevant and irritating. When he finally drank enough vodka to send him off into a soundless sleep, Melissa closed her journal and picked up the headphones. She hadn’t had the time to watch a movie for years, and she was determined to take advantage of the opportunity while she knew Jake couldn’t hassle her.
As she flipped through the endless choices of horror, action and comedies she finally settled on an innocent-looking rom-com and made herself comfortable. If she didn’t have real love in her life, she could always live it through someone else’s fictional ideal. She smiled and wrapped the airline blanket around her as she settled into her seat. By the time the movie finished, they would pretty much be there and the next phase of their journey would begin… A three-hour train ride from Paris to Bordeaux.
Charles de Gaulle was hectic and stressful as Melissa and Jake waited for their bags. Exhaustion coursed through her and all she wanted to do was climb into bed.
“Come on, Mel,” Jake chirped as he raced ahead towards the taxi rank, “I don’t want to miss this goddam train.”
Melissa cursed him under her breath as she tried to keep up with him, mentally ripping him to shreds for not helping her with the heavy backpack she had slung over her shoulder.
Some gentleman you are, she thought. Not that I would expect anything less!
She couldn’t believe her terrible luck in having her first world discovery tarnished by Jake’s presence. If only another, more experienced archaeologist were by her side, they would have had an interesting and productive time. But now Melissa was going to be stuck carrying dead-weight Jake, explaining every aspect of the excavation to him and avoiding his lustful advances. The thought of going there again made her stomach churn. She was so angry with him for lying to her and taking advantage when she was drunk but also at herself for lowering her standards. She always knew Jake had a crush on her, and she could have avoided it. She should have known better than to trust a man like him. Someone so cocky and confident, it was more than arrogance. It was pure nastiness.
They jumped into the cab and swung out into the busy French traffic. It wasn’t far to the station but Jake still sat on edge, acting like they were going to miss it even though they had over an hour to spare.
He’s overcompensating now for his lack of capability, Melissa mused. It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than this, Jake…
After they paid the driver and made their way through the bustling station to the platform, Melissa threw her backpack down on the floor and sat down on top of it. She had been qualified in her field for almost six years, and she hadn’t roughed it like this since her student days when she and her friends had gone traveling across Europe. As she waited for the train to arrive, she felt a rush of nostalgia. She remembered trekking through the Italian Alps, inter-railing across France, Italy and Austria, and all of the people they had met along the way. It had been the most free and liberating time of her life, and she had never dreamed then that one day she would be back there working on something as high profile and important as this expedition.
“Here we go,” Jake broke her train of thought.
She looked up at him and was surprised to see him holding out his hand to help her to her feet. She reluctantly accepted and they stood side by side as the train heaved to a halt and they joined the rush to board.
They were the only two in their cabin room and Melissa kicked her feet up onto the opposite seat so Jake couldn’t be in her eye line. She sat by the window and watched the intense green of the French countryside roll by. It was lovely to be back in such a beautiful country and experiencing the culture once more.
“Where are the rest of the crew meeting us?” Jake asked. This was his first relevant question since they had met at the airport.
“At the hotel in Bordeaux,” Melissa replied. “We’re meeting the excavation leader there, and he’s going to debrief us all before we head over to the site in the
morning.”
“And then what?”
“What do you mean?” She looked up from her notebook and his eyes locked with hers.
“I mean, what do we just sit in our rooms and wait for morning to come?”
“That’s entirely up to you,” Melissa said sarcastically.
“Maybe we should head out and check out the town?” Jake asked with enthusiasm.
“Maybe not,” Melissa laughed. “I’m heading to bed… Don’t want to ruin tomorrow by being over tired.”
“Well then, maybe I should join you?” Jake wiggled his eyebrows.
“Shut up, Jake,” Melissa hissed. “Let’s get one thing straight: What happened with us was a terrible mistake, and I’m not going to spend the rest of the night avoiding your unwanted advances. Okay?” She said it with much more seriousness and force than she realized she had in her, and Jake sat back, completely chastised and shocked.
“Okay,” he said quietly. “I get it.”
“Good,” Melissa crossed her arms over her chest and looked back out of the window. Hopefully with that out of the way now, she would be able to enjoy the rest of the journey, both to Bordeaux and with whatever was to come after…
3.
The hotel in Bordeaux was in the center of the city’s historical square and much more exquisite than Melissa could have imagined. She had traveled away for expeditions before and had been put up in some nice places, but this was something else. It was the kind of hotel a couple would go to on their honeymoon, the sort royalty would check into while away on official business. Melissa marveled at the opulence of the décor and her mouth gaped open as she and Jake walked into the reception area. A huge hallway greeted them with gold leaf walls, six foot urns with luscious plant life and marble flooring that was ice cool on the balls of her feet as she rested her foot down and readjusted her shoe. There were some of the biggest chandeliers Melissa had ever seen, and candelabras adorned the top of every surface.
“Wow,” she said. “Looks like someone really came through for us…”
“You’re not wrong,” Jake gasped. “This place is insane.”
As they checked in, Melissa told the receptionist that they were with the Archaeologists Association and the girl behind the desk instantly changed her manner. She became overly friendly and presented them with their room keys, telling them they were on a private floor with the rest of their party.
As they followed the bell boy, who was carrying their bags on a trolley and wearing an adorable red jacket and matching cap, Melissa turned back to look at the hotel entryway… It was such a beautiful hotel. She had no idea why they had been taken there and why they were being treated so well.
Jake and Melissa’s rooms were thankfully at different ends of the same hallway so she didn’t have to worry about him pressing his ear to the wall and trying to hear her on the phone. She could imagine him doing something like that before coming and knocking on her door with blatant sexual bravado. She just hoped that after telling him off on the train, he had finally gotten the message.
As she entered her room, she stopped and stared in awe. It was a beautiful suite with rich red velvet curtains tumbling down the sides of the windows, a big separate living area with a bottle of wine on ice waiting for her and the biggest super king-sized bed she had ever seen. She tipped the bell boy, closed the door and ran straight over to it, flopped down and stretched out. She could hear the hustle and bustle from the square below through the open balcony doors, and she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. It almost seemed criminal that this would be the only real time she got to spend at the hotel, as come morning, she would be in full on work mode and heading over to the research site. As she rolled over, she noticed a large folder resting on the desk in the living area. She got to her feet and crossed over to it. It had her name embossed on the front, and when she opened it there was a welcome letter from Dr. Quattro, the leader of the expedition. It requested her to be present in the hotel’s business center at 9 pm. She checked her watch and realized it was almost eight. She put the folder down, quickly unzipped her bag and pulled out a change of clothes. She would have to shower quickly in order to get there in time, and she needed to revive herself after the past twenty-four hours of travel.
At 9 pm, she made her way down in the mirrored elevators with Jake and got off at floor three where the business center was located. There was a buzz in the hallway, and Melissa realized that there were a lot of people present for the welcoming…more than she had ever seen on expeditions before.
As she sat down in the conference room and looked around, there appeared to be people from all over the world. She tried to catch their titles on their name badges, but they weren’t clear enough, and by the time Dr. Quattro walked into the room, everyone around her erupted into applause.
“Thank you,” Dr. Quattro said as he waved out to the crowd and the lights dimmed. “First of all, I want to wish you a very warm welcome to Bordeaux… As you know, we are here for a very special reason, and I have put together a team of some of the best people in your respective fields… There has been a lot of privacy surrounding what was discovered for fear of either military or press interference, but now that we are all present, I am in a position to tell you a little more about what was found…”
The room was deadly silent as everyone hung onto his every word. Melissa’s heart was racing as she realized that this was different to anything she had done before… What had been found? And why was Dr. Quattro keeping it away from the military?
“As you know,” he continued, “a cave-like structure has been discovered at a site some miles from here. The location must remain confidential for now, so it will not be disclosed to you. Even tomorrow, you will travel in vehicles so you will not know where you are traveling.” Melissa looked at Jake and raised her eyebrows. She didn’t like the sound of this one bit…
“The Lascaux Caves and what we have found are not so dissimilar,” he continued, “except for one thing.” He paused and looked around the room seriously. “One of my men went in there and did not come out…”
A wave of whispers hissed around the room.
“Something in that cave took him,” he said as the hairs on the back of Melissa’s neck prickled. “And I do not mean an animal.” Dr. Quattro leaned forward onto his lectern. “I mean something is present in this cave… Something changed, opened and allowed our colleague to travel to another place.”
Everyone was talking now and looking around the room. No one seemed to understand what Dr. Quattro was getting at and Melissa was right there with them. She was so confused.
“What do you mean?” one man shouted from the crowd.
“Is he still alive?” another called after him.
“We don’t know,” Dr. Quattro said. “All we know is that something happened down there, something to do with the prehistoric paintings and the rock formations… Something aligned, a vortex of some kind opened, and he was swallowed whole. Something is down there and we need to find out what.”
Jake squeezed Melissa’s arm, and when she looked at him, he had panic written all over his face.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said.
The room around them was full of people shouting questions and demanding answers. All the doctor seemed able to tell them was that something terrible was lurking down there, and he had assembled so many people because he knew a lot would not want to take part in the expedition once it had been explained to them. Not all of the men and women around them were archaeologists; some were scientists, astronauts, astronomers and physics experts. For the first time in her career, Melissa felt truly intimidated. She didn’t know exactly what was happening, but she knew she wanted to be involved. Luckily, Jake looked like he was backing out. He got to his feet and walked to the end of the aisle, and Melissa watched him.
“Come on Mel,” he called after her. “This is all crackpot shit.”
She watched him as others hushed around them and wait
ed for her reaction. There was no way she was going to miss out on something this big, and it wasn’t her fault that Jake was too stupid and inexperienced to understand the significance of this discovery.
She shook her head at him and watched as he stormed out towards the main doors. Dr. Quattro lowered his head and raised his palms high towards the sky…
“Now is the time to follow if you don’t want to be involved,” he said, motioning after Jake as the doors swung lamely behind him.
Around twenty other people got to their feet and made a dash for the exits.
“Enjoy the rest of your time here in Bordeaux,” Dr. Quattro called after them.
Melissa looked around her and realized she was one of only a handful of people who had stayed.
“Right,” Dr. Quattro continued. “Now that we have separated the men from the boys, it looks like I have a team.”
Melissa smiled at him and at the others around her.
“Tomorrow is going to be a defining moment in your careers,” he said. “I can’t wait to introduce you to the caves.”
Melissa’s blood ran cold with anticipation, and as she walked back up to her room with an official secrecy document in her hands, she knew she was on the verge of something amazing. Whatever the day ahead was going to bring, she was sure that it was going to change her life.
4.
The next morning as Melissa boarded the bus that would take her to the excavation site, she was full of so much hope, fear and anticipation she didn’t know what to do with herself. She and the other members of the team all sat in silence as Dr. Quattro led them into the French countryside and out into the hills. She didn’t know where they were going or even how long it had taken them. Quattro had taken all of their cell phones, watches and electronic equipment in case they somehow interfered with what he thought may be some sort of electromagnetic field.
