The Lost Continent

by Percival Constantine

  “And who are you?” asked Laki.

  “This is Asami.” Elisa looked at Davalos. “You're not the only one who made a new friend today.”

  “You see the way she changed?” asked Davalos. “You're some sort of shape-shifter, right? Let me guess...skin walker?”

  Asami rolled her copper eyes. “Kitsune.”

  “...right, I knew that.”

  “You said magic lit these fires, how so?” asked Laki.

  “Magic to you anyway. But to the Acolytes of Lemuria, it's a form of science discovered by the Naa'cal.” Asami took point and motioned for the others to follow. “Watch your step, it gets dangerous from here.”

  “Dangerous my perfectly-sculpted ass,” chuckled Davalos. “What's so da—”

  He stepped on a stone that was colored brown instead of gray and it collapsed beneath his weight. Davalos found his body falling into the large gap when a furry, clawed hand reached out and grabbed him by his collar.

  “That's what's dangerous.” Asami pulled him to safety and dropped him on the ground. Her hand shifted back to its human shape. “Stay off the colored stones.”

  Elisa came up beside Asami. “You should have let him fall.”

  “We may need him later.”

  “For what?”

  “I don't know, but I'd rather keep him alive for nothing than let him die only to find out later we could have used his help.” She tapped Elisa on the forehead. “It's called giving yourself options. You should look into it.”

  “I'm starting to hate you,” said Elisa.

  “Good, then we're even.”

  The four continued moving through the temple and the torches were now spread further apart. When they reached the end, there was almost no light left, just some flickers of flames to show that they had reached a large staircase heading down into the black.

  “So now what?” asked Davalos.

  “We keep going,” said Asami.

  “Hell no, it's pitch-black.”

  “Aww, what's the matter? Are you afraid of the dark?” asked Asami.

  Davalos scoffed. “Don't make me laugh.”

  “Good.” Asami shoved him forward and Davalos cried out as he fell forward, his body rolling down the steps. Laki winced as she watched him fall into the darkness and heard his cries.

  “Did you have to do that?” she asked.

  “He'll live,” said Asami.

  “How do you know? We have no idea what's down there,” said Laki.

  “You don't, but I can see in the dark.” Asami's copper eyes seemed to glow as she smiled at Laki and then descended the staircase herself.

  Laki shook her head. “What have I gotten myself into?”

  “Welcome to my world,” said Elisa. “Come on, let's keep going. Last thing I want is either of those two getting their hands on the tablets before us.”

  “I see that's some friend you made,” said Laki.

  “I've fought for my life more than once against things like her,” said Elisa. “I'm not exactly trusting of this, especially when kitsune are famous tricksters. But she seems to know a lot about this, so we need her help for now. And apparently, she needs ours.”

  “You mean she says she needs our help.”

  Elisa nodded. “When you're right, you're right.” She began her descent down the steps. “But what else do we have to go on?”

  “I know we don't have a choice,” said Laki as she began to follow. “Just saying I don't like it.”

  When Elisa and Laki reached the foot of the stone steps, Asami and Davalos were waiting. Asami gestured towards the only source of light in the area, a small opening a few hundred feet ahead. “Someone left a path for us.”

  “Or a trap,” said Elisa.

  Asami smiled. “Part of the fun is not knowing which.”

  “Right, of course,” said Elisa.

  “Hold up,” said Davalos. He held his lighter up against the wall. “There's an inscription here.”

  Elisa and Laki approached him, trying to read what was written there. Laki squinted a little.

  “Naga-Mayan?” asked Davalos.

  “No, Sanskrit actually.” Laki looked at the others. “Why would they leave this in a language that could be understood when the Churchward Tablets are written in Naga-Mayan?”

  “Or the Keystone for that matter,” said Elisa.

  “There's an easy answer for that—it's fun,” said Asami. “Most people would simply turn back after they saw that inscription. Putting it in a language they could understand, that gives them hope that they could reach them. And then, even if they were able to pass all the dangers, they'd be in for a surprise when they found they had no way of reading the tablets.”

  “So what you're saying is the Naa'cal were sadistic,” said Elisa.

  “Not the Naa'cal, the Acolytes of Lemuria who built this temple,” said Asami. “And not sadistic, just crafty.”

  “So what's it say?” asked Davalos.

  “Give me that.” Laki took the lighter from Davalos and held it over the inscription to read it better. “...that can't be right.”

  “What is it?” asked Elisa.

  “'It takes more than strength to reach the light,'” said Laki. “That's probably wrong, though. There's nothing between us and that door.”

  “Why would it be wrong? Isn't this your language?” asked Davalos.

  “It's an ancient dialect, best I can muster is a rough translation,” said Laki.

  Elisa looked at Asami. “You're the one with the night vision. What do you see that we can't?”

  Asami shook her head as her eyes flashed. “Nothing out of the ordinary. Pillars and statues lining the walls but that's it. I can't see anything that's possibly threatening.”

  “Alright, then let's get moving.” Davalos stole the lighter back from Laki and began walking towards the lit door. As soon as he reached the center of the room, a rumbling echoed throughout. He stopped in his tracks and started to look around. “Someone please tell me that was their stomach.”

  The hall lit up and the rumbling continued as the statues started to twitch. They moved their limbs and jumped from their platforms, moving towards the four intruders. One of them lunged for Davalos, a curved sword crafted from stone in its hand. Davalos jumped to the side to avoid the blade.

  “Is this what you meant when you said we'd need him?” asked Elisa.

  Asami growled in response, fur beginning to grow on her face as her snout and jaw elongated. A tail crept out from under her jacket and her fingers extended and sprouted claws as well as fur. She sprung at one of the statues, clawing at its face, but barely leaving a mark.

  Laki started firing blindly at the statues, most of the bullets missing completely. A few shots struck, but quickly ricocheted off. One ricochet flew right back at her and would have gone directly through her head had Davalos not pulled her to the ground.

  “Give me that damn thing!” He grabbed the Zastava from her. “You're going to get yourself killed pulling that shit. More importantly, you're going to get me killed!”

  “Do you have any better ideas?” asked Laki.

  “Well...” Davalos paused. “...no, not particularly.”

  Laki moved for cover behind a pillar and thought about the inscription she read. “It takes more than strength to reach the light...more than strength...”

  Elisa blocked one of the statues’ blows with her kukri, but found herself being forced down to her knees by its strength. She slid forward, moving between the statue's legs and sprung up once her head was clear. The statue turned and brought its blade down and Elisa rolled aside, the blade barely missing her head.

  She looked ahead and saw another statue coming towards her. An idea popped into her head and she rushed towards it with the first statue giving chase. The second statue swung once she was in range but she ducked then jumped onto its shoulders. The first statue approached and Elisa readied herself. She timed her movement just right, so when the first statue raised its sword in an arc
and brought it down, she dropped from the second statue's shoulders and fell to the ground and watched as the first statue carved the second clean in two.

  Elisa lay there for a few moments, just watching the destroyed statue and then she started to laugh. Getting back to her feet, she gave it one last look and her excitement went to horror in an instant as the destroyed statue rose into two statues instead of one.

  “You've got to be kidding...”

  She backed towards the center of the room with Lucas and Asami on either side of her. Elisa looked at them as the statues surrounded all three. “Lucas, that thermite is starting to look pretty appealing right now.”

  “Don't worry, if they kill us, they'll be taken out,” he said.

  “I'm so relieved,” muttered Asami.

  “Wait...where's Laki?” asked Elisa.

  “She was right...” Davalos stopped when he saw Laki creeping along the side wall. With the statues distracted, she was able to make it to the doorway with ease and once there, she pushed her hand up against something on the wall.

  Instantaneously, all the statues stopped their progress and returned to their spots along the walls before freezing in place.

  Elisa walked towards the door where Laki stood and threw her arms around her friend. “I don't know what you did, but that was amazing!”

  “The inscription,” said Laki. “It said it takes more than strength to reach the light. Fighting the statues head-on is suicide, you have to use stealth to get to the shut-off switch.”

  “So you used the rest of us as bait while you went for the switch,” said Asami. “At least there's hope for one of you talking monkeys.”

  “Don't start celebrating, we're not out of the woods yet,” said Laki.

  CHAPTER 12

  The quartet descended a stone, spiral staircase around a large pillar. Their path was lit by torches attached to the wall and just as the ones in the opening, they had no seeming way of being fueled.

  Asami took point ahead of the others, her copper eyes shimmering whenever she passed through a shadow. Laki lagged at the rear of the group with Lucas and Elisa walking between the two in the center.

  “So how'd you hook up with the werewolf?” he asked.

  “Kitsune.”

  “Same thing.”

  Elisa rolled her eyes. “No, they're not. A kitsune is a fox spirit. Known for their intelligence and cunning. How many werewolves have you met who fit that description?”

  Lucas chuckled. “That's one of the things I always liked about you, Elsie. How worked up you get over these freaks.”

  “As long as they keep to their world, I have no problems with them,” said Elisa.

  “Not always the way you felt.”

  “I was young and stupid, trying to use what my parents taught me for profit instead of for the betterment of the world.”

  “Too bad, we made a pretty good team.” Lucas nudged her with his elbow. “Had some good times, didn't we?”

  Elisa pulled away in disgust. “I don't remember any good times, Davalos.”

  “Not what you said at the time.” Lucas glanced back at Laki. “You've got a nice little companion back there. We bonded quite a bit on the ride over here.”

  Elisa snapped. “Stay away from her, I know what you're really like. And I don't want to see you corrupting her.”

  “Maybe you should've thought of that before you included her in this.”

  “I didn't choose to bring her in, Max did.”

  Lucas laughed. “Ah Finch, how is the crusty, old elitist doing these days?”

  “Leave Max out of this.”

  “He's the one who stole you away from me, remember?” asked Lucas. “In case you've forgotten, I tend to hold a grudge.”

  Elisa shook her head. “Max showed me I was wasting my skills running around with you, pulling those jobs for some cheap profit, not caring who got hurt in the process.”

  “Cheap? Listen babe, say what you want about those jobs. They were dangerous, they were rough, but one thing they weren't was cheap.”

  “In your opinion,” said Elisa. “What you're doing with your life, you could do better. I know you.”

  Lucas chuckled. “Few moments ago, you were talking like knowing me was a bad thing.”

  “What you're like now, but I've seen what you could be like,” said Elisa. “Why do you think I haven't killed you in all the time we've crossed paths since I left your side?”

  “That's not your choice, Elsie. You haven't killed me because you couldn't.”

  Elisa gave him a smug glance. “You can believe whatever you want, Lucas. We both know I've had opportunities. And we both know you're not as hard as you like to pretend.”

  Lucas cocked an eyebrow. “Oh do we?”

  “You could have killed me when you grabbed the Keystone off me but you didn't. Why's that? Soft spot for the 'good ol' days?'”

  “I just think it's more fun to watch you scamper about,” said Lucas.

  “Don't worry then, you'll get to watch me scamper away very soon,” said Elisa. “With the tablets.”

  “Nice to see you haven't lost your sense of humor.”

  ***

  Asami slowed her pace as they came to the foot of the steps. The chamber here was well-lit and her eyes dulled. Lucas came up to her side. “So what now?”

  “Now we figure out what they've got in store for us here.”

  “What do you mean? Look around,” said Lucas, motioning with his arm at the empty chamber. “Nothing's here, no inscriptions or anything. It's all good.”

  Elisa drew the kukri as she came up by Lucas' side. “The last time it was 'all good,' stone statues came to life and started attacking us.”

  “You're wrong.”

  “Oh? I imagined all that?”

  Lucas smiled. “No, I never said it was all good.”

  “Just stay close, okay?” Elisa preceded ahead slowly. “And don't touch anything.”

  Asami pointed to Laki. “You. Brainy chick.”

  “I have a name,” said Laki.

  “I don't care,” said Asami. “See if you find any other inscriptions, anything that we can translate.”

  “You mean your 'fox sense' isn't tingling?” asked Laki.

  “Don't get cute.”

  Elisa stepped carefully through the chamber, her eyes fixed on the ground. She watched for where she should step, trying to ensure she didn't make a wrong move anywhere like Lucas did at the entrance. She could see a mural painted on the ground, made up of the different colored tiles and covered with Sanskrit along the edges.

  “Laki, I think I found something.”

  Laki came up to her and knelt before the mural. She adjusted her glasses, taking in all the characters spread out but then she shook her head. The mural depicted people falling into a deep chasm and at the bottom was some other figure surrounded by stacks of bodies.

  “Admittedly my Sanskrit's not that great, but I can't make heads or tails of this,” said Elisa.

  “That's because of the way it's arranged,” said Laki. “I'm not sure which direction I should read from.”

  “Probably some kind of trick,” said Lucas.

  Elisa stepped into the center of the mural, trying to find a proper angle. She then looked up to the ceiling to see if anything up there could offer any clues but it was pitch black.

  “...anyone feel that?” asked Asami.

  “Feel what?” asked Lucas.

  “Shh...” Her eyes darted about as she slowly stepped around in a circle. “Almost like...an earthquake. But not strong.”

  “I just felt it,” said Elisa. “...there, again!”

  “The tremors are getting closer together,” said Asami.

  “The hell's that mean?” asked Lucas. “I'm getting a little sick of all this cryptic bullshit.”

  “Then you're in the wrong line of work, cowboy,” said Asami.

  The tremors increased in frequency, size and sound. What was first silent then became a low rumble and now
, that rumble grew even louder as the entire chamber violently shook.

  Lucas lost his balance and fell on his arm. He struggled to pull himself back up as he looked at Asami. “You can't blame this one on me! I didn't touch a damn thing!”

  “No...I think this is supposed to happen,” said Laki. “The inscription, the mural—they're just a trap! Lure you in, try and decipher it and then—ELISA!”

  Elisa felt the tremors worst of all. She had fallen to her knees and couldn't seem to gain enough footing to pull herself up. Her crystal eyes shone with fear once she witnessed the cracks appearing in the mural. Elisa tried to jump to the edge of the mural just as the ground beneath her collapsed and she drove the kukri into the stone to try and keep herself up.

  “Elsie!” Lucas rushed over to her side, the tremors now having ceased. Elisa hung over the large, empty chasm, the only thing keeping her up were the kukri.

  One final tremor came and it was all it took to cause Elisa to lose her grip on the daggers and she fell with her companions forced to do nothing more but watch as her body vanished into the darkness.

  CHAPTER 13

  When Elisa regained consciousness, she felt cold dirt beneath her face. Her fingers curled into fists, the soft soil collecting in her palms. She raised her body up and stood on her knees, looking around and seeing several torches lighting the walls.

  She looked up the deep chasm and could see where she fell from. Elisa got to her feet and examined the walls of the chasm. There was no way she could climb back up—the stone was too slick and the crevices in it weren't deep enough to get a finger-hold. Instinctively, her hands went to the sheaths affixed to the back of her belt but they were empty. She remembered she tried to use the kukri to prevent her fall and they must still be embedded at the top.

  There was a small doorway nearby, but iron bars blocked her path. Elisa tried to see if she could squeeze through them with no luck. She'd have to try to find another way out, but how she was going to do that, she had no idea.