The Awakening

by Tony Mazzarella

  “Remains? Of what?” asked Zerbino.

  “People, thousands of people. Their bones litter the floor in there, and apparently the pictures were drawn with the blood of the dead.”

  “No way!” mumbled Gustavo, as he fought the sleep that began to overtake him. “I need—to—see—for myself.”

  “What’s with him?” asked Antonio, knowing he had succumbed to the concoction Kirby created for him to add to the drinks.

  “I don’t know, but I’m feeling tired myself. I need to rest,” moaned Zerbino as he too fell asleep leaning against the rocks.”

  Having completed his mission, Antonio pulled out his phone and texted the others that the coast was clear. He surveyed the two sleeping men, hoping they would remain asleep long enough for them to escape into the catacombs. As the minutes passed, he began to hear the sound of engines approaching. Soon he could see the lights atop the Raptors getting larger as they approached swiftly. The first Raptor pulled up, and Gene snapped off his harness and quickly jumped out to assess the situation. Antonio ran up to the Raptor, looking proud of his work. He was thrilled at the chance to make up for his earlier betrayal.

  “They’re sleeping, Dr. Kirby, just as you promised they would.”

  “You did well, Antonio. They’ll be out for at least an hour, so no worries. As long as you’re still here when they wake, they won’t suspect anything.”

  Gene assessed each of the men, making sure they were still breathing. Although they were soldiers from another country, his concern for his comrades in arms was admirable.

  “You’re sure there are no ill effects, Dr. Kirby?” asked Gene.

  “I’m sure, my boy. They’ll be just fine. Hopefully they won’t even realize they’ve been sleeping.”

  The other Raptor pulled up as Cait slid to a stop.

  “Do you have to do that every time?” asked Drew, holding on tightly.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll try and take it easy on you. Old habits die hard.”

  “Dr. Kirby, are you sure I can’t go with you?” asked Antonio.

  “We need you to stay here so no one suspects anything. What if they try to come after us?”

  Antonio looked disappointed as he looked down at the ground.

  “That’s not all, is it? You still don’t trust me, do you?” asked Antonio with a shrug.

  Kirby reached out and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him firmly to face him.

  “I trust you, but I know that these creatures have powers we don’t understand, and it’s him I distrust, not you, my boy. I think it’s better for all of us, including you, that you stay here. You’ve always been there for us, Antonio. We haven’t forgotten that.”

  Antonio managed a slight smile as he nodded in acknowledgment.

  “Thank you, Dr. Kirby,” said Antonio as he began to empty the cups and refill them with untainted water.

  Gene could see Don scoping out what was left of the food Antonio had brought to the soldiers. He rummaged through the basket, hoping some scraps would be left.

  “Donnie, what the hell are you doing?” asked Gene.

  “Looking for one last, good meal before I have to eat the dehydrated garbage we have packed away.”

  “How can you think of eating at a time like this?” Gene barked in frustration.

  “Listen, buddy. Food is love, and I could use some love right about now. If I’m going to die, I’d rather do it on a full stomach.”

  Shaking his head, Gene walked back to his Raptor and began strapping back in.

  “We’d better go. It might take us some time to clear the debris in the smaller chambers if it’s still like you remember it. We really won’t have easy going until we hit the main tunnels.”

  “Yeah, assuming you’re right about it,” said Don.

  “I’m right; I saw it with my own eyes. I know what’s waiting for us down there.”

  “Oh, shit!” gasped Don as the lights from several large vehicles approached quickly in the distance.”

  “Quick, everyone. Strap in! Antonio, you too! There’s no point in staying now. They’re going to know where we are.”

  Drew was puzzled at Antonio’s look of excitement as he jumped into the third seat behind Cait and him. He would have given anything to be able to stay, but his obligation to Cait overrode his fear and uncertainty. He wasn’t sure what Antonio’s motivation was, but he was certain he didn’t trust it or him at that point.

  “Put your harness on, and hold on to something,” shouted Cait.

  “What are you doing?” asked Drew nervously.

  “I’m going to lead us in at full speed. We don’t have time to go slow, and Gene doesn’t know the terrain like I do.”

  “Are you crazy! That pathway is too narrow; you can’t be serious.”

  “We don’t have any other choice! Hold on!”

  Gene could see by the look on her face what she was planning. He simply nodded his head as her tires spun, and she navigated the Raptor through the dark entrance. Don rolled his eyes in defeat as Gene gunned the engine and followed her into the darkness.”

  The light on the Raptor lit up the ground ahead for about twenty feet. Unfortunately, that distance came quick at the high rate of speed they were traveling, and there would hardly be any time to stop if something was in their way. Cait prayed that they hadn’t moved any heavy equipment into the catacombs, which would surely block their way. Gene was fighting to keep up with the first Raptor as they navigated several tight turns that Cait knew intuitively.

  “Damn, she’s good, Kirby!”

  Kirby smiled but said nothing, and for the first time, he felt as scared as Don Brazzo looked. They continued on for what felt like forever until the first Raptor began to slow.

  “Look, Drew. They cleared the entrance to the inner chamber. I think we can get through.”

  Drew surveyed the terrain and could see large boulders sitting at the bottom of the opening. He knew this would make it difficult to get through if they didn’t use extreme caution.

  “I don’t know. Those rocks are pretty big. We better take it slow. I think the Raptor can probably power over them.”

  Cait also examined her options based on the terrain and knew there was another way to tackle the problem.

  “Do you know what a Raptor is, Drew?” she asked purposefully.

  “What are you talking about? It’s a term for a bird of prey, why?”

  “Because,” she said, smiling, “birds were meant to fly.”

  He heard the engine roar before he could muster up a response. The Raptor headed at full speed toward the jagged opening. He thought about screaming, but there wasn’t enough time. The Raptor hit the small rise at the base of the opening and went airborne over the loose boulders that sat on the ground and through to the other side. Gene watched as they disappeared through the opening, unsure if he could make his vehicle do the same thing.

  “Holy shit! How the hell did she do that?” exclaimed Don, hoping Gene would not try the same maneuver.

  “She’s a hell of a driver, isn’t she?” said Kirby proudly.

  “Yeah, too bad I’m stuck with you, Gino,” joked Don. “I think my odds would have been better with her at the wheel.”

  “Everyone be quiet! Someone’s coming,” whispered Gene.

  He quietly backed the Raptor into the shadows behind some large rocks and killed the engine and lights. He’d heard the faint sound of a vehicle approaching and had his hand on his rifle before the others knew what was happening. He’d forgotten how much his weapon was like an extension of his own body. The deadly appendage would silence anyone who threatened their mission with speed and accuracy, as it had so many times before. He pulled out his radio and quietly called to the other team.

  “Drew, come in.”

  “I’m here. Are you guys coming or what?” he said sarcasti
cally, knowing there was no way they could pull off what Cait had just done. Their entrance inside would be a lot more deliberate and cautious, and Drew knew it.

  “Keep going as fast as you can; we have some unwanted guests. We’ll follow as soon as we can. Find a safe place and wait for us.”

  “And what if we don’t hear from you?”

  “You will.”

  Drew could hear the sound of Gene snapping off his radio.

  The sound of the engines were loud, and they could see the two single lights on the vehicles that approached. Two men on dirt bikes pulled up slowly and turned off their engines. They wore black uniforms and held AK-47s at their side. Gene knew immediately that these were mercenaries and not government soldiers. The first man glared into the chamber and could see the faint lights as the other Raptor sped off. Gene kept the man in his sights as he watched him raise his rifle and debate as to whether or not to take a shot into the cave.

  “What do we do? Should we go after them?”

  “Not yet. We have to let our employer know what’s going on. They can’t go far—probably just kids.”

  “I don’t think so,” said the other man. “Apparently these are terrorists looking to destroy the ruins. We were told to expect trouble.”

  “What’s so special about some pictures in a stupid cave that someone would want to destroy them?”

  “I’m not sure, but if he hired us, he must expect trouble. He knows we’ll do the dirty work that the military won’t do. They can’t shoot on sight, and that’s exactly what our mission is. If we find anyone, they have to be eliminated—quietly.”

  “That’s pretty drastic. Are you sure about that?”

  “Corrado Valente pays the bills, and those are the orders. Do you have a problem with that?”

  “No,” said the man, thinking for a few seconds and relenting, knowing they’d done far worse in the past for money.

  “Let’s get back up top and see what we’re supposed to do.”

  The engines roared back to life, and they sped away up the path that led to the surface. After a few minutes, Gene lowered his weapon and secured it back against the roll cage.

  “Well, we have a problem, don’t we?” said Gene.

  “Don’t you see? This gives us hope,” said Kirby, sounding excited.

  “Hope? What are you talking about? I have hope! I am hoping not to get killed by some idiot on a dirt bike who was paid to kill us all!” said Don, sounding panicked.

  “This means that Corrado is scared. Our timing was perfect. The episode in the graveyard showed him that we have a weapon against him, or he surely would have tried to take us out himself. He now has to rely on these mercenaries to do his dirty work, not supernatural forces that we don’t understand how to fight. He’s worried we may actually find a way to stop this and doom him back to the center of the earth for a million more years to serve his brother. Yes, we have reason to hope now,” said Kirby confidently.

  “Look, I’m just a soldier and don’t know a whole lot about the forces we’re fighting here. But I’m inclined to agree with my sweaty friend that this complicates things for us,” he said, scanning the darkness with his rifle. “We better get moving before they come back.”

  “I agree. We must move on from here. But you must trust me. This is a good sign. We have to remember the bigger picture here,” said Kirby.

  Don was trying to wipe his face with a small handkerchief, still feeling the sting of his friend’s wit. Gene brought the engine back to life and began to slowly navigate the boulders as the Raptor bounced the men around violently each time. He couldn’t help but think that Cait had had the right idea.

  Chapter 16

  “I think we’re clear now, Cait. Slow it down,” shouted Drew over the thunderous sound of the engine at full speed. As she eased up on the throttle, they were startled by a crunching sound that echoed off the cavern walls.

  “What is that?” asked Antonio, afraid to know the answer.

  “Oh my God. Hit the lights,” said Drew.

  The Raptor’s tires rolled over piles of human bones that littered the floor. As Cait turned on the giant spotlight, it exposed a white desert of human carnage as far as the eye could see. Skulls, femurs, and ribs snapped and scraped together like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. Only this was much worse; these were once human beings who had suffered unbelievable horrors and died slowly in this place. Now they had to endure the desecration of being rolled over like some dead animal remains on a highway.

  “Oh God. This is horrible,” said Cait as she tried to find the way forward with the least number of bones in her path. As the sound continued, Antonio tried to block it out by covering his ears.

  “There must be thousands of them. Thousands of people sent to die horribly. He really is a monster; don’t forget that,” said Drew, welling up with anger.

  Cait had come to find some deeper connection with Adrian, or so she thought. This was a harsh reminder of the cruelty he was capable of. Drew’s warning was intended to wake her up to the reality that they were dealing with a creature and not a man. As she scanned the terrain ahead, she saw the dead come to life, as they were, four thousand years before. She watched as hundreds desperately piled boulders in front of the giant hole, sealing them in from the horror that followed them. Others skinned the dead and passed out their remains for food. Desperate from thirst, they drank from the pools that had gathered from the water that had seeped in from the surface.

  Pain and suffering were all around her, and she felt it to her soul. They had tried to find a way out, but the catacombs they’d discovered had no escape to the surface. As they began to die one by one, they documented their journey on the walls, hoping the gods would somehow find them and save them, even if it was in the afterlife. As the last of them fought starvation and thirst, they decided to end their suffering. Many had ropes made of water reed that they had brought with them to work on the Great Pyramid. Now they would serve one last desperate purpose. She watched as dozens put the crude ropes around their necks and jumped from the small cliff that jutted out over the cavern. It was just high enough to snap their necks if they jumped hard enough. Others were content to suffocate slowly to avoid the violence of the loud snap they heard from those who went before them. They hung from the ceiling like dozens of gruesome wind chimes.

  As the Raptor approached a turn, Drew noticed that Cait wasn’t turning.

  “Cait, snap out of it. Turn, Cait. Turn!” he shouted.

  She snapped back into reality just in time to cut the steering wheel. As she came around the blind turn, the hanging skeletons began banging off the roll cage. Antonio screamed as an arm broke off and landed squarely in his lap. He quickly picked it up and threw it out into the darkness.

  “These poor souls. They had no other choice—I saw it. They were desperate to live and desperate to die at the end. This is what happened to the last of them.”

  “Please, Cait. Save the stories for later. Just get us the hell through this.”

  She navigated through the hanging bodies as best she could until they were finally clear. Other than a few scattered remains, the ground reappeared, untainted by human debris.

  “Thank God,” said Antonio, shaken by the previous few minutes.

  “Uh-oh. Now what?” said Drew as the Raptor came to a stop. Before them were the giant boulders she’d seen in her dream. They were piled high, and it would be impossible to navigate through them or to move them by hand.

  “Maybe there’s another way?”

  “No, Drew. This is it. We have to find a way to clear this.”

  “Well, we have to call Gene. I think he might have a solution to our problem. Assuming he found a solution to his problem, that is.”

  Drew pulled out his radio and quietly spoke in case Gene still had unexpected guests nearby.

  “Gene. Can you hear me?
Come in.”

  “We’re here, Drew. Where are you?”

  Drew proceeded to explain to Gene what they’d just been through and described the path they needed to follow through the human debris field to reach their location. He had his radio set on an extremely low volume in case the mercenaries were still nearby, so Don never heard Drew’s horrific description. As Gene hung the radio back on his belt, he looked at Don with a devious smile.

  “You’re going to love this!”

  Drew and the others waited in silence as they heard the chilling sound of shattering human bones and eventually the sound of the engine approaching. The other Raptor pulled up, and Cait was shocked to see Don Brazzo looking almost as white as the bones they’d just run over. Gene killed the engine, and Cait rushed over to help her father from the vehicle.

  “I’m quite all right, my dear. Did you see them?”

  “Yes, Father. I saw. It’s horrible.”

  “Just like the story said. It’s all true. Thousands of souls sent to their deaths. It’s a miracle they made it as far as they did. I suspect there were many hundreds that didn’t make it here.”

  “Yes. I think we’ll probably find more along the way.”

  Don was still staring straight ahead. He turned to her slowly and just stared for a few seconds. She could see the pain in his eyes.

  “Don, are you alright?” she asked as she helped undo his restraints.

  “We’re going to die down here like them, aren’t we?”

  Cait put her hands tenderly on his cheeks, seeing that he was beginning to lose his nerve.

  “That’s not the plan, Don.”

  The warmth of her hands seemed to snap him back to his senses. The color slowly returned to his face, and he nodded that he was okay, although clearly still shaken.

  Drew walked up next to Gene, who seemed to be sizing up their dilemma.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  Gene didn’t answer since his mind was still focused on the problem. He thought back to the twenty-one days he and his men had been trapped in the mine. After the cave- in, the younger men had begun to panic as their prospects for escape dwindled. Each day passed gruelingly slowly. He had to devise a plan to use their remaining explosives to blast their way out without bringing down the rest of the mine in the process. Once he’d made the decision, he had twelve days to plan the best way to do that. In these circumstances, however, he knew he had only a few minutes to figure out how to get through this obstruction if they were to have a chance.