by Bob Cooper
***
In the morning, Dirk stirred the coals of the fire that remained from the night before. The dry brush he put on it ignited almost immediately and produced a pungent odor across the campsite. He boiled water for coffee. Aidan returned from the river after cleaning up and joined Dirk by the fire.
“We only hiked four point two miles yesterday. We need to pick up the pace if we want to get to the temple site within the next two days,” Aidan said.
“I agree, assuming the temple is where we’re heading towards,” Dirk replied.
“And if it’s not there?” Aidan asked.
“We’ll deal with that once we find out.”
Raina walked out of her shelter and joined them by the fire. She stared into the fire, not saying a word to either of them. Aidan gave her a disgusted look and walked back down towards the river. Dirk looked at her and forced a smile.
“Did you plant my archeology pick at Bob Haskall’s?” Dirk asked.
Raina said nothing as she continued watching the fire.
“I know O’Malley put you up to that. How much did he pay you? O’Malley is just using you to destroy me. “I’m not your enemy,” Dirk said.
“You and your kind are destroying our civilization,” Raina retorted.
“I’m not your enemy,” Dirk insisted. “My kind is not destroying our civilization but building its future. I have no problem with those who disagree with our point of view, but to use violence to achieve their means is totally unacceptable. O’Malley and his henchmen are the enemy.”
“People are starting to embrace alien customs and religions. Our religious and legal beliefs are being challenged. Soon there will be total chaos and anarchy,” Raina reasoned.
“But they should be challenged. I’m not saying that we should adopt all alien ways, but some of these civilizations have existed far longer than any of ours on Earth. I believe we can benefit from that experience.” Dirk countered.
“You went to the Academy for a while. You must have believed that contact was a good thing. What made you change your mind?” Acey asked, joining the conversation.
“My mother sent me there just before she died. She gave me this amulet and told me my father was somehow connected to the Academy. Then she died. I believe she was murdered. But the authorities on Europa never investigated her death as a homicide.” Raina answered.
By now, Aidan and Hillary had joined Dirk and Acey around the fire and were listening to Raina’s story. Acey studied the amulet that Raina showed them. It was made of a vitreous green material in the shape of a hieroglyph symbol.
“Why did you leave the Academy?” asked Acey.
“I didn’t leave. I was thrown out. When I asked questions about my father, certain professors strongly urged me to give it up. When I didn’t, I found that I flunked all their courses and I was thrown out. That’s when the Earthers found me, and I joined the movement.”
Dirk’s interest peaked when he heard this. He felt sure that somehow O’Malley had much to do with Raina’s leaving the Academy.
“So why are you helping O’Malley and his thugs if you believe you were wrongly treated at the Academy?” asked Dirk.
“O’Malley promised the Earther Movement money for our protests on campus. He said he wanted us to stir up as much chaos as possible.”
Dirk bit his tongue to keep from cursing. “He needs to be stopped, and the people need to hear the truth about him,” Dirk said after calming down.
“We’d better get moving, or we’ll never find this temple,” Aidan said urging them to break camp.
They finished packing while Aidan plotted their course along the river. They started walking through the dense vegetation, but it was hard to see the trail. Raina didn’t mention anything about what she found or the footprints she saw. She fingered the spearhead in her pocket as she walked. She knew they weren’t alone.
7
Aidan cut through the thick vegetation with a machete he’d found with the other weapons on the ship until they reached the top of a small hill. It was flat on top and overlooked the valley below. The river meandered through it and continued as far as their eyes could see. Aidan scanned the horizon with his vision intensifiers and noticed a protrusion from the forest canopy. The readings showed it was about nine point two miles ahead. He plotted it on his map and shared the information with the others.
“Take a look over there just below the horizon,” he said to Dirk handing him the vision intensifiers.
“What do you see?” asked Acey.
“Something tall is sticking out above the trees,” he said, giving Acey a chance to look.
They all took a turn to view what Aidan saw, and their excitement levels peaked. Picking up their gear, they headed down the other side of the hill still following the path. As Acey walked down, she found another hieroglyph and noticed it was slightly different than the others. She stopped and took out her computer as the others gathered around her.
“I think I know what these are for,” she said.
She held the computer to scan in the image of the hieroglyph. She then programmed the computer to compare the differences with all the other hieroglyphs scanned previously. The computer responded with a graphical representation of the differences. Acey checked her father’s notebooks, and her hunch was correct.
“These seem to be distance markers. If we take the distance, in miles, from the last marker to this one, I can correlate our miles to its unit of measure.”
“It was two point six miles from when we found the last marker,” Aidan said.
“So each marker represents two point six miles. We can verify this when we find the next one,” Acey said, returning to the computer.
She reviewed the comparisons again and found that the symbols at the top of the maker varied, but the symbol at the bottom was constant. She deduced that this was probably the total distance to somewhere, hopefully, the temple site. The computer translated the marker’s unit of measures into miles and displayed the results.
“According to the computer, we have another eight miles or so to reach the temple,” Acey said.
“That’s very close to what we estimated at the top of the hill about a mile back,” Hillary confirmed.
“This is good news. Let’s get going,” Dirk said.
The group hiked for another six miles when the trail ended at a large pool of water. A waterfall cascaded down into it just as the river entered. The river also seemed to stop there. Aidan searched the shores for a continuation of the trail but saw none.
“Looks like it dead-ends here,” he said.
“The next marker should be less than a mile ahead,” Acey said.
Dirk looked across the water and saw nothing that resembled a trail. Raina walked to the edge to fill her canteen. As she dipped it in the water, she saw a shimmering reflection from the bottom. It was carved into the rocky shoreline and almost three feet in length, but the turbulent water obscured it from sight.
“Hey! Over here!” she shouted to the group.
Acey was the first to arrive.
“Check this out,” Raina said to Acey.
Acey squinted to get a look at the glimmering reflection in the water, but Antares’ suns were right in front of them, making it hard to see from that angle. Acey took off her boots and waded in about ten feet off shore. The water was up to her waist when she turned to face the object. From there, she was able to see it much clearer.
“It’s another marker. It’s much bigger, and it’s in the shape of an arrow. It points to the waterfall,” she said.
Aidan came to the edge of the shore and looked across to the waterfall with his vision intensifiers.
“It’s about one hundred feet across,” he said.
“It’s too deep, and the water is too turbulent to wade across,” Acey said.
Hillary noticed it first but didn’t have enough time to warn her. The gentle undulations behind Acey became larger until the creature stuck its head out of the water. By
then, it was too late. Acey screamed as the slimy creature coiled itself around her and pulled her under the water. Raina reacted first by diving in and Dirk and Aidan quickly followed. The snake-like creature surfaced again and continued to drag Acey into deeper water. Raina grabbed the creature, and they went under. She remembered the metal spearhead in her pocket and pulled it out as she saw Acey gasping and trying to free herself.
The sunlight above faded fast as the creature dragged her down towards the bottom. Raina wasted no time and plunged the spearhead into the creature several times. It uncoiled itself from Acey and let out a piercing screech. Aidan reached Acey and carried her to the surface. The creature thrust its fang-filled mouth at Raina’s neck, but Dirk punched its head before it got to Raina. She was able to stab it repeatedly until it slithered away and sank from sight.
Dirk supported Raina as they surfaced. Hillary waded out to meet Aidan and helped carry Acey back to shore. She was unconscious when they laid her down. Aidan immediately started CPR. Dirk and Raina rushed over just as Acey spit up water and algae. Her shoulder was badly bruised from the creature’s coiling and squeezing. She reached up to Aidan, and he gently hugged her.
“I’m okay. Just a little dizzy and sore. What was that?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. Raina got the best look at it,” Dirk said.
All eyes shifted to Raina. She was trying to catch her breath. The spearhead she used was firmly grasped in her hand.
“Raina got that thing off of you,” Aidan said.
Acey turned towards Raina.
“Thank you. I owe you one,” Acey said.
“I just reacted and didn’t think about what I was doing….”
“We are all extremely grateful that you did,” Dirk said, cutting Raina off.
Acey walked to the edge of the shore and looked at the waterfall.
“The marker clearly points across to the waterfall. We need to get over there,” she said.
Dirk surveyed the land around them. He saw trees available, but they had no means of cutting them down. They had plenty of rope and assorted climbing gear he’d brought from the ship, but he couldn’t figure out how it could be useful. Aidan came up with an idea while watching Dirk pull the rope from one of the backpacks.
“If we can anchor the rope to those trees on the other side, we can use these pulleys to get ourselves over there,” he said.
“How would you get the rope over there?” Hillary asked.
Aidan grabbed the blaster and studied it. It came with a shoulder stock and a grenade launcher.
“We can use the grenade launcher to propel the rope and the grappling hooks. If it catches and secures itself around the treetops, we’ll be in business,” he replied.
“Is the launcher powerful enough?” Dirk quizzed.
“I don’t know. We have several charges. All we can do is try,” Aidan responded.
“We’d better hurry. It’s getting late,” Acey encouraged, semi-recovered from her ordeal.
Aidan found several grenades and easily defused them. He attached the shoulder stock and tied the grappling hooks to the rope. He then connected the rope to the grenade projectile as best he could.
“That rope needs to be carefully coiled,” Aidan said to Acey.
As Acey finished, Aidan loaded one of the charges and held the stock against a small tree to absorb the recoil. He took careful aim just above the tree canopy across the water and fired. After the smoke cleared, he could see the rope unraveling as it sped through the air. The rope managed to stay attached, and the projectile sailed across the tops of the trees and landed. It was an apparent success, and everyone cheered.
Aidan took the other end of the rope and climbed up the closest tall tree, high enough to create a slight downward angle. He attached a pulley to the line and fastened the line to the tree as taut as he could. He hung a rope down from the pulley and fashioned a foot stirrup at the end.
“Well, who’s going to be the first across?” he asked as he climbed down the tree.
“I’ll give it a shot,” Hillary said. Everyone clapped and cheered as Hillary climbed to the top of the tree and slid her foot into the stirrup. Aidan recharged the blaster in case the creature returned.
Dirk gave her a thumbs up and off she went with a holler. Raina held the return line loosely as Hillary sped across the water disappearing into the trees. She finally signaled to everyone that she was okay. They sent the gear over first and then, one-by-one, they all crossed without incident. On the other side, Dirk scanned the distant shore for any signs of O’Malley. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he would find them.
***
By now, it was dusk, and they began to look for a place to camp for the night. The waterfall seemed to get louder as the darkness came. Raina walked down the trail, which ended at the waterfall. She stared up at the vertical cliffs watching the water cascade over it. Acey came over to get a look for herself.
“No way are we going over this,” Raina said.
“It can’t just end here. The trail marker distinctly pointed to the falls,” Acey said.
“It must continue behind the falls,” Raina said studying the terrain.
Acey followed her to the left edge of the falls. They were getting soaked as they walked up the narrow ledge.
“Look at this!” Raina said, pointing to something on the cliffs.
“It’s another marker, and it points in the direction behind the falls,” Acey said.
As they moved along the narrow path, the force from the waterfall was intense. The trail curved inwards, and they were behind the falls. Once the mist cleared, they saw it. The vast opening resembled a beast ready to devour its entrants. Glittering material lit up the walls as they walked down the path.
“This is fantastic!” Acey said.
“I’ll go get the others,” Raina said.
Acey stood there in awe. It was dark by now, but the entrance seemed illuminated. The same sparkly material festooned the walls of the cave. Acey walked in. There were carvings and wall paintings everywhere, depicting scenes from the daily lives of the ancient inhabitants. The main chamber was huge from what she could see. She wondered what her parent’s reactions were when they saw this place. There was no specific mention of it in her father’s notebooks, but they must have come through here. Dirk and the others arrived, and nobody said anything for the longest time as their eyes explored the chamber.
“We’d better roll out the sleeping gear and get some sleep. We can explore this place better in the light tomorrow,” Dirk said.
Aidan and Raina lit a fire in a large fire pit they made. It illuminated the chamber, and they discovered even more paintings on the ceiling. Acey, Hillary, and Dirk searched the notebooks for references to this place but all they found no mention of the cave itself.
“That’s odd that there is nothing in the notebooks about this place,” Dirk said.
“Could it be the temple?” Acey said.
“It could be, but you would think that your parents would have recorded it,” Dirk replied.
Hillary took her sketchpad out and began to draw some of the more intricate paintings using her own interpretations and colors.
“This could definitely put me in the art colony’s book of who’s who,” she said.
Acey smiled at her. Her child-like exuberance was what Acey liked best in Hillary. She always made the best out of any situation.
Raina continued to explore the cave and found a path that led to several chambers. It was too dark to see what was in them. She decided to take Dirk’s advice and save that for tomorrow morning. As she headed back to the campfire, she heard something above her. She looked around but saw nothing. She heard it again, and her heart raced. She was sure they were being watched. On the ground, she noticed fresh footprints. She ran back to the fire.
“There is something in here watching us,” she said.
“What?” Aidan shouted, jumping up from the fire.
She told them about
the footprints she saw earlier when she found the spearhead. They walked a little deeper into the cave with light sticks to inspect the newly found prints.
“These do look fresh,” Aidan said.
“Seems like we might have some company,” Dirk said, shining the light all around.
The chambers were empty except for one partially blocked by rubble.
“Let’s get back to the fire. We should take turns guarding the camp,” Dirk said.
Hillary suddenly staggered and held her head.
“Hillary! Are you all right?” Acey said.
Hillary sat down, looking ashen as if she might faint.
“Just a little light-headed,” She said.
Aidan helped her up, and they retired to their shelters.
“I’ll take the first watch,” Aidan said, throwing some more wood on the fire.
He sat close by with the blaster on his lap. Listening to the waterfall outside was enough to lull anyone to sleep. His mind raced through the events of the last few days. He let his feelings for Acey cloud his duty as an officer in the Citizen Guard. He should have taken Dirk into custody on Earth. He would have a lot of explaining to do. He knew he would have to stretch the truth, even lie in some cases, if he wanted to stay in the good graces with the Guard.
But that wasn’t his style. His father always told the truth and lived his life according to the officer’s code of conduct. What would he think of this situation if he were alive? The last time he saw his father was twelve years ago. He left for school in the morning and on his way there, the monitors blared out the details of a major gang bust gone bad. The monitor flashed the pictures of the three officers killed in action. One was his father. He remembered the pain and confusion. He didn’t want to dishonor himself or his father’s memory.
Dirk came out to relieve him and sat down by the fire. Aidan studied him as he threw more wood on to the fire. Aidan wondered, is he really as innocent as Acey believes?
“You should get some rest now,” Dirk said.
Aidan poked at the fire and looked at Dirk. He finally had some time alone with him.
