“You can trust him.” Ethan raised his eyebrows and Sam started in surprise at the support. “And he’s telling the truth. He does have connections to D.C.”
They glanced at each other, a silent conference amongst themselves. Slowly, arms went behind backs in acceptance, military chins raised. Ethan’s smoking friend ground his cigarette into the dust beneath his boot. “We’ll do it. But just in-and-out, within a day.”
Sam sighed in relief. He wouldn’t have to go by himself after all. As competent as he felt in this area, he didn’t know this exact terrain and he didn’t know the threats. He was glad to have backup if backup was needed. He nodded at Ethan. “Thanks.”
Ethan nodded back. “I’ll get the gear.” He checked his watch. “None of us are on duty until eighteen hundred. So, we’ve got some time. Should be enough.” He quirked a brow at Sam. “Wonder if we told the Sergeant if we were on defense business he’d let us skip mess duty.”
Sam shook his head. “You can’t tell anyone. It’s cleared with the Pentagon, but the fewer people here who know about it, the better. For now, let’s just say you’re showing me the sights.”
Ethan looked at him a long time, weighing him. But finally, he nodded and cast a glance at his water canteen.
Right away, the team broke up and started loading weapons and other supplies that they would need for the expedition. Sam was astonished at the speed and efficiency with which the SEALs moved.
He was too used to low-skill locals packing for him, but the SEALs were certainly a different breed. They barely spoke to each other, yet the proper equipment was getting loaded on the truck. Communication was merely a series of finger gestures and one-word commands. Like a well-oiled machine, people went to and fro, each component, knowing their role. A sense of pride welled up in him. These men had sacrificed years of their life, and possibly even life itself, to serve the country that had given them so much.
A tap on his shoulder startled Sam out of his thoughts of admiration. “You do know we’re in a war zone, right?” Ethan’s level eyes gave nothing away.
Sam’s gaze delivered the same, right back, letting the boy read the truth.
Boy. Who was he kidding? If he was right, this man hadn’t been a boy for a long time, not even when he was a boy. He shook his head. “This is more important than you can even imagine.”
One of Ethan’s mates burst out laughing. “What kind of damn key is so important? Is it going to take over the world or something? Because in that case, can we hurry it up? Always wanted to rule the world.”
Sam shook his head. “Guys, listen to me.” They turned suddenly serious at his tone, for the first time recognizing one of their own as Sam assumed the mantle of command. Boots shuffled; hands stilled. Faces turned to his. “This key doesn’t have anything to do with ISIS. But it’s big.” He turned his gaze to Ethan and Ethan looked back. “Bigger than we thought.”
Silence as the men looked at each other, wondering just exactly what they were risking their necks for and curious to know if it was worth it.
Sam spread his hands. “Look- at the end of the day, I don’t need you to come with me. I know you’ve got duties here. I just need someone to show me the way. Then I’ll…”
A snort emerged from the ranks; Sam couldn’t see from where. “You’ll what? Go on your own?”
Laughter rippled. “That an AK in there, Marine, or you’re just happy to see us?”
A short Marine in a QUEEN t-shirt slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, old man. We’ll give you a hand.” He assumed a prim expression. “Just make sure you get us back by dinner.”
Sam grinned even as he winced. Old man?
Ethan approached him as the men readied themselves to move out. Sam met him with open palms. Ethan quirked an eyebrow. “This is borderline insanity, Sam. You know that, right? I mean-” He gestured to the grit and the dust and the oven-like heat, fumes of gasoline and the sound of guns. “Do you even want to be here?”
Sam took a breath. Complicated question. Did he want action? Action that meant something. That made a difference. Action that obliterated all sense of self and time, and let you be simple, wholly animal?
For Ethan’s sake, he just grinned. “Oh man. No, I don’t. Frankly, I want to be SCUBA diving off a beach in the Bahamas, boy.” He gave a dramatic sigh as Ethan graced him with one of his rare full grins. “But our country wants you and me to locate an ancient key holding incredible military value. It just so happens, that key is in a war zone.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ethan said, “Hey. Wake up.”
Sam awoke to a tap on his shoulders; someone’s hand shaking him. For a moment he didn’t know where he was- why was he moving? What was happening? And then it came back to him. He realized that Ethan was speaking to him. “What?”
He had never slept on a helicopter before. He’d tried not to sleep on this one, too, but it had only been a week ago that he’d been underwater in Mexico and a mere day since he’d arrived in the Middle East. And, despite what he wanted the Marines he was currently in command of to believe, he wasn’t as young as he’d once been. He’d closed his eyes to think, feeling his head knock and rock against the hard, plastic back of the helicopter seat... then blackness.
When he slept, his mind was blank.
Ethan released his hand on his shoulder. “We’re landing in two. We need you alert.” His tone was surprisingly gentle, Sam thought. Far from his ordinary gruff self. Maybe he realized that sometimes, shouting wasn’t always the best form of communication in a high-tension situation like this. As if reading his mind, Ethan handed him a bottle of water with a wry grin.
Sam took it and twisted the top in thanks.
As he drank, Sam looked outside the window of the helicopter that he and the rest of the team were crammed in, plus all their gear. Beyond the tiny oval window he couldn’t see anything but mountains for miles. Their snow-capped peaks formed a ridge of rocky tops going in a pair of lines, running side by side as far as the eye could see. Clouds surrounded the caps, like a thick layer of luminous fog. The entire scene is just like a movie, Sam thought. Surreal. There were no gunshots to be heard from up here and the mountains were picture-postcard perfect; as if it’d been untouched since God had proclaimed ‘Let it be.’
He looked at Ethan. “You sure this is a warzone?”
“Oh, they’re down there, all right. You just can’t see them,” replied one of the SEALs, smirking.
Sam squinted and tried to make out what was under the high-altitude clouds. He thought he could barely make out a couple of land formations – a valley here, maybe a forest, there. On one hand he knew it would be suicide to explore the area in a combat zone solo. However, his natural curiosity was yearning to camp out and discover every secret that the mountains kept hidden. It would be so easy to disappear out here…
As he shook off his thoughts, the pilot’s voice suddenly pierced through Sam’s headset.
“Prepare for a hot drop at the LZ.”
Sam felt a drop in his stomach as the helicopter quickly decelerated, losing altitude and speed. Soon they were hovering barely five feet above a grassy clearing. The helicopter blades beat the air so hard that the trees around the clearing bent beneath their force.
One of the SEALs leaned over Sam in his seat and slid the only door on the left, open. The deafening roar spilled into the cockpit, breaching the noise canceling function in his headphones. Sam unstrapped his safety belt and looped his headphones over the seat.
“Go, go, go.” Ethan commanded with a shout, bellowing in his ordinary, military-style crispness. Sam held onto his sudden nerves, knowing how foolish it looked when you rushed- and how easily things might go wrong when you were in too much of a hurry. He made his movements quick and precise and hopped off the helicopter with the rest of the team.
As he hit the ground, the SEALs formed a defensive circle around Sam, their assault rifles equipped with optic scopes bristling. Sam hoped it was second
nature and not because they’d spotted trouble already.
He hitched his bag higher, wishing for that gun instead of a radio. He checked its position just to make himself feel better but, frankly, what good would it be in a firefight? “What the hell are you doing?”
Ethan raised his left hand to pause his squadron. “Didn’t I say this was a warzone? We can’t be caught off guard here, especially when you’ve dragged us this far for, what was it? A key?” He used the same hand and pointed forwards. “Convoy formation, move out.” Ethan gave his squad a glare and ushered them forward. “Make it quick. Don’t none of us want to be here longer than we have to.”
The soldiers fell out and pushed forward, in formation.
Sam followed them, jogging lightly as they made their way through the scrub and rocks. The high altitude in the mountains was something Sam wasn’t used to. He was far more comfortable holding his breath at sea level, but the thin air gave him the sensation of being able to breathe, but just not enough. SEALs take huge steps. Sam found himself gasping for air as he attempted to catch up with their large strides.
For at least ten minutes the group navigated back and forth around trees and bushes, which gave way to scrubby sand dunes, until suddenly Ethan stalled, holding up his hands. The team froze, weapons out, scanning the trees. Sam froze too, going for his radio and on high alert, trying not to pant.
Ethan peered forward, then advanced cautiously, beckoning. It took Sam a moment to realize he meant him and even longer to see what he was beckoning toward; a small cave opening. He never would’ve spotted it unless he was looking specifically for it. It was hidden behind a small bush and he was amazed that the SEAL team even managed to notice it in the first place. Before he had a chance to comment, he was ushered forward by Ethan.
He gripped his radio and ducked inside.
Blinded by the sun glinting off the sand and rock, Sam couldn’t see anything in the pitch-black cave. One by one the SEALs turned on their flashlights, expertly aiming their sights around the cavern, as if clearing a room. Sam heard a scoff behind him.
“You didn’t bring a flashlight?” asked Ethan. “You wanted to explore a cave in the middle of a desert and you didn’t bring a damned flashlight?”
“Uh, no.” replied Sam, flustered. “Didn’t have one.” He shrugged, giving in. “Look, I wasn’t expecting this to be a…”
“I know the speech. I’ve heard it hundreds of times from soldiers, citizens and people like you. And I don’t give a damn if you’re pissing your pants out of fear. Now set yourself straight before you get us killed.” Ethan growled, tossing Sam a small penlight. “Don’t turn it on. It’s for emergencies.”
“Thanks.” Sam’s cheeks flushed red-hot from embarrassment in the cool dark. He hoped with their flashlights they couldn’t see it.
They might not see anyway – the team had already moved down the cave system. Sam shifted to catch up and realized the floor was wet. Why the hell- Of course. It’s a cave. There’s going to be water. Urgently yet carefully and with knowledge honed from years of cave exploration, Sam made his way over to the team, gingerly avoiding unassuming rock outcroppings that could trip them up. The SEALs somehow did this while looking forward and with guns out.
As he followed, Sam looked around the cave. The walls were rough, and the ceilings had more stalactites than Sam could count. It didn’t look like the ruins of an ancient city. “Hey, Ethan, you sure this is the place?” he called.
Ethan glanced back from his exploration along a far wall. He kicked some leaves. “Yeah, I know it doesn’t look like it. Just be patient.” He grinned. “You’ll find it soon enough.”
“All right.” Sam shrugged. “You’re the boss.”
Sam followed Ethan toward the wall, stepping around the uncertain terrain. At least in situations like these he knew that his body and training would prevail over his brain. Even if he did forget his flashlight.
He joined Ethan at the wall. “What are we looking for? How did you find it before?”
Sam took one step too many and barely saved himself from falling into the hole in the ground in front of him, which he hadn’t seen in the darkness. He turned, fighting his pounding heart, to see Ethan grinning.
“Like that.”
Asshole. Sam glared at him. “It’s not funny. That could have been-”
“Save it, pops. I’ve got your back.”
Oddly, Sam believed him. Reluctantly, he grinned back.
Ethan moved forward, shining his flashlight down into a hole in the ground. Below, about fifteen feet down, Sam could see a room. Now he understood. While the cave had been a natural formation until now… In the dim illumination of Ethan’s light, Sam felt how Lord Carnarvon must have felt seeing King Tut’s tomb for the first time – shadowy glimpses of a grand past. Pieces of a whole. The familiar high stairs, unfriendly ornamentation and impeccable stone works called back: It was exactly like Xibalba. Triumph sang in his veins.
But there was one crucial difference.
He turned to Ethan. He could hardly contain his excitement, his heart pumping at a fever pitch, but first things first. “How are we going to get down?”
Scoffing, a SEAL tossed him a rope. Sam silently cursed himself, then managed a smile. The SEAL was clearly expecting him to throw the rope back to set up, but Sam knelt and fixed it to an outcropping of rock perfectly positioned for the purpose.
Ethan folded his arms. “Might want to let one of us do that, Sam. Want you to get to the bottom all in one piece, you know?”
Sam finished the knot and gave it an experimental tug. It would do. He dusted his hands and looked up at Ethan. “She’ll work. I’ve been climbing since before you were born.”
Before they could scoff or mutter among themselves, Sam gripped the line and hoisted himself over the edge and into the abyss.
He wished he’d thought to bring gloves, he’d thought as his feet touched down. The rope was hell on hands. Water under the bridge and all, now. It also appeared to be the least of his problems.
Shaking his hand out, the first things he saw were the skeletons. Sam instantly knew these were old explorers, apparently several who’d come before him. They had probably arrived in this place, perhaps run out of air or food and been unable to climb- or navigate- their way out. They had chosen to perish with the key. Their bones lay in perfect, undisturbed silence around the entire clearing below the entrance. Some of them held their arms closely to their ribs. Did any of them have the key? Sam’s skin crawled at the thought of breaking apart the dead to find what he was after, but he had to admit, had roles been reversed there’d only be one place they’d locate the key. Clutched in his cold, dead hands. They were probably clutching the keys as if their life depended on it before they died; apparently it hadn’t made a bit of difference. Speaking of which, Sam wondered, how did they die?
Looking both left and right, Sam stepped delicately over femurs and skulls and unlike Xibalba, there were no spears or crushed bones—anywhere. It was as if the explorers’ lives were sucked right out of their bodies and without a trace as to how or why. A shiver ran down his spine.
Would he end the same way? Sam glanced at the SEAL team shimmying down the rope. They were here because of him. Would all of them die, too?
He chided himself, feeling stupid for conjuring up trouble when historically, trouble found him. Following Ethan’s earlier advice, this ‘pop’ needed to stay focused and deal with one thing at a time.
Ethan had already lowered himself to the room’s floor and was busy inspecting the unsettling remains. As he advanced into the dark, one of the SEALS- Min, maybe his name—began kicking one of the skulls around like a morbid game of soccer. It rattled, teeth falling out with each push and roll.
“Hey,” Sam said. Min stopped and stared confrontationally at Sam. “Mind if you stop? Doesn’t seem like the best way to respect the dead, especially when we don’t even know how they died and you’re screwing up any evidence that might be visible in si
tu.”
For a moment silence reigned. Except... a macabre ring of rhythmic sounds bounced off the room’s walls, the notes plucked by Min’s now abandoned ‘soccer ball’ grating against ancient floor’s uneven rock, expending its last gasp of kinetic energy as it completed a series of ever-shrinking revolutions over and around a small indent it had found. In peace, it rolled to a full stop.
All of the SEALS burst out laughing. Sam felt his cheeks turning beet red. Not from embarrassment. From anger.
“You have no idea how much death we see. This is nothing,” Ethan said between heaves of laughter that ricocheted painfully off the high walls.
“All right, all right. I get it. Still I’d appreciate it if you stop playing football in a temple.”
Min suddenly looked uneasy. “Did you just say something about a temple, man?”
He glanced away from the skull resting at his feet and held up his hands, respectfully. “Sorry,” he said, and gulped.
Sam took a deep breath, turned away and tried to just let it go. He took a step forward, trying to get his bearings.
He glanced at Ethan, watching him warily. Ethan’s focus turned to the wall.
Sam followed. If he’d been nervous before...
In front of him on the wall was the giant map, engraved and at least thirty feet long. This must have been what Ethan was referring to. He’d seen this before, in Afghanistan. It had been a little bit different, but the clawing feelings of unease… same.
Ethan had said the key had been in the center. The key had been in the center of the one he’d found, too. He looked around. No skeletons nearby. Did that mean… Sam quickly took his borrowed penlight out and pointed its light toward the etching.
The light shimmered over an obstacle in front of the map that he hadn’t noticed earlier in the dimness, assuming it was just another part of the shadows. It looked like a pedestal, but he couldn’t see what was on top of it yet.
Sam walked backward as far as he could go, careful of his footing, never taking his eyes off the pedestal. The SEALs watched him with something akin to wary respect. Or they might think he was crazy and if spikes shot out of the floor, they were judging whether they had time to run or if the spikes would take them out with him.
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