by Rai Aren
Javier gritted his teeth.
Rick watched him, frustrated. He wished he knew the answer to Oz’s question himself, then he’d just get the whole damn thing over with. But he had no idea what any of this meant.
Oz looked at one of his men and gave a subtle nod.
The man pistol-whipped the back of Juan’s head.
Juan grunted loudly, as he collapsed on the ground.
Sofia and Luis gasped.
Diego shook his head, whispering silent prayers.
Rick tensed.
After a few seconds, Juan propped himself up on all fours, then touched the back of his head, which was bleeding. He swayed a bit, then sat down on the ground. He looked up, tears stinging his eyes.
Carlos went over and knelt down beside him. He and Mari put their arms around their injured friend, trying to comfort him.
“Next time, it’ll be a bullet to the skull, understood?” Oz snapped. “My patience is reaching its limits.”
“Javier,” Rick said, “do as he says, or none of us will be seeing another sunrise.”
“You should listen to your friend,” Oz replied, his voice cool and menacing. “He seems to understand that we’re playing for keeps.”
“We...” Javier started, “we’ve... configured part of this space to hold the tablets, to display them for... study.”
Oz laughed derisively at his feeble explanation. “You could do that in the city. Try again.”
Javier gritted his teeth. “It’s true. It’s just that...”
Mari spoke up, “Javier, no! ¡No puedes!”
Oz aimed his gun at Mari. “Shut up! He can and he will, but the next word from you will be your last.” He pointed his gun at Juan and Carlos, too. “That goes for any of you, Shuar. I ask questions. You give me answers. That’s it.”
She swallowed hard. She said nothing.
Javier put his hands up. “Mari, lo siento.” He turned back to Oz. “This cavern energizes the tablets.”
Rick was surprised at the admission. He took in the expansive cavern, now seeing it in a new light. Holy crap, he thought.
Oz nodded, looking around the bewildering space. “It’s the geological features in here, isn’t it? I knew it as soon as I saw them, that they had something to do with why the metal library might be brought here.”
“It wasn’t brought here,” Javier said. “The tablets were created, in part, from the minerals in this cavern. Those minerals were combined with gold, also mined in our country, and made into an alloy that was formed into these tablets. It is an alloy that exists nowhere else on earth.”
Oz’s eyes lit up. He gazed down at the tablet he held, admiring it’s beauty and the skilled craftsmanship. Looking at the strange symbols embossed on it, he wondered about its purpose. “Go on.”
“We discovered there was some kind of energy source in here. Eventually we learned how to activate and focus it.”
Oz nodded with understanding, as his mind started filling in some of the gaps. “Through the design of the tablets? As well as their placement?”
“Si,” Javier answered.
“Most interesting,” Oz said. He walked over to the central grouping of stalagmites. He then felt a very faint vibration in the tablet. His hand tingled and warmed. He turned to Javier. “These formations are an energy source, aren’t they? I can feel it through this tablet.”
“Si,” Javier replied. “But we don’t fully understand what it is, or even how it works.”
“What about mineralogy studies?” Oz asked skeptically.
“We will not defile this site. It is a sacred space. To do so would dishonor the gift of it.”
Oz turned away, sneering at their primitive superstitions. He gazed up at the imposing stalagmites. He thought to himself how vital it was to have this place in the hands of someone–namely him–that could properly study its geology, then harness its full potential. These fools didn’t deserve it. But no matter, he mused, they won’t be in possession of it much longer. He was going to personally see to that.
He then noticed an unusual feature of the rocky protrusion the stalagmites were growing out of. The smoothed front had sections carved into it that were the same shape and size as the tablet he was holding. “These tablets, they’re meant to be placed here, aren’t they?”
Javier clenched his jaw. This vile man was an affront to this sacred place.
“Show me,” Oz said in a menacing voice.
Javier hesitated a moment, but then he thought of something. Something he would keep to himself for the moment. Speaking in Spanish he asked Mari and Carlos to help him set them up. He told Juan to remain sitting down. He was worried about his head injury.
Mari and Carlos hesitated. Javier whispered to them to trust him. Reluctantly they nodded.
Javier walked over to Oz. “We will need the tablet you’re holding.”
Oz narrowed his eyes, suspicious of the request.
Javier held out his hand, waiting.
Oz decided to hand it over. He was confident that he and his men retained ultimate control over this place.
Javier, Mari and Carlos took out the rest of tablets one by one and placed each one, fifty in total, in one of the rectangular spaces along the front face of the rocky protrusion below the grouping of stalagmites. They fit perfectly.
Oz watched them closely, his gun trained on them. Much to his surprise, the tablets had seemed to snap into place, as though held by magnets. He inwardly grinned. He knew there had to be some kind of metal laced throughout this space, this confirmed it. He realized there was much more to this cavern than met the eye. He intended to reveal all of its secrets.
By the time all of the tablets were installed, they formed a striking dark golden wall, spanning over thirty feet across.
Javier, Carlos, and Mari stepped back a good distance away from the tablets.
Rick watched them closely. He could tell they were wary of them.
Seeing their reactions, Oz also backed up a few feet. He then ordered two of his men, Alpha-1 and Alpha-2, to take position at either end of the wall of tablets. The other two, Alpha-3 and Alpha-4 were ordered to guard the main entrance to the cave.
Very quickly the space felt warmer. The tablets glowed in the lighting that had been positioned around the cavern. The placement of the tablets seemed to create an energy field that surrounded them all. The hairs on their arms stood up, their skin tingled. They all felt as though they were wrapped in some kind of electrical field that permeated the surrounding area. There was an accompanying nearly imperceptible hum.
“Do you hear that?” Oz asked.
His men nodded in the affirmative.
Just then, Oz felt the compass he’d taken off of Javier start to vibrate in his pocket. He took it out. The hands on it were spinning much faster now. He inched closer to the wall of tablets, holding the compass out. Sure enough, it vibrated more strongly, the hands spinning wildly.
“Is that what this compass does?” he asked, turning around to face Javier, who was trying his best to conceal the deep alarm he was feeling. “It alerts you when you’re close to these tablets?”
Javier again said nothing.
“And these symbols inscribed on the back of it, they’re very similar to the ones on these tablets.” Oz grinned at Javier. “Most valuable. I’m definitely going to keep this.” He re-pocketed the compass and slowly stepped towards the wall of tablets. As he did, he yelped and jumped as he got a shock where the compass rested against him. “What the hell?” He quickly fished the compass out of his pocket and tossed it on the ground. The compass vibrated wildly, bouncing around the cavern floor.
The group was startled.
The hum grew louder and the cavern warmed even further. The electrical field the wall of tablets gave off practically buzzed in the air.
Oz looked over at Javier, glaring at him. “That’s a surprising turn of events. I guess that wasn’t all this compass was designed for.”
Javier held his gaze, b
ut didn’t answer.
“Tell me now—what is the true purpose of this compass?” Oz fumed, aiming his gun directly at Javier.
Rick knew the man wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He didn’t want to see Javier get hurt. He hoped they could all still make it out of this alive. “Javier, just tell him. We don’t want things to get even worse for us.”
Oz nodded his head. “You should listen to your friend. He’s not as stupid as he looks.”
Rick bit his tongue.
The Ares operatives listened, but showed no outward response to the startling turn of events. They held their positions and kept their weapons trained on the group. They waited for Oz’s lead.
Javier blinked and took a long breath. “It activates the tablets.”
Oz looked at the wall of tablets. “Nobody move, nobody touch the compass.” He stepped warily around the vibrating compass and walked the length of the wall, gazing at each tablet. He studied the large number of peculiar symbols. He held his hand up to one of the tablets, but was careful not to touch it.
“These are warm,” he said. “Incredible.” He angled his ear towards one of the tablets. “And definitely the source of the hum.”
Then, he noticed the sandstone protrusion with dark mineral striations in front of the tablets. It had a bowl-shaped depression on the top of it. He glanced back at the compass, still vibrating noisily on the cave floor.
“Does that go here?” he asked Javier.
Javier clenched his jaw. He hated seeing these gringos in this sacred space. They defiled it. His mind raced for ways he could work this situation. He didn’t know how exactly this was going to play out, but he knew he couldn’t allow this secret to get out. There was far too much at stake.
“Si,” he answered.
“Makes sense,” Oz said, “you wouldn’t want to be holding onto that buzzing thing.” He went to retrieve the compass.
“We place a cloth inside, so as not to damage the compass from scraping against the rock,” Javier said. “Allow me.”
Oz nodded.
Javier removed his outer layer, then stepped forward and placed the nylon jacket inside the depression. “There,” he said, as he stepped back.
Oz picked up the compass, his hands tingling as he did, and quickly deposited it in the depression. He also stepped back a few feet.
Rick watched Javier, trying to figure out what was going on. He may not have known the young man long, but he knew him well enough to know something was very wrong. His instincts were telling him to get the hell out of here before something bad happened. Javier had told them nothing of this. And what one didn’t know in a situation like this could prove deadly. He glanced over to Sofia, Luis, and Diego and quietly motioned them all to stay still.
They understood at once the worsening precariousness of their predicament.
“So,” Oz said, looking back at Javier. “You know what my next question is.”
Javier didn’t answer.
“Tell me what all of this does,” Oz said, his voice getting tight as his impatience grew.
Javier cleared his throat. “Our research here isn’t complete. We know very little.”
“Now, why don’t I believe you?” Oz asked, his eyes narrowing. He turned back to the wall of gold. He scanned the myriad of enigmatic symbols and felt the warm energy radiating out from them.
He turned back around to face Javier. “Tell me what you do you know.”
Javier pursed his lips. “The symbols tell a story. It’s a partial history of our ancestors.”
Oz snapped at him, “Historical records don’t act like strange energy sources in hidden caverns. You’re leaving an awful lot out, I’d wager.” He aimed his gun at Javier’s chest.
Javier looked at Rick.
Rick nodded for him to say something, anything.
Juan, Carlos and Mari waited silently as Javier tried to handle the situation.
“What I told you is true, but...”
“Go on.”
“But they are also...” he sighed heavily, “a way to commune with our ancestral spirits.”
Oz was intrigued. “Interesting theory. Tell me more.”
Javier knew he was digging himself into a hole, but he didn’t know what else to do.
“With the help of that compass, they give off a kind of energy that allows us to reach a transcendental state.”
Juan, Carlos and Mari listened intently.
“And?” Oz pressed him.
Javier let out a frustrated sigh. “This isn’t easy to talk about. It’s a very private and... sensitive matter. This is a sacred place of worship and enlightenment for us. We participate in spiritual ceremonies here. Our people, we believe we stay connected to our loved ones after death. That we can still speak to them. That they are a real part of our lives, even though they’re beyond this mortal life.”
Rick listened intently. He suspected Javier would likely be making things up in the hopes of protecting his people’s secrets, but he wondered if there was any truth to what he was saying. The explorer in him longed to know what the reality of this place was. But at this point, he didn’t know if any of them were going to survive this ordeal.
Javier looked at Oz, who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow.
“I know,” Javier said, “continue.”
Oz nodded, keeping the gun aimed at him.
Javier took a deep breath. “I’m not lying when I say that we really don’t know everything these tablets do.”
“You’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it,” Oz said, gazing at the wall of tablets. His mind was racing with possibilities over what this discovery could provide him. But he wasn’t going to rush this. One step at a time.
“Let’s test this theory out, shall we?” Oz said.
CHAPTER 17
Oz motioned to Luis. “I want you to go stand next to the tablets,” he ordered.
Luis looked taken aback. “Me? ¿Por qué?”
“Because I told you to.”
“Leave him alone,” Rick said.
Luis stood frozen in place; his eyes wide as saucers. He was terrified.
“Well, aren’t you the big protector?” Oz said, smirking. “Fine. Two guinea pigs are better than one.”
Rick glared at him. He didn’t budge.
Oz pointed to one of his men who had been guarding the cave entrance. “Alpha-4, help these two along, will you.”
The man nodded and quickly strode towards them.
He gave Rick a hard shove in the back. “Move, asshole.”
“Back off, dirtbag,” Rick said. “Alphagetti, is it?”
The man snarled at him. He gave him another hard shove. “I said move.” He pushed Luis ahead as well.
Rick put a protective arm around Luis. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size, coward.”
“Fine,” he said and then gave Rick another hard shove in the back.
Rick grimaced. Well, I did ask for that, he thought. He wasn’t going to give the man the satisfaction of a response.
At the one end of the wall of tablets, Alpha-2 was no longer listening to what was happening in the center of the room. The tablet he stood closest to had drawn his attention. It seemed to glow brighter as he gazed at it. He could feel its energy buzzing in the air. He cocked his head and frowned. He could hear something under the ambient hum. Like a faint whisper. He tried to listen, to understand what he was hearing. He felt something beckoning to him. The pull was magnetic. Irresistible. It was as though this place was trying to tell him something. An important, vital secret. He strained to understand. He needed to know.
He inched closer. He slipped his glove off. He felt the heat coming off of the wall of tablets. He touched the edge of the nearest tablet that had drawn his attention. His fingertips tingled with a weird energy. He held his hand there for a moment longer. It started to burn.
“Are you listening to me?” Oz demanded, suddenly noticing one of his men acting strangely. He was alarm
ed to see the man had lowered his weapon and was distracted by the tablet. It was not like his men to lose their focus this way.
“Hey! Alpha-2, what are you doing?” Oz shouted.
The man heard him this time and suddenly pulled his hand away. He looked at his fingertips—they were reddened, slightly burned. He looked at Oz, feeling irritated at having his attention pulled away.
“I asked you a question!”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he inched along the wall of tablets, trying to ascertain the source of the whispering. He strained his ears. It was maddening not to be able to understand what it was trying to tell him. The room grew hotter. Sweat dripped down his face, stinging his eyes.
He could get no answer. His temper was getting the best of him. The heat from being in proximity to the tablets was growing hotter, and hotter, and hotter; becoming unbearable, as was the hum and the incessant whispering. He still couldn’t make out what it was saying.
“Don’t you hear that?” he asked no one in particular. “I can’t tell what it’s saying.”
Oz was furious. He couldn’t believe how this man was disobeying his orders all of a sudden. “It’s just a hum. Man your position!”
Javier looked over at Mari and the others. They shared a serious, knowing glance, but said nothing. They turned their attention back and just watched.
Alpha-2 kept looking back at the tablets. The whispering was getting louder. It was aggravating.
“Tell me!” he shouted.
He felt edgy, like he was on speed. His mind was racing. Impatience and anger were taking hold, growing exponentially.
The whispering was now growing louder. It started to sound like crashing ocean waves in his ears. He was growing hotter, too, he was boiling inside. He needed to take some of his layers off. But he’d have to put his gun down to do that. He was growing increasingly paranoid and confused. Why can’t I understand what it’s telling me?
He then walked towards Rick and Luis.
Luis backed away, along the wall of tablets, his jaw dropping. The man had a crazed look in his eyes. It was frightening.
“What? What did you say?” he asked Luis. But his own words sounded strange, like trying to speak underwater.