Adventures of the Aviatrix

by Callista Hawkes

  “I’ve always been fascinated by history.” He replies. “I grew up with my nose in a book, reading about the Ancient Greeks, the Roman Empire, Egypt and the Pharaohs, European history and so on. I went on to Brown University and did a degree in history. When an opening as a field archaeologist with the Metropolitan Museum came up, it was an excellent fit. I’ve traveled to digs and ancient sites all around the world.”

  “Sounds like you’ve led quite a life yourself.” You remark.

  “I guess so.” He replies noncommittally.

  “So, let me guess,” You grin, “You’re married to a librarian or teacher or something with a couple of equally bookish kids back home?”

  “No, no, not married.” He replies. “Guess I haven’t found the right girl yet.”

  “I’m sure there’s a perfect bookworm out there for you somewhere.” You smirk.

  “You always mock your customers?” He retorts, his eyes hardening.

  “Feel like I’ve struck a nerve there, champ.” You chuckle. “Sorry.” You add sincerely. “Didn’t mean to offend.”

  Ask him about the map

  Concentrate on your flying

  You turn your attention back to your flying, guiding the plane around the cloud capped peak of the dormant volcano that forms the center of the island, its slopes covered in dense, impenetrable rainforest. As you reach the far side of the island, the narrow peninsula extending out into the azure waters of the Caribbean Sea, Noah pulls the map from his pocket and studies it before gazing out of the window at the coastline below.

  “That’s it!” He tells you excitedly, jabbing his finger on the ancient parchment. “That steep rocky section of coastline jutting out just ahead of us!”

  “I’ll take us down.” You tell him, swinging the plane around in wide loop as you begin your descent. Noah’s eyes remain fixed on the craggy cliff face protruding out of the spray of the breaking waves as they crash against its base. Straightening up parallel with the peninsula, you ease back the throttle and extend the flaps. You glance at the instruments with satisfaction as the airspeed quickly drops.

  “Brace for landing.” You warn him as you guide the plane down towards the undulating surface beneath you. The underside of the fuselage skips over the waves before seawater splashes up around you, droplets showering the cockpit windows as you land. The plane swiftly slows and you swing the rudder to one side and open up the throttle as you guide her towards the beach.

  With the plane securely beached, you swing open the nose hatch, athletically vaulting up out of it and jumping down, your feet sinking slightly into the damp sand.

  “Still looks like a whole bunch of nothing to me.” You comment, glancing at the dense tree line of palm trees at the top of the beach as Noah clambers down to join you, hoisting a pack over his shoulder and onto his back.

  “We’ll see.” He grins, gazing along the beach at the cliff face a couple of hundred yards along the coast.

  “It’s your money, pal.” You shrug, mopping your brow with the sleeve of your jacket before pulling on your hat and striding along the beach towards the cliff. As Noah walks beside you, you both leave a trail of footprints in the flawless white sand.

  As you reach the imposing rocky cliffs, Noah pulls out the map and carefully unfolds it.

  “The map gives the location as somewhere behind that cliff face.” Noah murmurs, gazing down at the piece of ancient parchment.

  “Behind it?” You echo.

  “Yes, it looks like there must be a cavern of some kind.” He replies.

  “I don’t want to burst your bubble, pal, but I’m not seeing any openings in that cliff face.” You tell him, silently cursing yourself for not insisting on the thousand bucks up front.

  “There must be.” He insists, squinting at the craggy rock face. No matter how long he stares at it, you can both clearly see that there are no yawning cave mouths or even the narrowest of cracks.

  “You won’t be the first man to be lured by an old map and the promise of untold riches.” You tell him gently, reaching out and squeezing his arm. “Let’s get back on the plane. You can buy me a rum and we’ll call it even on this wild goose chase, eh?”

  “No!” Noah replies forcefully, twisting his arm out of your grasp. “It’s here! I know it. The opening might be below the waterline or perhaps down from above. We can’t give up yet. Please Miss Blake.” His eyes look pleadingly into yours.

  “I guess I haven’t much else to do.” You sigh.

  “Thank you, Elyse.” He grins. “You want to try below the waterline or hike to the top of the cliff?”

  Go for a swim

  Hike to the top

  “It’s a nice day for a dip.” You shrug, casting off your hat and jacket and kicking off your shoes. While you are tempted to strip down to your underwear, you don’t know Noah well enough to do that. Besides, your shirt and shorts are lightweight enough for swimming. Noah has also stripped to his shirt and shorts, his pack and neatly folded clothes sitting next to the untidy pile of your own garments. He rummages into his pack for a moment before turning to you.

  “Here.” He passes you a narrow black cylinder. “It’s a flashlight.” He tells you.

  “Really?!” You reply, the word dripping with sarcasm.

  “It’s lightweight and smaller than the usual ones.” Noah replies defensively, glancing at another in his own hand. “And it’s waterproof.” With a grudging nod, you step into the surf and wade out into the calm Caribbean Sea.

  Soon, the beach drops away and you begin to swim towards the base of the cliff. Dipping your head beneath the water, you both search for any sign of an opening.

  “I think I can see something!” Noah calls out as his head breaks through the water, his dark hair soaked and flattened against his head. He points towards your left and swims purposefully towards it. You follow and as he dives back beneath the surface, you do likewise. Sure enough, there is a dark, shadowy opening just below the waterline. You both switch on your flashlights and propel yourselves through the opening and into the mysterious darkness beyond.

  The narrow rocky tunnel seems to continue deep into the cliff. The flashlight beams barely pierce the inky black darkness ahead. As you propel yourselves deeper, you wonder how much longer you can hold your breath. Too far and you will not have enough to turn back before you run out of air. Noah seems determined to continue, his legs propelling him forward ahead of you. While he seems certain, you are less so and wonder if you should turn back before it is too late.

  Keep going

  Turn back

  You’re not going to die for the promise of a measly thousand bucks from some crazy treasure hunter with a death wish. Turning, you strike back towards the sea. As you swim back along the passage, you quickly realize that the current must have been with you before, but now you are swimming against it. It is going to take you longer. You grit your teeth, fighting the panic threatening to overwhelm you. You’ll make it. It’s not so far. You can see the sunlight shining through the mouth of the tunnel just ahead. Your lungs are on fire as you frantically kick your legs. When you finally draw in a lungful of seawater, you are only a few yards short. Your limbs flail for a few moments before darkness closes in and your lifeless body floats to the roof of the cave.

  THE END

  Go back a few moments and rethink your actions

  Against your better judgment, you decide to continue to follow Noah and hope there is air ahead. The only light is the dancing beams of your flashlights as you swim onward. Your lungs are on fire and it takes all your willpower to stop the impulse to inhale and gulp down seawater. Knowing you are only moments away from drowning, panic threatens to overwhelm you. Finally, you see the shimmery surface of the water overhead and with the last reserves of your strength, kick up powerfully towards it. You break the surface and take in a deep, rasping breath before taking out your ire on the equally breathless Noah. His eyes widen at both the ferocity and imagination of the savage vitriol you hurl his
way.

  “Sorry, had a feeling this was it, is all.” He shrugs, pulling himself up onto a ledge.

  “You try that again, pal, the only feeling you’ll be having is an agonizing throb where your balls used to be.” You snarl, pulling yourself up beside him.

  “Noted.” He smirks as his gaze momentarily flicks towards your chest. You are suddenly very aware of the soaked and now almost transparent fabric of your shirt clinging snugly to your body.

  “Eyes up, buster.” You growl. He flashes you a rueful grin and shines his flashlight around. You are in a narrow passageway. A natural cave by the looks of it, carved out by millennia of the waves undercutting the cliff perhaps.

  You continue a little further until the cave forks ahead.

  “Your map say anything about this?” You ask Noah, your temper cooling as quickly as it had flared up. He reaches into a pocket and carefully withdraws it from a sealed waterproof pouch. After a moment of deliberation, he slowly shakes his head.

  “Your guess is as good as mine.” He replies sheepishly before pointing excitedly ahead. “But look!” His torch reflects back off something hanging from the wall of the left hand passage. A lantern, ancient and caked with grime hangs from a rusty hook set into the cave wall. Looks like the pirates used that passage. As you move towards it, you can feel the air stirring in the right hand passage. The air seems fresher that way.

  Go left

  Go right

  “Looks like this is the route.” You nod, following Noah inside. He reaches for the lantern and examines it in the glow of his flashlight.

  “Early eighteenth century.” He muses. “The time-frame is consistent. Yes, this must have been the way to their vault or hideout.”

  “You’re the expert.” You shrug, following him further along the passage. As you pass more lanterns, Noah quickens his pace, his excitement getting the better of him.

  “Wait!” You call out as he hurries ahead, disappearing around a bend in the winding passage. As you follow him, your scream of shock and horror echoes along the narrow cave. Noah’s eyes bulge out at you in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly. A thick spear has pierced the side of his neck and lifted him off the ground, his feet dangling beneath him. The spear seems to have sprung from a hidden aperture in the cavern wall, no doubt triggered by some ancient mechanism. As you watch Noah’s body go limp, his eyes rolling back, you turn and dash back down the passageway. Desperate to leave this awful subterranean hell behind, panic overwhelms you and you fail to consider that perhaps you have already passed other traps that you both avoided by sheer dumb luck. You are not so lucky on your headlong flight back through the winding passage. You hear the sound of something clicking a split second before you feel the ground give way beneath your feet. A trapdoor with a dozen spikes awaiting beneath. Mercifully, death is instant.

  THE END

  Go back a few moments and rethink your actions

  “I dunno.” You reply. “Smells kinda musty that way and fresher on the right.”

  “Vaults no doubt often smell musty.” Noah points out.

  “No, something feels off.” You continue. “The lantern seems like a lure. It’s too obvious.”

  “Too obvious?” Noah echoes disbelievingly. “Need I remind you that no one had found this place in more than two hundred years? Or that we both nearly drowned just reaching this point?”

  “You want to go that way, pal, be my guest.” You shrug. “I’ll try this way.”

  “Okay, okay.” Noah sighs. “Have it your way, but when this turns out to be a dead end, remember I told you so.”

  “Sure.” You flash him a smile and lead the way, smirking as you listen to Noah muttering about ‘needing his head examining for taking directions from a damn broad’.

  The passage winds and climbs before dropping down again. The further you go, the fresher the air seems. The cave begins to widen and you can hear what sounds like water lapping ahead. You wonder if you are about to step out onto the beach perhaps not far from where you entered the water, but there is no sign of sunlight ahead. Finally, the beams of your flashlights illuminate the rocky walls only a few paces ahead before reaching an impenetrable darkness.

  “End of the road.” You murmur to Noah.

  “Looks like the cave opens out into a much larger chamber.” He replies, gazing into the darkness. Your footsteps echo as you reach the end of the passage which opens out onto a ledge with just the impenetrable blackness beyond. The sound of lapping water is louder and seems to be coming from below you. Noah joins you as you step out onto the ledge and peer into the darkness. You swing the flashlight around and something beside you glints in the beam.

  “What’s that?” You ask Noah. It seems to be an ancient mechanism of some kind with brass intermeshing gears, chains and sprockets. There is an ornately carved wooden crank handle jutting out of the side of the device.

  “Looks old.” He murmurs, examining it closely. “Eighteenth century I’d say. Exquisite engineering for the time.”

  “Shall we turn it?” You ask him. “Perhaps it operates a drawbridge.”

  “It could be a trap.” Noah winces, rubbing his chin. “We might be better served ignoring it until we have a better idea what it is.”

  Turn the crank

  Ignore it and explore further

  “Well, as I don’t have my bathing suit with me, I guess it’s an uphill slog to the cliff top.” You sigh.

  “Great.” Noah grins, hoisting his pack on his shoulder and striding up the beach towards the tree line. You glare at him for a moment before trudging after him.

  It is a long and arduous trek inland through thick undergrowth and dense tropical forest. A task even more taxing given the circuitous and steep nature of the ascent to the top of the cliff. When you finally reach the summit, you stand at the cliff edge, your hands on your hips as you gaze down at your seaplane on the beach far below.

  “It’s quite a view, I’ll give you that.” You mutter, glancing over your shoulder at your companion.

  “I’d say.” Noah smirks, his eyes fixed on your buttocks.

  “Smooth, mac,” You reply, narrowing your eyes, “But if you’re going to hit on a girl, perhaps not one that’s exhausted and dripping with sweat after you’ve just dragged her up a hill in the midday heat for the last hour, eh? Especially when there’s a sheer drop nearby and no one else around to challenge her story.” Noah’s grin quickly fades and he subconsciously takes a step back. It’s your turn to smirk.

  “Err, anyway, there should be some form of opening down to what is presumably a subterranean chamber behind the cliff face.” Noah stutters, swiftly changing the subject.

  “Sure, we’ll just search for a sign that reads ‘Ye olde pirate hideaway this way’.” You grumble, glancing around you. The cliff top is thick with vegetation and as Noah beats at it with a stick, you are even more convinced that you have allowed yourself to be caught up in a fool’s errand.

  “It must be here.” He mutters to himself, his earlier confidence now replaced by a note of desperation. You sigh and follow him as he wanders back and forth. Noah abruptly cries out, dropping to the ground ahead of you.

  “Noah!” You cry out, springing forward. He has slipped into a hole in the ground and is frantically clawing at the undergrowth as he tries to save himself from dropping into a dark abyss below him.

  “Help me!” He calls out, his voice quivering with terror. While your instinct is to help, you are concerned that he might drag you down to your death too.

  Save him

  Let him drop

  You throw yourself forward and grasp Noah’s wrist just as he slips into the hole.

  “Hold on!” You tell him, feeling yourself sliding towards the opening as his weight drags you forward. It’s your turn to flail around, trying to stop yourself following him in. Your fingers find an exposed root and you grip it tightly.

  “Let go.” Noah pleads, dangling into the dark abyss, his fingers sliding d
own your wrist. “No point in both of us dying.”

  “You’re not dead yet.” You hiss through gritted teeth, summoning every last ounce of strength as you are pulled inexorably towards the hole. The root abruptly snaps and both of you scream in terror as you plummet into the abyss. You fall, hands thrown out before you in a futile attempt to shield yourself from the fatal impact to come when your bodies smash onto the rocks below. Instead, you abruptly plunge into cool sea water, the shock knocking the wind from you. Seeing a tiny circle of sunlight shining through the rippling surface of the water above you, you sweep your arms back and swim towards it. As you break through, you take a shuddering breath just as Noah emerges next to you.

  “Are you okay?” You ask him. He nods in the gloom, breathing hard.

  “Reach into my pack.” He tells you, turning his back to you. “I’ve got a couple of flashlights inside.”

  “I hope they’re waterproof.” You reply, rummaging around inside and pulling out two metal cylinders.

  “They are.” Noah nods as you pass one to him and switch on your own. Shining the beam ahead, the cone of light illuminates the rocky wall of the chamber.

  “There seems to be a ledge.” You tell him. “We should be able to pull ourselves out of the water there.”

  Hauling yourselves up onto the ledge, you catch your breath before clambering to your feet. Noah swings his flashlight around and something glints in the beam.

  “What’s that?” You ask Noah as you both walk carefully towards it. It seems to be an ancient mechanism of some kind with brass intermeshing gears, chains and sprockets. There is an ornately carved wooden crank handle jutting out of the side of the device.

  “Looks old.” He murmurs, examining it closely. “Eighteenth century I’d say. Exquisite engineering for the time.”

  “Shall we turn it?” You ask him. “Perhaps it operates a drawbridge.”

  “It could be a trap.” Noah winces, rubbing his chin. “We might be better served ignoring it until we have a better idea what it is.”