Secrets of the Anasazi

by Sky Whitehorse

  It occurred to her that Dr. Parker thought she was the most replaceable. He would need Lance for translations, and that made him indispensable. If she fell, everyone would carry on. She placed her hands on the first rib and quickly swung to the next. She looked down into the black hole. Grains of sand had settled on the top of the ribs, making it more difficult to grip.

  The memory of holding on to a bar on the catwalk as a child came back to her. If she held still, she wouldn't be able to reach the next one. She would hang there until her fingers slipped and fall into the sand. She winced. She kicked her feet, keeping the momentum going. When she made it to the last one, she kicked her legs back, then forward, with as much power as she could and let go, landing on the ledge on the other side of the cave.

  Feeling the rock floor beneath her was a relief. She looked back to see Dr. Parker rubbing his chin with one hand, his eyebrows raised as if he had been skeptical on whether or not she would make it.

  Dr. Parker took a moment to put his climbing gear on. "James, hold the end of my rope," Dr. Parker said.

  James took the end as his uncle took to the first rib. He was fit, having no problem grasping and switching to the next one with strength and agility. Maya felt guilty for thinking it, but she wished he would slip. But, as he launched himself onto the ledge beside her, all hope disappeared.

  She saw how Dr. Parker had calculated this now. Lance couldn't run without his own light, nor would he leave his sister or Maya. They were pressed to continue.

  The climbing gear was tossed back to James. He set Chantal down, put the gear on, and she climbed onto his back. Her head rested on his shoulder and Maya caught the expression on his face as Chantal breathed on his neck. His chin was up and his eyes closed halfway. He whispered something in her ear. They met eyes again, and Chantal held tight to James as he grasped onto the first rib. Dr. Parker held the other end of the rope and Maya grabbed onto it behind him for extra support.

  Chantal reminded Maya of a baby monkey clinging to his back. Each time James grasped one of the ribs, it bent slightly. His weight added with hers put stress on them. Maya gritted her teeth with apprehension. As they came to the last rib, James swung back and forth, building momentum. He let go and a snap was heard just as he and Chantal safely landed on the other side; the rib fell into the depths below.

  “Oh no!” Chantal said, holding her fingers up to her mouth and looking back to where her brother was in the dark.

  "It's alright. I'll still be able to grab you, Lance," Dr. Parker said.

  Lance didn't reply.

  James took the gear off and Dr. Parker shone the light back over to the other side, ready to toss the gear to Lance. He wasn't next to the ribs. Dr. Parker moved the light back and forth across the other side, as far as the beam would go, but Lance was nowhere to be seen.

  "Lance!" Chantal called, choking on the word.

  Still nothing.

  All four of them began calling for him. Dr. Parker turned red in the face and made threats while Chantal and Maya became frantic.

  "Damned kid," Dr. Parker said, stomping his foot and cursing. "He tried to run off and get help."

  "That's not possible," James argued. "He doesn't have any light to find his way back."

  "The Kachinas got him, " Maya said, dragging her fingers down her cheeks. "He's the youngest and we left him over there alone."

  Dr. Parker rolled his eyes. "Kachinas!" he mocked. "Ridiculous."

  Chantal bawled onto James’s shoulder. "He's so clumsy. He could have fallen over the edge."

  "The gutless fool was too chicken to come across," Dr. Parker said. "That's all. Lance, I'm giving you to the count of three to show yourself before we leave you here, and then maybe the Kachinas really will get you." He had a devious grin, walking to the ledge as he tried to get a better look across. "One... two... two and a half... LANCE!"

  They waited, listening for a while as Dr. Parker became increasingly agitated, scuffing his feet as a paced. "Fine, we're leaving." He glared at James. "C'mon."

  Chantal cried harder. "Lance!" she shouted. "If you're there, don't be a coward… Say something!"

  Dr. Parker strode down the path.

  Maya’s knees were weak. "Please, let me go back and look for him," she begged Dr. Parker.

  "Why? So you can try and hide together?" He scowled at her. "That's not an option."

  "He's the only one that can read the markings,” Maya pleaded, trying to appeal to his sensible side. Lance couldn't be abandoned here, where it was known that people went in and never came back—like Warren's mother.

  "We'll manage. He made his choice," came the reply.

  Maya’s heart sunk. She tried to look back into the dark, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to see anything. She did it anyway because it hurt her to the depths of her soul to leave him. There was nothing she could do, not if she wanted to find Ahote and not if she wanted to make sure Chantal made it to the lake of healing waters where she would find the cure for her mother. She had to follow Dr. Parker.

  34. The Indian Paintbrush

  Sunday, 6:04 a.m.

  Maya replaced Lance as the lead. It was spine-chilling being the front-lineman. Without being able to see far ahead she didn’t know if she might walk over the edge of a cliff, or worse, run into a nocturnal beast from her nightmares. She never knew what was ahead. It was like being in the front car of a roller coaster—you were the first to know you were being taken down the spiraling track into a loop-the-loop. This must be how Sacagawea felt leading the explorers through the Rocky Mountains.

  Her shadow silhouetted in front of her by the beam of Dr. Parker’s headlamp. She loathed having him at her back, but at least she wasn't worried a Kachina might pick her off from the end. They proceeded into a tunnel directly ahead. It was about five feet tall and extremely cold. The stalactites were covered in icicles that dripped cold water.

  Dr. Parker and James had to bend down as they walked through, and Chantal leaned into James to get through unscathed. Even Maya had to duck slightly under some of the pointy icicles. She touched one of the walls in the tunnel, feeling the bite of frost on the tips of her fingers, and jerked her hand back.

  The tunnel curved to the left as they came to a dead end in what was a circular room in a closed of cavern. Four square slates, like tables with markings on them, were set on the floor in perfect distances. The circular pattern that connected them was like the design of a compass rose. On each slate were old, white pottery bowls. The room looked like it was made to be a mini auditorium with surfaces of rock that were carved out to be seats that stair-stepped down to the next row.

  "What is the meaning of this?" Dr. Parker asked, shining his headlamp everywhere to get a good perspective.

  "It looks like an ancient meeting room where they held religious rituals," Chantal looked pale and like she was having difficulty lifting her head. Her eyelids fluttered drowsily, a side effect of the pills. James set her down next to a bowl on the square slate. He stretched, arching his back.

  "What makes you say that?" Dr. Parker asked, eyeing her like a suspicious cat waiting outside a prairie dog hole.

  "There are four square slates, each with four bowls, representing the gifts of the four animals that gifted their abilities to the worthiest tribal leaders." Chantal rattled the information off as if it were common knowledge. "One for sight, song, sonar, and knowledge. Each gifted tribal leader had a place in the north, south, east, or west. The bowls are each set in a direction.” She outstretched her hand. “The bricks that surround the room in a circle represent the circle of life and each member of the tribe sat within it to symbolize equal importance."

  Dr. Parker straightened his posture, pulling out a gold compass from his pocket with a chain on it. It flipped open. He went to stand next to each of the bowls to check her hypothesis. "I have to admit,” he said, pulling his chin stubble, “I'm impressed with your knowledge, Chantal. Tell me, what was the ritual?" He put the compass back in his pocke
t and folded his arms.

  "I’ve never seen it done, but hypothetically, the tribe filled the bowls with the fundamental elements of life." James sat beside her, and her face was smooshed on his shoulder as she spoke, her eyelids drooping.

  He raised his eyebrows. "Which are?"

  She yawned. "Earth, water, fire, and wind. We could fill them–"

  "No, that's not necessary," Dr. Parker said, waving his hand at her. "We’re going back to find the City of Cibola. This is a dead end."

  Chantal lifted her head. She looked at him like he had just taken away her birthday.

  "Dr. Parker," Maya said, remembering that filling the bowls was the next thing on the list of directions, "I only need a few minutes to gather the items. If you do this one thing for us, I'll make sure you make it to Cibola."

  He stared into her eyes, walking up to her with a stone-cold expression. She thought he was going to hit her as he extended his hand. She flinched, but instead, he rubbed his fingers on the side of her neck. Every muscle in her body stiffened. She felt sick to his touch.

  "I'll give you five minutes," he said in a breathy tone, flipping her hair back.

  Maya shivered from his creepy fingers, trying not to show her repulsion. She turned slowly and took two of the bowls back to the passage outside the cavern where the stalagmites were dripping and set one down to fill. She went further out and knelt to find sand for the other bowl. She could barely see anything as his headlamp shone through the stalagmites from the other side of the tunnel. She used her sense of touch to feel what was there. She placed the bowls on the ground, squatting down, scooping sand, and sprinkling it into one of the bowls.

  Suddenly she felt rough hands grasp her ankles, yanking her to her knees. She skidded on the dirt as something pulled her. She shrieked, rolling over and kicking, unable to see what had got her.

  “What’s going on?” Dr. Parker sprung through the tunnel, his headlamp getting brighter.

  She actually hoped Dr. Parker would hurry as she clawed at the floor, and was drug around a corner. She tried to grasp for anything, but there was nothing solid to hold, only loose gravel. Dr. Parker caught up to her, flooding her in a pool of light. The hands let go. Maya whipped her neck around trying to spot whatever had gotten her, but all she could see were the rocky cave walls.

  She stood up, breathing heavily, and dusted off her hands on her pants. “The Kachinas!”

  “What nonsense.” He snickered. “Trying to sneak away in place like this is a death wish. I recommend sticking with us.”

  She furrowed her brow in frustration that he didn’t believe her. There was no use arguing with him. He had made up his mind about her intentions, and there was no changing it. She rubbed her arms to get the chill off.

  "Hurry and get what you need." He stood over her while she found the bowls, brushed up more sand, and put it in. “That’s plenty. Let’s get this over with.”

  They headed back to the cavern, placing the bowls back where they belonged. "I just need a match for the fire element,” she said. “Chantal, will you blow into the empty bowl for the wind?"

  Chantal perched next to the empty bowl and nodded.

  Maya found the matchbox in the bottom of the backpack and struck it, laying it inside the bowl.

  As Chantal began to blow, a surge of light erupted from the four bowls and sent a burst of warm wind past them. Each of them jumped up at the sudden invisible wave. The bowl of fire had a red glow, the bowl of water had a blue glow, the bowl of sand had a yellow glow, and the bowl of wind had a white glow. The entire cavern lit up. Everyone winced at the sudden brightness.

  In the middle of the floor, a square-shaped hole lit up in green. It reminded her of the unique shape she had been studying all summer. Instantly she knew this was where the puzzle box fit. She reached into her bag and pulled it out looking from it to the hole. She brought it over and set it inside. The box emitted rays of light from the engravings and started to shake. The pieces on the top of the box began to move into different designs, flipping over a few times, and then stopped.

  She reached to touch it. It was warm. As she pulled on the top the lid lifted off. Inside was a beautiful plant-like paintbrush. The stem was thick, long, and green. At the top were fine hairs as soft as a down feather growing out of it. At the base, the hairs were yellow, the middle orange, and the tips red. It looked just like an Indian paintbrush! Like the flower, only with real bristles. Her lips parted as she delicately picked up the precious gift. She was so in awe of its majestic features that her anxiety faded away. The gift was intended for her, the artist. She had been given a sacred gift from the Earth Mother. It was as if she was smiling down on her from above.

  She closed her eyes. Thank you, Earth Mother.

  Dr. Parker plucked it out of her fingers. "Thank you. Not sure if this will come in handy, but you never know." He grimaced at her and tucked it into his pocket.

  Her face fell as her anger rose. Earth Mother give me the strength.

  The semi-circle of mud bricks began to spin against the wall. It moved slowly around in a 180-degree turn. It was a revolving room. As it came to a stop they found themselves in a new part of the cave where a canal flowed by. The lights from the bowls brightened the cavern like a florescent light in a dark street.

  Across the water was an enormous Anasazi dwelling. Mud houses were stacked on top of one another like boxes, and nearly reached the ceiling of the cave. Square windows and doors were cut out and ladders built of wood were used to climb into the houses. Old campfires were blackened with soot, and stalactites shimmered with gold dust. The four of them gaped at the surprise.

  A path leading to darkness both upstream to the left and downstream to the right continued on. There were sand paintings with statues of goddesses and Kachinas dispersed throughout the village.

  These are the sands that withstand time. The City of Cibola of ancient legend was greater than Maya had imagined.

  Dr. Parker gave a hoot and jumped for joy. "There really is gold!” He wiped his finger up a stalactite and stared at the shimmering dust. “This is it, the first village of the Anasazi! It's bigger than anything ever discovered," he cried. "Everyone, cross over to the other side."

  Maya had grown sick of his constant dictation. She had begun to recognize that James was just as much a victim as she and her cousins. At this point she believed the three of them could find their way alone. She found her voice. "Let us go.”

  “Excuse me?” He said, narrowing his eyes at her.

  "I told you I would help you find Cibola, and I have." She tried to sound brave even though she didn’t feel it. “Let us go.”

  James held Chantal in his arms. Her forehead rested on his cheek. Both of them watched Dr. Parker in a side glance.

  Dr. Parker pursed his lips, pulled his pocket knife out of his belt, and held it up to Maya's neck. She tilted her head back with her mouth hanging open. "I'll tell you when you're done helping me," he said through gritted teeth.

  She backed up as the point of his blade broke her skin. She felt blood trickle down her neck.

  "Uncle, no!" James shouted.

  "Don't defy me, James. You don't want to wind up like–" He stopped and looked at Maya. "-you know who."

  Maya and Chantal exchanged worried glances. This is not the time to argue. “Ok. I’m going.” She took the lead again and Dr. Parker and James followed. As soon as they got across, she led them to a dwelling where there was a ladder perched leading to a roof with another house with another ladder in a seemingly endless building of walls that continued up twelve stories. It was like looking at a perspective drawing where the house on top appeared very small while the other houses leading to it become larger.