Secrets of the Anasazi

by Sky Whitehorse

  James rested his head against the wall. His chest heaving as he tilted his head back for air. Chantal clung to his shoulders as he held her thighs.

  Beside them was a small window. James peered into the slit in the side of the mud house while Maya tried to remember the next part of the riddle in the rubbing. Her brain was like the oatmeal they served at the hotel, slightly too cold and lumpy after a lack of sleep and she hadn’t eaten all day.

  She wasn’t sure what the next clue was, but she felt as though they shouldn’t stop until they found the underground Lake of Healing Waters. Maya waved for James to follow her down the ally, but he ignored her. He leaned into the opening.

  Maya grabbed his arm. “We’re too big to fit through there. C’mon!”

  James pulled his arm away, poking his head in when a hissing voice spoke softly to them from inside.

  "What brings you here?" it asked with a Spanish accent and a lisp.

  Maya turned to look inside the window, but it was dark. "Who are you?"

  "My name does not matter. What matters is your protection," it replied.

  "What kind of protection?" Maya asked.

  "Kachinas. They were slumbering, and now they have been awakened by someone."

  Maya tried to see who she was talking to but couldn't see anything other than a moving shadow. The room inside the pueblo had four miniature windows and no doors. A beam of light shone on the mud floor inside, but the rest of the room was in darkness.

  "Yes,” she replied as a chill ran up her spine. "I know."

  James turned his chin up as he looked at something behind Maya. His eyes widened as he took a step backward. Maya jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Dr. Parker had found them. He had a gash across his eyebrow that was bleeding, and teeth marks on his shoulder where his shirt had ripped open.

  "Let me talk to whoever is responsible for this mess," it breathed.

  Dr. Parker began speaking to him, "Yes, what do you want?" He wrapped his arms around Maya as she tried to twist away, but couldn’t.

  "They are coming for you, coming for their things," it rasped.

  The four of them jolted as they heard a splash in the water from around the building.

  “I think I can handle myself,” Dr. Parker said, struggling to keep Maya in a firm grip.

  Maya looked toward the lake and froze at the sight of more skeletons that had followed them down the tunnel and were advancing towards the alley. Some wore tattered clothes, others had missing bones, but all of them were coming closer in a fast-paced stride with their boney toes like talons sinking into the pebbled sand.

  Dr. Parker’s grip loosened on Maya. He turned to the voice coming from the window, putting his hands into the windowsill. "Help me," he pleaded, turning to the voice in the mud house. His eyes were wide and he clutched his bag of stolen artifacts, his hands trembling.

  "Yes, I can offer you protection, but in return you must do something for me."

  James bounced, getting a better grasp on Chantal who had slid down. Maya started to slowly back away.

  Three skeletons reached the first pueblo they had rounded before getting to the alley.

  "Anything," he shrieked as he looked over his shoulder with his eyebrows turned up.

  It outstretched it's bony hand through the slot. A necklace with a long gold chain dangled from its fingers with a carved Kachina in the setting.

  Dr. Parker recoiled from its nasty limb, flapping his hands and leaning back.

  "Take this heavy necklace and put it on," it hissed. "But if I do this for you, you must do something for me."

  Dr. Parker eyed it, then shot suspicious glances at the mysterious being that was clearly different from the other skeleton they had seen.

  Maya and James backed away slowly as they kept watch.

  Chantal whispered, "He's making a deal with a prisoner."

  It hadn't occurred to Maya that the mud building was a prison cell, and then she remembered the riddle. Don’t make deals with prisoners.

  Dr. Parker stared at the necklace, his lips parting slightly with greed.

  "If you wear this, the gold of the city will rightfully be yours, along with the Anasazi fortune. Just put it on."

  Dr. Parker wrapped his fingers around the chain.

  "That’s right. Everything you have always wanted is right here. Put it ‘round your neck."

  He held it up in the light, his eyes glistening as he gazed upon it. The skeletons were an arm’s length away as he threw it over his head and it flopped onto his chest. They came to an abrupt stop and watched him, eyeing the protective charm like a repellent.

  Dr. Parker smiled, looking extremely satisfied with himself. Then a strong gust of wind came from nowhere, blowing an entrance into the mud house where the voice came from.

  Sand blew into circulation just as it had in the kiva. It blew so hard that Dr. Parker was forced through the newly-made entrance with sand swirling, his backpack falling off from the force.

  The skeleton was blown out. It had long greasy brown hair with dried up skin, like a peeled apple that had shriveled overnight and turned brown from the decay, still clinging to it’s bones. "Yes! Yes! I am free from the curse!" it hissed. "My soul is free. Death has found me!" It fell to the sand, lifeless.

  A wind from the opposite direction blew and rebuilt a solid wall around Dr. Parker. "No! Help me! Get me out of here!"

  "There's no hope for you now," Chantal said. "You're under the curse of the Anasazi."

  Dr. Parker kicked and punched from inside the mud house, but the wall didn't budge.

  The skeletons rummaged through Dr. Parker's backpack, taking tomahawks, knives, and other mementos. One of them knelt in the sand, picked one of Dr. Parker’s shoes out of the bag, and stared at it a moment. He decidedly found it to be junk as he flicked his wrist and tossed it over his shoulder. He dumped the rest of the contents, spreading everything out. One of them bent down to take a few more things. They casually glanced over at the three of them and put their hands in the air, wiggling their fingers. Maya did it back, a symbol of hello like waving. The skeletons turned and headed back the way they had come.

  James and Maya closed their eyes in relief, then went to see if there was anything in the backpack they might need. The Indian paintbrush lay gracefully on the pebbles of sand Maya cradled it in her hands. She had never known she would love something so much. The tablet Dr. Parker had been looking at the night they spied on him in the canyon was partially sticking out of the sand, and the dream catcher that had been stolen lay over scattered sand.

  Maya felt complete with them in her grasp. Closure.

  "Help," Dr. Parker called, reaching a hand out from the window. “Help me, my Indian Princess.”

  “Here’s a surprise for you,” Maya said, cocking her head to one side. She curled up her lip. “I hate being called Indian Princess.”

  “Oh? Oh, dear! I’ll never call you that again,” he said, holding both of his arms through the window. The rest of his body was in darkness.

  “And what’s more… I hate hearing it roll off your tongue.” She looked at her nails to see that one of them was broken.

  “Dear, sweet, Maya, you know I never meant you harm. I helped your cousin when she broke her leg. Help me!”

  Maya spat in his direction. “Even if I wanted to help you, you dug yourself in deep. There’s no way I could get you out of here.” She put the items back into the backpack and slung it over her shoulder.

  “James!” he pleaded. “Don’t leave me, boy?”

  James had his back turned to him, but he glanced in his direction from the side, pausing for a moment. His chin was down and it looked like James was holding back tears, but he pursed his lips into a frown and shook his head in disgust. Without saying a word, they walked down the alley through the village, ignoring Dr. Parker’s cries.

  "My leg is so swollen. I think the medicine has worn off," Chantal said.

  "Wait!" James set Chantal down and rummaged throu
gh the backpack pulling out a bottled water along with the bottle of pills. He twisted the lid off and dumped the pills into her hand. "Take three more."

  "Three? Are you sure?" Maya knitted her eyebrows together, trying to get a look at the pill bottle.

  "It's fine." James shoved it back into his bag.

  Before Maya could argue, Chantal had tossed them into her mouth and chased them with a swig of water.

  She swallowed and wiped her mouth. "Well, now what?"

  Maya slumped, rubbing the back of her neck, and shrugging off her fear about the pills. "We find the lake of healing waters.”

  Chantal's eyes rolled around as she looked up. She heard something. "Listen!"

  James and Maya’s eyes rose to the ceiling, listening intently but heard nothing.

  "Listen to what?" James asked.

  "Shhh..." Chantal replied. "The melody of the flute. Don't you hear it? It's coming from over there." She pointed to a ledge in the north end of the cave that was high above their heads.

  Maya could see the shadow of what appeared to be the shape of Kokopelli. It reached into a pack on its back and threw little handfuls of seeds over the edge that seemed to change from shadows into real live seeds that sprinkled down and hit the sand like raindrops. He stuck the flute into his mouth and his fingers moved, as if playing.

  "Beautiful melody!" Chantal said with her eyes closed.

  Maya and James still heard nothing. The seeds began to grow rapidly into stalks of corn. They grew and grew until they reached the top of the ledge. It reminded her of the legend Ahote had told her of the people from the third world when they climbed stalks to enter the fourth world.

  "It is him!" Maya shouted, cupping her hands over her mouth. Her voice echoed through the cave. The shadowy figure ran across the ledge away from them. "Kokopelli, wait!"

  "Let's follow him," James said. He bounced Chantal higher onto his back and continued towards the stalks of corn.

  "That means we'll have to climb to that ledge," Maya protested. "Chantal will never make it. You can't give her a piggy back all the way up that."

  "That's okay, Maya,” Chantal replied, resting her head on James’s shoulder. “You two can go on without me. I'll wait for you!"

  Maya sighed. "Chantal–"

  "Just go, now!" she insisted. Her eyes pierced her.

  James put Chantal down and collapsed next to her. "I'm not leaving without you." He ran his hand over his face. "I've been enough of a coward for one day."

  Maya furrowed her brow, unsure of what he meant by that. As far as she was concerned he was a hero, but she didn't waste her time arguing. She waded into the waist-deep lake and crossed over to the wall of the cave where the giant stalks of corn grew on the other side.

  38. The Lake of Healing Waters

  Sunday, 11:55 a.m.

  Maya grabbed onto a stalk and tugged on it from where she stood in the shallow bank. It was surprisingly firm. She stepped onto the dry sand and began the journey up the tall leafy plant to the ledge where she had last seen Kokopelli. The leaves were spread far apart from one another and each time she stepped onto one it flexed downward under her weight. She pulled herself from one limb to the next, feeling the strain in her back. Each time she felt like she made headway she looked up but was disappointed with her progress. She sighed, wiping sweat from her brow.

  Please let this be the place!

  She reached the halfway point when her footing slipped. She slid back down a few feet, ripping off some leaves from the fall which hung loosely on the stalk. Her arms ached each time she hoisted herself upward.

  She looked up and sighed at the distance to the ledge. Don’t stop, don’t stop. She persisted. Minutes turned into an hour. She finally reached the husk at the top of the corn stalk. The ear was as long as her arm, and the width of her torso. It smelled so delicious, her stomach rumbled. She looked down on the giant plant, feeling like she imagined a bee would feel at the top of a flower. The stalk tottered every time she shifted her weight.

  Her hunger had grown into a monstrous appetite over the last twenty-four hours. She decided to take a bite off the cobb. Sitting on the highest leaf, she wrenched at the husk. Underneath were the fine white hairs that protected the kernels. She ripped them like a fistful of grass and dropped them over the side, watching them drift down to the sand.

  The kernels were large and yellow as the golden sun. The smell was fresh, and they were firm, yet when she pressed on one it dimpled like it would on a berry. She tried pulling it off, but the kernel was firmly in place. She sunk her teeth into it and the kernel burst in her mouth. It was the sweetest corn she had ever tasted. She tipped her head back letting the juice drizzle to the back of her throat. She was never so thankful for something to eat as she was in that moment, a gift from Kokopelli. She feasted on it until her hunger was satisfied. She wiped her mouth and reached for the ledge above her head. As her fingers fumbled to find a stronghold a hand grabbed hers. She gasped until she saw Lance’s face attached to the arm.

  "Lance!" Her heart lept at the sight of him. He helped her over the edge and she wrapped him in a hug. "We were so worried about you!” She pulled away, her voice changing as she scolded him. “Where did you disappear to?"

  His gaze flitted around as he peered over the edge. "I’ll explain in a minute, but first, where's Chantal? Dr. Parker-"

  Maya put a finger to Lance’s lips and shook her head as she captured his gaze. "We don’t have to worry about him anymore. He’s become a prisoner of the Kachinas. You wouldn’t believe what we went through. We had skeletons chasing us–"

  "I'm sorry, but…” he looked over his shoulder, “we need to hurry. We don't have much time.” He turned toward the cavern wall. “Ahote is in trouble."

  Maya went rigid at his words. “What do you mean?”

  Lance grabbed her arm and they walked along the ledge in the direction Kokopelli had run. “You have to see for yourself.”

  Maya’s chest tightened. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was suddenly anxious, or the fact the cave was getting colder in the direction they were moving. Lance guided her further down the way around a corner where Maya spotted Kokopelli’s shadow once again. “Look!” She stopped and pointed.

  Lance looked around, noticing it as it went around another curve. They looked overhead, wondering where his shadow could have been cast from.

  “C’mon!” Lance said, picking up the pace.

  They rounded the corner and felt a cold breeze.

  The newest part of the cave they had entered was like a winter wonderland with a beautiful, frozen lake. The rim of ice around the shore looked like the foam around a mug of shaken bubbly cider, freshly poured. Out to the center of the ice the color gradually changed from clear to a frosty blue. Down under the water, there were corals that flitted their tentacles that lit brightly with bioluminescence. It was a breathtaking sight. Stalactites, like icicles, lined the ceiling and ran down the walls that stretched for about fifty yards.

  Maya hunched her shoulder as she rubbed her arms, trying to warm herself in the brisk air.

  “He’s this way,” Lance said, stepping out on the slippery blanket of ice.

  Maya felt disheartened when she realized this was the Lake of Healing Waters. "We're too late," she said, her breath made puffs. "The lake has frozen over. Someone has already disturbed the surface tension of the-"