A Deep Thing

by A. K. Smith

  Ryder interjected, “Do you still have cancer?”

  “It’s very unlikely. It’s been two years, I’m sure it’s gone.”

  “So, just because I have cenote blood doesn’t mean I will live a long life?” Ryder fidgeted.

  Tim patted him on the shoulder. “You will still live a longer life than most people, depending on what you eat and drink, but maybe we can change that, Ryder. You can help us find a way to introduce our nutrients to the right people so they can save lives without getting into the hands of privatization or controlled by the government.”

  Tim explained, “I’ve been working with The Collective, as my ancestors before me worked with the presidents of the United States and special interest groups. Trying to find someone to trust. Over the decades, we released small samples of nutrients found in our water to help them create vaccines for diseases—some you will never even hear about because they were cured by nutrients we secretly supplied. Over the years, the government got edgy, fear crept in…Greedy fear. They didn’t know what would happen to American commerce if disease were eradicated. Everyone healthy would corrupt the Social Security system in America, health insurance, pharmaceuticals…they couldn’t imagine the impact on the economy, worried it would collapse. Would the economy survive without the sick?”

  “They didn’t want it?” she asked, her voice taut.

  “Think about it, if the government possessed the ability to cure disease—help people to live longer, life expectancy extended well beyond the imagination—how would they handle it or introduce it to the American public?”

  “There’s got to be a way.”

  “That’s what we are searching for because the government resembled the greedy king.”

  Tim got up and walked over closer to the waterfall. “They weren’t sure whom they would be willing to cure! They questioned whether they would be willing to cure everyone regardless of age, sex, race, religion, or national origin.” He was pacing now, visibly disturbed. “Conrad Nathaniel’s ancestors had knowledge such a nutrient existed. His great-great-grandfather was a good man, he wasn’t afraid of the change in society and he was excited about all the new possibilities such a miracle could bring. He worked with our people for years, hoping a solution would be found. He was on to a solution, and figured out a way to introduce it without greedy hands getting on it. But he passed away in a questionable car accident. That’s been the circle, the good ones die and the cenote people are left to begin again trying to find the one they can trust.”

  Kendall found it difficult to speak, she swallowed and inhaled. “So is Conrad Nathaniel one of the good guys?”

  “I wish I could say yes, I saved his life one day for that specific reason, thinking he could be the one. But unfortunately, no…Somehow he knew I was involved. He had his men following me everywhere, I was afraid they followed me here. His men were at the Blue Hole the day I disappeared, they are the reason I faked my death.”

  Ryder was perfectly still. “Did you know before you went diving, you were never coming home?”

  “No, I didn’t know, until that day. For months one of our elder Roamers, Tobias, was being held by Nathaniel in a laboratory not far from Camp David. An underground military complex from the 1950s the Nathaniel family helped build and co-owned with the government. They were testing one of our people, they thought the nutrients were in the body. I helped him escape. I’m certain they knew I was involved. The only solution, especially in light of the cancer, was to come down here and make sure no one would find this place until the time was right.”

  “You know all the stories you hear about the fountain of youth? Did they come from here?” Ryder asked.

  “Yes, most likely somebody, a Roamer over the ages let something slip, planted a seed in somebody’s mind.” Tim inched forward. “You’re a Roamer, Ryder, you have to understand the importance of your role. You have to be careful about your television career. High Definition video can cause issues. Today’s technology presents new and dangerous issues for a Roamer. The advanced inventions record day to day moments, actions, memories—dated, time stamped, in the Cloud, on Facebook and available for the world to scrutinize at the push of a button. If you continue to be on the television screen when you hit thirty-five or forty, people might notice you’re not aging as fast as everyone else. This is what I wanted to talk to you on your birthday trip, explain our heritage, talk about your career on television. I’m sorry it never happened. Or at least the way I envisioned. Intuitively, I thought there would be a little built-in reaction to prevent you from doing television.”

  “Instinctive reaction?” Ryder rose from his seat. “Like getting anxiety every time the camera turns on.”

  “Exactly, your instinctive nature should kick in to protect you.”

  Ryder’s mouth opened as though he wanted to say something, he sat down speechless.

  It was a lot to comprehend. Kendall mentally exhausted, drank some water, staring at the liquid inside. Just when she thought they were done with the questions, they discovered more, talking until the late hours of the evening. The nutrients from the water energized them, healed them and kept them up all night long. During this time, they never heard or saw anyone else. Tim explained they were separated, because if they were not going to stay, the cenote people didn’t want them to have any influence on the private community. He explained Ryder’s role as a Roamer, asking Ryder if he was ready to fulfill his destiny. Emphasizing the importance of keeping the cenote people and the water sacred.

  “No one can know, son. No one—that means even your wife if you get married someday. It is our oath, our promise. There will be times you’ll be tempted, the Conrad Nathaniels of the world might seduce you with money, the government might watch you closely to see what you know. Resist the temptation. Make your life the best it can be. Find your passion. Go to college and work your way up to a man others would take seriously. Down the road you can be the one to help us find the right time and the right people. I know it exists. There’s a way to help the world.”

  In the early hours of dawn, she slipped away. Tim and Ryder needed time. She would have all the time in the world with Tim. A long lifetime. It seemed like a dream. She finally drifted to sleep listening to their voices going back and forth in a melodic way, asking herself the question, do I want to live a long life? The answer was simple. Who could turn down an extended healthy forever with Tim. He was her life. She lost him once, it wasn’t going to happen again.

  Chapter 63

  Decisions are life changing. Contentment is knowing it was the right choice. Kendall reflected on her old mantra, everything happens for a reason. The decision was made. Ryder would leave and she would stay. At morning light, Tim would take Ryder back through the cenote to an area where he could retrieve Scout’s body and return him to the first chamber. Tim informed Kendall, Enrique and Roberto, had started a search for the three of them.

  Time was of the essence to have Ryder return with Scout’s body and be discovered by Enrique and Roberto in the morning.

  Tim guaranteed to the elders that Ryder understood his role as a Roamer as Ryder attended a brief ceremony taking the oath of the ancestors. He would tell no one. Ryder would destroy all the maps and other contents of the briefcase and complete the cover story of Kendall’s missing body and Scout’s death. Tim assured Ryder, Enrique, who was Mayan, would help take Scout’s body to another cenote, one not on private land. They would tell the tragic story of Kendall’s death with Scout trying to save her, both perishing. Scout would be the hero.

  Mayans did not want anyone searching on their private land, they still believed in the Hunkul Yax, their fountain of youth and hallowed land. They would keep the location of this sacred land secret until the day they died, hoping to discover it themselves, they would never disturb an artifact or tell the government about hidden caves, they too wanted to keep all intruders away.

  When Ryder emerged with Scout’s body it would be far from their current location
. Ryder would explain, Kendall’s body was unrecoverable.

  She hugged Ryder, still trying to make a connection. This man-boy still indifferent to her even after all they had been through. She wondered if she would ever see him again. “You’re going to have a wonderful life Ryder—I just know it. Please don’t forget to contact Lizzie my neighbor, she can keep Harvey. I know she will love him.” She was trying to reach Ryder one last time. “I love you. Take care of yourself, make your father proud. I know you can help change the world.”

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  Ryder pressed the glass button on the polished, dark wood elevator and rode up thirty-two floors all the way to the penthouse. Unconsciously, he rubbed his collarbone where his birthmark was, realized what he was doing and moved his hand away as if touching a hot skillet. When the doors slid open, a magnificent round office space greeted him. Glass, silver, and white composed the color scheme, with an outer ring walkway following the windows in a circle, looking out at downtown Los Angeles. The open lobby was in the center with windows all around, and fancy cubicles of glass enclosed employees busily talking on phones and working on computers at their desks.

  After a second glance from all the women and a few of the men in the office, he was asked to wait in the high tech reception area, with video images playing on the glass walls and holographic movie clips of famous actors spouting historic one liners.

  “Ryder Jackson, they’re ready for you.” Ryder got up, smoothed down his two-thousand-dollar gray suit and followed the attractive young receptionist into the boardroom. The table was slick natural wood carved into a modern high tech boardroom table. It gleamed of money. He could smell it. In walked Jonathan Koch, head honcho of Asylum Entertainment, and his right-hand man P.J. Abrams. They studied Ryder as most people do, probably wondering why he wasn’t pursuing an on-screen acting career.

  Quick introductions, then an edgy silence.

  Jonathan Koch spoke first. “You have our undivided attention for five minutes, give us the pitch.”

  Ryder pushed his lips up into his award-winning smile and pulled out the manuscript. He had prepared for this moment. “What would you do if you discovered a water source that would extend life, cure disease, even cancer—would you give it to the world for free?” He paused, “Or sell it to the highest bidder?” He slid it across the table. “It’s a one-hundred and twenty-page screenplay, a little adventure suspense with a twist of sci-fi. It’s called A Deep Thing…”

  A word about the author…

  A. K. Smith is the author of A Deep Thing. Fascinated by the “what if’s” in life, she still wonders if Shangri-La and The Holy Grail exist—hidden somewhere—waiting to be discovered. Her favorite question, “What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?” led her to both marriage and writing her first book. Her big loves are her husband, family, friends, and kindness. Her goal is to step foot on every continent on Planet Earth—she’s slowly getting there.

  Please contact her at aksmithbook@gmail.com — she loves to hear from her readers!

  www.aksmithauthor.com

  https://www.facebook.com/aksmithbook

  Thank you for purchasing

  this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  If you enjoyed the story, we would appreciate your letting others know by leaving a review.

  For other wonderful stories,

  please visit our on-line bookstore.