The Vilcabamba Prophecy: A Nick Randall Novel

by Robert Rapoza

  “How far down would you say that is?” Sam asked.

  “Maybe fifty to eighty feet. I don’t like this. Between the more frequent earthquakes and now this magma, this place is giving all the signs that it’s going to blow. We need to get you as far away from here as possible,” Randall said.

  “Wait a minute, what do you mean this place is getting ready to blow? What’s going on here?” George asked.

  For the moment, Sam ignored George; she was worried about her father. “We’re too close now. Besides, we’re still need to find out what happened to Phil.”

  “Sam, I already lost him and Mike, I can’t handle the idea of losing you. I-”

  “That’s why we need to move quickly,” Sam said, cutting her father off in mid-sentence and jerking her flashlight upward. “Look at this!”

  Randall’s eyes shot upward and across to the other side of the crevasse. Once more, disbelief gripped him. What had been a solid wall of rock when Kristoph’s men had found him was now a tunnel.

  “It’s an open path again. What in the hell is happening here?”

  “That’s a good question. Can someone please fill me in on what you’re talking about? I’m starting to feel like a fifth wheel.” George said impatiently.

  “The first time I came down this cavern I was alone, the path was open and I went across. The next time I was here with Sam, Dumond, and his men, and there was a sheer rock face on the other side. Now it’s open again,” Randall said.

  “That makes absolutely no sense. How could it be open, then solid rock, and then open again? You must have come down different tunnels.”

  Randall shined his light directly into George’s face and shot him a withering look, the kind that only a parent or teacher can muster.

  George backed down and resumed his quiet disposition. Sam just smiled, watching George and her father from a distance. She readied herself for the jump.

  Sam’s flashlight danced about the cavern crazily, cutting a zigzag pattern through the darkness. Before they could stand, Randall and George watched as the light, and Sam, leapt across to the other side. She landed gracefully, pulling to a stop in a crouched position.

  “Come on guys, we’ve got to get moving!” She called.

  Without debate and with a small smile returning to his face, Randall backed several feet away from the crevasse. His hands once again became cold and clammy as he thought about his last and nearly fatal attempt to make the leap across. Heart racing wildly, Randall ran, full speed, and leapt with all of his might at the last possible moment. As he arced through the air, he could see Sam slowly step to the side to make way for his landing. He landed cleanly, but hit the ground hard, his left leg buckling under him. Tumbling to a stop, Randall forced himself to his feet, his left leg pulsing with pain.

  “Dad, are you alright? It looks like you hurt your leg.”

  “It’s fine,” he said, rubbing the injury. “I’m just getting way too old for this shit!”

  “You always used to tell me, you’re only as old as you feel.”

  “Yeah, and right now, I feel pretty damn old,” he said, smiling at Sam and limping in pain.

  George stood on the other side of the crevasse, looking at Sam and Randall, his eyes blinking in disbelief.

  “Come on George, you’re next!” Sam called out.

  George was shaking now. Nothing about being an electrical engineer had prepared him for this moment. He thought about the safety of his office with great fondness, wondering if he would ever see it again. If he had ever complained about being bored with his job, this was clearly fate’s way of repaying him.

  “You’ll be okay George. I know you can do it,” Sam said.

  George looked over at Sam. She was standing with her hands on her hips, smiling in support. George couldn’t deny it any longer. He had feelings for Sam and he couldn’t let her see him chicken out. His pride, locked in mortal combat with sheer terror, had won out. He took several steps backward and swallowed hard. Giving out a small whimper and running at full speed, George launched himself. As he traversed the crevasse, his entire life flashed before his eyes. George came crashing down on the other side, a heap of humanity crumpled upon the floor of the cavern.

  Sam ran over to him. His eyes were shut tight and he was covered from head to toe in fine gray dust. She couldn’t help but smile.

  “Are you hurt?”

  George opened his eyes and did a mental inspection of his body. Everything seemed to be intact. “I don’t think so,” he replied.

  Sam smiled and reached down to help him up.

  The three peered down the now open cavern; more darkness lay ahead. Time passed slowly as they made their way down the winding path, but their effort was soon rewarded. A short distance ahead, a faint glow appeared.

  “What is that? Is that … light?” Sam asked.

  Even in the darkness, Randall could sense his daughter’s disbelief at what lay ahead of them. He felt a great sense of relief knowing that the earlier episode had not been a hallucination. Suddenly he was struck by a realization.

  “Do you know what this means? They’re real Sam, they’re real!”

  “Who’s real?” The light was becoming brighter and larger as they walked closer.

  “The creatures that live in Vilcabamba.” Randall replied. “They did communicate with me, and they’re not like anything you’ve ever seen.”

  It was the way her father had said it that caused Sam to stop. In the midst of the journey back, it had never occurred to her that she would come face to face with incontrovertible proof that humanity was not alone in the cosmos. The thought caused her to shudder involuntarily. As a scientist, it was one thing to theorize about such things, but it was something altogether different to actually confirm it. Sam wasn’t sure if she was exhilarated, afraid, or a combination of the two.

  “Creatures?” George asked. No one responded.

  “Sam, are you okay?” Randall asked.

  Sam hadn’t realized that she had stopped walking, but her father’s voice jerked her back to reality. “Uh huh.”

  Randall walked back and put his arm around his daughter’s shoulders. “It’s alright, sweetheart, I’m here with you. They’re friendly and they want to help us.”

  George joined them. “What do you mean by creatures?”

  Randall explained his earlier encounter to the newest member of their team. George’s knees almost buckled, but Randall caught him.

  “Whoa there, it’s okay George.”

  “Next time you ask me to come along on one of your adventures, remind me to just say no.”

  They covered the last hundred yards quickly, and Sam was rewarded with an amazing sight. The size and sheer scope of the underground city was overwhelming. Vilcabamba was much larger than Paititi and as beautiful as the jungle city was, Vilcabamba was even more exquisite. Suddenly gripped by the inquisitive nature that only a scientist could have, she began to categorize the sights she was experiencing, grasping the magnitude of the moment. She moved forward into the opening of the cavern that held the city. It was magnificent, an archaeologist’s dream!

  A short distance ahead, there were steps leading down into the city. Sam turned to look at George and her father, who followed closely behind. Randall smiled and nodded for her to keep going. George, on the other hand, looked overwhelmed.

  The stonework was incredible. The fine level of detail rivaled the artistry of Michelangelo himself. The stone animals and shapes that adorned the walls as she descended the steps into the city surpassed any artifacts she had ever seen. Intricate carvings of chinchillas, llamas, and vicuña – sort of a combination of an alpaca and a camel – seemed almost lifelike. But these weren’t the only wildlife depicted. Exotic animals she had never seen before were also carved out of the stone. In the past, Sam would have dismissed finding such depictions to a simplistic culture trying to explain the unseen forces of nature at work. Now, she wasn’t so sure. These weren’t relics covered by earth for hund
reds or thousands of years; these were functioning structures still in use today. She reached out to touch one. The surface of the stone was perfectly smooth.

  “The detail is absolutely exquisite,” she said quietly.

  Her father nodded his agreement just as George caught up with them.

  Sam stooped and peered under one of the sculptures, finding herself in the shadow of the magnificent piece of art. She was immediately struck with the realization that the cavern was exceptionally bright. Slowly, she slid out from under the statue and gazed up at the ceiling. Just as her father had described, a large, orb shaped light hung, suspended in mid-air, directly in the center of the ceiling which arched majestically over the city.

  “This is unbelievable,” Sam said. “At first, I didn’t know what to make of your stories, but now … this is just amazing. How could this have been here so long, without anyone in the world knowing that it exists?”

  “Actually, a few others did know about this place,” Randall said. “The Capanhuaco for one, and other indigenous tribes as well. There’ve been stories told about the existence of lost cities for generations. The problem is, since we didn’t grow up listening to these stories, we had no idea that places like this exist. We just assumed that no one else knew about them either.”

  Sam moved forward and found herself at the bottom of the steps. Vilcabamba stretched out before her. From this vantage point, Sam came to appreciate just how large the structures were and just how small she was. It was as if an unknown light had suddenly illuminated her mind. All of a sudden, petty, worldly squabbles seemed insignificant.

  “Where are they?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “When you were here last time, where did you see them?”

  “I wasn’t here for very long before they came,” Randall said. “I made it about this far and then they appeared.”

  Sam looked around them and then scanned the higher portions of the cavern. “I don’t see anyone. Maybe they’re waiting for us to make the next move?”

  “Dr. Randall,” George said, “these creatures you saw, what did they look like?”

  Randall didn’t have to think long before conjuring the image in his mind. “They were very small, had no body hair whatsoever, their skin was milky-colored, and they had no discernable mouths.”

  George recoiled at the description. Once again, the incredulous look appeared on his face, only this time, it vanished rather quickly. Apparently, his mind was adjusting to this new reality.

  “Wait a minute, you said earlier that you had a conversation with them, but how’s that possible if they didn’t have mouths?” George asked.

  “I didn’t say I had a conversation with them. I said I communicated with them or, to be more accurate, they communicated with me.”

  “How?”

  Randall felt a sense of frustration growing, but he quickly realized just how foreign this must be for George. He settled himself and then explained his theory. “George, we’re talking about a much more advanced species than humans. If you accept that fact, then the next part is easier.”

  George nodded in agreement.

  “My theory is that these creatures come from a civilization much older than our own. As a result, they have been evolving for much longer than humans. At one point, they may have communicated the same way we do, with the spoken word. Over the course of time, as their intellect increased, certain parts of their brains also evolved and they developed the ability to communicate without speaking.”

  “So you’re saying they communicated telepathically?”

  “Right. At some point in their evolution, their species simply developed or discovered how to communicate without the need to speak.”

  “But they communicated with you, so does that mean that humans possess the same ability?”

  Randall stopped for a moment, looking perplexed. “I hadn’t thought about it that way, but yes, you’re right. I guess humans do have the ability.” Again more thought. “They might be more physiologically similar to us than I had originally thought. They clearly have a similar anatomical structure: a head, torso, arms, and legs. Since I was able to communicate with them, their brains must be similar to ours as well.”

  “Do you realize what this means?” Sam asked.

  “Yes, we could be seeing what the human species will evolve into some day. I wonder if their physical size also decreased as their mental powers grew. That would be a big advantage to a growing civilization. Smaller physical size means fewer resources are needed to sustain life.”

  “Can you imagine the things they could teach us? I would love to talk with them about engineering!” George said.

  Sam could see that the fear and doubt that George had once held had been replaced by excitement. He looked like a kid staring at a big stack of presents on Christmas morning. It reminded her of how her father looked when he developed a new theory and found supporting evidence. She smiled. George and her father seemed to be really hitting it off now.

  “Uh guys, sorry to interrupt, but we’re running out of time.”

  “You’re right. Sorry, I got a little carried away,” Randall said.

  Surveying Vilcabamba, Randall spoke again. “I think this city is laid out in the same manner as Paititi. It’s just much bigger.”

  “That explains why it feels so familiar. But the artwork looks different, it’s more intricate. What do we do next?”

  “If the layout is the same as the jungle city, then we need to go over there,” Randall said, pointing to a large structure sitting atop a huge staircase.

  “Right, the map room! Dad, there was a missing tablet in Paititi, was it there when you went?”

  “No, it was gone, but the Chief told me that it was the tablet that spoke of the key.”

  “And now we have the key and understand what it’s for. If the tablet tells us where to use it, we should be able to stop Dumond.”

  Sam was excited now. She began sprinting; George and her father followed behind. Soon they were at the base of the stairs leading to the map room.

  “Holy smokes! This thing is a lot bigger up close. That’s a lot of steps!” George commented.

  “Yep, and they’re not going anywhere, so let’s keep moving,” Sam replied.

  The three walked up the steps and stopped near the middle. Sam once again turned to take in the view of the city. “Amazing,” she said under her breath. From their vantage, the city swept away in all directions in gentle curving circles. The symmetry of the layout of the buildings and streets that populated the city was perfect. Even more surprising was that from their high perch, Sam could see shapes inlaid in the streets and structures that could not be seen from the ground. There were animals and even humanoid shapes that the builders had surreptitiously incorporated into the city’s design. Shapes that could only be seen from an elevated platform.

  Randall soon caught up with his daughter and was happy for the short respite. In spite of his exercise regimen, he felt his age finally creeping up on him. George was also winded, his engineer body not accustomed to this much physical exertion. Sam, not wanting to hurt either of their feelings, waited a few extra minutes, pretending to look around at the scenery.

  “It feels hot in here, even hotter than it was in the tunnel,” Sam commented.

  “The magma’s getting closer to the surface. This volcano is getting ready to erupt,” Randall replied.

  “That’s a happy thought.” George had finally caught up to them.

  Sam smiled. “We better keep going.”

  The view from the map room was unlike anything they had ever seen. As the highest point in the city, the entire kingdom came into view. Beautiful structures filled the vista in every direction. Enormous stone monuments, intricately carved, adorned the city and balanced carefully upon smaller structures that lifted them skyward. What had appeared as grids from lower could now be seen as concentric circles, radiating outward from the center of the city. At the center of the town was a smaller,
non-descript domed structure, which glowed with a strange bluish-gray color. The symmetry was perfect. Sam strained her eyes, staring toward the dome. She wasn’t sure if the light was playing tricks with her eyes, but a fine bright beam seemed to emanate from the center of the dome, spanning to the very top of the cavern.

  “Admiring the view?”

  “It’s incredible! I know I keep saying that, but I don’t know how else to describe it.”

  “Just imagine, this is a window into a different species. Their culture and history is laid out in front of us. And best of all, we don’t have to theorize about how they lived. We’re seeing it first-hand. Just think of everything they can teach us. This could be the end of war, disease, and poverty. Things will never be the same for humanity.”

  “Yes, it is quite impressive, but I didn’t come here for the view,” said a familiar voice.

  Sam and Randall turned to see Dumond and his men, weapons drawn.

  “You son of a bitch!” Randall said, taking a few steps in Dumond’s direction.

  “It’s good to see you too, Dr. Randall,” Dumond replied as Colonel Ackers stepped forward, pointing his gun directly at the approaching professor.

  “Just give me a reason,” Ackers sneered.

  “How in the Hell did you find us?” Sam asked.

  “You didn’t really think you could just sneak into my compound without me knowing and make off with my prized possession, did you? Speaking of which, who has my medallion?”

  “You bastard, you killed Mike and Phil!” Randall said, fists clenched in rage.

  “They just got in my way, Professor, it was nothing personal.”

  Taking the box containing the medallion from Sam, Dumond opened a compartment and removed a small item, not much larger than a grain of rice.

  “RFID device, goddamn it,” Randall said. “Okay, Dumond, you have the medallion, you know where the map room is. If you let Sam go, I’ll help you figure out how the key works.”

  “Professor, do you really think I’m that stupid? I can’t take a chance on leaving any loose ends. Besides, you’re in no position to bargain with me.” Dumond nodded his head in Sam’s direction as one of the soldiers came forward and grabbed her by the arm, poking his gun into her side.