by David Wood
It wasn’t spectacular, by any stretch, but it was impressive in its own way. It was a thick column of stone rising up from the churning surf, curving in to meet the imposing cliffs of Botswain Bird Island.
They inspected the base of the arch, then used binoculars to scan its surface on either side, but they saw nothing that looked like a map, or even a hiding place where one might be secreted. A search of the island in the immediate vicinity of the arch proved fruitless as well. They checked in with Willis and Matt, but the two had not had any luck either. Discouraged, they sat down on a stone slab in the shade of the arch, letting the salt spray cool them.
“I’m thinking we’re going to have to expand our search area.” Bones didn’t sound disheartened, but neither did he seem pleased at the prospect. “Of course, covering every square inch of this island might suck, but it’s better than the alternative.”
“Which is?” Dane was only half-listening. He gazed up at the underside of the arch, turning the problem over in his mind.
“Scouring the entire Amazon basin looking for Thomas. I don’t know about you, but I want to be done with this and back home in time for football season.”
Dane had to laugh. “You know there’s nothing in the world you’d rather be doing than what we’re doing right now.”
Bones look affronted. “What? Sitting on a rock in the middle of nowhere getting our butts wet?”
Dane grinned and stretched, working the kinks out of his head and neck. “Maybe we should get back to the search,” he said, tilting his head back and popping his neck. And then he spotted something. It was only a shadow, a pool of black below the spot where the arch met the cliff face, but as his eyes fell on it, a bird took flight from somewhere inside its dark depths. He stood transfixed, keeping his eyes on the spot as if he feared it might disappear if he looked away even for a moment.
“What is it?” Bones craned his neck to see. He spotted it almost immediately. “No freakin’ way! Do you think it might be?”
“Only one way to find out.” Dane turned a conspiratorial glance his way. “Race you to the top.”
The first fifteen feet of the climb were a challenge. Here the edges of any cracks, protrusions, or irregularities in the stone had been rounded off by the surf, but the way grew easier as they ascended. Dane reached their destination first and hauled himself up into a cave just wide enough for two men to squeeze inside. He turned and gave Bones a hand, hauling his friend in behind him.
“You cheated, dude,” Bones grumbled. He prided himself in his climbing ability and hated not being the first one somewhere.
“Your arms and legs are just too long,” Dane replied, unhooking his mag lite from a clip at his waist and shining it around.
“Tell me how that makes any sense at all.” Bones took out his own light and together, they inspected the cave. The passage cut straight back into the rock, with no end in sight. “Do you really think Fawcett could have found this place? I mean, we almost missed it.”
“I think Fawcett could do just about anything.” Dane was confident in his assessment. “He was maybe the greatest explorer of the twentieth century, and he was stuck on this pile of rock with nothing else to do. I think he would have explored every nook and cranny. Let’s just hope you don’t get stuck in here.”
“I’d better go first in case it gets narrow farther back,” Bones said. “Anywhere I can fit, we’ll know you can get through, too. If I’m behind you and get wedged in, it could get ugly.”
“Oh, I’d just kick you in the head until I jarred you loose, but if you want to go first, be my guest.” The two switched positions and Bones headed off into the darkness, Dane right behind him. They had only gone about twenty feet when he stopped short. “Whoa, dude!” The passage came to an end at a deep crevasse. They shone their lights down to reveal a fifty foot drop onto jagged rocks. “Not fun.”
“See that?” Dane trained the beam of his light on a tangle of bone and decaying fabric amongst the rocks below. “We’re not the first to come this way.” He wondered who the person was and what had led them up to this place. Another adventurer on the track of Fawcett, or just an unfortunate soul who had gotten a bit too curious or too careless?
“You want to try to jump across?” Bones shone his light to the spot across the way where the tunnel continued on the other side of the chasm.
“I don’t think this would have stopped Fawcett, do you?” Dane gauged the distance. It wasn’t too broad a leap. It was the consequences of failure that made it a bit more interesting.
“No, but I don’t think your little legs will carry you that far, do you? It’s a good ten feet. That’s a long way for an old man like you”
“I’m a month older than you.” Dane arched an eyebrow at Bones. “You’ve already lost a climbing contest. Do I need to beat you in long jump, too?”
“Just don’t beg me to climb down and get you if you fall. I hate it when a grown man whines.”
They both made the leap with ease and continued their search. The way grew wider as they progressed and soon they could walk side-by-side. It was slow going, as they kept a careful eye on the stone walls all around in case Fawcett had hidden the map somewhere, or perhaps carved it directly onto the wall. They came upon two side passages, but neither led anywhere, each of them narrowing until they were impassable. Finally, the passageway came to an end. No twists and turns, only stone.
“Oh, no way.” Bones cursed and kicked at the pile of loose rocks at the base of the wall. “To come all this way and find nothing. This is crap.”
Dane sidestepped as a rock bounced off the wall and rebounded his way. He felt like picking up one of the rocks and bashing something.
And then a thought struck him.
“Bones, help me move these loose stones.” Holding his mag lite in his teeth, he leaned down and hefted the largest one, setting it off to the side. Bones didn’t ask what Dane had in mind, but lent a hand. They had only moved about five of the biggest stones when cool air flowed across their arms from somewhere behind the rock pile.
“Maddock, you are the man!” Bones clapped him on the back and attacked the rocks with vigor.
At the base of the wall was an opening just high enough for a man to worm his way through. Dane lay down and shone his light into the opening, revealing a small chamber on the other side, and on the far wall…
“A map!” he breathed. “Bones, this is it!”
They squeezed inside and moved to take a closer look. A curved line, presumably a river, snaked across the wall. Tributaries crept down like menacing hands. At various points, distinctive shapes were carved, signifying landmarks. At one bend, a smaller line wended away, perhaps another tributary, ending at a giant question mark.
“This question mark must signify the thing Fawcett couldn’t remember,” Dane said. “The final landmark.”
“Who cares?” Bones began snapping pictures of the map. “If the map can get us that far, we’ll figure out the last clue when we get there. After that, we have the five steps from Fawcett’s book. Mystery as good as solved.”
“Of course, we might not even have to figure out the last clue,” Dane said. “We could find Thomas along the way, or find out what happened to him, and then we could go home.”
Bones lowered his camera. “Maddock, are you telling me that you would just give up like that?”
Dane considered the question. Kaylin had asked them to help find Thomas, but now the adventure bug had bitten him again, and he knew he would have to see things through. He, like so many others, wanted to know the fate of Percy Fawcett, and to learn what, if anything, lay in the heart of the unexplored Amazon. Dane was no longer on a rescue mission. He was on a quest.
Chapter 16
Dane knocked on the door of the tiny house. A tired-looking little woman of late middle years opened the door. She frowned when she saw him, but her expression softened a bit when she noticed Kaylin.
“Hello,” Kaylin said. “My name is Kaylin Maxel
l, and this is Dane Maddock. We’re looking for Victor. We were told he lives here.”
The frown deepened. “Victor don’t talk.”
“I see. We are looking for someone who we think might be lost in the jungle, and we were told that Victor might be able to help us.”
The woman frowned and shook her head.
“Could you at least tell us if you have seen our friend?” Dane asked. Kaylin took out a photograph of Thomas and handed it to the woman.
She stared at it for a long time, her sour expression curdling.
“I seen that man. Long time ago. Many weeks.”
“Are you sure?” There was a note of excitement in Kaylin’s voice.
“He came with a pretty girl and two young men. He was a teacher.”
Dane’s heart leapt. This was the first solid lead they’d had on Thomas, and if he’d been seen here, in this tiny frontier town, the same one to which Fawcett’s map coupled with Jimmy’s research had led them, that confirmed that Thomas was on the same trail they were.
“Do you know where he is now?” Kaylin looked like a bubble that, at any moment, would either soar into the air or burst, depending on the woman’s reply.
She nodded vigorously. “They go into the jungle. The river, then the jungle. They don’t come back. Only Victor come back.” She shook her head. “They hire him to…” Unable to find the word, she made a motion with her hand like a snake slithering through the grass. “… into the jungle.”
“And Victor came back without them?” Deadly scenarios played out in Dane’s mind. What might this Victor person have done to Thomas and his students? Had he led them astray and abandoned them? Or had it been something worse?
“Yes. But he is… not right. He does not talk since he come back.”
“Could we please see him? It’s important.” Kaylin bit her lip. “We’re just trying to find out if he and the others are all right.”
The woman shook her head. “I think they don’t come back.”
“Ma’am,” Dane said, “could we please see Victor? Maybe he could tell us where they went. If they are still in the jungle, we will need to go in after them. If Victor was their guide, perhaps he can tell us which way he took them.”
“He don’t talk,” she said again, but she opened the door and motioned for them to come inside. The tiny home was sparsely furnished and smelled of coffee. Dim light filtered through a small window, giving the room a gloomy, oppressive feel.
A man a little younger than Dane sat on the floor, staring at the wall. He did not acknowledge their presence. In fact, he did not seem to register they were there at all. The old woman nodded at him, indicating that this was Victor.
Kaylin sat down cross-legged beside him. “Victor,” she began, in a gentle voice, “my name is Kaylin. I’m looking for someone who is lost. You guided him into the jungle a few months back, and I am hoping you can help me find him again.”
Victor continued to stare straight ahead. It seemed like the man was in a catatonic state. Dane glanced at the old woman, who looked at him with sad eyes.
“He hears. He don’t talk.”
Kaylin tried again. “Would you please take a look at this picture and tell me if you remember anything at all about this man or the people who were with him?” She held out the picture of Thomas.
Victor let out a screech and crab walked as fast as he could away from Kaylin. When he banged into the wall, he rolled over into the fetal position, covered his face, and wailed. Both Kaylin and Victor’s mother tried to calm him down, but he continued to cry and shiver, and refused to remove his hands from his face.
Finally, they were forced to give up. They apologized to the woman, who, Dane realized, had never given her name, and left.
Kaylin looked like a deflated balloon, so thoroughly defeated was her posture as they walked along the street. Dane nudged her.
“Hang in there. At least we know we’re on the right track. Thomas was here, and it looks like he was headed in the same direction we’re going.”
“I suppose that’s true.” Kaylin sighed. “It would be much worse if we didn’t at least know we were headed in the right direction.” She glanced at Dane. “Now what?”
“Now,” he said, “it’s time to begin our jungle adventure.”
The flat-bottomed aluminum boat slid through the dark waters of the Kuluene, the largest of the headwaters of the Xingu River in the Mato Grosso, or “Thick Woods,” region of Brazil. The third-largest state in Brazil, the western state featured diverse ecosystems, including the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland, in the south, and the Amazonian rainforest in the north. Piloting the craft through the debris that choked the surface, Dane could not help feeling a thrill at the thought that they were actually on the trail of Percy Fawcett’s final expedition. He had fantasized about this as a youth, wandering the forests near his home, imagining deadly creatures, dangerous tribesmen, and lost cities, but now it was real.
Bones and Kaylin sat in the boat with him. He had not wanted to bring Kaylin into this dangerous place, but she had informed him that, should he leave her behind, she would mount her own expedition, and probably get herself killed doing it. He knew she was serious and had relented, though he had briefly contemplated marooning her on Botswain Bird Island until this was over. If he was honest with himself, he wanted her with him. He felt guilty about that, but it was what it was. He’d sort out his women problems later… much later.
Up ahead, Simáo, their guide, piloted a craft identical to the one in which they rode. Willis and Matt rode with Simáo. Only Corey had remained behind in the city of Cuiabá. He had protested, but not too vehemently. Everyone agreed he would best serve them as their link to civilization via sat phone, and could also be a go-between to Jimmy, should they need his assistance.
It had not been easy to secure a guide. There were plenty of cons in the region who would get a party lost and then demand payment to lead them back out, or who would conspire with friends to rob or even kill a party of explorers. Dane and his crew could take care of themselves, of course, and given the information Jimmy had assembled by cross-referencing Fawcett’s map with satellite imagery, could probably find their way to their destination, but an experienced guide could get them there much faster. Since they had to assume ScanoGen had a good lead on them, they needed to move as quickly as possible.
It was a shame that Victor had not been in any condition to provide any helpful information which might have sped up their progress, though. After leaving his home, they had gone about hiring their guide. A priest in Mato Grosso’s capital city of Cuibá had given them the names of three guides whom he knew to be reliable men, and directions to the frontier town where they could be found—the same one in which Victor and his mother resided. The first two had been interested at first, but had flatly refused when Dane had shown them a map with their probable destination marked. Neither had given a reason for his refusal, but had simply walked away.
The final candidate, Simáo, had been hesitant at first, but finally agreed, saying his wife was pregnant and he needed the money.
“Are you watching where you’re going?” Kaylin’s voice cut through his thoughts. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and a few loose strands whipped across her face in the gentle breeze. “You look like you’re in a trance.”
“Just thinking about things. How about you?”
“I was just wondering what’s waiting for us out there. What do you think Simáo meant when he said the ‘Dead Ones’ live in the area where we’re going?”
“It’s probably just a nickname for one of the native tribes, but it might even be one that has avoided contact, and thus legend has grown up about it. That happens here. Mato Grosso is basically the size of France and Germany put together, and very little of it has been touched by modern man.”
“That’s fine by me,” Kaylin said, looking out at the dense greenery that lined the river.
“Me, too. The fact that such a huge place has seen
so little exploration means that there really could be undiscovered people or places hiding right under the noses of modern man.”
“So you think there really could be a Kephises out there waiting to be discovered?”
“Crazy as it sounds, there just might be. More likely, there’s a more mundane explanation for it. Perhaps a tribe with a higher than usual prevalence of albinism sparked the legend of a lost civilization of European origin.”
“That would be boring.” Kaylin winked to show him she was kidding. “Whatever is out there, I hope Thomas found it, and we find him. I can’t explain it, but even though I’m no longer sure he and I have a future together, I need him to be okay. Does that make sense?”
It made a lot of sense to Dane. He already felt guilty for playing both sides of the coin with Kaylin and Jade. If the situation was reversed, and something were to happen to Jade, his having feelings for Kaylin would make it feel a thousand times worse.
“You do realize you’re doing way more than you’re obligated to? Thomas can’t possibly have expected a college art professor to go trekking into the Amazon after him.”
“We’ve already had this discussion, Maddock. Yes, he probably imagined I would sort out the clues and then send someone in after him, but I don’t care. I’m already on the expedition with you. There’s no point in arguing about it now.”
“That’s not my point.” Why did she always take his words and turn them in an entirely different direction than he intended? “What I’m saying is, no matter what happens, you’ve done all you can do, and then some. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Life is too short to live with guilt. Besides, there are no guarantees. It can be over in a flash. Thomas had a dream, something that drove him, and he went for it. If the news is bad, don’t beat yourself up for the rest of your life. Don’t let guilt stop you from being happy.”
Kaylin looked surprised and a little upset, but then her expression softened. She was about to say something when Bones called back from the bow.