by Peter Vegas
“You should run,” Felix said as the boulder began to move.
“What did he mean?” Mary asked as the boulder swung shut, plunging the tunnel into darkness.
“I’m not sure,” Sam said. As he pulled his phone from his pocket, he heard a beep somewhere above his head.
The floor of the tunnel lit up as Sam activated his phone light. He aimed it above his head and recognized the source of the beep immediately. He had already seen two similar devices that night. The red numbers on the small screen told him they had only thirty seconds left.
“We need to run, don’t we?” said Mary.
26
ALL IN
THEY DIDN’T MAKE IT BACK to the chamber. Sam could see the opening in the distance, but he’d counted the seconds in his head as they ran. When he got to twenty-seven, he grabbed Mary and pulled her to the ground. “Cover your ears.”
The explosion began as a distant rumble that quickly grew to a deafening roar and a howling wind, so powerful Sam and Mary were pushed along the floor of the tunnel. As he fought to keep his face protected, Sam felt his exposed skin being stung by the tiny fragments of stone carried along in the explosion. Through the roaring winds, he heard Mary screaming.
The noise faded away, but thick, choking dust swirled around, dulling the light from Sam’s phone to a weak white glow. Sharp cracks echoed down the tunnel as slabs of rock fell to the floor. Sam grabbed Mary and pulled her to her feet.
“We have to keep going,” he said, ignoring her protests.
Covered in stone powder, coughing and spitting dust, Sam and Mary stumbled out of the tunnel and down the stairs. The air in the chamber was hazy with dust, obscuring the view across the pool. Sam steered Mary away from the tunnel opening in case there was another explosion. They stood close to the wall, watching gray clouds of dust swirling up into the darkness.
“I told you he was crazy,” Mary said, her back to Sam.
His head was throbbing, his ears were ringing from the blast, and now Sam tensed, angered by his friend’s tone. “I knew that,” he snapped. “That’s why we had to keep him calm.”
“Fat load of good it did.” Mary punctuated her statement by spitting onto the ground.
Those words, the offhand way she had delivered them, pushed Sam over the edge. His heart was still racing, he was pumped after the fright of the explosion, and his anger erupted. “It’s your fault we’re here!” he screamed. “You had to go for the bike in the middle of the night like this was some adventure holiday. What were you thinking? This is real, Mary. This is life and death! Our deaths!”
Sam glared at Mary as she turned. He could tell she was stunned by his outburst, and he was glad. “You dragged me into this,” he said, pointing at her accusingly. “I was ready to go tonight. Give up this stupid search. I was going to tell you, but then you went and got caught, and now we’re here!”
Sam’s words echoed around the chamber after he’d finished. Mary sank down against the wall and pulled her knees up to her face. As she lowered her head, Sam heard her sob. “You’re right,” she mumbled. Then she added, “I’m sorry.”
Her words sapped the last of Sam’s anger from him. His shoulders slumped as he looked down at his friend crying. “No,” he said, “I’m sorry.”
Sam sat down next to Mary and put an arm around her. “I didn’t mean it. Not like that. I’m scared. I don’t know what I’m doing, and I know we are only here because of my parents. You wanted to help me, and now I’ve gotten you into this.”
“Did you really want to leave?” Mary asked without raising her head.
“Yes,” Sam said. He stared down at the layer of dust that had covered the ground. He ran a finger through it, leaving a thin, gray trail. “My parents have been gone for five years, Mary.” He stopped tracing and looked up. She was watching him. “Five years. If they really are alive, then why haven’t they gotten in touch with me? Haven’t you wondered about that? Maybe they did believe in 2012 and the end of the world, but Felix was right, it didn’t happen. So where are they?”
Sam broke Mary’s gaze and resumed his finger drawing in the dust. He’d done it. He had finally shared the fear that had haunted him for months. It had been buried so deep he had never even admitted it to himself, but now he sat there hoping Mary would speak. That she would say something to convince him he was wrong. She didn’t say anything for a while, and then finally she got up and brushed the dust off her clothes.
“We still have light,” she said. “But we don’t know how long the batteries will last. So let’s use them to find a way out of here.”
Sam watched her walk to the nearest portable light and pick it up. “Come on, Force, we’ve been in worse situations.”
Sam smiled. “No we haven’t.”
Mary laughed as she swept the beam of light around the chamber. They were both trying to lighten the mood. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Now come and help me find a way out of here.”
They began a slow walk around the chamber. Mary swept the beam of light left to right from the pool, across the floor and up the wall. There was nothing but water and stone until they got to the skeletons of the giant crocodile and the knight. Mary set the light on the ground and on their hands and knees they peered into the tangle of white bones. Sam could make out small, frayed pieces of fabric, the last traces of the knight’s tunic.
“If there was anything to find here, Felix would have spotted it,” Mary said, pushing her head into the tangle of bones.
Kneeling there, inches from the bodies, Sam tried to imagine what it would have been like for the man lying back against the wall as the beast lumbered out of the water and crawled toward him.
The thought drove him to his feet, and he yanked Mary with him.
“Hey,” she protested.
Sam pulled her back to the wall, scanning the pool. “Sorry, I just had a thought: What if the crocodile that attacked Azeem comes back? We know they come out of the water. Felix told us.”
“Blood brought them out,” Mary said. “The one that attacked Felix and the one that got the knight.”
Sam wasn’t convinced, but as he stood staring at the water, the thought of the crocodiles triggered another thought.
“There is another way out of here,” he said. “The one the crocodiles use.”
“You’re right!” Mary exclaimed. Sam’s warnings were forgotten as she grabbed the light.
“Be careful,” Sam called as she perched on the edge of the pool and dangled the light over the water to get a view of the wall below. She began shuffling sideways a few inches at a time. Sam was already approaching her when she tripped on an uneven stone. He saw her begin to fall and lunged out to grab her. Mary swung out over the water, twisting on one foot; Sam managed to haul her back, but the force of his pull shook the light from her other hand.
As Sam hauled Mary in, there was a splash. They turned to see the beam of light twisting and turning in the water until it hit the bottom of the pool.
The water around the unit glowed a soft blue. Mary winced and grabbed Sam’s shoulder.
“I think I sprained my ankle,” she said, but Sam was still staring into the pool.
“Look at that.” He pointed at the light. Mary hobbled behind him as he stepped carefully to the edge. The stones on the bottom of the pool were the same gray color as the ones used for the floors and walls of the chamber, and that made the white bones on the bottom stand out.
“Those are human bones,” Mary said. “And there are lots.”
“We still need to find that tunnel,” Sam said. He looked at Mary’s foot. “You wait here. I’ll get another light.”
When he returned, Sam thought Mary was still staring down into the pool at the bones. But he was mistaken.
“Have a look at this,” she said, pointing to the light. “See the thigh bone in front of the light?”
“Yeah.”
“Go forward about a foot and there’s a short, thin bone. I think it’s a collarbone.”
“Or a jaw,” Sam said.
“But just to the right of that.”
Sam could only see more bones scattered across the stones, but he kept looking and spotted something small and brown. He switched on the new unit he was holding and pointed it into the water. The extra light lit up more of the floor, and more bones, but Sam and Mary’s eyes were locked on the small brown object.
“It’s a mini version of those pottery jars from the chest,” Sam said.
“How did it get there?”
Sam shrugged. “Maybe the knight had it on him. You know, to top up the pendant. He must have dropped it.”
“We need it,” Mary said, looking at Sam.
“What? You want me to jump in?”
“I can’t,” Mary said, pointing to her foot.
“There’s a crocodile in there!”
“We haven’t seen it since it took Azeem. Maybe it . . .” Her voice trailed off. “Okay, well maybe there’s another way.” Mary hobbled over to the skeleton mound and began pulling at the bones.
“What are you doing?” Sam asked, turning the light toward her.
“I thought we could use something from here,” she said as she tugged at the tail of the crocodile. The long row of tail vertebrae held as she pulled. “It’s long enough, don’t you think? Give me a hand.” Mary pointed to the spot where the tail joined the body. “One good kick there should do it,” she said confidently.
Sam handed the light to Mary, and he positioned himself next to the crocodile. Through the ribs, he could see the body of the knight lying in his bone coffin. “Sorry,” he said to the long-dead man, then brought his boot down. The cracking and splintering of bone was brief and violent. Mary gave the tail a tug.
“One more,” she ordered. This time, as Sam brought his boot down, Mary pulled. He felt a satisfying snap under his heel, and the tail came free.
Mary picked it up by the end that had been attached to the body. The tail flopped to the ground, but, undeterred, she lifted it again, this time twisting it so the vertebrae locked together. “See,” she said cheerfully. “It’s perfect.”
Sam wasn’t so sure, but he helped Mary slide it into the water, keeping one eye on the dark area outside the range of the light. Just because they hadn’t seen Azeem’s attacker didn’t mean it wasn’t lurking out there, or one of its friends. Mary seemed to have forgotten the danger or was too preoccupied with her plan. She lay on the ground and fed the tail into the water. It flopped onto the bottom of the pool, but when she twisted her bone pointer, the vertebrae locked in place, and it straightened. Sam became more interested as she edged it closer to the small, brown flask. Just as the tip of the tail was about to touch Mary lost her grip, the bones twisted, and the whole thing flopped.
“Here, let me,” Sam said, handing Mary the light. “I’ve got longer arms. I can get closer.”
Mary stood behind Sam as he took her place at the edge of the pool. Copying her moves, he turned the tail until it was rigid, then gently swept the bottle toward the side of the pool.
“That’s it,” Mary said excitedly.
Sam’s eyes darted from the bottle to the dark water behind, but it remained empty. With one final sweep of the tail, he edged the bottle to the bottom of the wall.
“Well done, Force. Now you can jump in and get it.”
He stared down at the bottle; it was tantalizingly close. He rehearsed the move in his mind. Drop into the water, grab the bottle, leap out.
“Come on.”
“I will,” he said. “I’m just . . .”
Mary turned the light out onto the pool, moving it in a slow arc across the water. “There’s nothing there. And I’ll be watching.”
Sam took a few breaths then realized he wouldn’t be in the water long enough to need a lungful of air. He positioned himself on the edge of the pool, directly above the flask. He fixed his eyes on the small, brown object and opened his hand. Then he took one small step out and dropped.
The shock of the water took away what little breath he had as he plunged to the bottom of the pool. When his feet hit the bottom, he bent his legs, opened his hand, and reached for the flask.
It wasn’t there.
He frantically patted the space around him until the tip of his little finger made contact with it. The force of his impact had moved the flask. Still crouched on the bottom of the pool, he shuffled a few inches closer and reached out. This time his hand closed on it. Now he powered himself upward, breaking the surface with a gasp. He raised his arm and carefully placed the pottery container on the stones. He turned to pull himself up, and that’s when Mary screamed.
Sam twisted and saw the black shape surging across the bottom of the pool. There was no time to turn back and climb out. He worked that out in a fraction of a second. From the corner of his eye, he saw the crocodile tail sitting on the stones where he had dropped it. His arm shot out and grabbed the bone pointer. He pulled it into the water in front of him just as the living crocodile shot up from the bottom of the pool.
As it entered the beam of Mary’s light, the black shape transformed into a huge pink mouth, lined with rows of jagged teeth. Sam had nowhere to go. He let out a bloodcurdling scream as the beast raced toward him. At the last second, he swung the bone tail in front him. There was a sickening crunch as the beast’s jaws closed on the bones. Foaming white water blasted Sam in the face with so much force he had to shut his eyes. A heavy blow to his chest pushed him sideways, and he sank beneath the surface.
Sam hung there in the water, stunned and defenseless. He waited for the final attack, but it didn’t come. Then he realized he was alone. Feeling for the side of the pool he reached up and pulled himself to the surface. A hand grabbed him, and he kicked as Mary pulled him onto the stones.
Sam lay there gasping for breath, but images of what had just happened flooded his mind. He scrambled to his feet and pulled Mary away from the pool. She fought him, pointing behind. Sam looked past her and saw the small pottery jar on the stones precariously close to the edge. Still breathing heavily, he pushed past Mary and scooped up the jar, searching the pool for his attacker. There was no sign of it or the tail.
Looking into the water, Sam traced the direction the crocodile had come. “I think I know why we couldn’t see it. It was hiding in the tunnel.”
Mary nodded, offering a weak smile. “At least we know where the tunnel is.”
27
TIME ON OUR SIDE
THE FLASK WAS FULL, BUT that wasn’t saying much. The small pottery container fit in the palm of Sam’s hand. He removed the cork stopper and sniffed the contents. The powerful stench reminded him of rotting meat. Could the contents have gone bad? There was no point in worrying about that. He would find out soon enough.
They left the oil tucked behind the skeletons and went to locate the tunnel entrance. Mary kept the light aimed at the water, searching for any sign of danger, as they walked slowly around the pool. The dust had cleared enough to reveal the far side of the chamber. They were halfway around when they spotted the dark rectangular hole in the side of the pool.
“Do you think it’s still in there?” Mary asked.
“Yes,” Sam answered.
“How far do you think it is to the river?”
That was the one good bit of news. Based on the map of Lamanai, Sam didn’t think the tunnel to the river could be very long. Long enough to get him out on one breath? He knew with sickening clarity that he was going to find out.
“What’s that?” Mary asked, bringing Sam back from his dark thoughts.
She had raised the light to the wall of the chamber above the spot where the tunnel was, and they could see a collection of marks forming a circle. Sam and Mary continued around the pool to the spot. Sam glanced anxiously into the water then joined Mary at the wall. She touched one of the marks, and her finger came away with powder on it.
“Stone dust,” Sam said. “It’s stuck to the marking on the wall. That’s why we noticed it.”
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He took a step back for a better look at the whole design. Small figures forming a large circle.
“Xs, Vs, and Is,” he said.
Mary nodded. “Those are Roman numerals. It’s a clock.”
She was right, but it didn’t make sense. “The twelve should be at the top. Why is it on the side?”
“Don’t know,” Mary said. “And the ten is missing.”
Sam stared at the lopsided clock. “The ten is an X.”
“That’s right.”
“X marks the spot.”
“What do you mean?” asked Mary, but Sam had opened his notebook.
“My father put this here,” Sam announced as he looked at the note he had found in the fishing shed. “This line, ‘make time’—I thought it was weird, but now it makes sense.”
“How?” Mary asked
“X marks the spot. That’s why the ten is missing.”
“So where is it?”
Sam looked at the clock. As well as no ten, there were no hands. He traced an imaginary one from the center of the clock to where the ten was, then he kept going. He ran his finger along the wall, keeping the line straight. It angled down, and after a few feet he came to the bottom of the wall. His finger stopped on a rectangular paving stone.
It moved.
Sam waved Mary over. “I need light.”
He dug his fingers into a narrow gap between the stone and the wall and pulled the carved block up. As Mary leaned over with the light, Sam saw that a space the size of a shoe box had been dug out. At the bottom was a plastic bag with a notebook, but on top Sam could see a letter.
May 10, 2012
Dear Anne,
I am about to leave the chamber and meet you at the jetty with the Templar Knight’s dagger.
I believe the dagger contains the clues we need for the next stage of our hunt.
I am writing this letter in case we do not meet.
I suspect Superintendent Ramos followed me to Lamanai. I will do my best to avoid him.
If you are reading this, then I have failed. But you have not.