The guards, realizing Nick’s plan, sprang into action, sprinting toward the young archaeology student before he could cut the other rope. Nick slid under the altar again, dodging their spears. He emerged from the other side just as Ben had the spider in position. With a single swing of the spear, Nick sliced the rope, sending the platform tumbling to the ground, pinning the creature’s abdomen under the stone slab.
The spider wailed in protest as the stone crushed part of its body. An unlucky elder fell from the platform within reach of the creature, who dug its fangs into the screaming man.
“Nick, this way!” Liam called, having gathered the team near the front of the room. Nick turned toward Liam, and saw the team members exiting the main chamber through an opening, near the altar.
“Look out!” Ben yelled.
Nick turned just as one of the natives emerge from under the altar, his spear hoisted in his hand and coming straight for Nick’s face. Nick jerked his head just in time to avoid a direct strike. The weapon grazed his cheek, leaving a long, bloody scratch. Nick batted the tribesman to the side, using his forward momentum against him. The native slammed against the wall and tumbled to the ground.
Nick wasn’t safe yet. He had dropped his spear and the second native had followed his companion under the altar and was closing on him. He was trapped. One native blocked his path to the altar, the other native, having regained his footing, closed off his line of escape into the main hall. The only other way to go was behind the altar, in the direction of his friends and the newly discovered passageway. Unfortunately, the spider lay in that direction. Making matters worse, the rest of the natives had regrouped and were now charging at him.
Nick breathed deeply, realizing each possibility was worse than the last. Finding the broken staff again, he headed for the injured beast. The gap between the monster and the edge of the altar was small, no more than two feet and the creature’s head pointed directly toward the stone table. The spider, writhing in pain, saw Nick drawing near and turned its hideous face in his direction. Its fangs twitched in anticipation of injecting one last victim before it perished.
Sprinting, Nick slid feet first toward the gap between the beast and the altar. The spider lunged at his torso, its fangs fully exposed and aimed at his midsection. In one fluid motion, Nick grabbed the still exposed spear tip in the creature’s head, turning its face toward him and rammed the sharp end of the remaining staff directly into the center of the spider’s head. The creature convulsed.
Like a ballplayer sliding into second, Nick scooted through the narrow opening and out the other side, just as the spider’s lifeless body crashed to the floor, blocking the opening. Emerging from the other side, Nick lay for a moment on the floor, staring up at Liam who reached out to help him up.
“Well done, Nick!”
“Thanks, Dr. Watkins, now let’s get out of here.”
Nick turned his head as the sound of the approaching tribespeople filled the room like a great wave sweeping across the hall. Together, they would easily move the dead spider, allowing them to resume their pursuit of the archaeology team. Turning and looking into the tunnel, Nick spotted a torch hanging from a niche in the wall. He grabbed it, tossing it over the dead spider and onto the floor of the main chamber where he had cut the lamp’s fuel line. The puddle of oil ignited, the flame spreading across the room like a fiery serpent. The tribespeople stopped short of the flames, searching for a way around them. Nick had bought his team some time.
The two academics entered into the darkened opening, the rest of the group having already gone in. Additional wall mounted torches, spaced evenly throughout, dimly lit the passage as they moved deeper into the tunnel. Nick and Liam hurried through the long and winding opening, finally reaching the end of the tunnel, which terminated into another cavernous room.
Spotting Ben with the others, Nick jogged to his side and immediately noticed his mentor staring up toward the roof of the cavern while the others waited.
“Is everything alright?” Nick asked. Following the professor’s gaze he spotted a crack of light at the top of a massive stone staircase.
Ben turned to face Nick. “I don’t think we can fit through that opening.”
“Only one way to find out,” Nick replied, starting up the steps.
The group followed suit, following Nick as he hurried up the steps. Holly soon joined him. Upon reaching the quarter way mark up the staircase, Nick turned to check on the group. Most of the members were able to keep up with him, but a few stragglers remained near the bottom. Ben and Liam brought up the rear, assisting those having difficulty traversing the steps.
“Keep the group moving!” Nick yelled to Holly.
“Where are you going?”
“Back down to help the others!”
Making his way down, Nick arrived near the professors and stopped to catch his breath.
“You shouldn’t have come back,” Liam said.
“I couldn’t let you have all of the fun,” Nick replied, winking.
Liam laughed.
The three men helped their friends up the steps and, arriving at the mid-way point, stopped to rest.
A thunderous noise arose near the entrance of the tunnel, and Nick immediately knew the cause. The natives had arrived.
The diminutive cave dwellers spilled from the tunnel and onto the main floor of the cavern.
“We have to keep moving!” Ben shouted.
The team resumed their climb with the natives in pursuit. The race was on and losing meant certain death.
The natives moved quickly, climbing the steps in rapid succession. They closed on the archaeology team. Nick reached the three quarter mark of the staircase and turned to look down. The cave dwellers had cut their lead in half.
“Move!” Nick yelled.
They continued to ascend, ever upward, the glimmer of light growing larger. Liam had now taken the lead and approached the opening. He reached a ledge near the top of the great stone staircase and stopped. He appeared to be confused and Nick watched as he searched for something frantically.
Clearing the final steps, Nick appeared by his side and suddenly realized the problem. The opening was too small for them to fit through.
Liam examined a broken lever, which fed into a large stone. He looked under the massive rock.
“What do we do?” Nick asked.
“This appears to control the opening. I think I can work it manually,” Liam said. Flipping onto his back, he scooted under the stone. “I think I got it.” As he spoke, a loud rumbling noise appeared at the top of the steps and the opening slowly expanded.
“It’s working!” Nick yelled.
“Get everyone out!” Liam yelled.
Ben and Nick ushered the team through the opening. Nick’s eyes shifted from the gap to the approaching natives, who were almost on top of them.
The final team member exited the cavern.
“Your turn, Nick!” Ben said.
“What about Dr. Watkins?”
“Nick, come on!” Ben said.
Nick sprinted to Liam’s side. “Dr. Watkins, we have to go!”
“I can’t. If I let this go, the door will shut and we’ll all be trapped.”
Nick’s face went ashen, he dropped to the floor and climbed under the rock next to Liam.
“We can’t leave you! There has to be another way!”
A strained smile spread across the professor’s face. “It’s okay Nick, Meredith is waiting for me. She always hated to be alone.”
Dumbstruck, Nick stared at Liam.
“Always question everything, Nick. Don’t let others tell you what to believe. You’re a good kid and I’m proud to have worked with you.”
Tears streamed down Nick’s face.
“Nick, we have to go now!” Ben screamed.
“It’s been an honor knowing you, professor.”
“Same here. Now go.”
Nick scrambled from beneath the stone. Ben hauled him to his feet, then pu
shed him up through the opening. The professor followed him out and back onto the surface, guided by the light of a full moon, which shone above. The opening closed moments later sealing Liam inside.
Nick staggered to a nearby stone and fell to his knees, unable to breathe. His mind awash in grief, he pictured Liam trapped inside.
Ben walked next to him. “Liam told me about his plan before you made it to the top. It was the only way we could get the team out.”
“I just can’t believe he’s gone.”
The two men sat in silence. No further words were spoken.
***
Nick lead the team back toward the camp, Holly by his side. Ben rode the motorcycle back to the base ahead of the group. He managed to get one of the large trucks operational and returned to pick up the rest of the team. Instead of heading to the camp, the group traveled to the city of Nazca, making the 6 kilometer trip in twenty minutes. The small town was quiet, unaware of the ordeal they had suffered.
After some animated conversations, Ben and Nick convinced the local constables to investigate their claims. The police drove their vehicle through the outline of the spider, while Nick explained how he had managed to find the secret opening. Ben interpreted for the local authorities who warily listened to the young graduate student.
Nick’s experiment failed. They were unable to get the secret passage to open and, despite his best attempts, the police dismissed his claims as incoherent ramblings. There would be no rescue attempt for Liam.
Time passed and Nick returned to the site, and tried to gain entry back into the underground world. He failed. Despite the loss, Nick kept Liam’s memory alive in his heart, heeding his final words of advice. Nick questioned everything and, when it inevitably caused him difficulties, he remembered the sacrifice Liam had made and it gave him the strength to persevere.
About the Author
Robert Rapoza is the author of THE VILCABAMBA PROPHECY, a 2015 Adventure Writers Competition Semi-Finalist. This action packed, science fiction thriller, is the first in the Nick Randall series, following the exploits of archaeologist Nick Randall and his daughter Samantha. His second novel, THE BERMUDA CONNECTION, finds Nick and his son John searching for clues that lead them from sunny Bermuda to the frigid Antarctic continent.
A member of the Southern California Writers Association and the International Thriller Writers Association (ITW), he was selected to the ITW 2015-16 Debut Authors program and was among several new authors featured at the Debut Author session at this July’s ThrillerFest in New York City.
Born and raised in Southern California, his family is originally from New England. When not writing novels, he enjoys bike rides along the beach, camping along the California coast and rooting for the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots.
The ideas for his novels are drawn from his interest in archeology and science and his love of adventure stories. Bob has always been drawn to these topics and is fascinated by the technology utilized by ancient civilizations. This interest has provided fertile ground for his entertaining books.
Learn more about his books at www.robertrapoza.com.
By Robert Rapoza
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THE BERMUDA CONNECTION
Coming soon.
Nazca: A Nick Randall Short Story Page 3