Lost Valley: The Discovery

by J. T. Cross

  He attached the pictures then hit the send button. He closed the laptop cover, putting it back to sleep, and picked up his cell phone. He scrolled through his contacts until he came to her name. Calling and talking to her was never an easy thing to do. He hesitated and then flipped the phone closed. He tossed it up in the air a few times.

  He flipped opened the phone. Her number was still selected. He pushed the Send button.

  Chapter 7

  Luc sat in his darkened living room and listened to his cell phone ringing Christie’s number. She answered and he took a deep breath.

  “Hello Christie, this is Luc.” He tried to make his voice sound relaxed.

  “Oh... Hi Luc. How you doing?”

  “I’m fine. How about you?”

  “Oh, I’m pretty busy. They gave me an extra Intro to Paleontology class to teach. I’m going to have a lot to do this semester.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be able to find a PA to help you out with the grading,” he said, feeling the hurt starting to build from hearing her voice.

  “That’s true,” she said.

  “How are Stuart and Kelly?” he asked.

  “They’re fine.”

  How could their conversation be so superficial, he wondered, when they had once been so intimate? He longed to say so much more to her, but he knew he couldn’t.

  There was silence for a moment; then she continued. “Actually, they’re both sound asleep. I’m glad you called, Luc. I planned to call you today or tomorrow anyway.”

  His curiosity was definitely piqued. “What did you want to talk about?”

  “I was wondering if you wanted to have the kids for two or three weeks?”

  He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Why now? He’d practically been begging for a year to have them up.

  “I’d love to spend some time with them. When can you send them up?” he asked, trying not to sound too excited.

  “Maybe next week, if it works out for you. Philip and I need some time to sort a few things out.”

  “That doesn’t sound so good.”

  “We’ll work it out. So, what was on your mind?”

  So much for the small talk, he thought. “The reason I called was to talk to you about some very interesting rock samples that were found in the mountains north of my grandfather’s village. They’re putting out a lot of heat on their own. They’re also very heavy for their size. I thought maybe I could get some of Philip’s time to take a look at them.”

  “They sound dangerous to me, Luc. If they’re hot, they might be radioactive.”

  “I’ve already checked them for radioactivity. They’re not putting out much more than a radium dial on an old watch.”

  “How hot are they?” She asked.

  He could hear the curiosity in her voice. The scientist in her was coming through. “The meat thermometer reads about 350 degrees.”

  “That’s very funny, Luc. Ha ha. Now what do you really want?”

  “I’m serious. I also found a tooth. It’s almost four inches long. I think it came from a very large cat-like animal.”

  “Now I know you’re pulling my leg. Don’t forget, you’re talking to a paleontologist, Luc. Cats with canines that long disappeared about 20,000 years ago.”

  “That’s why I thought you might be interested. Check your e-mail.”

  “Okay Luc, I’ll play along.” He could hear her typing in the background. She came back on the line.

  “Where did you find this tooth?”

  “Like I said, in the mountains north of my grandfather’s village. I was in a very remote region when I ran into it. It was actually sunk so far into an ATV’s knobby tire that I had to use pliers to get it out.”

  “I’m going to get Philip to take a look at these pictures. Hang on.”

  Luc could hear her voice in the background calling Philip. After a few moments, he came on the line.

  “Hello Luc, this is Philip. This is a very interesting picture you sent to Christie. There must be something wrong with your scales though. Nothing the size of that object, not even solid gold, would weigh that much. And what did you do, put it in the oven to heat it up or something?”

  “I did not put the rock in an oven or heat it in anyway. The rock has maintained that temperature since I found it out in the mountains. And the scales are correct.”

  “You’re not joking around, are you?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Really?”

  “Trust me, I wouldn’t be wasting your time or mine if I didn’t think we had something really special here.”

  “I wish there was a way I could examine the specimens in person.”

  “I would appreciate that. I could FedEx them down to you from Fairbanks,” Luc said.

  At that moment Kate walked into the living room and sat down next to him.

  “I couldn’t sleep. Who are you talking to?” she asked sleepily.

  “Philip, my ex-wife’s husband,” he whispered.

  Kate pulled the phone away from his ear a little, so she could hear.

  Philip continued, “No, that wouldn’t work. The samples would never make it through the security screenings, but I have an idea. I’m going to get online and check the location of Northern Energies’ corporate jets.”

  “If you’ll bear with me for a moment, I’m logging onto their flight scheduling website.”

  Once again, Luc could hear typing in the background.

  “I just have to put my employee ID in and... We’re in luck. There’s a repair crew in Fairbanks that’s using one of the jets this weekend. They can usually carry at least eight passengers, and there’s only three booked for that flight. They’re scheduled to come back to Seattle on Monday. If you can make it to the Fairbanks airport by ten on Monday morning, you can fly back down with the guys for free. You’d be in Seattle later in the afternoon.”

  Luc glanced at Kate, and she nodded yes and gave him a little smile. “I can get Kate to fly me back to Fairbanks tomorrow.”

  He heard more typing in the background.

  “You’re officially added to the roster,” Philip said.

  “So, how is it that you can book me a flight on a Northern Energies plane?”

  “I do a lot of consulting with Northern Energies and I sometimes need to hop on one of their corporate jets to get around, so they gave me scheduling rights. Of course, it has to be associated with company business, so we’ll just say I’m bringing in specimens that might be of interest to the company. And who knows, they might.”

  Luc wasn’t sure he liked the idea of getting some company involved with the specimens so soon. But then again, Northern Energies was nice enough to let him fly down for free.

  “When I get down there, I’ll rent a car and probably be at your place in the early evening,” Luc said.

  “Sounds good. We look forward to seeing you,” Philip said and hung up.

  “A corporate jet, no less,” Kate said, grinning. “He must have friends in high places.”

  “I guess.”

  She got up off the couch. “I’m going to make some popcorn. You find something good on TV, and I’ll be back in a bit.”

  His grandfather always kept popcorn stocked in the kitchen. It was one of his favorite snacks, so Luc knew she wouldn’t have any problem finding some. That evening, they cuddled together on the couch and watched TV while they munched on popcorn.

  * * *

  Luc awoke to the sound of the clanging of plates. It took him a moment to get his bearings, and then he realized he wasn’t in his bedroom but on the couch with Kate nestled in his arms. The sounds were coming from the kitchen. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of having her next him for a moment, then gently woke her.

  “Oh no, what time is it anyway?” she asked.

  “A little after six. Grandpa gets up early. On the plus side, he loves to cook breakfast.”

  Kate jumped up and went into the bathroom to get freshened up, and Luc went into the kitchen to
see his grandfather. Breakfast was ready and his grandfather was busy putting it on the table. “I thought you two might want a little bite to eat before you go up in the plane.”

  “What makes you think we’re going up in the plane today grandpa?” asked Luc.

  “The walls in this house are paper thin, and I couldn’t sleep after we looked at those rocks.”

  Kate came back in, and they all sat down to breakfast and enjoyed scrambled eggs, bacon, and as many pancakes as they could put down.

  After breakfast, Kate left for the airport to get her plane ready for the flight to Fairbanks.

  Luc quickly showered and got dressed. He packed his things and hugged his grandfather goodbye. He opened the door, walked out, and almost ran into the village medicine lady who sat on the steps.

  “Going somewhere?” she asked, without turning around and looking at him.

  “Excuse me. Why are you sitting on my grandfather’s front porch?”

  “Because you took something from the forbidden area. Don’t deny it. I drank the Traveler’s Tea and saw it.”

  Luc had heard just about enough of the Traveler’s Tea nonsense. He didn’t believe any of it. Somehow his grandfather must’ve gotten in touch with her and told her about the things he had found and his trip to Seattle.

  “I found a couple things,” he admitted.

  “Take them back to where you found them. They don’t belong in this world.”

  “The things I found could have true value for the village. I’m taking them to some people who can tell me more about them. This is a good thing. It could bring money to the village. The things I found are very, very, unusual.”

  “Take them with you at your own peril. It will change everything. You could lose the things you value most. I’m warning you just like I warned Yudi.”

  “My ex-wife’s a paleontologist and her husband’s a physicist. This find could be big. I’m taking it to them. I’m sorry.”

  “I saw two paths in the vision. You’re taking the hard one.”

  Luc thought about it for a moment. His uncle had warned him and now the medicine lady warned him, too. No, it was nonsense. He had already told Christie he intended to bring the samples down.

  “I’m taking them down to Seattle, and that’s the end of it. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get going,” he said and walked around her and out to his truck.

  She followed him and stood between him and the truck. She pointed her finger straight at his face. “When all is lost and you are beyond hope, look me up,” she said. She turned, walked down the driveway, and slowly shuffled down the street without looking back.

  He jumped in his truck and drove to the Manatuk airport and found Kate waiting. By nine they were in the air, heading south toward Fairbanks. Four hours later, they landed in Auburn, said their goodbyes, and Luc drove home alone.

  He spent the rest of the day cleaning his house and packing his clothes for the trip. In the evening, he took a long walk and tried to sort out his feelings for Kate and Christie. He got nowhere. He went back home, set the alarm for seven, and went to bed early.

  Luc pulled out of his driveway at eight the next morning. He drove to the Fairbanks airport and got there about nine thirty. He had no problems finding the hangar that Northern Energies used when they were in town. He walked into the hangar and was immediately greeted by a man wearing a blue Northern Energy jacket.

  “Let me guess, you must be Luc Moon,” the man said.

  “That’s right. I was told to be here at ten for a flight down to Seattle.”

  “You’re in the right place. If you want to show me an ID we’ll get the show on the road.”

  He handed the man his license, which he looked at briefly and then returned. “By the way, my name is Captain Murdoch. I’ll be flying the crew and you down to Seattle today. Let’s get your luggage on the plane.”

  Luc followed him to the rear of the plane and they stowed his luggage in the cargo compartment. He then climbed the stairs into the jet and took the first available seat. There were three other men already seated and talking.

  The pilot came in and closed the hatch. He turned and looked at passengers. “You guys enjoy your flight. I’ve got to get to work and earn my living.” He climbed into the pilot’s seat. Luc watched him while he flipped switches and turned dials.

  In a few minutes he heard the jet engines starting. A message came over the intercom for everyone to buckle up and shortly after that the plane taxied out and took off.

  “It sure beats flying commercial,” said one of the technicians to Luc.

  Luc nodded. It was interesting to see how the other half lived. What wasn’t going to be interesting was to have to see Christie face-to-face and watch her interact with her husband Philip. He wasn’t looking forward to that at all.

  Chapter 8

  A little before noon, the Northern Energies corporate jet touched down in Seattle, just as it started to sprinkle. After disembarking, Luc rented a car and programmed Christie’s address into its GPS. He then grabbed a latte and pulled out of the airport, heading for Interstate 5.

  He pulled onto the large fast-moving freeway and sat back to relax as he enjoyed his warm drink. He turned on the windshield wipers as the sprinkling turned into a light rain and cracked the window slightly to enjoy the fresh moist air. He loved the way the air felt when the weather was like this. After forty-five minutes of following the GPS directions, he arrived at Christie and Philip’s house.

  The house was a medium-sized ranch-style that Christie and Philip had bought shortly after they married. Luc got out of the car and leaned on the open car door, looking up and down the heavily treed neighborhood. It was a nice place to live, exactly what Christie had always wanted, he thought.

  He suddenly began having second thoughts about his decision to come down in person. Why hadn’t he tried harder to figure some other way to get the samples to them? He felt more uncomfortable than he had in a long time.

  He slammed the car door shut and tried to push the feelings out of his mind as he walked up to the house. He took a deep breath and knocked.

  Christie opened the door. “I see you found the place. You’re looking good,” she said, cheerfully.

  “You too,” he said. He thought she looked even prettier than he had remembered, with her curly brown hair falling softly about her face and her large intelligent blue eyes looking him up and down.

  He glanced inside the house. “Are the kids here?”

  “I forgot to tell you. Mom and Dad promised to take them ice skating this afternoon. They had it planned for weeks and they didn’t want to let the kids down. They should be back by six.”

  Luc felt the sting of disappointment welling up, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good to say anything.

  “I’ve missed them,” he said, and decided to leave it at that.

  “Stuart and Kelly have missed you, too. As soon as they get home, they’re going to demand all your attention.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” he said, feeling his spirits beginning to pick up.

  “I’ve got their things packed and ready to go. Philip booked a flight back up to Fairbanks tomorrow for three passengers. It’s another one of Northern Energies’ planes, so you won’t have to worry about airfare. Will that work out okay?”

  “Of course.”

  “Do you have a hotel room reserved yet?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “The nice ones fill up quickly around here, so I reserved one for you. It’s on us. After all, you went out of your way to bring down the samples.”

  “Speaking of the samples, I have something I think you might be interested in,” he said and reached into his pocket. Pulling out the tooth, he handed it to her.

  She looked at it and her eyes slowly grew wide. “Oh my gosh, Luc, this is amazing.” She examined it as if it were a long-lost treasure.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  “I think I need to take it back to the garage and
examine it with a magnifying glass. Where did you say you found this?”

  “Same place as the rock.”

  “I’ve never seen anything like this from a modern-day animal.”

  “I’ll get the other sample,” he said. He stepped off the porch and walked back out to the car. He grabbed the metal toolbox from the trunk and met her on the driveway. He followed her to the back yard and through a side door into a garage that had been converted into a small laboratory and office.

  “This is where we do some of our work on the weekends,” Christie said.

  He looked around the place. There was a workbench near the entrance with two computers and several pieces of test equipment he couldn’t identify. He set the metal toolbox on top of it.

  On the other side of the room was another long workbench with various fossilized bones laid across its top. “Nice,” he said.

  Christie turned and walked to her workbench on the far side of the garage. She picked up a large magnifying glass and began examining the tooth.

  “This is simply amazing. This definitely isn’t the whole tooth. I would say it broke off about one quarter of the way from the root.”

  “What kind of an animal would have a tooth that long?” Luc asked.

  “None that are supposed to be living these days. If this is what I think it is, it’s going to cause a lot of textbooks to be rewritten.”

  She reached up over her workbench and pulled down a large textbook from a shelf. She thumbed through the pages quickly until she found what she was looking for.

  “Believe it or not, I think the tooth belongs to one of these.” She handed the book to Luc.

  He looked at the artist’s rendering of the animal and felt chills run down his spine. In large letters below the picture was the name Smilodon. He recognized the animal. “So, you’re telling me you think the tooth came from a saber-toothed tiger?”

  “Everything fits except for the fact that it’s supposed to have been dead for the last 20,000 years.”

  He thought back to what he had seen in the fog and the size of the animal that had tried to jump him. Maybe...