One Minute to Midnight

by Steve Lang

  Dave and his fellow investigators had attempted to draw scientific interest for the expedition from the university when he was studying for his bachelor's degree, but mummies were considered sensational attractions and not precious historical artifacts in the 1800's. Some well educated people suggested he crush the body of King Atun into medicinal pills and advertise a prescription for the cure of malady, or take him on a road show and make a fortune. For that reason, it was decided by the group that the location for King Atun would remain a secret to all but those who had found him. Dave and his colleagues left the mummy inside his burial cave, absconding with only a few pieces of treasure, and some pictures of them with the king's mummy to mark their historic find. They hoped King Atun would be rediscovered another day by people who understood the significance of their find, and maybe the body would be treated a better than being crushed into pills for snake oil-like false remedies. Sometime after that experience, Dave graduated and began his study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with Dr. Phillips.

  Henry’s excitement grew the more he thought about just how far from home he was, and how few people dared to tread the path he now took. Henry saw extinct civilizations in his imagination, the records, and artifacts of people long dead contained in ancient ruins beneath layers of rock and dirt. Those images danced in his mind like a child waiting for Santa Clause to come down the chimney. In three days they would reach the village of Karyamukti, and the villagers would be able to point him in the right direction. His only concern was their temperature toward outsiders. There were not many white men traveling this way and Henry had heard ghastly tales of headhunter tribes in Indonesia killing missionaries. The validity of those stories, while joked about back in America, seemed very real in the bush. While Henry carried a Colt .45 revolver, bought when he thought he would have to fight in the Spanish-American War, six rounds would not save him from hundreds of poison-tipped arrows. Bringing him out of his trance were the local mosquitoes flitting about his face and neck, looking for any opportunity to strike.

  "Hungry bastards, get lost." Henry mumbled, swatting at the blood suckers.

  Dave crawled out of his tent, gave a groan of discomfort and stretched with his hands in the small of his back.

  "I’ll never get used to sleeping on the ground." Dave said.

  "Oh, yes you will. You’ll get so used to sleeping on the ground that when you go home your bed will be too soft." Henry said.

  "Ha, ha, we’ll see. Well, it looks like it’s going to be another hot one." Dave said.

  "Tropical heat is serious business. The secret is drinking clean water, and drinking lots of it." Henry replied.

  Dave sauntered over to where Henry stood and put his hands on his hips as he surveyed the volcanic, rocky terrain, and the dense jungle beyond. Gunung Padang loomed in the distance, somewhere southeast of their position, and although Dave was not as experienced in world travel as Henry, he could smell their destination at the end of the road. Dave felt like a pilgrim in search of new land, and it was exhilarating. Henry saw the look in Dave’s eyes and could not help but remember when he had begun travelling to remote, isolated ruins as a young man. Henry had the same look on his face when he gazed upon the Great Pyramid for the first time. The height and scale of such a creation excited Henry to no end. His imagination ran wild about how impossible it seemed that something so precise and massive could have been built with stone and copper tools by hunter-gatherers. Perhaps the answer was that the people who built the megaliths used high technology, maybe more advanced than we have today. He would often conspire to anyone that would listen at parties after having too much to drink.

  "It’s exciting, right? Getting the hell out of your house and seeing those places that books are written about." Henry said.

  "Yes sir, it is. I would not trade this for sitting at a desk." Dave replied.

  "When I’m away I miss my wife, but when I’m home I miss my time on the road. It’s a strange duality." Henry said.

  "There’s so much to see." Dave nodded.

  "Let’s get these guides up, eat something, and be on our way." Henry said.

  After a light breakfast, their guides, Bakti, Hamzah, and Muluk, packed the tents and supply boxes, and the five men began to walk down the path. Hired in Jakarta for their knowledge of the country, the guides were to carry all of the gear and lead Henry and Dave to their destination. The two guides up front began speaking to one another.

  "Ada pertanda buruk tentang gunung yang, Hamzah." Bakti said.

  "I know Bakti, but the money feed our families for whole year," whispered Hamzah in broken English.

  "Bakti, shut up!" Muluk barked.

  "What did he say?" Henry asked.

  "Bakti say there is bad omen, or sign on the mountain. We should not go there, but he just joking." Hamzah answered.

  "Ridiculous superstition! Ha, ha, these natives!" Henry shook his head.

  Hamzah shrugged and grinned kindly, as if to say 'my friend is crazy', because the last thing Hamzah wanted was the rich white man to cancel his trek due to fear of ill omens. Fifty percent of the promised money was to be paid at the end of the journey. They hiked through the Indonesian countryside and through a forest, until Henry and his party found their way out and into another barren rocky area. In the middle of the clearing, Bakti could see movement. He shielded his eyes from the sun with both hands to get a better look at what was ahead.

  "Monkeys." Bakti said.

  "That's not good." Henry said.

  Henry instinctively placed his right hand on the butt of the .45.

  "Let them pass. They leave us alone if we quiet." Hamzah warned.

  Henry and his party stood still until the troupe, taking very little notice of the men, moved on to the west. They could hear the monkeys chattering to one another, and when they were gone everyone began to breathe easy again.

  "You think they saw us?" Dave said.

  "They saw us, but as long as we out of this area by nightfall we be alright." Henry said.

  "Yes, the monkeys not follow us.” Bakti said.

  The men continued on through another small patch of trees, and around five o’clock they set camp atop a rocky hill. They could see for miles around, and there was a spectacular collage of lush green trees, small bushes, and animals of all variety that ran free in their native land. Pitching his tent as the yellow-orange sun set, Henry wondered how much this land had changed in twenty thousand years. The rest of his party was busy gathering firewood for the night and setting up tents. When Henry’s tent was set up, and he had eaten some jerky from their rations, he stood alone looking over the valley, and then he noticed movement from below them about a hundred yards away.

  "Hamzah! Is that the same troupe of monkeys from earlier today? Henry asked.

  Hamzah brought out the small telescope Henry brought with them, and after a minute he nodded.

  "They maybe following us. I am not sure, but probably nothing.” Hamzah said.

  Hamzah, Bakti, and Muluk all glanced over at one another, and had Henry been paying particular attention to the fear in their eyes, he might have been more on guard. The guides were praying in secret that the monkeys would quietly go away, or leave them alone until they reached Karyamukti, where help could be found. All three knew that the monkeys in that region were known to violently attack humans, but tribes, and villages were so spread out that the statistics of just how many attacks occurred went unreported to the authorities.

  As night fell, the small campfire illuminated their space as the men ate, chatted and laughed under a canopy of stars.

  "It’s wonderful being out here." Dave said.

  "Yes. I get break from wife." Bakti said.

  That sent the group into a gale of laughter. They ate a soup made of beans and cured ham that tasted like a dirty dish rag, but at least it was food.

  "Maybe we should have shot one of those monkeys and ate them instead. This tastes like death." Henry said.

  "Yo
u think they are anywhere near here?" Dave asked.

  “Nah, they miles from us now, right Hamzah?”

  Hamzah began to smile and nod just as a large monkey walked into their campsite from out of the darkness. An instantaneous fear spread over the men as the monkey silently glared at them. His eyes sparkled with intelligence, and as he stood straight up he mimicked a small man. Four more monkeys entered the camp and stood just behind the bigger of them, their leader, as he moved his head from one party member to the other. The men remained motionless, and Henry began to think about his gun. Did he dare move his hand toward the grip? Sweat beaded on his forehead, and although he was unaware of how powerful monkeys were, Henry did know a sizing up when he saw it. He stood, reached into the fire and pulled out a burning log waving it at the monkeys and shouted.

  "Go away!"

  It was all he could think to do. The four monkeys who entered camp after their leader flinched and cackled to one another. The big one stood his ground and snarled at Henry, his judging eyes turning fierce and sinister. Henry reached for his pistol, and as he pulled the Colt from his holster the monkeys disappeared into the night. He turned in every direction, his pistol raised, ready to fire, the burning log glowing red, but he could not see anything beyond their circle.

  "Sir, they’re gone." Dave said.

  "You can put pistol down my friend. They just letting us know they here." Muluk said.

  "My mood is officially soured after that encounter. We need to keep watch, and keep this fire going in case they come back." Henry said.

  "I’ll take the first one." Dave said.

  Hamzah would go after Dave, and then Henry, then Muluk, and Bakti last. Howls from the monkey troupe erupted in the distance, unnerving the men. After about twenty more minutes of silence, everyone but Dave turned in. Sleep was a hard won battle as each of them closed their eyes and saw the snarling, toothy grin of the troupe leader. At two in the morning, Henry snapped out of a night terror where the troupe of monkeys had returned and were tearing his arms off. The leader was cackling, and howling as he used Henry’s torn off limbs to beat his party members to death. Henry’s shirt was bathed in sweat, and when he looked at his watch it was time for his shift. He stepped out of his tent and saw that Hamzah was nowhere in sight. Their little campfire had burned down to embers, and it was very dark. Fear gripped Henry as he drew his pistol and stepped with caution toward the center of camp. Nothing moved, and there was no sound except for the gentle snoring of one sleeping party member. Henry tossed a few logs on the fire and got it going again as he looked around for signs of animals, and then he lit his lantern.

  Something moved in the dirt to his right, about twenty feet away. Henry made sure the fire was blazing before he went to see what was scratching in the dirt. When he came closer, Henry saw a human hand twitching, and as his light shone he realized that it was the body of Hamzah, lying in a pool of blood. Something had torn his throat out. In a flash, Henry saw a figure dart past the dim light, and he fired a blind shot from his Colt. He heard a choked scream, and then a body hit the ground like a sack of flour. Before he could go see what it was, something else ran past him and he fired again, missing, but by then everyone was awake and standing at the opening of their tents half dressed.

  "Hamzah’s dead, something out there killed him." Henry said, disheartened and sick.

  He was wide eyed, and had a crazed look in his eyes as he looked at the men. In the distance a howl broke the night’s silence.

  Bakti ran over to check on Hamza.

  "He’s still alive!" Bakti said.

  "Who did this to you?" Henry asked.

  Bakti rolled Hamzah over on his back and when he did Henry had to stifle his urge to vomit. Hamzah was in bad shape, with claw marks all over his face, and a large portion of his neck gone from what looked like a bite.

  "Iblis..." Hamzah sighed.

  Hamzah died in Bakti’s arms as everyone watched in horror.

  "What does it mean?" Henry asked.

  "Devil" Muluk said, sending chills down Henry’s spine as the word was spoken.

  Henry carried his lantern over to the spot he heard the body drop after firing, and was not shocked to see one of the smaller monkeys, lying dead. Henry’s bullet had gone through the creature's temple. None of them slept for the rest of night, and the monkeys never returned. Henry’s act of defiance had apparently scared them off, but he could not help but think of Hamzah’s warning that there was an ill omen on the mountain. Due to lack of time and resources, they covered Hamzah with a pile of rocks to keep predators off his body until someone could come back and bury him properly. Another day of walking brought them to the village of Karyamukti where the villagers spoke no English, and it was a leap of faith on Henry’s part to trust the villagers. After losing Hamzah in such a grizzly manner, the team was not in as high spirits as at the beginning.

  The village chief, Acotas, agreed to allow the men to explore the mountain, but he did mention that the top was sacred and they would not be able to dig up there. Gunung Padang was a tiered mountain, each layer providing a different vantage point and energy, but Henry explained that they would primarily be digging at the bottom of the mountain. Based on information given him by the photographer who took the original pictures of Gunung Padang, he had a hunch that a door to the interior of the pyramid lay somewhere on the back side of the mountain. So Henry agreed to terms, and the men began to search around the mountain. The distraction of the adventure was good for the men as they attempted to put the tragedy of Hamzah behind them. Bakti and Muluk stayed on to help when Henry offered to double their pay. He had already lost one man to a violent attack, and being stuck in a village where he did not speak the language did not sit well with him. On the second day in Karyamukti, Dave found a recess in the side of the bottom tier, and they began to dig.

  Soon a tunnel was formed and supports had to be cut to prevent the roof from caving in, but after almost a week of digging and relentless frustration they struck something solid.

  "Dr. Phillips! We’ve got something here!" Dave shouted.

  Further excavation revealed what was a door with symbols inscribed on it, and it appeared to have been buried for hundreds, or maybe thousands of years.

  "Let’s get in there. Do you see the markings on this door?" Henry asked Muluk.

  “I never seen carvings like this, maybe chief knows.” Muluk replied, and related the inquiry to Acotas.

  Acotas shrugged and replied to Muluk in Bahasa, "Those may be bad omens, but we have never seen such inscriptions." Muluk translated this to Henry.

  "Bad omens? I think we’ll take our chances." Henry said. He laughed it off.

  Acotas said something more to Muluk and Bakti, and then turned to go leaving them in the tunnel.

  "What did he say?" Henry asked.

  "He said if you open door and demon comes out he and village will seal you inside.” Bakti said.

  "We have our money now, please? Before you go in temple.” Muluk asked.

  "If I pay you now you’ll take off and leave us here." Henry said.

  “Nah sir, we are right outside and guide you back when you return, but we not going inside temple.” Bakti said.

  The young man was smiling, but there was trepidation in his voice, as if he knew opening that door would unleash an unseen terror onto the party and people of Karyamukti. Henry rolled his eyes and agreed, handing Muluk and Bakti their pay and Hamzah’s as well.

  "Make sure Hamzah’s family gets this money." Henry said.

  Ornate characters adorned the golden door. Snakes, birds, foxes, and what looked like a brontosaur with a pterodactyl, were arranged in complex patterns.

  "You ready for this, Dave?" Henry asked.

  Dave smiled.

  "Let’s go in, sir." Dave said.

  With a hard tug from both men, the door creaked and groaned, dropping a small avalanche of dirt to the ground. A dank, wet air wafted out of the long, dark tunnel within, reminding them of wet ba
sements. Henry lit his lantern, shining his light on a skeleton inside the doorway. Beside the skeleton was a jeweled dagger with a triangular shaped crystal on the hilt. Henry picked it up, tucking the artifact inside his belt.

  "We may need this." Henry said, and they began to move forward.

  They followed a tunnel deep underground, and made many turns in a spiral that seemed unending. Once at the bottom, the tunnel straightened out, opening to a room at the end. Henry and Dave slowly crept into a large chamber beneath the pyramid, and in each corner was a pile of skeletons. Corridors diverged in many directions along the walls of the chamber, and the walls were painted with depictions of past events.

  "There are people kneeling before a volcano on this wall." Dave said.

  "I see airships and people flying overhead on this wall over here."

  "Henry, come take a look at this. I think that dagger you picked up may be a key." Dave said.

  In the smooth, granite-block-constructed wall was a triangular-shaped hole that looked like it would accommodate Henry's dagger. He slid the pointed end into the hole, and when he did the jewels on the handle began to glow. A section of the solid wall slid to the side, creaking and rumbling the ground beneath their feet. Next, a loud moan, like the howl of outraged souls, exploded from the wall as another room was revealed.

  "It looks like this room was dug out of the earth below the temple or maybe the pyramid was built on top of a mass grave. Something bad must have happened down here." Dave said.

  Broken sabers and spears littered the ground, and they could see them sticking out of burial mounds. Wooden chests, overflowing with gold and jewels were stacked one atop the other. Dave ventured forward into the room, and picked up a conquistador’s helmet, turning it over in his hands.

  "Amazing." He whispered.

  A blood-chilling scream echoed through the darkness, freezing them in their tracks. Dave looked around for the source of the sound, but there was nothing. His heart was beating faster now, and the thought of running for the entrance became more appealing by the moment.