by Greig Beck
The journalist stood her ground, and the corners of her lips just turned up a fraction. “Well, you see, it’s just that you win either way. You find Ben, and live happily ever after. Or you don’t find Ben, inherit the Cartwright estate, and live happily ever after.”
Emma saw red and leaned in real close so only the woman could hear. “Watch that mouth, or else.”
“Or else?” Camilla straightened. “You’ll leave me here…as well.”
Emma had the urge to grab the woman’s shirtfront and shake her. “No, but I’ll break your fucking jaw.”
She stormed toward Drake and his team. Juan filmed her the entire way.
CHAPTER 19
3008 BC – Sacred Tabletop Mountain – Time of Comet Apparition
Kueka was the last high-borne priest remaining. A few others had managed to flee, but he and his warrior escort had waited too long, and now he would pay.
The others of his group had scattered, but the chance of their survival could be counted in the breaths of a bird, rather than in days or even hours.
The priest bounded up the steps of the temple, past the majestic stone idols, and also past the bowls of large, fragrant blooms, fresh fruits, and other offerings to their gods.
He paused, confused—where were the guards? They knew not to leave until he had returned. They would pay with their lives.
Kueka cursed; he had always known his gods were angry and demanding ones, and the sacrifices were becoming costly. Too many lower-caste men, women, and children had been offered and accepted, greatly thinning out their tribe. Now it seemed the eyes of the great gods had turned upon the high borne.
It was said to be an honor to be sacrificed to the great snake god. But it was an honor that Kueka wanted to ensure never fell upon him. As head priest, he was said to be able to talk to these monstrous creatures. But today, no god was listening, as were any of his people. It seemed no one was left to listen.
The small man bounded down the steps and leaped through the hole in the wall, accelerating to the pathway that would lead back down to the base of the plateau. The wettest season would be over soon, and everything would vanish back to the underworld. He must escape before that happened. Or he’d be trapped. But first, he must survive.
He sprinted down the cave passageway, closing in on his escape route, when he skidded to a stop. The burning torches along the way threw distorted shadows on the rough-hewn walls, but in the dancing light, there was one shadow looming ahead that he wished was just a trick of the light. The snake god, one of them, was waiting for him, and blocking his way.
Kueka half-turned. From behind, he heard the heavy sliding of another huge body—he was trapped between two of the great beasts. He couldn’t really talk to them; that was just to fool the tribe. There would be no entreaties, no mercy, and no hesitation. He’d end up food, just like the rest.
He had one chance, and he darted to the side where there was an alcove for storing building materials. He clambered in and quickly used the cut stones that were stored for construction, lifting them quickly into place, one on top of the other, sealing the entrance to the small hole, and also sealing himself in.
He had no choice; he’d wait until the creatures left. Surely that would be soon.
CHAPTER 20
Drake stood, finished his coffee, and then flicked the dregs into the jungle. After breakfast, two coffees, ablutions, and all jobs done, it was still only 8am. He was satisfied with progress.
“All right people, we’re gonna start inflating the bag. It’ll take two hours, need everyone involved, and once done, we will immediately board and set off—morning breeze is a good breeze, so we’ll use it.” He turned to Emma. “Once we’re up, it’ll be over to you for navigation.”
Emma also stood and wiped her hands on her pants. “That’s right; we can use GPS and compass for only a while. Then once we arrive over what I’ll call the fern forest and are closing in on the plateau, I expect everything to go haywire again. Also, by then, I’m expecting low cloud and fog. That’s where we’ll be relying on skill, precision, and some luck.”
Luck, thought Drake with disquiet. If there was one thing a soldier hated to rely on, it was that. He kept quiet and watched the woman. He couldn’t help admiring her. She was single-focused in what she wanted to achieve, and there was a steely resolve and toughness about her that he wouldn’t dare bet against. She was confident, and she made him feel confident.
Helen raised her hand. “Remind me again how we are going to find it, if we’ve got no compass, GPS, and if there is fog, no line of sight?” She stared at Drake from under her brows. “I mean, I’ve been doing some reading on recreational balloons, like this one, and though they’re pretty tough, you don’t want to bang into the side of a building or a mountain when you’re a thousand feet in the air. The canopy punctures and deflates, and we’re all going to drop like a rock.”
The soldier grunted. “Modern balloons are tougher than that, and a lot more navigable. But the plan is we rise above the cloud layer. Emma believes we can drop in through a permanent eye effect that is over the center of the plateau.” He turned. “That right?”
“It’ll be there,” Emma said with conviction.
“How high can we go up?” Camilla asked, and raised her chin.
“Well, some hot air balloons can go to one-hundred-thousand feet, and that’s well into the stratosphere.” Drake stuck his thumbs into his belt and tried not to laugh as their faces went a few shades paler. “But this recreational model isn’t designed for that. We can certainly get some good height, and if we needed to, we can climb to five thousand feet. Though I expect we’ll only need to climb to around two and a half, or maybe three, depending on the cloud mass.”
“Will we need breathing equipment?” Andy asked, still looking excited.
“No, not at that height,” Drake replied.
“Still no parachutes?” Andy pressed.
“Oh shit, parachutes.” Drake slapped his forehead, and Andy’s mouth dropped open, but stayed curved up at the corners. Helen looked like she was going to pass out.
Drake couldn’t help himself and guffawed. “No, no, like I said before, we won’t need them. These modern balloons are pretty tough and can be lowered and raised quickly. We should be fine.”
“Should be,” Helen repeated.
Drake ignored her. “Anything else?”
Andy’s hand shot up again.
“Jesus,” Drake said with a groan. “Yes, Andy?”
“One more thing; what happens if we don’t find the plateau?”
Okay, good question, Drake thought. “Well, it’s like this; with all our propane cylinders, we have about twenty-four hours flying time—a lot of that is getting there and back. The plan is we find the plateau, rise above it, and then descend down to the top of it, where we will either tie off the balloon or deflate and store it. We find our man, then reinflate and leave. All up, well within our burn boundary.”
Drake bared his teeth for a moment as he thought it through. “Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of time for sailing around looking for something. We either find it, or we don’t.” He turned to Emma. “If we don’t find it within the first twelve hours, well, we’ll need to head back.”
Emma’s jaw clenched and she didn’t say a word.
Drake stared into her eyes for a few more moments, and bet that as far as she was concerned, there was no way she was returning until she was good and ready. He’d have to cross that bridge when they came to it.
He clapped his big hands together. “Okay, people. We got work to do. In two hours, we are airborne.”
And they were.
CHAPTER 21
20 Hours to full Comet Apparition
Comet P/2018-YG874, designate name, Primordia, was on its approach to the third planet from the sun. The magnetic bow wave that preceded it caused collisions between electrically charged particles in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, creating an aurora borealis effect over the jungles of
South America.
In one of the most inaccessible parts of the eastern Venezuelan jungle, clouds began to darken, and in another minute or two, they started to swirl and boil like in a devil’s cauldron, throwing down a torrent of warm rain.
Beneath the clouds, a gigantic tabletop mountain became cloaked in the dense fog, and brutal winds began to smash at its sides and surface. Thunder roared and lightning seemed to come from the sky, air, and even up from the ground itself.
The first of the bestial roars that began to ring out even drowned out the crash of thunder, and before long, the hissing, roars, and screams rose to be like those from the pits of Hell.
It had been ten years since the primordial sounds had been heard in this part of the Amazon, and even the creatures on the jungle floor over 1,000 feet below the plateau scurried away in fear.
It was the wettest season, and Primordia was returning.
CHAPTER 22
The balloon lifting off and soaring above the treetops gave Emma an odd feeling in her stomach. Not so much nausea, but more a sense of unreality as it felt more like she was on a fun park ride instead of a flight into a primordial hell.
Sure, now and then, there was the growling sound of the burners blowing hot air into the canopy, but for the most part, with no engines, there was only the odd creak of rope and squeal of the wicker basket under their feet.
Looking over the side when moving so slowly meant they had time to see and enjoy the jungle below them.
Juan reeled off dozens of photographs as Camilla pointed things out for him to capture. Andy and Helen leaned over together and grinned like school kids as they watched flocks of birds sail over the interwoven branches of the tree canopy. Occasional bands of monkeys stopped to stare up at them and scream, with a few trying to pelt either fruit or dung up at them.
“How’d you like a face full of my dung?” Andy yelled back at them, as Helen gave him the sort of look of distaste that only an older sister could conjure.
After a few hours, Emma stared down almost trance-like, as she tried to make out the winding brackish river they had navigated all those years ago. But she found it impossible to see through the green mesh of the massive trees. The treetops were so thick in this area that it actually looked like solid ground. But she knew it was an illusion as the real ground was another few hundred feet below it.
That permanent twilight world was a green ocean, and below the surface, things swung in branches, hung from tree trunks, and burrowed through leaf litter. There was another entire world hidden down there, and she was thankful they were floating above it, and not having to paddle or trek through it.
Another advantage was even though the balloon moved at around five miles per hour—jogging pace—it was faster than if they were crossing over the ground on foot or canoe. They also were able to travel as the crow flies, thus cutting out miles and miles of meandering river twists and bends.
Camilla came and leaned on the basket edge beside her. “It’s beautiful.”
Emma looked at her briefly and worked hard to resist the urge to tell her to piss off. After another moment, she nodded. “The jungle is a monster, but she hides her fangs well.”
“Most monsters do.” Camilla half-smiled, but her eyes held a quizzical expression. “You never told me how you feel coming back again?”
Emma turned to lean her back against the basket edge. “I’m conflicted—part elation, but scared shitless.”
Camilla snorted. “Sounds like my first marriage.” She continued to stare down at the canopy top. “If we do ever find Ben, I mean, when we do, do you think he’ll be happy to see you?” She tilted her head. “What do you think he’ll say to you?”
Emma’s teeth ground for a second or two as she started to get what the woman was after. It didn’t matter her motives now; they were well on their way. Over her shoulder, once again, her cameraman filmed them.
“I would think he’ll be overjoyed, relieved, disbelieving…”
“Yes, maybe disbelieving.” Camilla’s smile fell away.
Emma’s brows drew together as she looked down at the smaller woman. “Why did you come? Really?”
Camilla brightened again. “Looking for clues, señorita. I am a journalist; it’s what I do.” She turned to lean her back against the basket railing as well. “My apologies if I seem…intrusive.”
“Intrusive?” Emma snorted. “Yeah, well, you do what you gotta do, and I’ll do the same.” She went to push off the basket railing but paused. “You don’t believe me, do you? About where we’re going and what we’ll experience.” Emma smiled grimly. “You’re in for a surprise, lady.” She went to stand by Drake.
She watched as Fergus worked the burners while Brocke manipulated the vents and flaps that could be opened and closed with a series of cords. This allowed him to inflate or deflate the canopy, or just expel air from one side or the other that would cause the balloon to be gently pushed in the direction they wanted.
The modern balloons also had something akin to a trap door in the top that allowed for rapid drop if needed. In the past, balloons would land, and in strong winds wouldn’t stick the landing, instead getting tipped and dragged. The vent-trap meant they could release a large volume of the hot air quickly and either drop themselves fast and stick, or totally deflate the bag.
Drake turned. “Looking good.”
“Yep,” Emma said. “Took us more than a day to traverse this first part.”
“We just did it in under three hours,” he replied, and then pointed. “I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
In the distance, there was a line of clouds, low and so dark they looked purple. They could just make out the flashes of light within them as lightning was being discharged. It reminded her of those science pictures of electrical impulses within a human brain. Just the sight of it gave her a tingling in her stomach. This is where the shit gets real, she thought.
“Looks like thunderheads,” he said.
“Only looks like it. But it’s something else entirely,” she mumbled in return.
They scudded onwards, moving with the zephyrs and at the time, only a few hundred feet above the treetops.
Emma looked upward and past the enormous, bulging sack of air above her. Where they were at that moment, it was a cloudless, azure blue and seemed empty. But invisible to them within that atmosphere, it was like an ocean with different currents, rivers of air movement, and eddies that swirled in place, dropped or shot upward, and all depending on your height.
There were highways, laneways, and hidden alleys, and if they failed to gain enough traction and forward movement in one lane’s river of moving air, they could simply rise or drop until they found another more suitable stream.
For now, they were headed in the right direction, and with the warm sunlight, calm air, and without even the noises of the jungle below, it was a luxury they needed to soak in, and also gather strength for the ordeal she knew was coming.
Emma looked at each of her team members, and suddenly felt a pang of, what, guilt?
The soldiers looked formidable enough and she was glad they were here. But she had coerced Andy and Helen into coming. She needed them, and though she had told them what to expect, she had never really tried hard to impart the full horrors and dangers involved.
Maybe I’m the monster now, she thought, and let her eyes move to Camilla and Juan. They had bullied themselves into coming, so she felt less concerned about them. In fact, given the direction Camilla was taking with her questions right now, she couldn’t give a shit about the woman.
Besides, even if she had told them what to expect, she bet they would have come anyway. Andy had also told her that some of the questions Camilla had been asking them bordered on being intrusive, and some were even directed more at whether they were worried about Emma, more than where they were going.
Because I’m the monster, remember? She laughed softly, and then turned away to look over the side.
Emma looked dow
n and noticed the treetop canopy had opened out a little. There, finally, a landmark—a clear stream like a sparkling ribbon threaded its way through the green. Colored birds looking more like exotic, tropical fish darted in and out of the branches. It had to be the river of paradise she remembered from their last expedition. And maybe, if it truly was, they were making very good time.
She continued to stare, her mind taking her back to that last time—their sense of joy at finding a place that was Eden-like in such a dangerous jungle. There were green meadows, clear streams full of plump fish, birds, flowers, and clear air, before they then headed into the miasma of a stinking bog. It was like the Promised Land that also came with a warning—Go no further.
But they did anyway.
Her mind then took her to the plateau, and those last few moments all those years ago when she went over the lip of the cliff edge and left Ben behind. They had no choice; the thing that pursued them was going to kill her, and the last glimpse of Ben had shown her his face creased with fear and worry…not for himself, but for her.
She screwed her eyes shut. Please be there, Ben, she silently prayed. She opened her eyes and dispelled the memories, but none of the guilt. Emma breathed in the warm-scented wind of the jungle. Focus, she demanded.
More hours passed, and it was only when the sunshine dimmed did Emma become conscious of the change in the atmosphere. There was also a slight breeze now that ruffled their hair.
The broad scents of fragrant jungle blooms, rotting vegetation, animals, and brackish water were replaced with hints of ozone, as if lightning had just made jagged forks through a night sky. She noticed that the hair on her arms stood on end.
“Look.”
Drake’s voice jolted her out of her reverie. He held up a compass, and she saw that the arrow floated inside and never stayed on true north.
“GPS is gone to shit as well,” Ajax yelled.