Up in the distance they could see lights from the shoreline as they approached Nichols Town on Andros island. Tony edged his way into the harbor unnoticed. He moored the boat and tied it to an empty pontoon. The place seemed deserted. A few boats and fishing vessels were tied up comfortably for the night. Sally was awake and looked around the small harbor. No one was up and about at this hour of the morning. Travis made sure he kept close to her with one arm interlocked with hers. They passed a boat yard, which was pitch black inside. By the guess of things, the whole port was asleep.
With some luck, Travis managed to find them an unlocked car with the keys still in the ignition. Tony packed all their bags in the trunk, and they drove silently to the nearest airfield.
On the open road, Tony puts his foot down, speeding past the open fields. The night was quiet and warm, and not a word was said between either one of them. The sound of crickets could be heard from the fields as the car slowed down as it passed through tight bends in the road. Travis thought to himself as he looked at Sally while she stared out of the window. His thoughts went back to when his parents were still alive, and the life he would have led if it weren’t for that terrible day of the accident. The doctors who had operated on him thought it to be a miracle he had survived the crash. Having a fractured skull in three separate places was enough to kill you in an instance. He was certified dead on the operating table, and even time of death was announced, but out of nowhere the flat-lined monitor began to beep again as his heart came back to life.
Travis knew that it was with the help of Tony that he was given another chance in life, and swore he would always be in his debt to him no matter what.
The vehicle had reached the airfield in just under an hour. Time was still on their side. Tony looked up into the night sky, checking the weather conditions for flying. He noticed a slight breeze was picking up. The nearby tree tops were swaying as the warm wind rustled their branches. The airfield had a few fixed winged crafts used for crop dusting and a couple of Cessna's 172s and a Piper PA-34.
His eye was on the Piper, being a larger plane and capable of flying the nine hundred mile distance to the Yucatan. As they proceeded towards the Piper aircraft, Travis saw a light from a nearby hut.
“Tony, check to see if the keys are in the ignition,” said Travis.
“No keys!” Replied Tony.
“Wait for me inside the plane. I think I know where I can find the keys,” said Travis.
With the cover from the small line of huts, he made his way to the one that had a light on. As he came closer, he could hear the sound of a radio playing from inside. Stepping towards the window, Travis looked inside to see an old man, probably in his mid seventies sitting in an armchair reading the news-gazette. He took the chance to look around the room. He saw a small kitchenette on the far side of the hut, and on the left were some filing cabinets next to a desk with a computer and monitor screen. To the right of the door, he saw what he was looking for. All sets of keys were hanging on a white board with the names of each aircraft under them.
Travis thought of a way to distract the old timer without causing any harm to him. Only a few huts away, he saw some garbage bins. He ducked under the window so as not to be seen by the old man. Travis then knocked over one of the garbage bins creating enough noise for the old timer to leave the hut. The old man went to check what all the racket was all about, while Travis made his way around the other huts. He entered the hut with caution, making sure nobody else was inside.
He then went over to the white board and took the appropriate keys for the aircraft. As Travis was leaving the hut, he saw the old man approaching. There was nothing else he could do, but run.
The old timer shouted out as he saw Travis, “hey you! What do you think you’re doing?”
Travis ran to the aircraft where the others were waiting for him.
Tony opened the aircraft doors and took the keys from Travis, and inserted them into the ignition slot. He quickly prepared the aircraft for takeoff.
Tony taxied the airplane onto the short runway, and in a matter of minutes they were soon in the air.
Travis and Tony sat up front while the girls sat in the back with Sally sitting between them. Tony flew the aircraft as low as possible so as to avoid detection by radar.
Their journey to the underworld had begun.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Before reaching the mainland of the Bahamas, Jason contacted Chief Berks giving him an update on their situation. He then requests for him to make the necessary arrangements to hire a private aircraft, and to have it ready for takeoff on their arrival at a private airfield.
Without wasting time, Jason and the others berth the boat at the local yacht marina. To their surprise they find a local police officer ready to take them to the airfield.
In his thoughts, Jason thanked the Chief for being one step ahead of him. He also calculated Sally and her abductors have at least an hour head start on them. They get into the waiting vehicle and are rushed off to the airfield. On their way, Danny begins to feel faint. Kate opens his jacket and is shocked to see his bandages covered in blood. She assumes his stitches must have opened during the boat trip. Jason persuades his friend to stay behind and check in at the nearest hospital.
As they enter the airfield they hear the sound of an aircrafts engine, with the pilot ready to take off as soon as they are on board. The police officer stops the patrol car a few yards away from the plane where the pilot is waving them on board.
Jason then turns to the police officer. “Get him to the nearest hospital and fast!”
With sirens blaring the vehicle races out of the airfield, rushing Danny to the hospital emergency.
Jason calls out to Kate, “come on! Get inside, we’re losing time!”
Once inside the Piper PA 38, the pilot Sean Denver greets both Jason and Kate. Ready to take off, he pushes the throttle forward increasing speed, lifting the light aircraft swiftly into the night sky.
Once they reach altitude; the pilot then makes contact with the control tower over the radio, requesting the flight path to the Yucatan. Jason intervened, questioning if any other light aircraft is visible to them on radar. To his dismay, no other aircraft was reported to be seen heading in that direction.
Jason was certain about what he had heard back on the island, so he urged the pilot to continue the flight to the Yucatan. He had a gut feeling that he was right about Tony’s words.
Just a few thousand feet above the sparkling sea, Jason was caught in memories when Sally was just a young girl. He smiled at the times when he remembered she would ask him about ancient cultures, wanting to follow in his footsteps as an archaeologist. It was later on in her early teens that she would choose anthropology instead. Sally used to tease him that it was much more interesting to study ancient civilization than dig up dirt all day.
Jason always had a good relationship with his daughter Sally, making sure she had everything she needed in life to reach her goals. Now everything seemed to be going in the opposite direction, and he would do anything necessary to bring his daughter back, even if it meant giving up his life for her.
Kate could see lights appearing on the horizon after nearly an hour of flight time. Not knowing what the lights were she asked the pilot, who confirmed they were approaching Cuba.
Probably with a few hours left until dawn, Tony had flown undetected under the cover of darkness and was now approaching the Yucatan Peninsula.
Due to the higher grounds of the Yucatan, he had to increase in altitude and was immediately spotted on radar by the air traffic control tower. The Mexican law enforcement had contacted the control tower, warning them of any approaching unidentified aircraft and to report back to them immediately if they see anything.
Exhaustion was creeping up on Tony after an hour and a half of flight time. It had slipped his mind to recheck the instrument panel before leaving Cuba air space, failing to notice they were low on fuel.
The control tower
was continuously trying to make contact with the aircraft, but without success.
“This is the Yucatan control tower. You are entering Mexican airspace, please identify yourself!” came a Mexican voice over the radio.
Tony kept quiet, not responding to the towers requests.
Things were not looking good when one of the engines suddenly stopped, starved from the lack of fuel. Travis was the first to notice something was wrong when the aircraft tilted to one side, and when a warning light began to blink on the instrument panel.
“Tony! The left engine has stopped running. You have to land!” he said.
Stacy and Krissy began to panic as they heard his words. Tony adjusted the aircraft, keeping it as steady as he can on one engine. The fuel gauge was now on the empty mark, and he was expecting the second engine to die down at any moment now. But to his surprise it kept running for at least another ten minutes, when all of a sudden, complete silence overtook the cabin. The plane was now gliding, descending foot by foot.
The two girls were screaming as the treetops rushed past them, but not a sound came from Sally. She remained totally calm, smiling to herself as if she had no care in the world as to what was happening around her. Travis looked back at her amazed, when she closed her eyes and tilted her head back.
Tony was trying his best to keep the plane steady as he flew over the dense jungle. He looked out of the cockpit window seeing nothing but trees all around them. It happened so quickly that it left him no time to see if there were somewhere safe to make an emergency landing. Then suddenly the aircraft wings were slicing through treetops, branch after branch at over eighty miles an hour. Tony expected the worst as he let go of the flight lever embracing himself for a rough landing. Branches and leaves smashed through the aircraft’s windshield and side windows. The sound was deafening as the plane plowed through the trees on its descent, when eventually it came to a sudden halt, nose first into the soft ground.
Then there was silence again, sickening silence mingled with the smell of blood. Travis was the first to regain consciousness. His forehead was bleeding, blood running down his face and onto his lap. He went to see if Tony was alright, pushing him back into his seat. He was breathing and seemed to be okay. After a while, he also regained consciousness. Both he and Travis then exited the aircraft and opened the passenger doors. Stacy and Krissy were not so fortunate. Thick tree branches penetrated the fuselage causing multiple wounds to both girls who died before the airplane came to a standstill. Sally was lucky enough to be sitting between the two girls that shielded her from the tree branches, cushioning the blows. She was wide awake and still remained calm as Travis helped her out of the wreckage.
At the aircraft control tower, Miguel Herrera was keeping watch on his screen. He followed the path of the Piper aircraft which was confirmed earlier by the FBI that the plane was the one they were on the lookout for. Miguel was ordered to continue watching its every move and to report if it altered its flight path in any way. Then, without warning, the small green dot on his screen unexpectedly disappeared from view. He tried again to make contact with the pilot, but like before, no reply came back.
Leaving his post, Miguel went to inform his superior about what had just happened. Jose Costa followed Miguel to his computer screen, making sure it was not an error. Both men knew it meant only one thing that the aircraft must have gone down somewhere in the jungle some ten miles from the Chichen Itza temples.
As Jason and Kate’s flight flew over Cuba, their pilot received an urgent message over the radio. He transferred the call to Jason’s headset, who was now speaking to Matthew Berks.
“Jason! It’s Chief Berks. I’m afraid we have some bad news.”
“What is it Chief?” Asked Jason.
Matthew paused for a few seconds. “You were right about Tony and the others flying to the Yucatan. It seems the plane has gone down somewhere in the jungle!”
Jason couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Did I hear you right? You’re saying the plane Sally was on has now crashed?”
“Yes! I’m contacting the Mexican authorities to see if they can organize a search and rescue team,” said Matthew.
Out of frustration Jason removed his headset as he banged his fist against the aircraft dashboard.
“They best be alive so I can beat the crap out of that son of a bitch!”
Two bell helicopters were dispatched from the nearest search and rescue depot, covering a twenty mile radius. No smoke was seen above the jungle treetops making the search even more difficult in the deep jungle.
Tony gathered his belongings from the wreckage, while Travis took hold of Sally.
“I can’t believe it!” Said Travis, “she doesn’t have a scratch on her! She smiled just before the plane went down as if she knew she would make it out alive.”
Travis went over to Tony, who was looking through his belongings, searching for something.
Travis asked him, “what are you looking for? We have to get out of here!”
After a few seconds, Tony held out his hands holding a small GPS instrument.
“This is what I’m looking for! Carlos gave me the coordinates to the lost Mayan site. We can get there using this,” said Tony.
Travis was losing control.
“Just in case you haven’t noticed. We just lost two participants, and where the hell is Rosie?”
They both went back to the wreckage, searching around the crashed airplane, but Rosie was nowhere in sight.
Travis went over to Sally and shook her by the shoulders. “Where is Rosie? Have you seen her?”
Without a word, she went to the wreckage and opened the rear door. Laying behind the seat was Rosie’s unconscious body.
“Why isn’t Sally speaking? She hasn’t said a word since we boarded the airplane,” said Travis.
Tony went over to her. He held her face in his hands, looking deeply into her eyes.
“This isn’t Sally!”
“What do you mean it isn’t Sally?” Asked Travis.
Tony, still looking into her eyes said, “whoever is inside her, is protecting her.”
Groaning sounds came from inside the wreckage. Rosie was now sitting up, rubbing the side of her head.
“What happened? Where are we?” She asked.
Travis helped her out of the wrecked plane and brushed her hair away, exposing a large open wound.
Tony then went through the aircraft and pulled out a first aid kit. He quickly bandaged Rosie’s head and took a look at Travis’s forehead, who refused the bandage.
“I’m okay. We should get a move on,” said Travis.
Tony switched on the GPS screen and punched in the coordinates, revealing their destination four to five miles to the north. Before setting off, Tony started breaking off branches from the surrounding trees carefully covering the wrecked aircraft.
Travis again questioned Tony.
“What are you doing now?”
“Help me cover the plane before they see it. It will give us more time to reach the site,” said Tony.
The two men spent the next ten minutes covering the wreckage while Rosie and Sally sat down on some nearby rocks gazing at their surroundings. The jungle was dark, shielding out the moon’s rays. The sound of crickets could be heard all around them as if sending a message to each other. The rustling of leaves a few yards away startled Rosie. A small rodent emerged looking up at her only to turn around again racing back into the cover of the undergrowth.
Rosie looked at Sally, asking, “what’s up with her? Did you drug her?”
“No! She’s possessed,” said Tony, as he covered the remaining piece of wreckage.
Rosie shocked by what Tony said fell to the ground.
“Possessed! By what?” She said, backing away from Sally.
Tony picked up his duffel bag and said, “get up! It’s time to leave.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Jason was now entering Yucatan airspace when air-traffic
control sounded on the radio.
“This is air-traffic control. Please identify yourself.”
The pilot Sean Denver spoke clearly into his Mic piece.
“This is pilot Sean Denver to air traffic control. I have special agent Jason Mallock here with me. We are in pursuit of a stolen Piper aircraft that I believe you reported had gone down in the jungle. Do you have its exact location to where it might have gone down?”
Miguel Herrera responded, “the exact location is not known. We have search and rescue covering a twenty mile radius, but they have not located the aircraft.”
“Sean! I have to get down there, land any place you see fit!” Said Jason.
Kate interrupted. “You can’t go after them alone Jason! That man is dangerous.”
“I don’t have a choice. If they survived the crash, Sally could be hurt, and that madman is dragging her across the jungle,” he said.
Sean descended as low as he could to find a safe place to land. All he could see on both sides were trees. The only safe spot for landing was a small stretch of land on the other side of the Chichen Itza temples.
Jason didn’t agree.
“No! Forget it. That’s too far. My guess is the plane went down as soon as they entered Yucatan air space. The search and rescue team are covering ground from the outside and slowly working inwards. We are going to start from the inside working our way out.”
The pilot took the plane towards the center of the jungle, circling the treetops, slowly working his way outwards with the aircrafts landing gear barely grazing the treetops. Kate scanned the trees on one side while Jason searched the other. She could hardly see anything below the trees which was in total darkness.
“I can’t see anything on the ground!” Said Kate, turning around to look at Jason who was in deep concentration.
After fifteen minutes of searching, Jason spotted something out of the ordinary. He told the pilot to turn around covering the same path they had just flown. Kate then moved to Jason’s side, wondering what he had seen. As they passed over the same spot, she still couldn’t see anything.
The Forbidden Script Page 21