Vanished

by S. L. Menear

  The men shoved handfuls of diamond jewelry into their pockets.

  “All right.” Mike headed for the door. “This should make a lot of women happy. Let’s get going.”

  Banger grinned. “Nothing like free diamond jewelry for my fiancée. May as well enjoy ourselves until the next deadly situation arises.”

  I nudged him. “You sound as though you expect bad things to happen when we’re together.”

  He raised a brow. “History does tend to repeat itself with you.”

  Mike stuck his head in the door. “Sam, stop fooling around.” He tapped his watch.

  “Right, let’s get going.” I led Banger out the door and hurried to catch up with the rest of the team.

  Sweetwater’s Hideout

  Sweetwater spoke into his satellite phone, “They disappeared in Tassili n’Ajjer?”

  “Yes, sir, our team tracked them to abandoned Humvee in middle of stone forest.”

  “Good.” Sweetwater checked the video screen showing Ross and Derek in their cage. “They must’ve found an entrance to the Lost Sahara Civilization under the desert. That means they’re closing in on my Blue Dragon.”

  “Want us to wait here until they return?”

  “No, Dmitri, I want you to follow them. They must’ve left footprints. If you find a spot where the footprints end, plant explosives, create an entrance hole, follow them to the Blue Dragon, and bring it and Samantha Starr to me.”

  “What about her team?”

  “Should be easy. You have three times as many men. Kill them.” Sweetwater disconnected and smiled.

  Tassili n’Ajjer

  Dmitri stood at the base of a huge sandstone formation. “Footprints end here.” He looked up and spotted something shiny reflecting the sun fifteen feet above him. He took a few steps back and scanned the area with his binoculars. “Looks like small gold hatch with notch in center. Someone scraped off layer of rock to expose it.”

  Vasili, Dmitri’s second-in-command, studied the tower. “I will shoot ballistic pitons into rock so we can climb up.” He walked back to one of their Humvees and pulled out a special rifle. He loaded a piton with a rope connected to it and fired it into the area above the gold.

  Dmitri tugged on the rope. “It’s holding. Fire another one.”

  Vasili shot another piton with a rope attached. It stuck into the rock a foot from the first one.

  Dmitri glanced at his men. “Who is our best climber?”

  Rada Chugunkin, a young man in his mid-twenties, stepped forward.

  “Ah, Rada, good man. Take small explosive charge with you and open hatch without damaging what may be inside.”

  Rada nodded. “Da.” In moments, he had climbed up fifteen feet to it. He secured his harness to the second piton and studied the round gold device. After wiring a small charge into the center notch on it, he moved a few feet to the side and detonated the explosive.

  The hatch popped open, revealing a gold lever shaped like a small trident. He pulled the lever, and sand dropped on him from above as a stone door rumbled open.

  Dmitri looked up at the open door and shook his head. “How did her team get up there? Almost twelve meters—no piton holes, no ropes.” He paused. “Last place she went, she began on Sphinx and escaped from Great Pyramid in paraglider. Maybe they have backpack motors.” He turned and looked at his troops. “Strap on paraglider chutes and climb up to door.”

  Rada dropped down to gear up, while Vasili fired pitons with ropes above the open door. A soldier climbed up to the door and stepped inside. The instant he left the doorway, the door slammed shut with a loud thud.

  Dmitri looked at Rada. “Climb to lever and open door for each man and then for yourself.”

  The men climbed to the door, one at a time. After each one entered, the door closed, and Rada opened it for the next man. Dmitri waited for Rada, who was the last to enter. They hurried to catch up to their sixteen teammates who had rushed down the stone steps.

  Screams echoed below them, and they froze when Vasili yelled, “Pull D-rings.” They eased around the corner to a landing where Vasili was crowded against ten of their comrades, all looking into a dark chasm.

  Sam’s Team

  We followed the walkway along the lakeshore, passing beautiful buildings and statues of dolphins and various other mammals and sea creatures. We paused at a stone pier that extended a hundred feet over the lake. A statue of an Atlantean queen stood on a platform at the end.

  I pointed. “That statue looks important. We should check it out.”

  I walked down the pier, and Banger followed me. Our team joined us.

  Mike nudged me. “Why are we here?”

  “I felt a strong pull toward this statue.” I studied the marble face. She resembled me.

  Banger reached up. “This crown looks like it’s made of real gold and diamonds, but it won’t come off.” He grasped the gold and diamond scepter in the queen’s hand. It wouldn’t budge either.

  Lance stroked the crown. “Maybe this is like Excalibur, but only a true queen can remove it.”

  Everyone looked at me.

  “Fine, I’ll try it.” I reached up and easily lifted the crown off the statue’s head. “Huh.”

  “Put it on and see if it fits.” Lisa faced me.

  I placed the crown on my head, and it fit perfectly.

  “Whoa.” Mike blurted, as everyone took a step back.

  “What?” I touched the crown. It felt normal—no tingling or heat coming from it.

  “The diamonds in the crown lit up after you put it on.” Mike gingerly touched a diamond. “Feels okay.”

  Bryce pointed at the statue’s right hand. “Try the scepter.”

  I grasped it, and the statue released it. A diamond pyramid mounted in the tip with the point facing outward filled with brilliant light.

  At that moment, a huge crocodile raised its head and opened its mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. It was only a few feet from me.

  Startled, I pointed the scepter at it, and a powerful laser shot out and blasted a hole in the croc’s head. “Wow, didn’t expect that!”

  “Just don’t point it at us.” Mike backed away.

  More crocodile heads rose from the lake. The big reptiles surrounded the dead croc.

  I waved at the feeding frenzy in the water. “Hurry and get off the pier while they’re distracted.”

  We rushed back to the walkway and kept a watchful eye on the lake.

  A faint boom behind us echoed in the distance.

  I stopped. “Was that an explosion or my pounding heart?”

  Banger looked back. “I heard it too. Sound carries well down here.”

  Mike stood, hands on hips. “Sweetwater’s mercs must’ve followed us.”

  “But how did they find the entrance?” Lance looked behind us.

  “The golden hatch.” I sighed. “It would be noticeable if they happened to look up there.”

  “But how would they get through the door?” Bryce glanced at the path behind us.

  “They probably used a mild explosive to open the hatch and then pulled the lever.” I looked at the lake where the feeding frenzy had ended.

  “Yes, but you weren’t there to keep the door open.” Banger nudged me. “Hey, you’d better zap that croc before his buddies think it’s a good idea to attack us.”

  I nailed it with my scepter laser, and a series of splashes told me the other crocs had gone back into the lake. “I’ve been thinking about that door. I assumed I needed to be in the opening to keep the door open, but that lever would’ve worked for anyone who pulled it, which means the door would remain open as long as someone stood in it.” I shook my head at Banger. “Sorry, big guy, I guess I didn’t need to climb down your back after all.”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t mind the added excitement.”

  Mike squeezed my arm. “Was that a scream?”

  I listened. Faint screams filtered through the vast cavern. Goosebumps erupted on my arms. “Sounds li
ke it’s coming from the tunnel.”

  “The mercs probably rushed down the stairs and fell into the chasm.” Banger scanned the area behind us.

  “We should hurry.” Mike glanced around. “Sam, it’s your job to zap crocs that sneak out of the lake. I want everyone’s heads on swivels, looking for intruders and dangerous critters. We still have a lot of miles to cover to get to that round building on the hill. Move out.”

  We set out at a slow trot, constantly looking around us and listening to every sound.

  My body hummed with adrenaline, expecting danger at every turn. Deadly creatures and Sweetwater’s mercenaries distracted me from my claustrophobia, but that didn’t help my jangled nerves. Something even scarier could be lurking ahead of us.

  Twenty-One

  Sweetwater’s Mercenary Team

  Dmitri waited a beat, then yelled, “Survivors, call out.”

  Four men responded.

  One reported via his radio transmitter, “We lost Maxim and Alexi. Chutes opened too late.”

  Dmitri keyed his mike. “What did you find?”

  “A tunnel. Her team must’ve gone through it. No one here except us and no obvious way to get back up from here. We’ll need motorized lift ropes.”

  “I’ll send team down,” Dmitri said into his radio mike. “Rada will go with me and get equipment. Take men and secure Starr woman and Blue Dragon. Lift ropes will be ready when you return.”

  “Understood. Send men separately and tell them to deploy chutes immediately. Chasm is approximately five hundred meters deep. I’ll light flare.”

  “Sending first man now.” Dmitri waved to one of his men. “Jump and pull right away.”

  The soldier jumped and deployed his chute. Dmitri waited two minutes in order to avoid entanglements or collisions before he sent the next man.

  After he received a report that all the men had landed safely, Dmitri turned and climbed the steps with Rada. When they reached the top, they faced a closed door.

  “Help me look for door lever.” Dmitri shined his flashlight on the walls.

  “Other lever was behind hatch covered with sandstone.” Rada pulled out his combat knife and chipped at stone near the door, looking for a gold hatch.

  Dmitri pulled out his knife and joined in, chipping the rock.

  Rada paused. “Did you hear that?”

  The leader stopped and listened.

  Faint screams and staccato blasts of gunfire filtered up the staircase.

  Dmitri keyed his radio. “Vasili? What’s happening?”

  The radio remained silent.

  “Should we go down steps for better reception?” Rada turned around.

  “I’ll go. You keep looking for door lever.” Dmitri rushed down the steps.

  When he reached the landing at the end of the staircase, he stood still, listening. Silence.

  He keyed his mike. “Team, report. Can you hear me? Report.”

  Nothing.

  He slowly ascended the steps. What happened to them? No one on Samantha Starr’s team could make my men scream like that. What is down there?

  Rada turned when Dmitri reached the top landing. “What happened?”

  “No one answered when I called, and I heard nothing from below. Tunnel might be blocking radio reception.” Dmitri waved toward the closed door. “Any luck finding lever?”

  “Nyet.” Rada slipped off his backpack. “I have enough explosives to blow door.”

  “Do it. We’ve wasted enough time. Lord Sweetwater expects success, and he is not patient man.”

  Rada prepared the charges and set the detonator for ten seconds. He ducked down the steps with Dmitri and waited.

  A loud boom echoed down the staircase, followed by a cloud of sand and dirt.

  The men rushed up the steps and found a big hole where the door had been. The opening was taller and wider than the original door.

  Dmitri looked out. “Where are climbing ropes?”

  Rada stuck his head out and looked up. “Pitons blew out with door.”

  Dmitri was a problem-solver, which was what made him a good leader. “Ropes above lever hatch are seven meters below us.” He took off his paraglider pack. “We will fasten chute to this statue and use chute to climb down to ropes.”

  Rada assisted him. Once the chute was rigged to the statue, Dmitri climbed down to the outside door lever, and then switched to the ropes and continued to the ground.

  As Rada climbed down the paraglider chute, Dmitri considered his options and made a decision. He drew his pistol and shot the young man in the back of his head. Rada fell the final twenty feet, landing in a crumpled heap, his dead eyes open in a glassy stare.

  Dmitri holstered his weapon. “Sorry, Rada, but if I hadn’t shot you, you would’ve been fed to Sweetwater’s hungry lions. This mission is failing, and now my only option is to flee Africa and hope Sweetwater’s search team never finds me.”

  He loaded everything of value from the other Humvees into the one he was driving. Then he took the batteries from the engine compartments and loaded them in his vehicle. “Good luck finding batteries out here,” he said to no one.

  Buzzards began to circle as he drove away, winding through the imposing stone towers carved by nature.

  How much time before Sweetwater would send hunters? He had maybe twenty-four hours—less if locals came to investigate the circling buzzards.

  Dmitri drove faster.

  Sam’s Team, Earlier

  I glanced over my shoulder at Banger. “I just had a disturbing thought about those crocodiles. What have they been eating that allowed them to survive and grow so big?”

  “Good question—I hope we never discover the answer.”

  I stopped. “Is that screaming?”

  Faint screams were followed by staccato blasts from automatic weapons.

  Banger keyed his radio. “Mike, we have company.”

  Mike led the team back to us. “Where?”

  “We heard more screams and then gunfire coming from the direction of the tunnel,” I said. “I wonder what’s scaring them?”

  “I doubt the crocs would wander that far from the lake.” Lance glanced around. “Could be other dangerous critters down here.”

  I nodded. “Banger and I were just discussing what the crocs have been eating.”

  “Ooh, I didn’t think about that.” Lisa drew her weapon and checked it. “Could be loads of nasty creatures down here.”

  I thumbed at Mike. “My brother thinks dinosaurs might have their last habitat here.”

  “With you on the mission, nothing would surprise me.” Lance looked around.

  “Whoever is back there isn’t making any noise now.” Mike checked his rifle. “Let’s get to that building on the hill. Maintain vigilance.”

  We rushed forward, listening to every sound, wary of every movement near us. Ahead, rock arches curved over the path, and strange stone formations depicting large, unknown animals flanked the walkway.

  I glanced up and detected movement on the dark arches. “Everyone, stop and back away from the overhead rocks.”

  Spiders the size of small dogs dropped down. Mike batted one away from him as he turned and sprinted from under the arches. Lance and Bryce brushed off two before the spiders had a chance to bite them.

  Lisa wasn’t so lucky. She screamed as one dropped on her head, and another one landed on her back. She managed to swat off the spider on her head, but she couldn’t reach the other one. It bit her, and seconds later, she fell unconscious.

  Bryce pulled the spider off her and tossed it away as Mike scooped her up and carried her back to the rest of us.

  Mike set her on the path in front of me. “Help her. Use your magic bracelet.” He turned to the men. “Don’t waste any ammo on spiders. Use your rifles like clubs and keep them away from the women.”

  I rolled Lisa onto her side and placed my right hand on her back where a large lump had formed. My bracelet lit up, and my palm filled with fluid. Spider toxin. I
dumped the gooey liquid on the dirt path and wiped my hand on my pants. Then I placed my hand over the bite again.

  Her back healed in a few moments, and she moaned and opened her eyes.

  I helped her sit up. “How do you feel, Lisa?”

  “A little dizzy.” She stiffened and glanced around. “A big spider bit my back.”

  “You’re okay now. My bracelet pulled out the poison.”

  Mike yelled, “Hey, sis, a little help?”

  I turned and faced a horde of giant spiders attacking the men. The guys swung their rifles like bats, knocking away the arachnids. But their numbers were increasing.

  I pulled the scepter out from where I’d shoved it under my belt. The diamond tip lit up and fired a laser into the closest spider, frying it instantly.

  “Guys, get behind me so I can zap them without hitting you.”

  The men backed away, and the spiders rushed forward.

  “God help me.” This was my worst nightmare—hundreds of spiders the size of miniature dogs.

  Banger lifted me from behind. “I keep my promises. You concentrate with the laser while I hold you above them.”

  My hand trembled as I swept the scepter back and forth, zapping wave after wave of their relentless attacks. I missed one, but Banger stomped it.

  “These suckers are too big to be squashed.” He kicked a thick, hairy spider.

  “Geez, how many more can there be?” The horde seemed endless, and I was on the edge of panic.

  Lisa yelled, “Hey, Queen of Atlantis, you have the crown and scepter. Try commanding the spiders.”

  “That won’t work,” I said in an annoyed tone.

  “Try it anyway, my queen.” Banger kicked another huge spider.

  I spoke forcefully in Atlantean, commanding the spiders to leave me and my people alone.

  Instantly, the spiders retreated to their hiding places behind the arches. Burned spider carcasses littered the pathway.