by Greig Beck
Emma sighed. “You do know that even if we do find this plateau, it’s going to be difficult to climb. These things are usually sheer faces, and at least a thousand feet straight up. I, you, maybe Steve, could get up there, but I’m not so sure about the others.”
“I thought about that. We also don’t have that much rope, and I doubt Steve and I could do a free climb of that distance.” Ben gave her a half smile. “Best laid plans and all that.”
“Let’s just hope there’s a place that’s not too high and easy to climb.” She smiled. “After all, I doubt your ancestor was an experienced climber.”
“Hope you’re right. But remember, if there were an easy way up or down, then there wouldn’t be any isolation of the things that supposedly live up there – according to Benjamin, it was supposed to have formed a perfect barrier against anything climbing up, or scaling down.” Ben got to his feet and held out a hand.
Emma grabbed it and hauled herself up. “I guess if we find the plateau, that’s something. But if we don’t get to the top, we’ll never know if it’s the right one.”
“We’ll get to the top,” Ben said confidently. “One way or the other, we’re getting up there.”
“Or at least a few of us will,” Emma added.
Ben squeezed her hand. “And no, you’re not going up by yourself.”
“Yes, Dad.” She grinned back.
The group marched on in silence. The rain set in again, and the jungle was thickening with all manner of strange plants that eluded all of Jenny’s attempts at identification. Pushing aside some fronds, Dan yelled in triumph and ran a few feet forward.
“Ha.” He turned and pointed. “The cliffs.”
Like the rest, Ben couldn’t help running through the ferns and vines to break through and see the orange-pink walls just peeking through the jungle. Their tops were lost in the ever-present low cloud, but he couldn’t stop the grin from splitting his face.
“Oh yeah!” He walked forward, looking one way then the next along the impressive sight. To their left, a waterfall tipped water from somewhere high above them to change to sparkling diamonds in the diffuse light. Both ways, the cliffs continued on until they vanished in the distance without any sign of them curving.
“It’s freaking huge,” Jenny said.
“I cannot climb this,” Nino said, looking pale. “Maybe those who do not climb should wait here.”
Ben nodded. “No one has to climb if they don’t want to.”
“That’s right, buddy. Feel free to miss out on all the fame, glory, and whatever amazing things we find up there.” Dan jiggled his eyebrows
Nino frowned. “There will be treasure?”
“No, unlikely,” Emma said. “Don’t listen to him.”
“But we don’t know exactly what’s up there now do we, hmm?” Dan replied. “So, could be treasure.”
Ben turned to Nino. “You don’t have to go up.” He looked skywards. “And frankly, unless we find an easier way up there, no one’s going anywhere.” Ben pointed along the leftward cliff edge. “I think this way.”
“Where to?” Steve asked.
“To an easier way up, I hope,” Ben responded.
*****
Edward Barlow and his men were invisible in amongst the dense foliage. A small smile played on his lips as he eased his head around to watch as Janus Bellakov held small field glasses to his eyes even though they were only a few dozen feet from the Cartwright party as they approached – it didn’t matter as the blunderers made so much noise they masked any and all approach.
Barlow didn’t want any of them hurt; in fact, he needed them. The maps they had been following had now come to an end, and he cursed the bumpkins he had paid to retrieve the information. He had specified the notebook, and they had only brought him the notes.
He sighed; it was so hard to get good help, even in amongst the so-called specialty pool.
He watched as the group moved past, and his eyes narrowed. They needed to take care with the ex-soldier leading them on. Cartwright was a formidable man and only he presented any real problem – even Mr. Bellakov recognized it.
So Cartwright needed to be neutralised first.
CHAPTER 19
“We found it!” Emma yelled and plunged forward.
Ben chased after her, but then stopped dead and just stood with open mouth. There was a structure; temple-like, set into the side of a sheer rock face that vanished up into the clouds high above them. Holding it in a muscular embrace were gnarled tree roots as thick as his waist.
“Shit,” he breathed out. “It’s real.” The heavy cut stonework was moss-green with age, and everything about it exuded artistry, antiquity, and reverence.
“And so, here it is,” Dan whispered, but then threw his head back and whooped.
Ben dragged out his great, great grandfather’s notebook and looked from the sketch his ancestor had made to the prehistoric structure – it was exactly like in the pencil image – everything was there; the massive tree trunk that had thrown gnarled roots over moss-covered foundation stones, the tumbled blocks, as well as the stone guards, acting as a pair of monstrous sentinels.
“Holy crap,” Steve said, walking towards the colossal structure.
“Careful,” Jenny said.
“Huh?” Steve turned briefly to her. “Sure.” He turned back to the statues. They reared up, fanged mouths open. “Hey, no wonder our guides took to the hills; this is some scary shit.”
The ten-foot-high stone statues seemed to be two creatures, sort of intertwined. One was something that resembled a two-legged beast, huge mouth open as if in defiance or pain, as another monstrous creature with a long muscular body wrapped around it. Its fangs were long broken off, but they must have jutted down like twin daggers. It was finished with a pair of large unblinking eyes with slit pupils.
“Some scary shit is right.” Jenny looked skyward; high above them the clouds seemed to be lifting, and hints of green could just be made out flowing over the cliff edge. She smiled. “I’ll bet a month’s salary that up there is where those ancient tree spores came from…and everything else that’s unidentifiable down here.”
Ben had his hands on his hips, following her gaze. “Well then, we better find a way up.”
PART 2 – The Lost World
So tomorrow we disappear into the unknown ― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World
Ben finally pulled his rifle from over his shoulder and carried it cradled in his arms. On seeing him do this, Dan also drew his gun. But Ben waved it away.
“For now, keep it holstered. We’re all going to be a little jumpy, so let’s not inadvertently put holes in each other.” He slightly lifted the M4A1 carbine in his arms; the assault rifle was short but lethal looking. “I got this.”
Dan nodded and reholstered his weapon, and then Ben led them in. He had his flashlight gripped in the same hand as the barrel hand-guard, and the other on the pistol grip.
Ben swept the light beam back and forth; his eyes were hawk-like in their intensity. The doors to the ancient structure had long since rotted away, or perhaps they never existed. Inside, it was about the size of a large barn, empty save for a single altar at its centre. Around the walls, there were more carvings, depicting scenes of large unidentifiable animals that could have been prehistoric creatures, or perhaps beasts from the former occupants’ mythology.
“Hello!” Steve shouted, but there was no echo.
“Keep it down, smartass,” Dan shot back.
“No return echo means the bounce back was swallowed – there’s more openings somewhere,” Ben said. “Spread out.”
Multiple flashlights cut the dark atmosphere as the small group searched the structure. The temple had obviously been dug back into the cliff wall, or maybe there had been some sort of cave that they had modified in the past. There were no side rooms apparent, and the ancient stone blocks in the wall were occasionally forced apart as huge muscular roots poured through to then continue their journey on in
to the floor.
“Jesus,” Emma scoffed. “Check this out.” The sides of the stone altar were carved with images of bound men and women having their heads removed, hearts cut out, and limbs severed.
“Yeah,” Jenny said, trailing her hands along troughs in the top. “Human sacrifice,” she whispered. “Jesus, what the hell where they doing to them?” She pointed at the next carved scene that looked like men carting baskets of body parts.
“Feeding time.” Andrea’s voice was small. She pointed to another image on the altar base. It was a scene of the natives throwing the human meat to some gigantic beast that seemed all teeth. “Looks like the things outside.” Her voice was little more than a squeak now.
“The folly of feeding the crocodile and hoping it’ll eat you last,” Emma said. “And maybe in the end it came for them anyway.”
“Got something,” Steve yelled.
Heads turned, but it was only when he leaned back out from behind a broad piece of stone that looked like the rear wall could they locate him. He ducked back in.
“A passage.” Steve’s voice sounded even further away.
The way the stones had been hewn made it look like an unbroken wall from the front, but the closer you got, you saw that it was just cleverly hidden by perspective.
“Stay there,” Ben shouted as the group crowded towards the rear.
Ben saw that the stonework became rougher and his suspicions that it was at some time some sort of natural opening in the rock were confirmed; Steve stood aside to let Ben ease in beside him.
Steve moved his light beam around. “There’s a lot of roots, and it might have collapsed further in, but I can feel a breeze.”
Ben nodded. “But I can feel air rising, being sucked upwards.”
Steve grinned. “Do you think it goes all the way to the top then?”
Ben returned the smile. “I’m betting on it.” He also shined his light up into the inky black tunnel. It was narrow, no more than three feet wide, and thick roots crisscrossed much of the passage.
Dan wedged his head in next to them, craning his neck to look up. “What are we waiting for?”
“Let me have a look.” Jenny also tried to jam herself in underneath the big men, and Ben could also hear Emma and Andrea jostling as well. He grunted as he extracted himself and jostling bodies immediately filled his space.
Standing back, he checked his wristwatch – it was 4 o’clock, and though they still had a few hours of light left, he didn’t know how long it would take to get to the top, and if they did, arriving at night was an unnecessary risk.
“Good and bad news.” Ben placed his hands on his hips, as a few faces turned to him. “It looks narrow, and potentially passable for us, but not for anything larger than us. That’s the good news. The bad news is, we’d need to clear it to see how far we can get, and hope there’s no choke points further up. Gonna take time.”
Ben snorted as he saw more of the group burrow back in, shining their lights around. “Given we think it’s over a thousand feet to the top of the plateau, it’ll be a hellova climb and will take too long to undertake today.”
Emma pulled back, frowning at him.
Ben shrugged. “Bottom line, I want us there with plenty of daylight left.”
“Ahh.” Dan raised an eyebrow. “The impatient side of my brain says you’re a party pooper. The smart, sensible side, which is the much smaller side, says that makes sense.” He grinned.
“Make camp here?” Emma said unenthusiastically.
“Yeah, sheltered, dry, and secure,” Ben said, calling them back in. “Here’s the plan; Steve, I want you to climb up a few hundred feet, take Emma with you, and see what we’re up against.”
Emma immediately brightened, and he lowered his brow at the man. “Just a few hundred, got it?”
Steve nodded. “Yeah, got it.”
Ben turned to Emma. “And that goes for you too; promise me.”
“O-ookay.” She smiled.
“C’mon, promise,” Ben pressed.
She grinned. “I promise.” She crossed her chest.
Ben nodded. “Dan and Andrea gather wood, make a fire. Jenny and I will see if we can scare up some game. Nino, check this place out to make sure there’s nothing that’s going to surprise us at night.”
The Venezuelan saluted. Ben waited for any further questions and when there was none, he waved to Jenny. “Let’s go hunting.”
*****
Ben’s eyes snapped open; sleep immediately banished – the fire had died down and inside the temple the embers cast a muted, hellish glow that didn’t quite reach into the nooks and crannies of the crumbling edifice.
He lay there for several minutes, breathing evenly and just letting his eyes move slowly of the interior. He had positioned himself at the rear of the room, facing the open doorway. Everyone else seemed to be sleeping peacefully, and there were no unusual sights, sounds, or even odors. But still, a soldier’s intuition put him on edge.
Another sound, this time from outside – twigs snapping. The depth of it told him the twig had been of a fair size so needed a degree of weight to break it.
Ben eased to a sitting position and withdrew his handgun. He retained the old mission habit of sleeping in his boots, so he simply got to his feet and edged along the wall to the door, peering around it.
There was nothing, even though he watched and waited for a full five minutes. But just as he began to relax, there came more sounds, further out. Something or someone was definitely out there.
He crouched and went out fast, moving quickly to the nearest bank of ferns to pause, staying low and once again just using his peripheral vision to try and pick out any movement or out of place shapes or coloring. He exhaled, frustrated and wishing he had night-vision goggles – the thick cloud cover meant no moon and no stars, so it was near pitch darkness.
Ben had fought in these conditions before and was trained to rely on sound, smell, and intuition, but it became a game of luck as well as one of skill and reflexes.
A sound again, and this time the flick of a tiny light – people then – was it a cigarette lighter? He stayed low, burrowing and treading softly as he moved another fifty feet further into the jungle. He smelled the smoke in amongst the humidity and mist of the jungle – cheap, harsh, foreign tobacco. There came a pinprick of orange light – the flare of a cigarette tip as someone drew on the smoke. Ben looped around and came up from behind it.
Sure enough there he was, a big man, broad, and standing close to a tree fern trunk that looked like it was covered in hair. He faced towards the temple as though keeping watch on it. Ben gripped his gun and came to his full height. He eased closer, but the guy was so focused he never heard Ben come up behind him.
“Nice night for bird watching?”
“Вибачте?” The man froze, holding his cigarette in a raised hand.
Ben didn’t recognize the language, and thought it might have been Russian – he tried it. “Русский?” In the darkness, Ben just made out the curl of the lip and shake of head. He tried English.
“You alone?”
The man just shook his head, but more from lack of understanding. He knew Dan spoke a few languages.
“Let’s get you back and see if anyone else can sort you out.”
He saw that the man had a sidearm, and Ben pointed with his free hand, while keeping his own gun pointed at the man’s chest.
“I’ll take that.” He held out his hand.
The man kept his eyes on Ben’s and not his gun. Ben recognized the confidence and professionalism; the muzzle of Ben’s gun would transfix an amateur, but it wasn’t the gun that dictated what happened next, but the thoughts of the potential shooter – and it was the eyes that usually betrayed those.
The man pulled the gun from its holster and carefully handed it over. Ben took it and jammed it into his belt.
“This way.” He waved the guy on and together they headed back to the ruins – he had a hundred questions an
d hoped he could get someone to ask them.
The guy shuffled, walked into vines, and kept his arms out in front of himself as though he was blind. Ben knew he was a lot more professional than he was letting on, and his patience finally ran out. He grabbed the big guy by the shoulder and started to push him through the foliage towards the red glow of the temple doors.
At the entrance, he shoved him inside, keeping the gun pointed at the ground but ready, and also his free hand up to ward off a potential backhanded blow if need be. But what met his eyes made his heart sink.
*****
“At last. Good evening, or is it good morning, Mr. Cartwright?”
Ben lunged forward at the guy he had just led in and grabbed him by the shoulder to then pull him back as a shield.
The stranger who had addressed him was portly, mid-50s, and looked supremely confident. With him were two other big men, grizzled, hard-edged, and now standing over his team. All their weapons had been collected and piled to one side of the temple.
“Who the fuck are you assholes?” Ben growled.
“Language, please. After all, there are ladies present.” The man honestly looked dismayed. “My name is Barlow, Edward Barlow. With you is my friend, Mr. Janus Bellakov, who was asked to escort you back here – which he has done.”
Steve launched himself at one of the men, who faster than anyone anticipated, whipped out an arm holding the gun and cracked the young man across the jaw. Steve went down, holding a split lip.
Barlow’s man then stood over him, gun pointed at his head. He trailed the gun over the other’s heads, daring another attack.
Nino cringed, holding his hands up higher. “I just guide.”
“That’s enough now, Mr. Koenig,” Barlow said, and his man begrudgingly stepped back.
“You sons of bitches.” Ben pulled Bellakov backwards and grabbed his collar, jamming the muzzle of the gun up under his ribs. “Your friend, huh? Why don’t you let all of my friends go and then we can talk.”