Trapped in the Mayan Tattoo

by Ronda Pauley

With that finished, she brushed off the dried slime on her knees as well as she could and looked around, hoping for the impossible--a portable potty in the woods. Knowing that wouldn’t happen, being watched or not, she found a bush instead. She slid out of her harness and then peeled out of the leotard down to her ankles and laughed at how full her bra was. Then she peed for a long time, relieving her bladder of what seemed like a gallon of urine, worth it whether she was being watched or not.

  “OK, then!” she said, fastening up and preparing for her return trip. “Operation Shoe Drop accomplished. Returning to start!”

  As she left the drop zone, Abbi experienced a sense of dread, a feeling she had to shake before she would grapple with the zipline.

  SIXTY

  Abbi breathed deeply, trying to restore her strength and shake feelings of trepidation, anxiety, and general nervousness that were allowing doubt to creep in with its ugly head. If she could get rid of that psychological baggage, she’d give herself a mental advantage. If she failed this mission with its tiny window of time, her mother’s life and her own would be at stake. Unthinkable.

  She tried clearing her brain with deep breathing. Then she retraced her steps, having memorized pace counts. She had to work backwards with her count to get back from the drop zone to the culvert. She really wanted to avoid the zipline on her return. It was too long and she wasn’t sure she had the strength to pull herself up the incline. Looking at the deep ravine, Abbi figured she could trek down into it but its steep, rocky slopes and briars might prevent her from safely climbing out without losing her bearings. She checked her time. At the very least, it would throw her off course. At the worst, it would throw her off on time. Using the zipline for her return trip was her only viable option.

  By backtracking with her GPS and continuing to count her paces, Abbi successfully hiked back to the zipline. The sight of it gave her a sense of impending doom, unusual for her since she loved the feeling of gliding through the air on ziplines. Now, as she put her gloves on, she felt sluggish, heavy, knowing that this time would not be a joy ride.

  She hooked up carefully and studied the prusik, a device that would attach Abbi to the rope of the zipline for safety. The prusik would actually serve two purposes. One is that it should keep her from falling or sliding backward, down the incline. The other purpose would be to allow her to suspend herself during the climb if she felt fatigue. She remembered using prusiks before and was grateful to have this one. Another device for this climb up the zipline was the ascender. Under ideal conditions, that would give her a mechanical advantage so that pulling her 120 pounds on the incline should feel about like pulling twenty pounds. These were not ideal conditions. In reality, her ascender was worn from lots of use and the zipline was sagging badly, as if she’d stretched it on her wild descent. Something had messed it up, but it wasn’t Abbi.

  She looked at fifty yards of sagging zipline going up a steep incline. Devices that should provide a mechanical advantage seemed useless. Maybe, Abbi admitted to herself, she didn’t fully understand how to work the ropes with the mechanics of the metal prusik that she held in her hand. Maybe there was a way to tighten the zipline. She looked up. There was a way but she couldn’t reach it.

  Abbi did a series of stretching and breathing exercises. She still didn’t have a mental advantage, much less a mechanical advantage. She had to get her thinking right before she would attempt it.

  Finally, ready or not, knowing she was already working against the clock, Abbi attached herself to the rope, with both the prusik and ascender in place, and then started pulling herself up the zipline. There seemed to be an even greater sag in the rope. The ascender, basically a sliding loop of rope, was designed to help her gain altitude as she moved up the zipline. It seemed to work fine for a little while but the farther she traveled, the more the zipline sagged. Pulling up became more and more difficult. Halfway across the ravine, the line sagged down six to eight feet. The ascent became much steeper and the exertion soon exhausted her. When she tried to edge on up to the beginning of the zipline, her forward progress became slower, then finally came to a halt. Abbi’s strength had momentarily given out and she sat in her harness, suspended above the ragged ravine. Abbi became increasingly aware of the dryness of her throat and deeply regretted that she left the water bottle in the bag at the culvert.

  While Abbi tried to suck on imaginary prunes to moisten her parched throat, a trick she had learned from her father, she looked down into the 75-foot ravine. The prusik held her safely in place, suspending her over the ravine. For three full minutes she allowed herself to hang in her harness, resting and relaxing while she took in the beauty of the ravine. This should help both her attitude and her endurance, and actually save her some time. She needed the rest badly.

  Her feet almost touched the leaves of the treetops as she observed the lushness of the thick green ferns on the surrounding rocky cliffs. While she rested, Abbi tried hard to regain strength and return some moisture to her parched throat.

  By now, Abbi was fully aware that time was getting away from her. Abbi finally loosened the prusik enough to start pulling across the zipline again, pushing herself to finish her journey within her closing time frame.

  It took every bit of her strength to pull her weight up the zipline. During the last half of her ascent on the zipline, she found herself resting frequently and followed each brief rest with a renewed burst of strength. In spite of the mechanical advantage she should have had, the sag in the line caused her to lift almost her full weight with each thrust as she attempted to pull herself back to the beginning of the zipline. Her poor exercise routine in the past three weeks had made her lose muscle and tone.

  “Feel the burn”, the DVD aerobics instructor had said.

  “I feel the burn,” Abbi said as she struggled to safety.

  Suddenly, with about the last twenty-five feet of zipline to go, a jolt, feeling almost electrical, shot through her body. Something had slipped. The line sagged even more. Frantically, she reached out a hand to grab the zipline. By this time, the mechanical advantage evaded her. Abbi looked behind her to see what had happened. The line had begun fraying, snapping one fiber at a time. Rapidly, the fraying behind her reached up toward her. The pulley that held her now dangled crookedly.

  Another sudden jolt made the line sway. Suddenly, the swaying came to an abrupt stop. For a brief moment, Abbi dangled in space. Then, with a snap, her pulley broke free from the zipline. Abbi was free falling!

  “Please God!” she called out and closed her eyes.

  SIXTY-ONE

  When Abbi opened her eyes, she found to her surprise that she hadn’t died. Nor was she badly injured, nor was blood pouring out, nor bones protruding awkwardly out of her body. Slightly bruised, but relieved, she found herself very much alive. She ran a quick inventory of the rest of her body parts. Everything checked out except her right ankle. It ached and felt weak. Abbi tried pushing up the mountainside but her ankle would not support her.

  Abbi had landed hard on moss-covered rocks within a couple of yards of the top of the cliff.

  A wayward root stuck out of the ground over her head. Abbi unhooked another piece of her nylon webbing and managed to loop it around the exposed root. With that, she pulled herself up until she could grab a boulder, part of a rock outcropping. Using her right knee to brace herself and her left foot to kick off, she managed to hoist herself up onto the rock. Then, once she was securely on the rock, she was able to pull herself up over the cliff’s edge. She made it!

  Breathless now and caked with dirt, Abbi grabbed a small tree branch to use as a walking stick. She hobbled a short distance to the beginning of the zipline. From here she would get her bearings and be able to return to the SUV.

  She checked the time. She was running over by just a few minutes but was still a quarter of a mile from the road. Big Sam would be worried. She pulled out her phone.

  “A little mishap but doing fine here,” Abbi said for the benefit of those
back waiting in the SUV. “Had a little altercation with the zipline, but I won! I’ll see you in about five minutes!”

  Abbi wanted to run to make up for lost time! She couldn’t. Knowing that she wouldn’t be getting out of the wooded area on time kept her focused and moving although the physical challenges of the zipline and crawling up onto the cliff had exhausted her. She caught her breath and rested for one final brief moment. She did some quick calculations to get back to each waypoint then to the road, the SUV, and her friends.

  She reached for her GPS to check her course, only to find that she must have dropped it down into the ravine during her struggle on the zipline.

  Pulling all her patience together, she studied her surroundings and started making her way out of the woods, lumbering awkwardly up the hilly terrain, this time following her own “shine”, the stirred path she had made on her way to the drop zone. When she found the slimy culvert, she felt relief and pulled herself up through it by using the nylon cord she had left behind, loving herself for having thought of using the cord to get through it. The slime was so thick that it made the culvert a slippery slide. She pulled and crawled on her knees and avoided kicking with her right foot.

  After Abbi made it through the culvert, she removed her muddy, slime-covered gloves and grabbed her water bottle. She took a sip, swished it around in her mouth, and then downed the bottle. She left her harness on, also encrusted with mud and slime, hoping to save some time. The gloves helped her get through the briars faster.

  The mission had taken its toll. She felt exhausted. Her right ankle and foot were swelling. The shoe was tight. She could feel a blister that formed on her left heel.

  Abbi peered through her binoculars. Before she could spot the SUV, she could hear Louise talking, probably flirting with Scott. Thoughts of Lowell entered her subconscious mind. Determined, she stood up with the aid of her walking stick and continued on her trek.

  Abbi wondered if by now Louise and Big Sam had heard of any communication with NM2 members--communication that would establish a time and place for her mother’s release.

  “Hey! I’m back!” she yelled as soon as she thought they could see her.

  Abbi felt both exhilarated and exhausted.

  “I did it!”

  “Oh, no! Look at you!” Louise cried.

  “Young lady, let’s take care of you,” Big Sam said.

  “Have you heard anything?” Abbi asked.

  “Operation Shoe Drop seems to have met with success,” Louise said. “I’ve been monitoring since you left. It’s really happening, Abbi!”

  Abbi could sense the excitement in Louise’s voice. She felt like she’d accomplished something, both for this mission and for Louise.

  Big Sam said, “Time will tell. You see why only you could pull this off?”

  “The course was a little strenuous, especially the zipline on the return trip. I got into a wrestling match with it. I may look bad, but I’m the winner!” Abbi said. “I suspect this drop was designed to test every fiber of my body.”

  “So you had a workout, did you?” Big Sam said.

  “The zipline actually unraveled. Then I dropped.”

  Big Sam looked worried. The zipline had been left unattended, unprotected.

  Louise left the SUV and ran toward her.

  “Oh. My. God. Are you OK?”

  “Don’t pay any attention to the way I look. Actually, I feel fantabulous!” Abbi said with a happy smile as she hobbled toward them.

  Louise, Big Sam, and Scott all huddled with Abbi in a jubilant embrace.

  Suddenly, Louise backed off. Abbi became aware of her skimpy slime-covered leotard, mud-caked shoes, and her general grungy appearance.

  “Oh YUCK!” Louise said, and tried to brush off slime that had gotten on her suit. “What is this stuff?”

  “So sorry!” Abbi said. “Woods fairy slime to keep out intruders!”

  “It smells horrible!”

  “You should smell the woods fairies in that culvert.”

  Sam said, “Let’s move away from this area. Then we’ll give you some privacy so that you can get changed and see about that ankle of yours.”

  “Sounds good. Right now I’m exhausted.” She removed her harness and threw it on the floor.

  “After what you did, do you feel like you could fly now?” Louise asked.

  “If I could have, I would have. Now, I just feel dirty and tired,” Abbi said. “Will I ruin this seat?”

  Big Sam laughed.

  “That’s the least of our worries. You’re back!”

  Scott drove them to a picnic area where they had access to running water and restrooms. Then he went to the back of the SUV and produced a fresh towel, some sterile water and a first aid kit. Louise took them and cleaned Abbi with tenderness and skill before she cleaned off the grime that had gotten on her own suit.

  “Aren’t you the perfect nurse?!” Abbi said.

  Louise offered Abbi soft drinks and snacks from the cubby. Scott wrapped her ankle and foot, while Louise looked on and Abbi enjoyed the refreshments.

  By the time Abbi changed clothes in the restroom, she was getting her strength back.

  Finally, they piled back into the SUV for the return trip and listened intently to communications regarding negotiations.

  On the way back to D.C., with the towel hanging around her neck and her ankle wrapped and elevated, Abbi drank in the beauty of the drive. Suddenly, her heart seemed elevated too. A weight had been lifted.

  Big Sam and Scott said they had been tracking her location with their GPS and knew that Abbi had placed the drop correctly. When the GPS failed to show her movement on the return trek, they knew she had run into a problem. Waiting, without intervening, had been difficult. To intervene could mess up the works.

  Big Sam said, in a little speech he’d obviously rehearsed and his best announcer voice, “We waited with baited breath, elated when you passed the test.”

  “Elated? That’s great!” Abbi said.

  Big Sam continued, “What not an army of men could have accomplished in a week, you have done in one afternoon. The entire team is very proud of you! HT sends hugs and kisses.”

  Abbi drank in the praise as she admired the mountainous region. Suddenly, she had the strange sensation that her mother was near.

  “Scott, can you pull over? Louise, I need my binoculars!”

  Big Sam nodded at Scott.

  “What are we looking for?” Louise asked.

  Abbi peered the mountainous terrain.

  “I don’t see it yet, but it’s a dingy white shack, not the kind of place you’d rent for the week-end. We’re close, Big Sam, really close!”

  “Your intuition never ceases to amaze me. I wasn’t going to say anything, but since you already feel it, are you also aware that our people are closing in on it at this very minute? It is very secluded. If it weren’t for the hills and trees in the way, you could see it from this spot, I believe.”

  Abbi swallowed hard. It was enough to know it was there and that the rescue was underway. She was also fully aware that her mother wasn’t out of the woods, or in this case the Killing Forest, yet.

  SIXTY-TWO

  The ride back to Washington seemed to take a little longer. Maybe because Scott was driving slower, maybe because Abbi was not asleep. Instead, she worried about how the rescue was going. She enjoyed the ride and watching the scenery, but her mother’s release was constantly on her mind. She said a prayer for her safe return.

  Trying to feel lighter, she decided to pick on Louise for awhile. Abbi’s suit had gotten a little smudged when she was changing clothes, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Louise’s.

  “Louise, you look awful!” Abbi said.

  “I wonder why, Miss Fairy Slime! As awful as I look, you smell worse.”

  “I smell divine!”

  “You...”

  Big Sam’s booming voice interrupted. “Girls!”

  “What?” Abbi asked. When Big Sam glared at h
er, she added, “Sorry.”

  The ride was quiet after that.

  “Now what do we do?” Abbi asked as they approached Washington.

  “We wait. There will be a series of talks. Then we’ll find out if Operation Missing Shoe is as successful as we think. How would you girls like to spend a free hour?”

  “Let’s go shopping,” said Louise.

  “Could I see my dad again?” Abbi asked.

  Big Sam instructed Scott to give them the grand tour on the way to the hospital.

  “Just to drive it or be tour guide?” he asked.

  “Let’s treat these girls to the best! A tour en route to the hospital with a short stop at the mall!”

  They passed many well-known sights: Lincoln Memorial, the Pentagon, Smithsonian museums, on their way to the hospital. Scott spoke in his best tour guide voice and seemed to have a story about each one. He had Big Sam laughing.

  “The Pentagon, a fine architectural design. While so many in Washington strive to appear square, this building has a design of its own and, therefore, must be taken seriously. Like a truly remarkable President, not afraid to stand out.”

  Louise laughed at Scott’s tour. Suddenly Big Sam seemed heavy in thought, and Abbi watched for the hospital to come into sight.

  Scott dropped Abbi and Louise off at the door to the hospital and went to park. Louise acted as a crutch, but any movement hurt Abbi’s lower right leg.

  “Something’s definitely not right with this,” Abbi said. “It really hurts. We won’t stay long.”

  Within just a few minutes later, Abbi and Louise returned to the hospital lobby where Big Sam sat waiting for them.

  “Dad doesn’t seem as strong today,” said Abbi glumly. “He seemed heavily sedated and was barely conscious. The pain must be worse. And my leg is worse. Any movement and the pain shoots through me like a dart.”

  “I was afraid of that,” Big Sam said.

  Big Sam looked at the floor, not bothering to get up from his seat. He still seemed deep in thought, maybe prayer.