Diaz re-engaged from the doorway. “You mean gold, frankincense, and myrrh? But none of those is in this room.”
“Exactly,” Jade looked to the artwork. She was now brimming with optimism. “Gold, frankincense, and myrrh are somewhere in the picture. We’ve got to find them quickly.”
Jade and Tolen moved close to the wall, examining the fresco. Diaz lingered near the opening to the room.
It stood to reason the gifts would be embedded within the focal point of the scene: the oasis. “Look for anything resembling three containers the Wise Men could have used to hold the gifts,” Tolen said.
The gurgle of water became louder. Tolen looked back at the doorway to see a tiny stream enter the room. It was running along the smooth floor and building speed as it flared out toward them.
Jade and Diaz had seen it as well.
“Keep looking,” Jade urged.
It occurred to Tolen that the gifts might not be grouped together on the wall. They might be separated. Then a more probable scenario struck him: the gifts may be in their natural state. Apparently, the same notion had occurred to Jade.
“Isn’t this a resin-producing tree?” Jade asked.
Diaz was staring down with concern at the water that now blanketed the entire cave floor.
“Frankincense and myrrh are, indeed, derived from the resin of certain trees,” Tolen explained calmly as he eyed the tree Jade pointed to on the right of the oasis. It was a squat tree, more like a large bush shaped like an umbrella, with a twisting trunk and dozens of tiny, paired thin leaves on wiry limbs. “Yes, that’s a boswellia sacra. The extract creates frankincense.”
He looked at Jade. Water was filling the room quickly and had already reached their ankles.
“Break through the wall,” she said with a pained expression. To do so, they were sacrificing astounding historical artwork, but the reality was, the seawater was going to envelop the area within minutes anyway and destroy everything down here.
Tolen wasted no time. He sloshed through the rising water and reached the closed ossuary. It was another decision he regretted having to make, but the situation forced him. The water had already crested the top of the box as he reached down and removed the stone lid. Water poured into the box, saturating the bones. They lifted to the surface and began to float around like some gruesome skeletal soup. Tolen carried the square stone lid back to the painting and slammed it into the wall at the exact spot of the boswellia sacra tree. A piece of the stone lid chipped off, flying back into Tolen’s face, dangerously close to his right eye. The wall appeared undamaged.
The water continued to rise. Tolen squinted to protect his eyes and made numerous strikes into the wall without success. Their unspoken assumption had been that they would find an empty cavity behind the image of the tree, which would hold another stone jar and, in turn, another clue to their quest. After a series of thumps to the wall, though, it became obvious they were wrong. It was solid stone.
“This is insane,” Diaz said. “Let’s go!”
“No, wait!” Jade shouted, moving along the picture, pointing to the far side of the oasis. “Isn’t that another resin tree?”
Tolen was just about to side with Diaz when he looked to where Jade was directing their attention. The tree was much larger, with four large trunks leaning away from each other which lifted to a swell of high canvassing limbs. “It’s a commiphora gileadensis. Myrrh is derived from it.” He felt a renewed sense of hope. Without being asked, he moved over to the wall, lifted the stone lid and bashed the area at the tree’s trunk. It gave easily. Fragments of stone crumbled inward.
“There’s a cavity!” Jade shouted euphorically.
Tolen continued to strike away at the image of the tree with controlled force. When enough of the wall had given way, he dropped the stone lid into the water. He used his hands to break the rest of the fragile surface away, creating an opening approximately eighteen inches wide. Jade shined her flashlight inside the cavity where a small, capped stone jar sat on a ledge. Surprisingly, it was Diaz who reached inside and grabbed it. The moment he pulled the jar out, he handed it to Jade. Jade fetched a small plastic bag from her pocket and delicately wrapped the jar inside, then she sealed the bag to make it water tight.
Diaz shined his flashlight about the room. The water was closing in on their waists. The bones of Joseph of Arimathea floated around them in ghostly eddies.
“It seems we have just killed ourselves for a stone jar,” Diaz said glumly.
Tolen could not disagree.
CHAPTER 22
September 11. Tuesday – 6:19 p.m. Northwest Coast of Costa Rica
By the time they made their way back to the tunnel, the seawater was almost up to Jade’s chest. Leaving the tomb chamber had been exceedingly difficult; a combination of walking and swimming upstream. She shivered in the rush of water as she was the first to reach the slot at the edge of the partition wall. The smell of salt saturated the cool, underground air. She had lost her flashlight moments before when it slipped from her hands and fell into the water, swept back toward the crypt in the surging current.
Even as they fought to escape the flooding underground chamber, she had two disconcerting thoughts. The first was whether the jar they had just risked their lives for was empty. They did not have enough time to confirm the contents. Second, she wondered if there might have been other jars hidden in the room which they had missed and left behind. The Harvard sphere text had mentioned three jars. Ultimately, these might be moot points. Jade knew the odds were now stacked against them, and the room was sure to be lost forever once it flooded with seawater. She hated to admit it, but Diaz was right. It had taken them too long to find the jar. Now, the corridor was filling fast. It would only be a matter of minutes before the entire underground structure would become one with the ocean.
The threesome squeezed by the partition wall, struggling against the surging water to pass, then proceeded up the corridor. Diaz and Tolen used their lights as a guide to pierce the dark cavern and the rippling surface ahead. Jade found it easier to swim, yet she also realized the current drove her back if she did not stop on occasion and secure her footing.
The going was exhausting and nerve-wracking. The corridor was swelling with water. Progress slowed and became increasingly strenuous. Soon, the water would be over Jade’s head, and she could barely contain her rising fear. Somewhere in the distance, there was a steady pounding.
They passed the intersecting corridor, and she found she could no longer stand and reach the cave floor. As she tried on tippy toes, water washed over her face, and she coughed out a mouthful. Swimming was her only option now, but when she tried to make headway against the pummeling water, she found herself drifting back into one of the men. At that instant the tunnel became darker. Another flashlight had been lost. Someone grabbed her firmly from behind and thrust her forward, lifting her so that her head remained above water. She felt two strong hands clutching her around the waist as they moved against the current. A single strand of light cut the corridor ahead, revealing their proximity to the entry room. Jade felt helpless. She was at the complete mercy of whoever was supporting her.
The smell of brine strengthened in the decreasing layer of air. A constant sound like muted static grew ever louder.
Jade shivered uncontrollably.
When they reached the channel where the rushing water from the entry room fed the main corridor, the current was maniacal. It was like the mouth of an ocean funneling the incoming tide into a small river. The compression into the smaller channel created an ungodly onslaught of water. She could feel the man struggling to move them forward, and their progress became agonizingly slow. There was nothing Jade could do to help. Even elevated, water was now gushing over her face, and she choked on mouthfuls of saltwater that burned her nose and throat.
The
y kept inching ahead through the narrow manmade corridor, attempting to enter the room with the stair steps leading to the ceiling opening. With herculean effort, the man holding her maintained his ground and slowly nudged them forward. She heard him groan and spit water and thought she recognized Tolen’s voice. By now, she knew the water must be close to eclipsing his head.
Jade was bearing the brunt of the surging force. The monstrous impact felt like it was about to crush her chest. She breathed in sharp gasps, taking in equal amounts of air and water, then hacked and gasped, desperate to clear her lungs. She felt the man teeter, and Jade said a silent prayer. If he lost his balance now, the rushing water would send them back down the corridor into the partition wall where they would be pinned. Even if they could fight their way back—which she doubted they could—there was no time. The entire underground area would reach capacity within minutes.
Jade reached forward, grabbed the corner edge of the wall, and pulled with every ounce of energy she had left. It was just enough to stabilize the pair, allowing the man to right himself. He must have gained solid footing and, with considerable effort, pushed them beyond the intake of water. Her grip broke away from the wall, and she felt the slice of the stone edge across her bandaged arm. They pivoted around the corner and braced against a side wall inside the room. Jade choked out the saltwater and turned to the side, laboring to breathe. She could not hide her astonishment as she looked into the haggard, soggy face of her savior, Inspector Pascal Diaz. Tolen was on the other side of the Spaniard.
“Y..you?” she stammered.
Diaz was too tired to respond as he paddled in place.
Slowly, they swam farther and farther away from the opening where the current was much less severe. A hissing, bubbling noise in the room was nearly deafening.
Jade watched Tolen as he held the flashlight out of the water with one hand while treading water with the other. The beam of light licked the room, strayed upward, and targeted the ceiling opening where they had entered the underground cave. Water was pouring through the hole, cascading downward as a solid mass, as if the entire Pacific Ocean was trying to invade the caverns. The beam of light sparkled off the torrent, and Jade felt her insides turn to putty. She could see the watermark creeping up the wall. There was less than four feet of airspace left in the room, and it was being squeezed out fast.
She looked back down the corridor. Through the dim light, the seawater had plugged the passageway, rising well above it. It was as if the connecting corridor had never existed.
“We can’t get through that downpour of water!” she said in a disheartened voice.
Tolen swam over to the steps, which were now submerged. The platform below the circular opening, which they had dropped upon when they had entered the room, was all but obscured by the gushing blast of water. Reaching the steps and gaining footing, he tried to force his way through the downward flow. Jade watched as Tolen disappeared into the massive waterfall, then as his dark figure was thrust back into the pooled water away from the deluge. Tolen swam back to where Jade and Diaz were nested against the wall, paddling to remain afloat.
Jade’s body ached, her muscles were approaching exhaustion. She had no idea how long they had been swimming, but it was long enough that her legs were beginning to cramp, and she forced herself to fight through the pain.
“We’re trapped,” Diaz said. “We can’t get through that incoming water.”
Jade awaited Tolen’s response. The man seemed to have nine lives, and she hoped against all hope he had a plan to save them now. Less than three feet of air remained. The cave ceiling approached like a vise ready to wring out their last breath.
“You’re right,” Tolen finally admitted.
His vanquished response brought the morbid reality home. “Oh God,” Jade murmured. The beam of light Tolen kept trained upon the waterfall began to cloud through her tears. She could not believe she was about to die.
Tolen spoke again over the rushing sound of water. “Follow me.”
Jade looked to Diaz in confusion. Wordlessly, they did as they were told. Tolen swam, leading them to the steps where the threesome found footing near the top, just to the side of the blasting waterfall amid a spray of water. The ceiling was now less than two feet away.
“We have to wait,” Tolen said loudly over the sound of the water.
“Wait for what?” Diaz barked.
“Once this room fills, the flow will stop and pressure will equalize.”
Jade understood the simplicity in Tolen’s words. Of course! They can’t fight through the falling water, but they can leave the cave once the seawater is no longer flowing into it. She lifted her hand to brush her dribbling bangs from her eyes.
Tolen gave her a solemn look.
“What?” she asked. Then she noticed he was staring at her forearm. She turned it toward her, realizing for the first time the makeshift bandage was gone. The gunshot flesh wound had been gashed. She remembered scraping it against the edge of the stone wall when she and Diaz pulled themselves into this room. Blood was flowing freely. Oddly, she now felt its sting.
The sharks, she thought in horror.
Their heads were now brushing the ceiling as they were forced to swim above the steps to remain above water.
“There’s no time to bandage it,” Tolen said. He handed Diaz the flashlight, and the Spaniard took it without question.
Jade swallowed hard. “You and Diaz have to go.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out the watertight bag with the jar. Her head was spinning, and her words felt surreal, as if they were coming from someone else. “Here, take this. They’re going to be...be after me.”
“No,” Tolen pushed the bag back to Jade, “secure that jar.”
Jade had no strength to argue. The water had approached to within inches of the ceiling, and they had to turn their heads upward to keep breathing.
“But—,” Jade inhaled a mouthful of water which cut off her words. She expelled it forcefully and fought for another breath of air in the compacted space. Her ears were now under water, and Tolen’s words muffled. The flashlight beam was glowing upward from under the moving surface.
“Take one last breath of air and hold it when I say,” Tolen directed. Then he moved in front of Diaz, and Diaz slid next to Jade.
Jade had never experienced such formidable terror. Even if they made it safely out of here, the sharks waiting above would be a much crueler fate. She felt like drowning herself, but a little voice told her to trust Samuel Tolen.
“Now,” she barely heard Tolen’s muted words through the water.
Jade drew in air until she felt like her expanding lungs would rupture, then she held it. She faded below the surface, and opened her eyes. The saltwater burned, but it was imperative that she be able to see what was going on once they swam up from the room.
The light was suddenly gone, and they were cast in blackness. She reached out and grabbed Tolen’s shirt. For several long seconds, the man did not move. Her air was running out, and she again considered taking matters into her own hands by ending her life with a big gulp of seawater.
Tolen finally shifted, dragging her forward as she held on. She could feel the slight rush of water as they reached the opening where a pall of light shown through. He passed through the hole and she followed. They immediately broke the surface. Tolen swung to the side, and hoisted Jade from the opening and onto the stone island where they stood in knee-deep water. Diaz emerged beside them. Jade gasped the semi-fresh air, momentarily thankful they had escaped, but as she rubbed the saltwater from her eyes, she took in the horrid truth.
All around them, the sharks were cutting through the water in a frenzy. The surface boiled with activity. For the time, the submerged island afforded them protection. The large sharks were unable to breech the shallow water, but their curiosity was obv
iously piqued as they glided by only a few feet away.
“Anybody see the rope?” Tolen shouted.
They had left the coil of rope on the tiny stone island once they rolled the stone sphere away. Now, it was nowhere in sight.
“It’s washed away,” Diaz lamented.
The threesome looked up at the cone pointing down at them. The tip was nine feet above the stone island, but the first handhold was three feet beyond that.
“We can’t reach it without the rope,” Tolen said.
The water churned a short distance away as the nose of a bull shark broke the surface, its mouth parted slightly, revealing too many ghastly teeth to count. Jade cringed at the sight as the wake rolled against her knee, causing her to shake.
Tolen spoke authoritatively. “We’ve got to swim.”
“Are you crazy?” Diaz said.
“There’s no other way off.”
The thought made Jade numb. “We’ll be devoured alive.”
Tolen stepped up to Jade. “We need to stop that bleeding. The material of your shirt is better suited. May I?”
Jade was too frightened to respond. She nodded weakly, staring at the menacing creatures darting through the water around them. Tolen stood before her and ripped off a band of material at the bottom leaving her midriff bare. As he did, his hand brushed against her stomach. His touch brought a sensation of comfort; of life. He then proceeded to wrap her arm tightly until she winced in pain. “We need the bleeding to stop completely. Once we get safely to the perimeter ledge, I’ll loosen it. We’ve got to go fast before your arm becomes numb.”
Tolen turned, looking from Diaz to Jade. “We’ll form a triad in the water, keeping our backs to each other. If they attack, we want to see them coming. They’re looking for an easy meal, and we’re not going to give it to them. They’re sensitive at their gills, nose, and eyes. If one comes close, strike at those places. Let’s go.”
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