by Greig Beck
Ebadi walked around it. “Definitely a marker or signpost. But the symbolism or writing is unknown to me. I can’t read it.”
“Let me have a look.” Matt squinted and stepped in closer. He ran a hand down along the stones. It fit together almost perfectly, and a few thousand years ago, it might have been as smooth as polished marble.
He walked around the tapering stone column. Khaled spoke softly as he passed. “It looks like the inscriptions we saw on the sarcophagus in the mountain.”
“That’s because they are – Chaldaic.” Matt squatted, his eyes narrowing as he concentrated on the ancient language. There were areas that had been totally worn away, and he tried to mentally fill in the gaps with what would logically be inserted there.
“So that’s Chaldaic; I’d only ever heard about it. Spoken by Adam and Eve,” Ebadi said reverently. “And Noah. Read it if you can Matt; out loud please.”
“Just like the stained glass, it refers to the first house of Noach – Noah.” Matt ran his hand down along the stone’s edges. “Here lies Akebu-Lan.” He turned to them, grinning. “The real Garden of Eden.”
Ebadi grinned back. “It was here. It was really here.” He turned around, looking out at the dry desolation of the Chadian desert. “Once.”
“Yes and no – here, but not here.” Matt read some more. “The wording infers it was a secret place even then. Noah’s hidden place. Perhaps somewhere that just he and his family knew about.” He looked again at the ancient writing. “It uses the Chaldaic word for gate or doorway… or at least some sort of entrance-way.” Matt stood back. “It’s not here, but somewhere close. There’s a clue.” He put a hand up to shield his eyes, turning about. “Five thousand steps between where the servant of mankind rises and falls.” Matt rubbed his head. “Who the hell is the servant of mankind?”
“Shemesh,” Ebadi said softly. “The sun was referred to as Shemesh, the one who serves, or…” he smiled. “… the servant of mankind.”
Matt pointed one arm east. “Where the sun rises.” Then his other arm west. “And where the sun falls.” He lowered them. “So that means we have a choice – north or south.”
“North,” Khaled said. “I would estimate that range of mountains is about 5000 steps.” He lifted his field glasses, scanning slowly. “And you said it referred to a doorway, or gate. Well, I can see there are plenty of caves along its base. Maybe inside one of those.”
Captain Okembu had sidled up behind them and now loitered and listened. Khaled turned to him. “Captain, do you know those caves?”
His eyes narrowed.“You should not go there; they are haram now, taboo.” He shrugged, and his lips turned down.“Nothing there anyway, they’ve all been explored, and are now smuggler’s caves, sometimes camel herders will use them as shelter. Nothing.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll be safe with us,” Rachel said.
The Chad captain bristled at the woman’s words.
“Well, we’re here, so let’s satisfy our curiosity. Five thousand paces, or five minutes by jeep.” Khaled lifted his chin to Okembu who in turn shrugged, and then waved a hand and whistled. The three jeeps immediately started up and rolled toward them.
Okembu turned back to them. “Only a few hours until the sun will be going down soon. We will not make it back to town. Maybe we will need to stay here.”
“Then let’s get moving.” Matt waved Rachel into the first jeep with Khaled and Saeeb.
Mohammed waited. “Where to?”
Matt peered along the distant pink mountains. “For now, directly to the mountains, and hopefully something will become clear when we get closer.”
Mohammed stamped on the accelerator and the jeep’s wheels spun in the sand momentarily, before jumping forward and pressing the group back into their seats. The three vehicles increased speed the closer they got to the mountains. The ground under their wheels was becoming more hard-packed as it turned from sand drifts to clay pan.
Matt tried to imagine what it would have been like all those millennia ago – lush forests with the flora perhaps climbing the sides of the mountains as well, the noise of birds in the trees and herds of animals on the fertile plans. And then before that, perhaps this entire was area under deep, blue water, an inland sea, also teeming with water life. Matt hung from the jeep window and looked along the edifice. Caves pocked the prehistoric-looking mountain faces, some at ground level and some higher up. There were too many to choose from. He laid a hand on Mohammed’s forearm.
“Slow down.”
The driver threw an arm out the window and held a hand up flat in the air. He eased down, and the following vehicles did the same. The convoy then bundled along at just a few miles per hour.
Matt held out a hand to Khaled. “Lend me your field glasses.”
Khaled handed him the powerful lenses, and Matt lifted them to his eyes. He scanned the caves – some were little more than shallow dens, and some large openings that vanished into endless voids.
He exhaled. “Too many.”
They were now only several hundred feet from the sheer wall, and Matt called a halt.
“We need to look closer – nose to wall, I’m afraid.”
The vehicles all lined up, and the group got out. Rachel walked forward, and stood with her hands on her hips. “What are we looking for?”
Matt scanned the sheer cliff face. “Chaldaic script would be great. But anything that looks like it might be related. Hell, just see if we can see any indication that one of the caves is the one we seek.”
“Let’s split up,” Khaled said. “Three teams; we’ll cover more ground.”
“Good idea,” Matt said. “We’ll take this big cave right here. Remember, we’re looking for writing, symbols, even evidence of ancient habitation. And yell if you find anything before exploring it. That’ll save us other saps a lot of wasted energy exploring wrong caves.”
“Professor Kearns.”
Matt turned at the voice. Greta marched toward him, and smiled with thin-lipped formality. “When we find the correct cave, we’ll bring in Mrs. van Helling, yes?”
Matt shrugged. “Yeah sure, why not? But we can only take her so far. I don’t think it’d be a good idea to try and wedge the old girl into some tiny cave.”
“The old girl will manage.” She craned torwards him. “That’s why I’m here.” The ice in Greta’s words made Matt gulp. She marched back to her own group. Matt shook his head. “Jesus.”
He then looked again along the line of multiple cave mouths. One more thing, he thought. “And mark the entrances of the caves you’ve already searched – an “X” will do.” He turned and noticed the three drivers watching Captain Okembu as he stood on the hood of one of the jeeps, field glasses to his eyes, slowly scanning the desert.
“What’s he doing?” Matt asked Khaled.
“I think keeping watch for pirates, terrorists, bandits, you name it. Around here strangers might mean an opportunity for fast cash or goods.”
“Oh boy,” Matt said.
“Don’t worry; between Okembu and his men, and my commandos, we’ve got plenty of firepower.” Khaled turned back to the caves. “But best we get our work done, and not stay longer than we need to.”
“I hear that.” Matt waved the groups to cliff face.
They split up the closest 20 caves between them. Khaled, Matt, Rachel and Saeeb went into one of the first, the largest, about ten feet high and double that in width. It opened out just inside and was at least dry and cool.
Matt took off his cap, and pushed long, wet hair off his face. “That’s better. If nothing else, this will be where we camp tonight.”
“As long as the owners of that old camp fire don’t return.” Khaled pointed at the remains of a fire pit.
Rachel knelt beside it and lifted a piece of the charcoal. She sniffed it. “Hasn’t been used for weeks or maybe months.”
Matt fished out a small powerful Mag light and flicked it on. Rachel and Khaled did the same. The Saudi turne
d to his security man.
“Stay here, brother, and keep a lookout.” He went to turn away but paused. “And keep an eye on what our drivers are up to. I don’t trust them or the captain.”
The blocky man nodded and waited just inside the cave mouth where he could watch his team and also keep an eye on the desert plain.
They edged around the walls. Rachel found the first writing, but it proved to be little more than local graffiti, a rude joke written in Arabic probably by one of the recent occupiers of the cave.
Further in there were faded images on the walls that depicted long-legged birds, antelope and something that might have even been a bear. Matt rested his hands on his hips. “This is more like it – some of the cave art in this area dates back 10,000 to 12,000 years. This place was a forest then.”
They spent another 20 minutes examining the interior, but at the absolute rear there was a blank wall.
“It ends here,” Rachel said and shone her light up at the ceiling. “And there hasn’t been a cave-in to close any further passages off.”
“Yeah, this one is a no-go,” Matt said. “Let’s keep moving while we’ve got some daylight outside.” He led them to their next cave.
After several more hours, the groups convened in the light of a setting sun, looking dispirited. Joshua rolled his shoulders and winced. “You know what crossed my mind after finding nothing in that last cave?”
Everyone waited.
“That we might have put the totem pole up facing the wrong way.” He grimaced.
Khaled laughed, but then turned to Matt, then Ebadi. “Please tell me this is not a possibility.”
Matt felt his stomach sink. “Well, it might…”
“No,” Ebadi said emphatically. “In archaeology we need to reconstruct artifacts and structures many times. And in some cases we will only have parts, or only fragments of the initial structure to work with.” He looked to where the sun was rapidly approaching the horizon. “The great thing about sunshine is it is so powerful, and it always rises and sets in the same area. After hundreds or, even better, thousands of years, you will get greater bleaching on the side of an object that faces the sun.” He turned square on to Khaled. “The totem was reconstructed correctly.”
“Good,” Rachel said. “So now what?”
“Ah, well, these mountains run for hundreds of miles, so I’m betting there are many more caves to check. “Matt rubbed the back of his neck. “We could be here weeks.”
“Years,” Ebadi said softly. “But this is where the totem pointed.” He placed hands on his large hips, and stared at the ground. “What did we miss?”
“Yeah, I’ve got to agree. This feels like the right place,” Matt said.
“Maybe right place, but wrong time,” Rachel added.
Matt nodded, letting his mind work. He walked backwards, looking up at the sheer mountain face. This particular one only rose about 3000 feet, but it was like a giant tooth rising from the desert floor.
“Right place, wrong time,” he repeated. “The wrong time.” He began to laugh.
“What is it?” Ebadi asked, walking to his side.
“The wrong time – that’s it.” Matt grinned and spun to Rachel. “You’re brilliant.”
“You’re welcome,” Rachel said, raising her chin. “And I’m brilliant because…?”
He turned to Khaled. “Remember what you said when we first met? That if what we seek is in the past – then that’s where we must look.”
Khaled tilted his head. “I remember – for the map.”
Matt clapped his hands once loudly. “Then that’s what we should be doing here. We’re looking for clues based on today’s landscape. But when Noah was supposedly here, what was happening? What was it like?” Matt held his arms wide.
“He wasn’t here at all.” Ebadi slapped his large thigh. “He wasn’t here because he was riding an Ark… high on an inland sea.”
Matt pointed at Ebadi’s chest. “Damned right; this whole area would have been under water, perhaps under hundreds of feet of water.” He craned his neck and began to back up. “If there are going to be any clues, they’d be up there.” He pointed.
Khaled already had his field glasses to his eyes. “Yes, about 250, 260 feet up, there’s a cave; a big one.”
Matt felt his heart leap in his chest, but tried to remain calm. “Then, ladies and gentlemen, that’s where we need to be.”
Chapter 16
“They have commandos with them, and the vehicles are guarded.” Aetius stayed low to the ground.
“Right.” Drusus scanned the cliff wall, and then the figures assembling before it. He handed the miniaturised scope lens back to Aetius. “Three Chad National Army soldiers are guarding their jeeps. First, let’s stop them getting away. Once they’re on the wall, they have nowhere to go. No mistakes this time; He loses patience with us.”
He turned and made a few quick hand signals, and immediately several of the men started to slither along a low ridge to get closer to the jeeps.
Chapter 17
“I can do it,” Joshua said, craning his neck and pushing his glasses back on his nose. “I do wall climbing for exercise and I’ve scaled cliff faces before – sometimes you need to get up or down into the weirdest nooks and crannies to search out the most elusive of bugs.”
“We didn’t exactly bring climbing gear – we’ve got old rope, a single flare gun, and luckily, plenty of flashlights. But no pitons, carabiners, or even helmets,” Rachel said. “Long way to fall.”
“So your advice is, don’t fall.” He turned to wink at her before turning back to stare upwards, probably working through his possible route. He pushed his spectacles up his nose. “It’s quite a sheer face, but it has plenty of handholds and lots of places for me to tie off. It can be done, and 250 feet is not a long way.”
“Should we wait until morning?” Ebadi asked. The sun was now a huge orange ball heading toward the horizon, and the shadows were lengthening. “We’ve only got a few hours at best.”
“Won’t take me long to secure guide ropes,” Joshua said. “And if it is a cave, then it’ll be dark inside whether it’s night or day, right?”
“Then we all go,” Khaled said. Each of the group members agreed, and even Ebadi sighed, but nodded.
They piled all the rope they had from the jeeps at Joshua’s feet. He squatted over it, checking its strength. “This will do. I’ll tie off at the first junction.” He pointed. “That jutting rock. Then move to the next, leaving the ropes as a ladder. Once we have a few of Khaled’s men up there, they can help pull the rest of us further up.”
Rachel nodded. “Might work.”
Matt turned to Greta who had finally brought the old woman from the jeep. “Not everyone needs to climb up. It might be all for nothing.”
“This is it,” Eleanor said without looking at him. “We’re coming.”
The old woman’s cold blue eyes were like flint chips, and he saw that Greta’s jaw was also set. The big woman reached forward to smooth Eleanor’s thin hair down. But if her body was failing, her eyes were electric in their intensity.
Matt sighed. At least she wouldn’t be hard to pull up, he thought.
Khaled organised them into climbing pairs. He pointed to two of his men. “Saeeb, Rizwan, you two will scale next. One to assist the climbers, the other to act as a lookout. Then, Professor Kearns and Agent Bromilow. After that, Professor Ebadi, and myself. Once we ascertain it is safe, then Mrs. van Helling, and… her nurse can ascend.”
Greta’s eyes narrowed, but she stayed silent. Khaled pointed to his second-to-last man.
“Zahil, you will help the women climb.” He then moved to his final commando. “And Yasha, my brother, you will secure our base.” He looked across to Captain Okembu who loitered at the jeeps, but pushed off to walk toward them. Khaled lowered his voice. “Make sure our ride home doesn’t decide to leave without us.”
Khaled then spoke softly in Arabic to the commando, but Matt understo
od every word. “We need the jeeps, not the men. If they try and leave, you know what to do.”
The commando nodded, and his eyes slid to the three drivers.
Captain Okembu took the twig from his mouth, and looked up at the cave, and then to Matt. “So, Professor, you are going up?”
Matt nodded. “Yup.”
“Policewoman is going up? Mr. Khaled and old, rich lady? Then I will too. You will need my protection.” He grinned. “No charge.”
“No, I think you should stay down here,” Khaled said. “Your job is to organize our ride.”
“My job is to keep you all alive.” His grin widened. “But it is also to safeguard the property of the Chadian government.”
Matt groaned. “Seriously? Now, you’re getting all patriotic?” This was going to get expensive, he thought.
“I assure you, any artifacts we find will be handed over. You have my word.” Khaled held his ground, and his four commandos all became a little more alert. Matt could feel the tension rising.
Captain Okembu looked long and hard at each of them. “Yes, you can kill me, or perhaps try. And you will need to kill all of us. But when, or if, you get back to N’Djamena Airport, you will have an interesting time explaining what happened to us.” He smirked. “Our prisons are not very pleasant for those who enjoy western luxuries.” His eyes slid to Rachel and then Eleanor van Helling.
Khaled glared. “And you’ll still be bones.”
Matt sighed. “Let him come. Sheesh, this is getting way too complicated.”
“Wise choice, Professor. That’s why I like you.” Okembu turned to Joshua. “Better get moving, spectacle man, before the light is gone for good, yes?”
“Spectacle man?” Joshua snorted and began to loop the coils of rope over each of his shoulders and another few loops around his waist. His sucked in a breath and reached up for the first handhold.
“Wait.” Khaled walked to the man, and quickly checked the ropes he had looped around him. He looked deeply into the young man’s face. “I can see fear. Be calm.” He stood back a step. “Good luck, Doctor Gideon.”