by Vicky de Leo
His mother’s voice interrupted his thoughts, “Well, it is definitely not a tomb. Even tomb robbers leave something behind. Maybe a statue stood there at one time, some forbidden god that these people worshiped in secret?”
“I guess that’s possible,” answered Sam. “A forbidden religion would explain why the statue is gone and the absence of any other religious relics. It would also explain why someone sealed up the room and destroyed the painting. We’ll need to do some research to see if there’s some myth or legend unique to this region that would shed some light on this.” Sam stepped up and stood inside the recess to examine it more closely. He ran his hands over the sides and back wall.
“Maria, come look. There are three small holes in the shape of a triangle on this back wall. What do you make of these?” He stepped down from the niche so she could step in.
Poking her fingers in the holes she said, “They’re not round or square holes like you’d expect if they secured something to the wall. It feels more like carved ridges.” Stepping out of the niche, Maria sighed, “It seems like the more we find, the less we know.”
Curious, Joshua stepped up inside the recess to see the holes for himself. Suddenly, he remembered the crystal he’d been carrying in his pocket. He pulled it out, examining the size and shape. It looks like a perfect fit.
Holding it by the flat end, he inserted it into one of the holes. A loud buzz rent the air. Each of the metal bands surrounding the carvings glowed. A flash of searing white light blinded Sam and Maria. When they could see again, Joshua was gone.
Chapter Two
“Joshua!” Maria screamed, looking around the room. The sound echoed off the walls. The niche where he’d stood only moments ago now empty.
Maria looked at Sam. “Where did he go? Did you see him leave?”
Sam shook his head. “I’ll check outside.” He ran for the mouth of the cave and looked around. When he didn’t see Joshua, he shouted for Ricardo, giving him instructions to search the area. When he returned, he found Maria standing in the middle of the room. Tears streaked down her face, leaving tiny rivulets in the dirt and sweat.
“Did you find him?” she cried.
Shaking his head, he took her in his arms. “Ricardo said he didn’t see him come out. He’ll check to see if his things are still in the tent and then organize a search party.”
She said, “I checked the recess . . .”
“You what!” Sam shouted at her, stepping back and gripping her shoulders. “Don’t you realize how dangerous that was? What if you disappeared too? We don’t know what we’re dealing with here.” Sam looked down at his hands. His fingers were digging into her skin. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. He immediately released her, walked a few steps away, and took a deep breath.
She came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder, “I’m sorry, Sam. I didn’t think, but it was just like before, solid rock. You and I both stood in the recess earlier and nothing happened. What are we going to do?”
Ricardo came in looking grim. “We searched the area. No one’s seen him. His things are still here. We went as far back down the trail toward the nearest village as we could. We didn’t see any trace of him or anyone else. I had to bring everyone back, because it’s getting dark. First thing tomorrow, I and some of the locals will go to the village and ask around.” He laid a callused hand on Sam’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else we can do tonight.”
Maria looked frantic, her eyes wide with terror. “We can’t wait until tomorrow. We have to find him.”
Sam rubbed his hand over his face. “Maria, you know what the jungle is like in the dark. Chances are, even with flashlights, we won’t find him. Besides I don’t think he’s out there.”
Ricardo looked confused. “Where else could he be?”
Sam told Ricardo about finding the strange holes and Joshua stepping into the recess, the loud noise, the glowing gold rings, and how Joshua had seemed to disappear from the recess in a blinding flash of light. “Maria, what exactly do you remember?”
She took a breath and closed her eyes, a crease furrowing her brow. “I saw Josh step into it, but I wasn’t watching him. I was standing back here staring at the glyphs trying to figure them out.” She opened her eyes. “The next thing I remember is the noise and the light.”
Sam looked around the room. “I saw him, but I was thinking about the strange holes. He examined them just as we did. Then I think he reached into his pocket for something. That’s when the thing lit up.”
After a moment, Ricardo asked, “What do you think happened? Do you have any theories?”
Sam shook his head. “None that make any sense. If we weren’t knocked out for a period of time, which seems unlikely since we were both still standing when our eyes adjusted, then Joshua was there one minute and gone the next. The recess had something to do with it. The most logical explanation is that the recess is a doorway of some kind used by priests to make it seem like they had supernatural powers. Trigger a noise and flash of light that blinds everyone, step through the door and seem to disappear, except the entire room seems to be solid rock.” He scratched his face. “I guess we really do need to examine that recess more closely, but carefully. Let’s go get some tools so we can do it from a distance.”
When they returned, they had a hammer taped to the end of a shovel handle, a crowbar, and a magnifying glass. Sam tapped the entire wall with the hammer but couldn’t hear anything that sounded hollow. He poked the crowbar in all the corners and into each of the strange holes. Still, nothing happened. They did discover that they could depress each of the glyph stones about an inch but even that didn’t produce the sound or the light again. Finally, Sam stepped into the niche and examined every inch with the magnifying glass.
Maria held her breath the whole time, but again nothing happened.
Sam stood back. “No door, no opening, nothing. I can’t even see anything that would trigger a flash of light. My only hope now is that the glyphs will give us some clue about how the thing works.”
Ricardo raised one eyebrow. He took a breath as if to say something and then let it out after glancing at Maria.
Sam caught the look and the meaning behind it. “Maybe if we get some rest, things will make more sense in the morning.”
Maria straightened her shoulders. “You can rest if you want to. I’m going to go look for my son.”
Sam put out a hand to stop her. “Maria, be reasonable. He’s not a baby. He’s seventeen and he’s lived in the jungle most of his life. I don’t think he’s in any real danger.”
She shook off his hand. “What if we were unconscious for a while and he was kidnapped?
Sam sighed. “Why just Josh, and how did the kidnappers trigger the sound and the light that incapacitated us? Even if he was. . .” He held up his hand when she gasped. “Which I think is highly unlikely, what exactly do you plan to do about it tonight?”
She glared at him, the muscles in her jaw tightening. “I’m taking the Jeep and searching the road between here and town.”
Sam stepped back to let her pass. “At least take a couple of armed men with you.”
“Fine.” She said through gritted teeth.
After she left, Ricardo looked at Sam. “Do you think it’s wise to let her go?”
Sam raised one eyebrow. “Do you want to try and stop her?” With one last look at the room, he made his way outside.
Ricardo followed him. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Maria, but if your theory is accurate, that Josh stepped through a doorway of some kind, that still leaves us with the question, where is he? Obviously, he hasn’t been able to open the door from the other side. The priest would have to have another exit. I hate to think of Joshua trapped because he can’t find a way out. On the other hand, it could be a long tunnel that comes out somewhere else in the jungle. He could be lost, not knowing how to get back to us. Either way, we don’t have a lot of time to find answers.”
Sam clos
ed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. “I know, and it’s driving me crazy.” As they reached the mouth of the cave, they saw Maria and two men climb into the Jeep.
Ricardo said, “Maybe I should go with her.”
Sam nodded. In spite of what he’d said about the futility of searching the surrounding jungle at night, he grabbed a flashlight and began searching the perimeter calling his son’s name. Soon others in the crew joined him. Two hours later when Ricardo and Maria returned, they gave up.
Sam and Maria thanked everyone for their help, and then retired to their own tent for privacy. Lying side by side in the tent, they tossed and turned.
Maria turned on her side to face Sam. “You don’t think he’s . . . really gone, do you?” she whispered.
“No. No I don’t think so,” Sam replied. “I can’t explain it, but somehow I know that whatever happened, Joshua is still alive. We will find him. No matter how long it takes.”
Maria scooted over to lay her head on his shoulder, draping her arm across his chest. He wrapped both arms around her, held her tight, and kissed the top of her head. Neither of them got much sleep.
Sam woke up first but continued to lie still, not wanting to disturb Maria. He thought about her real question. Could Joshua have been killed? It was the same question he’d been asking himself and why he examined the niche so carefully. He’d found no trace of ash or residue. Besides, he theorized, anything hot enough to vaporize a body would have killed them as well. They hadn’t felt any heat. Joshua was still alive somewhere. While he couldn’t totally discount Maria’s theory of kidnappers, he felt sure that the key to getting Josh back lay in deciphering the meaning of the carvings surrounding the oval. He wanted to talk to Ricardo before he left for the village. No, what he really wanted was to be able to go himself, to be up doing, searching, anything except standing around waiting. Still, he felt he should stay in camp in case Josh reappeared or someone contacted them.
When Maria stirred and rolled over, Sam slipped out of bed. He dressed quickly in jeans and a cotton shirt before going to the tent where they kept the artifacts and documentation of the dig. He sifted through the stack, lifting out a few sketches Maria made of separate glyphs. Then he went to find Ricardo.
Maria, up and dressed, was making coffee when he entered the mess tent. He crossed to her quickly and gave her a kiss. “I was hoping you’d be able to sleep a little longer,” he said, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. Her eyes weren’t red, so at least she hadn’t been crying again. The depth of her pain last night had been like a hot poker in an open wound. Thankfully, she looked calmer this morning. He saw Ricardo walk in with Juan and Rob, the two locals going with him to the village.
Ricardo went over to Sam and Maria while the others got coffee and breakfast. “How are you two holding up?”
They both shrugged.
Sam held out the sketches to him. “While you’re asking about Josh in the village, I’d like you to show these sketches of the glyphs around and see if anyone has seen anything like them. Also as discreetly as possible ask if there are any stories or legends about people disappearing.”
Ricardo lifted one eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.
“Caution the crew that I would like to keep the new room a secret for now. Of course, once we shut down the site and let the locals go, word will get out, but I don’t need a bunch of sightseers here until then.” Protecting the privacy of their find would be much more difficult with Joshua missing, but he had to try.
Maria said, “I’m going with you. I’m taking the satellite phone. I’ll check to see if we have any messages once we get clear of the canopy. I don’t think Joshua knows the number, but he’s a smart kid and if it’s possible, he’ll try and get a message to us.”
“Should we contact the authorities about Joshua?” Ricardo asked.
Sam thought for a moment. “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet. I’d like to wait a little longer in case he shows up or we receive a ransom note.”
After breakfast, Ricardo and Maria left in the Jeep for the village, about ten miles away. They planned to go slowly searching for any sign of Joshua.
Sam and the rest of the crew spent hours scouring the hill surrounding the cave looking for another entrance. Chopping their way through the underbrush was slow and tedious work. Unfortunately, they found no indications of any other openings. Sam finally gave up.
After organizing the crew to begin cataloging and classifying all the artifacts, he spent the rest of the day compiling notes and organizing the documentation every dig required. Every few hours he would check the recess room. Each time it looked the same, empty. He decided that once they labeled and packed all the artifacts for shipping back to the Smithsonian, he would backfill the village and cave, and then send the crew home. There wasn’t much else they could do. He didn’t want to backfill the recess room yet. He and Maria would need access to the glyphs to continue their research.
Ricardo and Maria returned just before dark. They joined Sam still working in the artifact tent. Sitting down next to him at the long table, Ricardo said, “We didn’t find any trace of Joshua. No one in the village has seen him. The villagers claimed there haven’t been any bandits in the area either.”
Maria held up the phone. “No messages. I guess I don’t have to ask you if you had any luck finding another entrance.”
Sam shook his head.
Ricardo said, “We did run into one stranger, a blond guy named Erik Johansen, who arrived in the village just yesterday. I don’t think he had anything to do with Joshua’s disappearance. From what locals said, he arrived out of nowhere, alone. He asked questions about any strangers. When I talked to him, he claimed to be an archeologist attached to the British Museum, here to check out the area for future research. Did you ever hear of him?”
Sam thought about it. “No, his name’s not familiar and I am pretty sure I know most of their field archeologists. Did he see the sketches?”
“Yes, he butted in when we were trying to show them to one of the elders. This Erik guy said he had run across similar ones before and was all set to come back with us. It was all I could do to get him to wait. I explained Joshua was missing and we weren’t prepared to have visitors right now. I told him you’d get in touch with him to discuss the glyphs in a few days if he was still here. He was real pushy. It wouldn’t surprise me if he showed up anyway.” Ricardo leaned back in the chair and stretched.
“That’s all we need,” grumbled Sam. “Some amateur trying to make a name for himself.” He pushed aside the papers he had been working on.
Maria looked exhausted. She rubbed her eyes. “One of the locals told Rick about an old medicine man that lives in the next village who knows all the old stories. We asked an elder who knows him if the medicine man would be willing to talk to us. He said he’d ask and to check back with him in a couple of days.”
“Do you think this Erik Johansen really has seen these glyphs before?” Sam asked.
Ricardo shook his head, “It’s hard to say. His eyes lit up when he saw the sketches, but whether that was recognition or something else, I couldn‘t tell. When I asked what he could tell me about them, he was cagey. Said he had to see the original carvings to be sure. I know how anxious you are to get information to help us translate the glyphs, but I can’t really explain . . . Sam, I think it would be better if you met him in the village. I’d like to get your take on him before we share anything.” Ricardo looked discouraged that he had so little information for him.
Sam put his hand on Ricardo‘s shoulder. “Thanks Rick, I trust your instincts.” He put his arm around Maria. “Let’s go get some dinner and I’ll bring you up to date on what I’ve been thinking.” They all got up and went into the mess tent.
After dinner, Sam explained about sending the crew home in a few days.
Ricardo insisted that he would stay, too. “I’ve gotten really fond of that kid; I’m not leaving until we get him back. Besides, you’ll ne
ed me to translate if we get a chance to talk to that medicine man while we’re waiting. Also, I think we should keep a couple of the locals to stand guard duty.”
“Thanks Rick. That means a lot. I think you’re right about the guards. You decide who you think will work out best.”
Maria looked at Sam. “What now? We just wait around hoping Joshua will show up? I don’t think I can do that.”
“No. We need to translate those glyphs. Rick, what do you think about trying to contact that medicine man ourselves?”
“There’s no harm in trying. Rob’s from around here, maybe he knows him.”
***
Maria, Ricardo, and Rob left early the next morning. They skirted the town, hoping to avoid Erik Johansen. Rob was able to lead them to the medicine man’s village another couple of miles to the east.
They found the old man sitting on a stump outside his hut, carving on a six-inch wooden board. He was small and thin, dressed in jeans with no shirt and barefoot, only a few gray hairs left on his head. His gnarled hands expertly wielded the knife. When Rob approached and asked if they could speak with him, the old man looked up. He paused when he saw Maria.
Ricardo explained that Maria’s son had gone missing and that they needed his help. The old man gave Maria a toothless grin and motioned for her to sit beside him. Ricardo and Rob sat on the ground facing him.
With Ricardo translating, Maria showed the old man the picture of the recess and glyphs. “We found this at the back of a cave in a room by itself. This is where my son disappeared. Have you seen anything like it or the carvings around it?”