Tomb of Zeus (Atlantis)

by Christopher David Petersen

  “Well, not really. Believe it or not, I used to date Javi’s daughter, but we broke it off about a year ago. Serena is her name,” he responded.

  “Hmm, nice name. What’d she look like?”

  “Well, she was tall, athletic build, dark hair and brown eyes,” he said, still feeling the pain of his lost love.

  “Oh, sort of like me I guess, right?”

  “Well, yeah… except for that fact that she looks completely different,” Jack joked. “Actually though, she was of Latin descent, so her features are kind of like yours, at least to a certain degree.”

  “How so?” she asked, hoping to draw attention to her own features.

  “Well, you both have similar lips,” Jack said reluctantly.

  “I’ve been told mine are full and pouty. What do you think, Jack?”

  Helena pressed her lips together and pretended to kiss. Jack stared at them for a moment and swallowed hard.

  “Well, yeah… I’d have to agree,” he said nervously.

  “What else?” she persisted.

  “I’d say your eyes are similar too.”

  Helena stared into Jack’s eyes and smiled seductively.

  “So you like my eyes, Jack?”

  He took a long sip of his wine while staring at her nervously out of the corner of his eyes. He placed the near empty glass on the table top and wiped away the excess moisture with his hand. Helena picked up her napkin, reached across the tabled and softly stroked his lips to dry them. Still staring into his eyes, she could tell he was feeling attracted to her.

  “Jack, how about my eyes? You never gave me an answer.”

  He cleared his throat and blurted spontaneously, “They’re beautiful.”

  Helena knew the moment was right. Jack was drunk and feeling aroused. She reached across the table and held his hands. Staring into his eyes, she once again smiled seductively.

  “You know Jack, I don’t know if it’s the alcohol or just this romantic setting that’s getting to me, but I’m finding you almost irresistible. You have a certain masculinity that really turns me on,” she said in a soft flirtatious voice. “Do you find me attractive?”

  Jack was nearly mesmerized by her words. He felt his blood surging and his heart beating wildly. Any thoughts of Serena Arista had vanished. Helena was now the focus of his attention. He wanted to say something profound and romantic, but his thoughts, his feelings, caused him to blurt the first words that came to his mind:

  “I think you’re incredibly freaking hot.”

  Although Jacks crude response wasn’t what she was expecting, the sentiment behind it was. She leaned far forward while pulling him close. She stared into his eyes for greater effect, then pressed her lips to his.

  Jack’s heart and mind raced, then slipped effortlessly into oblivion. For that moment in time, nothing else seemed to matter. He kissed her back with equal passion. Moments later, their romantic affair was interrupted by an intruding waitress.

  As Jack and Helena sat back in their seats, she refilled their water glasses, then asked if they’d like more wine.

  At the very moment Jack said ‘no’, Helena responded with ‘yes’. The waitress smiled and promised to return with two more glasses.

  “You know, Jack, one more glass of wine and you might be able to take advantage of me,” she said, proud of her ability to control the situation.

  “But then I’d feel so cheap in the morning. I just don’t know if I could live with myself after that,” he joked.

  “Are you saying you don’t want to sleep with me tonight?” she asked directly.

  Jack’s eyes sprung wide in surprise, then narrowed once more. He stared at her longingly. Standing up, he grabbed her hand and pulled her close. He kissed her passionately, then stepped back.

  “The hell with the wine or waiting on the check. We’ll pay on the way out,” he said, now pulling her along as he hurried to leave.

  Helena smiled with pride. Half her battle was nearly won. With Jack in her pocket, only the scepter was left to conquer.

  ----- ----- ----- -----

  The next morning, Jack and Helena arrived at nearly the same time: 8:05am. As they stepped from their cars, they approached each other and smiled knowingly.

  “I hope this doesn’t interfere with our working relationship,” Helena asked in a seductive voice.

  “Are you kidding? I hope it does interfere. Last night was amazing. I wouldn’t mind spreading some of that amazingness around during the day, too,” he joked.

  “I still have my job to think about, so how about we focus on the excavation during the day and everything else afterwards, ok?” Helena responded, delicately insuring her objective would be met.

  “Your wish is my command,” he said simply.

  As the two entered the utility trailer, Javi greeted them with a great smile.

  “I trust lunch went well?” he asked.

  Jack stopped in his footsteps and stared.

  “What do you mean, Javi?” he asked, now wondering if he suspected something.

  “You guys never came back to work. I just assumed you had a nice lunch,” he responded cryptically.

  Jack knew Javi wasn’t that naive. Suddenly, he felt anxious. With his romantic interlude with Helena, he realized he now had a complication: Serena Arista. She would be arriving at some point soon. The situation would be awkward. Even worse would be the possibility of a strain between Javi and him over the matter.

  From an early age, Jack was taught to be honest, no matter what the consequence and he wasn’t about to change that view now.

  “Javi, can I speak to you outside a moment?” Jack asked.

  Javi nodded politely.

  Outside the trailer, Jack began his confession:

  “Javi, what I’m about to say is a little awkward and I feel just awful about it.”

  “My God Jack, what did you do, rob a bank or something?” Javi joked.

  “No nothing like that. We’ve been friends for quite a while and because of that, I didn’t want you to find out the wrong way, so I’m just going to tell you straight out: I think I have a “thing” going with Helena now. I know you said Selena will be here at some point, so I thought it best to let you know now before things get very uncomfortable. I’m really sorry about this. I didn’t plan it. It just happened.”

  Javi exhaled a deep sigh of relief, then smiled.

  “Phewww Jack, I’m so glad to hear that. To be honest, Selena never really was coming here.”

  Jack stared at Javi. His mind registered confusion and Javi could clearly see it.

  “The fact is Jack, when I called you, I knew you were suffering. I knew I had to do something to break you out of that awful spell you were under. So, I devised a little scheme to get you out of your house and back in the saddle, so to speak.”

  “You trick me?” Jack responded in surprise.

  “I’m sorry, Jack. It was the only thing I could think of to do to help you. I figured getting you here, involved with another adventure, would help you to overcome your grief. I’ve been meaning to tell you the truth, but just couldn’t find the right time.”

  “So that’s why you were so eager for me to get together with Helena. You figured if I did, you’d be off the hook, right?”

  “Sort of,” Javi responded in embarrassed tone.

  Jack stared at Javi with menacing eyes.

  “You sly son-of-a-bitch,” he blurted, now grinning ear to ear.

  Javi breathed another sigh of relief.

  “So you’re ok with it?” he asked.

  “Of course. You’re intentions were honorable. And why wouldn’t I, especially after I did in fact, meet someone out here to help take my mind off Selena.”

  “Yeah, that was convenient, wasn’t it,” he joked.

  “Yes, very. Had I not met her, I think I might have taken this news a little differently,” Jack teased.

  “Well, alls well that ends well, they say,” Javi joked.

  “Yes, especi
ally in this case.”

  The two smiled, ending the exchange. As they went back inside the trailer, Helena stood up, ready to get to work.

  “Ok you guys, there’s a chamber out there with our names written all over it. What are we waiting for?” she said, only half joking.

  Javi glanced at Jack and shrugged.

  “Hey, when you’re right, you’re right. It’s back to the dungeon, I guess,” he joked.

  ----- ----- ----- -----

  Two hours later…

  Back inside the pyramid, Javi, Jack and Helena picked up where they left off two days before. The slow tedious process of clearing the corridors of obstacles and traps continued. Although Helena’s passion to reach Zeus’ tomb, at times, seemed irrational, the near-death of Duni tempered her inner expectations and desires. For now, she accepted the slow pace of the search.

  “Ok Jack, coming up on the far wall,” Javi informed matter-of-factly.

  “Got it,” Jack responded as he worked the joy stick, piloting the ROV.

  “Bill’s picking up a darker shadow on the right hand side of the wall.”

  “Bill’s got a keen eye, doesn’t he?” Jack joked.

  “Yes… he does,” Javi replied in a slow and sarcastic tone.

  Twenty-five feet from the distant wall, the right side shadow now became more defined.

  “Jack, that’s not just a shadow. That’s a beginning of another corridor heading right,” Javi announced.

  “I see it. What a relief. The thought of breaking down another door wasn’t on my list of fun things to do today.”

  Javi nodded, then drew a line-diagram of the pyramid indicating the path they’ve already crossed. As the ROV continued to descend deep into the mammoth structure, he started to make guesses as to the final routing.

  “Jack, the corridors are skirting the inside walls of the pyramid as they descends. Zeus’ chamber is in the center of the pyramid, about fifty feet below the main level. By my calculations, once we reach that far wall, we should be descending right for another fifty feet, then make another right hand turn, descending deeper toward the pyramid’s center, heading directly into the Zeus’ chamber.”

  “Yeah, I kinda figured the same thing. The path forms a standard rectangle, unlike the crazy twisting path, that led up to Poseidon’s antechamber. It’s really interesting that Zeus’ routing is so predictable, but Poseidon’s is anything but,” Jack commented.

  “Like I said before, Poseidon died after Zeus. He presumed himself to be of higher importance and therefore made his chamber far more elaborate and complex,” Helena responded.

  “Tossed ole Zeusie in the basement while he saved the prime ocean-view real estate for himself, eh?” Jack joked.

  “Yeah, something like that,” she replied back dryly, hiding her feeling of insult from him.

  After nearly twelve hours, the process of: inching forward; scanning images; analyzing them for detail; inching forward again; then repeating the routine, was both mentally and physically draining. Jack checked his watched and noted the time:

  “Well, it’s after 8pm. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think I could use a break. Some food and some sleep wouldn’t be bad either. Any takers?”

  “Count me in. I’m done for the day,” Javi responded.

  “Done? But we’re so close to the wall. You can’t give up now?” Helena pleaded.

  Jack and Javi grinned to each other, then stared back at Helena. Realizing her weak position, she relented.

  “Well, I guess a little food wouldn’t be a bad idea,” she said, her expression changing from intense protest to acceptance.

  “Shall we meet back here at 8am tomorrow morning?” Javi suggested.

  “That sounds like a plan,” Jack concurred.

  Helena only nodded.

  A half hour later, as Javi drove off in his jeep, Jack stared at Helena outside the utility trailer. A slow smile crossed his face.

  “What?” she blurted out, unsure how to read Jack’s expression.

  “Same thing as last night?” he responded, his eyebrows raising and lowering suggestively.

  Helena smiled.

  “Ah ha. So that’s why you waited for Javi to leave. I guess it would’ve been a bit awkward asking me to sleep with you again in front of him, wouldn’t it?”

  “Well, I am sort of a proper kind of guy. I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself or Javi, for that matter,” Jack teased.

  “There was nothing proper about what you did last night,” Helena chided.

  “So is that a no?”

  She smiled seductively.

  “That would be a yes…”

  ----- ----- ----- -----

  For the next few days, the routine slowed as anomalies in the walls, ceilings and floors were examined. Each void that registered on the radar and ultrasound images, had to be analyzed. Each word of hieroglyphics that were engraved in the walls, needed to be translated. With each twenty foot section of corridor they cleared by computer, they reentered the pyramid and did the same with sight and touch.

  Into the second week, Duni returned to work and resumed his duties. Although he was excited to be back, he was now more cautious and less impulsive with his actions. For the other three, as they now started down the final leg to Zeus’ burial chamber, the excitement of being so close to the end, mellowed their sense of caution.

  For the next two days, they worked faster, taking less time to study the readouts. Nearing the midway point of the corridor, they could now see a distant doorway that marked the entrance to the long awaited chamber. Although the ROV’s lighting was intense, whatever laid beyond the doorway, remained elusive and served as even greater incentive to expose the mystery inside the darkness.

  “Can you see anything… anything at all,” Helena asked in near frantic tone.

  “Nothing, nada… it’s just too far away,” Duni responded.

  “We’re so close. Can’t we just zoom on into the room and see what’s there? We don’t have to stay. Once we satisfy our curiosity, we can simply turn back around and resume the chore of clearing away the traps,” she reasoned.

  “She’s got a point,” Jack said. “I have to tell you. The suspense is killing me too. I’m betting if we had brighter lights, we’d be able to see what’s in there.”

  “We could run extension cords in and install some high intensity lighting. That might do the trick,” Javi offered.

  “No way. By the time you do that, we could be in and out of there and still have plenty of time left over for lunch. I say we just make a run for it now and be done with it,” Helena persisted.

  “Actually, we could simply toss a few glow sticks in the room, then run some video with infrared sensing to get a sense of what’s hidden,” Jack suggested.

  Duni turned from his computer and stared menacingly at the three. Disbelief and frustration welled in his eyes.

  “Are you freakin’ kidding me? Did you all just lose your minds or something? Don’t you remember what happened to me? You guys are unbelievable,” he shouted in quick succession. “I almost died in there a week ago and already you want to start taking chances. Don’t you think we should just exercise more patience and finish our work, that way we can enter the room knowing we’re all safe?”

  The three listened to his impassioned plea. Only two accepted his logic.

  “I know you caught a bad break, Duni, but I still don’t see a problem with running the ROV in for a quick check,” Helena countered.

  “The problem with that ‘quick check’ is that while you’re rushing toward the chamber, you could easily trigger something and either destroy the ROV or possibly block the entrance to the room entirely. Who knows what clever traps could exist between the ROV and the chamber. If we find them now, before we stumble over them, we’d at least have the chance to dismantle or disarm them. It just makes good sense to be patient, doesn’t it?”

  Helena scanned the look on Jack’s and Javi’s face. There was no mistaking their posit
ion: they would be cautious first. Reluctantly, she acquiesced her position.

  The following day, cameras from the ROV sent back images of hieroglyphics that were distorted and unreadable. Javi’s interest was now piqued. With timing now coinciding with the need to confirm their data physically, the four elected to reenter the pyramid and perform their checks while Javi examined the writings on the walls.

  Starting in early morning, they entered the pyramid and made their way to the farthest examined point along the route to the chamber. As they rounded the last corner and headed down the long corridor toward the darkened room, they slowed their inspection to mere feet per hour.

  Not taking any chances, they donned gloves, face masks and eyewear to protect them from unseen dangers. With crude tools such as dust brooms and magnifying glasses; to advance technology, using various imaging equipment, they worked their way down the corridor.

  As the three performed their analyses, Javi snapped photos and translated any hieroglyphics that could not be seen from the ROV’s cameras. Nearly eight hours into their work, Javi spotted the section of wall that had given him the most trouble. Located only a few feet ahead of the others, he inadvertently inched ahead of them and took several pictures. Engrossed in his work, he quickly became unaware of his position along the corridor.

  Using a large magnifying glass and a bright light, Jack examined the wall on the opposite side of the corridor. He spotted an unusual crack. In his mind, it looked far too regular and consistent to be natural. He turned to Javi. Apprehension swept over him upon seeing his old friend further ahead of the group.

  “Javi, what’re you doing over there?” he asked with concern.

  Javi stared down at his feet, then at the hieroglyphics on the wall. An embarrassed smile crossed his face as he turned toward Jack.

  “I guess I got lost in my work,” he said.

  He took a step toward Jack and suddenly disappeared.

  “Oh my God!” Jack shouted in shock.

  A loud crash sounded as the floor under Javi’s feet gave way. One second he was there, the next he was gone. Jack rushed to the edge of the pit that was once level floor. He stared down into it. Despair flooded his mind as he saw his old friend embedded up to his neck in tar, nearly fifteen feet down inside the pit.