River of the Damned

by Aiden James

  Shuratu paused to study all three of us in silence, and for a moment I feared we might not make it alive out of this cavern of gold. But a moment later he muttered a surly humph and led us deeper into the cave.

  Another cavern soon appeared ahead of us, aglow from wall torches that ignited as we approached.

  “Oh my God!” whispered Ishi, as we entered the next room.

  I imagine that Mayta’s verbal response would’ve been much the same… if she had one. But like me, all she could do was stare in amazement at the sight before us.

  Unlike the other cavern—one that was enormous and filled with vast artifacts of gold, this cave was much smaller, and other than a small stream of water coursing through its center—along with a few stalagmites—it was barren. Empty of treasure, but not of life.

  By my count, seventeen human beings were here. The good news was that Shuratu had told us the truth—all of them were alive and seemed to be peacefully resting… if being asleep and suspended vertically in the air counted for anything.

  “What in the hell?...” It was all I could murmur while walking up to a small boy, after the warriors released their grip on Mayta, Ishi, and lastly, me. Dr. Pierce was behind him, and nearby were two females—one appearing to be the mother of the other. Agent Jacobs was right… the older woman’s daughter that he had loved was just as gorgeous now as she was back in college. Sandra Pierce. They all looked completely at peace, so full of life, so….”

  “Do not touch them or they will die immediately!” Shuratu warned from behind me. “They are safe in this state, and until I decide what to do with them, they shall remain unharmed.”

  “You make it sound like their fate hangs in a balance,” I said, turning to face him. I was taken aback by his stare, as his eyes had taken on a slight orange tint, and I could almost feel the heat from his inflamed gaze boring into my mind and soul. “Why don’t you just let them go?”

  He grinned mischievously and again turned away from me to address his warriors in the strange tongue from earlier. This time they didn’t laugh, but nodded approvingly. I decided that could be more a good thing than bad, until I noticed Mayta’s panicked expression.

  Definitely bad this time.

  “They have trespassed—as have you!” he snarled, after turning back to me, slamming the bottom of his staff onto the cave floor. “These caves hold more secrets than you deserve to know, and what lies deeper shall forever remain hidden.”

  “Okay, so we won’t go exploring there,” I said, knowing I had to come up with some immediate response and feeling at a loss for the right words to give him. “If we can collect our friends and take them home, I’ll see to it that no one ever returns here.”

  He shook his head and drew closer. I stepped back into Ishi, who peered around my right shoulder. I could feel him shaking, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that my mouth and throat were bone dry while my pulse quickened angrily. The scent of ginger and something more exotic, but unpleasing, wafted toward us as he came to within a few inches of me.

  “This place is sacred to my people—more sacred than any other. The blood of our ancestors protected it from the Spanish, and the conquistadors’ blood protected it for centuries more,” he said. “It is now rediscovered, which is why we came back, following Dr. Pierce and those foolish enough to join him…. The caverns here, and the waterfall long forgotten, must again be wiped from the knowledge of modern man. For that to happen, it will take the strongest magic.”

  I didn’t know what to say in response. Especially, when I got the distinct impression that either the three of us, or those presently ‘hanging out’ around us, would be part of some ‘blood flowing’ solution Shuratu had in mind.

  He nodded deliberately, and to my horror I worried that his successful probing into my brain and spirit had somehow inspired my sudden graphic fear.

  “In the old days, the Inca priests would sacrifice their captives from dawn until dusk,” he said. “We are not like them… not normally. But when the sun rises tomorrow, we will do the same, taking all of you one by one until Nungui and her brothers and sisters are satisfied, and this place is safe from mankind’s harm once more… and for all time!”

  Chapter Ten

  Shuratu allowed us a last meal consisting of what we had brought with us, which amounted to three protein bars and two bottles of water. After a moment of semi-privacy to take care of any other needs we might have, we were tied up to the stalagmites closest to the cave’s entrance. Ishi and I shared one, and Mayta had the other all to herself.

  I needed a cigarette in the worst way, but thinking about it only made the craving unbearable. So, I thought about the other aspects of our shitty predicament instead… focusing mostly on the few positive things, like the fact I still had my bowie knife strapped to my left ankle, hidden beneath my jeans. Ishi had teased me about getting overwhelmed from the humid heat by opting to wear them instead of khaki shorts like he did, similar to Mayta’s attire. He had forgotten that insects like to eat me up below the belt, and the more coverage I had on meant a helluva lot less discomfort.

  It also meant a place to successfully hide a weapon, which I had worked furiously to not think about in Shuratu’s presence. The dude was beyond creepy in discerning private thoughts, and even without that gift his paranoid cunningness should’ve brought a full-body pat down for each of us. But we weren’t frisked, and I prayed it would end up costing him as an arrogant oversight. It needed to become a watershed moment in future hindsight if we had any hope of surviving this latest ordeal.

  Mayta quietly related to me that the last thing Shuratu shared with his peers was a plan for me to be the first victim in getting their head removed and boiled down to a miniature version in a pot presently sitting next to this latest cave’s entryway. Kindling wood had been stacked next to the pot with an apparent intent to light the damned thing inside this place—despite the smoke asphyxiation risks to everyone, including his own men.

  The guards assigned to watch over us didn’t share their leader’s gift of discerning English, as confirmed by Mayta’s attempt to engage them in several languages. Each attempt failed to draw a knowing response until she offered a few Shuar phrases. Even though this group disdained the modern Jivaro language, the newer tongue was based on the one they used. Neither guard answered her questions presented in Shuar, but the light of recognition appeared in their faces.

  None of us slept worth a damn that night—either from being too cramped or dealing with the perpetual stare of hostile eyes. For me, much of my time was spent listening to the soft, steady breaths of the Pierce family and their assistants, counting to a thousand and starting over again until I thought for sure I would lose my frigging mind.

  There was no hope of any peace as long as we had Jivaro attendants in our midst. I shared Mayta’s assumption that they would outlast us, or if they needed a break then a new pair of warriors would relieve them. My mind drifted through the years gone by, and I pictured all of the people I had lost, from my parents at a very young age to Marie less than a week ago. I would soon be reunited with them all….

  Suddenly, and for no explicable reason, our guardians stood up and left us. Maybe it had something to do with the dawn’s impending approach—although none of us could see any trace of sunlight this far away from the surface. I still carried my watch, but it was inside my inaccessible pants pocket. I put it there to keep it from getting scratched up while we cut our way through the jungles the previous afternoon.

  “Are they gone?” asked Ishi, straining to peer into the passageway to the treasure cavern.

  “I don’t know… I don’t think so,” said Mayta. She sounded like she had been silently weeping, but I couldn’t tell for sure in the dimness. The only torch left burning in the area was the one closest to the only exit, near where the guards had been stationed. “Surely they will be back… or replaced by others.”

  “Maybe… but while we have a moment, we need to try to get out of here,” I s
aid.

  “What in the hell are you talking about?” she replied, scornfully. She had been slumped over—likely from the discomfort to her back—but now she sat up. I could feel her anger as she turned toward me, either because she thought I was an idiot, or if I had an idea then why wait until now to share it?

  “I’ve still got my knife… remember? The wood-whittling special you teased me about?”

  She leaned forward enough for me to see she had indeed been crying, as a pair of small streams framed her delicate nose and full lips. A lovely face that called for loving, if this was some other lifetime…. She smiled, as a faint glimmer of hope brightened her countenance. It was the same for Ishi, whose defeated look gained new life as well.

  “Where is it?” she asked.

  “Strapped around my ankle,” I said, to which the hopeful light dimmed. She frowned, surely aware there wasn’t any way to get to it… at least not easily. “Ishi…. If I raise my leg up toward you, can you lean down and pull my pant leg up to your hands with your teeth?”

  “Are you shitting me?” he asked incredulously, ready to fall back into despair.

  “No, I’m serious,” I assured him. “As serious as I’ve ever been, Ishi. You can do this—don’t give up hope. Don’t give up without trying. If this works, we can be out of here in a matter of minutes….”

  I had been lifting my leg and positioning my body to get it close enough to him, beginning to believe it might work…. But then I noticed something crawling on my shoe.

  “Shit!” I hissed, as much from fear as annoyance. “Ishi…. Do you think you can brush that sucker off my shoe, without angering it?”

  “What do you mean? Ah, hell, Boss—that’s a tarantula!” he said, pushing himself away from my leg.

  I should probably add here that while I’ve often dealt with sticky webs and spiders of all kinds in my line of work, it takes every ounce of concentration for me not to freak out around them. Mind over matter has worked well in that regard—especially when high dollar treasures are there for the taking…. However, without that incentive, my bravery readily melts away and the pitiful display of a grown man acting like a terrified little girl is often the result of my severe arachnophobia.

  Spiders scare the holy be-Jesus out of me!

  It didn’t even need to be a big spider to send me scurrying about, slapping at myself in a bruising frenzy to kill the little monster. But a large furry arachnid with a body the size of my fist, and getting dangerously close to advancing up my leg—either above or below my jeans’ cuff?... It was all I could do to not scream.

  Remaining calm and collected was beyond critical at this point. I fought to keep my head—literally.

  “Nick… stay relaxed and don’t make any sudden movements,” Mayta advised, her voice soft but commanding. “It won’t hurt you if you remain calm.”

  The little vermin stopped for a moment as if listening to her, and then resumed its course, sticking one of its legs underneath the cuff, the bastard’s prickly foot sticking to my sock. I might not be the most religious person on the planet, but I threw every Hail Mary, the Lord’s Prayer, and a few Buddhist hymns in a frantic torrent of silent shrieks heavenward for the little shithead to withdraw its unwelcome paw and travel on top of my jeans instead. Meanwhile, valuable time to mount an escape from this place was being lost….

  “Now… you guys need to work together,” she continued, her tone as smooth as a hypnotist. “Ishi… can you move closer to Nick, please?”

  “No,” he said, drawing a sharp look from me. He was cringing in horror that even astounded me. Is this the wuss I look like? “I hate spiders too… sorry, Boss.”

  “Which is worse… this or getting your skin peeled off your skull to make a nice little Ishi-head for your dear auntie in Honduras to learn about someday?” I asked, suddenly feeling more bravado than I expected. But a damned spider bite would be a helluva lot easier to recover from then becoming a pair of headless treasure hunters.

  He glared at me as if my barb was unwarranted, but I could almost see the wheels churning inside his head. When the reality of what we would soon face sunk in, he inched toward me, turning his right side toward my left leg and reaching his hands toward our furry friend that had frozen as if unsure of the Tawankan’s intent.

  “Okay… just raise your foot up, little guy,” I coaxed the spider quietly, praying for a small miracle. As if it had second thoughts it withdrew its leg and appeared ready to abandon its course. I began to release a tense breath I was holding inside… and then the tarantula suddenly ran up my leg toward my knee. “Ahh, damn it! Shit—help me Ishi!”

  Whether or not Ishi was ready for me, I swung my leg toward him, grimly certain the furry critter would bolt up my pants toward my torso. An excruciatingly embarrassing moment awaited us all if that were to happen. But just before the spider was about to turn the corner on my knee and continue up my thigh, Ishi stretched his hand through the rope restraining his arms and flicked the spider off me with his fingers.

  “Whew!” I said, releasing yet another breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. But we weren’t done quite yet with our contest with the ornery arachnid. It began to crawl warily toward me again from where it landed, less than five feet away. “Quick, Ishi—grab the cuff with your teeth and pull me towards you!”

  Without waiting for his response, I swung my leg up higher and over toward him, temporarily blinding me to the spider’s presence as my ass faced its approach. It would be most unfortunate if this effort failed and Ishi and I had to try and repeat this maneuver. But somehow he caught the cuff with his mouth, nearly pulling my leg out of my hip socket while grabbing at my sock and yanking out shin hairs to get the knife.

  More prayers and gritting my teeth to not pull back.

  “I got it!” he enthused, securing the knife.

  My little buddy happens to be quite skilled with working in tight places, and he managed to slice his bonds away within a minute. Then he moved on to me.

  “I hear voices… they sound like they’re coming from near the entrance to the treasure room,” I whispered, while Ishi freed Mayta from her bonds. “I bet they’ll be back in just a few minutes… maybe sooner.”

  I glanced around me, not seeing the tarantula. I gingerly brushed where my fingers could reach and prayed it wasn’t creeping where they couldn’t touch.

  “I saw one of the warriors carry something in that direction,” said Mayta, pointing opposite from the entrance our guards had taken—which I had assumed was the only route to enter or exit this particular cave. “He hasn’t come back. Knowing the superstitions of my ancestors, I doubt he would go back there and stay… there must be another way to get in and out of the cave system.”

  It made sense… or we could try hiding in the treasure room in hopes that Shuratu believed we had escaped and then he and his band of merry men would return to the surface to look for us.

  “That won’t work,” Mayta chided me, when I ventured toward the exit to peer into the other cavern. “Have you not learned anything about the ancient magic of my people? Shuratu will easily find us if we stay anywhere around here—surely you have seen enough to know he has the advantage.”

  She pointed to the floating bodies of the people we were commissioned to save, and would now have to abandon to certain death. I felt horrible inside, and told myself that perhaps we could return with a local police force to rescue them in the next day or so. A well-intentioned thought that felt totally hollow.

  “We need to leave now!” she urged, as more voices resounded near where the others had come from. The language was foreign to me, and the timbre much higher than Shuratu’s voice, although it was just a matter of time before he would come looking for the next candidate for a new shrunken head on his belt. “I’ll lead the way.”

  So, we set out to follow Mayta in hopes this was our best choice. But as we prepared to follow the earlier path of the Jivaro warrior who hadn’t returned, my head bumped into the shoeless foot of
Dr. Pierce’s youngest daughter. Her body moved above me, bobbing lightly as it floated, and a slight moan escaped her throat.

  What in the hell?

  “Did you hear that, Boss… Mayta?” asked Ishi.

  Mayta said nothing, but the torn look on her face matched the feeling in my heart.

  If the young girl awakened, as seemed likely, not only would she panic, but she would also abort our chances of getting a significant head start on our Jivaro captors. Worse, she might take my place as the first victim of Shuratu’s dawn to dusk ceremony of death.

  As fate would have it, we couldn’t leave… at least not yet.

  Chapter Eleven

  Before doing anything direly foolish, I crept up to the entryway separating us from the voices in the other cavern. Difficult to say for certain, but it appeared that the treasure room lay empty at present. The voices we heard came from a trio of Jivaro warriors gathered near the other entrance to the immense room. They stood in the initial cavern we had moved through shortly after entering the cave system from outside.

  Perhaps they waited for the arrival of Shuratu or were reluctant to enter the treasure room without permission… or maybe it was nothing like that. Regardless, we had another minute or two to make a decision on what to do about the little girl.

  She was our focus, as both Mayta and I held out hope the others would survive a while longer in their comatose state. Based only on a gut feeling—in this case Mayta’s—all seventeen had been floating in this small cavern for at least a week and likely longer. What were the chances their lives would end that day as opposed to any other day that had passed since their suspended incarceration began? The only wildcard I could see was Shuratu’s anger when he found the three of us had left with one of his sleeping captives.

  “Nick, you need to think this through, man,” said Ishi, crouching next to me as I observed the trio in the distance, roughly sixty meters away by my guess. “He said he is going to sacrifice everyone from dawn to dusk… remember? And, if we take the little girl? …That’s some serious shit, Boss.”