Curse of Atlantis

by Petersen, Christopher David

  "If I had to guess... probably around fifty feet," Javier replied, giving an average. "Jack, where are you going with this?"

  "When you look at the crystal globe, we know that Kythira is the home of Atlantis because of the pitch fork symbol they embedded in the center of island. We all just assumed that that was the actual location of the city and the pyramid, but what if it wasn't? What I mean to say is, that symbol lays across the island, south to north... or visa versa. We're guessing that the center of the pitch fork is the exact location of the city," Jack explained.

  "And you're suggesting that it's not?"

  "I'm not sure... If they made the symbol small enough to pinpoint the exact location of the pyramid, wouldn't it be so small, you'd lose it in the detail of the globe?"

  "Possibly," Javier replied, still skeptical.

  "Well, I'm thinking they made it large enough to be seen with the naked eye and just assumed anyone who examined the globe would already know where the city existed. After all, it was the most opulent and well known city in the world at that time, wasn’t it?"

  "According to the scrolls... yes," Javier agreed, simply.

  "Well, if the city laid somewhere along the length of the symbol at its farthest points, the city could be located along the north or the southern coast, couldn't it?

  "Yes... actually it could," Javier replied, now listening closely to Jack's words.

  "And if the ancient city was built somewhere along the coast, all it would take is an 'average' tsunami to wipe it out, wouldn’t you say?" Jack said rhetorically. "Once we take that long shot of the five hundred foot tsunami out of the equation and replace it with a more believable scenario, it only leaves two locations on the island to search."

  "Kapsali and Avlemonas!” Javier said, enthusiastically. “That’s great detective work, Jack. Let's concentrate on those two areas."

  "Will do," Jack replied, feeling proud of his contribution to the search.

  Concentrating their search now around the two cities, Jack flew grid patterns while Javier snapped more photos and video. After nearly four hours of flying, Jack began to feel frustrated. Looking back to Javier, he said, “So how big do you think this pyramid is, anyway?”

  “I’m guessing no larger than five hundred feet, but it could be a lot smaller. There’s no way of telling, though. Pyramids from around the world were built in various shapes and sizes. What makes this even more difficult is the fact that this is the first time anyone knew one from Atlantis even existed. There’s just no telling what we’ll find… or if we’ll even find it,” Javier said, quickly turning his head and looking out the window once more.

  Jack could hear the subtle sounds of desperation in his voice. For the previous four hours, Jack had watched Javier’s demeanor slowly change and now, as they were about to head back to the airport, worry and doubt crept into the corner of his eyes. With his head turned away, Jack watched as Javier wiped his face.

  “Javi, I know we’ll find that pyramid. Look at how small this island is. I could throw a dime out the window right now and find it tomorrow. Let’s head back to the hotel and review the data. Once we study all the films, I’m sure we’ll find something,” Jack said, optimistically.

  Javier turned toward Jack, his eyes red and teary.

  “You’re right, Jack. This island is too small to lose a pyramid. It’s out there somewhere, buried under one of those mountains,” Javier said, pointing south toward Kalamos. “Let’s get back and review the data. It might just be staring us in the face and we simply don’t see it because we’ve been at this too long,” he added, now feeling encouraged.

  Jack gave Javier an approving nod, then signaled the pilot to head back home. Ten minutes later, they descended past the mountainous terrain that seemed to cradle the airport, touching down on the dust-covered runway. Moments later, as they taxied to general parking, Jack watched as Javier stared out the window and contemplated their next move, his sadness now replaced by determination.

  ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

  The home was small, but comfortable. With the help from Burt Samuelson, Javier and Jack had made prior arrangements to stay a local resident’s vacation home on Kythira while they were away. Nestled in the center of the tiny island, the dry desert-like landscape near the house took on the feel of parts of southern California that Jack had visited while in college years before.

  Seated outside around an old patio table and chairs, the balmy eighty-degree air felt good as the two studied the videos and pictures from the day. After nearly three hours of work, the exhaustion from lack of sleep and stress began to take its toll. The harder they worked, the less effective they became, until Jack had had enough.

  “Jack, look at this photo. Do you see anything unusual about this area?” Javier asked while pointing.

  Jack looked at the image of a broken ridgeline. He compared it to other features in the surrounding area. Back and forth, his eyes scanned and soon, his mind became confused.

  “Javi, I hate to say this, but I think I need some sleep. All the data is starting to look the same to me,” Jack said, with obvious guilt in the tone of his voice. “I must have looked at that photo a hundred times and still don’t see anything out of place.”

  “It’s ok, Jack, I’m exhausted too. Maybe we better get some sleep and start fresh tomorrow. I’ll be in shortly. I just need to look at this video one more time,” Javier said, motioning for Jack to go inside.

  “Javi, you realize you look almost as bad as I do, right?” Jack said, humorously.

  “I understand your inference, Jack, but it’s hard for me to give up when I think of Serena in the hands of those thugs,” Javier responded.

  Sitting back down, Jack said with a smile, “Well, if you’re staying, so am I.”

  “Thanks Jack, I really appreciate the help,” he replied sincerely.

  Two hours later, both men yawned routinely as they struggled to stay away. Leaning back in his chair, Javier closed his eyes momentarily. In an instant, he began to snore.

  “Javi… Javi,” Jack said, loudly.

  “I’m awake,” Javier said, his eyes springing open as he snapped back to attention.

  “I think that’s the point… you shouldn’t be awake. We’ve been going at this for nearly eighteen hours and that’s after we’ve had only a few hours of sleep in three days. I think it’s time to sleep. What do you say?” Jack said, sounding determined.

  “I’d answer you, but I think it would only come out sounding like a snore,” Javier joked mildly, the first time since Serena’s kidnapping.

  Closing his laptop, Javier stood and stretched. Within minutes of stumbling into bed, he was snoring once more. Jack listened to the rattle that roared through the wall of his bedroom, momentarily distracting him from his own sleep. With his mind shutting down, the noise seemed to drift far away and suddenly, he too fell into a deep sleep.

  ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

  Jack eyes popped open. All was eerily quiet inside the small rustic home. Checking his watch, he noticed the time: 4:12am. He listened for a moment, then sat up. Outside his bedroom, he saw a faint light that seeped in through his bedroom doorway. Quietly, he slipped out of bed and made his way to the door. Peering through the opening, the light grew in intensity.

  He opened the door and tiptoed out into the hallway. A few steps later, he stopped at the entrance to the living room. To his surprise, there seated on the couch, was Javier. With his laptop in hand, Jack watched as he clicked on one photo after another.

  Suddenly, Jack noticed Javier’s shoulders rocking slightly. Jack craned his ear in Javier’s direction. Softly, sadly, he could hear the unmistakable sounds of weeping. He wanted to offer some consoling words, but knew they would only come out sounding hollow and contrived. Backing away slowly, he left Javier to grieve alone.

  As slipped quietly back to his room, he heard the sound of a cell phone ringing. He craned his head and listened to Javier’s broken voice.

  “Hi Honey… no, nothing y
et,” he heard Javier say to Berta through his tears.

  Chapter 9

  Jack woke feeling tired. The five hours of sleep barely compensated for the lack of sleep he’d had in the previous night, let alone the exhaustion he felt from stress and jet lag. As he stumbled out of bed and into the main room of the house, he stopped short. There in the same position as the night before was Javi, still clutching his laptop.

  Jack looked up at the clock on the wall. It read 7:08am. Mentally calculating the time Javier could have slept, Jack realized Javier couldn’t have gotten more than three hours of sleep.

  “My God, Javi. Please tell me you got some sleep last night,” Jack protested mildly.

  “I got enough,” he replied blandly.

  “I saw you up late last night. Did you sleep on the couch all night?”

  “Yeah, it was fairly comfortable,” Javier replied, ignoring Jack’s inquiry.

  Jack considered pressing the issue further but then reconsidered. He knew Javier was suffering and knew any discussion over his lack of sleep wouldn’t change his position. He was a desperate man and as such, he would put himself through whatever he needed to, in order to overcome the obstacles.

  Seeing the worry spread across Javier’s face so early in the morning, Jack felt deep sympathy. Javier was in trouble and he knew the best he could do to help his friend would be to help lighten the load, whatever that load may be.

  “So, what are we looking at today? Are we searching by air again today or are we footing it?” Jack asked.

  “After looking at the video clip and photos, I saw some sites around the Kapsali region that looked promising, so that’s where we’ll be spending the next couple of days… on foot.”

  “Are you sure you’re up for this? That’s some really rugged terrain out there and you’ve barely had any sleep in days.”

  “My daughter’s life’s on the line, Jack… I’ll manage,” he said, solemnly.

  Jack could see the determination in his tired eyes. There would be no stopping him. He shot Javier a reassuring smile and said, “Ok, Javi, but if you get tired out there or need some help with lugging something, don’t be too proud to ask.” He paused a moment, then continued, “I’ll get our packs together and then call around for the driver to get us in close.”

  “After reviewing the photos, it looks like there’s some jeep trails out there that might be able to get us within a couple miles of our targets,” Javier said.

  “And how many targets are we talking about here?” Jack asked, now growing concerned.

  “Well, if I’m figuring this right, I’m ruling out any land less than six hundred feet in elevation. So, that leaves nine targets on the lower half of the island just north of Kapsali and seven targets on the upper half of the island near the Avlemonas,” Javier said.

  “Ok, so we have roughly sixteen targets to search. How long do you think it will take?”

  “One target per day,” Javier said grimly.

  “Oh My God! Javi, that could take over two weeks.”

  “Yeah, and that’s IF we don’t run into any complications,” he responded, anxiety evident in his voice.

  “What kind of complications are we talking about?”

  “Weather, equipment, permissions. There’s always something that’ll slow you down. Nothing ever goes as planned,” Javier replied, sounding exasperated.

  “So we could be out there for at least three weeks or more?” Jack now speculated.

  “Jack, I hate to tell you but that would be great if it ONLY took that long. There are searches that take years and still turn up nothing,” he said, his tone now grave.

  “Wow, this really sucks,” Jack said loudly, “Poor Serena. I wish I could tell her to not give up hope.”

  “I know,” Javier said, swallowing his emotions, “If I could just talk to her and let her know everything will be alright…”

  Javier stopped himself in mid-sentence. The sound of his own words sickened him. He knew he couldn’t promise anything. He knew the probability of finding the pyramid was less than encouraging. As tears welled in his eyes, he quickly pushed the destructive thoughts out of his mind and refocused his energy on important matters.

  “Let’s make this happen, Jack,” he said, his anger and sadness now driving him to action.

  With a simple nod, Jack understood the depth of Javier’s statement. The present day and the days that followed would make the difference between life and death. Serena’s world rested solely in their hands. Nothing short of their all, could save her.

  ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

  Jack waited outside the small home with their supplies for the day. Lying on the ground was their equipment: backpacks, water bottles, data collection equipment, reference materials, as well as his homemade radar device. Looking at the packs, Jack laughed out loud at their sizes. Javier’s was very small and light. Jack’s was large and heavy.

  Stepping out of the home, Javier stood next to Jack and waited for the driver to arrive. Looking down at the packs, he smiled at their lopsided proportions.

  “Jack, I think you forgot to pack my backpack,” Javier said jokingly, then added, “You know, I may be old, but I can still pull my own weight.”

  “Javi, we have at least sixteen days of hiking to do. Have you seen how rugged that terrain is out there?” Jack asked rhetorically. “We’d have way more success if you could concentrate on finding clues instead of worrying about collapsing from exhaustion and heat prostration.”

  “Thanks, Jack. To be honest, I’m really not looking forward to crawling around out there in ninety-degree temperatures.”

  “Of course, you could always look on the bright side,” Jack replied.

  “And what’s that?”

  “This is the perfect time to get in shape. You can now start that diet and exercise program you’ve always talked about,” Jack teased, hoping to improve Javier’s mental state.

  “I’ve never talked about one, and by the way, 'round' is a shape,” Javier joked.

  “Well… how can I argue with that kind of logic?”

  Javier was about to respond, when the two heard the sound of a car coming up the long dirt driveway. As it rounded a corner, and drove into the clear, both men stood in shock. Moments later, the dilapidated, fifties vintage Range Rover pulled up next to them. With its top cut off and the doors removed, the young driver jumped out and introduced himself.

  “Hi, I’m Darrien,” the young man said in a heavy Greek accent. “I’ll be your tour guide for the next few weeks,” he added jokingly.

  Darrien stood next to his car and smiled. Standing in at only five feet seven, he was short and thin with black curly hair.

  “I thought we upgraded to the stretch limo,” Jack replied, carrying the joke further.

  Looking back affectionately at his vehicle, Darrien said, “She may not look like much, but she’s reliable and can climb any mountain on this island.”

  “Good enough for me,” Javier responded dryly.

  Checking his watch, he immediately grew impatient with the passage of time. He reached down and picked up his pack. With a quick nod to Jack he said, “Shall we?”

  “After you. It might take me a while to get this to the car,” Jack responded with a smile, hoping to improve Javier’s saddened mood once more.

  Walking quickly to Jack’s side, Darrien said, “Let me help you with that, sir.”

  “By the way, Darrien, I’m Jack and this is Javi,” he said, pointing as Javier jumped into the front seat.

  “Very pleased to make your acquaintance,” Darrien said, now shaking Jack’s hand.

  Turning and facing Jack, Darrien asked in a hushed tone, “Sir, does the gentleman not care for me? He walked past without greeting me.”

  Leaning in and speaking quietly, Jack responded, “He’s an escaped murderer. I wouldn’t get on his bad side.”

  Darrien stiffened and glared at Javier for a moment, then back at Jack. With a smile, he replied, “Sir, you play a good joke.
”

  Jack smiled, then turned serious, “Actually Darrien, Javier is really a great guy, but he’s a little sad right now. There’s been a tragedy in his family, so he might seem a little distracted from time to time.”

  “I am sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?” Darrien asked, trying to be a gracious host.

  “Yeah, there is, now that you mention it. Have you ever heard of anyone spotting a pyramid on this island?” Jack asked.

  “A pyramid? You mean like the Egyptians?” Darrien laughed, not taking the comment seriously.

  “That’s exactly what I mean,” Jack replied stoically.

  Darrien’s smile faded as he searched Jack’s eyes for truth. With a simple shake of his head, he said, “I’m sorry, sir. There have been artifacts found on this island, but nothing that looked like a pyramid.”

  “Darrien, I’m not talking about an artifact you can hold in your hand. I’m talking about a large pyramid made of stone, piled five hundred feet high?”

  Staring at Jack in disbelief, he finally spoke, “Is this what you have hired me for, for the next three weeks?”

  “You’re not going to run away, are you,” Jack joked, then said in a serious tone, “The fact is, we’re desperate to find this hidden pyramid. If you have any information about it, it could mean the difference between someone living and someone dying.”

  “Is this the sadness you speak of?” Darrien asked.

  “Yes… it is,” Jack replied, “I won’t bore you with the details right now, but suffice it to say, we didn’t come here for luxurious rides through the countryside.”

  “I will do my best to help,” Darrien said, resolutely.

  With a simple nod, Jack reached down and hauled his pack up onto his shoulder. Looking down at his radar device, Darrien quickly took the hint, grabbed it and followed Jack to the car.

  With the equipment stowed, the three made their way out of the village and headed south toward Kapsali on the southern tip of the island.

  ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

  Traveling through the central region of the island, Jack admired the countryside with its desert feel and rugged terrain. Sitting in the rear seat with the top permanently removed, he had a commanding view as they drove. With each turn of the narrow dusty road, new sights popped into view. From brown grasses and desert scrub brush, to craggy valleys and rolling rocky mountains, the varying sights and sounds helped to relieve the stress of the ever-growing pressure to do the impossible.