by Rick Poldark
Peter paced back and forth, mulling over all possible permutations, straining his brain for a real plan. He stopped pacing and met Jason’s eyes. “I guess you’re right. She’ll try to manipulate us any way she can, play on our emotions. More specifically, our fears. It’s what she does.”
“We can’t give in to her,” agreed Jason. “Remember, whatever she presents as will be an illusion.”
“Absolutely. I think if we hold on to that simple truth, we should be able to resist her and stay focused.”
They both looked at the entrance across the river.
“Okay,” said Jason. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter 13
Peter closed his eyes and felt for any life in the river. He sensed a few species of fish, but no large predators. They walked a bit north and waded into the river. They swam across, the current bending their trajectory, placing them just a bit south of the temple entrance on the other side.
They walked up to the entrance and exchanged nervous glances.
“Are you ready?” asked Jason.
Peter nodded, his expression grave. Truthfully, he was terrified beyond all belief, but he figured fear was healthy. It would keep him alert, prevent him from taking anything for granted. “Remember, until she’s freed from her prison, we have the advantage. We have the orbs, but she’ll try to trick us. She’s very good at it.”
Jason gave a solemn nod. “Got it. We’ll have to help each other. If she tries to fool one of us, the other has to be his anchor to reality.”
Peter nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”
They entered the mouth of the cave and were immediately engulfed in darkness. Peter didn’t need to close his eyes to focus. He reached out to sense Mary and Tracey. “I can feel them. They’re beneath us, a level down.”
Jason produced a small flashlight. “I can’t feel jack squat.”
“That’s good,” said Peter. “That means no zombies this time.”
Up ahead was an open doorway, the room beyond it dimly lit. The light came from the ceiling of the cavern, and in the middle of the room sat what looked like the top of a large, leafless tree growing out of the floor. “Look,” said Jason.
“I see it,” said Peter. “Let’s be careful.”
They walked up to the doorway, careful not to cross the threshold. They inspected it carefully. Peter looked for any kind of crude mechanical trap while Jason checked the ground for prints.
“I don’t see any obvious traps,” said Peter.
Jason squatted down, looking at the floor within the room. He swept his flashlight beam back and forth. “There’re prints. Two sets.”
Peter nodded “Mary and Tracey. Nazimaa’s a ghost, so she wouldn’t leave tracks.”
“Looks like the ladies walked in here,” said Jason. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Nazimaa can probably control them. I think it’s safe to step inside.”
“You first,” said Jason, making a sweeping gesture with his right hand.
Peter huffed. “Typical.” He stepped into the room, bracing himself for projectiles, trap doors, and whatnot. However, much to his relief, nothing happened.
Jason stepped into the room and looked around. It appeared to be a natural cave located within the cliffs. “Check this out.” He pointed his flashlight at crude cave paintings depicting large apes in various poses. Some depicted families composed of a large male, smaller female, and a few young. The young were painted in lighter colors.
Peter remembered a late-night nature show on television asserting that the young had lighter fur so the adults could better keep track of them. When they reached a certain age, their fur darkened.
Peter and Jason walked the perimeter of the cavern, taking in the paintings. The colorful scenes covered the walls.
“Look.” Peter pointed at a depiction of several of the male apes (he guessed by their size and musculature) engaging in battle with green figures with tails and flared dewlaps. They clutched spears and threw rocks. “They fought the Zehhaki.”
Jason passed Peter and stood in front of a depiction larger in scale than the others. “This must be the Simian King.”
Peter caught up to him and saw exactly what Jason referred to. There was a throng of apes—male, female, and juvenile—all arranged in a semi-circle around a prominent ape, who stood alone at the center. He was slightly larger, clutching a club. He was a king holding court.
Peter turned to investigate the tree. It rose up, practically to the ceiling, where a hole in the center must’ve led up to the surface, as some sunlight passed through into the room.
“How long do you think that shaft is?” asked Jason.
“Those cliffs go up about fifty feet.” Peter reached out to touch one of the tree branches. The wood was rough and hard.
Jason reached out and grabbed Peter by the arm, pulling him back.
“What?”
Jason pointed down. There was a large gap in the floor through which the top of the tree passed. The trunk and branches appeared to descend down to another level.
Peter ran his fingers along the bark of a branch. “This wood is petrified. This tree must be ancient.”
Jason looked around the room, which was about one hundred feet across. “I don’t see any other doorways.”
Peter peered down into the hole. “I think we’re supposed to climb down.”
Jason sneered. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He shone his flashlight down.
Peter arched an eyebrow. “Hey, this temple was built by apes. Apes swing from trees. It’s how they get around.”
Jason peered down into the hole. “Yeah, well, I hope you know how to climb.”
“How hard can it be?”
Jason slapped him on the back. “That’s the spirit!” He stuck his small flashlight into his mouth and bit down. He leaned forward over the hole, reached out, and grabbed onto a branch. He swung over the hole, legs dangling. He switched his hands on the branch, turning to face Peter.
Peter smirked. “That’s a good look for you. Natural.”
“Ha, ha,” he said, mouth full. “Get your ass out here. We’re climbing down.” Jason swung a leg up onto the branch he grasped. He pulled himself up so that he lay face down on the branch, balancing his body.
Peter took a few steps to the left, leaned over the hole, and grabbed onto a branch. He tried to swing out over the hole, but his grip wasn’t tight and his body weight pulled him down. He dropped into the hole, crying out as he fell, and he landed hard on a branch below.
Jason took his flashlight out of his mouth with one hand while holding onto the branch with his other hand. “Peter! Are you all right?”
Peter gasped for air, moaning. The wind had been knocked out of him.
“Stay there. I’ll come get you.” Jason placed the flashlight back in his mouth and swung down, his legs dangling. He stretched his feet until they touched a branch below. He moved, hand over hand, until his feet were solidly on the branch. He walked his way towards the trunk and leaned his body up against it.
“It’s dark down here,” said Peter, sounding hoarse.
Jason pulled his flashlight out of his mouth. “Don’t move. I’m coming down to get you.” Jason shoved the light back in his mouth and lowered himself until he crouched on the branch. There was another one directly in front of him, but further down. He braced himself, leaned forward, and kicked out. He fell and caught the branch beneath him, the rough bark biting into his skin. He swung back and forth from the momentum of his jump.
Peter turned his body sideways, balancing himself on the branch. He looked around. Beneath him the trunk vanished into shadow, but there definitely appeared to be another level.
Jason swung down to another branch and shimmied his way out to where Peter lay on his stomach, his arms wrapped around his petrified branch.
Jason took the flashlight out of his mouth. The taste of metal lingered on his tongue. “Are you okay?”
“I think I broke a rib,” croa
ked Peter.
“Okay, I’m going to help you.” He looked down, shining his flashlight around. “A couple more branches and there’s a floor. We can make it. We’ll take it one branch at a time.”
Peter’s hands were sweaty. He wiped them on his pants, doing his best to dry them. He didn’t want to slip and fall. It hurt when he inhaled, so he took shallow breaths. His anxiety didn’t help his breathing or his palms.
“There’s a branch right under mine. Do you see it?” Jason shone the light on it.
Peter nodded.
“Good. You’re going to hold onto your branch tight and lower yourself until you’re hanging. I want you to swing across and grab onto me. Wrap your arms and legs around me.”
Peter shook his head. “I…I can’t. Too hard.”
Jason smiled at him. “Nah, you can do it. Just like swinging on the monkey bars at school. You did have a jungle gym at your school, right?”
Peter shook his head. “Not really. I was more of a freeze tag guy.”
Jason’s face fell. “Well, you’re going to do what I said, just how I said it. Grab onto me until your feet touch the branch below and you can steady yourself.”
Peter shook his head. “I can’t. I can’t do it. I’ll fall.”
Jason shook his head. “All right. Forget that. I have a better idea.” He shone his light around beneath Peter. “I want you to hang down.”
“Hang down?” It hurt to talk.
“Yeah, just hold on and hang there. I have an idea.”
“I hang there, and then what?”
“The floor isn’t that far away. It’s actually pretty close.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Peter nodded and shifted his body weight, sliding off the tree branch. He gripped the rough bark tightly this time and hung from the branch.
Jason looked down at him. “Sorry.”
Peter’s expression was quizzical. “For what?”
Jason fell backwards off his branch, grabbed it with his hands, and swung into Peter, kicking him with both feet. Peter lost his grip and fell inward, landing on the hard ground, narrowly avoiding the hole where the rest of the tree trunk emanated from. He wailed in pain as he felt several of his bones break. His head swam and his ears rang. He closed his eyes, focusing on his orb, harnessing its power to heal himself. He felt his multiple fractures heal and his tissues mend. The pounding headache subsided and the ringing in his ears ceased. When he opened his eyes, Jason was standing over him looking sheepish.
“What the hell was that?” asked Peter, his tone accusatory.
Jason extended a hand. “Let me help you up.”
Peter took it, and Jason helped pull him to standing. Peter brushed himself off. When he saw Jason’s grin, he lost control. He swung and decked his friend.
Jason reeled; his head snapped back. He righted himself, rubbing his jaw. “You pack quite a punch for a nerd.”
“That hurt, you jerk.”
Jason shrugged, smiling. “I had to get you down somehow without you falling into the hole below. I figured you’d heal yourself. No harm, no foul.”
“Yeah, well it still hurt.”
They looked around the cavern they stood in. Jason shone his light around. The tree trunk disappeared into another hole in the floor. It was pitch black inside, and a chilly breeze of stale air wafted out.
Jason swept his light around the cavern. Like the cavern above, this one also appeared to be naturally formed. The river outside likely once flowed through here, carving out the cave system they stood in. He startled when he saw seven-foot tall apes looming in the shadows. His hand went to his knife as he braced himself.
Peter chortled. “They’re statues. They won’t hurt you.”
Jason relaxed. “That’s a relief.” He swept his beam of light across the statues. They lined each side of the cavern and appeared similar. Each wore armor made of bamboo and held a spear pointing straight up, the other end touching the ground. Their mouths hung open, baring sharp canine teeth.
“They look like warriors,” said Peter. He walked up to a statue and touched it. A thick layer of dust came off onto his fingertips. “They’re carved from stone.” He looked down and saw that the spear and right leg of the statue merged with a rectangular base. “Interesting.”
“What’s interesting?”
“As impressive as these statues are, they aren’t able to stand balanced on their own. They had to include a heavy base attached to one leg so the statue wouldn’t tip over.” Peter smiled. “The ancient Greeks were able to carve sculptures that were free-standing, but the Romans never mastered it.”
Jason stared at him, his expression blank.
Peter snickered. “What, you’ve never been to a museum?”
“No, but I can climb a tree.”
A hand reached out for Peter and grasped his shoulder. He jumped out of his skin, shrugging it off and shrinking back toward Jason, who drew his knife.
Jason shone the light directly in the creature’s face and saw two large, black eyes and a flared dewlap. “It’s a damned lizard man! They got here first!”
Peter saw the glint of a crystal ball in the creature’s other hand. “No, wait. It’s okay.”
“The hell it is,” snapped Jason, stepping in front of Peter, brandishing his hunting knife.
Peter stepped in front of Jason. “It’s Ghenga, the one that helped me. The one that told me about this place.”
Jason lowered his knife hand only a little, but his muscles were still tensed. “How the hell did he get down here?”
As if in answer, Ghenga held up clawed fingers and coiled his tail behind him.
“Relax,” said Peter. “Some lizards climb trees. Iguanas use their claws and tail to climb.” He stepped forward toward Ghenga, who swallowed, bobbing his dewlap.
“Peter, what are you doing?” Jason held his knife at the ready.
“I’m going to communicate. Watch.”
Ghenga extended the crystal ball to Peter, who placed his hand on top of it, establishing the neural link with the Zehhaki.
‘I am pleased to see you came.’
“We ran into some of your people, but we escaped. What are you doing here?” Peter answered out loud for Jason’s benefit.
‘I am here to help protect you against Nazimaa.’
Peter smiled. “We will need all the help we can get. She has our two friends.”
‘She is using them to make you free her.’
“Is there a way we can save them without freeing her?”
‘You are here to awaken Simians first.’
Peter had forgotten that was the whole reason Ghenga directed him to find this place. It was no longer necessary. Peter cursed himself, realizing he should’ve broken the link before allowing his mind to drift to that new development.
‘You must awaken Simians.’
“I must rescue my friends, first. Have you seen them?”
Ghenga exhibited a strange emotional display. He grew stiff and he extended his dewlap as far as it would go. ‘It is more important to wake the Simians.’
“How? How do I awaken them?”
‘First, you awaken their king. I will take you to his tomb.’
“Let me tell my friend.” Peter broke the connection with Ghenga. He walked over to where Jason stood at the ready and pulled him aside. He leaned in, “Something’s wrong.”
“You’re damned right something’s wrong. You’re talking to one of those things.”
“He’s demanding that I awaken the Simians, starting with their king.”
Jason scowled. “Well, tell him we’re not doing that anymore.”
“He doesn’t seem to want to listen.”
“We don’t have time for this,” said Jason. “Do you think he’ll help us or not?”
Peter turned and approached Ghenga again, who stood there, watching them talk with his large black pools for eyes. Peter placed his hand atop the crystal orb again.
&nb
sp; ‘Will you awaken Simians now?’
“Will you help us save our friends? They’re somewhere within this temple. Nazimaa has them.”
‘Stay away from Nazimaa. Awaken the Simians.’
Peter shook his head. “If my friends are in danger, I can’t stay away. Will you help us?”
Ghenga pondered the dilemma for a moment. ‘Yes. I will help you, and then you will awaken the Simians.’
“Okay,” said Peter. He removed his hand from the crystal, severing the neural link. He wasn’t entirely sure how to handle this. He really was here for Tracey and Mary. They had another method of dealing with the Zehhaki, but Peter was very careful not to let that notion enter his mind. Somehow, he didn’t think Ghenga would approve of the hunter using the death orb to render his entire race extinct. In fact, that outcome was precisely what Ghenga was trying to avoid.
Peter was riddled with ambivalence. Ghenga wasn’t like the others. He seemed reasonable and sincere. Surely, there must’ve been other Zehhaki like him. Peter suddenly felt guilty about what he and Jason were going to attempt. Good or bad, the Zehhaki hadn’t asked to be reawakened, thrust into a world that had moved on without them. Then again, did they really belong here at this moment in time?
Peter knew that Charles Darwin rejected the notion of progression. Rather, he saw evolution as each species being best adapted to their environment. It didn’t matter if the organism was single celled or as complex as humans. The Zehhaki, and the Simians for that matter, had been selected for extinction many moons ago. In nature, species modify, they don’t go extinct and suddenly return through artificial means. Then again, in this place, in this dimension, Peter wondered if the laws of evolution even applied.
Jason was growing impatient. “So, what’s the story? Time’s a wasting.”
Peter didn’t want to get into the moral-ethical dilemma before them. “He’ll help us. He knows Nazimaa better than either of us.” Which was curious, as in his ventures into the Zehhaki temple and lair, he saw no reference to her, positive or negative. Then again, he hadn’t spent as much time with the Zehhaki as he had the Umazoa, who also didn’t reference her. Like Native American tribes, they prayed to multiple nature-based deities, and there were some they feared. The Umazoa didn’t speak of those, likely out of some established taboo, so Peter hadn’t learned much about them.