Return To Primordial Island

by Rick Poldark

  Jason nodded. “Okay, which way do we go?”

  They all looked around. Ghenga, not comprehending their discussion, watched them. Then, picking up on the fact they were searching for a door, he joined them, running his clawed hands along the stone walls of the cavern.

  Peter inspected the ape statues, tugging on spears and arms, looking for a mechanical lever of some sort. Jason inspected the ground. “Peter, I found something.”

  Peter looked away from a statue he was investigating. “What is it?”

  “I think I found the girls’ prints.” He pointed with his finger. He walked slowly and cautiously, following them to the west wall of the cavern. “The prints end here.”

  “Then there must be a secret door,” said Peter.

  Jason traced his fingertips around the wall. “There’s a faint painting of what looks like the Simian King depicted in the painting. If there’s a door here, the edges must be seamless.”

  Peter started tugging more parts of the statues. He tried to shove one to see if it moved, but it was too heavy. Ghenga, realizing what he was doing, slipped his crystal orb into a pouch that hung from his belt and joined him, throwing his back into it. Peter saw the muscles in the Zehhaki’s arms and legs flex, and he was surprised when the statue actually moved.

  Jason wheeled around, responding to the sound of the statue’s stone base grinding against the floor. “Brilliant!”

  Peter and Ghenga pushed the statue until it swiveled, facing where Jason stood. After it wouldn’t swivel any more, Peter and Ghenga stopped pushing. Sweating, Peter wiped his brow with his forearm, while the enlightened Zehhaki didn’t appear fazed.

  “Maybe to open the secret door we need to face all of the statues towards this area,” offered Jason. “Just like in the cave painting.”

  Peter smiled. “I was thinking the exact same thing.”

  They teamed up, swiveling the heavy stone statues one-by-one until they all faced the spot where the tracks ended. It was grueling work, and Peter’s back began to complain. When they finished moving the last statue into place, there was the grinding of stone and an area in the floor began to sink.

  Peter, Jason, and Ghenga all ran up to the spot and saw the sinking stone form a staircase leading down.

  Peter elbowed Jason. “You’re getting sloppy. The door was in the floor.”

  Jason gawked in awe. “Amazing,” he gasped.

  Peter made a sweeping gesture with his hand towards the sunken staircase. “Your turn.”

  Jason nodded. He produced his flashlight, clicking it on, and unsheathed his knife. He cautiously descended the staircase one step at a time, shining the light down into the opening. Peter saw him vanish into the floor and decided to follow behind him. Ghenga followed behind Peter.

  Peter ducked his head to avoid smacking his skull on the ceiling, and he found Jason standing in a room about seventy-five feet long and fifty feet wide. When he reached the bottom, he noticed a large stone altar occupying the middle of the room. In the closest, right corner sat a fire bowl with a good-sized flame dancing in it, illuminating the room. On the wall to the right were three cave paintings depicting different figures. In the furthest right corner lay the corpse of a large ape. In the furthest left corner stood a pedestal holding a small statue.

  “What do you make of all this?” asked Jason, surveying the room. He switched his flashlight off to conserve the batteries, as the fire bowl produced enough light.

  Ghenga stepped into the room. Peter stepped aside to make way for him when his right foot began to sink. Panicked, he lifted it, but the stone continued to sink several inches into the floor. “Oops.”

  Jason turned to face him. He looked down at the sunken stone panel. “What did you do?”

  The grinding below partially masked grinding from above as a stone wheel slid across the exit to the cavern above, sealing them inside the room.

  Peter stood there looking sheepish. “I didn’t mean to…”

  Ghenga looked around, his dewlap bobbing. The fire bowl reflected in his massive black eyes as the flame danced.

  “Great,” said Jason. “Now we’re stuck.”

  Ghenga produced his crystal orb and held it out with both clawed hands. Peter placed his palm on top of it. “Ghenga, it would appear we’re trapped.”

  Ghenga swallowed several times. ‘We go forward.’

  Chapter 14

  Jason immediately strode to the opposite wall, running his fingers along it. “There’s a seam.” He traced it with his fingers. “There’s a secret door here.” He looked down at about waist level. He bent over, inspecting the stone. He blew dust out of a small hole. “This looks like…a keyhole.”

  Peter inspected the cave paintings on the wall to the right. He carefully wiped the dust away with his hand, causing some of it to go airborne. He sneezed, suddenly and loudly, startling Ghenga, who recoiled. The painting in the middle clearly depicted the Simian King. The one to its right depicted a female, as featured with large, bare breasts and a less muscled body. The painting to the left depicted a smaller ape, lighter in color, clad in bamboo armor—likely a juvenile. It held what appeared to be a torch. Peter figured it was the fire of youth, or something like that.

  He looked underneath the paintings. Directly below each was a small tablet representation of the painting above it held fast in crude metal brackets. Under each tablet was a keyhole. “I found three more keyholes,” said Peter, trying to tug the tablets free of their brackets. “They seem to unlock these tablets.”

  Jason was now standing over the large ape-like corpse in the corner. Although its frame was large, its flesh had atrophied and its skin was taut from desiccation. “We have a dead body here.”

  Peter’s head jerked in its direction. “Is it going to be a problem?”

  Jason closed his eyes, focusing. The death orb illuminated under his shirt, casting an icy blue light. His eyes opened. “No, it’s dead, as in the not-moving variety.”

  Peter turned to find Ghenga inspecting the altar in the center of the room. The Zehhaki was particularly interested in the massive hourglass sitting on top. He picked it up, shaking it, shifting the black sand sitting at the bottom. He made to turn it over, but Peter stopped him.

  Ghenga’s body stiffened. Peter shook his head. “No, not yet.”

  Ghenga placed the hourglass back onto the altar. He produced his crystal orb. Peter lay his right palm on it, re-establishing the neural link. “Not yet. Starting the timer may trigger something. I want to know everything we’re dealing with before we set anything in motion.”

  Ghenga didn’t answer. Rather, he backed away, bowing slightly in a gesture of deference.

  Peter clapped his hands, rubbing his palms together. “Okay, let’s think about this for a moment.”

  Jason shot him a look.

  Peter noticed. “What?”

  “Oh God,” said Jason. “You’re actually enjoying this.”

  Peter ignored the remark. He stepped back, surveying the room, his mind processing the materials before him. “I’m thinking we need to free the stone tablets under the cave paintings.”

  “Yeah, but what do we do with the tablets?” asked Jason. “I think we need to unlock this door here.”

  Peter nodded. “Yes, but we won’t just find the key.” When Jason answered his statement with a quizzical look, Peter chuckled. “We’ll have to free these tablets, which we’ll then use to reveal the key to that door. Trust me. I know how these things work.”

  Ghenga was inspecting the top of the altar. He ran his clawed fingers across the top.

  Peter saw this and joined him. He looked down and saw three depressions matching the size of the stone tablets locked up under the cave paintings. “Here. We have to place the tablets in these slots. That should reveal the key to unlock that secret door.”

  Jason looked at the altar and nodded. He then looked around the room. “Got it. What are we looking for?”

  “Anything that would reveal a key for
one of the tablets,” said Peter.

  They each split up, searching a different part of the room. Jason stood over the corpse of the ape man, studying it. Ghenga went to investigate the statue on the pedestal. Peter walked over to get a closer look at the fire bowl.

  Peter studied the fire bowl. “This fire bowl is empty. No logs, twigs, or any kind of discernable fuel. Yet, it burns.”

  “Maybe it’s a magic fire,” quipped Jason.

  “Maybe it is,” said Peter. He placed his right hand out over the fire palm down, and slowly lowered it. He felt heat on his palm. “It’s definitely hot.” He looked around, patting himself down, as if searching for something. He looked over at Jason. “Let me borrow your knife.”

  Jason looked over his shoulder, arching an eyebrow. “Why?”

  “I want to see if this fire is hot.”

  Jason turned away from the curious corpse and handed Peter his hunting knife, handle first. Peter took it and placed the large blade into the fire. Within seconds, the blade began to glow red. Peter removed the blade and quickly touched it with the tip of his index finger. He pulled it away quickly. “It’s definitely hot.” He handed the knife back to Jason.

  Ghenga was surveying the statue and the pedestal. Peter turned to see him touch the small figure, and it shifted, but it didn’t move off the pedestal. “Hold on a minute, Ghenga.”

  Ghenga backed away, clawed hands up.

  Peter crossed the room to get a better look. The statue was squat with curvy features. It appeared to depict large breasts and hips. “It’s a fertility statue,” said Peter. “Many cultures have them.” He cocked his head sideways, studying how it sat on the pedestal. After Ghenga touched it, it sat crooked and something protruded from the bottom. The protrusion appeared to disappear into the pedestal.

  “What do you have there?” asked Jason.

  “Either it’s going to lead us to a key, or it’s going to trigger a booby trap.”

  Jason came over to have a closer look. “It looks like the statue comes off, but it has to be lifted up.”

  Peter wiped sweat from his brow that wasn’t entirely due to the heat. His heart pounded inside his chest. “Okay, here goes nothing.” He looked to Jason for any objection, and the hunter offered none. Ghenga just watched them both, standing back.

  Peter reached out, grabbed the small fertility statue in his hands, and slowly pulled it up. He winced, anticipating anything from flying spears to poison gas. The statue lifted off the pedestal, revealing a long protuberance underneath its base. When Peter cleared the pedestal, he laughed out loud as he recognized the long, toothed structure beneath the statue. “Ladies and gentlemen, the first key.”

  Jason snatched the statue out of Peter’s hands, inverting it so the key pointed up. “Great, let’s open the secret door.” He walked over to the door, lined the key up with the keyhole using the statue as a handle, and attempted to insert the key. He tried to push, pulled it out, studied the key and then the hole, and tried to force the key in again. “It’s not working.”

  “I told you,” Peter smirked. He took the key from Jason and walked over to the three cave paintings. He stood in front of the one depicting the female ape. “I bet it unlocks this tablet.” He turned the statue in his hands, lining the key up with the keyhole beneath the stone tablet depicting the Simian female. He slid the key in and turned. The metal clamps holding the tablet snapped open, and Peter removed the tablet. “That’s one tablet.”

  “Brilliant,” gasped Jason.

  “Thank you,” said Peter, obviously pleased with himself. He walked the tablet over to the altar and lined it up with the slot opposite the cave painting of the Simian female. It fit perfectly. “One down, two to go.”

  They all started looking around the room again. Ghenga was particularly interested in the giant hour glass filled with the black sand, but he didn’t dare touch it.

  Peter looked between the corpse crumpled in the corner and the apparently magical fire. “We have a corpse, a fire…” he looked at Ghenga, “…and an hourglass.” He looked back at the cave paintings, studying them.

  “The young one is holding a torch,” said Jason. “That must have something to do with the fire. Maybe we need to make a torch?”

  They looked around the room. “There’s nothing to use as a torch,” said Peter. “No wood.”

  Jason snapped his fingers. He ripped the right sleeve of his shirt off and wrapped it around the blade of his hunting knife. He walked over to the fire bowl and shot Peter a dubious glance.

  Peter nodded. “Do it.”

  Jason placed the blade wrapped in fabric into the fire. His shirt sleeve ignited. He pulled it out and held it up. “Okay, now what?”

  “Hold it in front of the painting of the youth,” said Peter.

  Jason nodded and stepped in front of the painting. He held the torch up. “Now what?”

  Peter got right in front of the painting, investigating it up close.

  “What are you doing?” asked Jason.

  “I’m looking for hidden writing.” Peter pored over the cave wall, but there were no hidden messages revealed by the torch light.

  Jason adjusted his grip on the knife handle as the fabric burned away, falling away from the blade. “Hurry, it’s burning out.”

  Peter stepped back, getting a different perspective on the painting of the ape youth. “Hmmm…I don’t see anything…”

  Jason let the charred sleeve fall off the blade to the stone floor, where the fire extinguished, leaving behind a small puff of black smoke. “That’s it. Want me to make another one?”

  “Hold off,” said Peter, scratching the stubble on his chin contemplatively. “I need to figure this one out.”

  “While you do that, I’ll try and figure out the other clue.” Jason stepped in front of the center painting depicting the Simian King. He scratched his jaw, deep in thought. “There’s a corpse and a giant hour glass. Nothing in the paintings indicates time.” He walked back over to the corpse and squatted on his haunches. He inspected the ape warrior’s armor, made from bamboo. He fingered the individual shafts, searching for one that resembled a key.

  Peter momentarily regarded the corpse, but he saw Jason searching it. So, he turned his attention to the hour glass. “Time…” he muttered to himself. “The passage of time…”

  Jason stood up and moved the corpse. It was surprisingly light, after who knows how many decades or centuries of desiccation. There was no key behind the body. He stood back, stroking the stubble on his jawline, deep in thought. “There’s something wrong with his jaw. It looks crooked.”

  Peter, lost in his own ruminations, ignored the observation. Jason unsheathed his hunting knife and slid it into the ape’s mouth. It hit something hard inside. He smirked and pushed the knife in deeper, twisting the blade. He pried the mouth open, revealing sharp canine teeth, and reached inside. He pulled out a metal key. “I’ve got it!”

  Peter was jerked out of his private calculations. When he saw his friend holding the key, he smiled. “Nice work.”

  Jason brought the key over to the painting of the Simian King and inserted it into the keyhole beneath its corresponding tablet. He turned the key, and the metal brackets holding the tablet below snapped open. He grabbed the tablet and held it up. “Eureka.”

  “Put it in the middle slot on the altar,” said Peter, allowing his friend to do the honors.

  Jason strode triumphantly over to the altar and placed the tablet with the carving of the Simian King in the center slot. “Perfect fit.”

  “That leaves one more key for one more tablet,” said Peter. “The only clues remaining are the fire and the hour glass.”

  Peter and Jason stood over the hour glass. They each studied it from a different angle, while Ghenga looked on. Peter wondered how intelligent this ‘thinking’ lizard man actually was, as he didn’t offer much in the way of help in solving the puzzles.

  “Time,” said Jason. “Something the young have plenty of.”r />
  Peter looked him dead in the eye. “Do you think we should turn the hour glass over?”

  “I think we have to,” said Jason. “It’s a big hour glass. Maybe there’s a key in the sand at the bottom.”

  “I just hope it doesn’t set off a trap,” said Peter.

  “It’s not connected to any mechanism,” said Jason, lifting it off the altar.

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t rule out magic,” said Peter.

  “I don’t think we have any other option,” said Jason. “Unless you have any other ideas…”

  Peter shook his head. “Go ahead. Do it.”

  Jason sighed deeply, steeling himself, and turned the hourglass over as Peter grimaced and Ghenga cringed. The black sand began to run down. Jason placed it back on the altar and stepped away.

  They waited as the sand fell.

  “Do you really think this is going to take an hour?” asked Jason.

  “Possibly,” said Peter.

  “That’s a long time to wait,” said Jason. “Meanwhile, the girls are in danger.”

  Suddenly, Ghenga lunged forward, grabbed the hourglass, and smashed it on the ground. The glass shattered, and the black sand spilled out onto the stone floor.

  “What the hell are you doing?” shouted Jason, reprimanding the lizard man.

  Peter pointed at the broken time instrument on the floor. “Look.” He squatted down, sifted through the sand, and produced a key. He stood, using the altar for support, and held the key up. “The final key.”

  Peter unlocked the brackets under the painting of the ape youngster and removed the tablet with the carving matching the painting. He walked it over to the altar and placed the tablet in the only vacant slot directly opposite its corresponding cave painting.

  There was the grinding of stone coming from the front side of the altar. Peter, Jason, and Ghenga all backed away from it as the stone façade slid slowly into a slot in the floor just big enough to accommodate it, revealing a relief of a great flame with a large key floating above it. Behind the key and fire was a representation of the hidden door in the wall, the edges forming the exact same shape. The grinding stopped, and nothing else happened.