Authors: Christopher David Petersen
As the other men followed, they too looked on at the warriors with suspicion. With safety their prime objective, they examined the region and moved on.
Jack stopped a moment
,
took a deep breath
,
and exhaled. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pant legs, then searched the area in front of him.
“Do you see something, Jack?” Javier called out several feet behind.
“No, nothing yet. I’m just taking a breather,” he responded matter-of-factly.
“Take as much time as you need. This is scary stuff,” Javier said.
“I think I’d rather be fighting a gorilla right now,” he joked.
“Probably less dangerous,” Javier replied.
Jack took a step and listened. Quiet. He took another and listened again. Still quiet. Repeating the process over and over, he worked his way to the first incline of the corridor.
“So far so good, Jack. Keep up the good work,” Burt shouted from far behind.
Inching forward, he worked his way up the shallow incline. Scanning the floor and walls, he tried to block out the images of death etched into them. As the floor leveled out, he reached the first landing. Standing guard were the two statues he remembered from the probe. Carefully, he reached out his hand and rubbed their outside surfaces.
“Stone,” Jack said, simply.
“Careful Jack. They could be part of a trap,” Javier called out from behind.
“I’m going to try to move one a little.
Get ready to move quietly,” he
shouted back, his voice now echoing through the chamber.
“We’re ready,” came the voices from behind.
Jack squared his feet up in preparation to run. He then placed his hand on the shoulder of the first statue.
“On three: one, two, three,” he counted out.
He forced his weight into the statue. It moved only slightly. All held their breath and listened.
“I don’t
hear anything,” Burt called out
moments later.
“Me either,” Jack concurred. “I’m trying the other one.”
He shifted his weight toward the other stone warrior and placed his hand on its shoulder.
“Ok, on three: one, two, three.”
Jack shoved the statue slightly. It rocked on its base, then settled. A long
quiet
seized the men’s attention as they all held their breath and listened.
“I think we’re Ok,” Javier said, moments later.
With a sigh of relief, Jack shuffled past the two menacing
-
looking warriors and started up the next incline that now headed toward their left.
Little by little, he worked his way higher. With the sand now mostly gone from the floors, he could see the etchings clearly engraved in them that further depicted graphic scenes of death. His stomach churned with anxiety thinking every step could be his last.
He stopped a moment, scanned the floor in advance of his next steps, then continued on. As the four men moved slowly forward, the sound of their breathing echoed through the corridor.
Suddenly, Jack heard a cry of pain from behind him.
“SHIT!” Darrien shouted loudly. “Son of a bi…”
“Darrien,
you ok?” Javier shouted
, cutting off Darrien in mid-sentence.
Jack spun around on his heels and shined his light. Darrien lay on the floor and clutch
ed
his forehead: blood streamed through his fingers. Javier quickly knelt down next to him,
followed by
Burt.
“What happened?” Jack shouted, fear evident in his tone.
Darrien groaned in pain as Burt pulled a cloth from his shirt pocket and quickly shoved it between Darrien’s fingers, trying to ebb the flow of blood.
Jack
rushed
came to Darrien’s side. Shining the light on him, it was clear he was in great pain.
“Javi, what happened?” Jack asked anxiously.
Not looking up and trying to comfort Darrien, he said, “It happened so fast, I’m not sure but I think he ran into the sconce on the wall. One second he was standing, the next he was lying on the floor. I almost tripped over him.”
“Darrien, let me have a look at your head,” Burt asked, trying to be as delicate as he could.
Darrien pulled his hands away and Burt lifted the blood
-
saturated cloth. Darrien’s forehead had a large gash across the top of his scalp. Blood oozed from the open wound.
“Is it bad?” Darrien asked.
“It’s not good,” Burt responded.
Burt tore a sleeve from his shirt, wadded it
,
and placed it on the bleeding cut.
“Lie still and keep pressure on it, Darrien. Hopefully, we can stop the bleeding,” Burt said.
Jack looked on and watched helplessly. Over the past two months, Darrien had become his friend and
he felt
great sadness at seeing him lying there in pain.
“Is there anything I can do?” Jack asked.
“Let’s just watch the cut for now,” Burt answered. “If the bleeding doesn’t slow soon, we’re going to have to go for help.”
Jack nodded simply and kept an intense watch on Darrien.
“Sorry,
sirs
,” Darrien said, softly.
“It’s Ok, Darrien,” Jack replied. “It’s really dark in here. It could have happened to any of us. Just lay still and try not to strain yourself.”
A minute later, Burt tore the other sleeve from his shirt and replaced the now saturated sleeve with the dry one. All men looked on anxiously for signs of improvement.
Several minutes passed and Burt slowly lifted the make-shift bandage. Although the area around the wound was caked with blood,
there
seemed to be very little oozing from the cut itself.
“I think we’re in business,” Jack said in relief. “The blood looks like it’s slowing.”
“I think you’re right, Jack,” Javier said, now also feeling relieved.
“We’re going to need to get him to a doctor though. I’m sure he’ll need a few stitches,” Burt responded.
“Dammit,” Darrien shouted out in frustration, uncharacteristically.
“Don’t worry, my friend. I’m sure you’ll be back in the saddle shortly,” Jack said, trying to stay positive.
Javier stood and shined his light up and down the corridor.
“Someone’s going to have to help him out of here,” he said. “Jack, what do you say? Can you help him out while Burt and I continue on?”
“As much as I’d love to stay, you two really are the best choice to continue the search,” Jack replied.
“Thanks for understanding,” Javier responded, patting Jack
’s
shoulder approvingly.
“Sorry for all the trouble,
sirs
,” Darrien apologized once more.
“Darrien, don’t give it another thought. We’ll see you back here tomorrow,” Burt replied, encouragingly.
Jack and Burt stood, then reached down and helped Darrien to his feet. Feeling weak from the loss of blood, Darrien’s legs wobbled. Jack and Burt grabbed an arm and braced him momentarily.
Javier shined his light up and down the corridor, instinctively insuring the safety of the team. Satisfied all was clear, he turned his attention to an etching several feet further up the incline. Looking back at the three, he nodded approvingly, then took several step
s
in that direction of the new find.
He listened intently to Jack and Burt confirmed Darrien’s condition as he stepped silently away.
“What is that?” he said under his breath, now becoming more focused on the new etching.
As he neared, a thin layer of silt obscured the floor
'
s
image, making its identification difficult. The silt beneath his boots, crackled slightly as he moved up to the edge of the etching. He shined the light directly on the floor, the
n
knelt down for a closer look. Sweeping his hand across the floor several times, he wiped the thin layer of silt away to reveal a partial view of the image.
“Looks sort of like a sunburst,” Javier said to himself, matter-of-factly.
His words echoed through the corridor. Jack heard them and instantly turned.
“Javi, get out of there
NOW
!”
Dread filled his mind. Kneeling at the edge of the trap, Javier
k
new he was in trouble. As he rushed to stand, he heard the
"
hissing
"
sound he’d heard just before the other chamber’s walls collapsed. Leaping to his feet, he took a step forward.
Jack, Burt
,
and Darrien watched in horror as the ground beneath Javier gave
way
. Instantly he disappeared. In his place was now a large rectangular hole in the floor that spanned from wall to wall. The
"
hissing
"
that signaled the start of the trap, now sounded out loudly from the rush
of
sand.
Ignoring their own safety, they raced to the edge of the hole and looked down. Twenty feet down, Javier lay at the bottom of the hole
,
his body already half covered with sand.
“Javi! Javi!” Jack shouted loudly.
As the sand poured out of pockets from the walls inside the hole, the three watched helplessly and shouted Javier’s name. A second later, Javier was gone.
“Javi! Get up!” Burt yelled into the hole, his voice echoing through the corridor.
“This can’t be happening,” Jack responded, his voice filled with anguish. “We’ve got to do something.”
Instantly, he took a small step forward and jumped down in
to
the hole. He landed on his feet, rolled to absorb the impact, then came to a kneeling position as the sand rained down upon him.
“Jack, what the HELL are you doing?” Darrien shouted. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“JACK! Get out of there,” Burt yelled instinctively, only realizing the how illogical his statement was after he had said it.
Through the falling sand, Jack dug with his bare hands and found Javier’s head. He frantically plunged his hands into the soft sand and scooped away handfuls at a time. Ignoring the shouts from above, he continued his work, determined to save his friend.
Finding his shoulders, Jack grabbed Javier and pulled with ever
y
ounce of his strength. Rocking Javier from side to side, his upper body was now exposed. As the sand poured in, Jack desperately tried to wrestle and wade above it. Seconds later, Javier was under again. Jack growled in guttural angst and pulled his head above the sand once more.
Darrien and Burt looked on in horror. Turning to Darrien, Burt said, “Stay here and keep watch. I’m going for help.”
“Yes sir,” Darrien said, his body consumed by fear.
Instantly, Burt turned and ran down the corridor, any thoughts of his own safety now pushed aside to save his friend.
Deep in the hole, Jack continued his fight for Javier’s life as the torrent of sand continued to rush in. As the hole filled inch by inch, it quickly covered Javier’s lifeless body. Jack worked his friend’s torso to the top, only to be buried himself. Releasing his friend momentarily, he worked his own body and legs to the top of the sand. Just as he freed himself, Javier fell beneath the sand once more. Jack frantically dug him out and wrenched him from his earthen grave, only to repeat the cycle again. Exhausted and losing strength, his efforts were becoming less effective.
“Jack, don’t give up,” Darrien shouted down into the hole. “You can do it.”
Hearing Darrien’s words, Jack dug deep within him.
A
great surge of energy raced through him and he dragged Javier above the sand once more. Rolling him to the edge of the wall, he was now buried in sand up to his chest. Breathing heav
il
y and sweating profusely, sand now lodged in his eyes. Like tiny
knives
, they scratched at his corneas, distracting him from his task. Jack shook his head trying to find relief. The sand continued its rain and there was no relief to be had.
Ignoring the pain, he wiggled his body in a frantic dance, dislodging himself and pulling his legs above the top surface. Searching through blurred eyes, he saw a bulge against the wall. Jack thrust himself onto it and dug wildly. Javier’s head popped above the sand, then his torso as Jack worked to pull him free.
“Jack, you’re almost here. Another few more feet and I can reach you,” Darrien shouted in encouragement.
Nearly five minutes had passed since the collapse and Jack was now running out of energy. His muscles were tiring and he was gasping for breath. As Javier fell beneath the ever rising surface, Jack dug around his head and shoulders. Grasping him under his arms, he rocked him back and forth.