The Portal (A Delphi Group Thriller Book 2) (35 page)

“It doesn’t look like anyone is home,” Jorge added.

Bennett looked at Zane as they continued forward. “Should we go down to the clearing or check the village?”

“I say we check the ruins first,” Brett said. “Who knows, there may even be a way to get up on one of the structures. If we can, that might give us a view of everything down in the valley.”

Bennett looked around as they walked. “The fog has gotten pretty thick. Even if we get a good angle down into the valley, I doubt we’d be able to see anything.”

He was right, the fog was getting thicker by the minute. Then again, why not explore the ruins while they were here? What was left of the ancient town seemed deserted, but it still might yield some useful information. Nothing seemed insignificant on this mountain.

Zane brought them to a stop near the outskirts. “I think Brett’s right. If that craft was as big as Rebecca said it was, then we might be able to see it, even through the fog. Besides, I want to have a look around. Who knows what we might find.”

“And if it turns out to be a dud, we’ll just head down,” Brett said.

As they crept forward, Zane realized they were entering the lower end of the village. Most of it spread up the slope to their left. The vast majority of structures were little more than crumbling walls overrun with vines, small trees, and shrubs.

Brett approached one of the walls, pulling aside some of the vines that covered it. He pointed at the stones underneath. “The same construction we saw at the bridge and in the tunnels.”

Zane nodded.

“What now?” Jorge asked after pulling an unlit cigar from his mouth.

Zane tapped the ground with the butt of his rifle. “I think this used to be a street.” He pointed to the north. “You and Brett follow it through town. Keep your eyes open for anything strange, and see if you can find a building that will give you a good view down the slope.” He turned to Bennett. “You and I will do the same on this end.”

“Even though it’s a long shot, we also need to be looking for any sign of habitation,” Brett said.

Zane looked around. “I can’t help but think that all of this is somehow connected. The airstrip, these ruins, the temple. If Rebecca’s story is true, and I have no reason to doubt it, then why bring her and the other victims here, of all places?”

“It’s remote, for one,” Brett said.

“True, but there has to be more to it than that.” Zane looked at his watch. “Anyway, let’s move out. We’ll stay in touch by radio. If we get another signal loss, then we’ll all meet back here in an hour. No exceptions.”

After Brett and Jorge disappeared into the fog, Zane pointed to another road that ran up the slope. “Why don’t you head up from here? I’ll go down a bit further and do the same.”

“Roger that,” Bennett said.

As the soldier turned to leave, Zane grabbed his shoulder. “We’re going to be spread thin, so please don’t take any chances. If you see anything, call me immediately.”

Bennett gave him a thumbs-up then moved off.

Zane continued north. After traveling for about a hundred yards, he turned left on a cross street. This part of the village seemed more overgrown than the section before. Trees rose out of the gaps in the ruins, their branches spreading overhead like a giant green awning.

After traveling a short distance up the hill, Zane heard a noise that sounded like a pebble bouncing across stone. Acting instinctively, he moved to the right side of the street, crouching underneath a few limbs overhanging a crumbling wall. He remained perfectly still, his senses on full alert.

The place is probably overrun with animals,
he thought.

Hearing no further sounds, he stood and walked on. When he arrived at the next cross street, he turned north but stopped short at the sight of a largely intact two-story building on the right. If he could get to the second story, it might afford him a view of the entire area.

He got down on one knee, looking for any sign of activity. Seeing none, he rose and sprinted the remaining distance. As he drew near, he saw a doorway on the side of the building facing an alley and crouched outside it. He heard a noise in the street. It sounded like it came from where he had just been, but the fog was too thick to see.

Zane waited a full two minutes. Hearing nothing further, he ducked inside and found himself standing in a hallway that ran parallel to the street. The walls were made of stone, with rooms opening on either side. Lifting his rifle, Zane walked down the corridor, clearing each room as he went. When he arrived at the other end, he discovered a stairwell on the left.

Just where I thought you’d be.

His radio crackled in his pocket.

He pulled it out just as Bennett spoke. “Zane?”

“I’m here. Over.”

“Do you see what I see?”

“Negative. I’m inside a building right now.”

“Can you get up off the ground?”

“There’s a second story, yes.”

“Get as high as you can and look east.”

“Copy that. Give me a minute.”

Zane moved up the stairs cautiously, pausing twice to listen for any further sounds. Seconds later, he emerged onto what was left of the second floor. There was no roof, and the night sky opened up above him. Most of the walls still remained, although many had crumbled to a fraction of their original height.

Lifting his weapon, Zane made his way down the central corridor, eventually turning left into the second room facing east. Once inside, he crossed to the window.

He lifted his radio again. “Okay, I’m here.”

There was a brief pause before Bennett’s voice came through the speaker. “Are you facing east?”

“Yes, I’ve got a nice view down into the valley.”

“No, look up,” Bennett said. “Ten or eleven o’clock.”

It took Zane only a moment to see what the soldier was referring to. A set of lights shone in the distance, moving toward the summit.

“Is that a plane?” Zane whispered.

“Don’t think so. Too low. No noise.”

He was right. The large craft was now only a few miles away. At that distance, he should already hear the whine of the engines.

The operative raised his binoculars, propping his elbows on the sill. It took him a moment to locate the craft again, but when he did, the only thing he could see was a thin line of oddly colored lights. A moment later, the craft banked to its left as it crossed over the summit. As it did, Zane caught a glimpse of its body. It was dark and triangular, like a stealth fighter and yet much more massive.

Zane’s pulse quickened. He’d seen almost everything in the combat fleet of the US Air Force, including all classified aircraft, but he’d never seen anything like this.

The craft reduced speed as it continued south over the clearing. When it reached the midpoint of the strip, it slowed even further, so slow that it appeared to be hovering. “I guess we can dismiss any idea of this being a stealth fighter,” he said. “We don’t have anything that can do that.”

“Not unless they’ve been hiding something from us,” Bennett said.

“I don’t think so. I’ve seen just about everything they have, including everything currently under development. We have stealth fighters that can fly in relative silence, but we don’t have anything that can fly in complete silence. Nor can any of them hover.” Zane suddenly remembered who might know more about that technology than him. “Brett, can you hear us?”

After a long pause, Brett spoke, but his voice was distorted. “Yes… hear…”

“What’s your position? Can you see the craft?”

“Yes… trees along strip… move out into the open… better look.”

Zane frowned. Had they already moved down into the clearing? “Are you at the valley floor?”

He thought he heard a “no,” but couldn’t be sure.

“Stay put.”

“What is that?” Bennett asked.

Zane looked up and saw that the craft was now entering a patch of fog. When it came out on the other side, the hairs on his neck stood on end. A slender blue beam of light shone from the craft, panning back and forth. “Good grief. I have no idea.”

“The beam is too thin to provide much illumination, so I’m thinking it’s some sort of probe. Maybe it’s gathering data.”

As Zane watched, the craft and the blue light suddenly disappeared. He raised his binoculars, but nothing was there. “Can you still see it?”

“Negative. Right before it went dark, the probe seemed to extend toward the south, like it was looking for something.”

“Its last position bothers me,” Zane said. He made an adjustment to the radio’s settings and spoke again. “Tocchet, do you read? Over.”

Silence. Zane tried again, but still, no response.

“Try a different channel,” Bennett said. “They’re a ways off.”

“I did, but I’ll try another.” Zane adjusted the setting again. “Tocchet, do you read? Over.”

This time a long burst of heavy static issued from the radio. Strangely, it sounded like a female voice, but it was too garbled to understand.

“Katiya, is that you?” He listened intently, but this time it was even harder to hear.
Maybe she can hear me even though I can’t hear her.
Zane pressed the mic against his mouth. “Katiya, this is Zane. I can’t hear you, but if you can hear me, then listen closely. Hold your position, and we will come to you. I repeat, hold your position, and we will come to you. Do you understand?”

There was a long moment of silence, followed by a brief crackle he thought might have been a “yes.”

As Zane was about to speak again, he heard a noise behind him. He retrieved his rifle and heard it again. Someone was moving up the stairs.

“DID YOU SEE where they went down?” Katiya asked as the three ran toward the front of the temple.

Amanda turned left down one of the rows. “I think they were over here.”

Seconds later, they arrived at the wall. The three sucked in breath as they played their beams around the area.

“Rebecca!” Amanda shouted.

“Down here,” said a muffled voice.

“Over there!” Max pointed to a half-wall of stone block.

Katiya arrived first. There was a set of stairs behind the half-wall. She aimed her flashlight down into the darkness. “Rebecca, are you there?”

“Yes.” This time it was a male voice that sounded like Artur’s. “Get down here, quick.”

Katiya scrambled down the stairs, followed by Amanda and Max. When she arrived at the bottom, she stepped out into a dark room. Two silhouettes stood a short distance away, holding flashlights. One of them turned toward her and said, “Watch your step.” It was Artur.

Katiya played her beam toward something on the floor then froze at the sight that met her eyes. Piles of bones were strewn across the floor. Rib cages, skulls, femurs, tibias, fibulas.

Amanda let out a little gasp when she saw what was littered at her feet.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Rebecca said. “I’m just a bit fragile right now.”

“Don’t apologize,” Katiya said as she walked farther out into the room. “Most people wouldn’t even have the guts to come back here.”

“It looks like some sort of burial chamber,” Artur said.

Katiya frowned as her eyes caught something a few feet away. She walked toward it and crouched. A chill swept over her body as she realized she was looking at the largest human skull she’d ever seen. But what made it even stranger was its elongated shape. She picked it up then stood.

“Oh my!” Amanda walked over for a closer look. “It… it looks like…”

“An alien?” Katiya asked as she turned it back and forth in the light. “Certainly looks like the Hollywood version, doesn’t it?”

Max shook his head. “As exciting as that would be, I’m afraid that’s a simple case of cradle boarding.”

“Cradle boarding?” Rebecca asked.

“Many of the ancient tribes of Central and South America practiced cranial deformation with the use of boards,” he explained.

“He’s right, it was a common practice,” Katiya said, “but I’m not so sure that’s what this is.”

Max gave her a scowl. “What do you mean? Of course it is.”

“To me, it just seems too large. Cradle boarding flattens the skull, but it doesn’t increase the surface area.” She tapped the top with a finger. “Take a look at this.”

Max stepped closer. After examining it, he shrugged. “What?”

“It has only one parietal bone. Usually there are two, divided by a suture.”

“Probably just an anomaly,” Max said.

As the linguist walked away to look at another bone, Amanda turned to Katiya and whispered, “What do you think it is?”

“Obviously I can’t be dogmatic about this,” Katiya admitted, “but I can’t help but think about what happened to Rebecca not far from here.”

Amanda’s brow furrowed immediately. “I’m not sure I follow.”

Katiya glanced around to make sure no one was close by. “Based on my experience, these abductions usually relate to reproductive experimentation.” She held up the skull again. “I think we could be looking at genetic manipulation.”

Amanda’s eyes widened. “That would certainly explain the odd shape.”

“I think it’s possible. But I also think something else is going on.” Katiya squatted and panned her beam around. “I saw something just a moment ago. Ah, there it is.” She grasped another skull and stood up. “Now look at this one.”

Amanda frowned. “What on earth is that?”

“I’m not sure, but I think it’s a goat.”

“And what does that have to do with anything?

“Did you see the altar upstairs?”

Amanda nodded.

“One of the floor stones in front of it caught my eye. It was square, and a gap ran around all four sides. I’d be willing to bet that if you pried it up, you’d find a chute that connects to this chamber. This could very well be—”

Suddenly she was cut off by the sound of static.

“Your radio,” Amanda said.

Katiya reached into her pocket and pulled it out. A scratchy voice was already speaking. “Tocchet, do you read? Over.”

“Zane,” Amanda said.

Katiya held the radio up to her mouth. “Zane? Zane, can you hear me?”

The operative’s voice came through in broken pieces. “Katiya, this is Zane… hear you… come… understand?”