Authors: Sue Guillou
‘Ahhhggg,’ gasped Adam as they stepped inside.
Gillian held her nose and looked about. The room benefited from a small amount of light that filtered in from a vertical shaft and spilt out onto a dirt floor. There were no well-sculptured figures, finely carved blocks of stone or even a tiled floor that they experienced so far, but Gillian was not surprised. Kinix had stayed true to the Mayan legend and emulated a jaguar’s cave to such detail that it required a trained eye to determine the difference between faux and true nature.
The rocks were a little too smooth and the walls too even although the penetration of tree roots and ground movement had erased the evidence considerably. Gillian noted that the original door leading to the outside had caved in and a number of jaguar bones remained, allowing her to conclude that it had been occupied for a quite a period as intended.
The collapse of the outer door occurred many hundreds of years ago and the smell was a rotting carcass of a small monkey that had become caught in the shaft before deteriorating to an extent that the remains had fallen through.
‘It’s safe!’ said Gillian as she explored the interior, quickly discovering another puzzle inserted into the far wall.
‘This one is interesting,’ cited Adam. ’It reminds me of scrabble.’
‘Hhmm,’ mumbled Gillian as she viewed the two rows with deliberation. The upper level of the puzzle consisted of thirty singular tiles, each inscribed with a Medieval Latin digit. The lower level consisted of six square holes into which the upper tiles were positioned. The only problem was choosing the right ones.
‘Can’t you simply guess? There’s nothing stopping you trying a few combinations,’ suggested Adam.
‘No, it’s not as simple as that. If you look under each tile, you will see that it’s connected to the wall by a metal post. If the tile is lifted off and inserted into the line below the post, it will fall away. It is my guess that removing the required tiles in their correct sequence will allow the right posts to hit a concealed trigger. If we are wrong … who knows what will happen.’
‘How can we be wrong? The code will be “b-a-h-l-a-m”.’
Gillian did not respond for a moment, eventually throwing her hands into the air in a gesture of surrender.
‘Bloody hell, I reckon you’re right. Bahlum was the code for the third box and it’s the right number of digits.’
Gillian quickly removed the tiles and was rewarded with a resounding click and the swinging of a concealed exit.
‘Now, that’s one for me,’ said Adam smugly as Gillian conceded with a roll of her eyes.
‘Hurry!’ yelled Adam as the revolving panel swung inward, giving them less than ten seconds before it swivelled back into its original position. They raced, dodged and squeezed though the narrow opening, coming to an ungainly end on the opposite side. They landed in an embarrassing tangle of arms and legs and Gillian could not resist laughing at their efforts to free themselves. Unfortunately she also fell forward, accidentally hitting a narrow upright pole.
She gasped in horror as the pole tilted forward activating an invisible switch that in turn made a series of previously unnoticed panels in the roof vibrate.
Gillian watched in disbelief as the ceiling seemed to develop a life of its own and it took a few minutes for her to understand the reason.
‘Fuck,’ she uncharacteristically swore. The fourth room was the Bat House and it still fulfilled the purpose it was intended for. Thousand of bats lined the entire roof creating the impression of a vast expanse of velvet. It was an extraordinary scene.
Unfortunately, the bats had been rudely woken from their sleep and they were disorientated and chaotic. They instantaneously abandoned their perches and flew around in absolute disarray, screeching, fluttering and clawing anything that was unlucky enough to be in their way.
‘Now what?!’ yelled Gillian as Adam grabbed her by the collar and wrenched her to the ground.
‘What was that for?’ Gillian demanded, requiring an explanation as to why her wet hair was covered in a layer of dust, and bat faeces.
‘We have no option but to crawl out. Any further movement will only agitate them and unless you want to be ripped apart like a piece of meat, this is the only way.’
‘I beg to differ. It looks as if we have activated something else.’ Gillian pointed to the rapidly descending grate at the far side of the cave.
‘There is no way we can make that.’
‘I don’t see that we have any choice!’ shouted Gillian as she jumped to her feet and ran. She moved like never before, pushing her legs until they ached with the effort. She noted that Adam was breathing down her neck, but even with him forcing her forwards, she did not think they were going to make it. The bats also impeded their progress, flapping about them, scratching any uncovered skin and tearing at Gillian’s hair. The pain of the fearfully sharp claws was similar to a slash from a knife and she resisted screaming in frustration and anger, choosing instead to channel her energies to her muscles.
They had less than ten feet to go, but even at this rate, Gillian knew they would be lucky to make it.
Five feet remained.
Four feet.
Three feet.
Two feet and Adam yelled, ‘Drop and roll, Gillian! Do it now!’
She obeyed and together they fell to their knees, dove onto their stomachs and rotated under the grate, which was less than a few inches above their faces and dropping.
The posts scraped over her cheeks, forcing Gillian to turn her face sideways. Unfortunately this action also gave her a clear view of their new surroundings and she quickly understood that their troubles were far from over.
Kinix was smart and their movements through the Bat House had set a series of events in motion that could not be stopped. The room they were entering was the Razor House, portrayed in legend as a space overflowing with blades and razors. Each tool moved about individually and was a created in such a way that it would be impossible to pass through without losing a body part.
The room was an excellent adaptation of the ancient narrative.
Gillian did not need long to note that the side walls sported at least fifty blades inserted into a series of holes. The roof accommodated an extra forty, extended from individual pivot poles that allowed the blades to swing freely.
‘It gets better and better. If we’re not skewered by those spears then we will be sliced in half by the swinging knives,’ muttered Adam in disgust as he attempted to stand.
He yelped in pain, the scratches from the bats leaving numerous streaks of blood and puncture holes.
Gillian realised that she mirrored Adam’s sore and sorry reflection. She was also covered in blood, had dozens of developing bruises all over her torso and a large bump on her head. She knew she was a mess, but for some reason, she did not really care.
She smiled at Adam whose expression graduated from fondness to extreme fear.
‘Duck!’ he screamed as he leapt onto Gillian for the second time in a few minutes just as a blade was ejected from the wall. It flew in their direction, missing them by a few inches before imbedding itself into the plaster behind them.
This was quickly followed by the sudden release of a swinging blade which also plummeted dangerously close to their position.
‘Time to go,’ ordered Gillian as they jumped to their feet, barely allowing a second to calculate the distance between their position, the open doorway opposite and the risk of being hit if all of the weapons were released at once.
It was at this moment that Gillian understood Kinix’s intention. The purpose behind the open doorway was the same as offering candy to a child. It was meant to draw out those who wanted a quick way out. Unfortunately the reward was death.
Gillian had to find an alternative route, something just out of the ordinary but not too different to attract attention.
Adam tugged at her arm. ‘Gillian, we have to go.’
‘No, wait,’ she insisted as she studied the room with an intensity that surprised her. She drew in all of the room’s features from the tiled floor to the weapons, the plastered roof and brightly painted, rendered walls until her eyes fell on an uneven hidden panel to their left. It was the halfway point between their current position and the opposite exit.
‘Look … over there. It’s probably a doorway.’ She pointed it out to Adam. ‘I see it, but there are two issues. The large axe swinging just above the panel is obviously intended to assist in our escape, but if we are not careful, the arrows pointed at the doorway will kill us,’ concluded Gillian.
‘Okay, so the only way to stop from being skewered is to release the arrows first,’ said Adam.
Gillian scowled. ‘I’m not volunteering to run in front of those things.’
Adam laughed. ‘I had something else in mind,’ he revealed as he grabbed an arrow from the ground.
Gillian gazed at him quizzically as he eyed the floor, aimed and threw the arrow with the expertise reserved for a javelin thrower. The direction was true and the arrow landed in a small custom-made indentation on the floor, immediately releasing a barrage of weapons.
Gillian was lost for words. ‘How’d you see that?’ she eventually asked.
‘If you look carefully, the entire floor is covered in grooves. Unfortunately they are so flat that anyone with normal lighting or vision would not be able to pick up the discrepancy. I was simply lucky that my torch reflected on the one that was the trigger.’
‘Well, aren’t you smart,’ Gillian chided in good humour as they both ran low and around the outer edge of the wall. They were minimising the chance of triggering a further barrage of deadly weapons but still found themselves doing their best acrobatic renditions as they ducked, twisted and weaved.
They reached their destination in record time without incident and Adam used his spear-throwing skills to activate the mechanism that held the axe.
‘Duck!’ screamed Adam as they both fell to the floor in desperation.
The axe plummeted from above, whistling loudly as it flung down, picking up speed until it slammed solidly into the plaster wall. The plaster burst outward, creating a cloud of white dust that covered them from head to toe.
Gillian erupted into laughter as did Adam when they caught sight of each other.
‘Look at you,’ said Gillian.
‘And aren’t you gorgeous,’ teased Adam, taking the opportunity to wipe her face.
Gillian smiled at him before turning and stepping through the gaping hole into a furnace.
‘This place is bloody hot,’ complained Adam.
Gillian looked about.
The room was reasonably small and the walls were coated in mica, the use of which was not immediately evident until Gillian and Adam stepped forward and gazed into the gaping chasm that extended from one side of the room to the other.
‘Lava … it’s lava,’ said Adam.
‘Well, the last of the six rooms was supposed to be the Hot House, so it makes sense that the builder utilised nature to its full extent. His only problem was keeping the heat in, so he used the only insulator known to them at the time … mica.
‘That’s why the last room was cold,’ said Adam.
‘Yes, its insulation properties are excellent. Even today, it’s still used in ovens for the same reason.’
‘So, what’s the purpose of this room?’ asked Adam.
‘Traditionally it was supposed to represent fire and heat, but in this instance, I’d take my guess at a deterrent or protection device.’
‘Protect what?’
‘That.’ Gillian pointed to the camouflage indentation in the far wall. It was painted to match the mica and was almost indistinguishable with the exception of the lack of shine.
Adam gasped. ‘I’d recognise that hexagonal shaped symbol anywhere. I lived with it for long enough.’
‘Exactly, and for some reason, I’m not surprised to see it here. It was clearly connected, but to date we were unable to determine how.’
Gillian grinned as Adam patted his shoulder bag. ‘Just checking that the disk is still there.’
She rolled her eyes and sighed in mock sarcasm. ‘You and that bag. I don’t think you’d even give it up for sex.’
‘You haven’t asked.’ His comments were laced with seriousness which would have normally left her feeling uncomfortable, but not this time. Gillian gave him a quick peck on the cheek in response.
‘Let’s get over there and find out what it means,’ she said.
‘Unless I’m missing something, I can’t see any bridge to cross.’
‘Ahhh, but Kinix has thought of everything,’ and with that Gillian pointed to the wall behind them.’
‘Fifteen holes in the wall?’
‘In the third manuscript, Kinix mentioned crossing over a lake of water to an island. He was required to place his fingers in five holes and press the internal levers. This in turn activated a series of stepping stones which gave access to the island.
‘And you think this is the same thing?’
Gillian nodded, ’I do.’
‘Well … which holes?’
‘That’s the million dollar question. The only clue the manuscript gave was: “I used the secret code passed from priest to priest since the beginning of our time”.’
‘Why can’t we just try them all?’ said Adam.
‘Apparently, placing your fingers in the wrong holes spelt instant death.’
‘Mate!’ Adam rubbed his forehead in deliberation. ‘There’s got to be something in it. What secret code would be passed from priest to priest since the beginning of time?’