2040 Revelations (36 page)

The pilot looked shaken.

‘
Muchas gracias, señor
, thank you,’ Sarah said, patting him on the back.

He didn’t look at her, but nodded his head in acceptance, clearly distressed at their close shave. She looked down below. Already high up, the Ruins of Copán slid past beneath as they picked up speed and gained altitude.
Next stop Guatemala
, she thought as the plane flew onwards.

♦

Two hundred miles of dense jungle terrain separated them from San Benito. They had already crossed the border into Guatemalan airspace and the midday sun gave the passengers a perfect view of the forests below. Cruising at a few hundred feet made it possible to see far into the distance, while also being able to pick out a lot of detail on the ground, and it was perhaps this perspective that prompted Jason to break the silence.

‘Is it me or is it getting a bit dark?’ he said from his seat behind Sarah.

Sarah looked outside; the sky seemed to be clear of any clouds, but Jason was right, it was definitely getting darker.

‘I thought it was just me,’ Trish said. ‘Thought I was just tired or something.’

‘There are no clouds,’ the pilot said, also sounding unsure.

Sarah looked out of the window behind her to see a disturbing sight. The sky and land in the distance wasn’t just dark, but pitch-black.

‘What is that?’ Trish asked, as she also looked behind, ‘a thunderstorm?’

‘An eclipse?’ Jason suggested.

The skies around them grew darker and darker, as if the sun was setting at five times its normal speed, the problem being it was not dusk but noon.

‘I don’t think it’s either,’ Sarah said. ‘Look up.’

They all craned their necks to look upwards. Directly above them a dark cloud raced across the sky. But this was no ordinary cloud, as it stretched from horizon to horizon and everything behind succumbed to its embrace, devoured by the most dense and blackest of nights.

‘
Que Dios nos proteja
,’ the pilot said.

Jason looked nervously out at the strange phenomena. ‘What did he say?’

‘May God protect us, I think,’ Trish said.

The cloud had passed them now, eating up the blue sky above like a dense plague of locusts. Light had turned to dark and they hung suspended in the air, literally between night and day. The jungle disappeared into darkness below them, and the pilot flicked a few switches and the plane’s lights came on inside and out.

‘It’s got to be the meteor,’ Sarah said.

‘That can’t be the dust cloud, it wasn’t supposed to hit here for at least a few months,’ Trish said in complaint, ‘if not a year.’

‘I can’t help that, I’m sure that’s what it is. In fact, it can only be that. They must have got it wrong.’

‘I’ll check.’ Trish turned on her computer. ‘It’s not working,’ she told them after a while. ‘I can’t get a signal.’

‘That confirms it, then,’ Sarah said, ‘the satellites are out. Change to a land-based station.’

‘I would not bother,’ the pilot told her, ‘Guatemalan, Honduran and Belize governments haven’t invested in the system; it was said to be too expensive.’

‘Wonderful.’ Trish switched the computer off.

After half an hour had passed, they found themselves in total darkness, the only sign of the Sun far off in the distance; a bright shining light fighting a losing battle against the great cloud, which sought to devour it in its gaping, all-consuming maw. According to media reports and GMRC informational broadcasts – that had been issued with greater frequency leading up to the impact – once the cloud had dispersed the sun would not be visible again for a number of years, perhaps for as many as ten. A sobering thought. Being told that something was going to happen never prepared you for the actuality of the event itself.
No more sunlight
, Sarah thought.
No more sunrises. No more sunsets. Just endless night
.

‘I can’t believe they got it this wrong,’ Jason said at last.

‘Well, they did,’ Trish said, her voice stressed, ‘deal with it.’

‘You’re all heart, you are.’

‘It’s part of my charm.’

‘I’d call it something else,’ he said moodily.

The two bickered for a while and Sarah tuned out, as she normally did when her friends descended into mindless tit for tat.

With the remainder of the journey dragging by, she took the time to contemplate the new turn of events and its implications for their mission.

Eventually, as she stared off into the distance, the lights of a large urban area appeared as they cleared a high ridge: San Benito. They landed soon after, and checking in through customs they were advised to find a hotel quickly, before curfew came into effect.

People had fled indoors when the dust cloud had hit and the streets of the city echoed to an eerie silence. Rather than bother with finding the embassy office they checked into a large, more expensive hotel with the capability to issue money via their passports. Sarah waited at reception while the manager went away to verify her bio signature and the digital encoding embedded in the passport. She’d decided to withdraw another ten thousand pounds and have it converted into U.S. dollars.

The manager returned and handed back her documents. ‘I’m sorry, your request has been refused,’ the woman told her.

‘What – why?’ Sarah said, confused.

‘There appears to be no money in your account, madam.’

‘No money? I don’t understand. There should be another twenty thousand in there!’

‘I’m sorry,’ the woman said, and left to serve another customer.

‘No money?’ Jason said when Sarah went upstairs to tell them. ‘I thought you had loads left?’

‘Not loads, but enough.’ She massaged her eyes, her mind in turmoil.

‘Then where’s it gone?’ he asked her.

‘Mark?’ Trish said.

Sarah groaned. She’d forgotten; Mark did have access to her account, he’d needed to deposit some money while they were out once and she’d lent him her details so he could use it temporarily. She’d transferred the money into his account soon after, but he must have kept the information. The look on Sarah’s face confirmed Trish’s suspicions.

‘That two-faced bastard!’ she said. ‘He not only hit you, he stole your money, too!’

‘He hit you?’ Jason said, dismayed.

Sarah sank onto a bed and covered her face with her hands.

Trish came over and placed a comforting arm around her. ‘Don’t worry, Saz, he’ll get his in the end, those types always do.’

‘I’ve got some money,’ Jason said, sitting down next to her, ‘and Trish is loaded, so she can put some in, too.’

‘I’m not loaded, just comfortable, thank you,’ Trish said, still with an arm around Sarah, ‘but yes, I can put some in too.’

‘Thanks, guys, I don’t know what I’d do without you two.’

‘You’d get lost,’ – Trish gave her a squeeze – ‘a lot.’

‘And be bored,’ Jason said.

‘Be less popular,’ Trish added.

‘Be smellier,’ Jason said, laughing as Sarah chucked a pillow at him, a smile stealing across her face.

With her friends continuing to lighten her mood, Sarah let the sounds of joviality wash over her and some time later, after Jason and Trish had collected their money, they surfed the net to locate someone at the Mayan university who might be able to help them.

Trish pointed at a picture of one of the lecturers. ‘He looks like a good bet.’

‘Yochi Cayut,’ Jason said, reading the text underneath. ‘Funny name.’

‘It’s Mayan,’ Trish told him. ‘Looking at his credentials he’ll be ideal to translate the rest of the map. Plus, this site tells you in real time if they’re on campus and he’s got a green dot next to his profile, so he should be there right now.’

Sarah got to her feet. ‘Let’s go and see him then.’

‘We’d have to move quickly to beat the curfew,’ Trish said.

‘All the more reason to hurry, then.’ Sarah picked up her coat and zoomed out the door. Trish cursed and quickly followed, with Jason trailing along behind.

It seemed spooky out on the empty streets. The lights had been turned on, but everyone had apparently sought the comfort and security of their homes.

When they traversed any unlit areas, the sky above was pitch-black. No sign of the Sun, the stars or Moon. It was uncanny, even more so since it should have been broad daylight. Hastened by the ghostly surroundings and a sudden nip in the air, it didn’t take them long to reach the university, located on the edge of town. As with most campuses, they were able to saunter in unchallenged and, using a printout they’d got at the hotel, they soon found the lecturer’s department and then his office.

Sarah knocked on the door.

‘¡
Está abierta
!’ a voice called out.

Sarah looked at Trish for confirmation.

‘Go in,’ she said.

They walked inside to find a small, middle-aged man with dark skin and jet black hair sitting behind a desk. Books, folders and paperwork loaded the shelves and, by the look of it, all other available surfaces, too.

‘
Señor Yochi Cayut
?’ Sarah said.

He studied their appearance with curiosity. ‘
Si
.’

‘We’re sorry to intrude, señor,’ Sarah said, ‘but we urgently need your help to translate some Mayan hieroglyphs for us.’

For a moment Yochi looked intrigued, but he quickly became distracted. ‘I don’t really think this is the time,’ he said in a strong local accent. He looked out of the window. ‘There are things going on greater than research right now. Come back in a few days and I will take a look at it then for you.’

Sarah took the metal tablet out of her coat and placed it on the desk in front of him. Due to its weight it made a satisfying thump as she let it go.

‘Please, señor, it’s very important.’

Yochi glanced down at the Mayan relic before him. The ancient patina and unusual nature of the piece must have piqued his interest, as he picked it up, noted its weight and then angled his desk lamp to highlight the inscriptions in more detail. He looked up in astonishment. ‘Where does this come from?’

‘The Ruins of Copán,’ Jason said.

Yochi turned it over in his hands, feeling the surfaces. ‘It is fascinating,’ he said, turning it again to look at the inscriptions. Nothing further was said for a minute or so as he examined it.

‘We need you to decipher it for us,’ Sarah said at last.

‘Of course,’ he said, without looking up. He grabbed a blank piece of paper, drew a line and then wrote on it, referring back to the artefact every now and then for guidance.

‘It is a map,’ Yochi said once he had finished.

‘We guessed that part,’ Trish said. ‘I was able to identify Copán, Holtún and El Zotz, but the rest I couldn’t translate.’

Yochi looked up again at the three people standing in his room, suddenly realising they weren’t just students or tourists. ‘You are archaeologists?’

Sarah nodded. ‘Yes, from England.’

‘And Wales,’ Jason said.

‘I see. You are quite correct in your initial deductions. The ones you were missing are here.’ He indicated the piece of paper and handed it to Sarah.

Trish and Jason moved in closer to see that Yochi Cayut had copied out the line and added to it the names of the places he had just translated.

‘Perhaps the most interesting thing is the inclusion of Teotihuacán,’ Yochi said. ‘It reinforces other finds linking the great city of the north to the Mayan civilisation in the south. I really must know how you came to have this piece. Did you discover it on the site or acquire it from another source?’

‘We bought it from a dealer,’ Jason said. ‘It’s authentic, though,’ he added quickly, thinking on his feet. ‘It came with a wooden case which we had carbon dated; it’s over a thousand years old.’

Sarah was thankful Jason was on the ball. If they’d told him they’d unearthed it then he would no doubt have insisted they turn it over to the relevant authorities or Mayan Institute. The fact that they had acquired it financially made its ownership a much greyer area.

‘You’ve left a question mark at the top,’ Sarah said, pointing to it.

‘Yes, I don’t recognise it. It’s definitely not a Mayan name. I think you will need to visit an authority on Mexican Mesoamerica.’ He fumbled around on his desk. ‘I should have a card here somewhere.’

‘What about the other hieroglyphs?’ Trish said. ‘The ones at the very top.’

‘Yes, I did see them. They aren’t a place, more a description. I guess it means
bear men
or more literally
beast men
.’

‘It doesn’t mean giants, then?’ Jason said.

‘I suppose it could be interpreted that way,’ he conceded, smiling a little at the suggestion. ‘There are many references in ancient Maya records to bears that walk like men. It’s a normal occurrence in cultures all over the world where bears, especially grizzly bears, are located.’

Yochi Cayut picked up the artefact and examined it again. ‘Would you mind if I took a photo of this?’

‘Go for it,’ Sarah said.

He placed the metal plate back on his desk and used his phone to take a couple of pictures. He then came round the desk, holding the relic in both hands, and carefully passed it back to Sarah. As he was quite small, the top of his head barely reached Sarah’s chin, and it was probably for this reason that he noticed something.