Curse of Atlantis (29 page)

“Hmm, this is a bit disturbing,” he said aloud, yet to no one in particular.

“What’s it say, Burt
?
” Javier pressed.

“Well, as far as I can tell, it says: ‘Cursed is he for all eternity
,
’” he replied.

For a moment, all were quiet as they thought about the message.

“Hmm, so the pyramid is cursed,” Javier said. “Great, just what I was hoping for,” he added sarcastically.

“H
opefully they’re just playing a bluff… trying to scare intruders away,” Jack responded.

“I wouldn’t count on it, Jack. So far, they’ve been good to their promises,” Javier responded.

“I was afraid someone was going to state the obvious,” Jack joked.

As
Burt moved his own joystick, he
shifted his camera to an object on the wall just ahead. He clicked a few buttons on his keyboard and
the focus sharpened
.

"Ah ha, sconces. One on each side of the chamber," he said aloud.

Javier shifted his focus to Burt's screen and concurred.

"I wonder if there's any oil in them after seven thousand years," Javier wondered.

"I'm sure it was all washed away with the tsunami," Jack replied.

"I'm sure you're right," Javier responded.

Javier pushed the control stick forward and the probe was on the move once more. Seated thirty feet from the entrance to the chamber, all eyes watched as the probe
's
spotlights faded in the darkness. Several more feet in, the probe’s camera picked up two large statues just up ahead, standing on each side of the corridor.

“Wow, those are amazing. They look perfectly intact,” Burt said.

“Exquisite,” Javier responded simply.

Moving in closer, Burt viewed the statues head to toe.

“Warriors guarding the chamber, obviously,” Javier said. “Interesting… one’s a bowman, the other is a spearman.”

“They appear to be carved out of a single piece of stone. Such craftsmanship,” Burt added.

Moving
closer, they began to see build-
up of silt behind the legs of the two statues.

“Javi, do you see that?” Burt asked, now pointing to the computer screen.

“Sure do. Looks like the tsunami filled this chamber with water, but not a lot of debris was able to get in,” Javier responded.

“You’d think that a tsunami with enough force to cover this entire pyramid would have pushed a lot more material into this chamber,” Jack said.

“Those doors must have an extremely tight fit… barely anything gets past them,” Burt speculated.

“That’s good news. The king’s tomb might still be fairly intact,” Javier said, trying to stay positive.

The further in the probe moved
,
the higher in elevation it climbed as the level floor became a slight incline. Several minutes later, the silt on the floor began to disappear.

“I think I can see the floor,” Javier announced. “Looks like the dirt must have been swept lower by the rush of draining water.”

As the floor became level again, the corridor made an abrupt turn to the left and more statues could be seen standing guard. All eyes watched nervously as they anticipated a trap being sprung around the corner. Slowly, methodically, Javier worked the small probe through the next darkened corridor.

Along the walls, more of the same hieroglyphs could be seen, warning against further travel. Every twenty feet, a pair of sconces appeared. Triangular in shape and measuring a foot high, they appeared as an upside down pyramid attached to the wall, five feet from the ground.

An hour later and another slight change in elevation, the corridor shifted back to the right again. The silt on the floor was mostly gone and now intricate etchings could be seen describing methods of horrific death.

“Boy, they sure are covering all the bases. I’ve counted four different ways to die so far,” Jack said.

“Imagine all that we missed in those areas covered with silt,” Javier responded.

“Maybe there aren’t any traps. Maybe they figured the hieroglyphics would be enough to scare people away,” Darrien speculated.

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Jack said.

“Yeah, I have this sick feeling we’re missing something,” Burt responded.

“With all these warnings we’re seeing, I’m sure we’re missing something,” Javier added.

Another hour passed and the probe began to level out once more. Rolling along the flattened corridor, the walls in front of the probe suddenly disappeared.

“Whoa, go back!” Burt shouted. “It’s a trap.”

“Got it!” Javier shouted back in fearful tone.

Instantly, he reversed the probes wheel direction and began to back up. Burt frantically spun the camera around and searched the area for hazards.

“I don’t see anything,” Jack offered, nervously. “Maybe it’s nothing.”

“Can’t take
that chance
,” Javier said as he continued to back up.

Seconds later, the walls popped into view. Beyond the walls, down the corridor was safety. Pushing the speed of the probe as fast as he could, Javier expertly negotiated the narrow corridor. While Javier’s camera viewed the area in front of their travel, Burt’s camera viewed the area behind them. All eyes scanned both computer screens as they waited for doom to appear.

Heading back down the incline, Javier suddenly stopped. Looking over at Burt’s camera, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“I don’t know what that was, but I’m sure we’re safe for now,” he said.

Burt scanned both screens and concurred.

“Ok, what do we do now?” he asked.

“Go back. Now that we know what to look for, we can move into the area
more cautiously. Maybe it
was nothing,” Jack responded.

“I agree, besides, I don’t think we have much choice,” Javier said.

“Ok, let’s go back. Stay sharp
,
everyone. Shout out if you see something suspicious,” Burt agreed.

With quiet nods, intense focus
was
trained on both computer screens. Javier shook out his sweaty hands, then switched directions of the probe and slowly moved it along the corridor, back to the area in question.

Jack’s heart pounded as he watched the screen. Anxiety raced through him as he envisioned the probe being crushed by falling walls.

Scanning the corridor ahead, Burt pulled a small cloth from his pocket and wiped his brow. Without taking his eyes from the screen, he nervously stowed the cloth in his upper shirt pocket.

“Ok, there it is. The walls end just ahead. Stay focused,” Javier called out.

With both cameras now trained to the region in front of them, the four men searched for a trap.

Moments later, the lights from Burt’s camera picked it up.

“What’s that?” Burt shouted. “Stop the probe.”

Instantly, Javier stopped and threw the controls in reverse in preparation to run once more.

“I see it too,” Jack shouted.

“Got it,” Darrien concurred.

As Burt turned the camera for better clarity, a large rectangular block came into focus.

“Watch the block, Javi,” Jack blurted out.

“Got it,” Javier replied simply.

The probe moved back slightly then stopped. Javier shifted its direction from the right to the left, as Burt used the other camera to identify the danger.

“Burt, hang on a mo
ment. That block’s not moving. L
ook over here to the left,” Javier said. “I think I see the other side of the wall.”

“Yeah! Me too!” Jack shouted.

Burt instantly directed his camera to his left
.
With both
camera
lights now illuminating the area in question, sharp detail came into view.

“Oh my God! The walls didn’t drop away. They just stopped… and opened up into a huge CHAMBER!” Jack shouted. “This could be it guys. This could be the king’s tomb.”

“Hold on, Jack. Let’s not jump to conclusions. This could be the trap we’ve been looking for,” Javier cut in.

“Agreed. Let’s take it slow. Examine everything carefully,” Burt added.

“Ok, but let’s check out that huge rectangular block first,” Jack said.

“I don’t think that’s just a big hunk of stone. That looks like an altar to me,” Javier responded. “What do you think, Burt?”

“Absolutely. There’s no mistaking it. Can we move in for a closer look?”

With a flick of a switch, Javier changed direction of the probe’s wheels and inched his way along the wall, heading for the block. As he moved closer, Burt began to scan the area for dangers.

“Whoa, there’s an enormous door over here, guys. Check it out,” Burt exclaimed excitedly.

“It’s got a couple more sentinels standing guard at its entrance… so cool,” Jack added.

Continuing to search the room, Burt finished a full three-hundred-sixty degree scan. Coming back around, the light
shone on
the etchings and hieroglyphic on the walls.

“Absolutely amazing. This is even more impressive than the Egyptian pyramids,” Burt commented.

As Javier carefully followed the perimeter of the room, he made an interesting discovery.

“I’m not positive, but I think this room is pentagonal.”

“I think you’re right, Javi,” Burt said. Scanning the room once more, he continued, “You are right. I counted five walls. This is unbelievable. How’d they carve this all out? Just amazing!”

“I hate to speak prematurely on this, but I’m thinking there’s no trap in here. Aside from the statues and the altar, I really don’t see anything suspicious,” Jack said.

“I think you’re right, Jack,” Burt replied. Pointing to the enormous door between the statues, he continued, “But I wouldn’t want to make any assumption on the other side of that door.”

Jack nodded grimly, then focused on the screen once more.

Javier moved along the narrow side of the altar. Engraved on its surface were intricate burial scenes. Accepting more risk, he decided to mo
v
e around to the front to examine it further.

“Oh my God! Jack, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Javier blurted out.

They all stared at the engraving on the front of the stone. In its center, a similar image of the pentagon shaped room was carved with the altar on one side of the room and the large doorway to the king’s tomb on the other. Sitting on top of the altar was a pyramid with the
"
all-seeing eye
"
suspended just above it. Like beams of light shining through the
"
eye
,"
lines were drawn that connected the
"
eye
"
to the door on the opposite side of the room.

“It’s a pyramid with the ‘
all-seeing eye’
on top of it,” Jack responded excitedly.

“Not the ‘
all-seeing eye’
, Jack. That’s your crystal on top of it,” Burt cut in. “…and I’m almost certain it’s the key into that room.”

“Not Jack’s crystal, Burt. I
t’s the Russian’s crystal now,” Javier spat, acidly.

Javier’s remark brought the intent of their mission squarely into focus. For a moment, all were silent as they contemplated the magnitude of his words. All felt the pressure to succeed even more than ever.

Serena’s smiling face instantly registered in Jack’s mind. He remembered her touch before her kidnapping. He recalled her sadden
ed
face as the kidnappers drove away. Now, so close to the end, he was even more determined to rescue her.

“Ok, we’ve come what we came to see. Let get her back,” Jack said resolutely.

~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~

With the probe brought back to the entrance, the four men readied themselves to enter the pyramid for the final inspection. Each man carried a backpack with analysis equipment, as well as safety gear and high intensity lighting. They understood the risk of entering the chambers before they were fully cleared, but with time running out,
once
again,
they were left with little choice.

Jack switched on his headlamp and took a step into the chamber.

“Ok, stay sharp. Anyone
hear
anything at all, shout out,” Jack announced.

“We’re right behind you, Jack,” Darrien responded, nervously.

Following behind Jack was Darrien, then Javier, followed by Burt. As they made their way into the pyramid, their movements were deliberate and methodical. Every step was tested
,
then placed. Every crack and seam was viewed as suspect. The deeper into the chamber they went, the greater their anxiety grew.

Working higher, Jack spotted the two statues of warriors that guarded the corridor. Moving up next to them, he examined the floor at their bases for any signs of trouble. Satisfied, he continued on, ignoring their archeological significance.