Killer Thrillers Box Set: 3 Techno-Thriller, Action/Adventure Science Fiction Thrillers (15 page)

Huddled together in a line, they continued their descent. After a solid fifteen minutes, the passage leveled off and continued for another 30 feet. Bryce knew from Whittenfield’s briefing that they’d reached the bottom of the Descending Passage, and were now entering the Lower Room, about 345 feet down the Descending Passage.

They halted at the opening as Bryce peered cautiously into the chamber. Immediately, he knew something was wrong.
 

“What’s up, boss?” Jeff asked in a whisper.
 

“There’s no one here,” Bryce replied, taking a few more steps into the Lower Room. “It’s empty.”
 

“Maybe they went back up another way.“ Bartlinski offered.
 

“No, Whittenfield said specifically that there’s only one known entrance or exit to the Lower Chamber, and this is it. Besides that, there are only
two
entrances to the entire pyramid, both off the passage we just came through. The original built by the Egyptians, and one created by excavations years later. If they came down here, we’d be looking at them.”

“Unless,” Wayne said, thinking aloud, “there’s another exit from this chamber. An
unknown
exit…”

Bryce looked at him, considering the possibility. Surely any passageways or tunnels large enough for a man to crawl through had long been discovered, excavated, and mapped — after all, this
was
one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, and the only one still in existence. The pyramids were more heavily visited, studied and excavated than almost any archaeological site in the world. How could all that attention over the years have missed a back door?
 

As Bryce considered what to do next, Cole walked toward the right wall, wanting a closer look at some scratches or markings there. He reached forward to rub some of the dust off the stone, and abruptly jumped back.
 

“Hey, check this out!“ he said, no longer whispering.
 

His hand was inches from the wall, but he held it in place as he glanced back to the group. “I think there’s something
written
here — hieroglyphics or something.”

The others gathered around. On the stone surface, bluish lines curled and zigzagged in seemingly random patterns, only visible as Cole’s hand drew near. They were symbols, individual pictograms, shapes that twirled around each other from left to right. Cole moved his hand sideways along the wall, revealing more pictograms as he went, the symbols vanishing again as his hand moved past. Bryce leaned in, shining his headlamp on the wall where Cole’s hand had passed. He ran his finger carefully over the spot. There was no etching, chiseling, or break in the stone whatsoever, and without Cole’s hand close to the surface, the blue script was completely invisible.
 

“I don’t think they’re hieroglyphics,” Wayne said. “These are more curved; rounded. Plus, I’ve seen ancient Egyptian writing in museums, and this isn’t it at all. It’s some kind of script, for sure though. See, there’s sections of the text that repeat, using the same symbols but in different orders:”

“What is it, then?” Gary McGowan asked, speaking for the first time since they’d entered the pyramid.
 

“No idea,” Bryce said, “but let’s get some pictures for Whittenfield so he can analyze them. I don’t know that they’ll be visible in this light, or even if there’s enough of a signal from down here under all this rock, but it’s worth a shot.” He aimed his shoulder-mounted camera at the wall, following Cole’s hand as he passed it over the wall, revealing more of the blue writing at each section.
 

Suddenly, they heard shouts coming from the passageway behind them. Bryce ran to the entrance, peering around the edge with his gun at the ready.
 

“Egyptian military,” Bryce said. He felt trapped between two opposing forces, one of which surely wanted them dead, and another that certainly wasn’t excited to see them. He needed a plan, and quick, but the Egyptian team was closing fast, and his team was in a corner.

“Bryce! Over here!” Cole frantically called from the corner of the room, next to the hole that was the Descending Passage’s exit. He’d reached the end of the line of ancient symbols, moving all along the wall left to right, and now he stood wide-eyed and impatient. “I may have found another way out!”

Cole raised his hands up above his head, revealing a thin blue line on the wall. He moved his hands apart and down, and the line continued, outlining a man-sized stone set in the wall. Where the line highlighted the stone’s edge, a hairline gap was barely visible.

Cole brought his hands in toward his chest, and immediately in front of him there appeared another symbol. They’d seen it repeated in the line of text along the wall; some sort of man-like creature emerging from the sea, arms outstretched:

CHAPTER 22

8:40 PM - GIZA, EGYPT

They didn’t know what it was, and they didn’t care. Cole placed his open palm on the stone, covering the symbol. Almost immediately, a low grinding noise emanated from the cracks around the block, and it slowly receded into the wall, going about two and a half feet before stopping. In its place was a large rectangular hole in the floor — a hidden opening to some unknown shaft. The rush of air that escaped the pitch-black hole smelled of earthy antiquity — similar to the “breathing” effect in caverns and cave systems.
 

Bryce made a snap decision.
 

“Everybody in. I’ll take my chances with the dark scary hole. At the very least, we can assume there’s no guns down there.”

Cole led the way. If this was in fact a secret passageway built by the same people who’d left the invisible script, Bryce knew Cole was the only one who could guide them through it. Most likely no one but the original builders had ever traversed this passage, and it was completely unknown to the many archeologists, geologists, and lucky tourists who’d been this far inside the Great Pyramid.
 

The hole was about three feet deep, and Cole’s torso stuck out the top when he stepped inside. He crouched and knelt down, looking around to find an opening. At the back of the hole, he could sense an opening before him in the darkness. He shuffled forward on his hands and knees and realized that his head was no longer underneath the entrance block. He carefully stood, and with outstretched hands found the ceiling of the new passageway about five feet above the ground. They would need to stoop over a bit, but they’d be able to walk upright nonetheless.
 

Bryce followed after Cole. His headlamp was still switched off, but as he stood up next to Cole, he realized he wouldn’t need it anyway.
 

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Cole asked. Bryce looked around, blinking in awe.
 

The entire space was filled with bluish light — the walls, floor and ceiling sparkling in a polished sheen. More pictograms in the same strange style covered the passageway. Bryce and Cole could only see a few paces ahead, but the tunnel appeared to curve downward — completely unlike the rest of the pyramid’s passageways, which were straight and angular. Cole took a few steps forward and the glow seemed to follow him — lighting the way a few steps in front and behind him.

“Hot damn, this is pretty cool,” Jeff muttered as he stepped into the tunnel. As the rest of the group entered in single file behind him, the giant entrance block suddenly slid back into place. There was no visible mechanism, yet the two-ton piece of stone moved as easily as if it were on a well-oiled track.
 

“You think it’s on a timer?” Wayne wondered aloud.
 

Gary voiced the concern they were all feeling. “I hope there’s another way out… it looks like this was a one-way door.”
 

As the slab settled back into place, its edges were as flush with the adjacent stones as if it had never moved. No visible gaps, no thin blue line, and no cryptic symbol marking the stone’s location. It was just another massive block in a very solid, impenetrable wall.

CHAPTER 23

8:40 PM - GIZA, EGYPT

Madu sniffed the air. He wasn’t sure if there would be any noticeable difference between the fork in the path, but his sixth sense about things like this usually didn’t fail him. Raising one hand to halt his men, he looked up at the Ascending Passageway and then down again. He decided the men he was after had gone downward, and shouted a curse after them.

The massacre they’d stumbled upon outside the pyramid was beyond mention. The poor souls had been remorselessly slaughtered. Some of them had been esteemed security officers, with ranks and awards that demanded respect. Jabari had worked with some of their fathers on occasion — he only hoped he would not have to deliver the news of their sons’ deaths.

If not for his friend, Vilocek, the killers may have escaped unnoticed. But Vilocek had called him again, frantic, stumbling over his words.
 

“The — the men — we’ve taken casualties — Madu, send in a force! We’ve been ambushed!”

Madu told him to slow down, to repeat what he’d said.
 

“Send reinforcements! The security force is taking heavy losses, and I’m not sure if we’ll be able to get out of here — we’re inside the Pyramid of Khufu, descending toward toward the Lower Chamber — hurry!”

“Tanning — who ambushed you? What other force is there?”

“I think we’ve been followed by one of my competitors. He’s been shadowing us ever since we left the States. I never thought he’d — “ his voice trailed off; for a moment Madu thought he’d lost the signal. Then Vilocek continued, his voice hushed. “I never thought he’d come in force. And now — Madu, I’m so sorry…”
 

“No, my friend,” Madu reassured him. “You have done nothing wrong — retreat to a safe place inside the pyramid, and stay down. I can have a force there within the hour.” Madu was already planning the mission, his years of combat training and teaching wartime strategy instantly putting his mind in motion.
 

“Madu — “ Vilocek went on, “I don’t know who this man has hired, but you’re going to need the best men you can find; and as many as you can find.”
 

“I understand. Give me an hour, and I give you my word I will be there.” Jabari hung up the phone, and immediately dialed another number. Within fifteen minutes he’d assembled a force of forty special forces troops. A few more calls and he’d secured transport vehicles and weapons.
 
As promised, Jabari was headed out toward the pyramids within the hour, determined to rescue his friend from the forces who’d desecrated the sacred site and violated his country’s territory.
 

Now, descending into the pyramid, he could taste revenge in his mouth — the distinct combination of anger, pride, and humiliation that had driven him to overcome and decimate his enemies since he was a young man. He was a proud leader, and he knew that these forty men were perfectly suited for this situation. They were all professionals who would follow his commands without question or hesitation. Jabari felt a rush of adrenaline in anticipation of the coming fight.