Title:
Ancient Man
Author: NubianGeek
Summary: Declan is caught up in
a search for a famous archaeologist that
brings him to beautiful
Maya temples and brings him to a wonderful lady love.
Disclaimer:
All standard acknowledgments apply. The idea and background for
the
Maya are from the book The Adventures of Holly Hobbie. The word
Maya
refers to the people and the language. Maya is also used as
an adjective
wherever anything pertaining to the Maya is
described. Expert
archaeologists, anthropologists, and art
historians on Mesoamerica who have
dealt with the subject and its
literature for many years have developed an
official policy for
the use of the word Maya in the nominal, adjectival, and
plural
forms (and avoid using the word Mayan).
Declan Dunne was in his office, when he received an unexpectant
visitor.
"Hello, are you Declan Dunne?" When Declan
looked up, he was stunned by her exotic beauty. She had long, black
hair, almond-shaped eyes and dark skin. Her beauty was mesmerizing.
"I need your help. Your name was given to me by someone who
knew my
father, Michael Patton."
Declan recognized
the name not from personal experience, but from
academic circles.
"I was sorry to hear about your father." Declan invited
her to sit down.
"That's just it, Mr. Dunne, I do not
believe that my father is dead."
Declan had heard about
Michael Patton disappearing in the jungles of
Central America.
"I have been having dreams about my father. I believe that
he is very
much alive."
Declan looked at the girl
standing before him. She definitely did
believe what she was
saying, but, from everything that he had seen and read,
Michael
Patton was dead.
"So, Ms. Patton, what would you like me
to do?"
"Tamika."
"Excuse me?"
"Tamika. My name is Tamika. I want you to help me find my
father."
Declan stared at her for a few moments, and the
first thought that came to his mind was that this was a wild goose
chase.
"Declan."
"What?"
"Declan, my name is Declan. I guess I can help you." He
didn't sound
too sure of himself, Tamika thought as she looked at
him.
"Tell me about your dream."
"I am
standing in the middle of the jungle, when two jaguars - one
black
and one spotted - race toward me in slow motion. I start to
fall, when the
voice of my high school Spanish teacher appears.
She's fussing at me,
'Senorita Patton, es muy facil to find your
father.' I hear parrots
shrieking all around. 'El tigre, el
tigre!' The monkeys are teasing me.
Then, in the distance, I see
my father. He was kneeling to study an ancient,
round altar carved
with the face and paws of a jaguar and the body of a man - what the
natives call a were-jaguar. The cats are coming closer and closer
to
my father."
Declan watched her as she related the dream.
She seemed to be paralyzed
with fear as she spoke.
"I
watched him being torn apart and there was nothing I could do to
help
him." She was crying now and there was no doubt in his
mind that he was
going to help
her.
Tamika showed Declan a necklace and a letter from her father
before he
disappeared. The necklace was a green plaque. She wore
it on a leather
thong around her neck. On the front was a carving
of a jaguar.
"Jaguars were often used as symbols in Maya
writings." Declan said.
He looked at the letter from her
father. In the letter, her father
mentioned the Peabody Museum. He
had been there just last December.
"Wait a minute."
Declan went shuffling through his many books and
papers, and
finally found the one that he was looking for. He responded to
her
questioning gaze.
"It's a catalog from the Peabody
Museum." Declan flipped through the
catalog until he found a
picture of the jaguar on her necklace.
"Here it says,
'Cast of Stela 40, Tikla, Guatemala. Date: circa 633.'"
There
was a look of purpose on Tamika's face.
"We have to go
to
Boston."
"You're going where?" Miranda asked.
"I'm
going to Boston - to the Peabody Museum, to be exact." Miranda
shook her head not understanding.
"So, this girl just
walks into your office and lays some story on you, and now you're
going off to Boston with her?"
Declan knew that it
sounded strange, but he believed her for some
reason.
They had been cleared for take off and each of them sat in
nervous
silence. They had not spoken of anything other than the
mystery surrounding
her father. He wanted to get to know her.
"So, Tamika, tell me about your childhood."
Tamika looked shyly at this man that she had asked for help. He was
very handsome, and his eyes seemed to pierce right through her.
"I was born in the United States, but my mother was
Guatemalan. My
father met my mother on one of his first trips
there. He used to write
poetry to her. She kept every one of his
letters. They were so in love."
She lowered her head in
embarrassment. She had not meant to talk about love.
"When
did your mother die?" He saw a sadness come over her face.
"She died a month ago. That's when I decided to find out what
happened
to my father." Declan couldn't help but feel sorry
for this girl who has
suffered so much tragedy in such a short
period of time.
"Yes, I lost my mother and my father
within the last year. I am alone
now." She was trying to be
so strong. He wanted to put his arms around her
and hold her.
They spoke some more throughout the trip and Declan couldn't shake
the
feeling of being drawn to this
woman.
The old woman was doing what she had done for so many times
before. She took a pinch of the ground tortilla dough that she had
already made. She rolled it into a ball and put it on a banana leaf.
She flattened the ball into a thin disk. She put the flattened disk
of tortilla dough on the comal
- a blackened circle of thin metal
that is held over the fire.
Rosana was Maya. She and her
husband, Raul, had come to Guatemala from Yucatan twenty years ago.
Raul was a stone mason who had come to work on the ruins of Tikal.
The ruins were different here. The mounds were higher and steeper
than those of the Yucatan.
There were many archaeologists, at
first, at Tikal. Only a few remained. Last winter, Raul and his wife
had talked about moving back to the
Yucatan, when suddenly, the
work began again. A man named Joshua Watkins,
who Raul assumed was
an archaeologist, had hired him. Most of the work was
at night,
for some reason.
Then, Raul vanished. He had been gone four
months. Rosana went to ask
Joshua Watkins where her husband was,
but Senor Watkins said that Raul must have gotten drunk and run off.
Rosana, however, did not believe
this.
When Tamika and Declan arrived in Boston, they checked into the
hotel.
Declan didn't ask where Tamika's money came from. Maybe she
was
independently wealthy.
They made their way to the
Peabody Museum and were directed to the Maya
display. They are
directed to see Jeff Wilson, who is a graduate student
in
Mesoamerican Anthropology. They are disappointed with what he
has to tell
them.
"The exhibit that you want, is on
loan to the American Museum of Natural
History in New York.
Tomorrow is the last day there and then it will move
to Vienna."
"Is there anything you can tell us about this pendant?"
Tamika showed
him the pendant.
"Well, I can't comment
on the hieroglyphic - it's not my field. It does
have one glyph
that is called the emblem glyph, which is probably the name of an
ancient Maya city. I remember seeing this somewhat recently. I think
that it might be on a cast sent from the Guatemalan government. It's
in the Tikal stela with the exhibit in New York."
Tamika
looked confused, so Declan filled in the blanks.
"Stelae
are big, stone monuments that were set up to commemorate
special
days and events. The Maya did a lot with calendars. The jaguar
may
represent a certain dynasty of rulers of that city. There are
different
kinds of jaguars in Maya art."
Jeff Wilson
confirmed what Declan had to say and added, "Your father
thought
that the stelae contained mathematical formulas. He was
alsointerested in astronomy. The pendant might be part of a formula
that has to
do with the location of a city."
They
decided to spend the night in Boston and leave for New York the
next
day. That night at dinner, Declan asked more questions.
"You
think that I'm a spoiled, little, rich girl, don't you?"Tamika
exclaimed in response to his questions. Declan didn't particularly
think that she was spoiled, but . . .
"I have money
from a trust fund from my grandmother. I hadn't used any of it until
now." She seemed very proud of the fact that she was
independent.
"So, what were you doing before your father
disappeared?" Another cloud
came across her face. Declan was
beginning to read her very well.
"I traveled with my
father some. He was working on a book and I was
helping him with
it. In fact, I would have been with him when he -disappeared if I
hadn't been off with some man." She caught herself again.
She
hadn't meant to say that. Declan was now curious.
"Who
was this man?" Is he still uh - in the picture?" Declan was
trying not to be so obvious and not succeeding very well. Tamika
smiled at this. It was obvious that she was interested as well.
"We are no longer seeing one another. We broke up shortly
after my dad
disappeared." Declan 's only response was a
smile.
"He's where?" Peggie said, looking up from her
paperwork.
"He's in Boston, but they are headed for New
York." Peggie could hardly
believe her ears.
"And,
he's doing this because this girl just walked into his
office?"
Miranda nodded.
"He knows her father's
reputation, but that's it. Do you think he's
getting in way over
his head?"
"Declan? Is there any
doubt?"
He walked her back to her room and he knew that he was going to
kiss
her. His only question was whether or not she would kiss him
back.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked as
they stood outside her
door. Declan was trying to decide whether
to tell her the truth or to lie,
when Tamika put her arms around
him and kissed him. Her tongue parted hislips as she deepened the
kiss.
Declan moaned as he put his arms around her. He
desperately wanted to
move things to another location, but before
he could do anything to act on
his feelings, Tamika suddenly
stopped and pulled away.
"W-What's wrong?" he
asked. Declan was breathing erratically and knew that he would not
have stopped, if she hadn't.
"I'm sorry. I had no right
starting something that I knew I couldn't
finish - at least not
yet anyway."
She smiled weakly as she turned and went
inside and shut the door.
Declan had a hard time sleeping that
night and he did have to take a cold
shower when he returned to
his room. Little did he know that someone was
watching their every
movement.
The next morning when Tamika saw Declan, she was very
embarrassed.
"Declan, look, I want to apologize for last
night. I'm sorry."
"Well, I'm not sorry."
Tamika lowered her eyes in embarrassment. She
hadn't expected him
to say that.
"Look, if you want me to act as if nothing
ever happened, I suppose I
could, but I don't want to."
Declan put his hand on her cheek. She shook
involuntarily, but she
was glad for his touch. She then, deliberately,
changed the
subject.
"Are you ready to go to New
York?"
When they arrived in New York, they went directly to the American
Museum "These movements of the stars and even the time of the
sunrise at Meanwhile, Peggie and Miranda were having an adventure
themselves. "The Maya were obsessed with the past and curious about the
future. They had been given the name Curtis White. When they arrived at
the
of Natural History. They looked up and saw a sign that
said, 'The Children
of the Sun' exhibit. They looked at each
other trying to decide what to do.
Declan reached for the cassette
players and earphones that they issued to
people for self-guided
tours, and they joined the throng of people going to
see the
display.
"Hello. I'm Ansley Dunkirk, assistant
curator at the American Museum of Natural History. I will be guiding
you through the 'Treasures of the Maya - Children of the Sun'
exhibition. You will see fifty beautiful pieces that
have been
found during the last century. As you go along the tour, please
feel
free to stop this recording at any time to view items more
closely.
From time to time, you will hear a beep that will signal
you to turn themachine off until you move to the next item.
The first item that you will see is an ancient Maya priest in
full
ceremonial regalia. This is how he might have appeared
between A.D. 600 and
700."
They came to a stone
shaped like a jaguar, but with human eyes and nose
and a drooping,
sinister mouth with large fangs.
"It's not the same as
the one on my pendant." Tamika whispered.
Tamika and
Declan moved on and found another stone. The writing was the same as
that on the pendant.
"Cast of Stela 40, Tikal, Guatemala
Date: 9.10.0.0.0.1 Ahau 8 Kayab
in the Maya calendar, equal to
January 25 A.D. 633. This Stela depicts a
priest or ruler,
probably of Tikal. The badly eroded glyphs conceal the
exact time
interval, but the event relates to another city symbolized by
the
emblem glyph in position D4."
The jaguar was
present.
"I still think the jaguar stands for a city and
the information on the
back refers to that city." Declan
said. Tamika could not refute what he was
saying. She couldn't
help feeling hopeless about the whole situation.
Declan, seeing
her disappointment in not finding more clues, decided to
cheer her
up.
"Come on, I'm going to show you the stars."
Tamika looked at him
strangely.
When they arrived at the
planetarium, she was perplexed even more.
"It'll take
your mind off things. Besides, the Maya thought a lot
about
stars."
different periods of the year are correlated with the
stones of Stonehenge,
the temples of the Maya, and perhaps even
some circular rock formations in
Wyoming, according to the
findings of Leo Goodman of the University of
Pennsylvania.
Recently Professor Goodman, working with field anthropologists
like
the late Michael Patton, further substantiated his theory that many
of
the monuments of the Maya and others . . . "
Tamika
didn't like hearing of her father referred to as 'late'.
"I
need to get out of here." Tamika whispered and left before the
show
was over. Declan followed her out and put a comforting arm
around
her
shoulder.
Miranda happened to be walking past Declan's office,
when she noticed that
the door was ajar. Thinking that he had come
to his senses and returned from
his foolish trip, she went in
intent upon chewing him out.
"Oh my . . . "
She turned on the light and saw that Declan's office had been
ransacked.
"Peggie, I think Declan's in trouble."
Peggie shared her concerns.
"When did you last hear
from Declan?"
"He was on his way to the University
of Pennsylvania. They went to see
Leo Goodman."
"Let's
go."
They thought that events in heaven were related to events
on earth. They
believe that history repeats itself and certain
cycles of movements of stars
and planets occurred at the same time
as changes in their realm, for
example, earthquakes. They also say
that the world will end in 2013."
Leo Goodman was
rambling on so that she could scarcely keep up. She decided to just
show him her pendant. He seemed quite interested.
"There
is a glyph symbol on here that we found elsewhere that we
thought
meant 'earthquake'. It is the earth symbol that is also
one that represents
names of the days of the week. In some texts,
this symbol has a split in it, and
it's not the day sign in those
texts. We were checking to see if Maya
prophecies had any basis in
fact. We followed the prophecies that included
the cracked earth
symbol and we worked out the date to be February of 1976."
Goodman
said.
"There was an earthquake in Guatemala in February
of 1976." Tamika said
slowly. Declan looked at her with great
surprise.
"How could you possibly know that?"
"That's how my parents met. My father was there when the
earthquake
occurred. He helped with the clean up. That's how he
met my mom. Professor
Goodman, how did you and my father come to
start working together?"
"Michael was looking for a
lost city. He wanted me to write a computer
program that took into
account all of his clues and come up with a list of
alignments
that we could plot on satellite photographs to try to locate the
lost
city. Michael said that it would save a lot of money knowing
exactly
where the city was." Leo Goodman looked as if he
didn't want to share the
next bit of information.
"Go
ahead, Professor Goodman. I want to hear everything."
Goodman
continued reluctantly.
"A lot of other researchers
resented your father's findings. They felt
that research money
could be put to better use. He and I ended up fighting.
The
satellite pictures won't be released for three years because they are
a
part of military intelligence. Michael was impatient because he
was concerned about looters."
"So, you were urging
him to wait?" Declan asked.
"Yes, but he decided
not to wait for the final calculations, and when
Joshua Watkins
offered to finance his expedition, he went for it."
Declan
noticed the look of distaste on Goodman's face at the
mention of Watkins'
name.
"Do you know if my father
had anymore notes that we could look at?"
Tamika asked
desperately.
"They are on loan to the Smithsonian
Institute in Washington,
D.C.
Smithsonian, they headed to where Michael Patton's pictures
were on display.
As they were standing there looking at the
pictures, Tamika lamented,
"Why did the Smithsonian
abandon my father?" She wasn't asking anyone in particular, but
she was answered.
"The Smithsonian didn't really abandon
your father. His permit expired.
If he had stayed at Tikal, we
would have continued support." Curtis White appeared.
"Basically, you didn't condone him running off looking for the
lost
city." Declan added. Curtis White didn't catch Declan's
biting sarcasm. "Professor Goodman called me. We do have
your father's last diary."
They followed him to his office
and he gave them the battered leather-bound
book.
aware of where they were sitting and he tried hard to keep
his mind on what
they were doing.
"So, what does you
father's last entry say?" he asked. Tamika began
reading:
"I am surviving as best as I can in This dense jungle.
The pendant There was a kind of
silence when she finished reading as the words from "I can't believe we're running all over the country looking
for Declan. When Declan walked Tamika back to her room, he knew immediately
that
that I am sending to Tamika is a magnificent piece. It
is too bad that I
don't know where it was found, but had we known,
the Guatemalan government
wouldn't have released it to me. I feel
that it is somehow important in my
search in the rainforest.
The pendant is 3 3/4" wide, 2 5/8" high and barely ½"
thick. The
front is carved into a jaguar profile with a plant
attached. The back
includes glyphs. Now the latest discovery: We
have searched the immediate
vicinity of Temple IV. We don't know
why the Stela fragment was not seen
before! Maybe because no one
was looking for it. This new fragment bears
the Maya calendar
date: 6 kan 17 chen - 9.17.14.12.4. Nothing else could
possibly
work.
Funds are running out, but I am reluctant to leave. The
looters are
getting more numerous. I feel that I must move quickly
before they loot the
site."
her father
sunk in.
"Well, where do you think we go from here?"
She was so wide-eyed and
innocent. He had to keep telling himself
that she didn't want to move any
further in their relationship,
but his mind kept straying.
"Uh - well - um - I think we
need to check out that guy Watkins. You
know, the one whose name
keeps popping up. Goodman didn't seem to care for him too much."
Tamika agreed. They would see Watkins first thing in the morning.
"Right now, I'm starving!" Declan
exclaimed.
We should have stayed home and waited for him to call
us." Miranda didn't
know what it was, but she had a bad
feeling about everything.
"Look, the man at the
university said that they were headed to
Washington. While we're
here on the east coast, we might as well check it
out."
Peggie was not
convinced.
something was wrong. Tamika's door was slightly ajar.
"Wait a minute." Declan whispered. Declan gently moved
Tamika back
behind him as he slowly opened the door. He listened
carefully. He wanted
to make sure that they weren't walking in on
anyone. There was no sound as
he moved silently into the darkness.
Whoever was there, was gone now.
Declan turned on the light. The
room had been trashed. Thankfully, the
diary was still there.
"What were they looking for?" Tamika asked. She was
still whispering
even though the danger had passed. Declan didn't
seem to know what they were looking for.
"Declan, can I
stay with you tonight?" Any other time, he would have
been
turned on by that statement. He didn't think that when they
started
this adventure that they would actually be in any danger.
When they went to his room, they noticed that it had been
searched as
well, but it didn't look nearly as bad as her room.
"They must have figured that I didn't have whatever they're
looking
for." Declan said lightheartedly. He looked at her.
She was really scared now.
"I'll sleep in the chair. You
can have the bed." Normally she would
refuse his gallant
offer, but she was so tired all she could do was smile
at him
weakly.
He sat in the chair, in the dark, and listened to her
breath. He
thought about how vulnerable she had looked and how
much he wanted to swoopher up into his arms and kiss her.
He
knew what she was thinking. She was starting to doubt whether
her
father was really alive and if he was, were these people after
him?
Suddenly, Tamika began to thrash around in her sleep.
She was having
another nightmare. He got up and moved to the bed.
He slid in and held her
and tried to calm her as best as he could.
She was crying now - sobbing
quietly - and he held her tighter.
Tamika instinctly put her arms around him
and held onto him. It
was in this way that Declan drifted off to
sleep.
comfortable heap. Tamika was embarrassed to find them this way
when she
awoke. Before she could speak, Declan answered her.
"You were having a nightmare." At first, Tamika looked as
if she
didn't believe him, but then she did recall that she had
the recurring
nightmare agin last night. Instead of raking him
over the coals, she held
onto him as she had done the night
before. His heart ached for her so badly,
but all he could do was
just hold her and follow her lead. He vowed that he
would not take
advantage of her.
"I'm all right now. Thank you."
Tamika prepared herself for the
interview with Joshua Watkins.
Curtis White had told them that Joshua
Watkins, whose official
occupation was an art historian, now runs ICAR -
Institute of
Central American Research in New Orleans. White knew Watkins
because
they had asked him to authenticate certain pieces in their
collection.
"Hello Ms. Patton. I am very sorry for your
loss. I fail to understand
why you are embarking on this search."
Tamika disliked the man the moment
she met him. Declan didn't like
the man much either.
"I do no think that my father is
dead, Mr. Watkins." Watkins was very
surprised to hear this.
"I don't understand. There has been no sign of him for more
than six months.
Your mother and I searched his last known camp
throughly. He was just gone.
He had left in March to go traipsing
out into the jungle. I left for New
Orleans on the 17th and we
brought cratefuls of artifacts with us including
your father's
diaries, letters and tape-recorded greetings. We flew those
things
out which were the only communications from him." It was
Tamika's turn
to be surprised. "Tape? There was no tape.
He did send me a letter in a plastic cassette
case. You must have
thought it was a tape." Declan was watching
Watkins
suspiciously.
"He also sent me this pendant."
Declan didn't miss the look of
excitement that crossed Watkins'
face for only a moment.
"Can you tell me anything about
these symbols?" Tamika asked.
"It is a jaguar. It
is a glyph from the Maya writing system. I don't
recognize that
particular one. I don't think that the pendant is of much
value."
He caught the look of sadness that crossed her face.
"Except,
maybe, sentimental value. I could send it to my research
assistants
for further analysis, if you wish." Watkins reached for
the
pendant and flashed his slimy smile at her.
"That's
all right. I prefer to hang onto it for - sentimental value."
She
replied.
From the time they left Mr. Watkins, until returning to the
hotel,
Declan had been unusually quiet.
"Declan, what
is it?" For some reason, Tamika had thought that she had
done
something wrong.
"Something's not right. Watkins said
that the things found at your
father's camp were the last things
your dad discovered. He said that he flew
to New Orleans on March
17th, but the letter he gave to you was dated March
22nd. Watkins
might even have other notes or diaries at the Institute.
Which
means that we need to go to New Orleans."
Tamika again
slept in Declan's room, but they didn't bother with the
pretense
of having him sleep in the chair.
"You realize that I'm
only doing this because I'm scared." Declan
didn't believe
her.
"Yeah, I know. You're just using my body."
Tamika shook, fearing that Declan was a little too close to the
truth. Instead, she chose to change the subject.
"What
could they be looking for? And, who are 'they'? They had both
decided
that Joshua Watkins was a 'bad guy', but was he behind the
ransacking
of the rooms?
"Well, there could be
missing notes and diaries, but I suspect that
Watkins has those.
Could there be someone else?" Tamika didn't like when
people
answered a question with a question. "Are you sure that you
don't have anything else from your father?'
Tamika shook her
head.
"The letter and necklace were the last things I
received."
When they arrived in New Orleans,
they immediately went to the Hotel
Monteleone where they had
already made reservations. Tamika believed
more than ever now that
Watkins had lied and that her father was indeed alive.
When
they arrived at the Institute, it was still quite early. So early, in
fact, that there seemed to be no one around.
"I think
that we need to wait until the Institute opens." But, even
as
Declan was saying this, Tamika was headed to the basement.
Little did they
know, but Joshua Watkins was watching their every
move via closed-circuit
television.
"Come on."
Tamika whispered from the basement. Declan felt that he had
no
choice but to follow.
"We could get into a lot of
trouble if we're caught down here." He fussed as he joined her
downstairs. When he reached her, he saw that she was standing in
front of a crate. On the crate was stenciled ICARUS - New Orleans
Chicle Products for Export Procutores Tropicales.
"What
does Icarus have to do with this? Declan asked.
"ICARUS
stands for Institute for Central American Research, United
States
office." Tamika replied.
"Oh." was all Declan
could say. Then, when Declan read the rest of the
inscription, he
said, "Why does he need this much chicle? Does he like
chewing
gum or what?" They heard movement up above and scurried up to
the first floor.
Suddenly, Watkins appeared. Declan and
Tamika tried not to look
surprised, after all, they had come there
to see him. At least they had
moved back to the upper level,
Declan thought. Watkins had invited them to
his office, but he did
not look happy to see them.
"I can't think why I should
be seeing you so soon after our last
meeting." Watkins said,
looking somewhat irritated.
"I'm still searching for
more copies of everything my dad wrote. thought you might see if you
had more papers in the crates of stuff you havein your basement."
Declan looked horrified that she had actually admitted
that they
were snooping around in the basement. Watkins didn't look too
good
either.
"What makes you think that I have crates
of stuff in my basement?"
Tamika smiled at him
sweetly.
"Why you told us in Washington, remember?"
Watkins looked befuddled.
"Uh - I'm afraid all of those
crates have been thoroughly searched. There's nothing in them but
stone carvings and pieces of pottery."
"Are there
anymore carvings of jaguars? When my dad sent me the
pendant, he
said that he was tracking down something."
Declan looked
a little annoyed. Tamika hadn't told him any of this.
"What
else did your father say?" Watkins was definitely scared of
what
she might say.
"Oh, he didn't say anything else.
He did say that he hoped that I
would have a chance to visit Tikal
to see where he worked." Watkins was
flustered fearing what
she might say next.
"How would I go about doing that?"
She again smiled sweetly.
"From Mexico City, you can
easily find a guide who will arrange a bus
through the Mexican
state of Chiapas and then a boat ride up the Usumacinta
River into
Guatemala. You're not thinking of going there on your own, are
you?"
Tamika smile
satisfactorily.
The next day, Peggie and Miranda were seated in Joshua Watkins'
office
at ICAR.
"You say that you haven't seen your
friend in over a week? But, what
makes you think they are here in
New Orleans?"
Peggie knew that the man was lying. She
had not mentioned that Declan
was traveling with anyone.
"My friend here thinks that he was headed here." Watkins
conveniently
changed his story.
"Oh yes, I saw them
in Washington. They seemed to be - very close.
maybe they ran off
together. You know how you young people are."
Miranda
and Peggie exchanged glances. They knew that running off to
solve
a mystery was much more believable than Declan running off for
aromantic tryst.
Things were getting out of hand. Too many
people knew what was going
on. After Peggie and Miranda left,
Watkins went to a secret panel in the
wall and extracted a dusty
leather-bound book. He opened it and began
reading:
"The clues to the new Jaguar City are coming together now. The focus is on Temple IV where the stela may still be in place. I am convinced that a ruler from the 7th century left Tikal to find a new city before Temple IV was built. The new fragment dates after the construction of Temple IV and marks the anniversary of the old event. I believe that this pyramid is pointing to the Jaguar City, but which way? I am uneasy about my relationship with Joshua Watkins. I am unhappy about his obsession with Cortez' gold, his trips back and forth to New Orleans and his lack of practice with crews. . . "
The diary suddenly broke off. Watkins remembered what
happened
next.
"Watkins, I didn't expect you back so
soon." Michael Patton said.
Watkins went on to talk about the
bad weather conditions. He said that they
were bringing supplies.
"You appear to be loading supplies instead of unloading
them. " Patton
saw the crates marked 'chicle'.
"What
is going on here?" Patton asked. Watkins tried to laugh it off.
"Everything is in order. They are marked for delivery to
ICAR."
"What do you mean 'in order'. We didn't
make arrangements to ship
anything to ICAR or anywhere else.
Nothing is supposed to leave Guatemala
unless it's been cataloged
and okayed for temporary loan by the Institute.
You are a smuggler
and a looter!" he accused Watkins. Watkins would not
waiver.
"I prefer to call myself an art lover. The thought of these
beautiful
pieces remaining in this primitive country is stupid and
shortsighted. They
could be inadvertently destroyed. These people
don't know what they have
here. I am saving them from that."
"You are robbing them of their artistic heritage and you're
using me to
do it!" "I don't have to be using you.
I'm offering you a chance of a
lifetime. I am making it possible
for you to go on with your work. . .and
maybe even find the lost
Jaguar City which I've been reading about in your
notes. . ."
"My notes? You've been . . ."
"I must say
that you have little choice. I've been careful to mention
your
name numerous times in my reports. Your signature had also been
forged
on various documents. By the time they straighten the whole
mess out, we
will have discovered your lost city. We're already
looking for it."
"You'll never get away with it."
"Think it over. I'll give you until tomorrow."
Watkins smiled as he remembered that he hadn't given him until
the
morning. He sent his best chiclero to kill him. Raul had
returned and
described how he plunged his machete through the tent
slicing through
Patton's abdomen. They even went to Patton's camp
to see the evidence.
The rumors had started three months later.
The natives had reported
that there was a white man in the jungle.
He had a sick feeling that this
man was Patton.
I had no
choice but to eliminate Raul. He made his assistant help him.
He
had sent Raul down into an abandoned tomb chamber near Temple IV. A
blow to the head and then sealing the tomb with a huge stone finished
off the deed.
Watkins ran his fingers over the bloodstained
binding of the diary,
"Animal blood." he said.
And now I have snoops asking questions of half the archaeologists
on the
East Coast about jaguars and lost cities. He was beginning
to get very
nervous
indeed.
"Oh no, you can't be serious. We're actually going to
Guatemala?"
Peggie was not a happy camper.
"Why
do you think I had you bring your passport?" Peggie knew that
she
shouldn't have been surprised, but she didn't think that they
would actually
go.
Joshua Watkins had proved to be a very
suspicious man. His slimy-sweet
charm had been meant to throw them
off the trail. He was quite handsome and was known to be a 'lady
killer'. One look at these women and he knew what he must do. They
were getting too close. "Do you think Michael Patton is
still alive?" Miranda asked. Peggie
hesitated. She wasn't
quite sure.
"I don't know, but I do know that something
dangerous is going
on."
When they arrived in Mexico City, they had to figure out what to
do.
Somehow they would have to make passage to Guatemala and then
on to Tikal.
But, until then, they decided to have some fun.
What was considered fun to an anthropologist and an archaeologist's
daughter? Why a museum of course.
They decided to go to an
anthropology museum . They came to a sign that said:
Museo
Nacional De Anthropologic.
They had a very nice time looking at
artifacts that didn't really have
anything to do with their quest.
While they were walking, Tamika slipped her
arm through Declan's
arm and it felt very intimate. Declan was busy trying
to read the
signals, but failed.
When they were finished at the museum
Tamika asked, "What should we do now?" Their footsteps
echoed in the courtyard of the museum.
"Well, we have to
get to Tikal and if I'm right, someone will come to us
and provide
us passage." Declan liked the look of awe that he received
from
Tamika.
"How do you know this?" Tamika
said. Declan smiled.
"Someone has been following us ever
since we left the airport."
Tamika shuddered as she realized
the magnitude of what Declan was
saying. Instinctively, he moved
to her side and held her. She felt better
knowing that he was
there.
Next, Declan noticed that they hadn't seen any people
in the museum. He
had, at first, thought that it was because it
was the middle of the afternoon
and that people were taking
siestas. But, there were no tourists either. He
was puzzled. They
went to the offices. On the door, they saw a sign:
"All
archaeologists are in the field."
They did
see something before they left that would help them on their
quest.
It was a map of where they were to go. It was the Yucatan
peninsula.
They decided afterwards to walk around the marketplace.
They went fromstall to stall looking at all of the beautiful objects.
While standing at a
stall of beautiful headbands, a man approached
them. His name was Jaime
Rojas.
"Ah, these headbands
are beautiful, but the headbands in Guatemala are
more beautiful.
Do you need a guide?" They eyed him suspiciously because
they
had not said that they were trying to get to Guatemala.
"Just
how do we get to Guatemala?" Declan asked.
"Es muy
facil if you have the proper papers. You need only to buy
tickets."
Tamika caught another chill as she recognized the words from
her
nightmare. Her eyes held the terror of recognition as well.
Declan became
concerned.
"My uncle is in the travel
business. Here is his address. He will help
you get to your
destination." He was gone as quickly as he had appeared.
"Are you all right?" Declan asked. Somehow her nightmare
was coming
true.
"What do you know about
premonitions?" she asked hauntingly.
"I know - a
little." Declan replied.
"What if my father is in
danger?" It was highly possible that Michael
Patton was in
trouble, but he didn't want to tell her that.
They went to
the address that was given to them by Jaime Rojas. When
they
arrived, they were eyed suspiciously by Jaime's uncle. They were
told
to meet him that night at the main bus station at 8:30.
Declan and Tamika went back to the hotel to freshen up and to eat
and
arrived back at Mr. Rojas' at 8:30.
"Are you
ready to leave? he asked hurriedly. Even though they felt
uneasy,
they knew that if they didn't go no, they would not be able to go
at
all.
"From here we go to Villahermosa, Tabasco and
then to Tenosique town.
It's on the river. This will put you in
Guatemala quickly."
Declan was uneasy. He realized that
he was putting them both in danger,
but Tamika was determined to
continue the search for her father. As they bumped along the dusty
road in the middle of the night, Tamika dozed and leaned heavily onto
Declan's shoulder. It felt good having her there. He placed his arm
around her and held her.
Jaime's uncle, Manuel, turned and
looked at them. He didn't know why
Senor Watkins wanted them
brought to Guatemala. He just did as he was told.
Declan wondered
if they were going to Guatemala of their own free willor not.
They drove across the great plateau of Central Mexico to the state
of
Veracruz. They entered the Tuxtla mountains. Declan noticed
that some of
the mountains were actually active volcanoes. He
could see them glowing and billowing in the distance. He looked at
his 'hosts'. They didn't seem to be worried by the sight of the
volcanoes.
When they reached a certain spot that he assumed
was Tenosique town.
They were joined by a Maya named Chan, who
brought food: black beans, and tortillas.
Manuel left and
they didn't see him for the remainder of the night. Tamika expressed
concern.
"Do you think that we'll be abandoned?"
she asked as they ate their
beans and tortillas. Declan didn't
know which scenario was worse: being
abandoned or being with that
Manuel character.
"We'll be all right." Declan
answered, but, he wasn't sure.
"I'll tell you what, if
it makes you feel better, I'll write a note." He took a small
memo pad from his pocket as well as a stub of pencil and started
writing. He was doing this solely to make her feel better.
"We'll say that we are being kidnaped and are headed for Tikal.
If
Manuel is reliable, we won't have to use it." He folded it
up and put it in
his shoe. Tamika knew that he was being silly,
but she thought that it was
sweet of him to try to ease her mind.
After a very uncomfortable night's sleep on the hard ground,
Declan and
Tamika woke to a breakfast of the same black beans and
tortillas. When they
finished eating, they were told that they
could explore the area. They
didn't waste any time. They began
walking. Tamika looked hopeful, but
Declan knew that they would
not be allowed to explore if they could actually
get anywhere.
"Look!" Tamika said excitedly.
Just ahead, they
saw a group of archaeologists working on a structure
with glyphs
carved on a big stair. They started to approach one of
the
archaeologists, when Manuel suddenly came from the jungle.
"You moved a lot quicker than they thought you would. We
need to leave,
the pilot is waiting."
Once in the
air, Manuel explained that they were following the west side
of
the Yaxchilan River.
"There was a lost city there. It
used to be my father's favorite site." She tried not to let
him see the tears in her eyes, but he did.
They entered the
mouth of the Pasion River and headed for Sayache.
"What's
that?" Tamika asked pointing to a group of people and trucks.
"It looks like a military checkpoint." Declan answered.
He mentally
memorized the area.
Again, Tamika slept, and
after awhile, Declan slept as well. He dreamt
that they were
standing near a temple in the middle of the jungle. Tamika
was
smiling and she was really beautiful. All of a sudden, three
jaguars
came tearing out of the jungle and started tearing her
apart. Declan heard
screaming and realized that Tamika really was
screaming.
Tamika had been dreaming as well and was most
probably having a
nightmare.
"It's okay. Shhh!"
He held her tightly and kissed her forehead.
"I'm here.
You're safe." He didn't know if that statement was
accurate.
Tamika was now sobbing as she clung to him. He soothed
her until she was
finally able to go back to sleep. He had to get
them out of
here.
In the morning, Declan and Tamika were brought before Joshua
Watkins.
Neither one of them seemed surprised to see him.
"I am on your side, Miss Patton, you see, I too believe that
your father
is alive. You can help me find him. No one has been
able to find him - not
even your mother."
Tamika felt
a twinge of guilt at that moment. Shortly after her father's
disappearance, Tamika's mother had tried to find Tamika's
father.
Tamika had thought that her mother was foolish. That was
until she received
the letter and pendant. Then, her mother died
and she didn't get the chance
to tell her that she had been right
all along.
Joshua Watkins continued.
"Your
father was eager to claim sole credit for the major new Maya site.
He
didn't leave me word as to where he was going as we had arranged.
Any
number of things could have happened to him. There was only
one place where
he would go - to the Lost Jaguar City. Even if he
did find it, he might be
tempted to keep the information to
himself." Watkins was putting the looting
blame onto Patton,
Declan thought, but why? He hoped that Tamika wasn't
falling for
it.
"You said that my pendant held the key. In what
way?" Tamika asked as
she held the pendant out to the man.
"If you show it to the chicleroes, they might recognize it and
tell us
where the lost city can be found."
Tamika, as
well as Declan, knew that a chiclero was a man that
gathered gum
resin from the sapodilla tree. Chicleroes also know the jungle
and
make excellent guides. "If you and your friend would like, you
may
look at Temple IV. There will be no tourists there due to the
shortage of
fresh water. After all, it is the dry season and what
a pity, someone
destroyed the pump room." Watkins gave his
sly, slimey smile as he turned to go.
"Why did you give
him the pendant?" Declan asked in an angry whisper.
"It
doesn't matter anymore, Declan. Don't you see? If he wanted it,
he
could have taken it. We're out here in the middle of nowhere."
He knew that
she was right. He took her hand and gave it a
reassuring squeeze.
"Come here, I want to show you
something." he brought her over to some
crates that were
similar to the ones they had seen in the basement of the
Institute
in New Orleans.
The crate read: ICAR US / chicle
The
crate had not been nailed shut, so they took a look. There was
no
chicle, but there was something else of interest. There was a
gold mask.
From everything they had learned, this gold mask, with
it's crossed eyes,
was a representation of the sun god.
"You will not find the temple in that crate." Both Tamika
and Declan
whirled around to find Joshua Watkins standing right
behind them. Boy, he's
everywhere, Declan thought. Tamika noticed
that he didn't look angry; he
looked more amused than anything.
"Manuel will take you to the temple." Watkins indicated
Manuel who was
standing nearby.
"I'd like to
telegraph some of my friends first." Declan said. He was
not
surprised when both men began to laugh.
"Don't be so
naive, Professor Dunne. Why do you think that we came here
by an
untraceable route? No one knows where you are. You are utterly
alone."
Tamika started to run, but they were both captured
and bound. They each
contemplated what would be their
fate.
Less than ten miles away, Michael Patton and his assistant, Jorge
Lopez, Tamika felt fuzzy as she awoke. She vaguely remembered Manuel
had
were setting up their camp just south of a trail leading to
Uaxactun.
Michael Patton began writing a letter to his good
friend Leo Goodman:
"Ever since late August when
Jorge came back to camp and told me that Watkins had murdered Raul
for not killing me - I have scarcely dared to move from my hiding
spot. Because I have no way of knowing which of the researchers are
in Watkins' pay, I can't risk showing myself to anyone. I will not
return to Tikal until I can be sure that whatever happens to me, you
will know all the clues I now have as to the location of the lost
Jaguar City. Perhaps you could get there before Watkins.
By my
calculations, the date on the new Stela fragment near Temple IV,
records the eighth Katun anniversary of the earlier date 9.9.14.12.4
9 Kan 17 Ceh.
That very date, 9 Kan 17 Ceh, appears on the
jade jaguar pendant.
Now this date, Leo, deals with a Venus event.
I believe that on that
date, 9.9.14.12.4, which I equate to be
October 28 A.D. 627, Venus rose in a line made by the location of the
Jaguar City - itself recorded on both the pendant and the Stela
fragment by the glyphs. In order to firmly establish that alignment,
a third point is necessary. The third point is none other than Temple
IV at Tikal.
As you know, the temple was built some 160 years
after A.D. 627, but
the Venus event is recorded on the later
Stela. So, the Maya must have
remembered the event and re-marked
it with that Stela.
There's more proof: if you recall the
Stela fragment in Maler's
photograph in the Peabody Museum
catalog, there is a "count forward" test with an interval
of 3.0.10.14.0 or 435, 880 days. If you take my fragment
date and
add 435,880 days to it, you arrive at 12.18.5.8.4 which equates to
December 4, 2002. A 'cracked earth' event is predicted for that day,
which of course, is tomorrow. Soon, we will know how good the Maya
were at predicting.
I must be at the temple tomorrow to make
the critical sighting. As soon
as I take the sighting, I plan to
leave the Petan by a secret route that
Jorge and I have arranged
with Clarence Macomber. No matter what happens to me, I know that
Jorge will deliver this message. Please see that he is well
rewarded."
Michael read the letter aloud to check for
mistakes and then sealed itin an envelope and gave it to Jorge, who
placed it in his shirt. Neither of
the men noticed the chiclero
crouched in a nearby
tree.
injected them with something before she faded into
unconsciousness.
She sat up now and looked over at Declan. He
had tried to fight and
ended up with a bluish-black bruise on his
forehead. Tamika reached forward
to stroke the spot and he slowly
woke from unconsciousness. He immediately
sat up and looked
around.
"Where the hell are we?" he asked.
"I think we're in the temple - Temple IV to be exact. By the
way, we have a friend over there."
They didn't know it,
but they were looking at the badly decomposing body of Raul Uc.
"My guess is that he starved to death." She looked away
in disgust as
she realized that she was hungry.
Declan was
up looking for a way out; although, he knew that there
wouldn't be
one.
really bad about letting things go
this far. He thought that he could handle
things. He had been
wrong, and now look where they were. He put his arms
around her
and held her tightly.
"I am so sorry." he said
quietly. Tamika looked up at him. She could
feel the emotion
behind his words.
"Declan, it's not your fault, it's my
fault for bringing you on this
crazy quest." They both
laughed nervously and then suddenly got quiet.
Declan cradled her
face in his hands. He sighed heavily. He knew that
Tamika had
originally wanted to put their relationship on hold. He looked at
her
now; he wanted her.
She looked at him. She understood what
the look on his face meant.
"Declan, I. . ." she
had been going to say that she wasn't ready yet,
but she realized
that was not true. She wanted him. It was Tamika that made the first
move, in fact, Declan was quite surprised when she began kissing him.
Her kiss was so sensual, Declan shuddered with emotion. He knew that
once he started, he wouldn't be able to stop. He pleaded for sanity.
"Tamika, are you sure, because I'm not sure that I can
stop." She
looked into his eyes and said, "I am sure."
That was all that needed to be
said before Declan started kissing
her. He was lost in her arms; he knew
that it would be this way.
He murmured sweet nothings in her ear and finally
stopped to look
at her.
"I love you." He said breathlessly. He
could barely make out the tears
in her eyes. He brushed them away
and began kissing her again. This time,
Tamika stopped. He had, at
first thought that she had changed her mind. He
looked at her
questioningly, Tamika moved to remove Declan's glasses and put them
safely out of the way. She continued kissing him as he pulled her
down on top of
him.
Your Love Pursues:
It's me again
I know you
know
I wandered off but I've nowhere left to go
So many
times
Why do you forgive
And take me back no matter what my
story is
Yes, I know, you love me so
What can I say
I
wanna love this true
I wanna run to you
Tell me, how can a
heart refuse
I wonder what you see
That you would run to me
Oh,
I love that your love pursues
Through ups and downs
And
in-betweens
I fall away more than I am following
If I were
you
I'd have given upBut you chase me down with your unrelenting
love
Yes, I know, you love me so
What can I do
I hear
you here, say
"Have no fear
Don't be afraid"
Turn
me around
I'll turn around
I won't turn away
Written
by Jason Davis, John Di Grazio & Grant Cunningham
(c) 2000
Infinity Music / ASCAP / River Oaks Music (admin. by EMI
Christian
Music Publishing) /Imagine This Music (admin. by EMI
Christian Music
Publishing)
As she slept, she saw herself surrounded by jaguars again. They
were
closing in when suddenly she saw herself looking up. She had
found some
stones and was stacking them one on top of the other
and she was climbing
toward the ceiling and away from the jaguars.
She was up near the ceiling
now, when she saw a small hole. She
started digging until the hole was big
enough for her to fit
through. She ran into the arms of her father.
Tamika awoke
with a start and slipped on her clothes. Hearing her,
Declan woke
up as well.
"Tamika, are you all right?" he asked
sleepily. She was fully awake.
"I know how to get out."
she said suddenly. Declan, who was not fully
awake, followed
Tamika blindly. She had begun pulling rocks and dragging huge
boulders over to the center of the room.
"W-What are you
doing?" Declan asked. She was struggling to pull the
big
rocks over.
"Help me, Declan." This seemed to wake
Declan up a little. He started
helping her. They worked silently
for a few moments until the stack was
pretty tall.
"Are
you going to tell me now what you're doing?" he asked.
"There's a way out up here in the ceiling." Together,
the two of them made a huge rubble pile. They finally reached
a
wooden beam high in the vault. The beam was too rotten to stand on,
so
they pulled and pulled until it fell away from the wall. Part
of the vault
came away with it half burying Raul's body and
causing Tamika to lose her
balance. She landed hard on her knees
causing her jeans to rip and her knees
to bloody. Declan was
immediately concerned.
"I'm all right. Just push as hard
as you can on that spot." Tamika
climbed back up to help him
and together they pushed the capstone until it
finally dislodged.
"We did it!" Tamika said excitedly as they scurried
through the hole
they had made. They traveled a little ways along
the path where they found their luggage.
"They wanted it
to look as if we came here on our own." Declan muttered.
"Let's follow this path." Declan said as he retrieved his
flashlight
from his pack.
On the path now, Tamika found
something else.
"It's a hat. It's my dad's hat." In
the meantime, Declan had seen
something else.
"Look
up there. There's a light on top of the pyramid. This trail
leads
there. Let's
go!"
Two hundred feet above Tamika and Declan, Manuel and Watkins
watched the light that suddenly appeared on the trail below.
"Who the hell ..." Manuel hissed.
"I don't
know," Watkins interrupted.
"We can only wait and
see."
Both men watched as the light bobbed up the trail
closer and
closer.
Declan and Tamika continued to the summit as if they were being
pulled
by Patton's light. On top of the pyramid, Tamika saw her
father.
"Dad!" she cried and burst into tears.
"Dad!"
Patton stood looking at them, dumbfounded.
His first thought was that
he was hallucinating. Here before him
was his daughter and a young man.
When her father didn't respond,
she had a chilling feeling. It was
happening just as in her dream;
he didn't recognize her. She wanted to breakthe strange spell.
"Dad, we've got to get out of here. Watkins is going to kill
us!" Hearing Watkins' name, seemed to bring Patton back
to reality. He was
not hallucinating after all.
"Tamika!"
he ran to her and enfolded her in a bear hug and then reached
out
to shake Declan's hand.
"Dad, this is Declan Dunne. He
has helped me all along the way and is
very special." Patton
gave Declan's hand an extra squeeze when he caught the meaning of
Tamika's words.
"I want details, but not now. There's
something that I have to do this
minute or I won't have another
chance." Michael Patton began running around
checking his
instruments and his watch. Tamika, clearly, did not understand
what
was going on.
"But, Dad, we're in danger. You don't
understand. . ."
"I do, believe me. Bear with me
for just a few more moments."
In the east, they could
see a billion stars, so it was easy enough to
find the horizon as
he looked through the telescope to find what he wanted.
All he had
to wait was a minute or two, and then a bright star winked into
sight
above the tree line. It was Venus, the morning star. The Maya
had
called it Xux ek, "The Wasp Star" or Chac Ek, "The
Red Star" and considered
it a bad omen.
Patton looked
through the telescope at the bright star and noted the
precise
angle on the degree dial. He rechecked the angle and began writing
in
a small notebook. He unfolded a large map and, using a protractor,
he
began to pencil in the angle readings.
"Dad, if we
stay, Watkins will find us. We have to go."
"It's
almost time. I can't go now, or I won't have all the data I need. I
don't want to risk your safety, so you and your young man go down
that
path. It leads to the Jungle Inn. Tell them everything;
they'll protect you."
"Sir, we don't want to leave
you here." Declan said after he saw the
concern on Tamika's
face.
"Fine, fine but stay close to me. I just need to
take this transit
apart."
The first sunbeams of
morning were touching the rooftop behind Patton.
As he stepped
onto the transit, he looked out onto the horizon. He then
checked
his telescope one more time.
There on the horizon, almost too
low to be seen, was a solid shape. Itwasn't a tree; it was more like
a mound and with a tiny patch of white. It
was stone. That's a
mound, he thought. It's far - about twenty-five
kilometers away.
"That must be it." he said aloud. "Either that's
the Jaguar City, or
there's a site line there that will lead
beyond to the lost city."
Patton drew away from the
transit and blinked. The sunlight was too
strong; everything
seemed to be bathed in blue light. When he turned to look
at
Tamika, he was staring down the barrel of Manuel's rifle. Behind
Rojas,
covering Tamika and Declan, stood Watkins.
"Congratulations, Professor Patton,
on the greatest discovery of yourcareer. Now, hand over your notes
and the map, please." "Damn you, Watkins," Patton
said and handed the items over. "At least let my daughter
and her friend go. They don't know what thisis about." "But,
you see, I can't do that now; however, I'm not an unreasonableman, I
will return your daughter's little trinket." He tossed the
jadependant toward Tamika. "Let's all go down now. Manuel
first, then you and them." He called toManuel. "Vamenos,
hombre!" Tamika was visibly shaken as she pressed against
Declan for support.Her fingers trembled with emotion as she placed
the pendant on Declan's neck. "I love you, Declan." she
whispered.Before Declan could respond, he heard Manuel say, "Senor
Watkins, ahelicopter! Look!" "That's odd." Watkins
said glancing at the large helicopter comingacross the treetops.
"Hurry up!" He motioned toward the rubble trail as the
sound of thehelicopter reached them. While Watkins and Manuel
were preoccupied with the helicopter, Pattonwhispered, "You
and Declan hang back with me. We'll be safest up here. The
Mayaknew..." Emiliano Guzman was on top of Temple III. He
had remained idle sincegiving the signal that Patton was approaching,
but that had been hoursbefore. He had started to become more active
when he saw Tamika and Declan approach, but he now saw that things
were under control again. When he saw that they were preparing to
descend, he started to descend as well. Halfway down, Emiliano
paused. He noticed that the bushes werequivering, but there was no
wind. The movement was coming from below him as if from the very
depths of the earth. Suddenly, part of the mound broke apart and
the rubble started slidingdownhill pulling Emiliano with it. Dios
mio, thought Emiliano, un tremblor!Earthquake! He hurriedly ran off
into the woods. As he reached a certain point, he stopped for
some reason. Suddenly, a huge tree uprooted and fell. Before he could
get away, his leg was trapped.He frantically tried to remove his leg,
but to no avail. Then, he sawsomeone approaching. It was a woman - a
Maya woman. "Thank God you are here." Emiliano cried.
He turned his head to seeher better, because Rosana Uc said nothing.
The last thing Emiliano saw wasthe hate reflected in Rosana's eyes
and the piece of tree limb that began toswing toward his
head.
As the party made their way down the side of the temple with
Manuel infront, the first shock wave hit. It was very high on the
Richter scale.Immediately, the trail below Manuel disappeared with a
crash. Manueldesperately clung to a small tree, but could not hold
on. He fell helplesslyinto the void left by the missing trail. They
watched in horror as moredebris fell on top of him - crushing him.
"Lie flat!" screamed Patton. "We're safer here
than on the ground."Watkins, who only thought that Emiliano had
set off the dynamite aheadof time, continued on by a different path
until he reached solid ground. Hedidn't know where the others were,
but he had what he had come for; Pattonwould never remember the
crucial figures. Now only he, Joshua Watkins, couldplot the location
of the Jaguar City. He patted his pocket to make sure itstill
contained the precious map and Patton's notes. He then headed
forcamp. He tried to avoid being seen by the helicopter hovering
above.
From the helicopter, Peggie and Miranda watched the drama unfold.
"What do you think's going on?" Miranda yelled over the
noise. "I don't know." Peggie screamed back, "but,
they're still on thepyramid." Miranda was pointing excitedly
now. "Look, they're lying flat! There's Declan and that must
be Tamika and .. .and. . ." Miranda broke off mid-sentence.
"Who's that with them? Do you think that's Tamika's father?"
Peggieasked. Miranda didn't know, but they did know that they were
very happy tosee their friend alive. Suddenly, part of the
pyramid slid away! "Oh, no!" they both cried
simultaneously. After a few moments ofsuspense, the dust and debris
cleared and they could see. "It's all right! They're getting
up, look. See! They're all right!"They had grabbed each other's
hands and would have done a little jig hadthey not been in the
helicopter. As the pilot went in to land, it dawned on all three
of them what wasactually
happening.Watkins
was horrified at the sight of the ruined camp. A tall Ramon tree
had
fallen on the tents. He was, however, glad that no damage was done
to
the Suzuki jeep that he had rented in Flores. It was full of
gasoline and
ready to go.
He was still unsure about the
arrival of the helicopter. Even if it was
full of Federales, they
would be excited about finding the long-missing
archaeologist, as
well as news of the earthquake, to be worried about him.
Thus,
giving him time to escape.
Getting out of Tikal had gone
fairly well. Only two of the hotel guests
had noticed the Suzuki.
Now, he was on his way to Flores and then on to
Sayaxche'.
Watkins' Suzuki pulled into Sayaxche' in late afternoon. One of
thethings that Watkins noticed was that everyone was talking about
the
earthquake.
"Amigo." he began in Spanish.
"I need two men to help me for an hour. I will pay ten
quetzales to
each. Anyone interested?"
"Si, why
not?"
"Very well, hombres," Watkins said, "I
want one of you to go over to
town and fetch Eduardo Guzman. I am
a friend of his father Emiliano."
Watkins peeled off the
bills and gave it to the man.
"Please tell Eduardo that
Senor Watkins needs him to bring the motor for
the boat and a can
of gasoline." The man acknowledged his instructions and
was
off.
To the other man, Watkins said, "Come with me."
The tiny airstrip at Tikal was not the only means of transportation
Watkins had out of the area. Because of the nature of his business,
he had devised several ways out, in case something went wrong. Thus,
the dugout he had stowed.
Because of the attention that had
been drawn to him, he decided to move
his smuggling operation to
another part of the world. The Jaguar City would
have to wait for
now, which would also help to take the heat off things.
The
man that Watkins had hired, found Eduardo and was now bringing
the
motor and gasoline as he was instructed.
"Is my
father not with you, Senor Watkins?" Eduardo asked.
"No,
he is back at Tikal. He will be here shortly." Watkins lied.
The stones are still here, Watkins thought. Excellent. The stones
were
wrapped in banana leaf and tied with heavy rope.
"These are much too heavy, Senor. We will need more men to help
carry
them." Watkins didn't know if Eduardo was trying to
stall for time, or what,
but Watkins was losing patience.
"You dumb bastard," Watkins shouted. "I'll help you.
We load the boat
now!"
Eduardo stood quietly and
gazed at Watkins' face.
"Muy bien." he said
shortly.
Watkins and Eduardo began the slow task of moving
the stones. When that was done, Watkins gingerly climbed aboard.
Next, Eduardo climbed aboard with the oar.
Then, it
happened.
The reeds near the boat began to shake gently. The
man on shore thatWatkins had hired began waving his arms and
shouting. There was only one
word that Watkins could make out -
tremblor. Another earthquake.
Watkins felt as if the water was
sliding out from under him, like water
being poured out of a bowl.
He fought hard to try to keep control of the
boat. What happened
next was very frightening. The river seemed to split in
half and a
great geyser of water broke through the surface and shot a
hundred
feet in the air. This forced the boat into the air and
closer to shore. In
the roar, a huge ceiba tree lurched forward
and the handle of the tiller was
knocked from Watkins' hand. He
tried not to panic, which proved difficult.
I can out swim this,
Watkins thought. He moved toward the bow to be away
from the
propeller.
He hesitated for the right moment, but it never
came. The ceiba tree
caught the boat near the bow pinning Watkins'
leg. The combination of the
trapped leg and the weighted down
boat, took Watkins swiftly to the bottom of the river.
Eduardo had survived. When the boat was catapulted skyward, the boy
was thrown out near the shore. He watched in satisfaction as Watkins
sunk below the surface of the water.
EpilogueIt was Christmas Eve. The snow was gently falling and everything lookedlike a Christmas card. Tamika and Michael Patton were at Tamika's house ready to receive theirnew friends. "I'm so happy, Daddy." Michael understood even more now that Tamika had told him everything about Declan, and Michael knew that Declan held a special place in her heart. The doorbell rand and Tamika eagerly went to answer it. It was Declan,Peggie and Miranda. "Hi, guys. Come on in." They came in and everyone noticed as Declankissed Tamika. Tamika and her father had cooked a fantastic dinner and they all exchanged presents. Declan thought about the special gift that he had forTamika, later. All in all, it was a really fun evening. Declan, though, was glad to see everyone go. "I thought they'd never leave." he said mischievously. "By the way, I have something for you." Declan gave her the small boxand Tamika was suddenly afraid to open it. But, she did. "It's the jade necklace." Declan had given it back to her. "I knew it meant a lot to you and I was really touched that you gave itto me, but I know you only did it because you thought we were going to die." He saw the hurt look on her face and knew that she had misunderstood his intentions. "Look closely." he said softly. Next to the jade necklace on the square bed of cotton, was a ring. "Oh!" The first thing that Declan did was place the jade necklace around herneck. He then took the ring and placed it on her finger. She had notanswered, so Declan looked in her eyes asking for an answer. "Yes, of course, yes." she threw herself into Declan's arms, and theykissed. Neither one of them noticed the twinkle in the jaguars eyes as if heapproved of them. Finis Title : ANCIENT MAN Artist : Burlap to Cashmere Album : Anybody out there ( ́98) Written by Steven Delopoulos and John Philippidis Ancient Man:Do you believe in ancient destiny?This food you've been givin me,Is making me blind, ya see.My soul needs to be,My soul needs to be,Free.Bridge:So many times you won.So many souls you burned.CHORUS:Ancient man, where are you roaming?I cannot follow the dream.Ancient man, why are you crying?I cannot follow the schemes.You came to me with open arms,and stuff.You said you had holy bread.Man, ya know that was justwonder bread.Look here, my soul needs to be,My soul needs to be,Free(Bridge)(Chorus)(Bridge)(Chorus)(c)1997 Steven Delopoulos Publishing (ASCAP)/Trippy Stick Publishing (ASCAP)/J.Ernest Publishing (ASCAP)