Daniel, Hannah and Rogelio had been hiking along the path for the last couple of hours, they passed a large group of waterfalls. Hannah was first in the single-file line. When they had left the small cantina behind, Hannah had pulled her gun and knives out of her back and placed them on her person much to Daniel's disgust that they wouldn't need any weapons Hannah had shrugged his choice.
Hannah stopped and pulled out the map to reference they were still going the right way "According to the map, we're in the right place but…"
"This makes no sense. The legend of the Fountain of Youth says that all nearby water flows towards it." Daniel said interrupted her, he stood beside her and showed her the GPS map. Hannah folded the map and packed it in her back pocket. Rogelio stood next to her offering her water, she shook her head. She moved forward as they entered a clearing of sorts, it was covered in plants yet no trees.
"Well, how's that possible?" Hannah asked
"Well, maybe the device has special properties or maybe its just superstition or maybe it means the water flow from that waterfall back there flows in the direction of the temple." Daniel said
"Well it should be right here" Hannah said
"Nobody ever listens to me, man. I tell them there are no temples out here but what do they do? They come out here anyways. Now the North…the North has roads. We could drive to any temple we want, but instead we're out here walking through this jungle." Rogelio complained, Hannah rolled her eyes, this was a breeze to her after all the training she had finished.
"Yeah, okay. Um, let's spread out, look for a… temple. In lieu of that, look for a totem or marker of some kind. Anything that might tell us where to go from here" Daniel suggested Hannah nodded.
Hannah started moving slowly through the brush, Daniel looked at Rogelio who looked like he was about to refuse, Hannah turned to where she was walking and heard Daniel quietly command Rogelio to move she smiled and smothered a laugh the guide had been complaining the whole hike here.
She walked a few minutes finding nothing and stopped. She turned to Daniel "I think Whoa!" She felt the earth beneath her sink and then disappear she tried to grab hold of the wall as she fell.
She didn't fall far after a 3 meter drop she hit the floor, dirt and rubble hit her, she groaned and she got to her feet and dusted her hands. "I found it!" She shouted up to the shaft in the ceiling, her voice echoed, she pulled her Berretta and Torch and turned on the torch shining it down the hallway.
She looked up and saw Daniel and Rogelio looking down at her.
"You okay?" Daniel shouted to her
"Yes, now get your ass down here" Hannah said to him Hannah moved to the side and Daniel dropped down the shaft and joined her.
"The gun necessary?"
"Umm I don't know are snakes poisonous in this region?" Hannah asked him sweetly.
"Good point" he said, he turned on his torch
Daniel looked up to Rogelio, who was leaning over the opening of the shaft from above.
"Listen we're gonna go and uh look around. Stay ?" Daniel said to Rogelio, Hannah held up her radio to show Rogelio, he smiled and showed her his radio in case he needed to contact them.
"You got it, Señor. Have fun." Rogelio said,
Hannah and Daniel turned their torch lights down a narrow stone walled passage. "Ladies first" Daniel said to Hannah.
"you only say that because I have a gun"
"True" he said "But I'm also a gentleman" he gestured for her to go, Hannah moved down the passage way.
"It's definitely early Mayan stonework." Daniel commented
"Uhuh" Hannah said she was keeping an eye out for the unusual, she didn't expect anything to be down here but better safe than sorry she told herself.
After 20 minutes, the passage way became narrower and smaller "Is it me or is it getting alittle cosy in here?" Hannah asked as they trekked on.
"You claustrophobic?" he asked, she turned and flashed her light in his face.
"Really?" she asked him disgusted he even thought it let alone asked. She turned back around
"Everyone has a fear Hannah"
"Fear gets you killed" Hannah paused "It holds you back, it makes you freeze and do stupid things… it's a dangerous emotion" she said as she moved, the passage way opened up into a large chamber whose walls were completely lined with square stones, aged and decayed but otherwise unmarked.
"It's a dead end." Hannah remarked, she holstered her berretta and walked around the room.
"There's no other passageway. Nothing on the walls or ceiling. No glyphs, no seals, no ancient script. Not even a pictograph." Daniel said
"Doctor Jackson? Miss O'Neill?" Rogelio radioed
"Yeah, we're here. We, uh, found a chamber. We're gonna be a while." Daniel said into his radio.
"Ah, take your time, Señor." Rogelio replied lazily
"He'd probably sit days waiting for the amount we're paying him by the hour." Hannah said as Daniel sighed at the tone of Rogelio's voice. He nodded and looked around the room
"So how are we supposed to find this thing if there is no writing?" Hannah asked flickering her torch around the room.
"All water flows towards it." Daniel said as if more to himself than Hannah as he recalled the text. Hannah narrowed her eyes at him pondering what he was saying,
Hannah pulled her canteen from the back of her belt and shook the water at him, "Like you read my mind" he said taking it from her "hold this" He handed her his flash light and he proceeded to pour the contents of her canteen on the floor.
Hannah flashed the torches down at the ground, the water began to travel along the grout between the tiles.
"Well look at that" Hannah said with a smile, the water continued to travel along the grout until it fell into floor in a nice square stone that had no grout around it on the floor. Daniel knelt down and placed his head sideways on the tile with the crack around it, he listened for something and smiled, he looked up at Hannah.
"There's something under here" he said to her.
"Good." Hannah said returning his smile.
She dropped her bag and pulled out crowbars and wooden wedges, and they set to work to lift the cover stone from the area which the water flowed towards. The cover stone turned out to be very thick and Heavy but after a few tries they managed to lift the stone onto its side. They looked down under where the cover stone once lain a small alcove was revealed inside a cube-shaped artefact with pyramid indentations on its sides and writing along the edges.
"Well, look at that" Hannah said exhaling slowly as she looked over the device. "It looks just like the one in the brochure"
"Yeah." Daniel said with a chuckle "and it has inscriptions… can you read it?" he asked
"Yes, sort of" Hannah said, he looked at her "Hey it's like knowing Japanese and not being able to read kanji characters ok!"
"How about a rough idea" he said
"Nope, not sharing in case I make an ass of myself"
"when has that ever stopped you?" he asked with a playful smile
"Now" Hannah stated dryly "So we going to take it and go?" she asked gesturing to it, she reached in to take the artefact but Daniel grabbed her hands.
"Maybe some caution should be used here… it is the root technology of a sarcophagus which, by itself, causes madness and addiction. This is supposedly something far more powerful. So accidentally activating it could be bad." Daniel reminded her.
"Okay." Hannah said slowly
"Let's just try picking it up without touching it too much." He said, they both slowly placed a couple of fingers each on the sides of the cube and lifted it slowly and gently out of the alcove. As soon as they had it, the cover stone they had levered up onto its side fell back into place. A rumbling sound started and the whole chamber began to vibrate heavily.
"Ok that's not good" Hannah said as they both looked around the chamber and then at each other. The sound of water rushing in started.
"I think running would be a good idea right about now." Daniel said as water suddenly poured over them from above and filling in from all sides of the room. Hannah dumped her back pack, and followed Daniel who carried the artefact down the passage way they came through, the walls came apart with the water.
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Hannah felt her lungs burn and she held her breath the whole chamber filled with water faster than they could make it through the passage way but they were close. She could feel it, she saw Daniel ahead as he swam with the artefact, he swam up and found the shaft they used to enter the place, Daniel pulled out of the water in front she broke the surface after him and felt two pairs of arms yank her out.
She heaved for air "Thanks" she said to Rogelio and Daniel, she pushed her wet hair out of her face.
"Are you okay? I thought you were dead for sure. What happened?" Rogelio asked
"We triggered some sort of trap." Daniel said as he caught his breath
"That was a close call" Hannah said
"No kidding" Daniel replied smiling at her, Hannah heard a noise and reached for her gun but it was gone obviously fell out when she was escaping not that it would fire since it would've been waterlogged. She looked around feeling that squirmish feeling of being watched, she pulled a knife from the side of her boot.
"What have you found?" Rogelio asked looking at the Artefact,
"Don't" Daniel warned Hannah quietly, she looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. She stood up and saw four men with semi automatic weapons.
Daniel put his hands up in surrender, he looked at Hannah who reluctantly put her hands up. Rogelio who was admiring the cube looked up at them with a confused expression.
"Oh, I'm not going to rob you, Señor." He said as if to put them at ease.
"We know, but they will" Hannah said she gestured for Rogelio to look behind him, he did so and saw the four men in rebel like fatigues and weapons.
"Usted? Madre de dios." Rogelio said
(You? Mother of God.)
The rebel soldiers, stripped Daniel of his brown shirt and Hannah of her t-shirt, holster and knives. She was glad she had worn a tank top underneath her t-shirt otherwise she would have put on a show. After which they bound their hands and blind folded them.
They started marching through the jungle, Hannah took note of their direction, sounds of waterfalls or anything else she made sure she stepped heavily and left footprints to be tracked. She was holding onto Daniel's shoulder with Rogelio's hands on hers as they walked int a single file.
"Listen, if this is some sort of turf thing we're not aware of, uh, we're sorry." Daniel said
"Oh, no Señor, por favor, please, don't speak." Rogelio pleaded
"No, I'm just saying that-that whoever you guys think we are, we're not." Daniel said
"Who do I think you are?" one of the men asked
"I don't know. We're, uh, we're scientists, archaeologists as a matter of fact. I'm just saying that if, you know, this is a kidnapping, which I'm assuming it is, that you should know that we're not worth anything." Daniel said
"Trust me, gringo, everyone's worth something to somebody." The man said.
Hannah slipped in the mud and fell to the ground, she cursed "Sorry, I tripped" she said "It's kind of hard to see where I'm going with the blindfold on." She pushed herself back onto her knees. Hannah heard Rogelio's breath hitch behind her, and then the sound of a person running fast.
"Chalo!" the man ordered, Hannah heard another set of feet take a few steps a pause and then gunfire. Hearing the gunshot Daniel dropped to his knees Hannah followed suit.
"What just happened?" Daniel asked
"Your guide, he tried to run. What can you do? Maybe now we'll all stay on the path, eh muchachos?" the man said, he pick Hannah up roughly by the arm and then shoved her into Daniel who was standing "After you. Vámonos." The man orders.
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