The Apocalypse Calendar (16 page)

The departure to Mexico was already
three days late. It took much longer than expected for the NASA technicians to encase the Apocalypse Calendar inside the shell of the “stealth water pump.” In addition, the wind has been blowing from the northwest for several days. As a consequence, much of the volcanic ash from the nearby Yellowstone Supervolcano blew down into Colorado. Finally, the wind shifted to the southeast. General Anthony Camponelli had the covert FedEx cargo plane all set to go. The CIA had one of their Mexican customs plants prepared to meet the plane at the Mexican end. All of the paperwork for Mexican customs was ready.

General Maxwell was worried that Gary’s father-in-law, Dr. Guillermo Toa Vaca, might not be able to meet them on time at the airport at Pachuca. He envisioned all sorts of problems. There might be landslides blocking the roads due to all the earthquakes that were triggered worldwide by the decoupling of the North American Plate from the North Atlantic Plate. The tidal waves from the sudden uplift of the Barbados Ridge had already wiped out all Mexican coastal refineries and both offshore and onshore oil wells. Fuel was very hard to come by. Dr. Toa Vaca might not be able to fuel up his van. Gary assured him, however, that Guillermo had a huge fuel storage tank adjacent to his house in Huayacocotla.

After considering these and other problems, Stanley decided to hedge his bets and take a diesel-powered Humvee. The Hummer was already in the cargo bay. Automatic weapons were hidden in stealth-shielded compartments in the body of the vehicle. FedEx indicated that it would be very difficult to get the vehicle through Mexican customs even without the guns. However, the CIA agent serving as a high-level Mexican’s customs official indicated that he would take care of this problem and supply the vehicle with the proper title, registration, and license plates. Vehicles manufactured in the States were heavily taxed by the Mexican government in order to protect their own auto industry. This was another one of the great gifts of NAFTA. The rules on importing US vehicles into Mexico seemingly changed every week. You never knew what to expect. Gary suggested that Stanley bring thirty thousand dollars in gold to pay off the Mexicans. After all the worldwide catastrophes, gold had shot up to ten thousand dollars an ounce. Gary also suggested that the title and registration for the vehicle be put under his wife’s maiden name, Rosita Toa Vaca. He noted that his wife still held dual citizenship between the US and Mexico and would be carrying a Mexican passport.

Stanley said, “Even if Dr. Toa Vaca is able to meet us at the airport with his fifteen-passenger van, we’ll take both vehicles along. If one of the vehicles has problems, we’ll just ditch it.”

Gary said, “I see that the Hummer is equipped with a snorkel. This might prove to be useful if we have to ford some rivers or creeks on the back roads.”

Jane said with a forced smile, “Frank, please be careful! I have a bad feeling about all of this.” Then she gave him a kiss and a huge hug and said, “I love you. Come back to me in one piece!”

With that, the Apocalypse Calendar and its keepers boarded the plane. President Renzle also insisted that two of the nation’s most elite Secret Service agents accompany the Apocalypse Calendar group on the plane. These guys were former SEAL Team 6 members and could take care of everyone, with or without guns. Major General Anthony Camponelli and Stanley piloted the plane. Anthony, as well as five armed crewmembers, planned to stay with the plane until the Apocalypse Calendar group returned from Huayacocotla.

The trip to Pachuca took about three hours. Upon arrival, everything proceeded smoothly. The CIA agent, posing as a high-level Mexican customs official, had done his homework. The water pump containing the Apocalypse Calendar was given to Dr. Toa Vaca, and the Humvee cleared Mexican customs equipped with the appropriate license plates, registration, title, and Mexican car insurance. Rosita drove the Hummer, since it was in her name. She was accompanied by Gary and the two Secret Service agents. Stanley, Frank, and Dolores Clark piled into the van with Guillermo Toa Vaca.

Gary asked Rosita, “Did you ask your father which way he planned to go?”

Rosita responded with a smile, “Of course I did, dear. You never give us women any credit at all for having any common sense. He plans to take Mexican Route 130 out of Pachuca. As I am sure you remember, this is one of the main roads to the coast. We’ll end up taking a side road that joins Route 130 north of Huachinango. We need to look for signs for Apulco, Agua Blanca, and other villages along the road. This road is full of potholes and bumps. It dead-ends in Huayacocotla. He estimates that the trip should take us about three hours. Once we get on the dirt road, we’ll be lucky to travel twenty miles per hour.”

The trip to Huayacocotla went smoothly until just after the two vehicles passed through the village of Agua Blanca. As the vehicles climbed a hill covered with scrubby-looking pine trees, a pickup truck full of men carrying rifles pulled out from a side road and blocked their way. It wasn’t clear whether these men were connected to the drug lords or whether they were just everyday banditos. The two Secret Service men pulled out automatic weapons from the stealth compartments in the floor of the Hummer. One agent opened the door and rolled to the ground with his weapon in hand. The other agent popped up through the Hummer’s sunroof. At this point, the Mexicans backed off, and the vehicles were allowed to move on.

Gary said, “We’d better watch our backs. These guys may follow us. They may not be part of a drug gang, but they could have ideas about hijacking our vehicle. Hijacking a Hummer would serve them well. I have a plan for our defense. Let me call Stanley and Frank and the lead vehicle.”

“Stanley, I’ve discussed this with the Secret Service guys. What we plan to do is stop at the first pull-off with a little cover and wait about ten minutes. If the pickup with its ragtag group of gun-toting Mexicans comes around the bend, I am going to have our guys shoot out the tires. We’ll then disarm them, make them take off all of their clothes, and send them packing off.”

Stanley said, “Gary, are you sure that you never served with the Special Forces?”

“Actually, I did. I was training to be a Navy SEAL. I badly broke both of my legs during a training exercise and was honorably discharged.”

The Hummer crew waited for the designated ten minutes, and there was no sign of the pickup truck. It was likely that the banditos were too intimidated by the Secret Service agents.

After another thirty minutes, the two vehicles passed under the large wooden arch that said, “
Bienvenito a Huayacocotla
,” or “Welcome to Huayacocotla.” It was now three in the afternoon.

Miller said, “It’s already too late to return the Calendar to the cave. Guillermo and his wife are going to put us up for the night.”

Dolores Clark said, “There is still enough daylight left—it might be a good time for me to hike down the trail and talk to the Nahuatl Indians. If I’m lucky, I may be able to talk to a shaman. I would like to feel him out about what he knows about Moctezuma’s Treasure and the cave at the canyon bottom. Frank, why don’t you and Stanley go with me?”

Miller said, “Sounds like a good idea. I’ve been sitting most of the day either bouncing around in an airplane or along dirt roads full of potholes. It will feel good to stretch my legs. From what I remember, we only need to hike about a quarter of the way down the trail.”

Dolores said, “Let me change into something that is more presentable to the Nahuatl Indians.”

As the three Americans descended the trail to the Canyon of the Río Vinasco, Miller said, “I think we should use mules and burros to carry ourselves and our precious cargo to the canyon floor. We’d better bring along our camping equipment. It’s going to be a long day.”

Dolores said, “We’re beginning to see some native Nahuatl Indian women. Notice how shy they are to strangers. It makes no difference whether you are a Spanish-speaking Mexican or an English-speaking American. Let’s see if I can find a likely candidate. Ah, let me talk to that young lady carrying a basket full of firewood on her head.”

Dolores, now speaking Nahuatl, said, “
Greetings, my young friend. Does your village have a curandero or shaman? If so, would you take us to him?
”

The young Nahuatl woman said, “
I will lead you to him, but he might not want to talk to you.
”

Dolores said, “
Tell him that we have an object that will protect his people from dangers brought about by movement in the interior of the Earth
.”

The Nahuatl woman talked to the shaman and told him what the white women said. With a degree of reluctance, the curandero agreed to visit with Dolores Clark. It was time for his afternoon nap, not time to talk to strangers! The curandero was about Miller’s age. His sunken, nearly black eyes stared out from a wrinkled prune-like face accented by long gray hair. His nose was typical Mexican Indian; it looked like a nose figured on Aztec ruins. It was obvious to Dolores Clark’s trained eye that the curandero had been drinking tea made out of ground peyote buttons.

Dolores said, “
I understand that there is a cave in the valley below that houses Moctezuma’s Treasure. Do you know about such a place?
”

The curandero said, “
My people have regarded this cave as sacred for many years. They believe that it does contain a treasure, but the treasure didn’t belong to the great Aztec emperor, Moctezuma; it actually belonged to the early Mayan chief, Izocotyl. I have never seen this treasure myself, though stories passed down from my ancestors indicate that there is no gold. The object consists of some other metal shaped in the form of a disk. There is a green stone present in the center of the disk.

“
Over nineteen years ago, this object was taken from the cave by strangers who visited the canyon below you. My Nahuatl ancestors said that there is a Mayan curse on anyone who dares to take the treasure from the cave. He who removes the treasure from the cave will die or suffer very bad luck. Every night since the strangers removed the disk, a blood-red glow is emitted from the cave and can be seen nearly to the canyon rim
.”

Dolores said, “
One of the strangers who removed the disk from the cave to study it is with me now. He plans to return the disk to the cave tomorrow. He’s an American scientist by the name of Dr. Frank Miller. I would like to introduce him to you
.”

With that, she told the Nahuatl Indian woman to bring Frank into the curandero’s adobe hut.

Dolores said, “
This is Dr. Frank Miller. Dr. Miller is a geologist who was studying the rocks in the Canyon of the Río Vinasco near a place called La Calera. He found the disk in a cave located upstream from La Calera. He realizes now that he made a major mistake by removing the disk from the cave
.”

Miller said, pausing long enough for Dolores to translate, “I took the disk to study it. We now know from our investigations that the disk consists of metal that does not occur anywhere on earth. The substance comprising the green stone also is also foreign. Since the time that my friends and I removed the disk from the cave, we have had nothing but bad luck; three of us have died. In addition, since we removed the disk, millions of people have died from earthquakes, tidal waves, and volcanic eruptions. We now know from the Mayan inscriptions on the stone box that some ancient Mayan shaman placed a powerful curse on anyone who removed the disk from the cave. We have evidence that the disk was actually made by aliens who visited the Earth at the time of the ancient Mayans. Apparently, the aliens told the Mayans to take the disk to a cave on the floor of your canyon. Hopefully, when I return the disk to the cave, the Earth will be at peace with itself and no more people will die.”

The shaman said, “
I want you to place this amulet around your neck. It will protect you from the Mayan curse. Your curiosity about the disk is part of being human. You obviously meant no harm. Before you descend into the canyon tomorrow, I want you to drink the tea in this package. Have someone make it for you in the morning. It will give you greater insight into the situation that you face.
” Frank said, with Dolores still translating, “What kind of herbs are in the tea? I warn my students not to drink stuff like this if it is offered to them along the trail in your part of Mexico.”

The shaman said, “
This tea is a mixture of dried peyote and tropical herbs that have been used by my people since the beginning of time
.”

Dolores and Frank thanked the shaman for his help and joined Stanley and the Nahuatl woman outside of the shaman’s hut.

Stanley said with an amazed look, “I never thought you guys were going to come out of that place alive. What in the hell went on?”

Dolores told Stanley what had transpired. She also thanked the young Nahuatl Indian woman for helping her and gave her a silver bracelet to wear.

As the trio hiked back up the steep trail to Huayacocotla on the canyon rim, the sun was beginning to set and it was becoming difficult to walk.

Dolores said, “Look! There’s the shaft of red light coming up from the cave. It looks like fire from the center of the earth.”

Stanley said, “That’s really weird!”

Frank said, “At least we can see the trail a little better now.”

When the three Americans returned to Dr. Toa Vaca’s house, Miller said, “I think we need to carry about twenty bags of concrete with us to the bottom of the canyon. Once I deliver the Apocalypse Calendar to the cave, I want you to seal off the cave opening with concrete and boulders. It shouldn’t take too long; the entrance to the cave is small. If I don’t come back in a half an hour, seal the cave.”

Guillermo Toa Vaca said, “It will be extremely difficult to take twenty bags of concrete down into the canyon. We’ll have to recruit every mule we can lay our hands on. We’ll use the donkeys for the lighter stuff, like the Calendar and your camping equipment.”