The Forbidden Script (21 page)

Before reaching the mainland of the Bahamas, Jason contacted Chief Berks giving him an update on their situation. He then requests for him to make the necessary arrangements to hire a private aircraft, and to have it ready for takeoff on their arrival at a private airfield.

Without wasting time, Jason and the others berth the boat at the local yacht marina. To their surprise they find a local police officer ready to take them to the airfield.

In his thoughts, Jason thanked the Chief for being one step ahead of him. He also calculated Sally and her abductors have at least an hour head start on them. They get into the waiting vehicle and are rushed off to the airfield. On their way, Danny begins to feel faint. Kate opens his jacket and is shocked to see his bandages covered in blood. She assumes his stitches must have opened during the boat trip. Jason persuades his friend to stay behind and check in at the nearest hospital.

As they enter the airfield they hear the sound of an aircrafts engine, with the pilot ready to take off as soon as they are on board. The police officer stops the patrol car a few yards away from the plane where the pilot is waving them on board.

Jason then turns to the police officer. “Get him to the nearest hospital and fast!”

With sirens blaring the vehicle races out of the airfield, rushing Danny to the hospital emergency.

Jason calls out to Kate, “come on! Get inside, we’re losing time!”

Once inside the Piper PA 38, the pilot Sean Denver greets both Jason and Kate. Ready to take off, he pushes the throttle forward increasing speed, lifting the light aircraft swiftly into the night sky.

Once they reach altitude; the pilot then makes contact with the control tower over the radio, requesting the flight path to the Yucatan. Jason intervened, questioning if any other light aircraft is visible to them on radar. To his dismay, no other aircraft was reported to be seen heading in that direction.

Jason was certain about what he had heard back on the island, so he urged the pilot to continue the flight to the Yucatan. He had a gut feeling that he was right about Tony’s words.

Just a few thousand feet above the sparkling sea, Jason was caught in memories when Sally was just a young girl. He smiled at the times when he remembered she would ask him about ancient cultures, wanting to follow in his footsteps as an archaeologist. It was later on in her early teens that she would choose anthropology instead. Sally used to tease him that it was much more interesting to study ancient civilization than dig up dirt all day.

Jason always had a good relationship with his daughter Sally, making sure she had everything she needed in life to reach her goals. Now everything seemed to be going in the opposite direction, and he would do anything necessary to bring his daughter back, even if it meant giving up his life for her.

Kate could see lights appearing on the horizon after nearly an hour of flight time. Not knowing what the lights were she asked the pilot, who confirmed they were approaching Cuba.

Probably with a few hours left until dawn, Tony had flown undetected under the cover of darkness and was now approaching the Yucatan Peninsula.

Due to the higher grounds of the Yucatan, he had to increase in altitude and was immediately spotted on radar by the air traffic control tower. The Mexican law enforcement had contacted the control tower, warning them of any approaching unidentified aircraft and to report back to them immediately if they see anything.

Exhaustion was creeping up on Tony after an hour and a half of flight time. It had slipped his mind to recheck the instrument panel before leaving Cuba air space, failing to notice they were low on fuel.

The control tower was continuously trying to make contact with the aircraft, but without success.

“This is the Yucatan control tower. You are entering Mexican airspace, please identify yourself!” came a Mexican voice over the radio.

Tony kept quiet, not responding to the towers requests.

Things were not looking good when one of the engines suddenly stopped, starved from the lack of fuel. Travis was the first to notice something was wrong when the aircraft tilted to one side, and when a warning light began to blink on the instrument panel.

“Tony! The left engine has stopped running. You have to land!” he said.

Stacy and Krissy began to panic as they heard his words. Tony adjusted the aircraft, keeping it as steady as he can on one engine. The fuel gauge was now on the empty mark, and he was expecting the second engine to die down at any moment now. But to his surprise it kept running for at least another ten minutes, when all of a sudden, complete silence overtook the cabin. The plane was now gliding, descending foot by foot.

The two girls were screaming as the treetops rushed past them, but not a sound came from Sally. She remained totally calm, smiling to herself as if she had no care in the world as to what was happening around her. Travis looked back at her amazed, when she closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

Tony was trying his best to keep the plane steady as he flew over the dense jungle. He looked out of the cockpit window seeing nothing but trees all around them. It happened so quickly that it left him no time to see if there were somewhere safe to make an emergency landing. Then suddenly the aircraft wings were slicing through treetops, branch after branch at over eighty miles an hour. Tony expected the worst as he let go of the flight lever embracing himself for a rough landing. Branches and leaves smashed through the aircraft’s windshield and side windows. The sound was deafening as the plane plowed through the trees on its descent, when eventually it came to a sudden halt, nose first into the soft ground.

Then there was silence again, sickening silence mingled with the smell of blood. Travis was the first to regain consciousness. His forehead was bleeding, blood running down his face and onto his lap. He went to see if Tony was alright, pushing him back into his seat. He was breathing and seemed to be okay. After a while, he also regained consciousness. Both he and Travis then exited the aircraft and opened the passenger doors. Stacy and Krissy were not so fortunate. Thick tree branches penetrated the fuselage causing multiple wounds to both girls who died before the airplane came to a standstill. Sally was lucky enough to be sitting between the two girls that shielded her from the tree branches, cushioning the blows. She was wide awake and still remained calm as Travis helped her out of the wreckage.

At the aircraft control tower, Miguel Herrera was keeping watch on his screen. He followed the path of the Piper aircraft which was confirmed earlier by the FBI that the plane was the one they were on the lookout for. Miguel was ordered to continue watching its every move and to report if it altered its flight path in any way. Then, without warning, the small green dot on his screen unexpectedly disappeared from view. He tried again to make contact with the pilot, but like before, no reply came back.

Leaving his post, Miguel went to inform his superior about what had just happened. Jose Costa followed Miguel to his computer screen, making sure it was not an error. Both men knew it meant only one thing that the aircraft must have gone down somewhere in the jungle some ten miles from the Chichen Itza temples.

As Jason and Kate’s flight flew over Cuba, their pilot received an urgent message over the radio. He transferred the call to Jason’s headset, who was now speaking to Matthew Berks.

“Jason! It’s Chief Berks. I’m afraid we have some bad news.”

“What is it Chief?” Asked Jason.

Matthew paused for a few seconds. “You were right about Tony and the others flying to the Yucatan. It seems the plane has gone down somewhere in the jungle!”

Jason couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Did I hear you right? You’re saying the plane Sally was on has now crashed?”

“Yes! I’m contacting the Mexican authorities to see if they can organize a search and rescue team,” said Matthew.

Out of frustration Jason removed his headset as he banged his fist against the aircraft dashboard.

“They best be alive so I can beat the crap out of that son of a bitch!”

Two bell helicopters were dispatched from the nearest search and rescue depot, covering a twenty mile radius. No smoke was seen above the jungle treetops making the search even more difficult in the deep jungle.

Tony gathered his belongings from the wreckage, while Travis took hold of Sally.

“I can’t believe it!” Said Travis, “she doesn’t have a scratch on her! She smiled just before the plane went down as if she knew she would make it out alive.”

Travis went over to Tony, who was looking through his belongings, searching for something.

Travis asked him, “what are you looking for? We have to get out of here!”

After a few seconds, Tony held out his hands holding a small GPS instrument.

“This is what I’m looking for! Carlos gave me the coordinates to the lost Mayan site. We can get there using this,” said Tony.

Travis was losing control.

“Just in case you haven’t noticed. We just lost two participants, and where the hell is Rosie?”

They both went back to the wreckage, searching around the crashed airplane, but Rosie was nowhere in sight.

Travis went over to Sally and shook her by the shoulders. “Where is Rosie? Have you seen her?”

Without a word, she went to the wreckage and opened the rear door. Laying behind the seat was Rosie’s unconscious body.

“Why isn’t Sally speaking? She hasn’t said a word since we boarded the airplane,” said Travis.

Tony went over to her. He held her face in his hands, looking deeply into her eyes.

“This isn’t Sally!”

“What do you mean it isn’t Sally?” Asked Travis.

Tony, still looking into her eyes said, “whoever is inside her, is protecting her.”

Groaning sounds came from inside the wreckage. Rosie was now sitting up, rubbing the side of her head.

“What happened? Where are we?” She asked.

Travis helped her out of the wrecked plane and brushed her hair away, exposing a large open wound.

Tony then went through the aircraft and pulled out a first aid kit. He quickly bandaged Rosie’s head and took a look at Travis’s forehead, who refused the bandage.

“I’m okay. We should get a move on,” said Travis.

Tony switched on the GPS screen and punched in the coordinates, revealing their destination four to five miles to the north. Before setting off, Tony started breaking off branches from the surrounding trees carefully covering the wrecked aircraft.

Travis again questioned Tony.

“What are you doing now?”

“Help me cover the plane before they see it. It will give us more time to reach the site,” said Tony.

The two men spent the next ten minutes covering the wreckage while Rosie and Sally sat down on some nearby rocks gazing at their surroundings. The jungle was dark, shielding out the moon’s rays. The sound of crickets could be heard all around them as if sending a message to each other. The rustling of leaves a few yards away startled Rosie. A small rodent emerged looking up at her only to turn around again racing back into the cover of the undergrowth.

Rosie looked at Sally, asking, “what’s up with her? Did you drug her?”

“No! She’s possessed,” said Tony, as he covered the remaining piece of wreckage.

Rosie shocked by what Tony said fell to the ground.

“Possessed! By what?” She said, backing away from Sally.

Tony picked up his duffel bag and said, “get up! It’s time to leave.”

Jason was now entering Yucatan airspace when air-traffic control sounded on the radio.

“This is air-traffic control. Please identify yourself.”

The pilot Sean Denver spoke clearly into his Mic piece.

“This is pilot Sean Denver to air traffic control. I have special agent Jason Mallock here with me. We are in pursuit of a stolen Piper aircraft that I believe you reported had gone down in the jungle. Do you have its exact location to where it might have gone down?”

Miguel Herrera responded, “the exact location is not known. We have search and rescue covering a twenty mile radius, but they have not located the aircraft.”

“Sean! I have to get down there, land any place you see fit!” Said Jason.

Kate interrupted. “You can’t go after them alone Jason! That man is dangerous.”

“I don’t have a choice. If they survived the crash, Sally could be hurt, and that madman is dragging her across the jungle,” he said.

Sean descended as low as he could to find a safe place to land. All he could see on both sides were trees. The only safe spot for landing was a small stretch of land on the other side of the Chichen Itza temples.

Jason didn’t agree.

“No! Forget it. That’s too far. My guess is the plane went down as soon as they entered Yucatan air space. The search and rescue team are covering ground from the outside and slowly working inwards. We are going to start from the inside working our way out.”

The pilot took the plane towards the center of the jungle, circling the treetops, slowly working his way outwards with the aircrafts landing gear barely grazing the treetops. Kate scanned the trees on one side while Jason searched the other. She could hardly see anything below the trees which was in total darkness.

“I can’t see anything on the ground!” Said Kate, turning around to look at Jason who was in deep concentration.

After fifteen minutes of searching, Jason spotted something out of the ordinary. He told the pilot to turn around covering the same path they had just flown. Kate then moved to Jason’s side, wondering what he had seen. As they passed over the same spot, she still couldn’t see anything.

“There! That’s it down there!” Said Jason, turning towards Kate.

Kate saw something in Jason that baffled her. She was looking directly into his eyes when she noticed his pupils were a bright white, just like you would see when looking at a cat’s eye in the dark.

Jason then realized why she was looking at him in a strange way. Without thinking, he had given away his secret ability to see into the darkness. Right now, Jason didn’t care what Kate was thinking of him. All his thoughts were on finding his daughter Sally.

He looked at Kate saying, “I will explain later! But right now I have to get down there.”

The pilot shouted out, “what is it? What did you see?”

Jason said, “there is a gap between the trees as if something had flattened them. I need you to make another pass, flying low and slowly as you can.”

The pilot without question turned the aircraft around, ready to make another pass.

Kate apprehended what was about to happen.

“Jason! What do you intend to do?” She Asked.

Without answering, he opened the aircraft door ready to jump out.

“You’re going to kill yourself!” She shouted.

Jason was gone. His arms and legs spread out just like a parachutist would do. He hit the trees hard, smashing through branches with tremendous force making it nearly impossible for him to hold on. His speed began to slow down after each blow he took to his body until eventually he found himself holding onto a thick tree branch twenty feet above the ground. His clothes were tattered and torn, and blood oozed from deep gash wounds from his arms and legs. Jason waited a few minutes until he caught his breath.

Above him, he could hear the aircraft slowly moving further and further away until he was in total silence. Slowly and carefully Jason made his way to the ground. The first thing he checked was his firearm, then he verified his bearings. The opening he saw from the aircraft was about forty to fifty yards to the West. Tucking to his weapon back in his jeans, he went in search of that opening within the trees. After ten minutes of trekking through the dense jungle, he found what he was looking for. Standing right in front of him was the wrecked aircraft. He began to remove the tree branches that Tony and Travis had placed over to hide it from above. Jason opened the cockpit door where he saw blood stains all over the instrument panel. Then he saw the bodies of Krissy and Stacy. He searched around the wreckage and found four sets of prints heading to the North East. Jason smiled, knowing his daughter Sally was alive, giving him courage to keep on going.

Before touching down on a small strip-way, Kate had asked Sean to see if he could make contact with the local officials to arrange transport to take her to the campsite of Helen Shireberg. Within five minute’s air traffic controller, Miguel got back to them, confirming someone will be waiting for her at the temples as soon as they land.

Sean and Kate touched down a few hundred yards away from the Chichen Itza site and walked the rest of the way towards the bright lights. As they reached the temples they both froze in wonder at what they saw all around them. Each temple was lit up, standing high against the night sky. The place still had a few tourists visiting the site guided by a night tour leader. Kate had seen pictures and photographs of the temples, but to see them standing in front of you was another thing altogether.

Time was passing by fast, and with only a few hours left until sun up. Jason charged his way through the rough bush following the tracks made by Tony and the others, when suddenly he sensed something was not right. He noticed the jungle was unusually quiet all around him. Jason took a few steps forward, the ground crunching beneath his feet with every step he took.

He paused again as he felt a cold breeze descend upon him. Jason quickly turned around expecting to see somebody behind him, but he saw nothing. He shook his head, blaming exhaustion for playing tricks with his mind. He took a few steps forward when the same thing happened again. But this time not only did he shudder from the cold air, he could see his warm breath after each exhalation he took, just as if he were standing inside a deep freezer. Jason had no idea what was going on, not taking any chances he withdrew his weapon.

The cold air seemed to follow him as he continued on through the thick jungle. After a few more yards, he found himself amongst a white mist just a few inches from the ground, growing larger and larger as it covered the jungle floor. He was sure someone or something was watching his every move. He stopped suddenly, positive he could hear whispering sounds coming from within the trees. Jason pointed his firearm in front of him, then to the left of him, following the sounds from wherever they came from. Now he knew he was not alone when he saw dark shadows darting from within the trees with such a speed that it was impossible for him to take aim and shoot.

The shadows moved closer and closer until they were all around him. Jason randomly opened fire, emptying his weapon in seconds. Then without warning, he was knocked off his feet as if a raging bull had charged him. He had no idea what hit him, but whatever it was, it was now dragging him from his feet back the way he had come. After ten yards, it stopped. Jason quickly got to his feet, but he saw nothing and nobody. Not about to give in that easily, he pushed forward again increasing his pace. Then it hit him again just like before, knocking him down and pulling him back a few more yards.

Was this possible to be attacked by an invisible force, he said to himself. Frustration was getting the better of him. Jason was not the type to be scared that easily.

He shouted out, “come on show yourself whatever you are! I’m not afraid!”

Then it happened again. Jason was being dragged backward as if something was preventing him from moving forward. This time Jason was determined to continue no matter what. He got to his feet, running as fast as he could away from the dark shadows and mist. For the next hundred yards, Jason didn’t look back until he could run no more. He looked around as he stopped to catch his breath. He saw nothing was following him, so he continued forward in a strong, steady pace.

Racing against the clock, Tony also was moving through the jungle at a quick pace. He continually checked the GPS display, making certain they were still heading in the right direction. By his calculations, they should be at the site within the next forty minutes or so. Travis was holding a large flashlight, showing the way in front of them. Rosie remained close to Sally, who still has not said a word to anyone. She sometimes giggled to herself and murmured words that no one could understand. Tony would stop now and then to check up on her, making sure the energy within her was still there.

After a while, Tony thought he heard the sound of running water. He stopped where he was, and called for Travis to come forward with the flashlight. Rosie took the opportunity to sit down and rest, pulling Sally down beside her. Tony and Travis took a few steps forward when they came to a clearing, revealing a fifty foot wide river just below them. The steep drop to the river was more than thirty feet, making it impossible for them to climb down. They paused for a few minutes taking in the spectacular scenery. The water below them was crystal clear with rocks on both sides. They had to search for an alternative way to get across the river. According to the GPS the site was to the North East, so Tony decided to move in that direction, hoping to find another crossing point.

Back at the Chichen Itza temples, Kate met with the very same guide who escorted Jason and Danny. She said goodbye to Sean, who was ordered back to the Bahamas. Then she climbed inside the open top jeep and headed out with Andreas into the dark jungle. Glancing back at the temples, she saw Sean’s aircraft as it circled around and then disappeared into the night sky. The journey to Helen’s campsite would take them at least half an hour.

As the Jeep passed along the rough roads, she looked into the jungle, thinking it was no place to be at this time of hour. Her thoughts wandered over to Jason, praying he was alright out there alone searching for Sally.

She then began to think about the Mayan people, fascinated at the marvels they had created, and the dangers they had to deal with in their day to day lives. She remembered what she had searched about on the INTERNET, their gods and the spirits they believed in. Their whole lives and way of living depended on what the gods decided for them, and the sacrifices that were offered to them.

Kate was brought back to reality by the sounds of helicopters passing above her. She immediately knew they were from the search and rescue team. She wondered if they had found the wrecked aircraft or not, or even if the occupants were alive or dead. Kate thought only of Jason, worried if he had survived the jump from Sean’s plane.

Not too far from where Tony and Travis emerged, stood a wooden bridge. It was just a meter in width made for single file crossing. The bridge was old but still strong enough to cross from one side to another. Tony had a gut feeling he was being watched, so he hurried the others along to begin the crossing. It was Travis, who first tested the wooden structure, making it safely over to the other side. He then urged Rosie and Sally along. Rose held onto Sally’s hand, making sure she followed her every step. Next it was Tony’s turn. He was half way across when he heard the sound of running feet coming towards him from the jungle. It was Jason, who eventually managed to catch up with them. Tony made a run for the other side, managing to cross the bridge just as Jason was clear of the trees. Tony then lowered his duffel bag to the ground, zipped it open and took out two 9mm automatic weapons.

Travis, surprised by Tony’s actions said, “where in the hell did they come from?”

Without answering, he opened fire, spraying the ground beneath Jason’s feet with bullets, forcing him backward. Before Jason had a chance to take cover, he took a bullet to the leg. He went down hard, his face hitting the rocks, knocking him unconscious. Tony then opened fire on the bridge support beams and began kicking the rotting wood breaking them in two. The bridge made a crunching sound as it gave way crashing down into the river below. Tony reloaded his two guns and turned towards Jason ready to open fire again. But Jason’s body was gone; he somehow managed to slip away into the jungle trees.