The Vilcabamba Prophecy: A Nick Randall Novel (21 page)

“We thought we
might lose you back there. When
Amaro
told me the
boat was just over the hill, I knew our best chance was for me to help him get
the boat and bring it back to you.”

“That’s my
girl,” Randall said weakly. Every part of his body ached, and he closed his
eyes trying to recover from the long run and jump. They were safe now and could
focus on returning to find the medallion.

“
Amaro
, how long until we get back?”

“About an hour.
Rest now my friend for we will soon need to move again.”

Randall didn’t
need to be told twice. He closed his eyes, happy that the day’s events were
finally over.

Chapter thirty-two

Amaro
led Randall and Sam back to the clearing and to George, who was sitting on a
fallen log only several feet from where they had left him. Upon seeing them,
George jumped to his feet and raced towards them, clearly happy to see their
faces again.

“What
happened? I thought you were only going to be gone for a couple of hours? I was
getting worried that I was going to have to spend the night alone in this
creepy jungle.”

“Sorry
George, we ran into a little trouble,” Randall said, taking a seat on the
stump.

“That’s
okay, I was just worried about you. I’m really glad you’re both back,” he said,
patting Randall on the back.

“My
friends, I must go back to my tribe and tell my leaders what has happened. Good
luck,”
Amaro
said, walking to the edge of the
clearing. Randall watched as he left and after a few moments,
Amaro
disappeared into the dark underbrush.

After
a short rest, the three made their way back through the jungle, moving in the
direction of the ruins. Conversation was sparse as they made their way in the
moonlight.

“Dr.
Randall?” George asked sheepishly.

“Yes?”

“I
heard
Dumond
talking about something called the Drake
Equation with one of his men, a huge soldier with a mustache,” George said.

“That
must have been
Ackers
,” Sam added.

“Anyway,
he said he heard you give a lecture about it. What was he talking about?”
George asked.

“He
was referring to an astronomer who developed an equation for estimating the
number of intelligent civilizations in the galaxy. He showed that,
mathematically speaking, the universe should be teeming with intelligent life.”

“If
that’s true, then why haven’t any alien species contacted us?” George asked.

“That’s
a good question, and there are several theories that might explain it. First,
if a civilization is much more advanced than we are, they might not bother
trying to communicate with us. Relatively speaking, we’re cavemen compared to
them. Think about it this way. If there was an anthill on the side of a road,
no human is going to stop and try to communicate with the ants because they’re
too simplistic to understand what we are trying say,” Randall replied.

“I
can see your point.”

“Then
there’s another theory that advanced civilizations might have some sort of rule
about not interfering with the development of more primitive species. They
might worry that if they did, it might cause some sort of cosmic imbalance or
problem for the simpler life forms.”

“Like
the prime directive in Star Trek!” George exclaimed.

Randall
smiled. “Right. But I tend to believe in another explanation. I think that we
have made contact with alien species, but in very limited capacities.”

“How
do you mean?” George asked.

“If
you look at history, there are hints about extraterrestrial visitations
scattered throughout the world.”

“Such
as?”

“Well,
there are the ancient petroglyphs around the world that seem to portray
humanoid figures sporting unusual headgear like Apollo-era astronaut helmets,”
Randall said.

“What?
You’re kidding, right?”

“Not
at all, in fact, there’s one Mayan carving that looks like a man sitting in a
space capsule with knobs and buttons. After seeing it, you have to wonder how
the ancient Maya could have created an image like that, unless they had
actually seen one.”

“I
had no idea,” George said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“You’re
not alone. Most people aren’t aware of these things and mainstream science
doesn’t want to address the possibility that our ancestors may have interacted
with advanced species.”

“Sorry
to break up your conversation boys, but we need to get going,” Sam said,
surveying their surroundings. Her mood darkened and Randall noticed that she
had a strange expression on her face.

“Is
something wrong?” Randall asked.

“Doesn’t
it seem odd to you that none of the soldiers followed you when you ran out of
the compound? Someone must have heard the gunshots and noticed that the
medallion was missing,” Sam said.

Randall
shrugged, “Maybe they thought some of
Kristoph’s
men
had survived the attack, stole the medallion and returned to their ship.”

“Maybe,
but I feel like something’s not right.
Dumond
isn’t
the sort of man who would just give up on finding the city and the power
source, especially after building the power station and the satellites.”

“I
guess they just haven’t figured out what’s going on yet, so we’d better hurry
before they do,” Randall said.

As
they re-entered the ruins, Sam once again marveled at the craftsmanship of the
tunnel. In spite of the terrible turn of events, she was still filled with awe
at the discovery. “This could change the way we view human history,” she said
to herself. She stopped and stared. “It
will
change the way we view human history.”

The
trio soon reached the inner chamber, then traversed down the ropes that
Ackers’s
men had left. The path was becoming more familiar
for Sam and her father due to the previous trips, but for George, the
experience was otherworldly. Walking through an elaborately carved rock
structure, far under the surface of the Earth, was a far cry from the clean
rooms at Gemini Orbital. George felt a bit like a swashbuckling adventurer on a
quest in search of untold treasure. His good mood vanished as they approached
the crevasse.

“Why
is it so hot in here?” George asked.

“It
is a lot warmer than before,” Sam said.

Slowly
inching his way to the edge of the crevasse, Randall discovered the source of
the heat.

“Magma.”

Sam
joined her father, shining her light down into the depths of the crevasse. The
formerly bottomless pit now had a termination point.
One that
ended in hot molten rock.
George inched his way to the ledge to see for
himself.

“That
doesn’t look good.”

“How
far down would you say that is?” Sam asked.

“Maybe
fifty to eighty feet. I don’t like this. Between the more frequent earthquakes
and now this magma, this place is giving all the signs that it’s going to blow.
We need to get you as far away from here as possible,” Randall said.

“Wait
a minute, what do you mean this place is getting ready to blow? What’s going on
here?” George asked.

For
the moment, Sam ignored George; she was worried about her father. “We’re too
close now. Besides, we’re still need to find out what happened to Phil.”

“Sam,
I already lost him and Mike, I can’t handle the idea of losing you. I-”

“That’s
why we need to move quickly,” Sam said, cutting her father off in mid-sentence
and jerking her flashlight upward. “Look at this!”

Randall’s
eyes shot upward and across to the other side of the crevasse. Once more,
disbelief gripped him. What had been a solid wall of rock when
Kristoph’s
men had found him was now a tunnel.

“It’s
an open path again. What in the hell is happening here?”

“That’s
a good question. Can someone please fill me in on what you’re talking about?
I’m starting to feel like a fifth wheel.” George said impatiently.

“The
first time I came down this cavern I was alone, the path was open and I went
across. The next time I was here with Sam,
Dumond
,
and his men, and there was a sheer rock face on the other side. Now it’s open
again,” Randall said.

“That
makes absolutely no sense. How could it be open, then solid rock, and then open
again? You must have come down different tunnels.”

Randall
shined his light directly into George’s face and shot him a withering
look,
the kind that only a parent or teacher can muster.

George
backed down and resumed his quiet disposition. Sam just smiled, watching George
and her father from a distance. She readied herself for the jump.

Sam’s
flashlight danced about the cavern crazily, cutting a zigzag pattern through
the darkness. Before they could stand, Randall and George watched as the light,
and Sam, leapt across to the other side. She landed gracefully, pulling to a
stop in a crouched position.

“Come
on guys, we’ve got to get moving!” She called.

Without
debate and with a small smile returning to his face, Randall backed several
feet away from the crevasse. His hands once again became cold and clammy as he
thought about his last and nearly fatal attempt to make the leap across. Heart
racing wildly, Randall ran, full speed, and leapt with all of his might at the
last possible moment. As he arced through the air, he could see Sam slowly step
to the side to make way for his landing. He landed cleanly, but hit the ground
hard, his left leg buckling under him. Tumbling to a stop, Randall forced
himself to his feet, his left leg pulsing with pain.

“Dad,
are you alright? It looks like you hurt your leg.”

“It’s
fine,” he said, rubbing the injury. “I’m just getting way too old for this
shit!”

“You
always used to tell me, you’re only as old as you feel.”

“Yeah,
and right now, I feel pretty damn old,” he said, smiling at Sam and limping in
pain.

George
stood on the other side of the crevasse, looking at Sam and Randall, his eyes
blinking in disbelief.

“Come
on George, you’re next!” Sam called out.

George
was shaking now. Nothing about being an electrical engineer had prepared him
for this moment. He thought about the safety of his office with great fondness,
wondering if he would ever see it again. If he had ever complained about being
bored with his job, this was clearly fate’s way of repaying him.

“You’ll
be okay George. I know you can do it,” Sam said.

George
looked over at Sam. She was standing with her hands on her hips, smiling in
support. George couldn’t deny it any longer. He had feelings for Sam and he
couldn’t let her see him chicken out. His pride, locked in mortal combat with
sheer terror, had won out. He took several steps backward and swallowed hard.
Giving out a small whimper and running at full speed, George launched himself.
As he traversed the crevasse, his entire life flashed before his eyes. George
came crashing down on the other side, a heap of humanity crumpled upon the
floor of the cavern.

Sam
ran over to him. His eyes were shut tight and he was covered from head to toe
in fine gray dust. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Are
you hurt?”

George
opened his eyes and did a mental inspection of his body. Everything seemed to
be intact. “I don’t think so,” he replied.

Sam
smiled and reached down to help him up.

The
three peered down the now open cavern; more darkness lay ahead. Time passed
slowly as they made their way down the winding path, but their effort was soon
rewarded. A short distance ahead, a faint glow appeared.

“What
is that? Is that … light?” Sam asked.

Even
in the darkness, Randall could sense his daughter’s disbelief at what lay ahead
of them. He felt a great sense of relief knowing that the earlier episode had
not been a hallucination. Suddenly he was struck by a realization.

 
“Do you know what this means? They’re
real Sam, they’re real!”

“Who’s
real?” The light was becoming brighter and larger as they walked closer.

“The
creatures that live in
Vilcabamba
.” Randall replied.
“They did communicate with me, and they’re not like anything you’ve ever seen.”

It
was the way her father had said it that caused Sam to stop. In the midst of the
journey back, it had never occurred to her that she would come face to face
with incontrovertible proof that humanity was not alone in the cosmos. The
thought caused her to shudder involuntarily. As a scientist, it was one thing
to theorize about such things, but it was something altogether different to
actually confirm it. Sam wasn’t sure if she was exhilarated, afraid, or a
combination of the two.