Tomb of Zeus (Atlantis) (20 page)

Anticipating their next request, Javi and Helena stood and waited for the three men to approach. One man grabbed Helena’s arm, the other, Javi’s. The remaining man stood behind the four and guarded from the rear. As Frank led them out, not a sound was made.

Outside the large concrete home, the five headed to a passenger van. They assembled into it, with Javi and Helena being guarded on all sides. The ride to the pyramid was quiet. As three men sat stoically and watched their progress along the road, Frank drove and monitored his captives from the rearview mirror.

A half hour later
, the van turned the last corner into the park area of the great pyramid. Javi’s pulse began to rise. He guessed he had only an hour to live. He felt the terrified eyes of Helena as she stared at him momentarily. He glanced at her and flashed a reassuring smile. The corner of her mouth curled slightly in gratitude, then returned to its previously saddened state.

Pulling up in front of the pyramid, they all exited the vehicle and immediately headed for the entrance. Before entering, Frank paused just outside and readjusted the small backpack slung over his shoulder. As he waited, his cell phone rang. He answered it, listened, then nodded. He glanced out across the parking area to an unseen object of interest, then turned and headed inside.

“Ok Mr. Arista, lead the way… and no tricks. I’ve been instructed to shoot the girl if I determine you’re threatening the success of this mission,” he instructed.

Javi nodded nervously, then proceeded forward, his heart pounding to distraction. As they descended deeper through the corridors, the men barely glanced at the ancient hieroglyphics that warned of impending doom. Focused intently on their mission, the
y paid little notice of the tar-filled pitfall that nearly claimed Javi’s life.

The four men,
with Javi and Helena, crossed through the open doorway into the pentagonal room that held the altar. Dimly lit from a single spotlight positioned at the entrance, the four men now scanned the room, clearing it of any potential problems.

“Sir, the r
oom’s clean,” one man announced respectfully.

Frank nodded, then turned to Javi. As he unslung his small backpack, he handed it over and said, “Ok, Mr. Arista, it’s your show. Now open the chamber… and remember, Helena’s life is in your hands.”

Javi nodded nervously once again, and accepted the backpack. He walked behind the altar and set it to the right of the center pedestal. Unzipping the top, he reached in, pulled out the crystal ball and stared at its magnificence.

Seeing it for the first time, he was in awe. He momentarily lost himself in its beauty as he gently rubbed the exterior. Looking close, he could see a map of various continents inscribed on the outside. Just like the first crystal, this one too represented a globe of the world as it existed seven thousand years ago. At
its center, an exquisitely carved golden pyramid shined brilliantly in the dim light of the room.

“Mr. Arista…” Frank said, urging Javi to move along.

He nodded simply, then positioned the crystal over the pedestal. With the internal golden pyramid pointing directly upward and facing the great stone door at the opposite side of the room, he lowered the crystal down onto the pedestal. The fit was perfect.

Instantly the pedestal began to lower and the hissing of sand sounded inside the walls. Moments later,
the door opened with a great rumble.

Javi pointed his flashlight behind the now stationary crystal and watched a small beam of light shine on the wall beside the open door. He rushed over to
the location and searched for the round tile that acted as a lock mechanism. Using his flashlight, he focused the beam on the wall. His faced turned puzzled. The tile wasn’t there. He ran his hand over the area, pushing as he searched.

“Impossible!” he shouted in frustration. “How can this be? It’s got to be here?”

“What’s got to be there?” Frank asked, now deeply concerned.

“There’s a round tile somewhere over here that’s
acts as a locking mechanism. The beam of light from the pyramid is used to locate its exact position. Until we find it, no one can enter the chamber,” Javi said.

“Is this some kind of trick? I told you what we’d do if you didn’t cooperate. Are you trying to test my patience?” Frank shot back angrily.

Javi turned back and stared at Frank. His expression told the story. With great apprehension, he shook his head.

“I promise you, I have no idea what’s going on here. It’s obvious we have the right crystal. It’s just not working. That darn tile should be right here,” he responded, pointing.

Frank rushed over to Javi’s side and stared at the bare spot on the wall. Seeing nothing, he ran his hand over the area, feeling for a seam. The spot was smooth and featureless.

“Shine a light through the crystal,” he ordered.

A man hurried behind the altar and switched on his flashlight. Pointing it at the golden pyramid, a narrow beam of light shot across the room, lighting up a small area on the wall.

Frank studied the area again, then turned to Javi. His eyes were cold and menacing.

“What would happen if we entered that room
right now?” he asked.

“The ceiling would collapse and everyone would be killed,” Javi said, his tone sounding grave.

Frank thought for a moment. He shook his head in frustration, then began to pace the floor as he worked through the problem.

“Is the crystal in the correct orientation?” he asked.

“As far as I know: yes. This chamber and the one above us are identical, so it stands to reason that they both use that same locking mechanism. Furthermore, it stands to reason that they both are located in the same location on the wall,” Javi reasoned.

“And if everything’s identical, the orientation of the crystals should also be identical,”
Frank surmised.

Javi
nodded.

Frank
thought the problem over, then shook his head.

“This makes no sense… no sense at all,” he growled angrily.

Looking back to his men, he shouted new orders in desperation:

“That locking mechanism has to be here somewhere on one of these walls. Find it,” he shouted.

Without another word, the three men fanned out, each one picking one of the remaining six walls that were unsearched. Frank shot Javi a menacing look. Without another word, Javi hurried to a wall and began his search. Helena followed their cue and joined in as well.

Frank stared at the wall he had just searched. Something about it nagged at him. He thought about Javi’s explanation of the door’s operation. In his mind, he agreed that the locking mechanism should be located somewhere on that wall. It made sense and it frustrated him that it wasn’t there.

He moved back to the wall. Looking it up and down, he decided to search it once more. He angled his fingers and began to scratch away at the surface of the wall, looking for anything that would catch on his nails. Reaching as high as he could, he worked his way downward. With each tiny nick or edge his nails hung up on, he shined his flashlight on the spot, then applied pressure. With no results, he moved his search lower.

After nearly an hour, while kneeling low at the wall, his fingernails caught on something once more. Bringing the light close, he saw nothing. He ran his nails across the surface, and detected another edge slightly lower. Shining his flashlight again, there appeared to be nothing there, yet he knew there was.

He stared at the spot a moment. It seemed far away from where the lock should be. He was about to keep going but pushed on the spot anyway. It moved.

Franks heart began to pound. In one great effort,
he shoved hard, driving the round tile deep into the wall. Instantly, he heard the hissing of sand and the rumble of stone beyond the chamber.

“I got it,” he shouted excitedly, leaping to his feet.

He turned back and smiled proudly to his men.

“Good work, Sir,” they shouted in relief.

Javi hurried over, knelt down and stared at the four-inch-in-diameter hole in the wall where the tile had moved into. He looked back at the crystal, then back at the wall.

“I don’t believe this,” he said in amazement.

“What? What don’t you believe?” Helena asked, anticipating bad news.

Javi rushed to the altar. Grabbing the crystal ball, he spun it around and now placed it back on the pedestal, this time with the top of the golden pyramid pointing down towards the altar. He shined his flashlight behind the crystal and a beam of light shot out towards the wall.

“Huh… would you look at that?” he said in amazement. “The beam of light is indicating the exact location of the round tile.” He stared at Frank and shrugged his shoulder. “Guess I had it upside down,” he added, slightly embarrassed.

“Hmm, interesting. I wonder why they did that,” Frank pondered aloud.

“I’m guessing to prevent grave robbing,” Javi explained. “If they designed both locking systems the same, grave robbers could enter both chambers with just one crystal. Needing two crystals makes looting much more difficult.”

“So is it safe to go in?” Helena asked, excitedly, forgetting her act for a moment.

Javi stared at her with surprise. Helena realized her mistake and quickly covered.

“I don’t want them marching us into something that’s going to kill us,” she added.

Javi nodded in understanding.

Frank stood at the doorway to the open chamber. He called to Javi, “Ok Mr. Arista, you first. If it’s safe to enter, you hav
e nothing to worry about.”

Although he felt fairly certain the lock would hold, he was apprehensive. After seven thousand years, he wasn’t positive everything would work.  With little choice, he stepped t
o the doorway. He shot Frank an unpleasant stare, then took a step forward. Instantly, his heart began to pound. As he took another step, he stopped and listened. Nothing.

“I think it’s safe,” he said in a whispered tone.

Helena instantly moved in behind him, followed by Frank and his men. As they walked toward another doorway at the back of the chamber, he stared cautiously at a mosaic tile of the sun lying just before the entrance on the floor. His hands were now sweaty and he felt slightly overheated from the tension.

Taking a deep breath, he exhale and stepped on the tile. Nothing.

The locking mechanism held. Three years before, while exploring the upper chamber, members of the dangerous Russian Mafia had lost their lives after they stood on the tile without the lock engaged. Javi breathed a long sigh of relief.

With safe passage now virtually guaranteed, he hurried past the doorway and through the narrow hall. With Helena rushing directly behind him, the two shined their flashlights on a darkened chamber just ahead.

Helena’s mind raced with excitement. In seconds she would be in Zeus’ burial chamber… and the scepter would be
hers
.

As Javi closed in on the open area, he could see hieroglyphics etched into the wall
s. Although he knew he and Helena were still in trouble, he could not turn off the archeologist inside him. He grew more excited with each step he took.

Seconds later, the new chamber opened up before them. It was big: twenty by twenty by ten feet high. Inscriptions adorned every wall. A stone altar stood at the back of the room and next to it, another great golden statue of Zeus seemed to guard what appeared to be several tablets on display. The floor appeared to be made of highly polished marble and everywhere one looked, there seemed to be urns filled with varying treasures.

“Wow, this is amazing?” Javi said in awe of the ancient chamber.

Helena eyes darted around the room. Her heart beat with sickening disappointment.

“Where’s Zeus?” Frank asked, his voice now showing concern.

“He’s over there, by the altar,” Javi said, pointing with the beam from his flashlight.

Helena raced to the golden statue. She studied it closely, then knocked on its outside.

“It’s hollow. There’s no
thing inside this thing,” she blurted out with deep concern.

“I don’t get it? This is Zeus’ chamber. Where’s Zeus? Where’s his coffin?” Frank demanded angrily.

Javi turned and faced them men. He now was worried. They came for Zeus, but would leave empty handed. Looking toward Helena, he wondered how long they had to live.

“I suspect this isn’t his burial chamber,”
he explained. “As I read some of the inscriptions on the walls, it almost appears as if this is some kind of shrine dedicated to him.”

“A shrine?” Frank shouted in disgust. “All this for a lousy shrine?”

“I know all seems bleak, but I’m sure if you give me some time, I might be able to figure out where he’s buried,” Javi lied, hoping to buy him and Helena some time.

“How much time?” Frank shot back.

“It’s hard to say. It could take a week or so to decipher all this data,” he responded, pointing to the hieroglyphics around the room. “But with all the work they put into this, it does seem logical that they should mention where they buried him, doesn’t it?”