Torrent (11 page)

Metal clinked as a seatbelt came loose. I looked across the aisle and saw Emily ease off the bench. Crowley grabbed at her, but she evaded him.

"Are you crazy?" I shouted. "Get back in your seat."

She dropped to her knees. The helicopter pitched forward. With a soft yelp, she rolled toward the cockpit. I grabbed her hand, but it was slick with sweat. I lost my grip and she swept toward the cockpit.

"We can't stay here, not with these winds." Dr. Wu's voice growled from an overhead speaker. "I'm going to descend and see if we can make an expedited landing. So, I need every butt buckled in its seat, pronto."

Screams and shouts died out. A quiet terror took hold of the cabin as I fought my way back to the bench and buckled my belt.

The wind screamed an ear-piercing shriek. Emily scrambled away from the cockpit, tablet in hand. With Crowley's help, she pulled herself back into her seat. As she hunched over her tablet, a deep frown materialized on her visage. "That's odd."

"What's odd?" I asked.

The helicopter swung to the side, then dropped like a stone. It came to a sudden stop, jarring me all over again.

"It doesn't work." She gritted her teeth as the helicopter dropped another few feet.

"It's the turbulence," Beverly said. "It must've thrown the system out of whack."

"No way. It's survived worse conditions than this." Her brow furrowed as she tapped impatiently on the tablet. "I can't believe it. It's dead. Completely, utterly dead."

Chapter 32

The clouds grew thicker as we started our descent. Thunder roared in the distance. Lightning flashed across the sky. I could no longer see traces of jungle. The edges of cliffs were still visible, but just barely.

"I think I see the canyon." Beverly peered out a window. "Well, part of it anyway. Looks like a big chunk of land."

The helicopter swiveled and dipped. My heart pounded as I turned my attention to the window behind me.

"Get ready." Emily sounded like a kid at Disney World. "You're about to see one of the last untouched places on Earth."

The interior lights flicked off. The cabin grew dark. Staring outside, I watched the clouds as we drifted downward.

The rain picked up speed, thumping relentlessly against the helicopter. A minute passed. And then another. My chest pounded almost as hard as the rain. My eyes dried and started to hurt. But I refused to blink.

Without warning, the clouds parted. I saw thick, impenetrable jungle. It was an ancient jungle. Ancient and magnificent, rich in greens and many other colors.

"What kind of trees are those?" Graham called out. "Does anyone know?"

"I see Mexican elm and tropical American mahogany," Tum replied loudly. "The ceiba too."

"Can you tell us anything else about the jungle?"

"I'd put the average height at about one hundred and twenty feet. That makes it much taller than the Lacandon Jungle. But of course, that doesn't give the true picture. The canopy looks like it could be well over two hundred feet tall near the edges."

I scanned the jungle for a few seconds. Then I looked toward the marsh. Unfortunately, thick clouds appeared, cloaking it.

I twisted away from the window and exhaled, letting out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. The jungle and mountains were impressive to say the least. But I felt a vague sense of disappointment as well.

When I'd first heard about our destination, I'd immediately pictured the stuff of dreams. Giant temples. Ancient observatories. Strange columns and pillars, covered in hieroglyphics. And all of it cloaked in mist and overgrown with jungle. But I saw nothing even remotely resembling that image.

"Oh my God." Graham spoke slowly, pronouncing each word. "Would you look at that?"

I turned back to the window. Squinting, I stared through the pouring rain. Lines, once separate and distinct, joined together. A shape materialized.

"Good lord." I inhaled sharply. "It's massive."

A giant pyramid stretched to the sky. A marshy clearing consisting of long grass and short shrubs surrounded it. Further back, I saw packed vegetation and tall trees.

The pyramid's weathered sides looked strangely smooth. They jutted out near the peak, forming a decorative roof comb structure. The entire building seemed to pulse under the rain. It was mysterious and ancient, seemingly as ancient as the canyon itself.

"That's the pyramid I told you about." Emily's voice turned soft, reverential. "And it's magnificent."

Chapter 33

"Umm … is anyone else seeing this?"

I heard urgency in Beverly's words. Reluctantly, I tore my gaze from the pyramid. "Seeing what?"

"Just look." She pointed her finger toward the sky. "Up there."

And so I did.

My jaw dropped. I completely forgot about the pyramid and the Library of the Mayas.

What the hell is that?

Chapter 34

I touched the window. The view outside was now gone, completely obscured by a giant cloud. But this wasn't an ordinary cloud.

It was dark grey. And yet, it blazed with a sort of electrical brightness. Peering deep into its innards, I saw tiny white dots. There were hundreds of them, maybe thousands.

The tiny dots moved closer together. Individual dots stretched out to other ones. And when they finally joined forces, they pulsed and shuddered like living, breathing creatures.

There were just as many lights as before. But now, they were a little larger, a little more dazzling to the eye.

"Cy?" Beverly cleared her throat. "Did you see them yet?"

"Yeah." My eyes remained glued to the bright, glowing orbs. "Any idea what they are?"

"Not yet."

A few seconds passed. The cloud grew dense. I could still see the little orbs, but my visibility was limited to no more than a foot or two.

Abruptly, the helicopter jolted.

"Oh my God." Dr. Wu's voice screeched out of the speaker. "What the hell?"

Emily shifted in her seat. "Doc?" she shouted. "What's wrong?"

A few seconds passed.

"If you aren't buckled in, do it now." The doc's voice sounded muffled as it exited the speaker. "We've got problems. Serious …"

The speaker sizzled. Then it went silent.

"Doc?" Emily yelled.

A faint voice came from the cockpit. "Electronic systems … failing … navigational equipment … failing … even the compass … spinning like a windmill … how is this possible?"

"Can you land?"

"I can't see." His voice rose to a muffled screech. "So, yeah. I can land. Whether we'll survive or not is a whole other question."

"Gain some altitude. Maybe we can hover until the clouds clear up."

"Negative," he shouted. "I can't—"

Wind swirled into us. Dr. Wu fought to keep the craft steady. We hovered for a few seconds, tipping from side to side.

Terrible noises filled the air. They sounded like horns. I clutched my ears. Doubled over in pain.

Panic filled Emily's voice. "What's our status?"

"Nothing's working," he shouted. "We don't have power. Not a goddamn bit of it."

The chopper tipped sideways. My back slammed against the bench. Gritting my teeth, I tried to concentrate. But my brain felt scattered, ripped into a thousand pieces. It was hell.

Pure hell.

The engine noise drifted away. Then the whirring chopper blades faded to silence. Even the voices quieted down. Soon, the only sound I could hear was rain. It pounded against the chopper with the force of a giant waterfall.

We hovered for a few seconds. Then we plummeted toward the ground.

Wind rushed at my ears.

A single thought raced through my mind.

We're going to die.

I jolted. Pain erupted in every inch of my body. Darkness seeped in from the corners of my vision.

And then I swirled into a sea of blackness.

P
ART
III

The Pyramid

Chapter 35

"Wake up, everyone! Wake up!"

My eyes fluttered open. The cabin was dark, nearly pitch black. The only illumination came from small flickering lights within the cockpit. I felt ice cold. And yet, I sensed blistering heat licking my skin.

I lifted my chin a few inches. My neck felt stiff. Taking a deep breath, I twisted it to my left. Beverly was slouched to the side. Her head rested on her shoulder. Soot covered her drawn cheeks. Her shirt had been ripped and torn in multiple places.

Across the aisle, Crowley appeared dazed. Emily's hair was askew. Small bruises covered her neck.

Graham stirred to my right. He was slumped in his seat so I couldn't really see him. But he appeared to be moving.

"Hey! Can anyone hear me? Get up!"

This time, I recognized Tum's voice. But my brain was slow to respond. Instead, my eyes were drawn to the cockpit. Above several fallen crates, I saw small flames.

"Get up!" Tum struggled to his feet. "We need to get out of here."

My senses exploded as my brain woke up. My mouth tasted like ash. The smell of smoke overwhelmed my nostrils. And my ears rang so loudly I could hardly think.

Tum made his way to the door. He yanked on the metal handle, but it didn't budge.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and stood up. My legs wobbled. It took me a second to catch my balance.

I shook Beverly. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes flicked open. They widened quickly.

"We need to hurry," I said. "Wake the others and find the fire extinguishers."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to clear an exit."

Tum continued to yank on the door handle with little success. I limped toward him. "Let me try."

He stepped to the side. I grabbed the handle. Wrenched it. My shoulder howled in pain. "No good. Give me a hand."

Together, we yanked the handle. It stuck fast.

My muscles strained. So did his.

The door refused to budge.

I leaned back and yanked with all my strength.

The door slid open. A wave of hot air sucked the oxygen right out of my lungs. A dense, wet fog limited my visibility. But I felt heat and heard soft crackling noises.

I rotated toward the cockpit. Blue and white flames flickered wildly, stabbing out repeatedly into the fog.

Beverly squeezed past me and jumped outside. She raced toward the cockpit with a fire extinguisher in her hands. Moments later, chemical foam shot all over the flames.

I staggered back into the cabin. Crowley, with Emily propped up on his shoulder, passed by me. Meanwhile, Miranda helped Dora and Renau to their feet. They grabbed fire extinguishers and hobbled toward the exit.

My eyes scanned the benches.  My heart went cold.

Dutch Graham was beyond tough and had survived every challenge nature or man had ever thrown at him. But now he lay on the bench, gasping for air. His face was white. Thin trickles of blood poured from various wounds on his back and shoulders.

I unbuckled him. He tried to speak but only managed a few soft gurgles. I didn't bother checking for broken bones. Instead, I lugged him to the doorframe. My muscles protested as I hauled him to the ground. My boots quickly sank into deep marshland. Gritting my teeth, I carried Graham away from the helicopter.

He winced as I deposited him on a patch of thick vegetation. "Ohh …"

"How do you feel?"

"Like hell."

The flat marsh consisted of tall grass, reeds, and short bushes. A thin ribbon of dry land lay at the edge of the marsh. Then came the trees. They were gigantic, reaching into the fog before vanishing from sight.

A small campsite had been erected on the southern edge of the clearing, just past the marsh. The tractor, covered in a large tarp, sat nearby. But I didn't see Rigoberta, Pacho, or the dogs.

Twisting around, I looked at the helicopter. Foam blanketed it. Dents lined the metallic sides. Soot covered the landing skids. It was still in one piece, but it wouldn't be flying anytime soon.

Nearby, Beverly, Miranda, and the Maneros were gathered around Dr. Wu. His clothes hung in tatters. Chemical foam covered his body.

I helped Graham to his feet. He took a few practice steps. Then we trudged through the thick marsh to join the others. "What happened?"

"I don't know. Everything just failed on me. I've never seen anything like it." The doc glanced at the cockpit. "One of the backup FADEC systems must've kicked in at the last moment. It saved our lives."

Emily hobbled into our circle, followed closely by Crowley. "Has anyone seen Rigoberta or Pacho?"

No one replied.

"You'd think they would've checked on us by now."

"I don't know about you," Graham said. "But if I saw a helicopter falling out of the sky, I'd run like hell in the opposite direction."

We gravitated toward the helicopter. Wordlessly, we split into teams. Miranda, Tum, and the Maneros walked to the external cargo. They unhooked various crates from the cargo hook and slowly wheeled them through the marsh.

Beverly, Graham, Emily, Crowley, Dr. Wu, and I trudged toward the cabin. We formed an assembly line and began offloading supplies and baggage.

"I keep thinking about those orbs," Graham said as he took a bag from me. "What were they?"

Emily grabbed the bag from Graham and tossed it into a pile. "The lightning was pretty heavy. Maybe it played tricks on our eyes."

"On all of our eyes? At the exact same time?"

Beverly took a crate from Dr. Wu and handed it to me. "I think it was ball lightning."

Graham's ears perked. "What's that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. From what I understand, it's extremely rare. I saw it once while I was stationed in Iraq. The balls moved in all directions and were attracted toward metal objects."

Emily arched an eyebrow. "Like the helicopter?"

Beverly nodded. "The ones I saw lasted over a minute. When they vanished, they left a scent of sulfur in their wake. They also made noises, like explosive pops."