Sam stepped back to let her pass. “At least take a couple of armed men with you.”
“Fine.” She said through gritted teeth.
After she left, Ricardo looked at Sam. “Do you think it’s wise to let her go?”
Sam raised one eyebrow. “Do you want to try and stop her?” With one last look at the room, he made his way outside.
Ricardo followed him. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Maria, but if your theory is accurate, that Josh stepped through a doorway of some kind, that still leaves us with the question, where is he? Obviously, he hasn’t been able to open the door from the other side. The priest would have to have another exit. I hate to think of Joshua trapped because he can’t find a way out. On the other hand, it could be a long tunnel that comes out somewhere else in the jungle. He could be lost, not knowing how to get back to us. Either way, we don’t have a lot of time to find answers.”
Sam closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. “I know, and it’s driving me crazy.” As they reached the mouth of the cave, they saw Maria and two men climb into the Jeep.
Ricardo said, “Maybe I should go with her.”
Sam nodded. In spite of what he’d said about the futility of searching the surrounding jungle at night, he grabbed a flashlight and began searching the perimeter calling his son’s name. Soon others in the crew joined him. Two hours later when Ricardo and Maria returned, they gave up.
Sam and Maria thanked everyone for their help, and then retired to their own tent for privacy. Lying side by side in the tent, they tossed and turned.
Maria turned on her side to face Sam. “You don’t think he’s . . . really gone, do you?” she whispered.
“No. No I don’t think so,” Sam replied. “I can’t explain it, but somehow I know that whatever happened, Joshua is still alive. We
will
find him. No matter how long it takes.”
Maria scooted over to lay her head on his shoulder, draping her arm across his chest. He wrapped both arms around her, held her tight, and kissed the top of her head. Neither of them got much sleep.
Sam woke up first but continued to lie still, not wanting to disturb Maria. He thought about her real question.
Could Joshua have been killed?
It was the same question he’d been asking himself and why he examined the niche so carefully. He’d found no trace of ash or residue.
Besides
, he theorized,
anything hot enough to vaporize a body would have killed them as well.
They hadn’t felt any heat. Joshua was still alive somewhere. While he couldn’t totally discount Maria’s theory of kidnappers, he felt sure that the key to getting Josh back lay in deciphering the meaning of the carvings surrounding the oval. He wanted to talk to Ricardo before he left for the village. No, what he really wanted was to be able to go himself, to be up doing, searching, anything except standing around waiting. Still, he felt he should stay in camp in case Josh reappeared or someone contacted them.
When Maria stirred and rolled over, Sam slipped out of bed. He dressed quickly in jeans and a cotton shirt before going to the tent where they kept the artifacts and documentation of the dig. He sifted through the stack, lifting out a few sketches Maria made of separate glyphs. Then he went to find Ricardo.
Maria, up and dressed, was making coffee when he entered the mess tent. He crossed to her quickly and gave her a kiss. “I was hoping you’d be able to sleep a little longer,” he said, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. Her eyes weren’t red, so at least she hadn’t been crying again. The depth of her pain last night had been like a hot poker in an open wound. Thankfully, she looked calmer this morning. He saw Ricardo walk in with Juan and Rob, the two locals going with him to the village.
Ricardo went over to Sam and Maria while the others got coffee and breakfast. “How are you two holding up?”
They both shrugged.
Sam held out the sketches to him. “While you’re asking about Josh in the village, I’d like you to show these sketches of the glyphs around and see if anyone has seen anything like them. Also as discreetly as possible ask if there are any stories or legends about people disappearing.”
Ricardo lifted one eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.
“Caution the crew that I would like to keep the new room a secret for now. Of course, once we shut down the site and let the locals go, word will get out, but I don’t need a bunch of sightseers here until then.” Protecting the privacy of their find would be much more difficult with Joshua missing, but he had to try.
Maria said, “I’m going with you. I’m taking the satellite phone. I’ll check to see if we have any messages once we get clear of the canopy. I don’t think Joshua knows the number, but he’s a smart kid and if it’s possible, he’ll try and get a message to us.”
“Should we contact the authorities about Joshua?” Ricardo asked.
Sam thought for a moment. “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet. I’d like to wait a little longer in case he shows up or we receive a ransom note.”
After breakfast, Ricardo and Maria left in the Jeep for the village, about ten miles away. They planned to go slowly searching for any sign of Joshua.
Sam and the rest of the crew spent hours scouring the hill surrounding the cave looking for another entrance. Chopping their way through the underbrush was slow and tedious work. Unfortunately, they found no indications of any other openings. Sam finally gave up.
After organizing the crew to begin cataloging and classifying all the artifacts, he spent the rest of the day compiling notes and organizing the documentation every dig required. Every few hours he would check the recess room. Each time it looked the same, empty. He decided that once
they labeled and packed all the artifacts for shipping back to the Smithsonian, he would backfill the village and cave, and then send the crew home. There wasn’t much else they could do. He didn’t want to backfill the recess room yet. He and Maria would need access to the glyphs to continue their research.
Ricardo and Maria returned just before dark. They joined Sam still working in the artifact tent. Sitting down next to him at the long table, Ricardo said, “We didn’t find any trace of Joshua. No one in the village has seen him. The villagers claimed there haven’t been any bandits in the area either.”
Maria held up the phone. “No messages. I guess I don’t have to ask you if you had any luck finding another entrance.”
Sam shook his head.
Ricardo said, “We did run into one stranger, a blond guy named Erik Johansen, who arrived in the village just yesterday. I don’t think he had anything to do with Joshua’s disappearance. From what locals said, he arrived out of nowhere, alone. He asked questions about any strangers. When I talked to him, he claimed to be an archeologist attached to the British Museum, here to check out the area for future research. Did you ever hear of him?”
Sam thought about it. “No, his name’s not familiar and I am pretty sure I know most of their field archeologists. Did he see the sketches?”
“Yes, he butted in when we were trying to show them to one of the elders. This Erik guy said he had run across similar ones before and was all set to come back with us. It was all I could do to get him to wait. I explained Joshua was missing and we weren’t prepared to have visitors right now. I told him you’d get in touch with him to discuss the glyphs in a few days if he was still here. He was real pushy. It wouldn’t surprise me if he showed up anyway.” Ricardo leaned back in the chair and stretched.
“That’s all we need,” grumbled Sam. “Some amateur trying to make a name for himself.” He pushed aside the papers he had been working on.
Maria looked exhausted. She rubbed her eyes. “One of the locals told Rick about an old medicine man that lives in the next village who knows all the old stories. We asked an elder who knows him if the medicine man would be willing to talk to us. He said he’d ask and to check back with him in a couple of days.”
“Do you think this Erik Johansen really
has
seen these glyphs before?” Sam asked.
Ricardo shook his head, “It’s hard to say. His eyes lit up when he saw the sketches, but whether that was recognition or something else, I couldn‘t tell. When I asked what he could tell me about them, he was cagey. Said he had to see the original carvings to be sure. I know how anxious you are to get information to help us translate the glyphs, but I can’t really explain . . . Sam, I think it would be better if you met him in the village. I’d like to get your take on him before we share anything.” Ricardo looked discouraged that he had so little information for him.
Sam put his hand on Ricardo‘s shoulder. “Thanks Rick, I trust your instincts.” He put his arm around Maria. “Let’s go get some dinner and I’ll bring you up to date on what I’ve been thinking.” They all got up and went into the mess tent.
After dinner, Sam explained about sending the crew home in a few days.
Ricardo insisted that he would stay, too. “I’ve gotten really fond of that kid; I’m not leaving until we get him back. Besides, you’ll need me to translate if we get a chance to talk to that medicine man while we’re waiting. Also, I think we should keep a couple of the locals to stand guard duty.”
“Thanks Rick. That means a lot. I think you’re right about the guards. You decide who you think will work out best.”
Maria looked at Sam. “What now? We just wait around hoping Joshua will show up? I don’t think I can do that.”
“No. We need to translate those glyphs. Rick, what do you think about trying to contact that medicine man ourselves?”
“There’s no harm in trying. Rob’s from around here, maybe he knows him.”
***
Maria, Ricardo, and Rob left early the next morning. They skirted the town, hoping to avoid Erik Johansen. Rob was able to lead them to the medicine man’s village another couple of miles to the east.
They found the old
man sitting on a stump outside his hut, carving on a six-inch wooden board. He was small and thin, dressed in jeans with no shirt and barefoot, only a few gray hairs left on his head. His gnarled hands expertly wielded the knife. When Rob approached and asked if they could speak with him, the old man looked up. He paused when he saw Maria.
Ricardo explained that Maria’s son had gone missing and that they needed his help. The old man gave Maria a toothless grin and motioned for her to sit beside him. Ricardo and Rob sat on the ground facing him.
With Ricardo translating, Maria showed the old man the picture of the recess and glyphs. “We found this at the back of a cave in a room by itself. This is where my son disappeared. Have you seen anything like it or the carvings around it?”
“I have not seen this myself, but I have heard stories.”
Maria leaned forward. “What can you tell me?”
The old man looked at her. He placed his carving on the ground next to him. “I don’t know that I can tell you anything that will help you find your son, but I will share what I can. We are
the Quiche tribe. What do you know of our origins?”
Maria thought about wha
t she had read about the Quiche and some of their ancient traditions in the
Popol Vul
. According to the priest who wrote about the Quiche` geneses myth, they believed the earth was brought into form by Gugumatz, the Plumed Serpent, who eventually created four men and four women who became the ancestors of the race. It was said that the Quiche believed that they were created by extraterrestrials. She decided not to mention that. “Only what I have read in books written by the white man.”
The old man nodded. “The story is long and complicate
d and many parts are for Quiche ears only, but it will help if we start with what I can tell you.”
Even though Maria couldn’t understand his words, his voice demanded her attention.
He paused periodically for Ricardo to translate. “The gods were lonely so they came to earth and decided to create man. First, they created mud men, but decided they were not sturdy enough. Then they tried wooden men but they too were unsatisfactory. Next, they created beings that were just as strong and intelligent as they were, but the gods soon became afraid of these and destroyed them as well. Finally, they created the humans, the Quiche. The gods decided these were perfect, not as strong as the gods, but beings they could interact with. The gods came and visited the Quiche often. There were good gods like Kukulkna, who taught us about time and space and when to plant and harvest.
“These carvings,” he said, pointing to some of the glyphs that Maria had recognized, “are part of that calendar. There were also evil gods who ruled the underworld and demanded blood sacrifices. They brought famine and disasters to the Quiche. Kukulkna helped the Quiche to anticipate the times of evil.
“This,” he said, tapping one finger on the picture of the recess, “is how Kukulkna traveled between his world and our world. Tradition says only he possessed the power to activate the chamber. He left instructions painted on a wall that if he ever failed to return, the room was to be hidden so that the evil gods could not use it to bring more like themselves to plague the Quiche. If you have uncovered this room, it could be very bad. Perhaps that is why your son was taken,” he said without looking at them.
Maria gasped. Thinking that the Quiche had taken Joshua as punishment for uncovering the room, she asked, “What can we do to get him back?”