James Rollins - Excavation

“Juan and Miguel,” Denal mumbled.

There was a long stretch of silence.

“Gil didn’t do that to them, did he?” Norman asked. “Murder them for the gold?”

Maggie slowly shook her head. Juan’s mutilated form had become just a shadowed lump again. As she stared, the thudding heartbeat of some great beast still echoed across the treasure room. She now recognized it for what it was – the ticking of large gears behind the walls and floor of the room.

The warning etched on the chamber’s seals suddenly wormed through Maggie’s skull: We leave this tomb to Heaven. May it never be disturbed .

“Maggie?”

She turned to Norman. “No. Gil didn’t murder them. The room did.”

Before Norman could react, the chamber shuddered violently, throwing them all down. Maggie landed hard upon the edge of the plated floor, knocking the wind from her chest. Gulping air, she scrambled back, sensing the danger.

“What was that?” Norman yelled.

Maggie swung her lamp around. Through the entrance to the tomb, a thick cloud of dust rolled toward them. She fought to speak. “Och! Jesus! Up… up…!” Maggie urged them all.

“What’s going on?” Norman pressed, panic edging his voice.

Maggie pushed him toward the exit. “Goddamm it! Move, Norman! The bloody temple is collapsing!”

Sam checked on Ralph. The large black man pushed groggily up on his arms. His scalp had been clipped when a section of the roof had given way. Luckily a grinding from above had warned them before the sky came crashing down. “Are you okay?” Sam asked, dusting off his Wranglers.

Ralph rolled to his knees. “Yeah, I think.” He gingerly touched a bloody bump on his forehead. “I never been tackled by a slab of granite before.”

“Don’t move,” Sam warned. He collected the flashlight from where it had fallen. “I’m gonna check on what happened.”

Ralph scowled and climbed to his feet. “Like hell. We stick together.”

Sam nodded. Truthfully, he didn’t want to investigate on his own. This level of the temple was now almost a solid cloud of drifting silt and dust. Sam coughed, covering his mouth and nose with the crook of his elbow. “This way,” he mumbled. He led them back to the shaft leading up to the first level of the temple.

Ralph groaned as the remains of the shattered ladder came into view ahead. “This can’t be good.”

And it wasn’t. The way up was blocked by a jumbled pile of hewn boulders, like tumbled children’s blocks. “The first level must have entirely collapsed,” Sam said.

Sam’s walkie-talkie squelched static at his waist. He collected it and heard Philip’s frantic voice. “…okay? Report, goddamm it! Over!”

Sam pressed the transmitter. “Philip, Sam here. We’re okay.” Overhead, the roof moaned ominously; dirt drizzled down. “But I don’t know for how long. How’re you coming with tunneling in a new entrance from the base of the hill?”

Static… then… “…just found the looter’s shaft. It’s barely begun… at least two days… sent for help, but don’t know how long…” Static overwhelmed the tinny voice of their fellow student, but Sam had still heard the panic.

“Shit, two days…” Ralph grumbled. “The temple will never last that long.”

Sam tried to get more information from Philip, but only snatches of words made it through. “I’ll try to reposition for better reception,” Sam yelled into the radio. “Stand by!”

He slipped the walkie-talkie away. “Let’s find the others. Make sure they’re safe.”

Ralph nodded. “Maybe it’s best if we holed up in the lowest level anyway.” Another small groan sounded overhead. “It looks like this place is going to crumble one level at a time.”

Sam led the way through the corridors. “Let’s just hope we’re rescued before we run out of levels.”

Ralph had no rebuttal and followed in silence.

Just as they reached the ladder that led down to the third level, Sam saw Norman pop out of the shaft, his eyes wide in the flashlight. The photographer held a hand against the glare. “Thank God, you’re okay!” Norman said in a rush. “We didn’t know what we’d find.”

Denal came next. Sam noted the crowbar in the teenager’s hand, but didn’t comment on it.

Maggie climbed out last. “What happened?” she asked tersely, clicking off the Wood’s lamp.

“The top level collapsed,” Sam said, and quickly recounted their narrow escape. “With the upper levels so shaky, we thought it best to shelter in the fifth level. Just in case.”

“So we keep our heads as low as we can,” Maggie said.

Norman eyed the ladder. “That means back down again.”

Sam saw a worried glance pass between Maggie and Norman. “What is it?”

“We found Juan and Miguel down there,” Norman said.

Sam knew from his tone and manner that the men were not alive. “What happened to them?”

Maggie answered, “You’d better see for yourself.” She turned away.

In silence, the group clambered down the ladders to the deepest level of the temple. Sam soon found himself staring at the scattered seals of the door. “The bastards…” he mumbled under his breath as he bent by the doorway.

“They’ve paid for their crimes, Sam,” Maggie said dourly. “Come on.” She ushered him into the next room, then followed herself, sticking close to his side.

With his flashlight, Sam quickly took in the scene in the next chamber. He did not let the light’s beam linger too long on either broken body. For a moment, he had a sudden flash-back to seeing his own parents’ bloody bodies being carried away on stretchers. Safely buckled into the backseat of the family Ford, Sam had escaped the fatal crash with only a broken arm. He rubbed his forearm now. “Wh… what happened to them?”

“The tomb’s booby-trapped,” Maggie said, then nodded ahead. “Listen to the winding of winches under the floor. Some bloody contraption meant to catch looters.”

“I didn’t think the Incas had such technology.”

“No, but some of the coastal Indians were fairly advanced in pulley construction for their irrigation systems. If they helped here…?” She shrugged.

Sam’s light beam focused on the gold Incan king as it stood against the wall of black granite. “Either way, there’s the lure. One look at that prize and who wouldn’t rush over.” Sam played his light over the pattern of gold and silver tiles. He knew a trap when he saw one. “Here’s a game I wouldn’t want to play.”

The stones rumbled underfoot, and a grinding roar echoed down from the levels above. “We may be forced to,” Maggie said. “Buttressed by the trap’s machinery, this may be the safest room if the rest of the temple collapses.”

Ralph’s voice called back to them from the threshold. “Sam, try to reach Sykes again! Light a fire under him! This place is coming apart!”

Sam unhooked the walkie-talkie and switched it back on. Static screeched from the speakers. It was silenced as Sam hit the transmitter. “Philip, if you can hear me, come in. Over.”

White noise was his only answer, then a few words came through: “…trying to widen the shaft so more workers can dig… will work around the clock…”

“Speed it up, Philip!” Sam insisted. “This place is a shaky house of cards.”

“…doing the best… damn workers don’t understand…” A long stretch of static followed.

“This is useless,” Sam mumbled to himself with a shake of his head. He raised the radio to his lips. “Just keep us informed on the hour!” He switched the walkie-talkie off and turned to Maggie. “We’ve a long wait ahead of us.”

Maggie stood with her head cocked, listening to the moans of the strained temple. “I hope we have a long time,” she said with clear worry. Sam tried to put an arm over her shoulders, but she shrugged it off. “I’m okay.”