Andy McDermott - The Hunt For Atlantis

Smoke pouring from its engines, the spinning Halo hit the temple roof. The curved stone structure, already weakened by the hole blasted in it, collapsed under the impact. The aircraft fell through the ceiling and into the temple itself. Its rotors were dashed to pieces as they hit the unbending stone, huge shards thrown hundreds of feet into the air before arcing back down.

All power lost, the massive aircraft plunged almost vertically to crash at the base of the statue of Poseidon, where it exploded.

A fireball swept through the temple, flames consuming the remaining men. The enormous statue of the god rocked, then fell forward to crush the blazing wreckage, its golden skin already melting in the intense heat.

A heat that reached the thermite charges in the altar room.

They detonated, the temperature inside the chamber flashing in an instant to over two thousand degrees. The gold and orichalcum artifacts within didn’t merely melt-they vaporized , obliterated completely by the searing wave of fire.

Castille turned at the sound of the explosion-and reflexively threw himself backwards as a jagged piece of rotor blade over a meter long stabbed into the ground between his legs like a javelin. “Merde!” he screeched.

“Helicopters!”

The rest of the temple roof gave way, thousands of tons of stone cascading down to bury everything within. A shockwave tore through the other tunnels and chambers, a huge cloud of dust and debris exploding from the temple entrance like an express train. Chase barely threw himself clear as it swept past.

The ancient replica of the Atlantean Temple of Poseidon, hidden in the jungle for thousands of years, was destroyed forever, along with all the secrets it contained.

Nina peered from the hut, shielding her eyes as the dust cloud swept past. “Jesus!”

Chase used the temple wall to pull himself up. He wiped blood from his face with the back of his hand. His broken nose was starting to hurt. Through the dust, he saw Kari and Castille running towards him. “Where’s Starkman?” he gasped.

“That way!” Castille pointed. Starkman was now out of sight around the corner of the ruined structure.

“Nina?”

“In one of the huts,” Kari told him.

“Give me your gun.”

Kari handed him the Colt. “What are you doing?” Castille asked.

“I’m not letting that bastard get away! Kari, look after Nina. Where’s Agnaldo?”

“He’s been shot.”

“Then help him! Go, both of you!” Chase broke into a pained run after Starkman.

Starkman jumped onto the stepped base of the temple and ran along it, shouting into his walkie-talkie. “Chopper two! This is Eagle Leader, I need pickup now !” The surviving Halo was hovering cautiously over the jungle a few hundred yards away.

Chase rounded the corner of the temple, hunting for Starkman.

There!

“No you bloody don’t,” he growled, climbing up onto the first tier after him.

Kari ran back to the remains of the hut where she’d seen Nina take cover with Philby. She flung back the animal skin covering the door. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“We’re fine!” Nina said.

“Speak for yourself,” Philby muttered.

Nina ignored him. “What about the others? Where’s Eddie?”

“Di Salvo’s been shot,” Kari replied. “Hugo’s giving him first aid. Chase has gone after Starkman.”

“What? Come on, we’ve got to help him!” Running out, Nina saw Chase ascending the side of the temple and headed after him.

“It’s too dangerous!” Kari protested, but to no avail. “Nina! Damn it!” She hurried back to the team’s equipment, picking up another rifle and Chase’s Wildey, then ran after Nina.

The remaining Halo moved in, warily skirting the plume of thick black smoke rising from the collapsed end of the temple. As it descended, the trailing ropes dragged through the surrounding foliage.

Starkman slowed to a jog, yelling into his radio: “Come on, faster! Get me out of here!” He waved his arms furiously to summon the chopper closer-

The dark stones around him splintered and cracked under bullet hits.

“Jason!” roared Chase, still shooting.

Starkman flung himself on the next tier up and fired back, UMP blazing. Chase ducked as bullets smacked into the stone above his head, showering him with dust and fragments. He crawled several feet before popping up again to let fly with another burst.

Nina heard gunfire and ducked into cover on the lowest tier of the temple’s side, peering cautiously ahead. Chase was exchanging fire with Starkman, several feet higher and close to the devastated far end of the temple. The helicopter was closing on him, ropes trailing beneath it.

Chase fired another burst-and his gun clicked on the last shot.

Empty!

Starkman could count shots as well as he could. He would know he was dry. Scrabbling forward another few feet, Chase popped his head up, then immediately ducked back. As he’d expected, his brief appearance attracted gunfire, more stone chips spitting onto him. Starkman wasn’t worried about running out of bullets.

The wind from the descending helicopter whipped at his clothes. At low altitude, a Halo could easily blow a man off his feet.

Which would make aiming very difficult.

Chase threw himself onto the next tier, immediately rolling against the wall as more bullets raked the ancient stones. He could just barely hear Starkman shouting into his radio: “Lean out and shoot him!”

Shit!

He looked at the helicopter. A man poked his head through the open cabin door, staring down at him. Then he ducked back-only to reappear a moment later with a gun in his hands.

Not another submachine gun, but an M82 sniper rifle, which could put a hole through a man’s skull from eight hundred yards away-and Chase was barely fifteen yards beneath the chopper!

“Nina!” Kari caught up with her, the rifle in her hands.

“In the helicopter, they’re going to shoot him!” Nina cried, pointing.

Kari instantly took in the scene. The massive helicopter had drifted into position above Starkman so that he could grab one of the hanging ropes and be winched aboard-and a man was leaning out of the cabin, the sniper rifle in his hands aimed directly at Chase-

She lifted the gun and emptied the entire magazine into the helicopter’s fuselage.

The sniper staggered, then fell out, his rifle dropping just ahead of him. Starkman jumped out of the way as they plunged towards him. The gun’s barrel hit the unyielding stone of the temple-and its erstwhile owner landed headfirst on top of it, the stock punching right through his collarbone and burying the weapon deep inside his chest. The body flopped grotesquely down the side of the temple, still impaled on the weapon.