Todd Pitts - The Serpent Passage

“Hold on. Let’s see if anyone is around.”

While they crouched behind some brush outside the clearing, William surveyed the area. He felt stunned by the beauty of the large pyramid; it was painted in a striking dark red, a dramatic contrast to the white courtyard that sparkled in the sun’s glare. He could see part of another large building up a hill, with thick vegetation surrounding it.

They waited for ten minutes, but no one showed up. A disturbed look began to cross William’s face as he studied the pyramid, noting its architecture. “I have a funny feeling that I’ve been here before,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“That pyramid… the design of it… the doorways at the top.” He looked around the clearing. “There’s something really familiar about this place.”

“I think you’d remember seeing painted Mayan ruins, William.”

“I’m going up there-to the top of that pyramid. I need to check something.”

“Are you insane?” Betty said, grabbing his arm.

“I have to know for sure,” he said, pulling away. “I’ll run up there real quick and come right back. Just stay here, okay?”

“Like I’m going anywhere,” she said, sinking deeper into the brush.

William bolted from the cover of the jungle and sprinted to the pyramid, glancing around as he ran, half-expecting someone to chase after him. He reached the base of the pyramid and paused for a second, struck by the building’s perfection-not a single chipped or eroded stone-stuccoed and painted like… his eyes grew wide at the thought. He scrambled up the steep stairway. Upon reaching the top, he went to the entrance at the far right and looked up, mouth agape, staring in disbelief at the engraving on the three wooden support beams above the doorway. “That’s impossible,” he said.

Moving further inside, he studied the narrow chamber. Square openings along the back wall cast light in the shadowy corners where decorative animal masks were hanging.

He heard Betty calling for him. As William exited the chamber, she had just reached the final steps at the top of the pyramid; a frightened look was affixed on her face. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

“They’re coming!” she blurted. “I heard their drums down the trail.”

He cocked his head to listen. “I hear them too.” He grabbed Betty’s arm, pulling her inside the chamber just as men poured into the courtyard below them.

“I told you this was a stupid idea!” Betty said. “Now we’re really in a pickle.”

“Quiet!” he whispered, and peeked around the entrance for a better view.

More than a hundred men wearing loincloths and colorful feathered headdresses marched from the jungle’s edge into the courtyard. Moving in two separate columns, they formed a big circle in front of the pyramid. As they came to a stop, they each turned to face the center and aimed their spears skyward.

“What’s happening?” Betty asked.

He turned to her and slumped against the stone wall, letting out a big sigh. “I have been here before, Betty. I was here just a few days ago with my grandfather.”

“What are you talking about?”

A thumping noise drew his attention back outside, where he witnessed the warriors smacking the bottom of their spears against the hard plaster floor in unison, while at the same time chanting, “Chun… chun… chun.”

Another group of men emerged from the jungle with exaggerated headdresses. Behind them, a dozen men wearing only a loincloth carried a litter supporting a man who was likely their leader, William assumed. He wore a feathered headdress of a jaguar’s head, and he was covered in jewelry that sparkled as he approached.

The warriors continued to chant, “Chun… chun… chun…” They thumped their spears against the floor while the leader was carried to the center of the courtyard. After setting the litter down at the base of the pyramid steps, a dozen warriors moved in, forming a semi-circle around the leader.

“What do you mean you’ve been here before?” Betty asked.

William turned to face her. “This place… these are the ruins of Dzibanche… not far from the Cenote Azul. We’re standing in the Temple of the Lintels.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“The carvings on the support beams are the same,” he said, pointing at the ceiling near the entrance. “But these aren’t ruins anymore. There should be a freaking parking lot down there!”

“How can that be?”

“Betty, I have an idea about what’s happening here, but it’s gonna sound crazy.” He paused, becoming distracted by the events in the clearing.

The leader stood atop his litter with his hands raised high. All the warriors dropped to one knee, their spears still aimed up. As they continued to chant, the leader reached into a basket at his feet and pulled out a severed head, holding it by the hair. He displayed it proudly, resulting in an immediate cheer from the warriors. The leader placed the head back in the basket like a precious gift, and he began to speak to his men.

William looked back to Betty. “He’s saying something about an important victory.”

“You speak Mayan?” Betty whispered.

“A little… you know, from my mom. I spent lots of summers down here. It sounds like Yucatec-Maya.” He strained to listen. “But the accent is a little different.”

Rowdy cheers, spears thumping, and boisterous chanting accompanied the leader’s long speech. When he finished his sermon, he gave a signal to one of his men, who blew into a large seashell that sounded like a low-pitched blast from a tuba. With the timing of a chorus line, the warriors stood and shifted their spears to their left hands before resuming their collective thump of spears against the floor.

“What’s going on?” Betty asked.

“The victory is somehow internal to this city. I heard l’aak’tsilil … family. Like a family conflict, maybe?”

“Nice family.”

A gap opened in the crowd, where a group of men were dragged in by the ropes tied around their necks. William felt sorry for the unfortunate captives, as they were whipped along their backs and legs to prod them forward. One of the captives seemed much shorter than the others… he was just a boy! William bit his lower lip, fighting back the urge to yell out when they hit him.

With the captives gathered in the center of the courtyard, they were forced to their knees. They all kept their heads down, except for the boy; he glared at the leader with a hatred that was visible from the top of the pyramid.

Another bellow from the seashell trumpet signaled the warriors to kneel again. The leader raised his hands and spoke like a priest blessing his congregation.

William cupped his hand behind his ear to hear better. “He’s saying something about a division in the royal family. That on this day the Gods will conclude, or…” He paused, thinking for the right word for chuup , “…solidify. Solidify the family division… make the kingdom complete…” He cringed. “Oh, God.”

“What?” Betty asked.

“He’s telling the captives how their sacrifice will empower the kingdom.”

With a final seashell blast, the prisoners were taken away. The leader and his entourage took a different path out. Another man stepped forward, snapping orders, and the remaining warriors dispersed in various directions.

William turned back to Betty with a frightened look.

“Well, what is it already?” she asked. “What’s going on here, William?”

He looked up, thinking back. “That tunnel with the lights… it got us out of the cavern, but…” He stared into Betty’s green eyes.

“What?” she demanded.

“I think it brought us back to the time of the ancient Maya.”