He said, “you carry on moving those rocks while I check out that last chamber over there.”
Danny said, “okay for me, but I’m pretty sure there is only one way out of here. Might as well continue moving them darn rocks.”
So Jason heads over to the remaining chamber, and Danny walks over to the blocked entrance, passing by the dead body of Diego on the way. He stops to look down at the lifeless corpse and notices something peculiar.
“Hey Jason! Wasn’t this guy facing the other way?” Said Danny looking down at the body.
Jason comes over to have a look. He looks down at the corpse and then at Danny.
“You sure you didn’t move him? His back was facing the entrance, now it’s facing the other way. Are you playing a joke on me?” Asked Jason.
“No, of course not! Why would I do that?”
Jason then looked around the cavern. His vision penetrating the darkest of corners, but he saw nothing.
“Well, it’s either that! Or else we’re not alone in this place!” Said Jason.
Carlos pushes Helen into the back seat of the van and takes out a black cotton bag covering her head with it. They drive continuously for over three hours, when they stop outside Tony’s house. The driver parks the van in front of the door, keeping Helen out of sight from neighbors. Once inside, Carlos removes the bag from Helen’s head. She does not have the strength to put up a struggle and follows him into a dark library room where Tony is waiting her arrival.
Tony comes over to greet Helen with his hand held out, but Helen takes no notice. She just stares into his face waiting for an explanation as to why she was abducted and brought all the way back to the States. In front of her stands a middle-aged, blond-haired, good looking man, slim and broad shouldered. This man does not need money, she can see by the size and contents of the house that he is well off. So why would he break the law by abducting her for no apparent reason? Is he insane or maybe some sort of freak?
Carlos forces her to sit down, but Tony takes her by the arm.
“Carlos! That’s no way to treat a woman. Please will you show professor Shireberg to her room. I’m sure she would like to freshen up before we have dinner.”
Carlos again grips Helen by the arm, leading her out of the library, and up to the guest room. He pushes her inside, locking the door from the outside and waits with his back to the door until she is ready.
Finding herself alone, she runs to the window, trying to open it, only to find it nailed down. She looks outside onto a large garden with trees blocking her view of the neighboring houses. She then lays down on the large bed, staring up at the ceiling. Helen just realized it has been quite a while since she’s slept in a comfortable bed. She stretches out her arms, feeling the softness of the silk quilt cover. The room around her is large enough for two people. The walls are covered with flowered wallpaper giving it that feminine look. A soft fitted beige carpet, so soft you could actually sleep the night on it. On the opposite wall stands a large white wardrobe. Helen walks up to it and opens the two doors revealing the many different clothes hanging inside. She takes out a pair of dark blue jeans and a green cotton top. Next she opens a door by the large wardrobe and walks into a decent sized en-suite bathroom. Helen opens the hot water ready to take a relaxing bath.
“Might as well take the opportunity and soak myself with a hot bath,” she says to herself.
Danny was the first to draw his weapon this time. He looked around the cavern, half expecting to see someone behind him.
Jason said, “I think it’s better we stick together. Follow me to the last chamber, and watch my back.”
Danny nodded in approval as they made their way over to the other side of the cavern. Danny soon realized this place was getting to him and wanted to get out as soon as he could. They walked up the long passage and into the king’s burial chamber. Jason inspected the inside of the sarcophagus. He saw that it was much larger than the others, and took mental measurements of the corridor entrance and the width of the coffin.
“No way they could have got this thing through that door! There has to be another way out of here!” He said.
“Danny check the walls for anything out of the ordinary. There has to be a way out from inside this chamber.”
They continued for at least an hour. Feeling all four walls for a crack or hidden handle. They even lifted the dead king’s body, hoping to find a key or lever. Danny was on the brink of giving up, when Jason had an idea.
“How much do you think that sarcophagus lid weighs? A hundred and seventy, hundred and eighty pounds?” said Jason.
Danny took a feel of it and said, “I guess so. Give or take a few pounds. Why? What’s on your mind?”
Jason went over to one of the walls.
“We could use it like a battering ram and see if one of these damn walls give way.”
Danny shrugged his shoulders.
“Anything to get out of this place. Let’s give it a try.”
Jason took the front end of the marble lid while Danny got hold of the other end. Lifting it above their heads, they quickened their pace ramming it into the left side wall. They hit the wall right in the middle, expecting it to crack, but it didn’t even make a mark. The impact made a sound confirming the wall was thick and solid, impossible to break down. They took a five-minute rest and then tried the opposite wall of the entrance to the chamber. Jason and Danny hit it even harder than the other wall. This time the sound was hollow, even vibrating from the blow.
Jason said, “did you feel the difference? It sounded hollow. Let’s give it another try. Give it all you got Danny.”
Again, they lifted the heavy lid. Moving further back, they made a faster run, striking the wall dead in the center, hitting the weakest point. To their amazement, it did crack, it cracked a good twenty inches. With the lid still above their heads, muscles aching from the weight of the solid marble, Jason motioned for Danny to drop the lid breaking it into pieces large enough to hammer the wall with. They both picked up large chunks of marble and one after the other they struck the wall, making a large enough hole for them to look into.
Danny lay down his backpack and took out his flashlight, handing it to Jason who had already seen the inside of another room before Danny gave him the light.
He said, “I was right! It’s another room. Not so large as this one, and there seems to be some kind of wooden ladder or steps.”
It took them just half an hour to make a gap large enough for them to squeeze through. Once inside, they saw the ladder that Jason had described. The room had much more headroom than the chamber. The walls were made of some sort of prefabricated rock, very rough to the touch.
Jason said, “this must be an antechamber to the king’s own resting place. It was sealed up, making the way we entered from the jungle the only way inside the underground cavern, and that wooden ladder right there is our way out of here.”
He looked up at the ceiling where they saw a large stone hatch with two metal rings hanging from it.
“That’s the way out Danny! We made it! Now let’s get the hell out of here!” said Jason as he climbed the wooden ladder.
CHAPTER TEN
After making their way out of the underground cavern, Jason and Danny surprisingly found their way to the Mayan temples of Chichen Itza. From there, they contacted chief Berks on the kidnapping situation. They had no idea of the whereabouts of professor Helen Shireberg.