“Interesting,” Lindsey seemed to contemplate the new information. “So, if the ark is not there, where could it be?”
“Who knows? I, for one, do not believe in fairy tales, Monsieur. That story is a legend, a myth. There are many cultures around the world with the same plot. What should make the one from the Bible any different?”
Lindsey let out a derisive snort. “You see, Monsieur DeGard, when you say many cultures share the story, that fact makes me believe in it even more.”
“Each person has their own beliefs. But if the ark truly does exist, I highly doubt it will be found on the mountain of Ararat. I will say, though, that based on the stone you have in your hand we may very well may find something else.” DeGard pointed at the disc Lindsey was holding loosely in his fingers.
“What might that be?”
“I do not know. I suppose we will find out, although we may have trouble climbing the mountain. It will be cold this time of year. We do not know which area in which to look. And then, of course, there is the problem with the government.”
“Problem?” Lindsey asked naively.
“Oui. The government does not take well to westerners climbing the mountain and digging around. And if the government does allow it, the locals will not.”
“I see,” Lindsey gave a slow nod. “Well, I suppose we will just have to figure something out that will take care of those little issues.”
Chapter 13
Sean scanned the inscriptions on the golden panels. Adriana did the same. Their progress was slow, but the images that had been engraved into the shiny metal helped cover up any deficits they had in reading the ancient language.
“What are you doing?” Dr. Firth shouted down through the opening.
“You know, Doc, it would really speed things along if you two were down here helping,” Sean answered back. “Adriana knows a good bit of this stuff, but I don’t have the background in ancient Hebrew that you have. From what I can tell, these images seem to be a timeline of the flood story from Genesis.” His last jab was half-humorous, half-true.
The two older archaeologists gave each other an apprehensive glance. Unwilling to miss any more, Firth grabbed the rope and began to descend. “Very well,” he grunted, straining to lower himself down into the chamber. He somehow managed to make it to the floor and clumsily landed on his feet, though almost falling over in the process.
“I think I’m going to stay up here until I can get a ladder brought down,” Abdulkarim chimed after seeing the much more fit professor barely make it without breaking his neck.
Dr. Firth brushed off his pants and jacket as if he’d accumulated some dust on the way down the rope, probably an act of habit more than anything else. He pulled the small, aluminum flashlight out of his jacket pocket and stepped slowly over to the nearest wall.
“Pretty amazing, huh?” Sean commented as he noticed the professor analyzing the brilliant panels.
“Amazing,” Firth turned towards him and produced some reading glasses from within another pocket, placing them gently on his nose, “hardly does it justice, my boy.” His voice was full of reverence. “We are seeing something that was designed and crafted thousands of years ago. We are the first people to see it since it was closed up and hidden.”
Sean smiled as the older man ran his fingers along the panels, carefully reading the symbols as he moved down the wall towards the other end where Adriana stood. Sean rejoined her, watching the professor as he finished on one side and made his way to the other.
“It seems this chamber is the final beacon, pointing to the last one,” as he spoke, he stepped sideways along the other long wall. “The people who built this were pre-Egyptian. They were the founders of the first civilization in this region of the world. The pharaohs, the pyramids, all of the great things the subsequent empires left, were as a result of the people who created this room.” He paused his speech for a moment as he finished reading the symbols. “It seems they came from a land far to the east of here.”
“How far east, Professor?” Sean asked eagerly.
Firth was still staring at some of the symbols. His forehead wrinkled, perplexed at something he’d read. “That is preposterous,” he commented vaguely. “There’s nothing there to find.”
“Where, Doctor? What does it say?” Sean pressed and stepped a little closer.
The professor removed the glasses from his face and rubbed his nose for a second. “You were right about the timeline of events. Either this is the most elaborate hoax I have ever seen,” he jabbed a thumb at the nearest wall, “or we may have stumbled upon evidence of Biblical proportions. Quite literally, it would seem.” He chuckled at the last part.
Sean turned to Adriana for a moment then back to Firth. “What are you saying?”
Firth drew in a deep breath and rolled his eyebrows in surrender. “The inscriptions suggest that the people who left this room here were direct descendants of Noah.”
“Now, that is interesting,” Sean agreed and took a closer step to the golden wall. Then his eyes became wider. “It’s all starting to make sense.” The declaration piqued the interest of the other two.
“We found references to a great flood when we found the first chamber in Georgia. Mac said that there was a plausible theory that ancient Egyptians could have colonized the Americas thousands of years ago,” he ignored Firth’s skeptical raised eyebrow and continued. “We found more Biblical references to the Genesis account in South America. And now this.”
He seemed to be trying to recollect something, and stepped away. Adriana could see the gears turning in his mind.
“What is it?” She wondered.
“The stones,” he responded vaguely. “That is the secret of the stones.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand. What secret.”
“The first stone Tommy found had two birds on it, divided by a line. According to the ark story, Noah released two birds from the top of the boat to see if they were near dry land. The first was a raven, the second, a dove.” His face became perplexed as he crossed his arms and continued to think. “But I don’t understand the connection. Why the Americas? Why would they go through all that trouble to colonize a land so far away? And I don’t understand the need to leave these golden chambers like a series of ancient bread crumbs to lead them back.”
“Perhaps they didn’t leave to colonize a new world,” a new voice came from the other end of the room. A man stepped from the darkness as they spun and shone their lights on him. He wore black, loose fitting pants and a matching tunic and turban. His face was dark, contrasted only by his darker hair, eyebrows, and beard. The man’s appearance wasn’t what Sean paid the most attention to. It was the gun in the stranger’s hand.
He considered reaching for his Springfield that was holstered around his waist, but he had a feeling the best he could do was get his hand on it before he was cut down. So, he stood still with both hands to his side.
“Who are you?” Sean inquired. “What did you do with Dr. Abdulkarim?”
The man smiled a sinister grin as he stepped closer. He was only ten feet away. “Who do you think called us?”
“Us?” Adriana asked.
Dr. Firth had begun slinking away towards the wall but had run out of real estate.
“We are the protectors of the ark, Miss Villa. We have been following your exploits for some time,” he redirected the latter sentence towards Sean.
“I’m flattered,” Sean quipped sarcastically.