Sean doubled over right into an uppercut that sent him reeling back for a second before he rolled to the ground. Will quickly broke for the gun lying on the ground near Lindsey’s body. On the second step, Sean twisted around, swinging his leg across Will’s shin and tripping to the ground. Both men popped up simultaneously, facing each other again.
Will’s eyes were orbs of hatred, piercing through Sean. “I should have killed you a long time ago, Wyatt. I told the old man to let me. But he was convinced we needed you alive a little longer.”
“He should have listened to you,” Sean sneered and launched another assault.
His hands blurred in the furious attack. Will was equal to the task, dodging and blocking nearly all of the punches. Sean overextended on one strike, allowing Will to counter with a kick to the abdomen.
Sean crumpled over, dropping to one knee for a second. Will brought his knee squarely into Sean’s face, sending him flying a few feet to the side and tumbling to a stop near the river.
Firth stood off to the side, paralyzed with fear as Will walked over to the tree and plucked another piece of the glowing fruit from a low branch. Sean groaned, blood oozing from his bottom lip as he rolled over onto his back.
The room swirled in his vision as he tried to regain balance. His head and jaw were pounding. He squinted his eyes closed for a second, and tried to reopen them to focus. When he did, Will was standing over him with a piece of the deadly fruit.
“Open wide, Wyatt,” Will grabbed the back of Sean’s head and forced it towards the fruit.
Sean resisted, trying to twist his head back and forth, keeping his mouth closed as he did, but he was so dizzy. Will’s grip on the back of his hair was firm, making it difficult to move at all. Sean could feel the warmth of the fruit as it touched his lips. He kept his mouth shut but Will was pushing so hard, some of the juice began to squirt out into onto his face. It was all he could do to keep any of the liquid from squeezing in.
“Come on, Wyatt,” Will jeered. “Just relax and take a bite. It will all be over soon.”
More of the glowing juice spurted onto Sean’s face. He was having trouble breathing through his nose, a product of it being nicked during the fight. Not enough air was getting through the one clear nostril.
He grunted as he struggled, but there was no getting free. His lungs screamed for air. Just as he was about to open his mouth to inhale, a gunshot rang out through the room.
Will dropped the fruit onto the ground and turned towards the entrance to the chamber. Adriana stood just inside the room, a black pistol stretched out in front of her. He looked down at his side where a blackish hole was beginning to leak thick, red. He touched it for a moment and stared nostalgically at the blood before turning to face her. Will took one step towards her, but that was as far as he made it.
Adriana unleashed a flurry of rounds, emptying the entire contents of her magazine, each one sinking deep into Will’s chest. He staggered backwards and fell over next to Lindsey’s body, his face staring lifelessly up at the domed ceiling.
Sean fell over forward, bracing his fall with his hands. Adriana ran from the edge of the passageway, followed closely by Jabez. She reached Sean quickly, and bent down to see if he was okay while Jabez checked the two bodies.
“Are you okay?” she asked, putting a hand on Sean’s back.
He nodded, as he spit out a little blood onto the floor. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. Just not as quick as I used to be, I guess.”
Sean pushed himself up off the ground with a little help from the Spaniard. Jabez was digging in one of Lindsey’s pockets for a moment before pulling out a leather bound book.
“What is this?” he wondered, examining the front and back of the object.
Sean winced, still trying to regain his balance. “It’s probably a diary. He mentioned something about a diary that belonged to Sir Francis Drake.”
Adriana’s face twitched sideways at him. “The privateer?”
“I don’t know of another,” he shrugged.
Jabez handed Adriana the book and fished around in another pocket of the old man’s coat. “What happened to Lindsey,” the Arab asked as he removed a small, stone disc from the body.
“That isn’t the tree he was looking for,” Sean pointed at the gargantuan oddity. Their faces seemed confused. “Our friend, The Prophet here, forgot that there were two trees in the Garden of Eden. This one isn’t the tree of life. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.”
Sean reached out his hand to take the disc from Jabez, who was looking absently at the thing. “Do you mind?”
Firth had been standing silent for the last few minutes, his fears slowly subsiding. “If that isn’t the tree of life then where is it?”
“Thanks for your help by the way,” Sean said sarcastically. “That guy almost killed me.” Firth hung his head ashamed for a moment. “I’m just kidding, Doc. It’s okay. My guardian angel had it under control.” He smiled at Adriana.
His grin forced a small one onto her face. “That’s twice I’ve saved you.” She drew close to him as she spoke.
He could hear the voice in the back of his head telling him to jump. Despite having a bloody lip, he wanted so badly to kiss her.
Jabez’s voice interrupted the moment, though. “Yes, where is the tree if this is not it?”
Sean pulled away from her and looked down at the stone in his hand. “Lindsey said that in the diary, Drake mentioned that the wise will reach to the heavens to find the path to immortality.”
“What does that mean?” Firth questioned, coming near as he cleaned his glasses.
Sean ignored him and walked slowly past the tree, towards the far wall where the river disappeared under the golden façade. Among the myriad of images engraved into the yellowish surface, one stood out above the others. It was unmistakable, as if someone had recently created the image. Eight planets revolving around the sun, all in their designated orbits, were carved into the golden wall. Where the sun was located, a shallow recession had been cut from the surface. It was almost the exact size of the stone disc in Sean’s hand.
“Reach to the heavens,” he whispered quietly as the other three gathered around.
He lifted the disc up and pushed it into the hole. A deep rumble began from the depths of the mountain. The ground shook violently, causing the four companions to widen their feet so as not to fall over. A seam opened in the center of the golden wall, splitting it in half. The space continued to widen as the two giant pieces of wall opened up like two double doors.
A minute later, the grinding rumbled had ceased, and the huge panels had stopped moving. Beyond, they had revealed another chamber, smaller than the one with the tree, but no less impressive. Cold air wafted out of the new room, sending a cloud of chilly mist billowing over the astonished faces of the visitors.
Inside, the walls were carved from the rock of the mountain, unlike the gilded walls of the first chamber. Animals of every kind were represented in strange drawings along the surface. What caught everyone off guard however, weren’t the drawings. Shiny metal cabinets lined the walls, reaching up to five feet high, and wrapping around the entire room.
“Those containers appear as if they’re made from chrome?” Sean observed as he stepped into the chilly room.
“They look like something you would see in a laboratory,” Firth added.
“Or a morgue.”
The four cautiously moved forward, none knowing what exactly they were looking at. The little river from the first room meandered through the second, leading to a pool in the middle of the floor. The pool emanated an eerie, white light that was reflected from the ceiling, casting the dim illumination all throughout the chamber. Placed near each corner of the room were four massive, stone tables. The heavy pieces almost looked like altars.