This is a chapter of the novel Earth’s Embrace by Space Cadet Michael. In this novel, the little and the lost becomes the fulfilled and the found - It is a novel of jungle adventure, artificial intelligence, and the answer to what happened to Percy Fawcett. See the full chapter list here.
Previously, Pari, reflecting on bench comfort and missing her niece Mia, endured a long, stifling journey in a transport's cargo hold, only to be arrested upon arrival with her group in the great land of the Inca Papa. Some of the group escapes, however, hoping to continue the expedition.
-Kashiri-
The Inca Capital
Kashiri leads Reeto through the chaotic labyrinth of tiny streets that make up the fabric of this city. They stick to the side streets where buildings are three or four floors, rising straight up from narrow streets just wide enough for four people to stand abreast, sometimes just wide enough for two. Sometimes the streets close in above them, and often their path falls upon staircases that weave between houses at right angles. The air assaults them with many different strong smells as they pass market stalls built into the bottom floors of the buildings. The smells come from large baskets of spice, fruit and vegetables, tobacco leaves, and sweet looking cakes.
Kashiri and Reeto stick out, their dress quite different from the locals, and people often move to the edges of the walls to let them pass. So far no pursuers have made themselves known, but they have been keeping a hard pace and have taken no breaks. Kashiri appreciates Reeto’s lack of complaining, she hopes this means he will not be a hindrance in making it to the City of Death together. She is, after all, going to need his help. It would be foolish to attempt the trip alone.
Up until today she would have preferred to go with Kaw. But the strange events of today make her less sure. Kaw is her friend, isn't he? There must have been some misunderstanding like Kaw said. She hopes she will get to talk to him about it.
They speed around a corner and Kashiri smacks straight into what feels like a solid wall. She falls back and some arms catch her before she can feel much at all. A moment later she realizes it is Reeto who's arms she is in and pushes herself back up, her focus straight ahead on what she’d run into. It’s Kaw.
“I’m so glad I caught up with you two.” Kaw says.
“Oh are you? Going to lock us up again?”
“I was going to get you out.” Kaw says.
Kashiri doesn't answer. She doesn't know if she believes him and her head is still rattled from the collision. It is hard to think.
“We need to get out of here before the soldiers catch up. Come on.” Kaw says, turning and ducking into a small alley with a staircase. He pauses, waiting to see if they follow.
Kashiri looks at Reeto. He looks back at her with a shrug and a smile. Kashiri supposes that he is game. He knows as much as Kahiri knows. And if he is willing, then maybe it's a fine decision. Anyway they need Kaw. It isn’t like she knows how to get out of the city, nor even how to get to the City of Death from here.
Kashiri makes her decision and Reeto follows close behind. Kaw jogs quickly, leading them through many empty alleys that wind through the city. It is not long before they are outside a door at the base of an enormous building, a massive wall of yellow sandstone broken only by a small utilitarian wood door. This building stretches far above the more typical and approachable building of the street.
“Where are we going?” Kashiri asks.
“To the City of Death.” Kaw says. “I will take you two there and we will get what you came for, and more besides.” He says with a grin, hamming it up with a devilish rubbing of his hands.
“What about your soldier’s orders?” Kashiri says.
“Don’t worry about them. We’ll be out of here before they have any idea.” Kaw produces a key from a pocket inside his shirt and inserts it into the door. “Keep quiet.” He twists the key and pushes the door open very slowly.
They enter and Kaw quickly closes the door behind them, cloaking them in darkness. Kashiri pulls out a light and twists it on. The blue glow fills the space around them. They are in a long hallway of the same stone as outside. One wall of the hall has many large wooden crates stacked up to the ceiling.
“Follow me,” Kaw says. They walk cautiously down the hallway. They come to a turn in the hallway which opens into a much larger room and she realizes they have not been in a hallway but at the edge of a large room the entire time, trapped in darkness by the immense number of wooden crates stacked around them.
“Wait there.” Kaw says quietly. He pokes his head around the corner of the wall of crates. This way.” Kaw says, disappearing around the corner. Kashiri looks back at Reeto quickly to see that he is behind her and then follows Kaw.
Kaw leads them to another stack of crates which he crouches low behind. As they make their way to them Kashiri sees that they are in one of the shipping halls where they had first arrived. They are now just forty feet from the opening of one of the transports being loaded.
“We are going to get on that transport. I’m going to need you to get in here.” Kaw points at a crate whose side is open next to them. Two of the panels have small round air holes drilled in them.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Reeto says.
Kashiri has already decided to trust Kaw so she doesn't hesitate. She gets into the crate first. It is large enough that two people can sit next to each other with space between. Reeto joins her without breaking eye contact with Kaw. Kashiri is quite impressed at his dexterity to do so as she watches him crouch down and back into the tight space, eye contact unbroken.
Kaw holds out his hand. “The pills. In case you get found out.” Reeto, still maintaining eye contact, opens a buttoned pocket in his shirt, pulls out the pills and hands them to Kaw. “You will return those.”
Kaw smiles warmly. “Of course. Thank you.”
He places the cover over the crate and the tapping of a hammer confirms that they are being nailed in. Reeto flinches at every tap and tries to stare at the source of the sound for all four nails that are driven in. Kashiri hopes she isn't going to die in a little crate with a stranger.
They feel the crate being lifted up and carried towards the transport. They can see that they have been moved into a darker area and feel the crate being set down. Kaw says, "Ready to go!" And she hears him slap their crate with his hand.
The sounds of footsteps recede followed by the closing door. They are locked into silence, presumably in a cargo hold.
A gentle jolt means they have started moving. A few more jolts reflect them getting out of the busy station, and then she feels nothing more. It is dark. It is quiet.
The hard floor soon pushes against her buttocks with an uncomfortable fury. She wants to shift her weight to relieve the pressure but she dare not, lest it make a noise. And that makes her want to shift even more. She imagines blood clots pooling in her stiff thighs, breaking loose and making their way to her brain where they aneurysm and kill her. The discomfort begins to burn with a warning she feels must be her body warning of some unpleasant consequence. Her body is screaming at her to do something, anything. So her mind fills with the vivid memory of her father’s last moments. He was along-side her, then he wasn’t. And that was it. She had kept running, as he had told her to - eyes forward, focused on the goal. She didn’t lose focus then and she was not going to lose focus now.
Kashiri tries to see Reeto in the dark. She thinks she can sense his presence, probably just within arms reach, changing the way the silence fills the space around her. But she can’t sense anything about him. Can’t even hear his breath above the ringing of the silence in her own ears.
Time passes like this. With nothing to sense, there is no way to mark time. It could be minutes or it could be hours. So Kashiri retreats into her mind. She imagines her goal. Sitting in the pilot's chair of the shuttle that awaits them. She goes through her mental pre-flight checklist visualizing each indicator on the panel in front of her in turn: Power? Check. Fuel? Check. Control systems? Check. Doors latched? Check. Pressure seal? Check. Passengers buckled in? Check. Time to check the flight controls. She imagines gently raising the engine thrust and directing it in each possible direction - up: she imagines how the upward push would feel, left: the gentle yaw left, right: the shuttle yaws right, and down: the shuttle sets back down onto the ground with a gentle thud.
She imagines all the internal systems of the shuttle during operation. The thrust vector control surfaces near the central core reactor change their shadowing of the core as she maneuvers her flight control stick. Vents on the outside of the shuttle open and close to dump the heat brought out to them by conductive links.
And she imagines lifting off, rising higher and higher until she is punching up through the top of the clouds into the serenity above. Up there it must be incredible. Unlimited freedom. Perfect peace. She cannot wait to be flying as far away from this place as possible. Away from Brian and the store, away from Yoashi, The Society and the Incans. Free and clear of the stress of everyone and everything.
Reeto interrupts her dreams with a whisper. “Hey. You still there?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have any snacks?”
Kashiri pulls out a small pouch of nuts, raisins and chocolate and holds it at arm's length, slowly moving it around until she feels it connect with some part of Reeto. He grabs it from her and she soon hears him chewing.
“Perfect, thank you.” Reeto says between bites. Then pensively follows up with, “How well do you know Kaw?”
“I thought I knew him very well. I thought he was my friend.”
“He did help us, it seems. We didn’t end up right back in jail.”
Kashiri recalls her non-verbal check-in with Reeto before getting in the box. “Why did you get in the box?”
“I trusted your connection with him. Maybe I’m a fool. Actually, I know I often am. But in this case, I was wondering if trusting him had been foolish. Was it?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so.” Kashiri doesn’t want to decide. She can’t bear the thought of betrayal from her closest friend. She knows what she hopes is true. “I hope we can trust him. But I don’t know.”
“In my experience, people are generally trustworthy if you know what drives them. Do you know what drives Kaw? Why did he leave his homeland?”
“He is one of the best experts in Akadion artifacts. He came to visit us to learn and share. He’s a researcher.”
“Is that what drives him? Knowledge?”
Kashiri does not feel sure. Yet she can’t think of any specific reason not to trust him. He was upset when the guards appeared and took them away. He led them away to safety.
“Maybe. I don’t know. We haven't talked about it.”
“Do you think he is still your friend?”
“He is still my friend. Definitely. Am I his? I don’t know.”
“Then he is my friend too.” Kashiri feels Reeto handing back the pouch of food. “Thank you for the snacks. I did not finish them. I hope our friend has packed us more.”
A voice pierces the dark nothingness outside the box. “I did pack more. We will not go hungry.” It is Kaw. Had he been there the whole time?!
“Oh good! Kaw. Are we there yet?” Reeto says.
“Almost. I am sorry to keep you all in the crate but it is for your own safety. Now please keep quiet until I open the box. I will need help to unload you and I don’t want them to hear you.”
Kashiri and Reeto climb out of the crate and look around. To their left and right, the smooth curved track of the transport network stretches as far as one can see in either direction into distant arid land. Their ride is already well on its way to the horizon. Kashiri watches it for a moment, wondering if she will return, before she catches herself. “We will return.” She says aloud to no one and everyone. “And it will be by air.”
Straight ahead, a bridge across a chasm leads to a dense jungle of enormous trees of all shapes and sizes connected by a tangle of vines. It has been three years since Kashiri was last here, but seeing it again, it feels just like yesterday. Kashiri is now in expedition mode.
“What gear have you got?” Kashiri asks Kaw.
“I brought your packs.” Kaw points to a pile of bags next to their crate. “And in case they were missing some things I brought the basics in mine as well. We should have everything we need.” Kaw pulls the malaria pills out of one of the bags and hands it to Reeto. “As promised.”
“You are not a bastard.” Reeto nods. “Thank you.”
Kashiri rummages through each pack, asking questions and verifying contents. Once satisfied, she leads the way across the rope bridge. A single rope provides a place for putting your feet. Two more ropes at arm height, one on each side, give something to hold as they carefully shuffle across. Far below them, a river flows swiftly, filling the entire chasm’s bottom with rocky, frothy white rapids. “Don’t look down!” Reeto says as Kashiri starts across. Once on the other side Kaw follows, then Reeto, one at a time.
Reeto lets out a big sigh as he puts his feet on solid ground again. “Now this is better,” he says, taking a few loud sniffs of the air. “Something about the hot, thick air. Mmmmmm. Delicious.”
Kashiri looks back at him, wondering if he is a bit mad. He is smiling broadly at her. He very well might be a bit mad. And yet she feels confident he can be relied on to handle his own here. Kaw can certainly handle his own here, but whether she can rely on him, especially once they reach the city, well, she will cross that bridge when she comes to it.
They traverse the jungle for four days. Kaw’s equipment is good as he claimed. Lightweight, sturdy, and it keeps the bugs out at night. The food he has brought leaves many things to be desired, but at least it is nutritious and calorie packed. Which they need, carrying packs for eight hours a day.
It is the same jungle Kashiri has been to many times before. Nothing unusual happens. It is just a million little difficult things one has to do to keep going, one foot in front of the other. But Kashiri never lets her guard down, because she knows the terror that is out there waiting for them. The terror that they need to find.
It happens after they have just crossed a small rocky stream that is only a few hour’s walk from their destination. Kashiri feels the presence before she can pinpoint how. “Shhhh,” she whispers, freezing, and Reeto and Kaw freeze too. She drops her pack, crouches low to the ground, and spreads her hand out gently on the dirt, her ear cocked, listening.
Fear. Focus. Listen. Feel.
And she feels the ground shake. Then again. And again. Louder each time. And then she hears it. The deep thud of ground pounded under a huge mass. She looks in the direction it is coming from. It is getting louder.
She stares at the sound. Her head follows it as the thumps grow louder, slowly at first, then faster. The ground shakes more, and the sound of occasional wood splintering punctuates the path. Kashiri knows these are not twigs but entire tree trunks that were unfortunate enough to stand in the beast’s way.
Her heart pounds, but outside she is still, calm and ready to react if needed. Kashiri keeps her eyes on the source of the sound, as it starts to get less loud. It has passed them. It is going on its way to cause havoc elsewhere.
They all three listen to the force majeure disappear into the distance. When the sound is gone, they all look at each other. Kashiri does not make a sound, the others follow her lead. Once she is sure she can no longer feel the ground shake, she stands, grabs her pack, and starts walking.
“Let’s go,” she says.
“Ok,” Reeto replies, following her, “but, uh, we definitely don’t have those back home.”
“What was it?” Kaw asks.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” she says. “When you do, run as fast as you can and follow me.”
“OK,” Reeto says again, “I’ve made a lot of assumptions about this thing now. It’s big, probably scary, most certainly has many rows of sharp pointy teeth. A mouth bigger than me, that’s not even an assumption. I’d bet that’s a law of nature.”
“I think you must be right.” Kaw says. “Probably best not to dwell on it.”
“Uhh, I think I will dwell for a bit. Consider my options, you know.”
“Which are?” Kaw asks.
“Well, I only have to out run one of you two…”
“Hey!” Kashiri is not pleased with this.
Reeto laughs out loud. “Kaw did have us arrested, shouldn’t he get eaten first?”
“No one should get eaten. Don’t talk about that” Kashiri barks. She is thinking only about her father meeting his untimely death in its sharp pointy teeth. She tries to erase the image from her mind but that only makes it stronger. Then she feels guilty for snapping. “Please.”
“OK.”
“You couldn’t have known this, but that thing killed my father.”
“I’m sorry.” Reeto says.
They all continue on in silence for a long while until they arrive at the edge of a meadow covered in patchy, short grass and sandy soil. Beyond the meadow is an enormous cliff that rises high above the forest. The cliff has a curvature to it, which Kashiri knows is because it is just one side of a large circular butte that rises above the jungle and holds the City of Death as its crown. She can see the doorway that is their target at the base of the cliff just where she remembers it.
The view of the meadow brings back more negative memories. Exactly what she thought would happen and why she did not want to go on this trip. Pangs of regret flood Kashiri as her brain vividly replays the moment when her father fell out of her field of vision. He fell down and she kept on running. In the last moments of her father’s life she abandoned him.
The pain floods over her again like it was just yesterday. And just as fast as it floods, she shuts it down. She has grieved and she will grieve more. But not now, not here. There is no time.
She watches a large pterodactyl jumps off the cliff and swoop down towards the meadow. It screeches its long, loud, low screech as it dives. Just before the meadow it pulls up and soars off to the distance, over the jungle tops and out of sight. Then another does the same, and another.
“Well now I’ve seen everything.” Reeto says. “This might be a dumb question, but are those dangerous?”
“Only if they catch you,” Kashiri says.
“But they are faster than me,” Reeto says. He has a point.
“That’s why we are going to get some help,” Kashiri says. “See that door? That is where we are going. Keep your packs and gear on, and when I say ‘go,’ you run. Got it?”
Reeto and Kaw both nod.
“Remember to run. And don’t look back.” Kashiri takes a few steps into the meadow and then pulls out a small air horn from her pack.
Reeto goes bug-eyed. “Why do I get the feeling that we are about to look like three juicy steaks?”
Kaw gives a shrug and facial expression as if to say - ‘I agree, but what do you want me to do about it?’
“One last thing. This is VERY important. Watch out for rabbit holes.” And she winks at the boys as she holds the air horn up high.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Reeto says.
Kashiri pauses and turns to look at him.
“What do we do when we get there?” Reeto asks.
“Just get there. I’ll open the door,” she replies, and she presses down on the air horn’s button. Its loud tone echoes off the cliff and reverberates across the forest.
She presses it again, and again the horn echoes off the cliff and spreads out into the forest. Kashiri starts jogging lightly towards the cliff. The others follow.
She fires the air horn again, then crouches down to the ground to feel for the shaking she knows will come. “Keep going!” She yells to the others.
It takes only a few seconds before the faintest feel of it comes, and it grows stronger and stronger. She stands and starts jogging towards the door. Just a few steps later she hears the thumping from behind her. Louder it grows and faster she runs, watching the ground in front of her for the rabbit holes that had doomed her father.
The sound of trees splintering means it is closing in on them. Kashiri runs as fast as she can. She is still a few dozen paces from the door when the sound of wood splintering stops and a deep, loud roar blasts out from behind them. She doesn’t turn to look, there is nothing to do but reach the door.
She reaches it and drops her pack. She pulls out a little laser stone from her pocket that she had found buried in the mess of their shop’s basement, orients it right in her hand, and only then does she look up to see where everyone else is. Reeto is to her right, Kaw is behind him. And behind her is the terror that has been chasing them.
“Open the door!” Kaw shouts.
Its massive mouth, ringed with long, razor sharp teeth, its head atop a squat body with a huge pair of legs and a wide tail that levers left and right behind it as it takes each pounding step towards them. Brightly colored feathers cover its body from head to toe and give it an ethereal quality as they undulate while it runs. Even though she’s seen it before, it is still much faster than she expects.
She holds the stone in both hands, aims towards its head, breathes out, relaxed but firm, just how she practiced. And squeezes. It only takes the most gentle squeeze. It doesn’t even feel like the stone reacts, except a white hot beam of laser light shines out the end and hits the beast on the nose. It stumbles, slows, stops. It looks confused.
“When the door opens, run in!” Kashiri yells.
The beast charges at them again. Kashiri holds firm, her back against the door. Just before it gets too close it stops and roars loudly at them. Its neck elongates bringing its head closer to them. Its teeth are now just ten feet in front of them. She feels the heat of its breath wash over her as flecks of saliva splatter across her face and the putrid stench of rotting flesh envelops her. Still, she holds her ground, waiting for the feeling of movement in the door behind her.
“Open it, open it!” Reeto yells. Kashiri does not respond. Focused on what she needs to do.
Once the beast finishes its roar, it comes at her. A quick dash forward, its mouth wide open, coming right at her, intending, Kashiri thinks, to snap her in two with the first bite. At the last moment, when Kashiri is sure she has waited too long and the teeth will snap down on her anyway, she feels the movement of the door against her back and squeezes the stone.
She squeezes the stone and the white hot laser flashes out, this time hitting the enormous dinosaur in the top of the inside of its mouth. It recoils back as Kashiri shouts, “Run!!” and she turns on her heels into the opening behind Reeto and Kaw who have already made it a few steps through.
They are now inside the City of Death.
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