Temple of the Inscriptions
by Humphrey Price
Chapter 8: The Prize
part 2
I couldn’t think of any words of comfort, so I said nothing. With our gear stowed away, including every scrap of trash, we started up the stairway together. We left the mirror leaning up against the crypt. Karyn held the priceless vial in her left hand and a flashlight in her right.
Later on, she told me that the reason she didn’t pack it away was because we had gone through so much pain and difficulty to get to that point. We had lost our past lives and been thrust into a world of danger, and the only success we had to show for it was the prize she held in her left hand. She just wanted to keep holding it and feeling it.
As we made our way up the ancient stone steps, I asked, “So, Space Girl, what is it that makes these old guys’ stones and your meteorite activate these buttons?”
Her voice brightened, welcoming the distraction. “Well first of all, I think all the stones are meteorites. Now, Señor Frog, what’s different about meteorites from all other rocks on the Earth? You’re a Nuke E. You ought to know.”
“Isotopes.”
“Exactly! They have different isotopic ratios than any rocks from the Earth. It makes a very simple yet sophisticated key that cannot be easily counterfeited or copied. Different buttons on these devices left by Horus can be programmed to respond to certain isotopic ratios.”
“And Meteor Crater, Arizona seems to be the master key.”
“Maybe so, Señor Frog.”
We reached the midpoint landing and turned to ascend the final flight of steps.
“I’m worried about the grate being locked at the top,” I said. I don’t see any light ahead, so it may be night.”
“Well, let’s be careful not to bonk our heads on the grate.”
I was in front and could see the opening at the top. “It’s clear, the grate’s open, and it’s night.”
“That’s not right, Scott. They should have it closed and locked at night.”
As we neared the top, I said, “Turn off your light,” and I switched mine off too. I poked my head up and looked around, not really seeing anything. “I think it’s okay. I don’t see anyone.” I turned my light back on and swept it around the inside of the stone house. “Come on up. Let’s go.”
I stepped into the room, stood back, and waited for Karyn. Just as she emerged up onto the floor, we were frozen by the sound of a gravelly voice. “Don’t move or you will die.” Lights switched on. Standing in the doorway was a man sporting a strikingly large nose with a long straight bridge as sharp as a knife edge. It was like a bird’s beak. He had a long face with high cheek bones, puffy eyes, long ear lobes, and long dark straight hair that was combed back. His English was good, but with an accent that was not quite Spanish.
He strutted into the room, keeping his gun leveled at me, and two other men followed.
“You are trespassing on my property, Mr. Richards.” Then he looked at Karyn. His eyes locked onto the vial she was holding, and he smiled cruelly. “And I see that the lovely Miss Lee has something that belongs to me.”
She let her flashlight hang from the wrist strap, and she clutched the vial with both hands.
His eyes traveled up and down her body and rested on the pendant hanging at her chest. “Ahh, what a nice necklace you have. Khufu told me you were a beauty, and I have to agree. I believe I shall take you as one of my wives. Perhaps you could even be my queen.”
Karyn had discretely unscrewed the top of the elixir bottle. She held it out to her side and tipped it over a bit. “If you make one move toward me, the last thing I’ll do before I die is pour this out. Ya wanna try me?”
“You wouldn’t dare! You are holding the secret of eternal life. It is the most valuable substance on Earth.”
“Yep, so just stay right where you are, Paco.”
“I am K’inich Janaab’ Pakal!” he yelled. “I am a god! I walked this Earth a thousand years before you were born!”
“Well, that’s nice. Do you mind if I call you Paco?”
His face screwed up in rage, and he took a lurching step toward her. She tipped the container, and a slug of liquid spilled out onto the stone floor.
“Nooooo!” He screamed and stopped in his tracks.
“Good boy, Paco. Just stay right where you are. In fact, please back up a few steps, or I’ll spill some more. And you boys,” she motioned to the other two, “move out from the doorway.” They didn’t move, and Karyn slopped a few more drops out of the bottle. Pakal screamed at them in Spanish, and they moved.
Pakal had backed up, keeping his eyes on the puddle of clear liquid that pooled in a depression in the stone. That was probably several lifetimes right there. Then he trained his gun on me and said, “Give me the vial, or I’ll blow his head off.”
Karyn said, “If you make a move on him or harm a hair on his head, all your magic juice goes on the ground.”
He kept the gun pointed at my head, but he didn’t shoot.
“Looks like a Mexican standoff, Paco. Scott, it’s time for you to go. Head on down the steps. When you get to the bottom, head for the hills. Don’t look back. I’ll be right behind you.”
“How am I going to find you?”
“Doctor P.”
“What?!”
“After you get away, think about it. You’ll figure it out.”
“What if—”
“No more talking, Señor Frog. Just go. Now!”
I slowly backed out of the stone house, turned, and then descended the steps hoping that my sword-fighting time-traveling warrior princess would not be far behind. It was dark, there were no outside lights on in the ruins, and the setting half-moon provided only minimal illumination.
I was moving as quietly as possible, and I could hear footsteps coming up the pyramid. Then I saw flashlight beams. I figured these weren’t the good guys, so I moved off the stairway onto the smoother side of the pyramid so that I wouldn’t fall into the path of their light beams. Although the steep slope was difficult to stand on without steps, there were enough niches and footholds to keep me from slipping and falling down.
There were two men ascending the steps, and as they got closer, I had an idea. I still had the laser pointer, and I remembered from experience with my friend’s laser how disorienting and blinding it was to have it aimed at your eyes. I took the laser from my pocket and held it ready.
When they were only a few meters away, the man nearest me finally saw me out of his peripheral vision, jerked his head and flashlight toward me, and gave out a startled cry. I depressed the button on the laser and played it back and forth from one eye to the other. He screamed, dropped his flashlight, and held his hands to his eyes. I lunged toward him and kicked him in the groin hard, propelling him head over heels back down the stairs. We were halfway up the pyramid, and he had a long way to tumble. He screamed for about five seconds and then was silent as his body rolled and flailed down to the bottom.
In the meantime, his partner pulled out a pistol and fired. He missed. As he rushed at me, I shone the laser at his eyes with my right hand and grabbed the pistol with my left. It was painfully hot, but I held on with a death grip as I kicked him in the groin. He screamed, let go, and followed his cohort down the side of the pyramid. Now I had a gun and a laser.
Copyright © 2023 by Humphrey Price
