2040 Revelations (33 page)

‘Any luck?’ Jason asked her.

‘None,’ Sarah said glumly. ‘I have to say, I’m not totally surprised. I thought I’d be able to find a smaller unit, though, but there’s nothing and I traipsed round all over the city.’

The waitress came back with Sarah’s cola and she took a long drink, the ice cold liquid quenching her thirst with its refreshing flow. She relaxed back into her seat and let out a satisfied groan as her sore back muscles gained some light relief.

‘That puts the kibosh on excavating anything we find on the scanner, doesn’t it,’ Trish said, also a little downcast.

Sarah nodded, her sullen expression saying it all.

‘I’ve got some good news,’ Jason told Sarah. ‘After I sorted out the bones I looked at where we need to go – exactly.’

‘Excellent, you used the photos of the parchment’s map Trish took on the plane, right?’

‘Yep,’ said Jason, looking very pleased with himself. ‘Using the same software I used before, I’ve been able to pinpoint the position of the building the parchment showed us.’

‘Where is it, then?’ Sarah said, annoyed, as Jason just sat there beaming at her.

‘You won’t believe it,’ Trish told her.

Sarah glared at them both, in no mood for games after her failed shopping mission.

Jason laughed, unable to keep her in suspense any longer. ‘It’s smack in the middle of the Ruins of Copán,’ he said, his face expectant as he waited for her reaction.

‘Oh – really?’ Sarah said, unimpressed.

Trish and Jason looked disappointed at her lack of enthusiasm.

‘The fifth century ancient Mayan site, you don’t think that’s pretty weird?’ Trish asked her.

‘There could be some connection between ancient human civilisations and Homo gigantis!’ Jason said, excited by the discovery. ‘It’s pretty mind-blowing, don’t you think? We thought so, anyway.’

Trish nodded in agreement, but Sarah remained unenthused.

‘Just because it’s in the same location doesn’t mean they have anything to do with each other,’ she told them. ‘That super ancient site we found on the parchment might be … what? Half a million years older than the Mayan site? Considering the number of human settlements in the world it seems only logical that some may tally up with any dwellings made by Homo gigantis.’

‘We didn’t think of that,’ Jason said, disheartened by the observation.

‘Don’t get me wrong, there could be a connection,’ she said, trying to bolster them a little. ‘I’m just saying, keep an open mind. In my opinion it just seems unlikely.’

‘Is it still worth going there, then?’ Trish said.

They gave her an odd look.

‘I’m just saying, since you couldn’t find the excavation device, is there any point in wasting our time? Especially with the meteor strike less than three days away and considering everything we’ve already found.’

Sarah contemplated the question. ‘No, I definitely think we should check it out. We’ve come all this way and now Jas has found the exact spot; you never know, we might get lucky again. We can still scan the area, so if we find anything we can come back at a later date.’

‘I suppose you’re right,’ Trish said.

‘Of course I’m right, I’m always right!’ Sarah said with good humour.

‘Even when you said Carl, the Vatican mole, was a nice chap?’ Trish asked.

Sarah grimaced. ‘Well, nearly always right.’

‘You’re nearly there,’ Jason said.

‘Where?’ Sarah was confused.

‘You’re nearly at my level.’

‘Level? What are you going on about?’ Sarah said, totally bewildered now.

He grinned. ‘Being perfect.’

‘Ha, perfect!’ Trish said, while Sarah laughed. ‘I’ve seen dog turds that are more perfect than you.’

‘Dog turds!’ Jason said in complaint.

Trish and Sarah cracked up as Jason sulked, then the waitress returned and the three friends decided to order some lunch.

After they’d sated their hunger, Trish proceeded to inform them about their travel plans. ‘I’ve booked us on the express train from here to Santa Rosa de Copán in Honduras. It shouldn’t take us too long, although there has been some activity in the region from an anti-government militia who operate in the area. They’ve been fighting the government for years against what they see as state murder of civilians who speak up against them.’

‘How will that affect the train?’ Jason asked her.

‘They’ve been known to hijack them, rob the passengers and extract any goods onboard.’

‘Ah,’ he said, ‘not good then.’

‘No, not really. Still, there’s nothing else we can really do. The bus services are being locked down across the borders due to curfews and road traffic has also been prohibited. I’d say catch a light aircraft, but even they are being strictly controlled, so foreigners booking with little notice are not going to get a flight; that’s according to the local British Embassy, anyway.’

‘Looks like it’s the train then,’ Sarah said. ‘When is it leaving?

‘Tomorrow, noon,’ Trish told her.

Sarah nodded and sipped her drink, content in the knowledge they’d soon be heading off to the location depicted in the ancient parchment. They stayed at the café a while longer, letting their meal settle, and then found a couple of cheap hotel rooms to stay in for the night. Waking early the following morning, the companions gathered their possessions and struck out for the train station. After making their connection, the locomotive departed the platform, a heat shimmer rising from the tracks ahead. Another clear blue sky and bright sunshine accompanied them, the countryside speeding past as the train reached maximum velocity.

Sarah looked out the window expecting to see the meteorite in the sky, although it supposedly wasn’t visible during the day on this side of the Atlantic. The great ocean and its massive expanse was a welcome barrier between her and the impact zone which, until very recently, had been far too close for comfort. Resting her eyes, she settled down once more, another journey and adventure within her sights. The freedom she felt was all encompassing and invigorating, especially compared to her dull existence back home with Mark in London. She might have more important matters to attend to, but this was definitely the life for her; this is what she had been missing. She’d found herself again, her purpose in life, and it felt like home. Her head lolled to one side as she dozed off to the drone and rattle of the express train as it surged onwards.

♦

Santa Rosa de Copán in Honduras wasn’t a large place, perhaps home to one hundred thousand people. A small city, but located in a beautiful setting, with friendly welcoming locals. The centre of town looked as striking as the scenery surrounding it. Neoclassical buildings lined the cobblestoned streets and if it hadn’t been for the GMRC curfews it would have been pulsating with tourists. People usually flocked to explore the city and the surrounding areas, which included the Ruins of Copán and the Celaque National Park, with its subtropical cloud forest featuring mountainous elevations from four to nearly ten thousand feet.

As usual, sightseeing was off the menu for the team of three and they had already arranged transport to the ruins. A small bus regularly ferried locals and tourists alike to the Mayan site and they had lucked out, as a driver who took the route was a relative of the owner of their base of operations in town, a modest bed and breakfast run by a lovely old couple. According to the timetable, the bus departed in twenty-three hours and Sarah’s phone told her the impact was due to occur in less than twenty.

The following day they ate breakfast with the couple and then returned to their room to watch the television. Sarah flicked it onto a Honduran English speaking news channel and sat back to watch. They didn’t have to wait too long before the stunning, yet disturbing images of the meteorite’s final flight and impact were aired. The three watched in silence, punctuated by the occasional gasp from Trish and swear word from Jason, as the newsreaders covered and discussed the fallout.

Trish gave a shake of her head. ‘To think we were only there just a few days ago.’

‘That’s a sobering thought,’ Jason said, unusually sombre.

Perhaps even more worrying than the impact was the breaking news that China had launched some kind of attack on as yet unconfirmed countries. It may have even been nuclear. They watched the scenes of worldwide panic unfold and then a GMRC warning interrupted the programme. The organisation’s logo flashed up with a message. The phones that all three now had also chirruped as video text alerts came through.

‘It’s the same message as on TV,’ Sarah said, as she read the screen.

THIS IS A GMRC EMERGENCY BROADCAST

DO NOT ADJUST YOUR MEDIA PLAYER

THIS IS A CRITICAL ALERT

PROTOCOL ONE DELTA:

AN EMERGENCY WORLDWIDE CURFEW

WILL COMMENCE IN TWELVE HOURS

PROCEED CALMLY TO YOUR HOME

OR A PLACE OF REFUGE UNTIL

FURTHER NOTICE

LETHAL FORCE WILL BE UTILISED

TO PRESERVE THE PEACE

THIS IS EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ONE DELTA

THIS IS NOT A DRILL

‘Fuckin’ hell,’ Jason said. ‘This is going to screw us right up.’

‘I don’t think so; the bus leaves in a few hours,’ Sarah said. ‘We’ll be out before the curfew and when we’re in the wilderness, there won’t be any patrols to worry about.’

‘We won’t be far away from Copán Ruinas, the small town,’ Jason said, ‘so it’ll hardly be a wilderness.’

Sarah chose to ignore him.

‘What about coming back?’ Trish asked her.

‘We’ll speak to – what was his name, the driver?’

‘Javier,’ said Trish.

‘We’ll speak to him. I’m sure he’ll come back for us if the price is right.’

Jason looked unconvinced. ‘Not if a total curfew is in effect, he won’t.’

‘I suppose,’ Sarah said. ‘It depends how strict they are round here, they’re quite lax on most things so perhaps this will be no different.’ Trish and Jason looked at her with deep scepticism. ‘Anyway,’ she continued unperturbed, ‘they can only keep people holed up for so long. As soon as things calm down, the normal curfew times will be reinstated. Come on, it’ll be fine, stop being a couple of wusses.’

Trish and Jason muttered some choice words, but after some heated debate they eventually saw things Sarah’s way.

Not long after, they made their way outside the bed and breakfast, where Javier picked them up and their ride to the ruins began.

‘How close will you be able to get us, Javier, to the co-ordinates we gave you?’ Sarah said.

‘Pretty close. You’ll only have a short walk. I don’t think the locals will let you do any digging or scanning; they can be pretty touchy about that sort of thing.’

Sarah exchanged meaningful glances with Trish and Jason. The locals might not want them to scan, but Sarah wasn’t prepared to abide to silly rules and regulations at this point. Their ground-breaking discoveries had put her well on her way to proving her theories and she wasn’t going to slow down now.

The bus, which was empty apart from them and a few locals, wound its way higher into the mountainous region. Creaking and groaning, the vehicle’s suspension buckled and dropped over the uneven road surface as the jungle slid by. As Sarah bumped around in her seat, she pondered the situation in China. Going there now to validate her finds would not be a good idea. International tensions would be at breaking point, or past it, and foreigners looked upon warily or with outright hostility.
Where else can I go?
she thought.
Canada, perhaps, or France; Brazil, maybe?
She needed to discuss things with the others at a later date before any firm plans could be made.

Sarah swayed in her seat as the bus came to an abrupt halt, bringing her out of her reverie. She peered out the front window to see a group of men with guns looking at the vehicle. Javier turned the engine off and got up.

‘
Quédate aquí voy a averiguar qué está sucediendo
,’ he said to the locals. ‘Wait here,’ he told the three companions in English and then he got off.

‘What’s going on?’ Trish said, worry etched on her face.

Jason looked similarly concerned. ‘I think they’re those rebel militia you told us about.’

‘They don’t look like government troops,’ Sarah said, ‘no uniforms.’

Javier had reached the rebels and now spoke to two of the men. Hands were waving and gestures being made on both sides. After what seemed an age Javier walked back to the bus and climbed back on, shutting the doors behind him.

‘They’re letting us through, I know one of the men from when I was a child. You three better stay down, though, or avert your faces. If they see outsiders, they might change their minds.’

He started up the engine and they pulled off at a sedate pace. Trish had sunk so far down in her seat she was hardly visible, while Jason had gone one further and sat on the floor. Sarah looked around and saw an old woman looking at her, so she got up and made her way along the aisle towards her.

‘What are you doing?’ Trish said, sounding scared. ‘Get down!’

‘They’re not blind,’ Sarah said. ‘Those men saw how many of us were on here. It’ll look suss if three suddenly vanish into thin air.’ She stopped in front of the woman. ‘¿
Me prestas tu sombrero
?
’

The woman gave Sarah a blank look.

‘What’s disguise in Spanish?’ Sarah asked Trish.

‘
Disfrazar
.’

‘Sarah, we’re nearly on top of them!’ Jason said.

‘
Disfrazar
,’ Sarah said to the woman a note of urgency in her voice. ‘¿
Por favor
?’

The old woman smiled, removed her large hat and passed it to Sarah, who quickly sat down, placed it on her head and looked down at the floor. Out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed the militia on either side of them, assault rifles held loosely in their hands as they looked at the passengers as they drove by. Sarah held her breath and then they were past and picking up speed again.