The Eden Factor (Kathlyn Trent/Marcus Burton Romance Adventure Series Book 2) (45 page)

"But how would they know
about Jesus Christ?"

"An interesting question. If
that glyph over there symbolizes the great flood, then it would make sense
because it was a world-wide occurrence. We've already found evidence of such a
thing in the chronicles of other early civilizations. But Christ was a mere
prophet, limited to a land thousands of miles away from here. How would they
know about him?"

"Any theories?"

She grinned and rolled her eyes.
"Not one, Dr. Burton. This whole cavern is an enigma that I'm not even
close to understanding and it's driving me batty."

Marcus grinned as she pretended
to bang her forehead against his shoulder. It made him realize, more than ever,
how much he had missed the sheer joy of just being around her. But it also
intensified the situation they were in.

 "Well," he took one
last look at the symbol. "As much as I would love to spend time
deciphering all of this, I think the more immediately problem is getting out of
here."

She was aware of that, but the
lure of the grotto was great. "I know," she stood up with him along
side her. "But the only way I know to go out is the way we came."

He looked in the direction of the
darkened shaft. "Do you think that creature is still back there?"

"There's one way to find
out."

Marcus took one of the torches in
the cavern and grasped his wife's hand. Carefully, they made their way back
through the shaft and into the glowing, steaming room.  The Curious one was no
where to be found and Marcus felt a sense of relief and urgency at the same
time. He pulled Kathlyn through the cavern at a clipped pace and they exited
through the tunnel at the far side. Since Marcus had come through these
passages in the complete blackness, he wasn't particularly familiar with what
he saw. It was musty, stinky, and dark.

He came to a fork in the tunnel;
looking closely at the ground, he could see where feet had tramped, but they
seemed to go in both directions. There wasn't one distinct pattern. They were
about to discuss which path to take when a strong animal smell filled the air.
Kathlyn knew what it was immediately and shoved Marcus forward.

"Go! Run!"

 He didn't argue. Keeping a good
grip on her, he raced into the tunnel on the left, scraping his big shoulders
on the side of the narrow passage.  The torch banged around, creating an
abstract scene, like something out of a nightmare. The running was mindless and
endless, the floor was slick, and the air smelled like a thousand animals had
congregated.  Kathlyn held tight to Marcus; she didn't want to lose him in the
chaos. The shaft took another series of turns and twists and finally they were
back in the main cavern where the gun battle had taken place earlier.

It was a horrific scene. Blood
was everywhere, bodies of the creatures and humans strewn about.  Kathlyn
gasped at the sight, turning away so she wouldn't be sick. Marcus put his arm
around her, navigating her through the mess to the doorway on the other side.
He knew that was the way out. They were half way across the floor when a voice
stopped them.

"Marcus!"

Marcus came to an unsteady halt.
Seated in the corner, along the wall, were the remains of the military team
that had invaded the cavern. Tony, three S.E.A.L.s and one Marine were bound up
with a wet, ropey fiber. They looked like pigs ready to be put on the spit, and
Marcus and Kathlyn rushed over to them and began untying the bindings.

 "What happened?"
Marcus asked.

"There were too many of
them," Tony said, freeing his hands. He rapidly untied his feet.
"They jumped those of us they didn't kill, tied us up, and left us
here." He looked up at Kathlyn, helping the man next to him. "Well,
well. Our objective. Good to see you, Dr. Trent."

She smiled. "Good to see
you, too."

 The bindings fell away and Tony
was on his feet, moving for the exit.  "They took our weapons," he
said hurriedly. "I suggest we get the hell out of here, set some charges
in the main cavern, and seal this sucker up.”

"What about all of
them?" Kathlyn couldn't stomach looking at the dead men. "We can't just
leave them here."

Tony was very torn. It was a
common understanding in the military that no men were to be left dead in the
field.  If it was at all possible to get them out, the effort should be made.

 "We can't risk all of
us," he said remorsefully. "We've got to move, and move quickly, and
we can't be bogged down with lugging bodies."

Marcus had Kathlyn by the arm,
half-pulling her, half-shoving her out of the cavern.  He, too, felt bad about
leaving the men behind, but he wanted to get out of there before the creatures
came back, found their hostages gone, and went berserk. The living,
unfortunately, were more important at the moment.

 The tunnel leading to the upper
caverns seemed to go on forever. But finally, they were in the caverns, dashing
past the mummified bodies, and spilling out into the hot Iraqi dusk. Kathlyn
took a deep breath, inhaling the dust and sand, feeling tremendously grateful
to be alive.  As she slumped over to catch her breath, Tony and Marcus scanned
the area frantically.

"Dammit," Marcus
rumbled. "They're gone."

"Who?" Kathlyn asked.

Tony held the expression of a man
who had just been cornered with another unbelievable situation. "I can't
believe it," he cursed softly. "After we told them to stay here, they
didn't listen. Damn them!"

"Who didn't listen?"
Kathlyn didn't understand. "What are you talking about?"

Marcus looked back at the cavern
entrance, so deceptively quiet. "Mark, Otis, Gary, Dennis, Jace and
Fayd," he said. "We told them to stay out here and wait for us. Obviously,
they didn't."

Kathlyn was horrified. "Are
you sure? Maybe they went back to the village."

Tony shook his head. "No
way. They wouldn't have. They were too damn determined to go in there with us
and extremely disappointed when we wouldn't let them. I can't imagine them just
wandering off somewhere to pout."

Marcus looked at him. "We've
got to go in there and get them, you know that."

One of the S.E.A.L.s approached
Tony, murmuring in his ear about the C-4 plastic explosives they were carrying.
He wanted to know where to set the charges. Tony held up a hand to quiet the
man while he answered Marcus.

"Marcus, I don't want those
things spilling out of there," he said. "They're vicious and blood
thirsty and our incursion in there has completely pissed them off.  We've got
to seal up this entrance."

"With all those innocent
people in there?" Marcus shook his head. "You can't do that, Tony.
You've got to at least give us a chance to get them out of there."

Kathlyn started walking for the
cave. "I'll get them out," she said firmly. "They went in there
looking for me and it's my responsibility."

Marcus took several steps after
her, grabbing her wrist. "Hold on," he said. "You're not going
anywhere. If anyone goes in, it will be Tony and I.  You're staying out here
where I know you're safe."

She tried to pull her wrist free.
"I'm safe in there, more than either of you," she said. "How
long did I spend in there with absolutely no threat to me whatsoever? If either
of you go in there, they'll kill you and you know it. But they won't touch
me."

"No way," Marcus'
stubborn streak was making an appearance. "I just got you out. Do you
really think for one moment I'm going to let you go back in there? That's
nuts."

Normally, no one would dare
interfere in an argument between Dr. Burton and Dr. Trent. But Tony dared to
stick his neck out. "Look," he said. "We don't have time for
this. The longer you two stand here slugging it out, the more of a chance there
is that those things are going to try to retaliate somehow and I'm going to
have to blow the whole damn cave up with everyone in it. Marcus, I know you
don't like it, and neither do I, but Kathlyn has a point. She survived several
hours in there and we barely survived a half hour."

"She's not going in
there."

 "Then your friends are
going to die."

In the very logical areas of
Marcus' mind, he could see the sense of what they were saying. But in the
husbandly, protective area, there was a big black cloud of stubbornness and
rage.

"Damn those idiots!" he
exploded. He jabbed a finger at his wife. "I didn't risk my life to get
you out of there only to have you go back in to find those fools who should
have done what they were told."

Kathlyn could have handled him
one of two ways. She could have butted heads with him, or use kindness to kill
him. She opted for the latter, because the former usually took longer and she
didn't have the time or strength. She put her arms around her husband's waist.

"Tony, give us a
minute."

The Marine walked away. Marcus
gazed into his wife's green eyes, his body tense, not at all willing to be
swayed. But she smiled at him and put her hands on his shoulders, caressing
him, and already he could feel himself weaken.

"I understand what you're
saying," she said softly. "But I honestly believe I'm their only
chance. Do you really think I want to go back in there? Of course not. But I'm
the one with the best odds for bringing them out alive. If those creatures find
you down in there again, they'll kill you without hesitation. Do you think I
could live with that?"

He had to be strong. "The
last time I let you talk me into letting you do something alone, Fayd popped up
and this whole fiasco happened.  I'm not going to let you sweet-talk me again,
Kathlyn. Not this time."

"Even with Dennis and Gary
and Mark's life at stake?"

"They shouldn't have gone in
looking for you. We told them to stay put."

"They were looking for me,
Marcus, a back-up in case you failed." She cocked an eyebrow. "They
were only trying to help. Do you think if the situation were reversed, they
would leave you in there?"

He rolled his eyes and tried to
pull away from her. "No way, honey.  Don't try to turn this around. I'm
not buying it."

She let him pull away.
"You're avoiding the question because you know what the answer is."

"I'm avoiding the question
because it's stupid."

She watched him pace away from
her, his back stiff and his arms crossed obstinately.  She knew that short of
shooting his leg so he couldn't follow her, there was no way she was going back
into the cavern, much less alone. The heat and disappointment took its toll and
she turned away from him, finding the nearest rock to sit on. Her nausea was
returning and she was exhausted.

"Fine," she mumbled.
"Go in there and get killed. I don't give a damn anymore. You're
unreasonable and you're unfeeling, and you're goddamn selfish. I just don't
care what you do."

He listened to her, but refrained
from sparring with her any further. She had given up and that was all he cared
about. The rest he would deal with later. He turned to Tony and opened his
mouth, but his wife's voice filled the air one final time.

"You should have left me in
there, Marcus," she said. "If you're telling me that my life is the
only one that matters against all of these men who have been killed today
trying to rescue me, then you're not the man I thought you were. I thought you
had more value of a human life than that, but I guess I was wrong. Just like
you've been telling me that you want me to abort this child; what if it is our
baby? What if it has nothing to do with Fayd? Do you just not want any more
children and this is your way of telling me? Maybe I just don't know you at
all."

He tried to convince himself she
was being ridiculous, but there was a greater part of him that wanted to plead
with her. "Now you're just being ludicrous," he said quietly. 
"How can you even say something like that?"

She spun around, slapping her
hand on the rock in a sharp sound that startled him. There were tears spilling
over her dusty cheeks already. "Because you're more than willing to let
our friends die in there if it means there's a chance that I'll sacrifice my
life in the process. They were willing to die for me. It's only right that I
return the favor. How can you be so selfish?"

He cracked like a weakling and
went over to her. "All right, all right," he said softly. "Don't
get yourself all worked up. You've had a tough time of it and you're
emotional."

She tried to jump up and move
away from him, but he caught her and pulled her into his powerful arms. It felt
really good to cry, swathed in his strong embrace.  Marcus rocked her gently.

"Sweetheart, I understand
how you feel, but...."

"No, you don't," she
wept. "The longer we fight about this, the more time we waste. Please let
me go, Marcus. I'm the only chance they have."

"I just can't."

"Please."

His jaw ticked. He couldn't stand
to see her cry, and he could only be strong against her pleas so long.  He knew
he was folding. But he couldn't admit it to himself, terrified that he was
making the wrong decision just like he had when he let her come to Iraq without
him. Only this time, he might not get her back.