The Last Election (36 page)

The Maya were now speaking very little, and when they did it was in hushed tones. As they passed beneath Temple IV, their pace slowed dramatically. They continued moving forward in a zombielike trance. For Clark, the presence he had been feeling was growing stronger with every step.

Clay turned around and waved the others forward. When they reached him, they saw that they had reached an open area. “This is the
Tozzer
Causeway!” said Ixchel. “It will lead us directly to the Great Plaza.”

Clark gazed ahead and said, “We need to keep our guard up. Keep your eyes and ears open and move forward cautiously.” Clay could tell that Clark sensed danger, so he trotted several yards down the causeway to scout the route ahead. Anyone or anything that tried to get to his friends would have to get past him and his rifle first.

“Sam, what is the matter?” asked Martineau.

“There is something out there,” he replied and he scanned the area.

“Bonsam?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Clark said. “But I feel a presence out there, unlike anything I have ever felt before.”
 

Martineau turned to Ixchel, but she didn’t even have to ask the question. “I feel it, too,” said Ixchel. “We are almost there. Soon we will see Temple II. That will take us into the Great Plaza. On the opposite side of the plaza is Temple I.” She paused and looked over to Clark. “That is where the Maya are heading, I can feel it.”
  

“So is Bonsam,” Clark thought.
 

Ten minutes later they were standing to the rear of Temple II. “This is known as Temple of the Masks,” said Ixchel. “On the other side is the Great Plaza.” She watched as the Maya trod onward around the north side of the temple. She looked at Clark and said, “They are heading to Temple I. It is the foremost temple in Tikal.”

“No they’re not,” said Clay as he walked toward Ixchel. “Come with me,” he said to the group. “I have something to show you. Hurry.”

As they rounded the northwest corner of Temple II, Temple I came into view. “Temple I is called the Temple of the Jaguar,” said Ixchel. “It was built as a tomb for an ancient Maya king.”

“Yes, but still the Maya are not heading there,” said Clay. “Trust me.” As they rounded the northeast corner of the temple and entered the Great Plaza, Clay pointed ahead and said, “Look.”

An ancient acropolis lined the entire south side of the plaza. Layers of interconnected stone fortifications covered the hillside, many with huge stone staircases running up through their center. Clay pointed toward a large jagged gap that had opened in the face of the enormous citadel next to Temple I, revealing a cave that had been hidden for thousands of years. “That’s where the Maya are heading.”

Chapter 84

The five of them stood there in the shadow of the Temple of the Jaguar, staring at the opening to the cave. “What is this place?” Daniel asked, as he looked around in astonishment.

“The earthquake must have opened this,” said Martineau.

The cave was eerie, yet something about it was spiritual. Maya descendants young, old, and infirm continued to march toward the darkness of the cave. As they got closer, they started shuffling forward slowly and speaking in a language that had not been used in a hundred generations. Ixchel listened to the whispers of the Maya as they passed by, and she kept hearing a phrase being repeated over and over. It was nothing she understood, but she could tell that it must have something to do with the cave.

“Daniel, listen. The Maya keep repeating a phrase over and over,” said Ixchel.

“I noticed. Do you know what it means?” he replied.

“No, but something tells me it’s important. It must relate to the cave.”

“Maybe one of the Maya can translate it for you.”

Ixchel walked over to several Maya women who were standing nearby. She tried to inquire as to the meaning of the phrase, but none of the Maya seemed to speak English or Spanish. When Ixchel returned to the group she said, “This is odd, but it seems as if everyone is speaking in the ancient Mayan language.”

“We don’t have the time to worry about that now,” said Clark. “We have to find Bonsam.”

“If Bonsam is in there, we may never find him,” said Martineau.

“Come on,” said Clark. “We have to try.”

Each grabbed their gear and headed toward the cave. They paused once they were about fifty feet into the cave because it became extremely dark. Martineau was the only one with a flashlight, so she set her backpack down to dig for it. Clark and Clay went several steps farther and peered into the pitch-black darkness.

The cave gave Ixchel a strange feeling. She was feeling drawn forward by a force, just as she had been in her dream. Inside, she was trembling with fear; fear of the unknown. Daniel was watching Ixchel’s changing expressions as he dug through his backpack. She looked so beautiful, but she looked frightened as well. “I’ll get you through this, Ixchel,” said Daniel as he looked up from his backpack. “You’ll be safe as long as I’m with you, I promise.”

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd. People at the entrance of the cave could be heard screaming and many started to run forward into the cave. Everyone looked up, but it was Daniel who first saw the source of the disturbance. It was Bonsam, and he was heading into the cave, stone map in one hand and machine gun in the other. He was pushing people out of his way as he moved forward.

“There he is!” yelled Daniel. Clark and Clay spun around and drew their weapons. When Bonsam heard Daniel’s yell, he dropped the map and leveled the machine gun, all in one motion. His weapon was aimed directly at Ixchel. Daniel saw what was about to happen, so he quickly leapt in front of Ixchel just as Bonsam fired.

 
Daniel took a bullet in his lower right leg and another in his right side as he fell to the ground. Ixchel screamed in horror, “No!” She dropped to her knees and pulled Daniel’s head to her lap. “Daniel! Daniel!”

Martineau quickly grabbed her rifle and popped off a few shots in Bonsam’s direction, but she saw the bullets bounce off the cave wall behind him. The crowd scattered in every direction and several of the Maya crashed into Bonsam.
 

Clark and Clay raced toward Bonsam, but there were too many people in the way to get a clear shot. Bonsam was filled with fury as the Maya kept jostling into him. In frustration, he screamed and fired his weapon into the air, scattering the people even more. He fired until he had emptied his magazine. When he saw that Clark and Clay were heading his way, he let out another scream and then fled from the cave, pulling out another magazine and popping it into his weapon as he ran. As he raced across the Great Plaza toward the Temple of Masks, visions of fires flooded his mind, and he felt his body temperature rise.

Clark and Clay weaved their way through the panicking crowd in the cave, which severely hindered their progress. As they raced past Martineau, Clark yelled, “Kenna, help Daniel!” They finally freed themselves from the crowd and exited the cave, then saw that Bonsam already had a good lead on them as he sprinted past the southeast corner of the temple toward the forest.
 

Clay dropped to one knee and pulled his rifle to his shoulder and yelled, “I got him!”

Clark ran up and pushed the barrel of the rifle downward just as Clay was taking aim. “No, that’s the football,” Clark said, motioning to his own backpack. “We can’t take a chance on shooting it.” Clay stood up and indeed saw the top of a black satchel sticking out of Bonsam’s backpack, just as Bonsam disappeared into a grove of trees near the rear of the temple. Clark slapped Clay on the back and said, “Come on!

Martineau desperately wanted to join in the hunt for Bonsam, but she knew that Daniel was seriously wounded. She grabbed her backpack and ran to where Daniel lay.
 
Ixchel was there, still holding Daniel’s head in her lap and crying out his name.
 

Martineau dug through her backpack but found nothing that could be used as bandages. “Ixchel, do you have anything in your backpack for first aid?” she called out quickly.

“No. Nothing!” Ixchel called back. The women looked at each other as fear started to set in. Ixchel was losing all color in her face. “Daniel! Daniel!”

As Martineau desperately tried to stop the bleeding with her bare hands, she was startled as she heard a man’s deep voice call out. She stood and quickly turned around, and saw two Maya men approaching. One of the men kept repeating a word over and over. Martineau looked at Ixchel and asked, “What is he saying?”

Ixchel cried out happily, “It’s the ancient Maya word for medicine man. He’s a doctor!”

Clay had dashed ahead of Clark and was first to reach the grove of trees that Bonsam had entered minutes ago. “Sam, come on!” he yelled to Clark, but he saw Clark quickly put his finger to his lips to signal for him to be quiet. Clay moved to a tree on the edge of the grove and crouched down.

Clark reached Clay seconds later and crouched down beside him. He looked into the shady darkness of the woods, his eyes slowly scanning back and forth. “He’s in there waiting for us,” Clark whispered to Clay. “Let’s spread out, but stay within visual distance. Stay behind cover as much as you can, and move forward stealthily.”

Clay moved down 20 feet to Clark’s left, and waited for Clark’s lead to enter the forest. Clark moved forward slowly with his rifle to his shoulder, moving the barrel’s aim back and forth as he looked to his left then his right. Clay stepped gingerly as he proceeded forward, his eyes darting about in search of Bonsam. He had only progressed a few yards into the forest when he saw Clark freeze, then crouch down. He followed his lead immediately.

Clark was in the zone. He heard none of the sounds of the forest and his eyes focused on a large
Ceiba
tree 75 yards ahead of him. As he pulled the stock of his rifle tightly against his shoulder and aimed at the tree, time seemed to stand still. The next few seconds seemed like an eternity. A sliver of Bonsam’s head came into his view as Bonsam slowly peeked around the side of the tree. Clark fired three shots in a quick sequence, but all three bullets struck the tree. Bonsam threw himself to the ground and did a barrel roll to his right, then jumped to his knees and fired wildly. Bullets tore into the branches above Clay’s head, causing him to dive to the ground and put his arms around his head. Clark lowered his rifle and scrambled over to see if Clay had been hit, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Bonsam tramp through the brush taking him deeper into the forest.
 

Kenna and Ixchel stood up to watch the men who had come to their assistance. The medicine man laid down his pouch and began pulling out cloth to dress Daniel’s wounds. His partner pulled out a small drinking flask and poured water over the wounds and wiped them clear with his handkerchief. As they watched the medicine man sprinkle ground herbs over the wounds, Martineau and Ixchel unexpectedly heard a voice behind them say, “Hello.”

They spun around quickly. There stood a young man who was pointing a handgun directly at Ixchel. “Set your rifle down on the ground, lady,” said Jesse as he looked at Martineau. He moved the gun closer toward Ixchel. Ixchel gasped as she looked into the barrel of the gun. Martineau slowly squatted down and set her rifle at the man’s feet, then slowly stood back up again, raising her hands toward her shoulders and taking a step back.
 

Jesse’s eyes narrowed as he glared at Ixchel. “President Bonsam wants to meet you, Moon Goddess. You’re coming with me.” He continued to point his gun at Ixchel as he slowly reached out with his left hand toward Ixchel’s arm. Just as he was about to grab her, a surge of Maya travelers barged through, pushing Jesse aside and taking his aim off of Ixchel.
   

Martineau delivered a quick uppercut slap to the bottom of Jesse’s pistol, knocking his hand upward. As a shot went off hitting the ceiling of the cave, Martineau drove a knee kick deep into Jesse’s groin, causing him to double over in extreme agony and drop his gun. Martineau bent down to reach for her rifle, but Jesse kicked her hard in the shoulder, knocking her face first to the ground.