The Vilcabamba Prophecy: A Nick Randall Novel (22 page)

“Creatures?”
George asked. No one responded.

“Sam,
are you okay?” Randall asked.

Sam
hadn’t realized that she had stopped walking, but her father’s voice jerked her
back to reality. “Uh huh.”

Randall
walked back and put his arm around his daughter’s shoulders. “It’s alright,
sweetheart, I’m here with you. They’re friendly and they want to help us.”

George
joined them. “What do you mean by creatures?”

Randall
explained his earlier encounter to the newest member of their team. George’s
knees almost buckled, but Randall caught him.

“Whoa
there, it’s okay George.”

“Next
time you ask me to come along on one of your adventures, remind me to just say
no.”

They
covered the last hundred yards quickly, and Sam was rewarded with an amazing
sight. The size and sheer scope of the underground city was overwhelming.
Vilcabamba
was much larger than
Paititi
and as beautiful as the jungle city was,
Vilcabamba
was even more exquisite. Suddenly gripped by the inquisitive nature that only a
scientist could have, she began to categorize the sights she was experiencing,
grasping the magnitude of the moment. She moved forward into the opening of the
cavern that held the city. It was magnificent, an archaeologist’s dream!

A
short distance ahead, there were steps leading down into the city. Sam turned to
look at George and her father, who followed closely behind. Randall smiled and
nodded for her to keep going. George, on the other hand, looked overwhelmed.

The
stonework was incredible. The fine level of detail rivaled the artistry of
Michelangelo himself.
 
The stone
animals and shapes that adorned the walls as she descended the steps into the
city surpassed any artifacts she had ever seen. Intricate carvings of
chinchillas, llamas, and vicuña – sort of a combination of an alpaca and
a camel – seemed almost lifelike. But these weren’t the only wildlife
depicted. Exotic animals she had never seen before were also carved out of the
stone. In the past, Sam would have dismissed finding such depictions to a
simplistic culture trying to explain the unseen forces of nature at work. Now,
she wasn’t so sure. These weren’t relics covered by earth for hundreds or
thousands of years; these were functioning structures still in use today. She
reached out to touch one. The surface of the stone was perfectly smooth.

“The
detail is absolutely exquisite,” she said quietly.

Her
father nodded his agreement just as George caught up with them.

Sam
stooped and peered under one of the sculptures, finding herself in the shadow
of the magnificent piece of art. She was immediately struck with the
realization that the cavern was exceptionally bright. Slowly, she slid out from
under the statue and gazed up at the ceiling. Just as her father had described,
a large, orb shaped light hung, suspended in mid-air, directly in the center of
the
ceiling which
arched majestically over the city.

“This
is unbelievable,” Sam said. “At first, I didn’t know what to make of your
stories, but now … this is just amazing. How could this have been here so long,
without anyone in the world knowing that it exists?”

“Actually,
a few others did know about this place,” Randall said. “The
Capanhuaco
for one, and other indigenous tribes as well. There’ve been stories told about
the existence of lost cities for generations. The problem is, since we didn’t
grow up listening to these stories, we had no idea that places like
this exist
. We just assumed that no one else knew about them
either.”

Sam
moved forward and found herself at the bottom of the steps.
Vilcabamba
stretched out before her. From this vantage point, Sam came to appreciate just
how large the structures were and just how small she was. It was as if an
unknown light had suddenly illuminated her mind. All of a sudden, petty,
worldly squabbles seemed insignificant.

“Where
are they?”

“I’m
not sure.”

“When
you were here last time, where did you see them?”

“I
wasn’t here for very long before they came,” Randall said. “I made it about
this far and then they appeared.”

Sam
looked around them and then scanned the higher portions of the cavern. “I don’t
see anyone. Maybe they’re waiting for us to make the next move?”

“Dr.
Randall,” George said, “these creatures you saw, what did they look like?”

Randall
didn’t have to think long before conjuring the image in his mind. “They were
very small, had no body hair whatsoever, their skin was milky-colored, and they
had no discernable mouths.”

George
recoiled at the description. Once again, the incredulous look appeared on his
face, only this time, it vanished rather quickly. Apparently, his mind was
adjusting to this new reality.

“Wait
a minute, you said earlier that you had a conversation with them, but how’s
that possible if they didn’t have mouths?” George asked.

“I
didn’t say I had a conversation with them. I said I communicated with them or,
to be more accurate, they communicated with me.”

“How?”

Randall
felt a sense of frustration growing, but he quickly realized just how foreign
this must be for George. He settled himself and then explained his theory.
“George, we’re talking about a much more advanced species than humans. If you
accept that fact, then the next part is easier.”

George
nodded in agreement.

“My
theory is that these creatures come from a civilization much older than our
own. As a result, they have been evolving for much longer than humans. At one
point, they may have communicated the same way we do, with the spoken word.
Over the course of time, as their intellect increased, certain parts of their
brains also evolved and they developed the ability to communicate without
speaking.”

“So
you’re saying they communicated telepathically?”

“Right.
At some point in their evolution, their species simply developed or discovered
how to communicate without the need to speak.”

“But
they communicated with you, so does that mean that humans possess the same
ability?”

Randall
stopped for a moment, looking perplexed. “I hadn’t thought about it that way,
but yes, you’re right. I guess humans do have the ability.” Again more thought.
“They might be more physiologically similar to us than I had originally
thought. They clearly have a similar anatomical structure: a head, torso, arms,
and legs. Since I was able to communicate with them, their brains must be
similar to ours as well.”

“Do
you realize what this means?” Sam asked.

“Yes,
we could be seeing what the human species will evolve into some day. I wonder
if their physical size also decreased as their mental powers grew. That would
be a big advantage to a growing civilization. Smaller physical size means fewer
resources are needed to sustain life.”

“Can
you imagine the things they could teach us? I would love to talk with them
about engineering!” George said.

Sam
could see that the fear and doubt that George had once held had been replaced
by excitement. He looked like a kid staring at a big stack of presents on
Christmas morning. It reminded her of how her father looked when he developed a
new theory and found supporting evidence. She smiled. George and her father
seemed to be really hitting it off now.

“Uh
guys, sorry to interrupt, but we’re running out of time.”

“You’re
right. Sorry, I got a little carried away,” Randall said.

Surveying
Vilcabamba
, Randall spoke again. “I think this city
is laid out in the same manner as
Paititi
. It’s just
much bigger.”

“That
explains why it feels so familiar. But
the artwork looks
different
,
it’s more intricate
. What do we do
next?”

“If
the layout is the same as the jungle city, then we need to go over there,”
Randall said, pointing to a large structure sitting atop a huge staircase.

“Right,
the map room! Dad, there was a missing tablet in
Paititi
,
was it there when you went?”

“No,
it was gone, but the Chief told me that it was the tablet that spoke of the
key.”

“And
now we have the key and understand what it’s for. If the tablet tells us where
to use it, we should be able to stop
Dumond
.”

Sam
was excited now. She began sprinting; George and her father followed behind.
Soon they were at the base of the stairs leading to the map room.

“Holy
smokes! This thing is a lot bigger up close. That’s a lot of steps!” George
commented.

“Yep,
and they’re not going anywhere, so let’s keep moving,” Sam replied.

The
three walked up the steps and stopped near the middle. Sam once again turned to
take in the view of the city. “Amazing,” she said under her breath. From their
vantage, the city swept away in all directions in gentle curving circles. The
symmetry of the layout of the buildings and streets that populated the city was
perfect. Even more surprising was that from their high
perch,
Sam could see shapes inlaid in the streets and structures that could not be seen
from the ground. There were animals and even humanoid shapes that the builders
had surreptitiously incorporated into the city’s design.
Shapes
that could only be seen from an elevated platform.

Randall
soon caught up with his daughter and was happy for the short respite. In spite
of his exercise regimen, he felt his age finally creeping up on him. George was
also
winded,
his engineer body not accustomed to this
much physical exertion. Sam, not wanting to hurt either of their feelings,
waited a few extra minutes, pretending to look around at the scenery.

“It
feels hot in here, even hotter than it was in the tunnel,” Sam commented.

“The
magma’s getting
closer to the surface. This volcano is
getting ready to erupt,” Randall replied.

“That’s
a happy thought.” George had finally caught up to them.

Sam
smiled. “We better keep going.”

The
view from the map room was unlike anything they had ever seen. As the highest
point in the city, the entire kingdom came into view. Beautiful structures
filled the vista in every direction. Enormous stone monuments, intricately
carved, adorned the city and balanced carefully upon smaller structures that
lifted them skyward. What had appeared as grids from lower could now be seen as
concentric circles, radiating outward from the center of the
city.
At the center of the town was a smaller, non-descript domed structure, which
glowed with a strange bluish-gray color. The symmetry was perfect. Sam strained
her eyes, staring toward the dome. She wasn’t sure if the light was playing
tricks with her eyes, but a fine bright beam seemed to emanate from the center
of the dome, spanning to the very top of the cavern.

“Admiring
the view?”

“It’s
incredible! I know I keep saying that, but I don’t know how else to describe
it.”

“Just
imagine
,
this is a window into a different species.
Their culture and history is laid out in front of us. And best of all, we don’t
have to theorize about how they lived. We’re seeing it first-hand. Just think
of everything they can teach us. This could be the end of war, disease, and
poverty. Things will never be the same for humanity.”

“Yes,
it is quite impressive, but I didn’t come here for the view,” said a familiar
voice.

Sam
and Randall turned to see
Dumond
and his men, weapons
drawn.

“You
son of a bitch!” Randall said, taking a few steps in
Dumond’s
direction.

“It’s
good to see you too, Dr. Randall,”
Dumond
replied as
Colonel
Ackers
stepped forward, pointing his gun
directly at the approaching professor.

“Just
give me a reason,”
Ackers
sneered.

“How
in the Hell did you find us?” Sam asked.

“You
didn’t really think you could just sneak into my compound without me knowing
and make off with my prized possession, did you? Speaking of which, who has my
medallion?”

“You
bastard, you killed Mike and Phil!”
Randall said, fists
clenched in rage.

“They
just got in my way, Professor, it was nothing personal.”

Taking
the box containing the medallion from Sam,
Dumond
opened a compartment and removed a small item, not much larger than a grain of
rice.

“RFID
device, goddamn it,” Randall said. “Okay,
Dumond
, you
have the medallion, you know where the map room is. If you let Sam go, I’ll
help you figure out how the key works.”

“Professor,
do you really think I’m that stupid? I can’t take a chance on leaving any loose
ends. Besides, you’re in no position to bargain with me.”
Dumond
nodded his head in Sam’s direction as one of the soldiers came forward and
grabbed her by the arm, poking his gun into her side.