The Vilcabamba Prophecy: A Nick Randall Novel (27 page)

Pulling himself
to his feet, Randall made his best attempt at running back down the tunnel
toward where he had left
Ackers’s
body. As he drew
nearer to the magma, its heat increased dramatically. Using his light, Randall
tried to see if the side tunnel was exposed. He couldn’t tell from this
distance, so he kept running, the heat getting more and more unbearable.
Another earthquake struck and again he was thrown about like a rag doll.

The dust was
palpable, covering the inside of his mouth with a fine layer each time he
inhaled. If there were a hell, this was surely it. Randall fumbled for his
light, which had tumbled to the ground when he had fallen. He stopped looking
;
no time for that. He felt his way in the darkness, the
soft glow of the magma producing the only light in the tunnel. Blind and
fumbling in the dark, Randall could not tell if the side tunnel was there. Only
that the magma was getting closer and he was quickly running out of real
estate. He estimated that the magma was a mere twenty to thirty feet away now;
his face felt like it was burning, and his clothes seemed ready to ignite.
Still no side tunnel.
He groped onward, feeling both sides
of the tunnel for any sign of an opening. He could no longer take the heat. He
had to go back.

Randall slid
his hand one last time where he thought the opening should be. At first, he
wasn’t sure, but then he felt a gap in the stony wall. It wasn’t as big as
before. Randall surmised that falling rocks must have partially sealed it, but
the opening was big enough to allow him to pass through. With the remaining
strength in his body, Randall pulled himself up and through the opening. Once
on the other side, he realized that he was not as hot anymore. The fallen rock
acting as an insulator had kept this side of the tunnel cooler for now. Rising
to his feet, Randall’s arms felt ragged and burned from rubbing against the
rocky surface.

He continued to
feel his way through the dark and move onward through the tunnel. He had gone
several feet when he tripped and fell to the ground. He had fallen over
Ackers’s
body. Suddenly, a thought gripped him:
Ackers
might have something useful to help him get out.
Overcoming his natural instinct to move away from the dead corpse, Randall
searched through his pockets. He found a small cylindrical item in his cargo
pocket. “Please let it
be
a light.” It was. Randall rummaged
through the other pockets and found a knife, a compass, a canteen, and a final
item that produced a sense of both hope and foreboding.
An
explosive device.
At least that’s what it appeared to be.

Randall’s
thoughts raced wildly. If he could get back down the main tunnel, he might be
able to blast his way through the fallen rocks. Moving quickly, he ran back to
the opening that he had gone through only minutes before. The magma was almost
directly below him. He had about eight feet before it covered the opening. The
heat was devastating and Randall had to pull back before being overwhelmed.
It was too hot
,
he couldn’t go back over
.
He breathed deeply and realized what he had to do.

Moving quickly,
he returned to
Ackers’s
side and removed the soldier’s
shirt. Dousing it with water, Randall cut it into three pieces. He then made
two holes in the largest piece, wrapping it around his face. The two remaining
pieces were used to make coverings for both hands. Rising to his feet, he
quickly climbed back to the opening. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath,
and pushed himself over and through the rocky opening. Randall landed
upside-down, his hands on the ground holding him like he was trying to do
military-style pushups against the rocky wall. His left hand closest to the
magma felt like fire. He quickly pushed off and fell sideways away from the
magma. Tearing the shirt from his face, he raced back toward the blocked
opening.

“Sam, Phil, can
you hear me!”

“Dad, is that
you?
 
We can hear you. Are you okay?
What happened?”

“I’m going to
blow an opening in the tunnel. Move away from the entrance and let me know when
you’re back!”

Phil grabbed
Sam and pulled her away, screaming, “Go, Dr. Randall, go!”

Randall,
holding the device in his hand, depressed a small button that read
Arm Device
. A small green light
immediately began blinking, first slowly, then more quickly. Randall realized
that it was time delayed, but had no idea how long. He raced as close to the
magma as he dared, dropped to the ground, and covered his head and neck as best
he could.

The explosion
rocked the cavern, sending rocks flying wildly through the air. Randall looked
up and saw the most wonderful sight he could have imagined. Daylight! Jumping
up, he ran as quickly as his damaged body could manage, exiting the tunnel to
safety. Exhausted, he fell to the ground.

Chapter thirty-six

“Dad, you made it!” Sam ran over
to her father, kneeling down to see if he was all right. Slowly, Randall opened
his eyes and looked at his daughter. He grinned broadly.

“Good to see
you, kiddo. Wasn’t completely sure if I ever would again.
Phil,
good to see you, too.
Where’s George?”

“He’s okay,
he’s right over there,” Phil said, pointing in George’s direction. Clearly in
pain, George waved back to Randall. Randall lifted a tired hand in
acknowledgement.

“Well, we’re
still not out of the proverbial frying pan. This volcano is going to blow its
top and we need to find a way to get out of here,” Randall said, looking at his
watch. There were only a few minutes left in the countdown to
Misti’s
eruption.

“Dad, what
happened with you and
Ackers
?”

“Let’s just say
that
Ackers
won’t be bothering us again and leave it
at that.”

“Did you kill
him, Dr. R?”

Randall looked
his graduate student in the eye and nodded. Phil stuck out is hand to help his
professor back to his feet. Randall grasped hold and pulled himself up.

“What do we do
now?” Phil asked.

As Randall
pondered the question, a strange noise appeared in the distance. They all
turned to look. Sam was the first to spot the source of the noise.

“Is that a
helicopter?” Sam asked.

 
“It looks like it’s coming our way. Phil,
help me get George. If this is one of
Ackers’s
men,
we’re in big trouble. I hate to say it, but if the bullets start flying we’ll
need to go back into the tunnel.” Randall winced internally at the thought of
going back in, but it was the only shelter they had. He and Phil hoisted George
to his feet, supporting him one under each shoulder.

The helicopter
approached like a large sullen bird, arcing slowly over the earth toward them.
Within a minute it was hovering yards away from them, hanging menacingly in the
sky.

“Get ready to
run,” Randall warned the group.

“This is Dr.
Tom
Reinsdorf
from the United States Geological
Survey. This is an active volcano site and we expect eruption at any moment.
Are you in need of assistance?” The voice rang out like the voice of God from
above. The group nodded and waived them down. “We’re unable to land here. Stand
by.” Tom looked around the cabin of the helicopter and had an idea. “Jesse,
what’s the capacity of that cable we use to haul the sonar unit?”

“It’s rated to
2,000 pounds, why? You’re not thinking of pulling those folks up on that, are
you?”

“Do you have a
better idea?”

Jesse thought
for a moment and glanced at the ticking time bomb beneath them. Reluctantly, he
shook his head. “Okay, there’s a safety harness in the side of the bay. You
need to detach the sonar unit and hook the safety harness on the carabineer
instead. We can lower the harness and haul them up one at a time. There’s a
toggle in the bay that operates the hoist. You got all that?”

“What about the
injured guy?” Tom asked.

“Sorry, he’s
going to have to deal with it if he wants to get out of here.”

Tom keyed the
mike again. “We’re going to lower a cable and safety harness to you on the
ground. You’ll have to strap in and we’ll haul you up one at a time. If you
understand that, give me a thumbs up.” Four thumbs quickly popped into the air.

Tom maneuvered
his way to the cargo bay of the helicopter. Just as Jesse had instructed, he
found the harness and swapped it in place of the towed sonar unit. Opening the
side bay door, he released the harness and cable,
then
lowered them slowly to the ground.

“Sam, you
first!” Randall yelled above the din of the helicopter.

“No, we have to
get George up first, he’s hurt,” Sam protested.

“No, Sam, you
need to go first. I’ll be fine,” George answered.

Sam decided it
would be a waste of time to argue. Grasping the hanging harness, she strapped
herself in and gave a thumbs-up to the figure standing in the helicopter bay.
In a moment, she was slowly moving up and into the sky, her feet dangling
toward the earth. The ascent was slow but steady, and Sam slowly rotated as the
splayed cable fed back onto the spool. For a moment, she marveled at the
incredible view, but her thoughts quickly turned to the others. She was
concerned about getting everyone else safely into the helicopter and wished the
winch would retrieve her more quickly. Finally, she arrived at the opening of
the bay. An enormous man was standing there waiting for her. Before she could
even think to speak, he reached out with a huge hand and grabbed the harness,
hauling her into the helicopter.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. We
need to hurry and get the rest of them in,” Sam said, removing the harness as
she spoke so as not to waste precious time.

The harness
began its second journey down. This time, Phil and Randall strapped George in.
He protested, saying it wasn’t fair and that Phil or Randall should go, but
they ignored his pleas. Once safely attached, Randall gave the thumbs-up sign
again and George was whisked into the waiting chopper.

Randall and
Phil looked at each other. “You next, Dr. Randall.”

Randall shook
his head. “No way, Phil, you’re going next. I got you into this mess so it’s my
responsibility to get you out.”

“But …”

“There’s no
discussion. Here, I’ll help you get the harness on.” Randall swung the harness
around the back of his graduate student, who stood helplessly as his professor
strapped him in first. A sudden jolt came from the ground as the earth heaved
once more, knocking Randall and Phil off balance. Phil, partially strapped into
the harness, was flung to the side, half of his body in the harness, the other
half dangling out. Tom didn’t wait, hitting the toggle switch; he pulled Phil
up to the chopper, while the student hung on for dear life. Once he was safely
aboard, Tom began lowering the harness a final time. As he did, he heard Jesse
yelling.

“They’re back,
Tom, we need to get the hell out of here!”

Gunfire once
again raked the air around the Sikorsky. The group looked out the back of the
helicopter to see the combat helicopter barreling down out of the sky toward
them. Time was short.

“The harness
hasn’t reached the ground yet.”

“Well you
better hurry, that guy’s coming fast! If he hits us with that Gatling gun,
we’re dead meat!”

Randall glanced
at his
watch,
the eruption was less than a minute
away. He stared up at the
cable which
crawled toward
the ground, seeming to move in slow motion. Finally, the harness reached him.

The combat
helicopter had closed half the remaining distance to the Sikorsky. Tom picked
up the speaker again. “On the ground, grab the harness now!” Randall complied,
climbing as best he could into the harness.

“Hang on
everyone.”

Before he could
fully strap in, the helicopter lifted into the sky, with Randall dangling
helplessly from the end of the cable. The helicopter skimmed the uneven and now
collapsing surface of
Misti
as the timer on Randall’s
watch began to beep. A loud rumbling sound came from deep within the mountain
as lava spewed forth from the tunnel and other fissures which had developed in
the side of
Misti
. Randall took a deep breath,
relieved that there was no large explosion from the volcano, theorizing that
the huge opening in which
Vilcabamba
resided must
have provided space for most of the force of the volcano to disperse.

His relief was
short lived. The pursuing combat chopper was quickly closing the gap, and its
pilot seemed hell bent on using them for target practice. Jesse banked their
copter hard to the right to try and evade their pursuers. The force of the turn
sent the passengers summersaulting across the cabin of the Sikorsky, only
stopping when they reached a hard surface. The force of the turn knocked Tom
away from the cable toggle, causing Randall’s upward motion to stop. Struggling
to his feet, Tom lurched back to the controls, trying desperately to get his
final passenger into the relative safety of the helicopter cabin. More bullets
sprayed the air around them, several finding purchase in the tail section of
the Sikorsky. Sheet metal tore away as the bullets ripped through the rear of
the helicopter like a heated knife through butter.

A veteran
military pilot with multiple tours of duty in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Jesse
was no stranger to being shot at and his response was immediate: a hard banking
move to the left. Once again the passengers were thrown about the open back of
the helicopter, each one experiencing the nauseating sensation of seeing at one
moment the side of the helicopter, then the floor, followed by the ceiling.
Rinse and repeat.

“Grab
something!” Tom yelled, clinging to the handrail as he fought gravity trying to
pull him out of the open door of the helicopter.

George, nearly
delirious from the pain, grasped the edge of the seat he had been placed into.
Sam managed to grab a section of webbing used to secure items to the side of
the chopper. Phil wasn’t so fortunate. Grasping wildly at any secure item
within reach, he tumbled toward the open helicopter door.

“Jesse!” was
the only word Tom could manage to get out. The pilot, realizing the situation,
banked again to the right as Phil continued his death tumble. Reaching the
opening, Phil’s legs were the first to make their exit from the Sikorsky, his
body dropping like a lead weight tossed from the side of a building. Tom
grasped desperately at him as he floated helplessly by him and out the door.

“Phil! Sam
screamed.

Phil was
shocked at how quiet his mind had become. Falling out the door, he was consumed
by the raucous noise of both the thumping of the helicopter blades and the
sudden rush of wind by his ears. He had the sensation of moving very slowly,
like a person trying to run away from some unforeseen danger in a dream. He
tumbled downward with nothing to arrest his fall. He felt a tug, an impact with
something hard and his fall suddenly stopped. In a stunned state, he turned his
head to the side and was greeted by a familiar sight. Professor Randall had
caught him.

During the course
of the helicopter’s aerial acrobatics, Randall had swung back and forth under
the Sikorsky like a pendulum. Fortunately for Phil, his final arc had placed
him directly under the open door when Phil fell out. Randall simply hooked the
falling graduate student as he fell past him, each of them suffering little
more than a few bumps and bruises.

“I’ve got you!”
was all Phil could make out over the din of wind and helicopter propeller
noise.

Tom scrambled
to his feet, trying to regain his balance. Jamming himself between a
wall-mounted seat and the frame of the aircraft, he steadied himself and hit
the toggle switch for the cable. The winch slowly returned to life, steadily
retrieving the precious cargo at the end of the cable. The wind played havoc
with Randall and his now added cargo. The two were tossed about as the cable
slowly wound its way back into the dipping and diving helicopter. Randall
looked up to find the helicopter slowly growing in size as they drew nearer.
With the cable spinning, Randall glanced behind the Sikorsky when he faced that
direction. He immediately regretted doing so. There in the sky behind them was
the imposing silhouette of another helicopter. Randall suddenly realized why
their helicopter was zigzagging so madly.

“
Dumond
,” he said out loud, realizing that they had not seen
the last of the crazed industrialist. As he watched helplessly, he witnessed
small bursts of flame jetting out from a gun mounted under the belly of
Dumond’s
helicopter. He needed no help realizing that they
were being shot at, and he and Phil were as exposed as newborns on the day they
arrived on this earth. He heard whizzing sounds like angry hornets pass within
inches of his lower extremities. “Come on, hurry and get us up!”

“They’re still
there. Were you ever able to reach the control tower to report what happened?”
Tom asked over the intercom, still holding the toggle to retrieve Randall and
Phil.