The Vilcabamba Prophecy: A Nick Randall Novel (3 page)

CHAPTER SIX

It was
mid-afternoon, and the sun was bright as Sam exited the plane into the airport.
Passengers streamed through the terminal and into the arms of loved ones
waiting for them. As she looked around, it took her only a moment to spot the
sign with her name.

“Hello,
Professor,” the man holding the sign said, as she approached. “I will be
driving you to the University of Lima to meet Dr. Andrade.”

“Thank
you, but I need to make a stop before we go to the campus. Can you take me to
the
Banco
de la
Nación
?”

“Of
course, Doctor, but
may
I ask why? Dr. Andrade is very
anxious to see you.”

“I
need to exchange money for this trip. In my rush to get here, I forgot to, before
I got on the plane in D.C.”

“But
they have this service here at the airport. Can you just exchange it here?” The
driver pointed out the obvious to Sam.

“I
would feel better doing it at a bank. I know it sounds funny, but my father
always taught me to go where the locals conduct their business.”

“Of
course, Doctor, I’m at your service. May I take your bags?”

“Thank
you.”

The
trip to the bank was a short,
seven minute
drive,
directly along Av Javier Prado Este. They passed through an area that was a
mixture of commercial buildings intermingled with open space. Having never been
to Lima before, Sam enjoyed the view as they sped past the
Parque
Pallardelli
. Sam’s driver pulled up to the bank and
opened the door for her. “Do you need help with translation?”

“No,
thank you,” Sam said. “My Spanish is pretty good, and I’m looking forward to
getting more practice.”

She
exited the car and stepped out into the street, which was packed with people
milling about. The business district of Lima was much like any other major
metropolitan area with large buildings lining each side of the road.
Business men
and women wearing suits and skirts walked down
the sidewalks conversing about the latest office gossip and big deals they were
working on.

To
the right of the car, she saw the bank her father had referred to in his
letter. The bank was concrete and glass, built in a very utilitarian fashion.
Sam entered the front door and walked up to the business teller.

“
Hola
,
cómo
pueda
le
ayudo
?” The teller asked, greeting Sam and
inquiring how she could help her.

“Hi,
I need your help with a safety deposit box.” Sam held out the key from her
father’s letter.

“You’re
American, okay.” The teller switched to English. “Is this the key to your box?”

“Yes,
and I would like to get it, please.” Sam’s outward calmness belied her
nervousness.

The
teller typed away at a keyboard and her expression changed to a more somber
look.

“According
to our records, this box belongs to Dr. Nicholas Randall. Do you have ID?”

“Of
course.” Sam fished her license out of her purse. “Dad asked me to pick it up
for him. I’m on my way to meet him at the University.” Sam handed the ID to the
teller, who looked momentarily confused.

“Is
there a problem?”

“No,
this is fine,” the teller said, handing the card back to Sam. “Come this way.”
She motioned to Sam to follow her to the back of the bank where the safety
deposit boxes were located. The two walked down a long flight of stairs. To
Sam, it had the distinct feeling of walking deep into the catacombs of an
underground tomb. The lack of windows only fueled the feeling.

At
the bottom of the stairs, there was a locked gate. The teller unlocked it, and
both women walked in. The room’s walls were comprised of rectangular boxes,
some large and some small. The teller stopped in front of the box Sam was
looking for. “This is your safety deposit container. Just push the buzzer when
you’re done.”

Sam
set the box down on the counter and took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing.”

When
she opened the box, her eyes quickly caught sight of it: a
hard-bound
leather notebook.
Her father’s journal.
She lifted it
gingerly from the box and opened it, flipping through the pages. There were
notes, diagrams, and maps all written and drawn in her father’s handwriting.
She unzipped her backpack and slipped the book into the main compartment.
Thinking that the box was now empty, she had begun to close it when something
caught her eye. Re-opening it, she found a beautiful necklace inside. It was on
a thick-linked golden chain, which was looped through an intricately carved
medallion. She picked it up and looked at it more closely. Her eyes were
immediately drawn to the outside of the medallion, which had unevenly spaced
notches around them. She ran her fingers over them, noting their squared ends.
She then observed strange writing on its outer edge, circling it in a band much
like the writing on a coin. Sam had never seen writing like this before. She
looked toward the middle of the medallion. There was a square box with a round
jewel in the middle. The box was comprised of small rectangles stacked upon
each other like a wall. It reminded Sam of the all-seeing eye on the back of a
one-dollar bill. The jewel was a beautiful light blue and seemed to be inset
into the wall.

She
slipped the medallion into her backpack, closed the box, and rang the buzzer.
In a short time, the teller reappeared.

“Can
I be of further assistance?”

“No,
I’m done, thank you.”

Back
in the University’s car, Sam thought about her dad’s journal and the strange
medallion. Was it a gift? Sam dismissed the notion. Clearly the medallion
played a role in the research her dad had been doing, but what was it for? Was
there a hidden message in the writing? Who had it belonged to and where had he
found it? It was like a big puzzle, and not only did Sam not know where the
pieces went, she didn’t even know what pieces she had and which were missing.

 
“Here we are, Dr. Randall.” The driver’s
voice seemed to be speaking to her from another dimension. “Dr. Andrade is
waiting inside for you.”

Samantha
looked up the steps of the main administration building and was impressed by
the structure. It appeared to be quite old and had been constructed with neatly
carved stone blocks. The design was clearly an example of
old
Spanish architecture and was unlike anything Sam had seen back home. She walked
up the steps and opened the heavy wooden door.

Francisco
was standing in the hallway speaking to a young lady wearing glasses when he
saw Sam.

“Samantha!”
Francisco wrapped her in a big bear hug. He was a large man, six-foot-two and a
bit bigger in the waist then the last time she had seen him. “It’s so good to
see you!”

“Thanks,
Francisco, it’s good to see you, too. You haven’t changed a bit,” Sam lied. Age
had clearly impacted Francisco. Aside from putting on a few pounds, his hair
was gray and thinning. He also had deep wrinkles on his forehead, undoubtedly
from years of stress caused by supporting her father’s unpopular theories. He
really had been good to her dad, and he had clearly paid a price for supporting
her father’s unusual hypotheses.

“Thank
you, dear. You must be tired after your flight. Let’s get your bags and sit
down and talk. Domingo, please get Dr. Randall’s bags and bring them to my
office.”

“Of
course, Dr. Andrade.” Domingo smiled kindly.

“My
office is this way, Samantha.”

Francisco
led her down the ornate marble hallway into a spacious office decorated with
exotic relics from around the world. Francisco had a beautiful mahogany desk,
which appeared to be hand-carved by a master craftsman. It must have been worth
a small fortune. Apparently, being the Vice President of Academic Affairs for
the University had its privileges.

“How
was your flight?” Francisco asked.

“It
was good, but a little long. Francisco, what happened to my dad?” Samantha
wasn’t wasting any time with small talk.

Francisco
took a deep breath and sighed. His dark brown eyes looked deeply into Sam’s. “Sam,
what do you know about your dad’s research?”

“I
know that he was trying to prove his alternate theory of human technological
development in this area. I know that he made multiple trips here over several
years to study a tribe in the jungle. He had been trying to find some temple in
the jungle that he believed held the key to proving his theory and that he had
finally convinced the elders to take him to the temple.”

“You
have most of the story, Sam, but you’re missing a few big pieces. Your dad
probably didn’t go into detail about the tribe, did he?”

Sam
drew her head back, confused by Francisco’s statement.

“What
about the tribe?”

Francisco
looked squarely into Sam’s eyes.

“A
wealthy donor provided funding for your dad to conduct research on a local tribe
not far from here. He had made several visits to them and was hoping to learn
more about their ancestry.”

“Who
was the donor and why was he interested in my dad’s research?”

“I
don’t know, Sam. He, or she, wanted to remain anonymous, but whoever it was
believed in your father.”

“Go
on.”

“There
was something special about the tribe. They were very unique, physically.”

Sam
cocked her head to the side; she wasn’t sure what was coming next.

“The
tribe is known as the
Capanhuaco
, and your father was
the first person to meet them. They are about four feet tall and they have
abnormally large, close-set eyes. Their noses are also different, very small,
almost nothing more than two slits in the front of their faces. And they have
larger than average heads. For the size of their bodies, their head size is off
the chart. We had a doctor confidentially examine a few of the
Capanhuaco
, and their internal organs are fairly similar to
our own, except that their lungs are larger than ours. He wasn’t sure why, but
he believed that this allows them to spend large amounts of time underwater or
in areas that are not well ventilated.”

“What
has this got to do with what happened to Dad?” Sam asked.

 
“The ruins that your father was searching
for are sacred to the
Capanhuaco
, and outsiders are
expressly forbidden from entering them. According to legend, their ancestors
foretold of a Great Reunification with their brethren living deep within the
mountain. When this event occurs, the two tribes will unify and travel together
back to their ancient homeland. According to the prophecy, the Great
Reunification will be announced by the physical upheaval of the land that will
grow so
enormous,
it will eventually destroy the
underground city and the
Capanhuaco’s
home,
Paititi
. About two years ago, earthquakes started occurring
in the region where the tribe lives. They have become more frequent and now
they are a daily occurrence,
sometimes happening
two
or three times a day. Your father believes it’s a sign that the Great
Reunification is nearly at hand.”

Sam
listened intently, watching Francisco’s eyes for signs he might be lying. He
wasn’t.

 
“We’re not sure why, but the tribe needs
someone’s help to make the prophecy come true. Without this help, the
Reunification can never take place. That’s the reason they agreed to take your
father to the ruins. We believe the
Capanhuaco
have
taken your father to the entrance of
Vilcabamba
.
According to the stories they shared, their ancestors had an exceptionally
advanced technological society. Everything about them defies conventional human
development theory. They were far too advanced for their time in history,
having built a huge underground civilization with roads, large buildings,
heating and … even lighting.”

“Excuse
me?”

Francisco
pursed his lips and let out a deep sigh. “Based on discussions with the elders,
the underground city had electricity.”