Pyramid of the Ancients Page 6

  Tendrils of disappointment quickly worked their way through the crowd. So many hours of work, so much effort, and they still had nothing to show for it. Rebecca glanced over at Jeffrey and saw that his left hand was resting against his forehead. Next to him, Lisa appeared to be offering words of encouragement while Jerome placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

  As she stood watching them, trying to decide whether to go over and offer her own consolation, one of the techs came walking up at a brisk pace. “Dr. Eisenberg, Mr. Nielson, Colonel Mellic would like to speak to you immediately.”

  “Of course,” Dr. Eisenberg sighed. “Tell him we are on our way.”

  Mack’s facial expression clearly reflected his puzzlement. “I don’t get it, Doc. Did we miss something, or do you think it is a tech issue?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure Colonel Mellic wants us pouring over the journals one more time just to make sure.” Turning to face Rebecca, the professor said, “I know you have had a rough trip, and it looks like it may be a long night for us. There is a cot set aside for you in tent B8. Why don’t you turn in, and we’ll talk in the morning?”

  A sudden weariness stole over her body as if the doctor’s words had somehow caused it to manifest itself. “Thank you, Doc. I appreciate it.”

  “Good night, Rebecca,” he said with a smile.

  “Good night, both of you,” she said, waving to them as they departed.

  Once they had left, Rebecca looked briefly for Jeffrey. But as she expected, he was already long gone. Retrieving her bags from the jeep, she headed off towards B8 and located the tent without any problem. Finding her cot, she dropped her bags unceremoniously onto the floor and lay down wearily on the hard mattress. Despite her tiredness, she found it difficult to sleep. Too much had happened, and too many unanswered questions were still floating around inside her mind. Finally, after trying to sleep—unsuccessfully—for several hours, she got up, put on a pair of jeans and a navy blue T-shirt with a Marines logo on the sleeve, grabbed her black leather jacket, and stepped out into the crisp night air to clear her head.

  As she walked, she began to pray softly, her prayers vanishing into the night along with the vapor caused by her warm breath on the cool night air. She passed several guards dutifully patrolling the grounds, as well as several civilians, but for the most part, the camp was quiet. If they were still working to fix the ship, there was no sign of it above ground.

  Lord, what am I doing here? Rebecca prayed, her eyes drifting upward to rest on the panorama of stars stretched across the night sky. Give me wisdom and help me say and do the right things. With all that’s going on, how am I going to find a minute to talk with Jeffrey? If only… Without even realizing it, Rebecca had been walking toward the entrance to the dig site. Much to her surprise, Jeffrey opened the door and began walking down the path to her left.

  Without even thinking, she called out softly. “Jeffrey.”

  He stopped and turned in her direction, squinting to see in the dim night lights of the compound. “Who is it?”

  She took a step toward him, allowing one of the area lights to shine on her face. As recognition set in, Jeffrey’s head drooped immediately and his shoulders slumped. Letting out a defeated sigh, he spoke, his voice taking on an edge of weariness. “Look, Becky, I…I really don’t feel like talking right now. It has been a long, trying day. I just want to go to bed.”

  What is wrong with him? Am I that much of a burden? Rebecca struggled against the pain and anger that threatened to rise up within her. “I didn’t mean to bother you; I was…I am just concerned,” she said with uncertainty. “How is everything with the…the ship? Did they find out what the problem was?”

  “No. Nobody has a clue,” Jeffrey answered, frustration evident in his voice. “Why are you still awake, anyway?”

  “I…I couldn’t sleep,” she said truthfully. “I was…I am worried.”

  Jeffrey, sensing what was next, tried to cut her off. “Becky, not tonight. I—”

  “—Jeffrey, please,” she blurted out, losing her inward battle for control as she stepped closer to him. “I need to know what’s going on with you.”

  She half expected him to deny that anything was wrong and ask her what she was talking about. Instead, he just stared at her for a few moments in silence. Then, resigning himself to his fate with a heavy sigh, he said, “What…where do you think those creatures down there came from?”

  “Don’t try to dodge the issue—”

  “I’m not,” Jeffrey added quickly. “I just…your answer is important.”

  She studied his face skeptically, trying to figure out how her answer could possibly have anything to do with their relationship. Finally giving up, she answered him simply. “I don’t know what I believe yet. This is all so new, and I need more time to study the evidence.”

  Jeffrey wasn’t satisfied with her answer; his expression told her so as clearly as if he had spoken the words aloud. “Yes, but do you believe they are aliens?”

  Rebecca paused to consider how to best phrase her response. “You know I don’t believe in evolution,” she said. “Therefore, I don’t believe that life can evolve on other planets. If they are aliens, then they had to be created by God, and I just don’t believe, based on their appearance, that God would create anything so…I don’t know…vile.”

  “If they’re not aliens, then how do you explain them and the ship, and the language?” Jeffrey asked.

  “I don’t know,” Rebecca said, beginning to lose her patience at his persistence. “I’ve been thinking a lot about it, but I need to do some research. It’s possible that these are some of the ancestors of the half-human, soulless beings that lived about fifty thousand years ago, before God created Adam and Eve. Their bone structure, particularly their cranial shape, does match those of some of the australopithecine fossils.”

  Jeffrey stared at her as if she had just gone mad. “Listen to you! I can’t believe you really believe that garbage! You talk as if Adam and Eve were real people. They weren’t. It’s just an old Jewish myth. It’s not real history. And why would God make half-humans before Adam? Was He just practicing? The Rebecca I knew would never believe such bunk.”

  Before she could even think of a defense, he continued, as if an emotional dam had burst. “Look, I don’t know what happened to you on that planet, but whatever dream or vision you had, that is no reason to give up on science and logic. I refuse to accept things on blind faith. Unlike you, I can’t just check my brain at the door to the church.”

  Stung by his words, Rebecca initially felt her face flush in shame. However, something in her spirit rose up, causing her flush to darken further in conviction. “No, you’re wrong. Your beliefs are still based on faith, just like mine. This is not a religion-versus-science issue. It is worldview versus worldview, and interpretation versus interpretation. The question is: Which of our faiths is best supported by the facts? Your faith is in men’s fallible theories that change all the time. My faith is in a God who never changes, who has been there since before the beginning of time.”

  Jeffrey remained silent for several seconds, allowing Rebecca’s words to hang in the air. “Rebecca…you wanted to know what’s ‘wrong’ with me, but the truth is that it’s not something wrong with me, but rather what’s wrong with you. I am the same person I’ve always been since we met. But you have changed. How…how can we make a relationship work when we don’t have the same beliefs or…? We barely even have anything in common anymore.”

  The weight of Jeffrey’s words crushed Rebecca’s spirit. Oh, God. No. Please don’t let it be so. “Jeffrey…what…what are you saying?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

  “I’m saying that…that I think maybe it would be best if we just went our separate ways.”

  The pressure on her chest, although brought about by her mental stress, manifested itself physically by constricting her breathing. Turning away from him, she hugged herself, as much to ward off the chill of the ev
ening air as to hold together the fractured pieces of her heart.

  Jeffrey, seeing her distress, ran his hand absentmindedly through his hair as he searched for words. “What kind of life could we really have together?” he asked. “Isn’t marriage supposed to be about sharing your dreams and desires? Isn’t that what real intimacy is all about? We would never truly be a part of the other person’s world because each of our worlds is based on completely different foundations.” Uncomfortable with the silence and not knowing what else to do, Jeffrey continued. “This way, we can each find someone who shares our same interests and goals. Someone who could fulfill us…make us whole. Someone who could fill the emptiness in our hearts.”

  Rebecca shook her head as hot tears slid down her cheeks. Staring at the ground, she said sadly, “No, Jeffrey. No person on this earth can truly fill that emptiness. There’s only One who could do that.”

  “I’m sorry, Rebecca,” Jeffrey replied softly. “We’ve just grown apart. It’s time to begin a new chapter of our lives. At least we don’t have any children to complicate things.”

  A soft moan escaped from Rebecca’s lips and she sank to the ground. Wrapping her arms tightly around her bent legs, she put her head between her knees and began to weep softly.

  “Becky, I…I…” Jeffrey said, realizing his thoughtless words had only driven the knife deeper into her heart. “I didn’t mean…”

  “Just go away,” came her muffled reply. “Please.”

  Not knowing what else to do or say, Jeffrey simply stood motionless. Finally, repeating to himself over and over that this was for the best, he turned and started walking away. Before he had taken more than half a dozen steps, he felt his phone vibrating in its belt clip. Mechanically, he reached down, unclipped it, and raised it to his ear. “What is it, Mack?” he asked numbly.

  Mack’s excited voice came through loudly from the phone’s speaker. “Jeffrey, we figured it out! We know why the ship didn’t power up! It turns out we mistranslated a couple of prepositions, which completely changes the power-up sequence.”

  Despite the current depressed state of his emotions, a surge of excitement flooded through Jeffrey. “Mack, that is fantastic news. Are you sure that’s the problem?”

  “Hey, is Yoda green and wrinkled?”

  “I’ll, uh, take your word for it. Are you still in your office?”

  “Yeah. I’m here with Dr. Eisenberg.”

  “Good,” Jeffrey replied, his mind quickly banishing all thoughts of Rebecca. Action. This was exactly what he needed. This was where he felt in control. “I didn’t see Lisa or Akwen leave the site, so they’re probably still around. Call them and have one of them contact Colonel Mellic. I’ll call Jerome and have him—”

  His progress back towards to dig site was halted abruptly by a sight that turned his blood to water. Standing inside the outer walls of the compound about two hundred feet away was the frightening visage of two dozen gray-skinned aliens, whose soulless black eyes stared coldly at him with the promise of death.

  5

  Invasion

  Whether it was due to some power the aliens held or simply to overwhelming terror, Jeffrey’s muscles were unresponsive, completely refusing to obey his mental commands. The invaders stared at him for several more seconds, then began to turn in slow motion, as if in a nightmare.

  Suddenly, bright lights flared around him and cries rang out through the night as the soldiers in the guard towers brought their searchlights to bear on the beings who somehow managed to materialize out of thin air. A second later, the deafening sounds of heavy laser fire shook Jeffrey from his lethargic state. The soldiers opened fire, but incredibly, the blue beams from the soldiers’ weapons passed straight through the creatures. As soon as the first few shots struck the ground, the aliens moved into action.

  Still in shock, Jeffrey could only stare in amazement at the aliens darting across the compound. Guards from the towers fought hard to keep the area lit, but the beings kept leaping around so quickly and moving off in different directions that it became impossible to keep track of them.

  A new shout drew Jeffrey’s attention to the right as a group of soldiers came running toward the aliens, laser rifles blaring. Oddly enough, although the creatures were being fired at from all directions, they seemed content to simply run, dodge, and leap away from their attackers instead of returning fire or going on the offensive. Some even began to dematerialize in one place, then reappear twenty feet away, further adding to the chaos.

  Suddenly a hand grabbed Jeffrey’s shoulder, causing him to wheel around in fright. He spun so fast, however, that his feet slipped out from under him and he fell backwards onto the ground. Staring up at him was the ghostly white face of his wife.

  “Jeffrey, are you okay?” she asked, her voice trembling.

  His eyes wide and his hand clutching his chest, he took in several quick breaths before answering. “Becky…thank…God…it’s only you.”

  Glancing around in fear, she reached down and pulled Jeffrey to his feet. “We’ve gotta get out of here.”

  “Yeah,” Jeffrey replied, his own gaze fixated on the surrounding confusion. Not more than fifty feet away, a soldier screamed in pain as a beam of green light pierced his side, dropping him to the ground. As Jeffrey watched him fall, he saw two shadowy forms detach themselves from one of the nearby buildings and begin heading rapidly in his direction. They didn’t seem to have any physical substance, but appeared to be made of some kind of mist. He could make out a vague humanoid shape and what looked like small horns cresting the heads, but all else was shrouded in shadow as they moved in his direction.

  Jeffrey cursed violently, then grabbed Rebecca’s hand and began running toward the opening of the dig site as if the very hounds of hell were on their heels. As they reached the entrance, a soldier from the inside opened the right door just enough for them to get through. Jeffrey shoved Rebecca in, then threw one last quick look at the approaching shapes. Staring back at him were two sets of small, blood-red eyes so dark they were almost lost in the blackness of the night. Frozen in horror, Jeffrey stood in the doorway until a hand grabbed him around the arm and pulled him inside just as a blast of green energy hit the wall where his head had been seconds earlier.

  The soldier who had just saved Jeffrey’s life slammed the door shut. Gasping, Jeffrey looked at the man and swallowed hard. “Thank…thank you,” he managed. “There are two…things…like shadows…out there. They’re coming toward the door!”

  “Go downstairs by the ship. You should be safe there. I’ll radio the team below to let them know you’re coming,” the soldier said as he and the ten other soldiers with him took up positions facing the door.

  “C’mon,” Rebecca urged, grabbing Jeffrey’s hand again. Together they ran full speed toward the entrance to the stairwell. Jeffrey began fumbling with the retinal scanner and laser reader the moment they arrived. Just as the lock clicked open, Rebecca gasped, causing Jeffrey to spin around. Impossibly, another dozen aliens stood in the center of the room behind the guards, who were still facing the door.

  “Behind you!” Rebecca screamed, pointing at the aliens. The soldiers whirled around and began firing, causing the aliens to jump out of the way. However, the moment their backs were turned, the entrance doors exploded, sending the soldiers tumbling to the floor. Before they could recover, beams of green light lanced out from the now-open doorway to finish off the men. Despite the fact that there were no more attackers, the aliens continued to leap and dodge back and forth like dancing nymphs as two dark figures came floating through the smoke and debris of the explosion. Spurred into action by their fear, Jeffrey and Rebecca flung open the door and ducked inside, pulling it closed behind them.

  “Jeffrey, what are those things?” Rebecca asked as they fled down the stairs.

  “I don’t know,” he said between gasps for air. “I was…going to ask you…the same…question.”

  They had barely reached the bottom of the steps when the
door behind shuddered as something heavy pounded on it, sending tiny showers of dust down upon them. “Do you think it’ll hold?” Rebecca asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’m not waiting around to find out,” Jeffrey replied as they stepped through the door and into the workshop. The moment they cleared the opening, several soldiers exited into the antechamber and took up positions on each side of the stairs, weapons pointed at the door above while several others stayed back just inside the open door of the main chamber. The beating from above suddenly ceased, replaced by an eerie silence.

  Jeffrey and Rebecca stopped and stared back the way they had come, hoping beyond hope it was over. As they stood there, one of the soldiers approached. “What happened up there?” he whispered.

  “Watch your backs, Colonel,” Jeffrey replied quickly. “Somehow, the aliens seem to be able to teleport, or something. One minute they were outside the door, and the next second they were standing right behind us. But for some reason, the aliens don’t seem to be attacking. There are two shadowy, demon-like things that you need to really worry about, though. They—”

  Before Jeffrey could finish his thought, an explosion from the top of the stairs sent shock waves through the entire chamber. Without hesitation, the guards at the bottom of the stairs opened fire.

  “Hurry!” the colonel shouted at them. “Get into one of the storage rooms and hide. Here, take these,” he added tossing them two handheld laser pistols. Turning back to his men, he commanded, “Michael, Jonas, watch our backs. Make sure none of those—”

  Before he could even finish his sentence, another group of twelve aliens materialized directly in front of Rebecca and Jeffrey, surrounding them and the soldiers in a semicircle. Letting out a scream, Rebecca lifted her weapon towards them and prepared to fire.