Curse of Atlantis Read online

  Jack shrugged his shoulders. He felt just as frustrated as Javier did. He looked at images taken from radar and compared them to the 3-dimensional image on the computer display. Back and forth, he checked and rechecked data. Staring now at the computer, he answered, “I don’t know, Javi. Something just doesn’t look right. I can make out what looks to be large corridors leading to various chambers, but they’re blocked by the outside wall of the pyramid. I wonder if they sealed it up after they buried the king.”

  “I’m thinking the same thing,” Javier responded, now moving in for a closer look.

  “So what do we do now? Do we just pick a location in front of one of those halls and start digging?” Jack asked.

  “I don’t think we have much choice. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait to start digging,” Javier responded. “Burt called and he was able to set up some heavy equipment to start excavating tomorrow.”

  “Wow, that was great timing,” Jack said.

  “Yeah, he’s been a real life saver for us,” Javier remarked casually, then continued. “I’m thinking we’re just going to start right in the very front. There seems to be a good-sized corridor in the middle of the pyramid, just beyond the outside wall. We can have the bulk materials removed by heavy equipment, but after that, we’ll need to use shovels and brooms to clear away the actual surface of the pyramid.”

  “Sounds logical,” Jack responded.

  Looking off in the distance, Javier spotted a small hill that sat just off the roadside, lower in the valley. Pointing it out to Jack, he handed him a pair of binoculars and said, “We have spectators.”

  “So soon? We haven’t told anybody about the excavation yet.” Jack replied, bringing the binoculars to his eyes.

  “They aren’t private citizens and they’re not from the Press,” Javier said.

  “Russians?” Jack asked, simply.

  Javier nodded in frustration.

  “Maybe that’s not a bad thing?” Jack responded, trying to stay positive. “If they weren’t watching, they wouldn’t be interested.”

  “Good point, Jack,” Javier responded.

  ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

  One Week Later:

  Javier nervously checked his watch as he paced back and forth at the site of their first intended dig. The previous week was hell as they all anxiously waited for a makeshift dirt road to be constructed up the side of the hill to the base of the buried pyramid. The half-mile section of road that extended from the existing path seemed to take forever due to delays on equipment and in obtaining the materials to complete the task.

  As Javier watched the first dump truck roll up in front of him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Within a half hour, most of the equipment and men were ready to begin the excavation.

  Having instructed the heavy-equipment operators in the exact location of their work, he stood back and anxiously watched the backhoe’s bucket plunge into the ground. Tearing up the soil and rocks, the operator lifted the half-full bucket from the ground, rotated around, and dropped its contents into the waiting dump truck.

  “Finally, after an eternity, they’ve started,” Javier said to Jack, standing beside him.

  “If it had taken any more time, I was going to start digging with a shovel,” Jack replied.

  “I would have used a spoon, if I thought it would’ve helped,” Burt joked, then asked, “How far down do they have to go before they hit the base?”

  “About forty feet,” Jack answered. “Give or take a few feet.”

  “Hmm, I’m glad I waited,” Burt responded.

  As Jack and Burt carried on with casual conversation, Javier’s eyes were glued to the work being performed. Within a half hour of their start, the bucket on the backhoe hit something hard. Javier immediately raised his hand, halting the process. With a shovel in hand, he rushed into the carved out site and began to dig. Joined by Jack and Burt, the three men cleared away the remaining loose soil.

  As their shovels clanked on the hard surface, their enthusiasm grew. Seeing the action taking place, Darrien grabbed a spare shovel too and joined in. Soon, a large area of soil was cleared and what remained was the distinctive light colored rock: limestone.

  “This is it, guys. This is the base,” Javier said, now growing excited.

  Flat, smooth, and seemingly continuous, the surface of the stone continued into the dirt. Like a large hand-tooled platform, the craftsmanship was impressive.

  “Wow, somebody spent a lot of time working this stuff. Limestone is a fairly rough stone. Getting it this smooth is really impressive,” Burt said.

  “Strangely enough, I don’t see any separation lines in them either. I wonder how big these stones are?” Jack asked no one in particular.

  “I wonder if they even are stones,” Javier replied.

  “Of course they’re stones. What else could they be?” Jack responded.

  “What I mean to say is, I think this is one solid base. They probably cleaned away the topsoil down to the bedrock, then leveled it to create a base for the pyramid,” Javier responded.

  As they continued to shovel away the dirt, Jack started seeing indentations in the rock. He stopped for a moment and stared at them. Something about them seemed unusual. They didn’t look natural. He reached down and rubbed away the dirt in the small divots of the rock’s surface.

  Suddenly, he stood up. Staring at the rock, his eyes were mesmerized by the sight.

  “Jack? What is it,” Javier asked, noticing Jack’s condition.

  “Check this out. Hieroglyphic,” he replied, simply.

  Javier, Burt, and Darrien immediately came to Jack’s side.

  “Wow, Jack, good find,” Burt said, now bending down and touching the symbols engraved in the rock’s surface.

  “Can you make any of them out?” Darrien asked.

  “They’re kind of worn, but I think this one reads ‘cursed’,” Burt responded.

  “Oh, that can’t be good,” Jack responded in blasé tone.

  “Hang on Burt, let me shovel away some more,” Javier said.

  Without saying another word, he and Jack both began to shovel away the loose dirt, exposing more hieroglyphics. Having grabbed an industrial broom, Darrien then swept the area giving better view of the symbols.

  Burt eyed the series of engraved images and began to smile.

  “Look at this one,” Burt said loudly. “Anyone recognize this symbol?”

  “Oh my God. It’s the ‘all-seeing eye’ from the scrolls,” Jack responded.

  “Exactly,” Burt said simply.

  Quickly, Javier shoveled the area above the exposed hieroglyphics, now almost frantic in his quest for further discovery. With a loud clang, the shovel stopped dead as it hit a rock extending up from the base of the limestone.

  “Darrien, let me see that broom,” Javier asked, excitedly.

  With a few sweeps, a large amount of dirt fell to the ground, exposing a rock face that angled upward.

  “This is it, guys,” Javier shouted. “This IS the pyramid.”

  “No way,” Darrien responded, nearly in shock.

  Immediately, Jack and Burt scraped their shovels higher up and exposed an even greater area of the pyramid. Standing now in front of the face, the four men stared at an area of rock seven feet high and ten feet across. Javier reached out, rubbed the blank wall, and smiled.

  “This is amazing. This is just as smooth as the base below the pyramid… and it looks to be made from the same stone,” he said, his eyes entranced by the sight of it all.

  “And look at the size of this block. It’s huge,” Jack added. “You don’t even see any seams at all.”

  Looking back at Jack, he said, “You’re right. We should be seeing at least one seam that separates one block from another. I wonder how big this thing really is?”

  “Only one way to find out,” Jack replied.

  Taking his shovel, he began to remove more dirt that was suspended above the blank face. Reaching high, he was able to clear awa
y another three feet. While Jack worked the area above, Burt worked the area to the sides, increasing the width by several more feet. With each shovelful that dropped to the base, both Javier and Darrien removed it quickly. Within minutes, the rock face now opened up to an impressive ten feet high by twenty feet wide.

  Standing back once more, the four men examined the exposed area.

  “Damn, still no seams,” Jack said. “How big IS this freaking block, anyway?”

  “I don’t believe this. It can’t be,” Javier said, shaking his head in astonishment.

  “You’re doing it again, Javi. Don’t keep me in the dark. What do you see that I don’t?” Jack asked, now feeling slightly frustrated.

  Javier got down on his hands and knees and began to scrape away the loose dirt that lodged between the base and the upper face. The more he worked the more frantic his movements became. Suddenly, he popped to his feet.

  “This is IMPOSSIBLE!” he blurted out loudly. “Burt, do you see this?”

  “I see it Javi, but I don’t believe it,” Burt responded.

  “I don’t believe it either,” Jack spat. “I don’t believe you’re continuing to keep me in the dark.”

  “Sorry Jack. I’m just so blown away by this, I’m forgetting my manners,” Javier responded. “Look at this seam that separates the upper pyramid from the base it sits on. What aren’t you seeing here?” he asked, now pointing.

  Jack examined the area closely. Suddenly it dawned on him.

  “Oh my God. There’s no real seam there. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Jack asked, now feeling a bit bewildered by his speculation.

  “Uh huh… if I’m reading this right, and I think I am, this base and that pyramid are carved from one solid block of limestone,” Javier said, shaking his head in disbelief. “This is absolutely astounding. Instead of carving block by block and assembling them on top of each other like the Egyptians and Mayans did, they simply carved a pyramid out of a whole mountain of limestone. It staggers the mind to think about the skill required to do so.”

  “Ahh, it makes sense now. I’ve been wondering how a tsunami with enough destructive power could decimate the entire city of Atlantis, travel inland, pick up hundreds of feet of debris and cover this pyramid, yet not have the power to destroy it,” Burt said.

  “Now we know why. If it were made of blocks, like those from Egyptians or the Mayan’s, this pyramid would have easily been swept away,” Javier said, finishing for Burt.

  “It must have been a lot harder to make than the Egyptian’s style of pyramid, wouldn’t you think?” Darrien said.

  “I’m not so sure. I think it would be a lot less complex than assembling thousands of blocks of limestone of varying sizes. They probably just started carving the mountain at the top and simply worked their way down, stopping when they felt the size of the pyramid looked impressive enough when viewed from the city. They wouldn’t even have to plan the size, really… just keep whittling away at it until the proportions looked right,” Jack responded, matter-of-factly.

  Javier looked at his watch and noticed the time. Feeling anxious about his deadline, he said, “If you guys don’t mind, I think I’m going to try to find the door to this thing.”

  “That’s right. Somewhere near this point, there must be an entrance. I’ll join you on the right side of the wall and Burt and Darrien can take the left side, that is if that’s ok with you guys,” Jack suggested.

  “Sounds good to me,” Burt responded.

  With a simple nod from Darrien, the four separated into two teams and began to expand the exposed face on each side. Within minutes, Javier called out a vertical seam as he reached middle of the pyramid. As the others gathered around, he quickly shoveled the loose soil that clung to the face, ten feet above it.

  “Ah ha, this must be the top of the door,” Javier speculated, pointing now to a horizontal seam nine feet above the base.

  Energized by the new find, he quickly took his shovel and uncovered more dirt that clung to the rock face further right. Seconds later, he found another vertical seam that marked the right side of the door.

  With the area now exposed around the door, they all stood for a moment and examined the featureless wall.

  “Ok, I give up,” Jack stated. “How do you get inside?”

  “Good question. There’s no handles, keyways or anything that would indicate an opening type mechanism,” Burt replied, equally puzzled.

  “Maybe it’s spring loaded somehow and you have to push on it, where it releases a mechanism that automatically opens the door… like a cabinet in your home,” Jack suggested.

  “That’s pretty advanced technology. I’m sure that wasn’t invented seven thousand years ago,” Javier countered.

  “Well, it’s got to open somehow,” Jack responded.

  Javier walked back to the wall and rubbed his hand over it, sweeping off small particles of dirt that still remained. Hoping to find something hidden that might indicate a release, he soon realized there was none. The wall was completely blank.

  Jack now stood next to Javier and began to push on the door with both hands. With no evidence of movement, in desperation, he began to pick away at the seams with his fingertips.

  “What the heck… how do you get into this thing?” Jack now blurted out in frustration.

  “Jack, don’t waste your time. This door weighs several tons. There’s a release mechanism somewhere. We just have to find it,” Javier suggested. “Let’s just keep clearing away the loose dirt. Something will turn up eventually.”

  With greater incentive to find a hidden latch, the four worked enthusiastically, each one hoping to be the first to solve the mystery of the blank door. As they cleared away the soil to the farthest extent of the initial excavation, they stood back once more and examined the blank wall of the pyramid.

  “Nothing! Just a blank wall of rock,” Jack said, frustrated once more.

  “And a door,” Darrien added.

  As the four stood and pondered the solution, Javier grew impatient.

  “Ok, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Let’s let the heavy equipment guys get back to work,” Javier suggested. “We’ll have to figure out the door later.”

  Staring at the blank wall, Jack shook his head. “This is really going to drive me nuts.”

  “I know. Me too. Unfortunately, we just don’t have the time to waste making intense searches. We can do that after all the dirt has been cleared away,” Javier said.

  “You know Javi, I’ve been thinking about how we’re doing this excavation. I know you wanted to dig around the base first to get to a doorway. It made sense. You want to get into the pyramid as fast as you can so we can make a deal with the Russians. But I think we now need to start at the top of the mountain and work our way down. If we don’t, we’re going to run into a situation where we’ll be trying to excavate over the top of the lower excavation. We’ll run into cave-ins and huge time delays because heavy equipment won’t be able to be used. It’ll have to be dug by hand at some point,” Jack reasoned.

  Javier thought about Jack's words. He knew he was right. His plan for quick access failed. It now made sense to continue the excavation at the top and work downward. The initial time delay would be stressful, but the overall project would be better organized once the pyramid was uncovered.

  With a reluctant nod, Javi said, “I just hope the Russians understand.”

  ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

  From dusk to dawn, teams of excavation crews worked on removing the soil from around the pyramid. Each day their efforts exposed greater extents of the pyramid. On the first day, nearly twenty feet of the mountain top were trucked away, exposing the apex of the pyramid by a foot. Within three days, forty feet more of top of the pyramid were uncovered and now its true shape became apparent.

  Unlike the blocky shapes of the Egyptian and Mayan pyramids, the Atlantean pyramid was carved from a mountain of limestone. As a result, all four sides were smooth from top to b
ottom. There were no steps, no terraces, and no way to reach the top once soil was removed. Simple yet complex, as more of its stunning beauty was revealed, it dramatically changed the view from the coastline just over a mile away.

  The Atlanteans had indeed chosen their location wisely.

  With each foot of elevation they removed, greater amounts of soil needed to be excavated due to the naturally expanding shape of the mountain. A week later, only a hundred feet of the pyramid was uncovered. On second week, the pace had slowed dramatically, excavating only an addition fifty feet.

  With time running out and the Russians now pressuring for an even greater effort, Javier and Burt ordered excavations round the clock. Working both night and day produced impressive results. At the end of the third week, nearly two hundred feet of the pyramid was excavated and only eighty feet remained.

  With the pyramid now in full view, TV crews poured in from around the world to video the progress. Photographers and civilians alike snapped photos wildly at the sight of something so impressive. As the news of the pyramid spread far around the world, the quiet little island of Kythera, exploded with tourists vying for a glimpse of the ancient artifact.

  After four weeks of little sleep and tireless management, Javier watched as the last ten feet of dirt were being removed. Starting at the front of the pyramid, the excavation crews continued their work where they had originally started from four weeks before.

  Pacing back and forth, Javier kept a close eye on the pyramid. With each new section of the rock face revealed, he watched for any clues that might solve the mystery of the blank door. After many hours of careful work, the front of the pyramid was finally excavated and Javier now rushed in to begin his examination.

  While Jack and Burt monitored the progress on the next side in series, Javier scoured the front face. Rubbing his hands over anything that looked suspicious, his mind churned with anxiety as the mystery of his search went undiscovered. Growing frantic with each area he examined, he began to talk to himself.