Coincidence Theory
“What the hell are you doing!” said Carl, turning and seeing the gun pointed at Justin.
“What I was hoping I wouldn’t have to.” said Chris, waggling the gun in the air to get everyone to herd into a group.
“Chris?” said Louisa, totally dumbfounded by what was occurring.
“Enough with the doe eyes.” said Chris, pushing her into place by the side of Justin. “I’m way beyond caring about anything like that.”
“But you’re the hero.” said Justin, in shock. “It can’t be you.”
“You’ve been watching way too much television. Quick lesson for you: Heroes don’t shoot people in the face. Heroes are the guys that sacrifice themselves so that others don’t die.”
“You planned all of this?” asked Carl.
“Not all of it. I had no idea how many people would suddenly get involved, but the majority of it was me, yeah. If captain PC here was slightly less able, I could have got away without any of this.”
“You were accessing the base’s data files at the time of the system shutdown.” said Justin.
“I was testing I had the right level of access to be able to make my move. Someone must have noticed what I was doing and attempted to lock me out.”
“Linley!” said Louisa, putting the pieces together. “Somehow he noticed what you were doing. You forced his hand!”
“He thought he’d got a solid plan of his own, but as it turned out, there were more players in this than either of us thought.”
“You cancelled the clean-up crew and stood down the response.”
“No.” said Chris, baulking at the suggestion. “I just didn’t call them. Think of your climb out as a team building exercise. Nevertheless, I didn’t send those false guards to site. That threw me a little. It put my plans into overdrive.”
“You utter asshole!” said Carl, his fists clenched. “You used me for my knowledge!”
“When I realised what was at the base, I did some research on your website. You should be proud Carl, not angry.” said Chris, his voice unnervingly jovial. “It’s very informative. I read all about the Tree of Life and about how you thought it was linked to the artefacts of the Zep-Tepi. I thought the items would lead you to where we needed to go, but I never dreamed of the journey we’d take. It was fun!”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Don’t be like that, Carl. You should take some credit from all this. You see? You’re not just a loon. You were right.”
Carl was fighting hard not to charge at Chris and punch the teeth from his smug face. He felt sick. People, innumerate innocent people, had died because of what Chris had done. For what? So he could keep the Ark for himself? It was a bitter pill to swallow. One of his oldest friends was just another selfish treasure hunter.
“So what now?” asked Louisa, her barely contained disgust evident in her tone.
“Believe it or not, I’m fed up of killing.” said Chris, carefully picking his way round to the throne. “That’s what drove me to this. Having seen the terror of death up close and personal, all I have really ever wanted was a chance to dodge my own bullet, if you will. And here it is. Therefore, you may all leave. I have everything I need to escape my mortal prison.”
Carl’s mind reeled from the revelation. Dodge my own bullet. This was not about treasure. Chris wanted immortality. He wanted to use the Ark. However, to do that he would need a power source. Another thought hit him. Did he steal the third artefact? No. Where would he have hidden it on their travels? That made no sense. Yet, to utilise the Ark, Chris would need manna. So, what was he going to use? He glanced around the room, his eyes falling onto the jewellery he noticed earlier. He gulped, Chris would not have far to look.
“No you don’t. We don’t have the container with manna in it. Everything in here is useless without it.” said Justin, as Carl winced.
“I believe from the worried looks Carl is giving what my friend here is wearing, it means this thing is made of Havilah gold.” said Chris, wrenching the necklace from the skeleton. “I always assumed, especially after your wonderful explanation Carl, we’d find some on our journey. I was kind of hoping we’d get some in Israel, but we ran out of time.”
“Oh, I’m sorry man. I didn’t realise we needed it so badly.” said Carl.
“Enough, Carl! I’m not averse to changing my mind over the killing thing. One more time’s not going to change much now, is it? Leave the laptop and the bag and get out, while you still can.”
“We’ll never make it back outside without the map!” said Justin.
Chris reached into his pocket and flipped Justin a coin. “Go phone someone who cares. Put the laptop down and get out. Last chance.”
Carl grabbed Justin, took the laptop from his grasp, put it on the floor by the dais, and began to drag him out of the room.
Louisa followed behind the two, sending Chris one last, lingering look of disappointment.
“Can you get us out?” Carl whispered, as soon as they were outside. “We don’t have much time.”
“I think so. What’s the rush?” said Louisa.
“The Bible is very specific about what happens to those who don’t approach the Ark correctly. It details many occurrences of explosions and firestorms caused by people who are not versed in its proper usage. I am certain Chris will have missed that part out of his research, because I had no reason to include its details on my website. If he triggers an explosion down here, the results could be catastrophic. We’ve got to move fast or we might never make it back to the surface.”
“It’s really the Ark, isn’t it?” said Justin, looking forlornly behind them.
“It sure is.” said Carl, staring at the magnificent golden chest one last time. “But I’m not getting buried down here with it. So let’s go.”
-
Chris stood in the room and took the uraeus and the staff from the duffel. He looked at the front of the Ark and thought about what Carl said on their flight to Israel, The Plumed Serpent. He laughed as he stepped forward. Louisa believed he was gawping at her. He was not. He was attempting to overhear what Justin and Carl were discussing, but that was as unimportant as every other thought. His destiny now lay along a different path.
Still smirking, Chris took the uraeus and placed it between the wing tips of the two cherubim that adorned the lid of the Ark. It was a perfect fit. He took the staff in his hand, feeling the slight tug of something coming from deep within it. He placed the gold in front of the uraeus and reached into his pocket for his lighter. He hesitated, waiting for the footfalls of the fools that allowed him to reach his final destination to disappear into the distance. Finally, he allowed his spirit to relax. The suffering he caused others, which had slowly ripped apart his once proud soul would soon be mended and the smell of death, which so long filled his nostrils and wracked his sleep, would be at an end. He would never have to face death again.
Chris reached forward and lit the Havilah gold. A great plume of smoke rose as soon as the flame of his Zippo licked its surface and jets bent and sprayed into the cherubim sat atop the Ark’s lid. The eyes of the uraeus glowed like brilliant ruby fire and he could feel something happening deep within him. Instinctively, he raised the staff to the uraeus and touched it against the serpents head.
Instantly, he realised something was wrong. A groan, like the gates of Hades tearing open issued from the Ark, as it began to writhe and rattle on the plinth. The stones beneath his feet flared into life, glowing brilliantly as he struggled to close his eyes. As if an unseen hand were reaching inside him, he could feel his very presence, the thing that made him exist, wrenched toward the Ark. At the same time, he could feel the power of the burning gold surge back and fill him with an almighty energy. With each successive loop, his ability to maintain control of his senses diminished, gut wrenching cold and the dizzying throb of nausea replacing them.
-
Louisa ran as fast as she could from the growing cacophony of noise, trying desperately to remember her path to
the outside. She needed to work her way back to the chamber that was the start of her loop and then take stock from there.
For a few minutes, she led them as effectively as she could. Occasionally, she found herself running down a dead end and having to turn back and regain her focus, all the while Carl and Justin remaining silent for fear of breaking her concentration.
Eventually, they reached the chamber where she finished her mapping of the exterior of the labyrinth. The drone from the Ark was now a booming crescendo of blasting pulses. With their ears covered, she ran at full tilt down the corridors. Dust, eons old, drifted down from the ceiling stones and filled the rooms with fine powder.
Louisa was beginning to struggle. She stopped in a room containing five exits and scanned each, no memory of their next move coming to mind. She turned and looked frantically at Carl, who shook his head to let her know that he was of no help.
Justin did not seem to realise they had stopped. Louisa watched, as he continued to run toward one of the doorways, his fading torchlight barely penetrating the thick air. She shrugged, grabbing Carl by his arm and dragging him after Justin. She had to hope he knew what he was doing.
Justin hammered through the corridors as fast as he could, Louisa and Carl struggling to keep pace as he darted onward. As they turned a final corner and caught a glimpse of the ramp to the outside, the air became warmer and the heady smells of the outside world drew close. They were almost free.
Half way up the ramp, Justin stopped, removing his hands from his ears and staring down at them, as all around went deathly silent.
To Louisa’s side, Carl waved frantically for Justin to keep moving, as everything around them lit up like the sun and then went dark.
Chapter 53