Chapter 1 Earth
Amanda Sorenson reached up and turned off her alarm. The sweltering heat of the night had left her with very little sleep. She got up and rinsed off in the shower then sat down and studied the topographical maps of the area. She heard a knock at her door and yelled "Come in."
"I'll never get used to this heat! I think I sweat off a couple of pounds last night,” Alice said.
"I know what you mean. I tried to get them to let us do this during the cooler months but it didn't happen. We'll just have to sweat our way through it. Is Jordan up yet?" asked Amanda.
"No. He always sleeps late."
"Well, go get him up. We need to get back to the site,” said Amanda.
"All right. We'll see you at the truck in half an hour,” said Alice.
Amanda looked at the markings on the map indicating the locations they had previously excavated. She was the leader of a team of Archaeologists that were excavating a burial chamber in the Valley Of The Queens near Luxor in Egypt. They had spent the last two months looking for the entrance to an ancient cave that they thought was in the area. They only had two more months before their permit would expire and they would have to return to London. Their current dig site was the last of the six locations they had identified.
She folded up the map and grabbed a bagel on the way to the truck. The wind had blown sand all over the windshield so she took a cloth and brushed it off. She got in the truck and started it.
When the others arrived they put their excavating gear in the truck and climbed in.
"I feel it today! There's something in the air. Can you taste it?" said Jordan.
"It's called sand,” said Alice.
"Mark my words, today we're going to find something!" he said.
"Are we ready to go?" asked Amanda.
"Aye aye, Captain,” said Jordan.
They wound their way through town and drove across the river to their dig site. The winds during the night had filled in some of what they had dug out the previous day.
Jordan jumped out of the truck and started digging. He whistled while he worked.
"I don't know how you do it, Jordan,” said Alice. "I don't have the energy or the spit to whistle."
He looked up and smiled and threw a shovel full of sand at her.
"Hey!" she said and laughed.
They dug for two hours without finding anything. When they stopped to rest Amanda surveyed the hillside around them and studied at her map.
"I know this is right spot. It has to be here! We just have to keep digging,” she said.
They continued digging deeper into the hillside until it was time for lunch. Everyone but Jordan stopped digging.
"Come on, Jordan. If you don't eat we'll have to bury you in that hole,” said Alice.
Jordan reluctantly stopped and joined the others. "We're close. I feel it!"
Alice threw a bottle of water at him.
"Have a little faith,” he said.
"We appreciate your enthusiasm, Jordan. We're just hot and tired,” said Amanda.
After lunch they returned to the hole and continued to dig. About an hour later Jordan found something.
"Hey! There's something here!" he shouted.
The others helped him carefully clear the sand away from the stone wall he had found.
"You were right, Jordan. Do your super powers tell you what this is?" asked Alice.
"Hey, I did my part. It's up to you to figure out the rest,” he said.
Alice laughed.
After digging for another hour they discovered that the wall was part of a stone passageway that descended into the hill. The deeper they got the less sand they had to clear out. Alice was the first one to see the stone door.
"There's a door here! It's got writing on it!" she yelled.
Amanda joined her and examined the door.
"My ancient Egyptian is a little rusty but this symbol looks like a reference to deity,” she said, pointing to a symbol on the upper part of the door.
"Jordan, grab the cameras. From here on we photograph everything,” said Alice.
They cleared a path for the door then used their tools to gently pry it open. Alice shined her light inside. "It looks like a burial chamber!" she exclaimed.
They unloaded their generator and set it up next to the truck. In a few minutes they had their lights set up inside the chamber.
Amanda examined the large stone structure in the middle of the chamber. "This is definitely a sarcophagus but I've never seen writing like this before.”
"Time to call in the Calvary?" asked Alice.
"Definitely. Send him photos of all of this as soon as you can. I think he's going to want to come see this,” said Amanda.
As soon as he received the pictures Jack Landers, a specialist in ancient languages, boarded a plane for Egypt. He arrived at the dig site the next day.
"Jack! It's good to see you again,” said Amanda.
"You too. I think you've really found something here,” he said.
Amanda took him into the chamber and he carefully examined the sarcophagus.
"This writing isn't Egyptian or any language I've ever seen,” he said.
"So we've stumped even the great Jack?" asked Alice.
"I'm afraid so. We need to carefully examine everything in this room. I want to know if anything else has similar writing,” he said.
They worked for the rest of the afternoon and uncovered a variety of artifacts but none of them had writing like the sarcophagus. Amanda had all the artifacts moved from the chamber to her temporary research lab in Luxor. The only thing left in the chamber was the sarcophagus. They set up an enclosure around it to protect it from the blowing sand.
"Am I the only one who's dying to see what's inside this thing?" asked Jordan.
"You did find the passageway. I suppose you deserve a quick look,” teased Alice.
"Let's set up the lifters so we can raise the lid,” said Amanda.
When the lid was open they all watched anxiously as Amanda shined her light inside.
"There's a mummy inside!" exclaimed Alice.
"Move one of the lamps over here,” said Amanda.
Jordan placed a lamp so it illuminated the inside of the sarcophagus.
"This is amazing! It's so well preserved. Even the clothes and hair are intact,” said Alice.
"There's more of that strange writing on the inside walls,” said Jack.
"Wait, something's not quite right here. Alice, look at her head,” said Jordan.
"The eye sockets are too big!" she said.
"The shape of the head seems a little off as well. Maybe it's the angle of the light. Let's carefully get her out and send her to the lab. I want a full scan done as soon as you can. Don't tell anyone where this came from. We don't want anyone coming here until we're finished excavating,” said Amanda.
"On it, boss,” said Jordan.
While they ran the tests on the mummy at the lab Amanda and Jack continued to study the writing in the chamber.
Three days later they went to the Luxor lab to review the test results.
"Tell me what you found,” she said to Alice.
"You better hear what the MRI guy has to say first,” she said.
"I won't beat around the bush. This skeleton isn't human,” said Jonathan.
"What makes you think so?" asked Amanda.
"To start with the bones aren't white. They are blue. I don't mean just on the outside. We cut a small piece off one of the fingers and they're blue all the way through. They are also far more dense than human bones. Look at this finger, it's smooth as glass on the outside. Human bones are porous and rough,” said Jonathan.
"Let's send that piece you cut off back to London and have them do a more thorough test. Send a sample of her hair as well,” said Amanda.
"There are more discrepancies. She has thirty ribs. They are spaced closer together than human ribs. That, of course, means that she has fifteen articulating vertebrae on her back. She would have been very flexible. The shape of her head is more oblong than most humans and her eye sockets are a little larger but most of the rest of the skeleton looks normal,” said Jonathan.
"Some of those could be genetic anomalies but the bones can't be so easily dismissed. Let me know as soon as you hear from London,” said Amanda.
They returned to the dig site and continued cleaning the walls and floor of the chamber. A few days later Jonathan told Alice that the lab in London had finished their tests. She rushed to find Amanda.
"London sent us their results. They're stumped and they want the mummy shipped to them ASAP,” said Alice.
"What were their results?" asked Amanda.
"The bone wasn't human or animal. Their instruments couldn't determine it's age. They're all in an uproar and want this kept quiet,” said Alice.
"I'll talk to them. They want to get all the recognition if it turns out to be something special. We'll have to send them the mummy. We really have no choice. Before you do search all the clothes for anything unusual. We'll probably never see the mummy again once they get their hands on it,” said Amanda. "Oh, and Alice, get the whole team here as quickly as you can. Now that London knows there is something special here they will be monitoring us very closely. I'll try to convince them to give us a few more weeks to finish the excavation before they send anyone else here."
"Why is it always like this? We do the work and find something then they take over and get all the credit!" said Alice.
"It's just politics. I wish we could do things on our own but we don't have the money. It's the price we pay for being sponsored,” said Amanda.
Alice quickly arranged the shipment of the mummy then returned with the rest of the team to the dig site.
"We found this ring on her finger,” she said and handed the ring to Amanda.
"Jack, look at this ring!" said Amanda.
Jack turned on his flashlight and carefully examined the ring.
"It has one of those strange symbols on it. Too bad we don't know what it means,” he said.
Amanda put the ring in her pocket. "We need to get the rest of this floor cleaned and photographed,” she said.
"We're on it,” said Jordan.
In a few hours they stopped for lunch. Amanda and Jack sat on the floor and leaned up against the sarcophagus.
"There's some different writing here,” said Jordan. "Just underneath the writing we can't decipher."
Jack put his water bottle down and got up and examined the writing.
"Interesting! This writing is Egyptian. It talks about a doorway to the Gods or the room of the Gods, I'm not sure which,” he said. "The newer writing we can't decipher was done on top of the Egyptian writing. This proves that it was put here during or after the time of the ancient Egyptians."
"Maybe the ancient Egyptians considered her a Goddess and called this chamber a doorway to the Gods. That doesn't explain the strange writing though,” said Amanda.
Jack sat back down and finished his lunch.
"There's something that doesn't feel right here. If this chamber was the doorway to the Gods then there would be writing outside that referred to it, not just here on the sarcophagus. It seems like they meant that the sarcophagus was the doorway,” he said.
"But it's just a stone coffin,” said Alice.
"We need to take another look at all the writing on the sarcophagus. Maybe we missed something,” said Jack.
They finished cleaning the bottom of the sarcophagus and uncovered more Egyptian writing. Jack got on his knees to examine it.
"Amanda, come here! There's a breeze coming from under the sarcophagus!" he exclaimed.
She kneeled down next to him. "I feel it! Jordan, get the lifts. Let's see if we can slide the sarcophagus over so we can see what's beneath it,” said Amanda.
When the lifters were in place they raised the sarcophagus and pushed it to one side. A small stairway led steeply down into the darkness!
"Wow! Alice, get a light!" yelled Amanda.
The tunnel was a tight fit and they had to bend over to keep from hitting the ceiling. They found more Egyptian writing on the walls that referred to a doorway to the Gods.
After descending about sixty feet the tunnel opened into a large tall cavern. There were pillars carved in the walls that extended from the floor to the ceiling. In between each of the pillars a cutout in the shape of a doorway had been carved from the wall. The cutout was about eight inches deep. Each cutout had a large symbol carved into it. Each symbol was unique.
"What do you make of the symbols?" Amanda asked Jack.
"I've never seen them before. I don't know what they mean,” he said.
The last doorway on the right had a symbol of a female God with each of the symbols from the other doorways arranged around it in a circular pattern. There was a strange shaped cutout beneath the symbols.
"What do you make of this?" Amanda asked Jack.
"The Egyptian writing we saw earlier referred again and again to a doorway to the Gods. Maybe they thought these carved doorways were a way to communicate with their Gods,” he said.
"The symbols on the last doorway match the symbols on each of the other doors,” said Alice.
They both took pictures of all the writing and returned to the upper chamber.
"Alice, put a tarp over this opening so no dust blows inside. Somebody is going to have to stay here all night to make sure no one disturbs it,” said Amanda.
"I'll do it,” said Jordan. "It's a lot cooler here than that hotel."
"I'm going to make a few phone calls and see if any of my colleagues recognize any of these symbols,” said Jack.
"Be careful, Jack. Our lab in London is convinced that the mummy we found isn't human. I'm sure this place will be crawling with people in a few weeks,” said Amanda.
"Not human? What else would it be?" he asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine. Ask Alice to show you the results they sent us,” said Amanda.
"I will. I think I'll refrain from calling my colleagues for now. I don't want them adding to the uproar,” said Jack.
They returned to their hotel and Jack studied the pictures of the lower chamber.
Amanda called the London lab and convinced them to give her another month before they sent in their team. When she hung up she walked over to Jack's room.
"We have one more month,” she said.
"Come look at this. I may have found something. Look at the shape of the symbols we found on each of the doorways,” he said. "I drew the shapes on this paper and cut them out. They fit together like pieces of a puzzle,” He placed them in their proper order. "The shape they form when placed together matches the shape on the last doorway!"
"Jack, that's brilliant! I don't know what it means but it's brilliant,” said Amanda.
Jack laughed. "I don't know what it means either."
"I've seen that symbol before,” said Amanda. She took the ring out of her pocket and held it next to the symbol from the first door.
"It's the same symbol!" said Jack.
"I've got to go check this out. Are you up for a late night excursion to the dig site?" she asked.
"Absolutely,” he said.
They hurried to the truck and drove to the dig site.
"Jordan, it's Amanda,” she said when she approached the cave.
Jordan came out, obviously half asleep. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"We came to check something out,” she said.
They slipped through the tarp and climbed down to the lower chamber. Jordan laid back down by the cave entrance.
"Jack, look at this!" she said. The stone in the center of the ring was glowing.
Amanda held the ring up to compare it to the symbol on the first doorway. When she moved a little closer to the doorway the smooth white stone inside the carved out doorway turned black.
"Something happened to the doorway!" she said.
Jack walked forward and reached out to touch it.
"Don't touch it!" Amanda yelled and pulled his hand back.
"Why not?"
"If you use your peripheral vision you can see the darkness moving. I don't think it's solid. I don't know what it will do to you if you touch it,” said Amanda.
"I see it moving,” said Jack. "Stand back, I'm going to throw a rock at it."
As soon as Amanda stepped back the doorway returned to white stone.
"That's strange. Step forward again,” said Jack.
The doorway turned black again.
"It's only black when the ring gets close to it,” said Jack. "Stand to the side and hold you arm out."
She did as he asked and he threw a rock at the door. It passed through without making a sound.
"Wow! That's it! Doorway to the Gods! It's a portal that leads to another place!" exclaimed Jack.
They were both stunned. It was obviously a door but where did it lead? Was it safe for them to go through it?
"I have an idea,” said Amanda. She ran up the stairs and grabbed one of the pieces of wood that was holding down the tarp and returned to the lower chamber. She tied her camera to the end of it and turned it on so it would record video.
"Great idea!" said Jack.
She pushed the stick forward so the camera passed through the portal. She turned it in all directions then pulled it back out. The camera wasn't damaged. She was so excited she had trouble keeping her hands steady enough to untie it. They watched anxiously as she replayed the video.
The other side was dark so the camera had automatically turned on it's small LED light.
"It's another room!" she exclaimed.
"I wonder if it's safe?" asked Jack.
"We need something alive to send through it so we can see how it reacts,” said Amanda.
"I saw a lizard by the sarcophagus earlier today. I'll go see if it's still there,” said Jack.
He returned in a few minutes holding a small lizard in his hand.
"Toss it through?" he asked.
"Why not. Let me get the camera ready again. I'll stick it through right after the lizard,” said Amanda.
Jack tossed the lizard through and Amanda recorded video of the room then pulled the camera back. They watched the video and saw the lizard moving around unharmed.
"I've got to try it, Amanda,” said Jack.
"What if we can't activate the door again from the other side? We need to be ready to stay there a while in case we run into trouble,” said Amanda.
"We've got the food and water we'll need upstairs. I'll grab two backpacks from the truck,” he said.
They filled their packs with supplies. Amanda took the pictures she had printed out that showed all the symbols in the lower chamber.
"Jordan, we might be gone for a while. We'll come back as soon as we can,” Amanda told Jordan.
"All right,” he said. "I'll let Alice know."
He was half asleep but Amanda knew he was alert enough to remember what she had told him.
Amanda and Jack walked down the stairs and stood in front of the door.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"Not really but I'm going anyway,” said Jack.
"I'll go first. I'll toss that rock back if everything is all right,” said Amanda.
It was a strange sensation walking into what looked like a black wall. Her mind told her it wasn't possible but she closed her eyes and forced herself to step through. She felt a little tingling sensation then found herself standing in the other room. It was dark so she turned on her flashlight.
She examined herself and didn't find anything wrong. The room was empty. She picked up the rock and tossed it back through the doorway. In a few seconds Jack appeared.
"That felt kind of tingly,” he said.
"I felt it too but I seem to be fine,” said Amanda. "Now for the big question. Can we open the door from this side."
She stepped away from the door and it turned to white stone. She stepped back and it reopened.
"Good! It works!" she said.
They examined the room but found no writing on any of the walls. There was only one exit.
"Shall we?" asked Amanda.
They carefully walked towards the exit.
Chapter 2 Lit'so
Once their eyes adjusted Amanda and Jack could see that they were in a large underground city. The stone path they were on was lined with small stone huts.
"I don't believe it!" said Jack.
They made a mark in the dirt next to the hut with the portal was so they could find their way back then walked in silence down the path.
They heard people talking and laughing and followed the sounds. They saw a group of people walking up the street towards them. They were all short, only about four feet tall, but very muscular. They were definitely not human.
"Jack, we're not on Earth anymore!" said Amanda.
"I've never heard the language they're speaking,” he said.
When the people looked up and saw Amanda and Jack they ran off. In a few seconds someone blew a horn and people flooded into the street, armed with weapons.
"Oh no! Just stand still, Amanda. Don't make any threatening moves,” said Jack.
They were quickly surrounded by men with spears. They looked eager to use them.
"Just stay still,” whispered Jack.
A man wearing a large gold necklace around his neck approached them. He asked them something but they couldn't understand.
Jack shook his head and said "We don't understand,” He tried to show them with hand signals that they meant no harm but the people didn't understand.
The man with the necklace turned and said something to one of the others who quickly ran off.
Amanda noticed their eyes. "Jack, look at their eyes. They're huge! Probably to help them see in this dim light,” she said.
She also noticed that they all had very hairy feet with long claws like a cat at the tip of each toe.
In a few minutes a different person ran up the street and approached them.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"We came through the doorway,” Jack said and pointed back the way they had come. "We mean no harm. Explorers."
She translated for the man with the gold necklace and he sent the men with weapons away.
"I am Gree'ta,” she said.
"I am Jack, this is Amanda."
"You speak English,” said Amanda.
"I learned from my father,” she said.
"Is your father here?" asked Amanda.
"No. He died many burns ago,” said Gree'ta.
"What do you call your people? We are called Humans,” said Jack.
"We are called Kronlites,” said Gree'ta.
"What do you call this place?" asked Jack.
"Sor'lit'pa,” she said.
"Are there other places like this?" asked Jack.
"Ali'mo'pa and Vir'to'pa are close by,” she said.
"What do you call your world. The place that contains all the cities of the Kronlites?" asked Jack.
"Lit'so,” said Gree'ta.
"How did your father learn English?" asked Amanda.
"Long ago, Mang'li, one of us, was chosen by the Goddess Alisheera to learn your language. He was the son of King Lan'to. It was a great honor for his family. Alisheera brought a man from the beyond to teach him. It took many, many burns but Mang'li learned and the man left. It has been passed on through his family for many lives. Now I know it and will teach it to someone else before I die,” said Gree'ta.
"You are related to King Lan'to?" asked Amanda.
"Yes, many lives back,” she said.
Gree'ta took them inside one of the huts and asked them to sit down. Some other people brought in plates of food.
"Jop'li will come soon. Eat while we wait,” said Gree'ta.
"Who is Jop'li?" asked Amanda.
"He is the leader of Sor'lit'pa."
Jack looked at the food they had brought them. None of it looked familiar.
"What do you call this?" asked Jack, pointing to something that looked a long white slug.
"Kap'sut,” she said. It was about four inches long and two inches thick.
"Bot'rot,” she said, pointing to a pile of small dead bugs.
"Maw'tri,” she said and handed them an algae like plant. "To put in water."
Jack took a bite of the kap'sut. It certainly didn't taste like chicken. It was more like wet tofu only a little slimy and hard to swallow. The bot'rot was crunchy with a bitter after taste.
"Thank you,” said Jack.
Amanda could barely keep from laughing when she saw the look on his face after he ate the bot'rot.
Gree'ta motioned for Amanda to eat.
Impressum
Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 29.07.2015
ISBN: 978-3-7396-0745-0
Alle Rechte vorbehalten