2

Back at the stream, Staci shook Lou awake.

Lou looked at her sleepily. “What’s up? Is Jim back?”

“No. He’s been gone almost four hours. I’m worried.”

“He’s got Deefer with him. He’ll be fine. Tell you what, if you do something to eat, he’s bound to come back.”

“OK. It’ll have to be sandwiches as I can’t light a fire.”

“Jim’s better at that sort of thing,” Lou said, settling back to watch Staci get more water from the stream to dilute the juice. Lou yawned and rubbed her leg. She and Staci had barely taken their first bites when Jim and Deefer came into the clearing.

“Told you,” Lou grinned.

Jim flopped down beside them. “Lunch,” he said. “I’m starving. You should see what we found.”

“Is that the royal we?” Lou asked. “Or is it just delusions of grandeur on your part?”

“Me and Deefer.”

“Deefer and I,” she corrected.

“Oh, pssht.” Not even her teasing could diminish his enthusiasm or the grin on his face. Whatever he’d found had to be pretty spectacular. “It’s amazing.”

“Did you find civilization?” Staci asked.

“Not exactly, but signs thereof. It’s a temple. Albeit a slightly dilapidated one, but it means there are people here somewhere.”

“How far?”

“About forty minutes down the path.” Jim paused. “Well, probably more like an hour and a half at Lou’s speed. There’s water so we need only take enough for the journey. We could stay there tonight.”

After they finished lunch, Staci rinsed the cups and knife in the stream and, once again, topped up the water bottles.

Then they set off up the path in search of Jim’s temple. It took them just over the hour and a half that Jim had estimated.

Lou limped as slowly as she could. She was in a great deal of pain from her shark-damaged leg, more so than usual, but was trying not to let it show. “Where’s this temple then?” she asked as they entered the clearing.

“Here,” Jim answered pulling aside the leafy curtain covering the offshoot of the path.

Staci and Lou went through and stopped in wonder.

Before them rose the remains of an ornate building. Huge pillars supported the roof. Creepers entwined themselves around the pillars adding to the ethereal charm. Stone steps rose from the ground up to the entrance. Flowers and leaves were carved around the tops of the pillars while some kind of bird was carved into the base.

“There’s more inside,” Jim told them. “The windows give enough light for us to see. The roof has gone in a couple of places, but there’s plenty of shelter.”

Lou struggled over to the steps and sank down wearily. “You two explore. I’ll catch up in a bit. Take the camera and get some photos.”

As the others disappeared inside, she rubbed her leg and grimaced as the pain increased.

Deefer sat down next to her and whined.

She patted the top of his head. “Just wish I had the energy to go look for myself. It’s an archeologist’s dream.”

~*~

Inside the temple, Staci looked around, fascinated. “It’s nothing like any ruins I’ve ever seen. There’s no dust or debris. It looks well cared for despite the holes in the roof and walls.”

“Look at this,” Jim said. He pointed to one of the walls. It was divided into panels. Tiny pictures and some kind of writing covered each panel.

Staci ran her fingers over them. “Are they hiro, hero...oh, those glyph things?”

“Hieroglyphics? Yes, I think so. They obviously tell some kind of story, but I don’t know what.”

Staci said, “Are we staying here tonight?”

“Yes. We might need to help Lou up the steps. Is she OK? She’s very quiet.”

“She’s walked farther today than she has for weeks.”

Jim shrugged. “Yeah, but we all have.”

“Yes, but not on crutches. She’s also in a lot more pain than she’s letting on. We’ll have to take things a lot easier tomorrow. Maybe just move on every other day.”

Jim went back to the temple entrance. He went down the steps.

Lou was hunched over at the bottom of them.

“Lou?”

She looked up, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve. “I’m here.”

Jim pushed aside a touch of embarrassment at having caught her off guard and sat next to her, concern flooding him. “Are you all right?” he asked gently.

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

“Liar. You’re not fine at all, because normally you’d be jumping through hoops to explore this place. Is the pain really bad?”

“I’ve just over done it,” Lou gasped, her face creasing as a fresh wave of pain swept over her. “I’ll be OK.” She looked at him. “Honestly, Jim, I’m just tired.”

“We’ll stay here tomorrow to give you a rest. Let’s get you inside. There’s something I want you to see. It might take your mind off how tired you feel for a few minutes.”

“Can’t see that happening, but OK. I’ll come.” Lou struggled to her feet and with Jim’s help made it to the top of the steps. She gripped her crutches and limped inside the temple after him.

Staci had found some cloth in a box. “It’s weird,” she said, showing them. “This looks almost new. So does the box.”

Lou studied the symbols on the wall. “These pictographs are amazing. They tell the story of the building of the temple and what happened to the people who built it.”

“You can read them?” Jim asked in astonishment.

Lou smiled. “Misspent youth,” she replied.

Jim laughed. “I’m sorry? I thought you were only sixteen. I forgot for a minute you turned fifty a couple of months ago.”

Lou poked her tongue at him. “Ha, ha. Very funny. You know I find the whole archaeology thing fascinating. I’ve spent hours studying Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphics and pictographs. Apparently some kind of disaster struck the people shortly before the temple was begun. As a result the temple took a many years to complete.”

“What happened?”

“I’ll need a lot longer to study them if you want the whole story.” She crossed over to one of the statues. “This guy looks familiar.”

“It’s Jim.” Staci said.

Lou laughed. “It does look like him, doesn’t it? No seriously. I know this guy, but I can’t, for the life of me, remember his name.”

“So until you remember, we’ll just call him Jim.” Staci laughed.

Jim rolled his eyes. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Lou turned and her leg gave out. She dropped the crutches and toppled to the floor, crying out as she fell.

Jim dashed across to her. “You OK?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just this stupid leg. Help me up, please.”

Jim pulled her upright.

Staci passed her the crutches.

Lou looked at them. “Honestly, I’m fine. Just tired.”

“I found some cushions as well,” Staci said. “You can rest properly tonight. I’ll show you.”

“It’s half five,” Jim said. “I’ll get a fire going outside for tea, shall I?”

“Please. I’ll get Lou settled, and I’ll be there.”

Lou sank onto the cushions and closed her eyes. She could control the pain better like this. A thud on her chest and a heavy sigh told her Deefer was using her as a pillow again. She took a couple of deep breaths as she stroked his ears. “Maybe I’ll remember where I’ve seen the statue before, when I’m not so tired,” she told him.

Deefer licked her hand.

Staci giggled. “I think that was him agreeing with you. I’m going to see what Jim’s doing.”

Lou waved a hand. “Sure, Deefer and I will lie here and think about statues.”

~*~

Jim came to tell Lou tea was ready, and found her asleep. He returned out to Staci. “She’s asleep. I won’t wake her.”

“What about tea?”

“We’ll have to eat it. We can’t keep it warm, can we?”

“True.”

Jim divided Lou’s between them.

Deefer ate his and disappeared back inside to Lou.

Staci looked at Jim. “Is there any way we can have a fire inside?”

“Not really. I thought I might light one of those torches later when it gets dark.”

They lapsed into silence and finished tea.

Staci rinsed the dishes in the stream. Then she and Jim sat by the fire and watched the stars come out as darkness fell. Before the fire died completely, Jim carried a piece of blazing wood inside and lit two of the torches in the room where Lou was sleeping.

Jim rejoined Staci on the steps of the temple. He pointed out the constellations to her. There were many they didn’t usually see in England, but most of them were the same, just in different places in the night sky.

Staci yawned. “I’m tired.” She looked around. “Where’s Deefer?”

“With Lou.”

“I should’ve known,” Staci laughed. “I’m going to bed. You coming?”

“In a bit.”

Staci rose. “’Night.”

Jim watched her go. He’d explore tomorrow while Lou took it easy. He took a last look at the stars and walked inside.

Both the girls slept.

Deefer raised his head and wagged his tail in greeting.

Jim patted him and Deefer settled again.

Jim sat on his blanket. He wished he knew what to do and where to go. Of course, there was One who did. Closing his eyes, he began to pray. He’d messed up in the biggest way possible, and didn’t deserve any help trying to put it right and get the girls to safety. But then, he hadn’t deserved his salvation either. He wasn’t asking God to solve the problem, just to guide him in what to do next.