The hunt
"Drive, old man, and don't even think of trying any funny business. You three shut your mouths and put your hands up against the bull bar. Tie them up, Doc, and make sure those knots are tight."
They did as Eric instructed even though hatred was on all their tongues.
Alex looked over at her mother who sat quietly next to her. Her hair was messy and her clothes dirty. Her arms showed signs of old scars and fresh bruising. It was evident they had been torturing her. She looked exhausted and broken, almost in a trance. She lay her head on Izzy's shoulder. She still couldn't believe her mother was alive. All this time they thought she was dead and she wasn't. She was very much alive and held prisoner by a traitor in their midst.
"Where do you want me to drive to, Eric?" Charles asked mockingly.
"Where do you think, old man? The river mouth of course. Hope you brought your goggles. We're going to do a bit of diving."
"Diving? We can't dive. Those caves are dangerous, and if the tide isn't in, it will be impossible to do," Charles exclaimed, suddenly shaking.
Sam turned sideways and looked at Alex with disbelief. He had overcome many a fear on this journey, but diving was not something he looked forward to. Alex wished she could tell him not to worry and that they'd think of something to escape it, but her mouth was still gagged. Instead, she reassured him with her eyes and hoped he understood.
Forty minutes later, with Eric's gun still pointed at Charles' head, the captured party arrived at the spot by the river mouth, the exact place from which her mother had been kidnapped all those years before. Had she not been alive, there would be no way on earth Alex would ever set foot there again, but there she was, squashed next to her in the back of a hijacked Jeep, looking more nervous the nearer they got.
Charles' eyes sought out his daughter's through the rearview mirror. He was trying to tell her something. Alex caught on and replied in silence through her frowning eyes. In return, Charles cast his eyes up to the sky. Alex knew that her father was hinting toward the raptor bird. She got it, so she blinked slowly in confirmation.
Eric untied Sam's hands and instructed him to leave the others tied up. He was under the impression Sam was the least threat to him. Little did he know how far he had come on this journey.
"Now get out and start walking to the beach."
Alex cleared her throat to get his attention and pushed out some muffled sounds from underneath the gag.
"What do you want, agoraphobe?"
Alex narrowed her eyes. If one thing was clear, then it was that she had long since passed the time when she carried that label. No one called her that and got away with it. But this was not the time for revenge. The time would come for that and he'd regret his words. She spoke through the gag again.
Eric stared her down in irritation but succumbed and yanked the rag from her mouth.
"Spit it out, Daddy's girl. What do you want?"
Her knuckles pushed through her skin at Eric's taunting as she fought back the urge to headbutt his red freckled nose flat against his face. But her father's eyes cautioned her not to. With her mouth free she spoke with confidence. "Why would you want to dive if you can access the cave from out here?" She nodded her head toward the trees.
"Aah, so you've been holding out on me after all? What are you waiting for then you little brat? Start walking."
Charles smiled with his eyes as he took pride in his daughter's smarts. Sam, on the other hand, frowned with confusion. He was in the dark about their historical encounter with the bird. She mouthed for him to trust her during a brief moment when Eric's back was turned toward them.
The trees were far denser than three years before and Alex paused to make sure she was going the right way. She recognized the trees leading up to the edge of the bird's lair. They were very close and she kept her eyes open for any signs of the raptor bird. Under normal circumstances, she would have prayed the creature would stay away, but now, she needed this bird to come to their rescue.
"Why are you stopping? Keep moving!" Eric shouted.
He was at the back of the line as Alex led them through the trees, his gun wedged firmly into Izzy's back.
Come on, bird! Where are you? Alex silently called out to it. Up ahead she saw remnants of a fresh carcass and inconspicuously turned to look at her parents behind her. They both noticed it, and Sam astutely caught on that something was about to happen. Eric, totally oblivious to the fact that he was about to face death, kicked a coconut sideways, like he was trying to score a goal.
Alex thought him to be a complete idiot. She was sure whoever he was in cahoots with had by now already discovered they were not at the safe house anymore. Either way, Eric was dead.
But the bird was nowhere to be seen. Alex turned and looked at her mother in question. Izzy shrugged her shoulders ever so slightly. But farther along their walk through the trees, there was another fresh carcass and they instantly knew the creature was still very much alive.
"Where is it, brat? All I see are dead animals everywhere. If you're taking me on a wild goose chase I'm going to cut your tongue out, do you hear me?"
"And that will get you closer to finding Rhapta for sure, won't it, you fool?" She lashed out in response.
"So, you still have that little attitude of yours, is it? I don't scare that easily, woman. Now, where are we going?"
Alex pushed her chin toward the trees farther ahead. Eric scanned the direction she pointed and found nothing. Within a second, he was behind her and yanked her head back by her hair.
"There's nothing! You're lying!"
"No! I'm not. It's been a while, okay? The vegetation has changed. Perhaps it's a little bit off this way."
Of course she was lying. She was trying to buy them more time. It was just about sunset so they'd have to wait until the morning if it got too dark. Perhaps then they would have an opportunity to escape during the night.
Eric's phone echoed through the trees and she watched his face drain from red to pale white. If his accomplices found him out now, they'd kill him, and them.
"What are you staring at, brat? You have exactly five minutes to find that cave entrance or I'll kill this boyfriend of yours." He ejected a ball of saliva at Sam's feet.
Her eyes met Sam's who, strangely enough, rolled his eyes, making it understood that he wasn't intimidated. He didn't seem worried in the least. He was a good head and shoulders taller than Eric and certainly more athletic in build, so perhaps he didn't see him as a threat.
Her father, on the other hand, might not be in such a good position to wrestle him off if he went for him. He looked as battered and exhausted as her mother. She couldn't risk losing any of them, so she decided to turn to the right and walk toward the bird's lair. It was time to pull out all the stops.
As they came closer, the bird's powerful wings flapped above their heads. The bird rushed up from the side and announced her presence with a shrill shriek so loud it pushed them all to the ground. Charles grabbed the opportunity and kicked at Eric's face, rendering him lights-out next to a bare carcass. With their hands still tied behind their backs and their mouths gagged, they each headed for cover behind a tree. Using the razor-sharp edges of the palm tree, Alex cut through the thin ropes and freed her hands.
"Use the tree to cut your ropes!" she yelled across to the others.
She watched as Sam ran through the lair toward her mother to untie her hands, momentarily causing her to hold her breath. But he made it and freed Izzy's hands.
"Dad, are you okay?"
"All good here, Alex. Now what?"
The bird turned and dove down to where Eric still lay comatose in the sand. Its gigantic claws clutched Eric's unconscious body and then the raptor ascended above the trees. There was no saving him now. They needed to save themselves.
"Guys, I think I see a hollow in the bushes, look. Over there! We can hide in it! Let's make a run for it before the bird turns around again," Alex called out.
"Okay, let's do it and hope the shelter is large enough for all of us!" Charles shouted back.
"It looks fine, Dad, come. On three, okay?" She looked across to her mother and Sam who waited on her count.
She counted it down and Alex pushed herself away from the tree trunk, sprinting across the lair, and crushing several skeleton bones under her feet. She briefly looked back to see the monster bird dipping low for another dive. Her foot hit the remains of a dead animal or something, and she fell flat on her face next to it. Bewildered, she looked up to see the rest of the group all safely inside the hollow, shouting for her to get up.
Her hand sank inside the rotten animal's carcass as she pushed herself up. It was disgusting but she sprinted for the hollow and got to it split seconds ahead of the bird as it came in for another dive. Izzy pulled her in by her arm with a strength she didn't know she possessed. Before she knew it, she had Alex soundly in front of a wall of hanging tree roots. The raptor, apparently upset by the party making it to the opening, swooshed overhead and turned to come in from a different angle. Dead ahead, the raptor made a clear descent straight toward them.
Its sharp beak was open and ready to devour anything in its path. Clasped together and paralyzed with fear, they stood frozen stiff as they became aware that the bird had trapped them in the hollow. There was a clearing directly in front of them with the enclave half-mooned around them. There was no way out.
The bird headed directly for them. Alex's mind worked ferociously. She stepped back between the roots and felt her body fall back against a stone wall. Straight away, the wall swiveled around and deposited all of them safely on the other side. Plunged into total darkness they remained pinned against the wall. They might have escaped the bird but the situation presented a new challenge.
Alex frantically tried to untangle herself from a string of cobwebs that had her in a panic.
"Mum, Dad, Sam?" Her voice echoed back.
"Yeah, I'm here," Charles answered in a nervous voice, followed by a "Yip, I'm here too," from Sam, and Izzy's faint," Me too."
"Okay, great. Any chance any of you might have a flashlight or something?"
"I never leave home without one, sweetheart." Charles chuckled, retrieving a matchbox-sized emergency flashlight from his pocket.
Seconds later, the light from his torch shone across a dark chamber. The curtain of tree roots they had fallen through had disappeared, replaced by solid walls that encircled them. There were no doors or windows. The walls and floor were solid stone, and ancient engravings and abstract symbols were splashed across them. Alex noticed an archaic flame torch against the wall and held it out to Sam.
"You have a match somewhere?"
"Matches and bandages, Miss Hunt." He flicked the match against the stone wall and lit the flame.
Finally in a position to see their surroundings, Alex ran toward her mother; Charles was already by her side.
"I can't believe you're alive! All this time we thought you were dead and he had you locked up in the safe house! I don't know why we never thought to go there. I'm truly sorry, Mum."
"Hush, sweet girl. You couldn't have known. The authorities were in on it."
"My dear Izzy, I should have known. What an idiot I've been."
"We can't change it now, Charles. Let's not dwell on the past, okay?"
She pulled away and looked across at Sam.
"Now, is someone going to introduce me to the young man who somehow landed himself in the middle of this?"
"Me too. I hear he's a doctor," Charles joked.
"Yes, well he's a lot of things, actually. This is Sam, Dr. Sam Quinn. He's Professor Keating's best student and also happens to be a qualified medical practitioner. Oh, and quite possibly your biggest fan."
Sam blushed, visible even in the faint torchlight.
"I'm honored to meet you both, Professor Hunt, Mrs. Hunt."
"A doctor, that's quite something. Well, Dr. Quinn. It's a pleasure to meet you too."
"Oh, I forgot to mention, Sam is an aspiring archaeologist, so this is officially his first expedition."
"Thanks for the reminder, Alex. Now, if you don't mind me asking, where the heck are we, and what was that thing that just chased us?"
Their laughter filled the hollow chamber.
"I haven't the foggiest, Dr. Quinn. That thing was from the pits of hell if you ask me."
"Do you think it's the rapturous bird everyone's been talking about?" Sam asked Charles again.
"I don't know what else to think, Sam. I've never seen anything like it. But if the rumors are true, then yes. It's quite possible. Perhaps a few simpler questions are where are we and how we are going to get out of here?"
"Well, it looks like some underground passageway. I have no idea how we got inside or how to get out. I can't see any doors," Alex cut in.
She ran her hand along the stone wall that had deposited them inside the chamber. There were no latches or openings.
"There's nothing here. I can't see any exit. Let's move this way."
Torch in hand, she moved forward ahead of them.
"Be careful, Alexandra. There could be booby traps. These tunnels usually have snares everywhere."
Izzy barely finished her sentence before the floor gave way in front of Alex. Alex jumped sideways to avoid a sheer drop into a pit of darkness.
"That was close. Is everyone okay?" She didn't wait for anyone to answer. "We're going to have to try to balance along the wall on the ledge and then jump the last stretch. Do you think you can do this?" Alex asked.
"Heck, yeah, piece of cake," Sam said sarcastically.
"Like the doctor says. Piece of cake so let's go for it," Charles added.
The ledge was narrow and holding a firm footing wasn't easy, but they made it across. Alex had lost her flame torch when the floor had given out and never heard it land, declaring quite obviously the chasm's depth. As soon as she reached the other end, Charles tossed his torch across and started across the ledge. In expert sequence, they all moved safely along the ledge to the other end. When Sam, who was last, finally stepped off the ledge on the other side, it was as if someone had pushed a remote button and the stone floor straightaway closed up again behind them.
"I thought Egypt was tricky. That was a brush with death if ever I've seen one," Charles commented.
"Remarkable. It must operate on a weight switch," Izzy added.
"It feels good to have you with us, Izzy my love," Charles whispered to his wife.
"We're onto something here, Dad. The raptor bird didn't want us coming in here. It was protecting it. All those dead people in its lair obviously came too close, burying the secret with them."
"You're right. Have a look at this, what do you make of it?"
Alex stared at a stone carving. It read:
Feed me, and I live, yet give me a drink, and I die
"I have no clue," Charles offered. "Everything lives with food but what will die with a drink? What drink? Alcohol? Poison?"
"Can you perhaps spot anything else anywhere that might help us decipher the riddle?" Izzy asked, intrigued.
With the torch above their heads, Alex held it up against the wall and inspected it block by block.
"Nope, only another torch that's bigger than this little one. Here, hold this please, Mum?" To Alex, it was as if time had turned back and the famous Hunt team was as it was before her mother's deceitful death.
The larger torch cast an expansive glow across the entire passage.
"Mum, look!"
Painted on the wall was the raptor bird, protecting a city adorned with gold and gems. Sketches of bags filled with spices and weapons lay scattered around an image of a temple.
"It's Rhapta, Mum! This is it! We found Rhapta!"
At that moment, Alex couldn't ask for anything better. It had been a while since she felt that happy. The two people who meant the most to her were right there with her. Not to mention that she had found a new best friend in Sam.
"There is a good chance here. It does look like it, Alexandra, but I'm going to play it cool, okay? Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm still stuck on this riddle and let's not forget we need to find a way out of here."
Alex looked at the clue again.
"What dies when you give it a drink? Think. What liquid can kill?"
They paced back and forth until Sam eventually spoke.
"Well, water can kill a flame."
"Of course! Sam, you've got a nose for this. It's a fire." Charles patted a congratulatory hand on Sam's back, impressed with his quick thinking.
Sam sported a grin so wide that they expected his cheeks to crack any second. Alex burst with pride too. It was quite impressive that he had managed to crack the riddle. This man had undoubtedly changed her opinion from that first meeting on the plane.
"Okay, it's a fire. Now what? Are we supposed to light the torch above the riddle? That would be the 'burning a flame' part. What are we missing here?" Izzy queried.
Alex took a couple of steps back to have a better look at the wall around the riddle. A tiny furrow seemed to outline the puzzle and led all the way around the paintings on the wall. In the dark, Alex wasn't able to see it clearly and moved the torch closer to the wall. Instantly the furrow caught alight and pushed the flame through the furrows along the walls. Like a massive labyrinth of golden passages made from fire, it ran a trail throughout the chamber.
Charles expelled a loud gasp.
"Let's follow it. Look, it's carrying on over there," Alex yelled excitedly.
Before long they had followed the route through the tunnels where it stopped at tiny torches of fire. In the center of the torches, was a round pond filled with a thick liquid. Within seconds, the pool exploded into a mass of flames and in turn ignited several other canals with fire. It was ancient ingenuity to the fullest. They were standing in a massive chamber, entirely illuminated by trenches of fire all around them.
"Mum, look there!"
They turned to where the fire had stopped and encircled an enormous shrine with a ring of fire. Above it was a gold statue of the soaring raptor bird they had run from earlier, and in its claws was a rectangular box almost identical to the one they had found the scroll in. On this box, written in ancient Greek, it read
R-H-A-P-T-A
Izzy's legs collapsed underneath her as she fell to her knees and wept. Tears overwhelmed her now decades of searching had finally come to pass.
"Is this true? After all these years of digging and believing in something in which we had no evidence of its existence, we finally found it!"
They had found Rhapta, yes. The ancient lost city of Africa was finally discovered.
"Yes, Mum, you did it You REALLY did it. Your dream has come true and look, you're sitting right in front of it! You found Rhapta!"
Charles leaped to his wife's side. Sam, who stood mesmerized, eventually joined them in a celebratory huddle. The entire chasm was illuminated all around them, a shiny, glittering chamber.
"What do you think is in the box? Do you think it holds the treasures?" Alex eventually asked.
"I'm convinced it looks precisely like the one we found. If it is, it can only mean that there's something hidden inside it. What it is, we are about to find out," Izzy ventured.
They stood in awe at the foot of the shrine, beneath the towering golden bird's claws.
"What if the thing comes to life when we touch the box? It could be booby-trapped, you know?" Alex paused.
"Not likely, my girl. I can't see anything indicating that it's alive. What I see though, is a box looking for a key."
"A key? Like a real key?" Sam piped up.
Izzy inspected it closer. "Certainly looks like it. The box resembles our one but look here. It's a hollow engraving of some sort. Almost as if we're supposed to place something on top of it to unlock it. I just don't know what yet. It's not very clear."
The box was perfection. Alex traced her fingers along the odd shape on top of the box. It looked familiar, very familiar. Her hand reached for the relic knife she hid in the small of her back before Sam and she left for the safe house.
"Well, knock me over with a feather if it isn't the knife! The knife is the key! Alexandra, my clever girl. I think this time it's clear. You have your mother's brains after all."
Alex giggled. "Mum, you should do it."
Izzy took the knife from her daughter and placed it into the hollowed-out shape on the side of the box. A series of loud clicking sounds filled the chamber all around them as they watched the box release latch after latch. And there, in front of their eyes, the box unlocked a drawer filled with gold coins and jewels of all descriptions.
And behind the shrine, a stone wall glided open to welcome the last of the day's bright rays to shine down on them.