He got down on one knee, looking for any sign of activity. Seeing none, he rose and sprinted the remaining distance. As he drew near, he saw a doorway on the side of the building facing an alley and crouched outside it. He heard a noise in the street. It sounded like it came from where he had just been, but the fog was too thick to see.
Zane waited a full two minutes. Hearing nothing further, he ducked inside and found himself standing in a hallway that ran parallel to the street. The walls were made of stone, with rooms opening on either side. Lifting his rifle, Zane walked down the corridor, clearing each room as he went. When he arrived at the other end, he discovered a stairwell on the left.
Just where I thought you’d be.
His radio crackled in his pocket.
He pulled it out just as Bennett spoke. “Zane?”
“I’m here. Over.”
“Do you see what I see?”
“Negative. I’m inside a building right now.”
“Can you get up off the ground?”
“There’s a second story, yes.”
“Get as high as you can and look east.”
“Copy that. Give me a minute.”
Zane moved up the stairs cautiously, pausing twice to listen for any further sounds. Seconds later, he emerged onto what was left of the second floor. There was no roof, and the night sky opened up above him. Most of the walls still remained, although many had crumbled to a fraction of their original height.
Lifting his weapon, Zane made his way down the central corridor, eventually turning left into the second room facing east. Once inside, he crossed to the window.
He lifted his radio again. “Okay, I’m here.”
There was a brief pause before Bennett’s voice came through the speaker. “Are you facing east?”
“Yes, I’ve got a nice view down into the valley.”
“No, look up,” Bennett said. “Ten or eleven o’clock.”
It took Zane only a moment to see what the soldier was referring to. A set of lights shone in the distance, moving toward the summit.
“Is that a plane?” Zane whispered.
“Don’t think so. Too low. No noise.”
He was right. The large craft was now only a few miles away. At that distance, he should already hear the whine of the engines.
The operative raised his binoculars, propping his elbows on the sill. It took him a moment to locate the craft again, but when he did, the only thing he could see was a thin line of oddly colored lights. A moment later, the craft banked to its left as it crossed over the summit. As it did, Zane caught a glimpse of its body. It was dark and triangular, like a stealth fighter and yet much more massive.
Zane’s pulse quickened. He’d seen almost everything in the combat fleet of the US Air Force, including all classified aircraft, but he’d never seen anything like this.
The craft reduced speed as it continued south over the clearing. When it reached the midpoint of the strip, it slowed even further, so slow that it appeared to be hovering. “I guess we can dismiss any idea of this being a stealth fighter,” he said. “We don’t have anything that can do that.”
“Not unless they’ve been hiding something from us,” Bennett said.
“I don’t think so. I’ve seen just about everything they have, including everything currently under development. We have stealth fighters that can fly in relative silence, but we don’t have anything that can fly in complete silence. Nor can any of them hover.” Zane suddenly remembered who might know more about that technology than him. “Brett, can you hear us?”
After a long pause, Brett spoke, but his voice was distorted. “Yes… hear…”
“What’s your position? Can you see the craft?”
“Yes… trees along strip… move out into the open… better look.”
Zane frowned. Had they already moved down into the clearing? “Are you at the valley floor?”
He thought he heard a “no,” but couldn’t be sure.
“Stay put.”
“What is that?” Bennett asked.
Zane looked up and saw that the craft was now entering a patch of fog. When it came out on the other side, the hairs on his neck stood on end. A slender blue beam of light shone from the craft, panning back and forth. “Good grief. I have no idea.”
“The beam is too thin to provide much illumination, so I’m thinking it’s some sort of probe. Maybe it’s gathering data.”
As Zane watched, the craft and the blue light suddenly disappeared. He raised his binoculars, but nothing was there. “Can you still see it?”
“Negative. Right before it went dark, the probe seemed to extend toward the south, like it was looking for something.”
“Its last position bothers me,” Zane said. He made an adjustment to the radio’s settings and spoke again. “Tocchet, do you read? Over.”
Silence. Zane tried again, but still, no response.
“Try a different channel,” Bennett said. “They’re a ways off.”
“I did, but I’ll try another.” Zane adjusted the setting again. “Tocchet, do you read? Over.”
This time a long burst of heavy static issued from the radio. Strangely, it sounded like a female voice, but it was too garbled to understand.
“Katiya, is that you?” He listened intently, but this time it was even harder to hear. Maybe she can hear me even though I can’t hear her. Zane pressed the mic against his mouth. “Katiya, this is Zane. I can’t hear you, but if you can hear me, then listen closely. Hold your position, and we will come to you. I repeat, hold your position, and we will come to you. Do you understand?”
There was a long moment of silence, followed by a brief crackle he thought might have been a “yes.”
As Zane was about to speak again, he heard a noise behind him. He retrieved his rifle and heard it again. Someone was moving up the stairs.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
“Did you see where they went down?” Katiya asked as the three ran toward the front of the temple.
Amanda turned left down one of the rows. “I think they were over here.”
Seconds later, they arrived at the wall. The three sucked in breath as they played their beams around the area.
“Rebecca!” Amanda shouted.
“Down here,” said a muffled voice.
“Over there!” Max pointed to a half-wall of stone block.
Katiya arrived first. There was a set of stairs behind the half-wall. She aimed her flashlight down into the darkness. “Rebecca, are you there?”
“Yes.” This time it was a male voice that sounded like Artur’s. “Get down here, quick.”
Katiya scrambled down the stairs, followed by Amanda and Max. When she arrived at the bottom, she stepped out into a dark room. Two silhouettes stood a short distance away, holding flashlights. One of them turned toward her and said, “Watch your step.” It was Artur.
Katiya played her beam toward something on the floor then froze at the sight that met her eyes. Piles of bones were strewn across the floor. Rib cages, skulls, femurs, tibias, fibulas.
Amanda let out a little gasp when she saw what was littered at her feet.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Rebecca said. “I’m just a bit fragile right now.”
“Don’t apologize,” Katiya said as she walked farther out into the room. “Most people wouldn’t even have the guts to come back here.”
“It looks like some sort of burial chamber,” Artur said.
Katiya frowned as her eyes caught something a few feet away. She walked toward it and crouched. A chill swept over her body as she realized she was looking at the largest human skull she’d ever seen. But what made it even stranger was its elongated shape. She picked it up then stood.
“Oh my!” Amanda walked over for a closer look. “It… it looks like…”