Conspiracy of Bones (And the Beat Goes On) Read online

  Mark looked around, but didn’t see any camera. As if reading his thoughts, she pointed to the backpack resting on the floor. "Camera’s still in my pack. I was just admiring the artistry when I heard something. I must say, you pretty much had me freaked there for a second. I thought I was in a bad horror film."

  "That thought also crossed my mind," Mark admitted with a grin.

  "And what are you doing down here at this time of night?" Laura placed her hands on her hips. "The boss needs to get his sleep so he can deal with all the crisis that happens in a day."

  "Couldn’t sleep, either. Come over here, for a second." He began extracting some items from his own backpack.

  "Wine?" Laura asked in surprise when he pulled the bottle from the pack. "Planning a romantic dinner party?"

  "Closest thing I could find to grape juice," Mark replied. "I’ve been working on this theory. Based on some artefacts found in the Fertile Crescent. The ancient Babylonians were able to construct simple generators made out of iron ore and copper, fuelled by nothing more than simple grape juice." He uncorked the bottle with a pop.

  "Really? Fascinating."

  "My hypothesis goes something like this. We have here several examples of potential generators - ceramic jars that also contain iron ore and copper filaments.” He swept his arm in a wide arch, still holding onto the bottle in one hand and the cork in the other. “Thus, we have our power source. Also note that the plaster in the walls contain a delicately balanced mixture of copper and tungsten."

  "You figured it out?" Laura asked.

  Mark nodded and continued with his discourse, lecture style. "Potential ‘light bulbs’, if you will. Witness that the jars are all connected to the wall by this small, almost imperceptible, copper wire protruding from the base of the jar and imbedded in the plaster itself. ‘Plugged in’. Now, when I fire up the generator..." He carefully poured the wine into one of the ceramic containers. The wall nearest to the jar began to glow a brilliant fluorescent green. Mark blinked. "It works," was all he said.

  "You’re a genius." Laura stood next to him, staring at the glowing walls. "But why were they glowing to begin with?"

  "I haven’t figured that out yet. Maybe just some residual effects. Maybe the electricity coming off our gear, or even our bodies. It does appear that the elements used in the plaster are very sensitive to any energy source. Certainly different technology than anything I’ve ever encountered."

  They stood back, looking at the mural for several minutes.

  "You gonna drink that?" Laura asked suddenly, pointing at the half empty bottle of wine.

  "Huh?"

  She lifted a shoulder. "Well, it just seems like a waste, now that it’s open."

  Mark shrugged and handed her the bottle. She took a long swallow and then handed it back to him, wiping her mouth on her shirt sleeve. "Not bad. Nice atmosphere, too. Although the company’s not very talkative." She smiled in his direction.

  He returned the smile and followed her lead. The wine was full bodied with the taste of ripe, juicy grapes. Or maybe it was the setting that made it taste all right. They both sat down on the floor and shared the rest of the wine in silence as they surveyed the glowing room.

  "You know," Laura said, "I do realize that I need to apologize for all the stress I’ve caused. I’ve been meaning to bring it up for days, but I’m rather proud, you know."

  "I know," Mark agreed, but cracked a smile.

  "I mean, the screw up with the lab results and then the photos. I don’t blame you for thinking the worst. You just need to know that none of it happened intentionally. And if I’ve been a little uptight, well... it’s only natural. When you see someone you care about being put under so much pressure... " Her words trailed off as she placed her hand on Mark’s thigh.

  "I guess we’ve all been under a bit of pressure."

  "We need to relax, I think. Let off some steam." She was rubbing his leg now, coming dangerously close to his privates. "I’ve missed you." She leaned forward for a kiss. When their lips parted, she breathed huskily, "I think it would be exciting to make love here. Don’t you?"

  Mark felt his libido surge in response. He was about to acquiesce when his eye caught a glimpse of the grotesque demonoids, swooping in the act of possession over the helpless women. He froze. "It’s getting pretty late. We’d better get some sleep." He disengaged himself from Laura’s arms and stood.

  "Suit yourself," Laura said tightly. She jumped to her feet, grabbed her bag, and led the way from the chamber. It only took Mark a minute to gather his things and catch up.

  "About those photos," he said from behind her. She stopped in her tracks, but didn’t turn around. "Don’t worry about it. I came and took plenty earlier on today – just in case."

  Mar could see Laura’s back stiffen but she continued on without any further comment.

  Chapter Six

  The next day arrived and with it the moment they had all been straining toward. The inner chamber would be opened. Once the work crew had carefully chiselled their way around the sealed off entrance, the door swung in with surprising ease. “This is it,” Mark said under his breath. He, Laura, Anthony and Rocco entered, leaving the rest of the crew outside in the main antechamber with all the paintings.

  Mark had to duck his head to get in, although once inside it offered just enough room for him to stand. The roughly ten feet by ten feet space was empty except for a large casket sitting in the middle of the room. Mark ran a hand over its smooth surface and was surprised by the resin like feel of the material. There were a few markings, probably script, but little else in terms of ornamentation. Not what he’d expected.

  “Well, let’s see what we’ve got,” Mark said. It took all four of them to lift the heavy lid and slide it off to one side. He frowned. The container seemed was full of black dust.

  Laura nodded her head slowly. "Charcoal. A common method of preservation.”

  “I want every bit of it bagged and sent to the surface for analysis," Mark ordered.

  With surgical precision, the charcoal packing was gently swept into storage containers and passed out to the waiting crew for transport to the surface where it would be further sifted for artefacts. Mark watched the entire process while Laura documented it with her camera. About two hours later a fabric shroud appeared.

  “Stop.” Mark held up a hand. “Let’s be careful here, folks. Maybe we can lift the veil and get a peek at what’s underneath.”

  In slow motion, Rocco and Mark lifted the fragile shroud.

  Gasps echoed through the chamber. Before them lay not the skeleton they expected, but a perfectly preserved human face. His olive complexion appeared pliable, with only some slight recession around the mouth where a hint of gleaming teeth could be seen. His dark hair was intact, seemingly still attached at the scalp. It was a handsome face, probably no more than thirty years of age.

  "The Nephilim," Anthony breathed.

  "What?" Rocco looked sharply over at his colleague.

  "A race of giants. Born of the union between gods and men,” Anthony chanted in a dramatic tone.

  Laura ignored his theatrics. “I wonder what embalming technique was used. The preservation is remarkable."

  "We could make millions selling it as an anti-aging cream," Rocco said with a laugh.

  "The layers of charcoal are probably a factor," Mark noted. "We’ll do a thorough analysis above ground. For now, let’s get the preliminaries. Rocco, Anthony, let’s remove a little more of this shroud. See if the king, here, has a crown."

  Using sterile tongs, they gently peeled back more of the shroud. All eyes widened.

  This was no crown of gold and jewels. Tucked along the top of the casket, lying on its side, was a ceremonial headdress similar to the remnants found with the guards. However, this specimen was perfectly preserved. Dark leather, pointed skull, gleaming eyes, long, sharp beak... a textbook Pterodactyl head.

  "What have you got to say now, Doc?" Rocco directed at Laura with sat
isfaction. She remained speechless.

  Mark blinked, not able to take his eyes off the treasure. "There’s no denying it, now.”

  "Just like the legends say," Anthony offered with a whistle.

  "I’ll get some photos," Laura finally spoke. Mark gave her an intense stare. "Don’t worry," she added icily. "I won’t let anything happen this time."

  "Good," Mark stated, his tone no nonsense. "I won’t let this one get away from me.” He turned to the rest. “We better get to work gathering our stats. I want this entire casket removed to a safe location as soon as possible."

  The specimen was wearing a suit of leather armour, and clutched a sceptre of bronze intricately carved with images of various animals. Included with a lion, boar and elephant was the now familiar Pterodactyl. Rocco whistled as he and Anthony took some measurements. "Here’s proof of that legendary race of giants you were talking about.”

  Laura snapped several photos. "There are probably basketball players just as tall.”

  "True," Anthony conceded, "but the average height has increased over time, not the other way around. For this time period, these men would have been giants."

  "We haven’t established a time period yet," Laura pointed out. Her camera whizzed again.

  "What did you call them, again?" Rocco asked Anthony as they continued to record their data.

  "Nephilim," Anthony replied.

  "I don’t recall hearing that reference before," Mark mused. “At least not in the Nbedele legends.”

  "Oh, it’s not from this area." Anthony looked over at Mark and smiled as he talked. "It’s a Biblical reference."

  Mark’s brows rose. "Really? Fill me in."

  Anthony peered into the darkness of the cave, as if in a trance. "And the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bear children to them, and the same became mighty men which were of old.” Anthony stopped and blinked, directing his gaze at the rest of the group who had all stopped working as well. “Some manuscripts say ‘Nephilim’ instead of ‘giants.” He smiled and went back to work.

  "How do you do that?" Rocco asked.

  Anthony looked over the tops of his glasses. "What?"

  Rocco shrugged. "Repeat it like that. Like you were saying it word for word."

  Anthony tapped his temple. "Photographic memory. Anyway, the story goes that people became very wicked in the sight of God. And it was at that point -"

  "That he sent the flood," Mark finished for him.

  "Exactly," Anthony verified with a grin. "I’m proud of you, Doc. You must have attended Sunday School after all."

  "A few times," Mark agreed dryly, but he smiled none the less.

  "So it all comes back to a fairy story about gods coming down to earth to have sex with the local women," Laura said with disgust. "That’s the best you can do?"

  "Hey, don’t shoot the messenger." Anthony put up one hand in defence.

  "As enjoyable as your story was, we need to get to the facts," Laura stated. "Who were these people and where did they come from?"

  "I think the pictures on the walls speak plainly enough about what they believed," Anthony said.

  "Or what a few powerful people wanted them to believe," Laura countered.

  "That’s true," Anthony conceded. "I think we all realize that those in power have to have some kind of hold over their subjects. Being a descendant of the gods would be a good way to keep your opponents in check."

  "I think there is more to it than that," Laura said. "Notice how the power is in the hands of the males, which only goes to show that males have consistently felt the need to prove their dominance over females, especially sexually. It’s a basic insecurity built into the male gender."

  Rocco grinned. "Them’s fightin' words."

  Laura tossed her ponytail off her shoulder and took another photo. "Men overlook the fact that females have the real power.”

  Anthony smiled. “Fascinating. Do tell.”

  “They’ve historically been able to make men do whatever they want simply by enticing them with sex. Men just don’t have control of themselves in that department, so they’ve had to make up stories with themselves portrayed as super human in both strength and power."

  Rocco raised a brow and looked over at Mark. "Any of that true, boss?"

  Mark just shrugged. “No comment.”

  Rocco nodded. “Smart man.”

  "What you say has some truth to it," Anthony said. "Women have been the downfall of many great men. Napoleon and Josephine; Samson and Delilah."

  Laura held her camera aloft. "It seems to me the real downfall was in the weakness of the men. The women were just proving the point." Whiz.

  Rocco leaned toward Anthony with a staged whisper. “Give up. You can’t win.”

  "No, I agree with much of what Laura is saying," Anthony said. "But to get back to the legend. There might be a connection between the Biblical account and what we have here."

  Laura rolled her eyes before taking another picture. "You think that these people are the real thing? Descended from gods who came down and raped the women of the area? Please. This is even more ridiculous than dinosaurs and humans coexisting."

  "Which looks to be true," Rocco pointed out.

  Laura ignored him. "If we were worried about our credibility before, this is sure to take the cake."

  "I never said I believe that actual gods came down,” Anthony continued talking. “Maybe it was a race from a different place - another part of the globe with different technology - that seemed god like. Certainly these are not typical proportions for human beings."

  "There are other African tribes that are unusually tall," Laura offered.

  "But not in this area. The legends all clearly point to a race of men from ‘elsewhere’,” Anthony stated.

  Laura shook her head. "I think you put too much weight on your legends."

  "Most legends have some basis in fact."

  Laura flashed a glance at Mark. "So I’ve heard."

  "And this is one site where we actually have more than just the legend," Anthony pointed out. "We have actual specimens of giants, however they were ‘begotten’. We also have the very unique location of the burial caves. Not only were they far underground, but if you recall, we had to dig through a layer of sediment and fossilized material, which suggests a catastrophic flood of some kind. Pre Noah. Get it?" Anthony grinned.

  Laura rolled her eyes. "Now I’ve heard everything."

  Anthony let his eyes sweep the room. "These tombs were buried and preserved by some such natural disaster. You can’t deny that."

  "We dug through and catalogued it just like that. ‘Catastrophic flooding’," Rocco said.

  "Now, I’m not saying it had to be Noah’s flood." Anthony quickly raised a hand before Laura could say anything else. "Or that such a worldwide event even took place. But we have evidence that clearly follows the Biblical legend: giants inhabited the land before the flood."

  "I’m surrounded by people who are supposed to be scientists - experts in their field! And all I keep hearing is fairy stories.” Laura snapped the lens cover onto her camera and began stuffing it into its case.

  Anthony continued. "There are also Biblical accounts of dinosaurs roaming the earth. Most scholars think that the story of Job takes place chronologically before that of Noah. It’s in this account that we find references to dinosaur like creatures - the Behemoth and Leviathan, to name two. For those interpreting the Bible in a literal fashion, this makes sense, since God created everything. It stands to reason that he also created dinosaurs."

  "I see where you’re going with this," Rocco said. "If this cave dates back to pre-flood days, then the presence of Pterodactyl bones would be nothing strange."

  "Exactly!" Anthony slapped his thigh. "Even if there was a worldwide disaster, miraculously, evidence
got preserved in these caves. This could be the greatest find in history. It could prove much of the Biblical mythology as true."

  "You sound like you’re already convinced." Laura noted sceptically. "Next you’ll be asking for an altar call.”

  "There have been some interesting finds already,” Rocco said. “An ark like structure was found grounded on a mountain in the Middle East.”

  Laura swung around to meet Mark’s gaze. He had been silent for most of the exchange. "What kind of operation are you running here?" she demanded.

  Mark shrugged. "Anthony’s just offering another possible angle. I don’t think there’s any need to be so defensive.”

  Anthony agreed, "Right. It was just a thought.” He laughed. “You know me, always ready to delve into a good folk tale."

  “That does it, I think.” Mark looked around. “You three clear out so the guys can get in here with the harnesses. I want this fellow safely out of here as soon as possible.”

  “You don’t have to do that, boss. I can do it,” Rocco said.

  “I’m not letting him out of my sight.”

  “Suit yourself. I’ll head up if you’re sure.” Rocco ducked to step through the opening into the other chamber.

  “Get those harnesses in here!” Mark ordered. Anthony and Laura squeezed through the opening and the four waiting crew with the harnesses stepped in, one at a time. They skilfully loaded the now closed casket, and balanced it between them on shoulder harnesses.

  Mark was about to say something when he stopped and held up a hand. "What was that?"

  They all heard it this time - a distinct rumbling. Suddenly, sediment sprayed down from the ceiling as the earth emitted another distant groan.

  “Could be a cave in,” Anthony called from the other room.

  "Let’s get this thing out into the main room," Mark said to the moving crew, ignoring Anthony.

  "Leave it behind," Laura’s voice reached him. "We need to get out of here.”

  "No! I’m not leaving it behind." Mark hollered. He was answered by another tremor and more rocks.

  They managed to manoeuvre the heavy load out into the antechamber and readjust it for the trek through the tunnels. “Get going,” Mark said to Laura and Anthony. With a nod, Anthony grabbed Laura’s arm and they scurried ahead, out of sight.