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.“I’m not an expert, but it sure looks that way to me,” Jack responded, now showing the chart to Darrien.“This is exciting, wouldn’t you say, Jack?” Darrien asked, his enthusiasm now showing through.Jack’s mind immediately drifted off to Serena.Staring into the valley below, his emotions tugged at his heart as he thought about her gentle smile and their warm kiss the day she was taken.He felt a sense of loss and deep sadness as he thought about the love that almost was.Feeling cheated, feeling angry, he hurriedly stood and grabbed the shovel and ax.“Let 's go,” he said roughly.“Did I say something wrong?” Darrien replied, in surprise.“No Darrien, you said something right.”Jack turned and headed down the hill toward their next location, his focus now sharp and determined.~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~Many hours later, as the sun touched the distant horizon, the light finally began to fade.With their last task complete, Jack and Darrien hurried back up the hill to Javier’s location.Rounding a bluff, Jack spotted movement on the other side.Moving slowly, step by step, Javier struggled to haul the enormous pack down the mountain.“Javi, what the hell are you doing?” Jack called out, as he rushed to meet him.Javier slowed to a stop.Immediately, he dropped the heavy pack and panted uncontrollably.Completely drenched in sweat, his face blazed red from heat and exhaustion.“Javi, you don’t look well.Drink some of this,” Jack said, now handing him his water bottle.Without a word, Javier took the bottle and gulped the warm stale water.Racing to hydrate his overexerted body, excess water poured from his mouth and drained down the front of his shirt and pants.Moments later, the bottle was empty.“More… do you have any more?” he asked, still out of breath.Darrien stepped forward and handed his bottle to Javier.Instantly, he gulped the contents between breaths.Feeling some relief, his breathing slowed and he felt rested enough to speak.“Did you get the data?” he asked, ignoring his dangerous heath state.“Javi, you can’t push yourself like this.You could easily have had heatstroke or worse, a heart attack,” Jack scolded.“Why didn’t you call me?”“Sorry, I finished my work and didn’t want to interrupt yours just to come back up and collect the equipment, so I decided to haul it down myself,” Javier explained.“I guess I didn’t realize how strained I was until I saw you.”“For a minute there, I thought we were going to have to carry you out on a stretcher,” Jack continued.“For a minute there, I thought the same thing.”“So did you get the data?” Javier asked once more.“Yes… I did,” Jack said, his voice now turning dark.“What did you find?” Javier asked.“I’m sorry Javi, the lower we went on the mountain, the more the soil changed in color.I don’t think the tsunami reached this height in elevation,” Jack said, sadly.Javier nodded and replied, “I don’t think so either, Jack.I spent all day analyzing the sites up there using every piece of equipment in your pack.I even tried using your homemade radar platform.By the way, I’m sorry, Jack, but I don’t think it’s working,” Javier added, trying to let down Jack delicately, then continued, “all I found was a lot of dirt and a few really big boulders… certainly nothing that would convince me there’s a pyramid beneath it all.”“I’m sorry, Javi,” Jack said, with deep sympathy.“It’s ok, Jack.I kind of figured we weren’t going to hit it on the first try anyway,” Javier replied.Staring past Jack, he became suddenly began pensive, adding, “Still… I was hoping.”“Where to next?” Darrien asked, breaking Javier’s stare.“Home.It’s been very long day.I think we all need some sleep.” Jack suggested, now yawning.“And a bit of luck,” Javier added, his tone turning grave once more.“We don’t need luck, Javi.We’re smart and we’re determined.We’ll find it,” Jack responded with unshakeable resolve.Javier smiled a bit, then added, “Smart and determined are great qualities, but I won’t turn my nose up at a bit luck either.”Jack smiled knowingly as he bent down to load his pack on his back.Chapter 10Jack heard the piercing sound of his alarm, abruptly pulling him from his sleep.In reflex, he flung his arm over to the nightstand and pressed the "off" button on the clock.Bringing his wrist back to his face, he checked the time through the narrow slits between his eyelids.“Four-thirty… ugh,” Jack moaned, letting his arm flop down on the bed next to him [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]