Return of the Inca?

Chapter 2

The trio of teens stood before the decaying form quickly trying to plan what to do. Just as it began to approach, Jonny suddenly charged, shouting, "Run, guys!"

Jessie and Hadji darted around the mummy as Jonny slammed into it with a shoulder block, before rolling off their fallen enemy and following his friends. In the tense seconds that followed, they made their way back to the ladder and the tomb entrance. As they quickly climbed to safety, their undead pursuer had just entered the first room and managed to grab Hadji's ankle as he ascended the latter, only to be met by a kick to the head.

Once Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji were standing outside, they raced back to Dr. Quest, Race and Estella.

"Whoa!" Race called to them. As the trio slowed down and approached the adults, he added, "What's the hurry?"

"We just got chased out of the tomb by a mummy." Jessie answered between breaths.

Race and Estella ran a little ahead of Dr. Quest to check out the tomb. Dr. Quest noticed something at the entrance of the tomb and stayed out to inspect it further. As the other two entered, with Race in the lead and with his sidearm drawn, the pair moved with extreme caution, particularly after Quest Team's adventure at Malenque.

"Stay alert. We don't know what to expect," he reminded his ex-wife, who nodded in acknowledgement.

They slowly worked their way back to the burial chamber. Strangely, everything looked to be in order, except for one unusual thing: the mummy that was confirmed to have been missing had returned to it's open sarcophagus.

"Estella, take a look at this."

The archaeologist inspected the sarcophagus, noting that there were no noticeable signs of tampering, although something didn't seem right. Shrugging it off, just told Race, "Let's head on back. I'm not sure what happened, but I can send a team to examine this room further, tomorrow morning."

Once they returned, Race and Estella told the others what they found. Since it was getting toward nightfall, they all soon retired to their tents, everyone thinking about the mystery that faced them.

The next morning, Roberto drove Dr. Quest and Race to the village for their meeting. Upon their arrival, several men escorted them into a mid-sized wooden building, where three men in their 60s or 70s were waiting, along with a younger woman who acted as translator.

While two of the men were willing to talk and seemed supportive, the third, Manuel, was harder to convince.

"But think of the cultural benefits to your people," Dr. Quest implored him, "You could learn more about your ancestors, how they lived. We may even find out why so many disappeared centuries ago."

"No!" Mañuel said adamantly. "No good can come from outsiders digging in the burial places of our fathers!"

The other elders tried to reason with him, but to no avail. He was already convinced these outsiders were a threat to their way of life.

As they were leaving, the other elders apologized for Mañuel, through the translator, reiterating their support and fascination over what buried secrets might be uncovered.

On the road back, they discussed what had happened. "I still don't trust Senor Mañuel," Roberto commented, "I would not be surprised if he has been sending villagers to scare Senora Velasquez away."

"Hmmm. You might be right, Roberto, but we don't have any evidence to determine he is responsible." Dr. Quest responded thoughtfully.

Roberto nodded. "Good point. Perhaps I am judging them too quickly."

Meanwhile, while Jessie and her mom talked about something in Estella's tent, during a break, and Race and Dr. Quest were talking with Roberto about what steps to take next, Jonny and Hadji decided to do a little scouting nearby.

"What do you think is going on, Hadj?" Jonny asked.

Hadji considered this for a moment, before suggesting, "Whoever is doing this wants to scare the archaeological team away. The only reasons for that are either to loot the dig site of antiquities or to get rid of outsiders."

"Yeah, but who could be behind it? We've got that old man Dad and Race met at the village, one of Estella's workers, or somebody we don't even know yet."

Hadji added, "We also know that Ezekiel Rage is dead and Surd is still in prison."

"With our luck, maybe Dr. Zin is after something again." Jonny wondered aloud.

"And, we cannot rule out the possibility that it could have been a real mummy. Remember Malenque?"

"Don't remind me Hadj." Jonny groaned.

Just then, while walking about 1/2 mile outside the dig site, the pair heard noises coming from a short distance away. Ducking behind a small ridge, they slowly rose just enough to see some men, one who from a distance seemed to be wearing similar clothes as the living mummy they had encountered the previous day. Unfortunately, before they could positively identify anyone else, Jonny and Hadji heard someone walking up behind them and turned to see a tall, rough-looking Hispanic man with a rifle.

"Okay, you two, start walking. I'm sure the boss would love to meet a couple of spies," the man gruffly ordered them in very good English.

Jonny and Hadji stood and, with their hands raised, shared a quick glance before Hadji performed a leg sweep on the guard as Jonny kicked him in the chest, putting their enemy down for a little while.

"Let's get out of here, Jonny!" Hadji shouted.

Jonny gazed over his shoulder to see if they were being followed. If anyone was after them, they were apparently far behind.

"Let's get back to the camp!" he yelled to his brother.