Alligator Eyes

Chapter 10

At the sight, Mark collapses onto his knees, head bent in respect. It also serves to hide the tears rolling down his cheeks. He is the first Reopan to set foot in this temple in centuries, and feels regret that it has to be only him. Him and a bunch of outsiders. He bows lower to the floor, chanting lowly to himself a prayer his mother taught him when he was young, to honor and humble his family in the presence of their gods.

"Mark?" BamBam rests his hand on Mark's head and he stops chanting, opening his eyes and raising his head. He still has tear stains on his cheeks, his eyes shining.

"Sorry, I... I was somewhere else" He accepts the hand BamBam offers him and stands, wiping at his eyes.

BamBam shakes his head at his apology, smiling kindly. "Are you alright?"

"I'd like to go alone from here"

Jinyoung kicks off the wall he was leaning on with a stern shake of his head, "Oh no no no, we aren't doing this right now, we are going—"

"I'm not saying you can't go, but I want to enter the temple alone first"

"That's ridiculous—"

"All you've done this entire trip is mock my beliefs, I am the first Reopan to set foot in this temple in centuries, I can't have one moment of peace to pray?" He isn't angry, he just feels tired, so suddenly exhausted by him.

To his surprise, Jinyoung doesn't argue further, just leans back against the wall, crossing his arms. "Fine you can have 20 minutes, make 'em count"

Mark runs across the courtyard to the base of the temple, but when he reaches the steps, he removes his boots and climbs with reverence. When he reaches the top he looks out over the courtyard and from here he can see over the fortress, into the jungle. It really does look like heaven. When he can finally tear his eyes away from the view he enters the temple.

It's dark and cool, he wishes instantly that he had asked for a torch. It might have helped him to see the entire room, but he can see well enough just from the light spilling in, he turns around in a slow circle taking in the whole room, could this be it? He spots a lever against one wall, but other than that the only thing in the room is a large slab of stone against the back wall, worn carvings in it.

Hesitantly he pulls the lever down, the ground shakes a bit but he doesn't immediately notice any change. He checks the room again, finding that the slab now has space open on either side He steps around cautiously but as soon as he sees that the room is lit by the westward setting sun, he hurries in taking it in, conscious of the fact that he's losing the daylight.

On the wall that he just came around is a golden throne, green alligators carved into the side. There seems to be pieces missing from the head piece but it's still marvelous. The walls are draped in moth eaten cloth and all around him are the bones of his ancestors who stayed behind, probably murdered during their worship. The closest skeleton catches Mark's eyes. It is less complete then some of the others, but his armor is intact, the gold plating shining in the light.

But what really caught Mark's eye was the amulet in his bony hand, he seemed to have been clutching it to his chest in death so Mark slowly pulls it out of his hand, turning back towards the throne. It looks like it could be missing piece of the throne and Mark thinks that's what the other amulets are too. He fits the piece back into the thrown, realizing there are only six missing. And they have six. He tries to fit the other one he was carrying in, but he needs more pieces for them to line up.

He could call to Jinyoung and have him bring them up, but he knows that they'll come up in a moment, so he savors the silence and the space, praying over his ancestors assuming no one else had, to send any restless souls into their afterlife.