Chapter 2: Return to Archaeology

The flight lasted a little over six and a half hours to Mérida International Airport. Clair spent most of the trip going over the notes she made while studying Brody’s tablets and cross checking them with the notes her father made in his journal. She was sure there had to be a link between them. And there was that Katelyn person who was mentioned in the journal too that was driving Clair crazy on who she might be. Once the plane had landed at Mérida International Airport, Clair grabbed her bag from the overhead compartment and headed out to meet with her Mexico contact, Arianna Davis.
The Airport parking lot was relatively empty this time in the afternoon. Clair thought that it was a bit strange, but she didn’t think too much of it. Clair looked around for Arianna before finally spotting her standing near an old Volkswagen Bug that was the color of white with some rust coming through the paint. “Arianna!” Clair yelled running over to where Arianna stood with Chase following close behind.
“Clair, you made it! So good to see you again” said Arianna.
“Yeah, it’s been too long. You have my box?”
“Yes, it’s in the car! But we’ll get to that in a minute. I want to meet this cutie with you!” Arianna giving flirty glances at Chase.
“Oh, forgive me! This is Chase Harding, he’s my old partner from five years ago! Chase, this is Arianna Davis,” Clair said introducing her two friends to each other.
“Nice to meet you. Clair told me all about you”
“Wish I could say the same. Wanna get a drink sometime” Arianna still flirting.
“I’m sorry to cut in, but my box!” Clair said.
“Oh, yeah. Over here! There must be really be something important in Chichén Itzá” replied Arianna.

****

Clair stood there in the parking lot and stared at Arianna for a couple of minutes, unsure of what to say. A warm breeze blew through as Clair broke the silence. “How did you know we were heading to Chichén Itzá," asked Clair.
"Come on girl! Give me some credit. That's the closest ruin to here, and there has been a lot of excavations going on there lately. Call it a lucky guess!" replied Arianna.
“She makes a good point, Clair! Chichén Itzá is only a little over an hour from here.” stated Chase.
“Well, I guess that makes sense!” Clair said.
“Right. So, now that we this settled. You need an extra hand?” stated Arianna.
“Why come along, I wasn't aware that you knew any Mayan? Asked Clair.
"Not at first, but I have been learning a thing or two from my mentor," said Arianna.
“Really? You must introduce us sometime. I would love to meet this person” Clair said.
“Yeah, I might just do that. Now let's get going to the ruins of Chichén Itzá." Said Arianna.
"We need to go rent a car first though” said Chase cutting.
“Oh, you don't want to rent anything here! Bad quality, you two can ride with me." Replied Arianna.
“You sure?” asked Clair.
“Yeah, come on."
"Well, ok. If you insist.”
For most of the ride, Clair remained quiet, glancing out her window at the passing countryside. Her mind was racing with the lot of information she got in recent days, and of course one of the top was ‘what was beneath Chichén Itzá? And what did it have to do with the Fountain of Youth?’. Another thing that was still on her mind was the mention of that Katelyn girl in her father’s journal.
Clair looked down and touched her necklace as she remembered her father and wondered what secrets he might have had before his death. Arianna saw that Clair was disturbed and decided to break the silence. “So…? I read in a magazine about your dances” said Arianna.
“Yeah, I read the same thing” added Chase.
“What? Oh, yeah! My instructor’s idea. Trying to promote the theater” Clair replied snapping herself out of her thoughts.
“Ah, I see. You did good, almost like it was your calling”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Guess archaeology called a bit louder”
“Ha-ha! Well, I’m glad it did! Otherwise we never would have seen each other again” Arianna said with a chuckle.
“Awe, don’t say that. I still would have come down to visit. Besides, fame isn’t really my thing”
“Your colleague might say something different”
“Colleague? Who are you talking about?” asked Clair.
“Hispanic, medium build, mid-thirty’s. Seth something” Arianna said trying to describe the man.
“Mendez! Hardly a colleague! He’s more like a parasite; only in archaeology for the money” Clair said with distaste.
“Oh boy!” Chase said quietly.
The air of the old bug was filled with tensions as Clair felt her blood begin to boil again, she knew that she needed to keep her focus on the here and now; but visions of Kyoto kept entering her thoughts. That day almost seven years ago was clear in her mind as it was back then, a simple job to help fund her expedition into the Amazon. Hired by a high-end artifact collector to verify and if need be find the ‘Tonbokiri’ Japanese spear.
All seemed to good until Clair was able to track down the last known whereabouts for the Tonbokiri at one of the Kyoto Temples. While investigating, both Clair and Chase where ambushed and nearly killed by Hispanic archaeologist, Seth Mendez; who was looking to claim the Spear for himself.
Upon catching up with Mendez, Clair and Chase soon found out that the task was a setup by a Japanese triad smuggling rare and valuable artifacts out of the country. Knowing the truth, Clair and Chase were able to contact the authorities; Mendez however, managed to escape. That was the last they saw him until recently. “What did Mendez want with you?” Clair added.
“He must have heard that I was studying the El Castillo pyramid in Chichén Itzá” said Arianna.
“Whatever his reason, that’s irrelevant now! He’s an hour ahead of us, so we better hurry” said Chase motioning Arianna to step on it.
After thirty minutes of driving, Arianna pulled the rusty VW Bug a few feet from the sacred ruins of Chichen Itza. It was time to get to work. The beautiful scenery of the sprawling stone temples standing tall and proud against the glare of the midday sun made Clair ever so slightly. She had heard so much about this place from colleagues and lecturers, read about it, but never been here herself until now. Clair’s intake of the scenery ended once she noticed the heavy trucks and soldiers walking around. She turned around only to see Chase with a very serious look on his face. Just what was going on, who were these men and why wasn’t Chase surprised at their presents. “What’s going on?!” Clair said glancing at Chase who stayed frozen with a real serious look on his face.
Clair looked across the car as Arianna got out and began to wave at one of the men in the ruins. One soldier saw the three of them and raised his gun and began to fire. Suddenly, Clair felt Chase tackle her to the ground from behind…

****

The gunfire continued for several minutes until Clair heard a man’s deep voice yell over the noise to ceasefire. Still on the ground, Clair looked up to see Chase crouched over her and holding the car door out like a shield. “Are you alright, Clair? You hit?” asked Chase.
“No, I’m fine!” but you’re not” Clair said touching the scrap on Chase’s arm.
“It’s fine, I’ve had worse!”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll explain everything! Just not here”
“Fine! But I want to know everything. Let me grab Arianna, she on the other side of the car”
“There’s no time! Quick, into the brush!”
Chase and Clair run for almost several minutes before Clair stopped near a downed tree to catch her breath. “Chase, stop!” she said glancing up at the trees with the wind blowing through her hair. “I think we’re far enough away now. You wanna tell me what’s going on?”
“{sigh} Fine, I did promise after all. You remember the big discovery that I made?”
“yeah, Gangus Khan’s tomb. What’s that got to do with what’s happening now”
“Partly. The same people who financed that expedition are next deep here in the Yucatán!”
“Who?”
“I don’t know just yet, but the money for my quest back then came from a shell corporation registered to Isaac Brody” explained Chase.
“How do know this?” asked Clair
Chase walked a way’s distance and leaned against a tree and sighed. “It’s because I’m working with the CIA! He said.
“The CIA? How long”
“A little after your death scare from Typhus.”
“So, four years and not one word!”
“I couldn’t say anything. The CIA said I wasn’t allowed to involve anyone, not even you. That’s why four years ago I initiated the argument that lead to our break up”
Overwhelmed with frustration and anger, Clair walked over and slapped Chase across his face. “You stupid son of a bitch!” she said. “I never wanted to break up with you! I loved you!” Clair expressed her emotions.
“I know. That’s I had to do it. If I hadn’t, you would’ve tried to insert yourself in the middle of it”
“Really?! You think I’m that shallow, that I would do that! If you needed space, I would’ve gave it to you”
“I couldn’t take that chance, with how stubborn you can be”
“If that’s what think, then you never really knew at all! Clair said turning to walk away.
“Where are you going?
“For a walk. Don’t follow me!”
Clair walk along an old grass covered pathway, picking up small stones and tossing them on the path in front of her. She walked on for ten or so minutes before stopping to sit on an old log. Clair pulled out her father’s journal again and just stared at the rough leather cover. “Dad, what have I gotten myself into. She said to herself. “What must I do? Give me a sign.”
A warm breeze blow in, as Clair touched her necklace. She smiled slightly as she glanced up the tops of the trees. This part of the Yucatán forest was so peaceful, she could almost envision her father sitting right beside her telling her that everything would be alright. Just like he always did. Some ruffling in the bushes nearby snapped Clair out of her tranquil moment, causing her to jump up thinking it might be an animal or something. However, the being who came out was human; four of them to be exact. They were dressed just like the ancient Mayan with a more modern appearance. “You’re trespassing on sacred ground! Who are you” one of them said in Mayan.
Not knowing what else she could do, Clair replied. “I’m Clair Rain,” hoping her own Mayan tongue was correct before continuing. “I am a historian looking for the Fountain of Youth. I didn’t know I was trespassing”
“What do you know about the Well of Life?” said a female voice in a nearly perfect form of English.
“Not much. I come here study and document it” Clair said.
“I cannot help you! The Well is not for your kind! It must stay hidden.” the Mayan women said again.
“I’m not leaving till I see it,”
“Know that I did warn you! Next time we meet it may not be friendly”
“Please, wait! I mean you no harm” Clair pleaded as the natives disappeared back into the brush. Clair stood there for several more minutes, the wind still blowing; thinking about who those people were and what they might know about the Fountain. Just then Clair felt like something or someone was approaching her, she quickly spun around ready to kick the air out of whoever it was.

****

Clair quickly brought her leg around, but just before she could knock the lights out of person who was sneaking up on her; a hand reached out and grabbed her ankle while still in the air. “Whoa, Clair! It’s me” said Chase’s voice.
“Jesus Christ, Chase! You know better than to sneak up on me” replied Clair regaining her footing.
“Sorry, I forgot. I just heard some noises over and thought you might be in trouble\”
“I’m fine. I saw a snake and it just startled me is all.”
“A snake, right. You could have seen a python and still wouldn’t get startled! What are you not telling me?”
“It’s nothing, come on it’s getting dark. We better find some shelter”
Though Clair was lying about what really happened, was unsure what to think or even do about. And she also wasn’t if she could trust Chase anymore. She would think about it more in the morning, hopefully an answer would come by then. After walking for much of the afternoon, Clair collapsed onto the thin mattress in the small motel on the outskirts of a small town. She was tired, and her feet ached, her thoughts were jumbled at everything that happened on this day. She hated not knowing what it was she had gotten involved with. None of this would have happened if I just stuck to Ballet. Clair thought.
Clair tried to smooth the scowl from her face, knowing that focusing on her anger and confusion was not going to help her fall asleep. Clair tries not to think about Chases’ betrayal, or Seth’s involvement, or the professor’s vagueness or even that her father seems to be involved somehow. Eventually, despite her tendency to be chewed out by her own thoughts, Clair managed to drift off, only to have her dreams dominated by the very people who had kept her awake.
‘She was seated at the table inspecting the Mayan tablets with Chase looking over her shoulder. Mallory was sat opposite with a wide, evil grin and her pointed chin sitting on her steepled fingers. Chloe was dancing on the table, but rather than the tube dress she has turned up in, she was now wearing red pointe shoes and a bleeding leotard. Brody stood at the head of the table, seemingly unaware of the strangeness of the meeting, and was talking to them in utter gibberish. Clair didn’t know who to look at, until Arianna came stumbling into the room wearing a beautiful pale pink gown, but in her shoulder, was a gaping hole which was gushing blood. “We need to help her!” Clair screamed, jumping up from her chair, but no one seemed to be responding, and instead they continued what they were doing.
Clair felt her heart rate rise dramatically and she pushed her way up to Arianna’s side just in time to catch her as she fell to the floor, a pool of blood rapidly expanding around her. Clair ripped off her cardigan and used it to stifle the flow, but before she could tell if her efforts were fruitless or not, she was snapped out of her dream by a strong hand on her arm.’
Clair sat upright, her breathing labored and her heart beating so heavily that she could hear the thumping in her ears, as though her heart had crawled its way up there. Clair had to take several calming breaths before she was able to come to her senses. “Chase?” She asked, staring into his wide hazel eyes. “What…”
“You were thrashing in your sleep. Are you ok?”
“Uh-huh,” Clair mumbled, not even able to convince herself. “Just a nightmare”
Chase raised a skeptical eyebrow but did not ask her to elaborate further. Instead, he tried to ruffle her hair, causing her to duck and indignantly slap his hand away, eliciting a chuckle. Clair shook her head in exasperation but did not complain, because the last of her panic had died down into fond annoyance, which was quite the contradiction to how she felt about him last night. She decided to file that away for later.
Clair quickly shower before getting dressed, since her dufflebag was in Arianna’s car she had no other choose but to wear the same clothes as yesterday. Chase came back into the room “What are our plans?” Clair asked, as she scraped her hair into a tight pony tail on the top of her head.
“Our? As in, you’re not going to give up on me?”
Clair was surprised to hear genuine hesitation in his voice. She gave her a cursory once over, to see what was wrong with him, but other than looking surprised, she can’t see any tell-tale signs that it may be something else.
“Hardly. I told you before that I don’t back now. That’s not me anymore.” she scoffed. “What did your CIA Contact say when you called him?”
“Just to keep our heads down and she’ll be here soon” Chase smiled, and although it felt a little forced, it also helped alleviate some of the awkwardness and tension. Clair decided that it’ll only make things worse if she allows her anger to interfere in any way on this. The two of them were just about to head out when a knock came to the door.
Upon answering the door, both Clair and Chase were greeted by a young man who gave them a letter with directions to a meet-up location at the Mérida Museum downtown and something important to discuss. Grabbing her bag, Clair headed out the door and to the rental car with Chase following close behind.

****

The Museum they were heading towards loomed closer into view, and Clair couldn’t seem to get a handle on her anxiety for once. This was the biggest thing to happen to her in five years. After pulling into the parking lot, both Clair and Chase walked up and enter the Museum. Clair sighed in brief contentment before searching for the professor, fifteen minutes of searching she asked an employee who directed them to the Curators office.
Clair was the first to make a move, tentatively knocking on the door before remembering her urgency and slamming the butt of her fist against the dark wood in heavy thumps.
“Hello, Professor?! It’s Clair, I got your letter!”
Brody didn’t take long to reach the door. “Please, come in, make yourselves at home,” Brody said gesturing towards the couch that was in the room.
“Skip the pleasantries, Brody! What’s going here?” Clair demanded sounding slightly more dramatic than she had intended. “There’s more to this than you’re letting on, a hidden agenda to the expedition, and you need to tell me what it is right now”
Clair let the unspoken threats hang in the air, and Chase looks as though he’s willing to back her up on anything she might say, no matter what it is. Brody, on the other hand, seemed unperturbed by this, and sat himself behind the Curator’s desk, which was weighed down books and papers. “Didn’t take you long to grow suspicious, did it?” Brody asked.
“Almost getting killed will do that to me, now explain!” Clair told him, her arms crossed over her chest.
“I needed your skill sets with Mesoamerican culture to help me” Brody said.
“Why me? Surely there were other more skilled experts”
“None with the proper knowledge! The man that came the closest to finding Fountain of Youth was your father, Alexander Rain! Before he disappeared,” Brody explained.
Clair watches his mouth move, hearing the words drift across the room and they reach her in perfectly normal fashion, but she found herself having a hard time processing them. She was working on the same expedition as her father. Not many people could claim such an honor, and it seemed odd that of all the archeological expeditions it had to be the one her own father worked on; his last expedition. His legacy. “My father normally told me about the stuff he worked on,” Clair told him. “How do I know you’re telling truth?”
“I’m afraid you will just have to take my word on it”
Clair studied his face, trying to take in any small twitches or tells that could help her determine whether if he was lying. “I need some air!” Clair said getting up.
“I go with you.” said Chase.
“No! I’m sorry, I just need to be alone right now. I’ll meet you back at the Motel”
“Alright, be careful. We still don’t know who tried to kill us”
“I will, thanks”
****
Clair walked along the main street glancing at the passing cars while thinking about everything that happened in the pass forty-eight hours. Several minutes passed by as she approached a small coffee shop. Walking inside, Clair was startled by the cool breeze of the AC system. One of the employees saw her and walked over. “Greetings! What can I get you today?” he said.
“You got a payphone? The battery in my cell just died” said Clair.
“Yeah, in the back over there”
“Thanks”
Walking over the payphone, Clair put some coins into the receiver and dialed her mother’s number along with the Country and Area number. The phone rang a few times before the answering machine picked up. “Hello, you reached the phone of Mary Rain! I’m sorry I missed you, but if you leave your name and number I’ll call you back as soon as I can. Thank you!” said the automated message.
“Hi, Mom! It’s Clair there’s something important I need to asked you. My phone is died so please call me back at this number. Alright, bye!” After hanging up, Clair walked over to a nearby corner table where she waited for a return call from her mother, though she didn’t know how long it would be. She would wait about forty minutes for her mother didn’t call back before leaving.
To pass the time while she waited for the payphone to ring, Clair decided to continue reading her father’s journal. As she sipped on a strawberry latte she opened the journal to one of the last entries:
November 4, 2010
I don’t have long to write this, they will find me soon. My suspicions about Gerald were right, he’s turned rogue! Judging from the soldiers he sent after me, I believe that he is working with the North Koreans, I found a letter among his things that was from Kim Jong Un himself. They obviously want the Fountain to make create immortal soldiers, whatever happens to me I must make sure they don’t find this journal or the Urn of Tears. I will be sending my journal back home to Isaac, I trust him; and I’ll give the Urn back to Itzél Achi and her people, they can keep it safe.
Clair, if you’re reading this! I’m sorry, I know I promised to help you with your research into the Inca. But it seems I might not make it out of here alive. I am so proud of the woman you have grown into, I know you will achieve much. Don’t ever give up at whatever you do. And always remember where you came from. Take care of yourself and your mother, I love you both very much.
Placing the journal gently down on the table in front of her, Clair reached up and touched the blue sapphire around her neck. She felt a tear roll down her cheek as she remembered her father and maw over what he wrote in his journal. Moments later, Clair was startled almost to the point of falling out of her seat by the phone ringing.
After regaining her composer, Clair walked over and answered the phone, hoping it was her mother calling back. “Hello! Mom?” Clair.
“Yes sweetie. How’s everything going?” Mary said.
“Ok. That’s not why I called”
“Oh, I see. What’s on your mind?”
“Well as I was reading dad’s journal, I came across a name he mentioned several times. I was wondering if you might know who he was talking about?” Clair asked.
“What’s the name?”
“Some girl named Katelyn!”
There was silence over the other end of the phone call, as Clair’s mother tried to think about how to reply back. After all, she had not heard that name in nearly thirty years. “Hello? Mom, you there? Clair said breaking the silence.
“Yeah, I’m still here.”
“Do you know who Katelyn is?”
“She doesn’t sound familiar. Maybe she was someone from your dad’s team”
“Huh, she must have been really young than from the way dad talk…”
[click]
“Hello?! Mom! Hello?”
No good Clair’s mother had hung up, without saying anything else. Her strange behaver made Clair a bit more suspicious as to whom this Katelyn was, but one thing she know for sure was that Katelyn was no colleague of her father. Clair decided that she would confront her mother again once she got back to the States.
After returning the phone to its resting place, Clair grabbed her back and made her way out to meet up with Chase and Brody again. “I hope they are still at the university” she thought to herself. She said goodbye to the employee and headed out the door.
Outside, Clair was overwhelmed by the brightness of the sun, she turned left and began walking in the direction of the university. She hadn’t walked very far when she heard someone call to her. “You have quite the reputation!” said a female voice.
Turning around, Clair noticed a young woman, maybe a little younger then herself; she had dark colored skin, long black hair done in a tribal style, and her attire seemed ancient, yet a modern form of the attire worn by the Maya People. “I’m sorry? Do I know you” Clair said.
“We meet briefly yesterday outside one of my people’s ancient cities”
“You’re that girl who ambushed me in the wilderness! Why are you here? I haven’t gone back to Chichén Itzá”
“No, but I was concern you wouldn’t give up that easy, so I did my research on you.” said the Mayan woman.
“Who are you exactly, and what do you want with me?!”
“I’m Itzél Achi, and it’s not what I want, but what you want. You seek the Well of Life, I’m here to explain how the Well came to be and why you cannot continue to search for it.”
“I’m listening, Itzél.”
“Not here!”
“Where than?”
“Follow me!