Temple of the Serpent

Chapter 3

The air bubbles squiggling up from the divers below in the warm water made Simon feel like he was descending into a boiling broth. Some of the stench from the surface continued to filter through his rebreather diving system, mingling with a trace of sulfur. While pulling himself down the red cord, he checked his HUD display. His air regulator wheezed.

Thirty feet. Thirty-five. Forty.

The silt above shrouded the sun. Darkness crept in around him.

The radio crackled to life. "Mr. Jonassen, press the release valve on your BC, you're too buoyant. You shouldn't need to pull yourself down. It's the red button on the hose coming over your right shoulder. Just a little—good. You see? You're floating down with the grace of an angel. You're a natural." He chuckled.

Fifty. Sixty. Seventy-five feet.

The murky waters devoured the natural light from above as if the maw's entrance had swallowed them whole.

"Sir. Good news. Visibility increases at a hundred and ten feet. Permission to light a magnesium flare or two."

Allan checked his display. "Chemical composition in the water is within normalcy. All clear. Light 'em up."

A bright white flash lit the shaft below Allan, casting Simon's silhouette in the silt like an unearthly eclipse. The mercenary cast the beam of his flashlight on the throat of the vertical cave, illuminating a scaly surface stamped into the layer of limestone.

Eighty feet. Ninety...

At one hundred feet, the silt began to thin. At one-ten, the murkiness disappeared as they descended into an enormous spherical cavern of crystal-clear water.

One of Allan's men ignited another magnesium flare, its light flickering like a welder's torch. With the added light, runes emerged on the cavern walls. Between the symbols etched into the limestone surface, a painted macabre scene filled the space.

"Sir. Captain Edgars, sir. Are you getting this?"

Allan watched Simon float to the middle of the chamber. Convinced of his benefactor's growing comfort in the water, he unhooked from the line to join his lead man in front of a ghoulish scene.

Six runes, equidistant around the chamber, and six painted murals. Six divers suspended in the water with the captain. He kicked over to the wall and, upon closer inspection, Allan made a discovery.

"Looks like the pictures are carved directly into the surface. The face of the chamber is limestone, but the illustrations are dug into an oxidized iron ore." When he traced his gloved finger into the strange art, some of the crimson goo clung to the neoprene. "What the hell!"

A flash blinded Allan. His breathing skipped.

When the blotches dimmed from his vision, he found Simon Jonassen floating beside him.

"What did I tell you about shining a light in someone's face?" Captain Edgars asked, agitation rich in his voice.

"I'm sorry," Simon said. "It won't happen again."

Allan huffed. "Damn right it won't ... and if it does, I'll take it away from you and haul you back to the surface. Is that understood?"

"I said so as much." Simon bowed. "It slipped out of my hand."

A giant red serpent coiled around the chamber in the illustration. Between the runes, the snake constricted around the bodies of anguished-stricken soldiers, three and four at a time. At other intervals, the image of the serpent crushed thatched homes and smashed the defensive walls of fortified citadels. But the most disturbing scene was the one Allan and Simon floated in front of, so troubling that a chill ran up the captain's spine despite the warm water.

On the left, the tip of the serpent's tail impaled a warrior wearing armor. Lengthy barbs studded the rattle on the tail with the dismembered arms and legs of other contestants skewered on their prickly spikes. Blood dripped from the victims.

On the right, the snake spat saliva over an entire army from its fanged mouth. The shields and armor smoked and disintegrated as if drenched in acid.

Captain Edgars cleared his throat. "This serpent thing must've been concocted to keep the treasure hunters of the time away. I've seen this type of scare tactic before." He signaled to his lead divers. "A couple of boobytraps and a little heavy lifting, and we'll be on the beach of our own private island by tomorrow morning."

Simon twirled in a weightless circle.

Allan followed his gaze. "You can read the symbols, Mr. Jonassen, yes?"

Simon stopped his floating rotation and nodded.

"Here within lies the temple of the serpent. All who enter shall perish."

[801words / 1702 total]