Lying Dormant: Part I - The Awaiting Inferno
The Awaiting Inferno
The helicopter blades created a deafening noise as they descended from the sky. Despite the cacophony of the landing, Byron was lost in a painful memory. This memory gave him focus, however. His only way to focus through the numbness that had settled on him nearly a year prior. The memory lingered, until Byron heard his name. The blades had stopped screaming. They had landed.
"Byron? Byron! We've landed. We have to go." Rex spoke to Byron with some firmness, but that was only because he was used to Byron's sad reveries. Byron stared at him with dead eyes for a moment, then blinked and took in a deep breath. Byron nodded and began unbuckling. Rex turned to the pilot, Cheryl. She was an old friend from Rex's days studying in the field. He was an entomologist and bugs had been his life. He had been through these parts in the Caribbean before, and Cheryl had helped him get in and out of some sticky situations.
"Hey, listen, we don't know what we’re getting ourselves into here. Can you make some passes over the island tomorrow? I just want to make sure you’re close enough to get us out if things go...sour." Rex said the last part softly, but he knew Byron heard. Byron had no reservations about what happened here, but Rex wanted to get back home in one piece.
"Listen babe, I'll be by each day a couple times. I cleared my schedule when I heard old Rex was coming back around. You'll owe me though. That one place, near Cabo, you remember? But this time I pick where we eat." Cheryl laughed as she spoke, seeing Rex's face turn an unusual shade of red. He smiled, and gave Cheryl a quick peck on the cheek.
"Deal." Rex slung his bag over his shoulder as he departed from the helicopter.
They had landed on the island of Saint Genevieve, a small volcanic island in the Caribbean Sea that had only had a small fishing village established a few decades prior. There were a few noted tribes that occupied the untamed parts of the island, particularly the Mai-Ukau, who were rumored volcano worshipers who lived at the base of the large dormant volcano, Mt. Cookson. It was named after an English sailor who found the island by mistake while lost at sea. The locals, however, had a different name: Kafaketai. All this Rex had relayed to Byron as they walked briskly through the port village, but it was falling upon deaf ears. Byron was not in a listening mood.
They managed to find a small room above a bait shop and paid for lodging for the night. The two men had gathered their things together for the trip the next day. As they settled in for the night, Rex began to talk about what lay ahead.
"So. Here we are. Crazy, huh? I... I really hope we find something, some info on… on Rose. I really do." Rex had trouble getting the words out. It was why they were there, but the reality was so much more like a time bomb always ticking around them.
"Rex." Byron spoke with scratchy words, managing to get his thoughts out through the tears he was holding back.
"I want to thank you. For coming. I was prepared to go this alone, but having someone here is, well, just..." Byron struggled with the words. Rex smiled from his side of the room.
"Please, there's no need. We’ll get through this." Rex said with as much hope as he could. He found it sounding a little more strained than he wanted.
"Do you remember our wedding day? How beautiful she was? Everyone always says their wedding is the best day of their life, and it always sounds so cliché. But after that day, I knew why." Byron had gotten control of himself as he spoke, but the hurt was painted on every word.
"I know. It was a great day. I was honored to be your best man. You were both so happy." Rex also spoke with a bit of a hitch, his emotions seeping to the surface again.
"When… when she went missing..." Byron had said, but he faltered. It gripped his heart and tore away at him. He took a deep breath and continued.
"When she went missing, I died on that day. I knew she was gone. I knew she was lost. We aren't going to find her alive, Rex. I want you to know that I know that." Byron's voice had become cold. Anger and contempt tied each statement together. Rex sat up, and looked at his old friend. Byron stared at the ceiling, his brow furrowed and his hands clasped together on his chest. His hand held his favorite picture of his wife, Rose. She was wearing her usual: a dark colored t-shirt, her brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and she had on an obsidian heart pendant that Byron had gotten her. It was the first thing he had ever bought her, years ago, when they had first started dating. She had never taken it off.
Rose had been a volcanologist, and had come to study Mt. Cookson after it had signaled that it perhaps wasn't dormant anymore. She had headed out on that expedition almost a year prior. Whether she made it here or not was still in debate, as her and her team had disappeared without a trace. The last record of them was leaving Grenada in a helicopter to come to the island. The helicopter was piloted by one of her team, and it had also disappeared. No records of them making it to Saint Genevieve existed. The investigation was inconclusive, and the official report was that it was believed they crashed before landing. This was all plausible, save for one detail. Byron had received a text from Rose. Not sure when it was exactly sent, he had received it about two days after the helicopter should have landed. It had one simple message.
Heading to Hades. Love.
It was what Rose sent to Byron whenever she had reached a volcano so he would know she was in a danger zone, so he could be prepared. It was exactly her type of humor, which was just another thing Byron loved about her. But this message had more weight to it than most. This meant she must have made it to the volcano, but officials dismissed it as a grieving man looking for a loose end that wasn't there. Rex knew otherwise. And that's why he was here. Byron needed closure. He would be there for him, no matter what. They had sat in silence for some time now, and Rex moved to turn off the lantern and go to sleep.
Byron remained awake most of the night.
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The next day had brought a little rain, but it would not be enough to stop anything. Byron and Rex had packed up and gotten ready, and headed to the outskirts of town to meet their guide, Salah. They were hoping to get close to the volcano, and to speak with the local tribe to see if Rose and her team had been seen by anyone. They waited for about an hour before Salah met up with them, seemingly in a bit of a rush.
"Hello! Hello! Forgive me for making you wait! I've just gotten some tremendous news for you." Salah was waving his arms as he ran up. Clearly out of breath, he continued on in bursts between rapid panting.
"I... have secured you... an audience with... the chief of the... Mai-Ukau tribe. The elders are preparing for a... very special ceremony and have graciously offered you an invitation." Salah had almost caught his breath. Rex punched Byron in the shoulder, excited at this news. Byron took the shot and did not react. Rex frowned for a brief moment, then turned to Salah.
"Excellent. How far of a trek is it to get to their village?" Rex asked.
"The village is about a two-hour trek from here, but we will not meet them there. We will ascend to the temple caves on Kafaketai. They await you there. It should take us about four hours if the weather holds." Salah said with an ugly smile.
The prospect of going up the actual mountain to speak to the tribe had sparked some emotion from Byron. His face was transfixed with determination now. He walked uncomfortably close to Salah, standing a few inches from his face.
"Take us now." Byron said, his eyes drilling into Salah's skull. Salah laughed nervously and scooted away from the awkward closeness. As he walked, he beckoned them to follow, and they did.
They had walked for what seemed forever, and the thick jungle foliage fought them at every angle. As they struggled on, Rex had begun some small talk with Salah.
"So how long have the tribe lived at the foot of the mountain?" Rex had asked as he pushed branches away from his face.
"Many generations have lived at the foot of Kafaketai. It is their holy ground, their god. Long before the travelers landed on this place and built their fishing towns, they were here, with Kafaketai." Salah made each statement sound straight out of a documentary. He was not as affected by the harsh terrain.
"Has it ever had an eruption?" Byron's question surprised both Rex and Salah. The expedition halted as they both looked back at him with quizzical looks. He stopped as well, and his dark visage persisted.
"Has it ever erupted?" Byron asked again. Salah smiled as he took in Byron's question and turned back to walking ahead. He spoke over his shoulder at Byron as he moved along.
"No. It has always been dormant. It simmers at times, but nothing that causes any worry." Salah seemed distracted now.
Rex and Byron exchanged a glance. A lie. This was the first tangible piece of evidence that something was wrong here. Rex picked up the pace to keep up with Salah.
"Any close calls? I mean we are walking up into these caves on this volcano. I just want to make sure it’s...safe." Rex was careful with his words, hoping to get as much information as he could. His eyes looked back and pleaded with Byron to stay calm. Byron had begun walking with clenched fists, but as he looked at Rex, he slowly relaxed them. Rex let out a slight sigh of relief. Salah had paused for a moment and turned back to them. He wiped his arm across his forehead and looked up through the cracks in the trees, where Kafaketai could be seen looming ever closer.
"No, my friends. This volcano is safe. It has had no serious disturbances in many years, and the tribe knows it is safe. Like I told you, they have lived here for many years, and know how the mountain speaks. It has been silent for some time, and the Mai-Ukau believe it is their diligent service to the mountain that keeps it at peace." Salah pursed his lips, perhaps a little unhappy with what he had said, but then shrugged it off almost instantly. Rex and Byron had caught it, and nodded at each other.
Another lie. There was something being hidden here. The rest of the trek was relatively quiet. They continued on for another hour before exiting the unrelenting jungle and finding themselves at the base of Kafaketai. It truly did stand like a god. Its massive slopes, nearly black in color, angled upwards to its peak. A concave depression could be seen at the top, and it was clearly a large crater that crowned the mountain. About halfway up the mountain, small figures were visibly moving back and forth on some sort of path. Salah pointed to where the figures were.
"We must go there. They are waiting to greet us." Salah said as he walked toward the behemoth in front of them as Byron and Rex followed close behind.
STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO TOMORROW
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