Chapter 1

The range rover dips precariously to the right as it enters a deep groove in the road sending the occupants into each other along with their luggage and equipment before the driver guns the engine pushing them out and back onto flat road. “Sorry about the road here, there was a flood a few weeks ago and the terrain is still messed up,” the driver yells back to the three occupants seated in the back.

“Why doesn’t your bloody government fix these roads already,” a sweaty man groans from the back looking like he’s about to lose his lunch, “they were just as bad ten years ago.” He finishes wiping the sweat away with one hand while the other holds onto the handle above the window for dear life.

“They have better things to worry about like bandits and Chinese loans, a road that goes into a dead end valley isn’t on their list of priorities,” the driver calmly replies despite his passenger’s discomfort. He’s a middle aged looking individual with coal black skin and short unruly hair dressed in the khaki uniform of a game warden. He’s the only dark skinned person in the car with the rest being some variant of Caucasian.

“How long have you been doing this Mr. Ronald?” a new voice asks him once they enter a smoother part of the dirt road, although calling it a road seems a stretch too far it looks more like a dirt path used by animals.

“About twenty years now Ms. Kate. I started as an assistant for a tourist guide then spent most of my career doing game drives before working with researchers such as yourself.” He answers the pretty brunette sitting all alone at the very back with most of the gear adjusting his mirror to inspect her. Her skin appears to be slightly tanned but that could be because she’s been in the African sun for a month now otherwise she’d be pale. She’s a small woman with thin features and light blue eyes, she’s not your typical beauty but from a certain angle she is certainly attractive.

“Have the roads gotten any better within those twenty years?” the same sweaty man from earlier asks.

“Yes Dr. Barlow, they have gotten better, just in the important parts though.” Ronald answers the man glancing back at him before turning to look at the road again. The man named Dr. Barlow is an old man, his hair already white in some areas and mostly receded. His eyes are small with a pair of glasses permanently perched on top, his face is pudgy and red matching the rest of his body. Clothed in a three pieced suit with a bow tie he strikes the pose of a typical old school academic.

“Feels like we’re in a rally.” The younger man next to the doctor chimes in looking more at ease than his older seat mate.

“Ha-ha not even your rally drivers could handle this kind of terrain, get into an accident out here and they’d need to chopper you out Dr. Matthew.” Ronald laughs out looking at the handsome middle aged man. “How are you liking your second ever visit to our little country?”

“I’m loving it, can’t wait to finish this particular trip though. Wasn’t this bad when I passed through last time.” Dr. Matthew says and even to an African like Ronald he can tell that Matthew is good looking. His hair is thick and long with dark eyes and a body that appears to have been shaped by a lot of work in the gym. Paired with his deep voice and chiseled good looks you’d think he was a model but Ronald knows he is also extremely intelligent and a PhD holder in Archeology and Paleontology.

Wrestling with the wheel Ronald pushes the large vehicle into an even narrower road with overgrown bushes and trees lining the sides of the road. This tract is unusually stable and straight; the gradient of the path starts to dip downwards as they enter a sort of canyon and soon the foliage that was surrounding them gets replaced by a sheer rock face before they pop out into a flat open space surrounded by high cliffs.

“Whoa, this place is surreal.” Kate whispers to herself looking at the space they’ve popped into. The ground is a different shade of color, the road was filled with white sandy soil but this one is darker and richer looking and is evenly flat looking firmly packed. The vegetation here is mostly large trees with no leaves and no undergrowth whatsoever making them look like giant pillars reaching out to the sky.

“We’re not here to study biology Ms. Daniels,” Dr. Barlow starts saying staring at the trees himself, “that’s what we’re here for,” he says pointing to the far side of the rock face that the vehicle is heading to. Near the base of the rock wall they can see what look like tents and a smoking camp fire.

“Seems like Dr. Guillen got set up just fine,” Ronald remarks upon seeing the camp site. “I brought her up here two days ago and offered to stay with her but she said I was better off coming to pick you up.”

“That’s Sarah for you, the woman could survive in the desert all on her own.” Matthew remarks laughing out loud.

“Have you to worked together before?” Kate asks from the back looking at the approaching camp.

“She was one of my supervisors when I got my doctorate, we got pretty close. She’s one of the best in the field.” He answers leaning forward.

“Hmm this must be an important project if three senior researchers are working together?” Ronald remarks pulling into the camp and stopping next to what appears to be the main tent. “I wonder where she is, she probably heard me us coming in.” Ronald wonders when he doesn’t see anyone present in the camp.

“Did she have anyone with her when you brought her?” Kate asks peeking through the windows at the empty camp.

“Yes, she had one assistant with her. maybe she’s already at the dig site.” He answers turning off the engine and opening his door to get out of the car with the others following suit taking the opportunity to stretch their bodies. The camp only has three tents with two of them serving as sleeping quarters and the main tent seemingly being used as a field lab, its stacked with unopened boxes and all manner of equipment.

“Hey! We’re already here, wake up.” Matthew raps on the front passenger door which after a moment opens up to reveal the last passenger of the trip. It’s a woman, short and with long black hair tucked under a wide brimmed safari hat and dressed in khakis. Her facial features mark out her Asian ancestry and as she stretches her hands up to the sky her large chest is brought into focus.

“That was a good nap, I think I even had a few dreams.” She says while yawning twisting around to take a look at the seemingly abandoned camp.

“Can’t believe you slept through all of that, Michelle,” Kate says staring at the well-endowed Asian with jealousy.

“It’s a talent besides, I’ve been on roads like these so much I can hardly tell the difference. The soreness on the other hand is something that’s unavoidable so take all the muscle relaxants you can.” She advices while rubbing her sides and arms. The group spends a few minutes just getting used to their surroundings when they hear Ronald’s voice call out to them from somewhere near the rock face and they trudge their way there. At what appears to be a shallow depression in the ground they find Ronald leaning at the edge struggling to pull something and as they come closer a woman emerges using his hand for support.

She’s tall and tanned with long blonde hair tied in a messy ponytail, she’s dressed in a pair of knee length shorts and work shirt but their so caked in dirt it’s almost impossible to tell their color.

“Dr. Sarah? Is that you?” Dr. Barlow calls out as they reach what is now clearly a depression with a sharp fall off that has an unusual opening at the cliff face, the opening is dark and appears to cut straight into the rock perfectly.

“Dr. Barlow, I see you made it here safe and sound. I was worried you’d get stuck on the road somewhere, the rain’s been relentless.” The woman, Dr. Sarah Guillen, exclaims and then spotting everyone else continues, “I see you brought the rest of the team as well. Everyone, thank you for coming here I hope we’ll all get along. This is my reliable assistant Malcom; he’s been a great help these last few days.” She finishes pointing to a man who has been helped out of the crater by Ronald and is dusting himself off. He’s a slender young man with brown hair and wire framed glasses on, his clothes are similar to the rest but also covered in dirt. He waves at the group timidly before beginning to brush the dust out of his clothes.

“Good to see you Sarah. Is that it?” Matthew asks pointing to the bottom of the crater as he walks up to shake Sarah and then Malcom’s not minding that they’re covered in dirt.

“Matthew, glad you could make it. Yes, that’s what this is all about although truth be told this entire place shouldn’t be left out of the equation.” She explains being introduced to and shaking hands with the other members of the team watching as Ronald returns to the car to begin unloading.

“It’s an interesting geological phenomena,” Kate says looking at the rock walls surrounding the clearing, “how do you think it came about?”

“That’s not our job Ms. Daniels, our task here is to investigate the evidence of early man’s activities in this place and decipher the mystery around this place.” Barlow answers staring at the entrance to the cavern. “Have you figured out how big the cavern is?”

“Just like the ones in Europe it’s a bit on the small side, after the entrance the height of the chamber gets higher and you can stand upright without trouble. It rounds out as you get in looking more like a bowl inside the mountain than the usual long narrow hallways we’re used to. There’s no bats anywhere so you don’t have to worry about your hair ladies.” She finishes off smiling at the ladies in the group.

“Well, it sounds like we have our work cut out for us but I think we should start tomorrow when we’re all better rested.” Barlow suggests now looking a lot more comfortable.

The group agrees and makes its way back to the camp where they find Ronald finishing up with the unloading and help him with the last few boxes and bags.

“Do you need me to do anything else Dr. Guillen?” he asks after setting down the last box in the main tent.

“No, that should be fine I’ll see you in five days.” She says while looking over at the equipment and Ronald leaves the tent heading towards the car.

“He’s not staying here with us?” Kate asks watching the man inspect the exterior of the car.