Living Legends

23) Death and Other Discoveries

The refreshing water cleansed Jack’s pores as if someone had taken a hose and squirted all his sweat away.  He closed his eyes and slowly floated to the surface.  He felt cleansed and ready to tackle the next obstacle—finding the grotte d’eau, or water cave.

            Just as he resurfaced, someone gave a short cry and cannonballed into the water next to him.  He flipped the hair out of his eyes and smiled.  “Glad you could join me.”

            Hayley came up sputtering.  “I didn’t expect it to be this c-cold,” she said.  Plastered against her skin, her hair and clothes gave her the appearance of a drowning rat.  To Jack, though, she had never looked prettier.  He quickly looked away.

            “I’m not that confident of a swimmer,” Hayley added.  “Can you dive down first and tell me how long I have to hold my breath?”

            “Yeah, of course.”  Jack took a few strokes toward the waterfall and ducked underneath the surface.  He could barely see through the churning foam, but once he had safely swam to the other side, the water was a crystal, cerulean color.  He scissor-kicked his way over to the rock wall where he had seen the word d’eau just minutes earlier.  Now it was gone.

            The waterfall continued to crash behind him, sending shockwaves of water toward this area of the pool.  Placing his hands on the wall, Jack kept himself from floating upwards as he took in his surroundings.  No matter how hard he looked, though, he didn’t see anything resembling an underwater cave or grotto.  There was nothing but the rocky walls, mossy bottom, and green banks.

            Jack could feel his lungs craving oxygen.  He knew he had about half a minute left.  He pushed off the wall and swam to the bottom.  Wedged between the cliff and mossy floor was a pile of rocks.  Jack thought it odd that rocks would collect here, of all places.  Unless…

            He quickly dove down and began pulling the rocks away.  Thanks to the fluctuating water, he had no trouble loosening the pile and uncovering the human-sized tunnel that led through the cliff wall.

            Jack grinned.  Here we go, he thought.  He pushed off the bottom, swam back underneath the waterfall, and resurfaced with his lungs near bursting.

            “What did you see?” Sully demanded, not even waiting for Jack to catch his breath.  The rest of the men crowded around, some in the water and some crouching on the riverbank.

            “A tunnel,” Jack wheezed.  “At the bottom.”

            “What’s in there?” Hayley asked tentatively.

            “I don’t know; I ran out of breath.”

            “Lead the way,” Sully said.  “I’m going down there with you.”

            Jack shook his head.  “Not a good idea.  The tunnel’s only four feet wide and I didn’t see where it goes.  You’re bigger than me.  What if you get stuck?”

            Sully realized Jack’s logic.  “All right,” he conceded.  “Hurry up.”

            Hayley nodded, her eyes pleading for Jack to be safe.  After sucking in a huge gulp of air, Jack dove back down to the bottom.  After forcing his way underneath the tumultuous waterfall, he made a beeline for the tunnel.  He barely squeezed through the opening with his broad shoulders.  A fleeting thought came to mind: What if there’s no way out? It would be nearly impossible to force himself backwards through the narrow tunnel.

            Jack squinted in the bleary underwater light.  As he advanced, it only grew darker, and before long he couldn’t even see the gray stone that served as walls all around him.  His lungs started to burn, forcing him to swim faster.  Just as he considered going backwards, fearing he was going to run out of air otherwise, the tunnel widened.  Beams of light bounced off the rock walls, illuminating the way—straight up.

            Jack had never tasted relief so sweet.  He pushed off the bottom and ruptured the surface, gulping precious air.  He dog-paddled over to the side and dragged himself onto a thin ledge.  He’d made it.

            After catching his breath, Jack took in his surroundings.  Grotte d’eau was right—this certainly was a water cave.  The rugged, black rock walls folded around him like a stone cathedral.  The dark water glistened off the ceiling in luminous waves.  A handful of tiny peepholes allowed slivers of sunlight to seep through.  Jack was in awe.  Was it possible he was the only human being to see this place in 300 years?

            The thought crushed him like a thousand tons.  He gripped the stone ledge, suddenly overcome with the seriousness of the situation.  I’ve been treating this like a game.  This whole time, I’ve been gambling with my life.

            And Hayley’s, the voice inside his head added.  Jack grimaced.

            He lifted his eyes to the ceiling, watching the water reflect off the rock, until a symbol materialized onto the stone surface.  He got to his feet and studied it carefully.

            Mort.  A single word inside a triangle, just like the other clues.  Jack let the word pass through his lips.  “Mort…mortuary? Mortician? Mortifying?”  To his educated mind, it reminded him of all things death-related.  He shivered.  How could such a dismal word be present in such a raw, untouched place?

            Jack wrenched his eyes away and dove back into the water.  He suddenly felt cold—freezing, almost.  He swam as quickly as he could through the tunnel, under the waterfall, and towards the men.  When he broke through the surface, shivering, he climbed onto the bank like a wet cat, ignoring the shouts of Clyde’s men.

            “Jack!” Hayley cried.  She swam over to the side and pulled herself onto the grass.  “What happened? You’re so…pale.”

            He shook his head.  “I don’t know.  I just needed to get out of there.”

            “You made it?”

            “I made it,” he confirmed.  “The grotto was beautiful, but at the same time, it was...I don’t know…dark.”

            Hayley placed a hand on his shoulder.  Her stunning green eyes swam with worry.  “Was there a clue?”

            “Mort,” he said quietly.

            She pursed her lips.  “Death.”

            “I thought as much.”

            Suddenly, Clyde stormed out of the jungle with his third group in tow.  “You’re back!” he said, his eyes alighting on Jack and Hayley.

            “They found the next clue!” Sully exclaimed.

            Clyde rushed over to the pair.  “The spotted rock! Where was it?” he demanded.

            Noticing the greedy glint in his eye and the way his hand hovered over his gun, Hayley spoke swiftly.  “By the tidepools,” she said.  “It led us back to the waterfall.  Jack found a tunnel at the bottom of the pool that led to a grotte d’eau—a water grotto.”

            “And?” Clyde asked excitedly.

            Jack and Hayley exchanged a glance.  “Mort,” she said finally.  “Death.”

            Clyde appeared not to notice the gravity of her tone.  “Perfect! What’s the rest of the clue?”

            Hayley glanced over at Jack, but he suddenly stood up and walked away, once again ignoring the shouts of Clyde’s lackeys.  He didn’t bother to shake out his wet hair or put on his shoes as he strode into the jungle.