While packing his gear in preparation for the hike back, the sound of a splash caught William’s attention. He scanned the surface of the underground cenote, but didn’t see anything. He brushed it off, figuring a rock had just fallen into the water. As he stuffed the suit inside his pack, he heard the noise again. It was more of a pop than a splash-like a bubble popping at the surface. Another bubbly pop came from the middle of the cenote, and William shot his attention there. He imagined the bubbles were being caused by the energy from the Serpent Passage.
The bubbles began to surface closer to the shore. When he leaned forward for a better look, he saw a dark form moving beneath the water, growing larger as it ascended. Two little lumps rose out of the water before eyelids snapped opened, exposing yellow glassy eyes that rolled from left to right. The eyes became transfixed on William. A snout surfaced, and he could see the tips of its nostrils. William gasped at what appeared to be the head of a crocodile. “Oh, that’s just perfect!” he said with annoyance. William recalled the crocodiles that he had encountered on the other end of the Serpent Passage, and he assumed that one of the giant reptiles had somehow made its way into the cavern through the tunnel.
He grabbed his things and hustled to the side of the cavern, tying his sack to the end of a hanging rope so he could haul it up after he climbed out. Before leaving, he glanced back, aiming the sacred flashlight-still attached to the anti-gravity device-at the cenote, to check on the crocodile’s position.
When the crocodile reached the shore an odd thing happened. Two long green arms reached out from the water and gripped the rocks. The entire body sprang up from the water with a giant splash, right into a standing position-at least nine feet tall-steadying itself on its thick legs. It shook the water from its plume of yellow feathers on its head and neck, while glaring at William with its crocodile-like face.
William beamed the flashlight along its body. It wore rubbery green and red clothing that resembled a shorty wetsuit; its scaly tail poked out the back. It lumbered closer-swaying from side to side between its long strides. “No freaking way,” William mumbled, while shining the light at its head.
The creature threw its webbed hands up, shielding its eyes from the glare. “Off the light!” it said in a low raspy voice, speaking in a choppy Mayan dialect.
William aimed the light away and stared at it with astonishment. “Let me guess,” William said in Yucatec-Maya, “Gukumatz?” He remembered the name from the story Priest Quisac had told to him… the creature from the ‘Legend of the Serpent Passage.’
It halted within several feet of where William stood. Its reptilian body shifted, while its eyes rolled around in thought. “Much time, last called. Of you… the Balam?”
“Yes, that’s right,” William said, astonished that he knew his name. “You’re a feathered serpent, aren’t you?”
“Called by many ways, by many peoples,” Gukumatz said, as he moved in closer. William shined the light at his face again, and Gukumatz stopped, shielding his eyes. “Off the light!”
“What do you want with me? Why are you following me?” William asked, holding the light on his reptilian face.
“Off the light, and I tell you.” After lowering the beam, Gukumatz glared at him. “Of you, disturbed the passage… altered time… impacted my kind. Of you, have I searched. Must not, of you, to leave here!”
“Hey, take it easy,” William said, threatening with the light again. “Look, this passage pulled me in here. I didn’t ask for this.” Gukumatz took another step forward and William held the light steady on his face.
“Off the light!”
“Move back, and then I’ll lower the light,” William said. Gukumatz complied, staring at William with hostile eyes, his feathers standing up at the back of his head. William lowered the beam again, not sure how much longer the flashlight defense would work. He thought he would try to reason with Gukumatz. “I know you have some kind of agenda here that I can’t even begin to understand; the grey ancestors of the Mayans said so. But maybe we can work something out?”
Gukumatz seemed to get even more upset, as his raspy breathing accelerated. “Know you, of the Grey Ones?”
“Wait… how do you know about them?” William asked. “They just got here… and they’re leaving the planet soon.”
A low chirping noise came from the back of his throat; it sounded like he was gagging. However, William sensed it was his way of laughing. “Of this world, are the Grey Ones… of the north. Ancestors are not. Is reversed.”
“What do you mean… reversed?”
Gukumatz ignored the question, looking frustrated. “Of you, the seed to harvest,” he said in his deep scratchy voice.
“What are you talking about?” William wished he had brought a weapon into the Serpent Passage with him, but he didn’t expect a confrontation on this leg of the journey.
Gukumatz picked up a rock, pointed at his head, and then at William. As if the rock was William’s skull, he pretended to pluck something out, holding the imaginary object in his webbed hand. “The seed to harvest.”
William had a sudden revelation. “You smashed those skulls that we found here before… because you were looking for me?” William’s heart raced. He knew the feathered serpent intended to kill him, just like the others who had been sucked into that cavern in the future, whose bones were tossed all about.
A creepy smile crossed his face. “Of the Balam, searched of many times. Seed of bloodstone, to harvest,” he said, as he threw the rock down. It bounced into the cenote with a crack and a plop.
William cringed. Priest Quisac had said that the seed from the Tree of Life was inside him now. Gukumatz wanted that seed… and it appeared that he planned to take it out of his brain. He had to think fast. Scanning his surroundings for anything that could be used as a weapon, his attention focused on a large serrated rock beside his equipment, and an idea surfaced. “Do you want the bloodstone too?” William asked. “It’s in my pack.”
Gukumatz glanced at the sack beside the cavern wall. “Of the bloodstone?”
“Yes. You can have it.”
Gukumatz moved to William’s bag of equipment in three long strides and tore through his things. He tossed the helmet and breathing container aside and removed the folded suit, squishing it between his hands like he was feeling for the bloodstone in the material.
“It’s there… inside the suit,” William said, while moving closer. As Gukumatz focused on unraveling the suit, William picked up the big rock, lifted it over his head, and slammed it against his feathery skull with enough force to split the rock into pieces.
Gukumatz dropped to his hands and knees. His bloodied head swayed in a dizzy manner, while his tail whipped around like it had a mind of its own. William rushed to grab another rock to finish him off, when the creature’s tail smacked him hard across the chest, knocking the wind out of him. He tripped and fell into the cenote, coughing from the water he swallowed.
After catching his breath, William swam back toward the shore, knowing he had to kill the beast while he still could. However, Gukumatz started to get up, and William dogpaddled back to the middle of the cenote, hoping the creature wouldn’t see him there.
While rubbing his bleeding skull, the feathered serpent made a high-pitched chirping noise. He spun around, snapping his eyes in every direction until spotting William in the water. “Must not, of you, to leave!” Gukumatz growled. He grabbed William’s helmet and slammed it against the cavern wall, shattering the faceplate. Still venting, Gukumatz snatched the breathing container. He held it up for William to see, and jerked all the tubes out in a single yank. Gas shot out from the broken connections and the container took off like a rocket. It soared through the cavern, bounced off the stalactites on the ceiling, and raced straight down-like a heat-seeking missile-smashing with a dreadful crack into the side of the feathered serpent’s head. Gukumatz staggered a few steps and fell over with a thud, landing on top of the container that had sputtered out after hitting him.
William lifted his hands from the water and cheered. “Ha! Take that!” He swam back to the shore and picked up another heavy rock to finish him off. But the feathered serpent already looked dead; he wasn’t breathing, and purplish blood oozed out the gash on his head. William tossed the rock aside, and it rolled beside his broken helmet. He studied the helmet with a sigh, realizing that his option to return home had just been smashed forever.
William skirted around the dead feathered serpent and went back to the cavern wall, grabbing a rope by the drizzling waterfall. He was about to start his climb out, when he remembered the sacred items. Priest Quisac would have been mad if he had lost them. William spotted a light shining beneath the creature’s tail, and he groaned, realizing that he would have to touch the dead feathered serpent to retrieve the sacred items.
He returned beside Gukumatz and lifted his heavy tail-letting out a grunt that a body builder would be proud of-and kicked the sacred items free. He pulled the flashlight loose, wedging it through his belt, and draped the rope-still tied to the anti-gravity device-over his shoulder.
“After awhile, crocodile,” William said to Gukumatz. He turned and climbed up the rope, resting halfway by bracing his feet on a thick knot. When he reached the top, William flopped on his back and rested there for a while, listening to the creek trickling beside him and splashing into the cenote below. He sat up and was about to leave, when a green webbed hand reached up from the edge of the cliff, grasping at his feet.
The feathered serpent’s blood-covered crocodile face sprang into view. “Not to leave!” Gukumatz said with a growl. He swiped at William’s feet while continuing to crawl up the edge of the cliff.
William scrambled back like a startled crab, kicking at the feathered serpent. Gukumatz lunged forward and bit William’s calf. Blood squirted down his leg as the beast tugged him back, digging his teeth deep into his flesh.
With no other weapon handy, he grabbed the sacred flashlight from his side. With all his strength, he smacked Gukumatz repeatedly on the head. Sparks shot out from the tube and a shrill whistle blasted. Gukumatz grabbed the end of the flashlight and jerked it from William’s grip. The creature’s hand shook as intense electricity flowed into him; the feathers on his head shot straight up and burst into flames. William groaned when the current passed through the creature’s teeth and jolted his leg, just before he pulled himself free. A stinky smoke drifted out the feathered serpent’s nostrils, and his eyes exploded inside his head. The creature’s jaw dropped with a bubbly froth oozing out his mouth. With a final kick to the face, Gukumatz slid over the side of the cliff and splashed into the cenote.
William crawled over to the edge and watched the creature sink. The sacred flashlight was still gripped in his hand; sparks lit up the cenote as he descended.
Becoming aware of the pain in his leg, he inspected the bite marks. The wound was deep, and he thought it might need stitches. He pressed his hands against the torn flesh for a moment, waiting for the bleeding to slow. Blood continued to ooze out beneath his fingers, so he ripped a strip of fabric from his loincloth and wrapped it around his injured leg.
A white flash drew his attention back to the chamber below, followed by another flash… and another. William staggered to his feet and gazed down with a perplexed look, watching the cenote light up every few seconds. “What the hell,” he muttered. More feathered serpents slithered up from the depths of the cenote. Three of them reached the shore, while more dark forms lurked beneath the water. One of the creatures caught sight of him and made an odd chirping sound.
William spun around and hustled up the passage, grimacing from the pain in his leg. By the time he made it through the first stretch of rough passages and entered a metallic tunnel, he heard a rush of footsteps behind him. The tube merged with another rough passage. William took a bad step, and he fell into the stream, scraping his hands and elbows on the rocks. Through the dim light of the fluorescent algae in the tunnel, he saw two of the feathered serpents rushing toward him.
A bolt of lightning whizzed over William’s head, straight down the passage with a deafening thunderclap. It hit the approaching feathered serpents, bursting them into a spray of green muck that splattered across the tunnel.
“Get up!” Priest Quisac said.
William shot a startled look over his shoulder, and he saw the Serpent Priest coming down the passage; he had a torch in one hand and the sacred weapon in the other. “Thank God you’re here!” William said. He stood and picked up the anti-gravity device that he had dropped during his fall. “There are more of them coming.”
“I can see that… stand back,” the Serpent Priest said, motioning for him to step aside. William pressed his body against the cavern wall, covering an ear with his free hand. Priest Quisac fired again-with a thunderous blast-vaporizing another batch of feathered serpents that had made their way into the tube. “We must get above. They won’t follow us into the light.”
They moved through the rocky passages until they reached another section of metallic tubes. A stampede of footsteps resonated from behind them. Priest Quisac stopped and gazed at the base of the cavern wall, at the point where the creek initiated its flow of water into the tunnels. William glanced back and saw lots of yellow eyes racing up the passage behind them, like a swarm of glowing bees. “We’ll never make it!” he said.
“Take this,” Priest Quisac said, handing William the sacred weapon and torch. He snatched the anti-gravity device from him. “Get to the top!”
“What are you going to do?”
“Just go!” the Serpent Priest said. He poked away at various buttons on the anti-gravity device, causing sparks to jump out and latch onto the rock wall above the stream. While William backed down the tunnel, he could tell that Priest Quisac was trying to block the passage, pulling his weight away from the rocky wall; the device made a terrible grinding noise. Just when the feathered serpents rounded the corner, the cavern collapsed. A flood of water gushed forth, blasting the creatures back down the passage. Falling rocks and dust filled the tube, followed by a torrent of water that swept William off his feet and extinguished the torch in his hand.
He got up and waded through the tunnel; it had flooded up to his waist. “Priest Quisac!” he called out. He could only hear the falling rocks. When his eyes adjusted to the dim glow of the fluorescent algae in the tube, he noticed that the passage beyond had completely collapsed. He feared that Priest Quisac was crushed, or that he had been flushed away with the feathered serpents.
William struggled up the flooded tunnel and bumped into something floating on the water; it was the Serpent Priest. Blood covered the back of his head; his ponytail had become red. William turned him over, and Priest Quisac coughed up a mouthful of water.
“What happened?” Priest Quisac asked with a dizzy look.
While kneeling beside the Serpent Priest to examine the cut on his head, William could hear the steady gurgle of rushing water just beyond the cave-in. It occurred to him that Priest Quisac had removed the barrier between the passage and the underground river, which went all the way to the Cenote Azul. That was the connection that had pulled William and Betty down there in the first place.
Priest Quisac had dropped the anti-gravity during the rock slide, and William couldn’t find it anywhere. After fishing around the tube further down the tunnel, he came across the sacred weapon. “At least we still have this one,” William said.
“It is good that we do,” Priest Quisac said. “We will need it.”
They climbed up the steep entrance to the Sacred Cavern of Jade and found Teshna, standing with her arms crossed, glowering at them. From the anxious look on her face, she had clearly been going crazy with worry. But when she noticed their injuries, her stance softened. “What happened down there?” she asked, leaning closer to inspect William’s bloody leg.
William shrugged with a crooked smile. “The feathered serpents found us.”
Teshna gasped. She snatched her pack and retrieved some rags. She handed one to the Serpent Priest before returning her attention to William’s injured leg.
Priest Quisac wiped the blood from his head. “Our mission to reach Chichen Itza is even more critical now. The feathered serpents will be coming for us.”
“We should have gone with our ancestors,” Teshna said. She pulled a jar from her pack and poured its gooey green contents onto his leg; he groaned from the pain.
“No,” Priest Quisac said, regarding William with a knowing look. “You were correct, Balam. They are not our ancestors.”
“That’s what Gukumatz told me too,” William said. “He called them the Grey Ones. He said they come from the north.” William winced when Teshna rubbed ointment into his bites.
“If they aren’t our brothers from the stars, then who are they?” Teshna asked.
Priest Quisac shook his head. It was clearly a mystery to him too.
Teshna finished wrapping a bandage around William’s leg and stood with her arms folded, giving Priest Quisac an angry stare. “You knew they weren’t our ancestors, and yet you still let them take Yax?”
“Their intensions are not hostile,” Priest Quisac said. “Yax will be safe, and he will keep our people under control. It is better that the Grey Ones did not know of our suspicions.”
“Why didn’t they take us all on the night of the eclipse,” William asked.
Priest Quisac smiled. “They tried, but the bloodstone somehow prevented it,” he said. “I could sense it… and I believe you felt it too, Balam. When they let their guard down during that moment, I could see their thoughts. They have no plans to leave our world. They only have Chichen Itza in mind. Yet I could not see what their agenda is there. We will find the Grey Ones. When we do, we will free our people for a greater purpose to come.”
William sighed, realizing that his responsibilities were far from over. There were new obstacles to tackle in the days and months ahead. But after all the difficulties he had already overcome, he knew he was ready to face any challenge. It didn’t bother him that the tunnels leading to the Serpent Passage were now blocked, for he had helped Betty to get home. She would let his mom know that he was okay, freeing him of that lingering concern. Now he could focus on his path ahead. His future was there, with the people of the ancient Maya.
Teshna handed Priest Quisac the jade box she had been guarding. He retrieved the bloodstone by its silver necklace and held it out to William with a proud nod. It reminded him of the day he first accepted the bloodstone at Yax’s palace. Back then, he couldn’t grasp the significance of the red gem. William leaned over, allowing the Serpent Priest to place it around his neck; it felt as if he was renewing his pledge to help the Mayans. He could now appreciate the magnitude of the gift, and he understood the important responsibilities the bloodstone carried. For the first time, William felt that he had truly earned the privilege to wear it.
William pulled Teshna close to his side and gave her a confident smile that melted away the worries he saw in her eyes. He gripped the bloodstone over his heart and gazed into the warmth of the solstice sun-embracing his new life unfolding before him… and daring the adventures to come.