The Complete 8-Book Guardians Adventure Saga Page 9

  Sam inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. He stepped up beside Salinger. “Let’s do this thing.” He paused. “Together.”

  They both jumped at the same time, landing firmly on their feet. “This is going to make a young man out of me,” said Salinger.

  Sam laughed. “I was thinking the opposite.”

  Achava removed her flashlight from the leather bag and turned it on. Aviela did the same. Slowly, Achava moved her light around the room, and then pointed it into the darkness in front of where she stood. “Point your light down there, Mother,” she said. “It looks important.”

  “Look at that,” said Aviela, aiming the flashlight down.

  “What?”

  “Look! There is a dark cave of sorts leading inside the mountain.” She turned to Salinger. “Do you see it?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The lights from the flashlight lit up a path deep into the dark cave.

  “Follow me,” said Achava, clasping Sam’s hand.

  Aviela fell in step behind her daughter. Salinger stayed right close behind them.

  The cave had a dirt floor, which was dusty from disuse. Sam started sneezing and wheezing breathlessly. Without stopping, he pulled his inhaler from his pocket.

  Aviela stopped him. “Sit down for a few minutes,” she said.

  He wheezed louder, grabbing his chest. “I do have a tightness in my chest,” he said and began coughing.

  “Let’s all rest a moment,” said Salinger.

  ***

  After a pause, they walked for about five minutes, and the path ended abruptly at a drop-off of about twenty feet.

  “Uh-oh,” said Sam.

  Salinger made a comment about being hopeful. That only confused Sam.

  “Why does this excite you? I don’t understand, Professor.”

  “Then I suggest that you stop attempting to figure out what cannot be figured out and just enjoy the find, Sam.” Professor Salinger sounded irritated.

  Achava beamed her light downward. This revealed that the floor sloped down, like a slide. She laughed for what Sam thought was the first time all day.

  Aviela walked around thumping the walls. She knelt down and directed the light as far downward as she could. Both men looked over her shoulder. The slope went downward about ten more feet before emptying into a chamber. The air was getting thick.

  Achava took in a deep breath. “The further we go, the harder it will be to breathe. So, take it easy, Professor.” She looked at Sam. “You, too.”

  Salinger’s answer was sliding down to the lower platform. His feet landed on solid rock with a layer of dirt on top.

  “You never cease to amaze me,” said Achava.

  “What about me?” asked Sam, taking out his inhaler.

  “You’re amazing, too, Sam.” Achava winked, and he laughed.

  He then allowed Aviela and Salinger to go first. While they followed Achava, Sam got his flashlight out of his backpack and shined it on the surrounding formation. Sam lagged behind so he could study the paintings on the walls. Sam felt the inside of an alcove. “This is only about two feet deep,” he said.

  Achava turned and walked back to him. “Look at this. There are three alcoves spaced evenly in the walls around this room. Each alcove has a flat bottom while being rounded at the top and is about four feet long.” She looked at Sam. “What do you make of that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Achava checked the first one. Shaking her head, she proceeded to the middle alcove. It was identical to the first one with the same effect. Then the last alcove was examined. There was nothing separating the message of one from the other.

  Achava was in deep in thought, studying them.

  Aviela clasped her arm and asked, “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Not sure.” Achava inspected the sides of the walls near the alcoves. She ran her fingers along the corners of the wall looking for the slightest seam. Salinger watched her closely, while Sam added the strength of his flashlight for Achava’s use. She appeared to find something.

  “Right here,” she said.

  She pressed her fingertips into a crevice in the wall as far as she could. The muscles in her toned arms tightened as she gritted her teeth. The golden glow in her eyes almost lit the entire area as she pulled back on the crevice. She let out an almost inhuman groan as every muscle in her body tightened. Sam watched in disbelief.

  “Oh, come on, Professor! Do you really expect me to believe…?” Sam was interrupted by the sound of rock scraping against rock. The jaws of both men dropped as every muscle on Achava’s body was made apparent by her struggle to move the rock wall. Miraculously, the wall slowly moved.

  Salinger said, “She is moving that wall all by herself.”

  When he said that, Aviela jumped to her side and helped her push. She let out a groan and her body lit up like silver.

  Aviela said, “This appears to be hiding some sort of secret room.”

  Sam rushed to help her, too. She ignored him as if his efforts were merely interference.

  ***

  The wall moved incrementally now.

  Salinger was standing in the best possible spot to see inside the hidden room that was slowly being exposed.

  Salinger saw lit torches set on each corner of the walls. His eyes widened as the wall completely moved aside and he was able to see completely inside.

  The walls were filled with paintings of scenes from the Bible, more specifically the story of Moses. The parting of the Red Sea, Moses leading his people from Egypt, the plagues, the Burning Bush, and the Ten Commandments were all represented in the wall paintings. Salinger gasped as he saw that the entire room was filled with gold statues, coins, chests, and weapons of all kinds, chalices, shields and jewelry. Some were from biblical times; others were from different periods of history.

  Salinger dropped to his knees. “Thank you, God.”

  Sam joined Salinger on his knees, and gasped. He almost stopped breathing when he saw the fortune in treasure before him.

  Achava patted his shoulder and walked calmly past them and into the chamber. She stood quietly examining the seams in the walls.

  Salinger followed her. The only obvious exits were against the wall with the most paintings on it. There were two separate sections of the wall on one side that had obvious secret entrances similar to the one they were entering.

  Sam was almost afraid to follow Achava into the treasure room. The fear that he would never want to leave plagued him.

  Aviela entered the room and examined the individual sections on one open wall. “Come, Salinger. Look at this.”

  The painting of the Ten Commandments got her attention. She stood examining the painting and then smiled at Salinger. “This means something.”

  He said, “Tell me what. I can’t see it.”

  “Look closely.”

  Salinger stood expressionless at the entrance to a room. He said, “I could never have believed this actually existed, or that I would see it in my lifetime.”

  He looked closely at some of the treasure from outside the room. “Yes, I’m afraid it is, Sam. This appears to be the treasure room of Herod the Great. From the looks of some of these items, anyway.”

  Salinger took his first step into the room as his eyes were entranced by the paintings on the walls of nothing but the life of Moses. He ignored the valuable artifacts as he stepped over them in favor of the paintings. He stumbled over a vase, but it did not break.

  Sam managed to gain enough courage to step into the treasure room as well. Sam smiled and looked at Salinger. “Professor! Is this for real?” Sam looked on with a confused look.

  Salinger felt a tightness in his chest, but said nothing as he made it to the wall with the painting of the parting of the Red Sea. He was in awe. “Do you know what this means, Sam?”

  “That we’re stinking rich?” Sam walked over to Salinger as Achava exited the room holding onto several broken sherds of pottery.

  She loo
ked upset. Turning to Sam, she snapped, “Remove nothing from this chamber!”

  “Okay.” Sam looked disappointed as he emptied his pockets of gold and silver jewelry. He shrugged his shoulders when Salinger glared at him. “You can’t blame a man for trying.”

  Achava walked through another opening in the wall and temporarily disappeared.

  “I have a feeling, Sam. Just a feeling,” said Salinger. “But I think the paintings on this wall tell me that this is the final resting place of Moses.”

  “How could you prove that? They wouldn’t be marked,” said Sam.

  “You know, some people have thought so, because this is the mountain mentioned in the Bible!” Salinger was looking down at the floor of the treasure room, grinning. “Although there is a marked grave for Moses at Maqam El-Nabi Musa, personally, I believe it to be a ruse to lead people away from the real grave! This one.”

  “That is an amazing observation, Doctor,” said Sam. “What do you think, Aviela?”

  “About what?”

  Salinger’s expression turned serious. “I really believe that Moses is buried somewhere in this mountain, and I believe that the passage that we entered through leads to his grave.”

  Aviela said, “I would love for you to prove that statement is true, but I doubt you can.”

  Achava returned, walking slowly away from the wall opening, and up to Salinger. “We will try to find out.”

  Sam sensed something was wrong and rushed over to her. She said nothing as he looked behind her in the open wall to where stood a pedestal on a base. He walked into the room and looked up. There was a hole in the top of the pedestal where a rod or stick could fit.

  “I think we have found our way out of here,” said Salinger.

  “How so?” asked Sam.

  “The Staff of Moses probably has something to do with that.” Salinger pointed to the top of the pedestal. “The Canaanites are searching for something to make their warriors invincible. We need to work against them.”

  Sam beamed. “That is the best news I’ve heard all day.”

  Chapter the Twelfth

  SALINGER PACED back and forth as he tried to recall all of his experiences in biblical history which would reveal the mystery around the five scrolls of Achsah.

  Salinger morphed into his teaching mode, thinking that would help.

  Sam frowned. “What is it, Professor?”

  “I finally understand what is going on around here,” said Salinger. “Kirjath Sepher used to be a Canaanite city and was also known as Debir. Caleb destroyed the three wicked Nephilim, which were the oldest sons of Anak.”

  “You mean he killed them?”

  “Exactly.”

  Aviela nodded and said, “True. Those beings were called the Anakin and deserved to die.”

  “Which means that their descendants are now the strongest of the Canaanites who terrorize the land to this day.” Achava glanced at the professor. “Correct?”

  “Certainly. Caleb was adamant about getting his inheritance and he needed to be given the area of Hebron.”

  Sam said, “He obviously enraged the Canaanites down through the centuries.”

  “And they tormented your ancestors every generation since then.” Salinger was in deep thought while talking.

  “That is correct,” said Aviela.

  Achava said, “Do you realize that our ancestor, Achsah, was the recipient? She inherited the town, which is rightfully ours today.”

  “Yes, I do know that,” Salinger agreed.

  Aviela glowed. “Now you are the owner of it all, dear Achava,” she said. “Only you. We just need to find proof.”

  “We’ll find a title, deed or the equivalent.”

  Sam yawned. “Professor, what does that have to do with the way out of here?”

  “I believe, as I think our female associates do as well, that the scrolls are not only a clue about how to get out of here, but also will lead us to something more historically important than what we have found so far.”

  “How could there be anything more important than all of that treasure?” Sam rolled his eyes. “Am I right?”

  “I am referring to more historically important. I didn’t say worth more monetarily. It’s quite obvious that what is in that room is priceless. What I’m talking about is…”

  “…the staff of Moses,” Achava interrupted.

  “Correct.” Salinger nodded and continued, “It’s the only thing that makes sense. Herod’s treasure chamber is within the mountain where Moses is buried. The five scrolls were in one secret chamber and there was a pedestal in the other with a hole where something like a rod or stick either once was, or a staff needs to be. We are also surrounded by paintings of Moses.”

  “Perhaps if I am in possession of the five scrolls, that equals a title deed.” Achava looked at her mother inquisitively.

  Aviela nodded her agreement, as she looked into the treasure room. “Canaanites are responsible for Ben-Tzion being trapped here. There was one with him when he disappeared. That one left him here, making him think that he had outsmarted the Canaanite, but it was the other way around.”

  Achava nodded. “We’ve had our share of torture from one of them on this trip.”

  “The Canaanite on the plane!” Salinger’s mouth dropped open. “Now, I know my flaw. I did not take him seriously enough, because I had been led to believe that they were dissolved many years ago. Living in the United States, I had found it hard to believe that they survived through the ages. But this trip convinced me otherwise. Canaanites still exist. They are here trying to steal the land of Israel.”

  “There are more of them,” said Aviela. “Lots more.”

  Achava walked up to Salinger with a blank expression on her face. “Now you know.”

  “Glad I do.”

  “It isn’t any stranger to be approached by a thousand Canaanites than the wicked ones we have encountered so far on this trip. Anakin and Nephilim still exist as well in places like the jungles. They are the same wherever they are. Pure evil is at the bottom of it all.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding, right?” Sam laughed briefly until he saw that no one else was laughing. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. Extremely so.”

  “The concept of that many giants walking among us is unreal.”

  “You limit your understanding by what you can see or what is presented on television by people who do nothing but lie. Believe that all things are possible with God, and you will see what is in the shadows for everyone else.” She walked into the treasure room. “Come.”

  Salinger put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Well, Sam. Part of being a successful archaeologist is believing that there is something out there that will change your understanding of how things are or how we perceive the past.”

  “Or the future?” he asked.

  “Especially the future. The question is, ‘Do you want to make the future better than today, or do you want to just exist?’ Everything we find on this expedition helps us understand what we normally could not. Does any of this make sense to you?”

  “Yes. It is a sixth sense.” Sam looked as if he was trying to understand. “Maybe when I have had as much experience that you have, Professor, then, I can really understand. Right now, it’s just a little difficult, even though we’ve been through so much craziness together.”

  “Everything we are experiencing is biblical in nature.” Dr. Salinger walked over and patted one of the Moses paintings. “You need to strengthen your belief in God. That’s all.”

  “That is interesting, but how does that create giants?”

  “Some giants are physically large, others are mentally larger than life.”

  Sam scratched his head, taking time to think that through.

  “This reminds me of a story, Sam. Once there was an older man like myself. He was a self-centered person who did not believe in God. He had a business partner who was as tough as he was. His daughter was a God-fearing woman who talk
ed to him and prayed for him every night to believe in God.”

  Sam listened intently. Aviela and Achava sat down and listened as well.

  “Her father used people for his own benefit and he even cheated on his wife. He told his daughter that if God really existed, He would have to open up the clouds and reach down from the heavens. She told her father that only by faith would he see the works of God. She explained that God performed His miracles for everyone to see during Bible times, including a written record of Jesus Christ being God’s Son.”

  Salinger now had Achava’s full attention as well.

  “The daughter told her father that miracles happened every day for her. Maybe they weren’t the big ones that everyone expected, but they were miracles nonetheless. She told him that her faith in God could prevent her from getting into a car accident or prevent her from getting ill. He still wouldn’t listen to her. She said, ‘Ask and you’ll receive, seek and you’ll find, knock and a door would be opened for him.’ He didn’t care, but she continued to pray for her father’s soul. That night, he worked late with his partner. Afterward, they decided to stop for a few drinks.”

  Salinger sat down in the sand by the pedestal and continued his story. Achava squatted by the entrance.

  “They drank like it was their last night on earth. After several drinks, the man drove his partner home and dropped him off. He could barely see the road through his blurred vision, as he started on his trek back to his own house. His vision was so blurry that he never saw the other car. He died instantly in a needless accident.”

  Salinger repositioned his legs and sat up to get more comfortable.

  “When the man opened his eyes, he felt torment like he never had before. The pain ran through every inch of his being. There was a neverending darkness. He was burning from within his very soul, and he was alone. It was only then that the man realized that God did indeed exist. He begged God to let him warn his partner of what awaited him if he continued on his present path. God said, ‘Your daughter gave you my Word. She told you about me, but you would not listen. All you had to do was ask and find me, seek and you would have found me. If you would have knocked on my door, I would have opened it for you. If your partner won’t listen to God’s Word, what makes you believe he will listen to you?’”