Skyfire Read online

  He glanced around the chamber and saw the camera he brought inside, smashed to pieces. He approached it, shaking his head. He missed the days of physical film. Digital had many advantages, but with the memory card split in two, he knew everything was lost. He grimaced, then decided to exit with his prize and document everything with better equipment later.

  He found the chamber doorway and again pushed his way through the door and out into the open jungle, remembering at the last moment to douse the flames in his hand. The flames obediently vanished just as the professor emerged into daylight.

  “Professor!” Kevin called out, hauling him out with the rope that still encircled his waist. “Are you all right?”

  Collier rubbed his head and looked down at his right pointer finger. Weak as the flames may have been, they were unlike anything he had ever experienced. He untied the rope and handed it to the graduate student.

  “Never better.”

  “Are you sure?” Kevin asked, worried. “You slipped into that…” He waved towards the crystal door, which had begun to turn brown before their eyes. “I dunno what the hell that is. An inter-dimensional portal? Why is it changing color?”

  The professor glanced at the crystal door and reached a hand out to it, feeling what was now its cold, hard surface. This time, his hand did not go through. Whatever they had stumbled on was not letting him inside for seconds. He grimaced and shoved harder. This isn’t possible! Not when I’m so close!

  He felt his temper begin to rise up, and he breathed out his frustration. He needed to get back inside and document everything with another camera. Plus, after the strange encounter with whatever those “Patrons” were, he had a feeling he’d discovered no ordinary lost civilization.

  Sticking his hand in his pocket, he felt the reassuring weight of the stone between his fingers. Professor Collier glanced back at the drill. He knew what they had to do.

  “Kevin, fire up the laser and get me back inside that chamber. It’s the biggest find since…” Collier wiped his brow and grinned, “Well, I guarantee people are going to be talking about this moment for a very long time.”

  Kevin looked at the professor, confused, until the professor noticed the graduate student was not moving.

  “I said GO!” Collier roared, and he felt a spark light up between his fingers. Kevin sprang into action and quickly started moving the drilling laser back into position.

  The laser had been the most expensive part of the project, but the professor had insisted that they bring along something with enough power to get through whatever type of rock they might encounter. Based on designs intended for a Martian probe, the laser could drill through just about anything on planet Earth, though Collier suspected the crystal door might prove to be an exception.

  Kevin finished prepping the laser and aimed it at the crystal. As the machine hummed to life, Collier hovered over Kevin impatiently. With a nod to the professor, Kevin pressed a button and fired the laser toward the crystal ball.

  The second the powerful laser touched the crystal, its energy dissipated, sinking into the surface of the wall without leaving a scratch.

  “What’s happening?” Collier demanded. “Why isn’t it penetrating?”

  “I don’t know,” Kevin said, worried. “But I don’t like the readings I’m getting… Whatever that thing is, it doesn’t look like...”

  “I don’t care!” Collier snapped. “Turn the juice up and get me back inside!”

  Kevin realized the futility of arguing and decided to follow his professor’s orders.

  It would be the last thing he ever did.

  Dialing the laser’s energy up to 110%, Kevin fired again. Instantaneously, the energy collected within the crystal wall burst back along the path of the beam, feeding back into the laser drill and setting off a huge, shining blast. Kevin screamed in terror, then in pain. Collier did not even have time to do that; he could only try to shield his eyes from the blast.

  So this is how I die, Collier thought grimly.

  To his amazement, however, the flames from the exploding machine flowed up and over him harmlessly, as if he were an impenetrable rock diverting a river of heat and smoke. Collier watched in wonder as the hellish flames destroyed everything else they touched, a maelstrom of chaos and fire.

  Everything but him.

  When the flames finally died down, Collier was left standing in the middle of a disaster. In front of him was a crater where the laser had stood. There was nothing left of the instrument.

  He stumbled to his feet and moved past the drill. He found Kevin lying on the ground, moaning and bleeding from several terrible injuries. Collier approached his student, looking down at him in horror. There was nothing left of the man’s right arm, and most of his left leg was mangled. His skin, as much of it as Collier could see, was scorched and torn. Collier fell to his knees and reached for the canteen hooked on his belt. He raised the canteen to Kevin’s lips, which were barely open.

  Then Collier saw Kevin’s lips stir, whispering something Collier could not make out. He leaned down and put his ear next to his student’s mouth. The man was praying. Collier hadn’t known Kevin was religious, but he supposed everyone faced their God when death approached.

  “It’s okay, Kevin,” Professor Collier said in what he hoped was a soothing voice. “It’s all right; you did what you were supposed to do.”

  “I didn’t…” Kevin coughed and blood splattered all over Collier’s face. He wheezed heavily, looked up in panic at his professor and fell back, one final breath rattling out of his lungs. In that final breath, he looked up, eyes shining with pride. “You were right.”

  Kevin sagged back in Collier’s arms and died in the middle of nowhere.

  Stunned, Professor Collier slumped back, still holding onto Kevin’s lifeless body. He looked around at the devastation left behind by the exploding drill and swallowed as he realized the impact of what he had done.

  The whole expedition would turn into a disastrous scandal if word got out that a student had died on his watch.

  He thought in horror about what Kevin’s death would do to his reputation. Ruin it, of course. Collier would not only have to answer to the local Peruvian authorities about Kevin’s death, and about his negligence, but charges would likely be filed before he even had a chance to explain. Then, if Kevin’s family were at all smart, they would sue the university in a heartbeat.

  And Professor Porter? His rival would ensure that the scandal burned down his career before it even properly began, no matter what he discovered. Collier felt the rage build up in his throat as he thought of that fat little man taking over his operation and hogging all the credit.

  This one death would taint everything he’d ever do again, he thought. Collier’s mind slid toward the stone. Instinctively, he knew even that would not protect him. Porter would simply claim it for himself.

  He took out the artifact and examined it closely. Looking up, he gathered enough of his scattering thoughts to concentrate, and again he summoned fire from his palms. This time, efforts yielded a twenty-five foot burst of flame that rose above his head, setting a hanging branch above him on fire.

  He looked down at Kevin’s body once again, then back at the crater where the drill had been. Sighing, he shook his head, pondering his impossible situation. He had worked too damn hard to let it all slip away because of one stupid mistake – a mistake he technically hadn’t even made himself.

  Every problem had a solution. The trick was finding the right one to cover his ass and allow him to take credit for the discovery. Gradually, that solution started forming in his mind.

  He cocked his head, staring down at the stone, then over at Kevin’s body lying in front of him. The solution he had in mind was morally reprehensible, but his future depended on the choice he was about to make.

  As long as he was thorough, and just a bit lucky, people should buy his explanation about Kevin’s death without question.

  The answer was simple: destroy
everything. Burn Kevin’s body with his new ability and blame the fire on the student being careless with the drill and generator. Habeas corpus; no body, no crime. People would likely blame the lack of a body on local predators completing the circle of life.

  So then what about Rachel?

  Collier grimaced. He needed to work quickly if he was going to catch up with the younger graduate student. She was the only one who could poke holes in his alibi.

  If he pulled this off, he would make sure that Kevin would be honored as a hero at the University’s graduation ceremonies this year. And then, with his discovery, he would be able to do anything he ever wanted.

  His eyes shone with possibilities as he summoned a small ball of intense heat and flame within his palm. Looking at it with a strange grin, he drew back his hand and pitched it towards the graduate student’s body. Kevin melted and cooked quickly, filling the jungle with a smoky haze. Collier watched the body burn dispassionately.

  He had worked with this poor boy for months, but the idea of burning his body had come to him so easily. It was unlike him to be so barbaric. Some part of him knew that.

  And the rest of him didn’t care.

  Kevin sank into ash, and it was as if the man had never existed.

  Professor Maxwell Collier, a person who had never received so much as a parking ticket, moved down the path to the village, intent on catching up to Rachel. His plan was to get them on a plane back home and show off his discovery before he lost his alibi for murder. He would spin a tale for Rachel about their discovery, and how Kevin had been left behind to protect the camp.

  He trotted down the trail towards the campsite, intent on packing the essentials and then catching up with her. She would easily believe that they were returning home to get more funding while Kevin held down the fort.

  He smiled as he thought about the future glory of his discovery. Everything he had done, all his hard work, was about to pay off in a big way.

  And no one would ever dare call him a failure ever again.

  Chapter Five

  If anything occurred at the mining site, chances were Otienu Ododa knew about it. As Director of Operations at the local copper mine, he was always first on site in the morning and the last to leave. His diligence and careful work had made the copper mine one of the most profitable in Zambia, and he was very proud of that fact.

  A man cursed by honesty, Ododa spent the majority of his life working in the mines as a structural engineer. His current job involved ensuring the safety of every man and woman who worked in the treacherous conditions underground.

  Ever since his promotion, the mine had maintained a stellar safety record, which greatly pleased his superiors back in the States, considering it kept their insurance premiums low. Additionally, happy workers made for a more productive mine.

  His job was not perfect, of course; there were good and bad days. But lately, he had managed to whip his life into a decent routine. He would wake at 4 a.m., arrive at the mine by 5:30, work through the morning, take a small break for lunch during which he would usually meet his wife, Lwansa, in the city, and then return after the hottest part of the day had passed to work for another four hours. The work was not easy, but it paid well, and the mine had done much for his city’s local economy.

  He opened the door to the office and entered, looking down at the battered office equipment. Various signs and notes had come to cover the walls over the last several weeks and months, many of them old and warning about out-of-date safety concerns. Ododa was about to wrap up a long day of work, and he was looking forward to getting some paperwork done before heading home to his family.

  First, he would need some caffeine to keep the juices going for a few more hours. It had already been a long day, but that was the price of being the man in charge.

  He started the ancient coffee machine, which stood on the file cabinet, and let the water filter through the small amount of coffee he had left in the tin. He preferred tea, but they were out and the only thing he cared about was the caffeine.

  Ododa lay his briefcase and hardhat down on his desk, then let out a sigh, looking at the calendar on the wall.

  A new level of the mineshaft was scheduled to be blasted tomorrow morning. He never liked the days when they were blasting into the mountain; too many things could go wrong. The last five hours of his day had been spent double- and triple- checking each explosive charge. That had to be finished prior to signing off on the blasting procedure. The long hours ensured everyone’s safety, but all that time at work meant time away from his family.

  It was a small sacrifice to keep his family fed, he’d decided long ago, and he was willing to do it for as long as it took to provide a better life for his children. His first two young ones were already out of the house and attending Zambia’s premiere university. One was studying agriculture, and the other was following his example by studying engineering. The proud papa that he was, he never stopped bragging about his children and their accomplishments. They didn’t have as much time to write or talk as they used to, but Ododa tried to make up for that with his twin daughters, who were barely out of diapers.

  His boss, Sterling Mbasi, entered the office, grunting in surprise to see Ododa still at work. Every day, the man tried to catch Ododa leaving before him, but was never successful. Ododa allowed a slight smile to cross his lips. You’ll have to try a little harder to beat me tomorrow, Ododa thought to himself.

  “Sir,” Ododa said with a respectful nod of his head. Mbasi ignored the polite greeting and opened the book in front of him, which indicated how much dynamite his engineers had installed during the day. Too much TNT, and they’d bring the whole mountain down around their ears. Too little, and they’d be forced to set more explosives after the mountain had settled, pushing their schedule back and causing unacceptable delays.

  “Are we on schedule for tomorrow’s excavation?” Mbasi asked.

  “We have everything wired and ready for detonation,” Ododa replied.

  “Show me,” Mbasi ordered, drawing his iPad and opening up the application that tracked all the activity across their camp. Their employer, who was very interested in the daily goings on at their mine, had provided the technology. He had spared no expense for this operation, and Ododa had always strived to spend the man’s money as if it were his own. Mbasi was younger than Ododa and had embraced the new technology, using it for every aspect of the mine’s operation.

  Ododa barely glanced at the man’s shiny toy. He preferred the feeling of real paper between his hands. The touchscreen tech was interesting, and it was fun to throw birds who were mad at pigs for some reason, but beyond that, he saw no compelling reason why the whole world was in such a rush to make everything digital and shiny.

  “Have you inspected everything?” It was a statement formed as a question. Ododa knew his boss was only testing him.

  “Each detonation is timed perfectly,” Ododa confirmed. “I went over everything myself.”

  Mbasi looked at the mine outside his office and grumbled. He may as well get the inspection over with now that the rest of the crew was going home for the day, he thought.

  Mbasi set his things down and nodded to his number two. Ododa followed his boss out the door of the trailer, his head held high. He made his way towards the mine, grabbing one of the helmets hanging from a hook next to the trailer.

  He jumped into a golf cart, which they used to get around the massive mine, and accelerated down the path into the deep, which many heavy earthmovers had dug over the course of years. Many copper mines were open pit mines, with some of them extending several thousand feet down in layered cuts. The ore they stripped from the earth here, some of the highest-quality copper the world had ever seen, was sent to a local smelter.

  The golf cart slowed as they reached the end of the trail. They got out as Mbasi indicated that Ododa should show him the wired-up explosives. Ododa moved to the trail leading down to the new annex and unlocked the gate for them.

 
This new annex and open pit mine were intended to explore a rich vein of ore discovered a few months ago by one of his engineers. The amount of explosive charges implanted in the sides of the mountain would tear a huge depression within the mine, exposing raw copper for the crews to exploit and separate.

  Ododa looked at the explosives for the third time that day, checking each one with a critical eye. The detonators were in place, with everything wired up in the efficient manner he had come to expect from his people. They were good men and women who never complained, and Ododa made sure that they were paid well for their efforts. He knew well the shady dealings of his country’s other mines, most of them run by foreigners, and he made a point of disallowing any such dealings in his own jurisdiction.

  “My only criticism is that there may be too much ordinance packed in section 212,” Ododa said after finishing his third pass. “Otherwise everything is perfect.”

  “I asked for the extra explosive for that section,” Mbasi said quickly. “The radar suggests a greater density around that area. Besides,” Mbasi reminded him, “it would take an extra day if we removed those extra charges now. They should not affect the rest of the blast.”

  Ododa sighed; these were the sorts of decisions they paid him to make. The only thing he was worried about was that the extra ordnance might collapse the entrance to their new annex before they had a chance to explore it. He looked down at the sheets of paper in front of him and ran the figures in his head once again. The amount of explosive placed would indeed make for a larger explosion than originally planned; nevertheless, his quick math said that their infrastructure should be able to handle it.

  “Very well,” Ododa said sighing again, “but I want to clear the radius back another hundred feet.”

  Mbasi nodded as he made a note, “What time is the first blast scheduled for?”