Treasure of the Mayan King (2012) Read Free

crew of archaeologists, all of whom will assist in uncovering the temple.”
    After the applause died down, he answered the many questions the media posed to him.
    Chapter Two
    The sun was shining brightly on the small turboprop airplane as it made its final approach to the dirt runway. Trying to remind himself that the pilot was an expert, American archaeologist Chauncy Rollock sat with both hands tightly gripping the arms of his seat. Despite the number of times he had landed on remote, barely maintained runways, the deep blue eyes under his blond crew cut showed that it never failed to scare the daylights out of him.
    “Come now, Chauncy,” chided his associate Mack Estlund. “Surely you know they wouldn’t let anybody but the best pilots fly us here.”
    Chauncy tried his best to appear relaxed and carefree as he turned to look at the taller, lankier man. “What are you talking about, Mack?”
    Mack smiled knowingly. “I’m talking about the permanent indentations you are making in the armrests of your seat.”
    Chauncy felt his face warming as he consciously relinquished his grip on the armrests. “Let’s just say I’m not overly fond of landing, Mack.”
    Mack smiled. “I know.”
    Chauncy ignored the windows at both edges of his vision. He could tell by the whine of the engines and the plane’s angle that they were only seconds from landing and he found himself gripping his chair again. The plane touched down with a minimum of jerking. The cabin door opened and the pilot smiled at his passengers.
    “Welcome to the Yucatan Peninsula, my friends. Please gather your carry-on luggage. My co-pilot will bring the rest of your gear. Thank you again, and may the rest of your journey be fruitful.”
    The pilot disappeared into the cockpit and was replaced by the co-pilot, who opened the hatch and lowered the steps. Chauncy and Mack unbuckled their belts and assembled their bags. The rest of their luggage was waiting at the bottom of the steps.
    The co-pilot waved as he re-boarded the plane. Moments later it was just a speck among the puffy white clouds. Chauncy dusted himself off and looked around as he chuckled. “Well, Mack, how do you like being left in the middle of nowhere?”
    Mack looked around in dismay. He stared for a long time at the place where the plane had disappeared from view, and then sat down on a sturdy piece of luggage. “What if the pilot made a mistake? What if this isn’t the right location? What do we do?”
    Detecting the rising fear in Mack’s voice, Chauncy tried to calm him down. “Don’t worry; this isn’t the first time for me.”
    Mack gazed at the runway. “Yeah, well that’s good for you, but I would rather be ‘somewhere’ and not ‘no where’ right now.”
    Chauncy adjusted his wide-brimmed hat and his sunglasses, surveying the area again. There was no sign of human life, but he knew from experience that the jungle was far from lifeless, no matter how still it seemed at first. If one only knew but to listen, there was much sound. It had been silent when the plane left, but now the silence of the jungle was broken by the sounds of wildlife. Screaming monkeys, an array of bird squawks and songs, hisses of unidentified origin, all blended together. Some would consider it noise, but to Chauncy it was like a beautiful melody.
    The sun beat down upon them, and the humidity was well above what they were used to. Dark perspiration spots began to form on their clothes.
    Chauncy wiped his brow before stooping to pick up his luggage. “We better start setting up camp and then look for Dr. Sova,” he said as he made his way toward the shade under the canopy of trees. “If there really was a mistake then we have no reason to fear, Mack. We can always use my satellite phone to call for help. Of course it had better be an emergency - I’m sure you know how much it costs for each call.”
    Chauncy started to walk the perimeter of the airstrip, wondering how the landing had been as