For many, the ride would have been unbearable, but for them it was far from unusual. Ever since they first stumbled upon the ancient cave-like entrance that lead deep into the ground, they had been returning year after year to revisit its secret splendor.
“Ready Julie!”
“Ready!”
Simultaneously, they leaned slightly turning their bikes to the side and squeezing the breaks, to help them lose momentum as they neared the bottom of the slope. A deep feeling of excitement broke into their chests as they slowed and came sliding to a stop, letting go of their bikes before they slid off the ledge with them and slammed onto the ground below. They waited a moment for the dust to settle before they stood up, listening to the large echoing crash their bikes made when they reached the ground below them. They stared into the dusty black darkness of the underground tomb. Their hands and legs burned from the dirt and gravel, but the excitement of the fall masked the pain.
Out of a small brown back pack Julie wore for her travels she pulled a pack of matches. Feeling the air around her she blindly reached into the darkness, careful of her footing as not to fall off the ledge and break a leg, or worse. Finally, she felt the cold frame of the massive object beside her and she lit the match, slightly revealing the outline of an arm of a large stone statue, the statue being the only means of light for the tomb. In the statue’s hand was a large torch, scolded from previous use but ready to be used once more. She turned to Kesla, and the small flame unveiled an anxious face and two round wide eyes. Kesla nodded one downward nod in approval. She was ready. With that, Julie threw the match towards the statue and it caught the flammable substance of the torch, igniting it almost instantly, filling the old ruins with a brown shimmering glow.
They overlooked the picture once more, in awe again as they always had been. Below them was an ancient underground palace. Directly in the middle was a deep pool of cool green water. On the bottom of the pool was painted what looked like the solar system, with some differences as to what modern scientists would say it looked like. Small yellow stars and moons circled a brown and green earth in a dark blue sky, the sides of the pool where just as dark as its bottom except for one side where a bright orange sun was painted. Facing the pool was the colossal statue of a temple king, at least 10 times taller and wider than she was; sitting on his thrown, in his right hand was a scepter of missing prongs and his left hand was closed. On either sides of this noble king were two smaller statues, two canines whose eyes were red rubies the size of footballs. They wore jewel studded capes and their ears had been pulled back and tied together with decorated rope. They resembled a modern day Doberman, only their eyes were less inviting. All around the palace were broken vases and jars and painted boulders and rocks that had fallen from the very ceiling and walls and now littered the ground in a careless fashion. They piled on top of one another miscellaneously and conveniently provided a way down from the ledge for Kesla and Julie.
From her back pack, Julie pulled a large strong rope. She fastened it tightly around the arm of the statue beside her and the other end around her waist, using an intricate pattern of loops and buckles to tighten it. Julie always went down first; she was an experienced climber and could find the safest way to the palace below much easier than Kesla. Without a thought, she hopped off the ledge, fitting her right foot easily into a small crack between two boulders. She looked up at Kesla who was staring at her with worry and excitement. She looked down, the light from the torch shaking and dancing along the rocks, waiting for it to reveal her next foot hole. Not but two feet below, she saw her opportunity and hopped down. She listened to the sound of the lose pebbles falling below as she knocked them out of their hiding places. After a few moments, she was but eight feet from the bottom and jumped the rest of the way down, slightly bending her knees at landing to save them from the intense pressure of the drop. She unfastened the rope and motioned to Kesla to follow. Kesla pulled up the rope and tied it to her waist. She slowly followed the same pattern that Julie had followed, relying firmly on the statue’s leg to ease the descent. Once at eye level with the gigantic statue’s ankle, she sat down, using the slope of the big toe to slide the rest of the way down. She walked towards Julie, and stood motionless at her side.
