The Serpent Passage

though it were being viewed through a giant prism. William noticed that the spear and sacred weapon he had been clutching a moment before had vanished from his hands, as did all the weapons that they had each been carrying.

An enormous collective cheer rose from the base of the pyramid. The entire population of Dzibanche seemed to be there, gazing up at them from the courtyard below. Rows of huts spiraled out from the pyramid as far as he could see. In unison, they began chanting, “Balam! Balam! Balam!”

“So the cloud is a spaceship?” Betty asked.

William recalled how he had seen a dark object hidden inside the cloud when he viewed it through the lens of the sun shield.

“Yes, we are inside their craft, Bati,” Yax said.

“But it looks like we’re still outside,” Teshna said.

Yax smiled, raising his arms to quiet the crowd. “I was also confused upon my arrival here. At first, I believed that I had died and had ascended to the heavens. But then they explained what happened. A large portion of this vessel has been designed for the comfort of our people while we travel through the stars to our new world. This area where we now stand has been constructed to suit our needs. It is much the same as our lands that we know-complete with plants and animals as well. Yet this area is but a small chamber on the craft. I am told that if we were to travel from this city center, a large wall would be encountered.”

“Sounds kind of like a big cage,” Betty said with a raised eyebrow.

“Where are these ancestors of yours?” William asked.

“We are here,” a voice answered in his mind. William jumped and looked behind him. The others had similar reactions. Teshna’s nod confirmed that she had heard it too. “We speak to you from another location. There is much to explain. Proceed to the rising transport.”

The crowd at the base of the pyramid scattered when a green triangular pillar rose up from the ground. An opening materialized at the base of the object, where a tall slender figure stepped out in a tight-fitting white uniform; it had long arms and legs, a shiny head with a single black eyeball, and a large grey beak.

“Good grief,” Betty muttered. “What is it?”

As it approached, William could see that the bizarre appearance was actually from an odd-shaped helmet on its head; tubes were connected to the helmet from a pack on its back. The citizens dropped to their knees and bowed down before the strange being.

Its gaze slowly drifted up to the top of the pyramid, and it stretched out its hands as if welcoming them. “I am known as Jensik. Do not fear my appearance, for I am not accustomed to your atmosphere, and merely dress in such a manner so that I may interact with the people of your world. Beneath my uniform, I am much the same as you. Please come with me. I will take you to the others of my kind.”

“Who are these people?” William asked, as they descended the steps.

“They may indeed be our brothers from the stars, Balam,” the Serpent Priest said.

“Priest Quisac is correct,” Jensik spoke in their minds. “We are… brothers. Yet not all gathered here comprehend what has occurred. It is why we developed this simulated world, complete with landscape and habitations that you will find familiar-to avoid the shock you might otherwise experience. You will spend much time here with us, and those who remain must be adapted to the conditions of our world. In time, all will be made to understand our purpose.”

As they reached the base of the pyramid and approached Jensik, William surveyed the people gathered around them. “Jensik, there were a number of men taken that I had expected to be here-Etznab, Salmac, and many others from the royal guard. Are they here somewhere?”

“Come,” Jensik said, seeming to ignore the question. He stepped into the brightly lit room inside the triangular monument. “This transport will take us to another level within our craft.”

They followed him inside the triangular pillar, and the opening to the outside dissolved, enclosing them. A humming sound resonated.

“Feels sort of like an elevator,” Betty whispered.

William glared at Jensik, having a hard time trusting him through his weird helmet. He wondered what Jensik really looked like.

Jensik turned to William, noticing his disturbed look. “To answer your question about your missing friends, Balam… not all the people of this land are required. Only those with… desired qualities… will join us. Some will be transplanted back to your world. We are evaluating those we have collected.”

“Collected?” William asked, not liking the way he put that.

The elevator’s humming sound faded and an opening materialized. A silver chamber could be seen from beyond. Jensik stepped into the shimmering oval room, and they followed him in.

Jensik moved to a white table in the middle of the room, grabbed a handful of metallic-looking collars on the table, and handed them out. “Place it around your neck. It will enable you to breathe in the next room.”

The collars were decorated with colorful little stones. When William stretched open the collar and put it around his neck, the stones began blinking beneath his chin. He tried to remove it, but it seemed to be locked in place. William began to feel like a circus animal being prepped for captivity.

“The atmosphere in the next room contains the molecular properties of your world and ours. This device attracts the elements that you require to breathe,” Jensik said, pressing another button on the wall, dimming the light to half its brightness. He placed his hands at the base of his helmet and twisted a knob; it made a popping sound, like opening a bottle of soda. He slowly lifted the helmet off his head. They all stared at him with anticipation, wondering what they would see behind his strange mask.

Teshna gasped when Jensik’s long grey face and big bug-like eyes came into view. She grabbed William’s arm with a nervous grip. Jensik looked sort of like an alien from the X-Files, William thought.

“I thought you said you looked like us,” Betty said in a somewhat rude tone.

Jensik pulled a lever on the wall, and mist entered the room, pumping up from vents along the floor. He appeared to hold his breath while waiting for the mist to fill the room. Opening his thin slit of a mouth, he took in a deep breath; it sounded like he was sucking through a straw. “What you see before you is not the original appearance of our people,” he spoke in their minds, not moving his mouth. “In the beginning, our bodies were similar to yours. The color of our skin and the elongation of our features are the result of living here for generations, where our reproduction methods have evolved us into what we are today.”

“What are your reproductive methods?” William asked.

Betty jabbed William with her elbow, and he realized it wasn’t an appropriate question to ask.

Jensik gave William a blank stare as he removed his gloves, exposing his grey rubbery hands that seemed to have only four fingers. He grasped a knob protruding from the wall and slid it to the left, causing a mechanical sounding clatter to reverberate through the chamber-like the noise of an automatic garage door opener. The ceiling parted down the middle, and the walls sank into the floor, leaving the group standing in the center of a dark misty chamber; the visibility was limited to a few feet in any direction.

“Where are we?” William asked, holding Teshna’s hand firm so he wouldn’t lose her in the fog.

“We are in the control center… with the others,” Jensik said.

Dark forms began to take shape amidst the fog. They approached the group, gathering around them in a semicircle. Dozens of beings with the same greyish appearance as Jensik studied them with blank creepy looks. It became apparent that the bulk of their attention was focused on William. He felt uncomfortable with their collective stare, hearing the word “bloodstone” repeated softly in his mind.

The tallest of the aliens-in a bright red uniform-stepped out of the crowd. He glided gracefully forward, while taking a moment to study them.

Jensik gestured to the tall alien, extending his gangly arm toward him. “I present our leader, Master Seblinov.”

“You are welcome here,” Seblinov greeted, and then turned to his men who continued to gawk at them. He waved them off; they faded away back into the fog. Seblinov turned back with a gentle gaze, blinking his big eyelids several times. William noticed that they had two sets of eyelids; a transparent inner eyelid blinked just before the outer one did. Seblinov reached out with his hand and extended a long finger, motioning for them to follow.

As the group followed Seblinov through the foggy room, they passed by several of the grey aliens who stood beside tall metallic posts with light covered panels that they poked at with their slender fingers, casually rolling