*****
The concussive force of the explosion simultaneously took out the generator, which, in turn, wiped out the lighting grid, plunging the entire cave into darkness. Her sense of panic mounting, Ella scrambled up only to crack her head hard against the overhang. Disoriented, she tried again striking her head a second time, this time against the wall itself. Head swimming, her body went sprawling across the limestone floor. Lying there unable to move, she felt the void closing in around her. Within moments, she had completely lost consciousness. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of sporadic gunfire filled the air.
*****
Standing clustered together outside their tents in the camp below, the archeological team from the Universidad de Salamanca stared upwards, their eyes fixed on the entrance to the cave in horror and disbelief, unable to turn away.
“Dios mio…” Sebastian half-whispered as he fought to control his emotions. But his words kept coming, tumbling from his lips: “Patre nuestro que estas en los cielos, santificado sea tu nombre, venga tu reyno, hagasse tu voluntad…” until the bullets cut him down.
Behind them, moving forward in a single unbroken line, a dozen Mujahideen had begun to lay down deadly fire, their mix of Uzis and Kalashnikovs filling the night air. Reacting, the three security guards ducked for cover as they drew their .9mm handguns and began to return fire. Roberto and Nestor died where they stood while others turned and fled. Grabbing his ancient carbine, Gorka joined the security men as they attempted to fight back. At the same time, Hector was caught in the crossfire. Dancing like some grotesque marionette, his body was propelled backwards, lurching into the cook stove and setting the tent on fire.
For the mujihadeen of al-Battar, the cleansing had at last begun. The Sword of the Prophet had spoken.
*****
Having caught a glimpse of a dark figure crouching in the darkness approximately fifty meters beneath the landing zone, Corbett had instinctively pulled Tariq back into the recess of the cave’s opening and held him there as the rocket from the LAW struck the chopper. The violent force of the explosion was deafening as the fireball licked into the pitch-dark sky. And suddenly, all bets were off. With the heat from the burning helicopter preventing him from knowing precisely what dangers might lurk in the blackness beyond, Corbett could hear what sounded like automatic weapon fire coming from below. The Jihad had begun. For those left in the base camp, he could only assume the worst.
Since the explosion had taken out the generator, the sole source of light within cave now came through the entrance alone provided by the still burning fuselage. Clearly panicked, Tariq stared wildly as Corbett pinned him hard against the rock wall just inside the entrance. Ignoring the ringing in his ears, Corbett forced himself to stay focused. To move either in or out posed serious risks. The ongoing Jihadi attack on the base camp obviously eliminated that avenue of escape. And without a working lift, descending into the massive cavern seemed all but insurmountable.
“Tariq… listen to me!” Corbett’s voice had an edge, like a parent to a terrified child. “What happened just now – the explosion, the gunfire – an ISIS cell is here to kill you. You understand…? We have two choices: go back out and take our chances; or go deeper into the cave and try to find another way out.”
“Another way…?” Tariq’s voice sounded distant and hollow. Judging from the look in his eyes, Tariq was still not listening. Corbett took out his LED flashlight and turned it on. The focused beam cut across the upper chamber of the cave, illuminating the rock wall on the far side forty meters away, accentuating the abyss below. Corbett immediately redirected the shaft of light downwards toward the cavern floor. Rethinking their options, he remembered the underground river and the secondary passage beside it.
“Come on. We’ve got to go.”
“Go…?” Tariq stared off into the uncertain darkness. “Go where…? How…?”
“Just stay with me. While we were mapping the upper chamber, we discovered a ledge – a pathway down. It’s narrow. It looks to be no more than a meter wide, maybe two. But it’s our only shot.”
“Ledge…?” Tariq repeated, still not quite comprehending.
“Tariq, you’ve got to stay with me. We can do this. There’s no other way. I’ll go first. You grab hold my jacket and follow me down. Just do as I say.”
Shining the light ahead, Corbett felt Tariq grip his upper arm. Moving along the rock wall, he skirted the spot where Sebastian had been excavating the skulls. Just ahead, he played the light over the rock wall, searching for anything that might indicate the place where the pathway leading down could begin. Noting a faint discoloration in the stone surface where it met the wall, he decided to take a chance.
“Turn around,” Corbett said, physically maneuvering Tariq into position. “Face the wall and place your right hand against it. As long as you are touching the rock, you cannot fall.” Not fully believing his own words, Corbett did the same.
“But I can’t see. Don’t we have a light?”
“Leave the light to me,” he momentarily held the flashlight close between them so that it reflected off both their faces. “Now
