Layla stepped forward and mechanically ran her fingers over the recessed lines and circles. "Umm... some sort of... numbering... system? A calendar, maybe? I dunno."
Ruiz rolled his eyes. "Honestly, could you please pay attention in my lectures, for a single moment?" He proceeded to nudge Layla out of the way, making room on the edge of the statue for the notebook. "See? This one here... this is Eltanin... that's Thuban... And this one?... Edasich..." Layla was certain that her blank expression had betrayed that she had absolutely no idea what Ruiz was talking about. He exhaled deeply, the building frustration apparent in his terse demeanor. "Stars, Miss Marin... They are stars. A constellation, to be more precise. You'd probably know it as Draco, the dragon constellation, but to the Mayans, these stars were closely tied to this serpent deity, Kukulkan. They would painstakingly track its position along the horizon, its proximity to the Milky Way, and..." he excitedly pointed along with the markings, "it appears they also built their major cities based upon their locations as well! See, this?... This hieroglyph represents Chichen Itza. Here's Palenque. And this one is... Tikal?... Yes, Tikal..." He scribbled feverishly into the notebook as he rattled off locations and observations. He seemed desperate to leave no information undocumented. As if he feared the giant stone feathered serpent was going to come to life at any moment and slither away. Back to the underworld.
"Wait, so..." against all her better judgment, Layla finally spoke up, interrupting her advisor's manic train of thought, "what do any of these cities have to do with the constellation Draco?"
"Miss Marin, I honestly don't know how it is you stumbled across this place, but tell me, do you think that the placement of a statue of this size was random? Do you think that it's just a coincidence that the sky is completely visible from atop this cliff? This cliff, that overlooks the entire valley below?"
Layla took a moment to look out again over the star-filled vista, "I... suppose not...?"
Ruiz pointed forcefully to the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the stone statue, "Right here... see that?... This inscription refers to Chi Ubah Kan as being in the mouth of the War Serpent, which would put it... ah, here!... yes, right here, in relation to the rest of Draco!..."
Layla grabbed the red notebook as Ruiz carelessly handed it back to her, and stuffed it carefully back into her pack. She was still more than a little hung up on the words "War Serpent", before sling the entire pack over her shoulder once more. "So... Dr. Ruiz, what exactly are you saying?"
Ruiz ran an absentminded hand over the flood of markings covering the massive statue and smiled, knowingly. "What I'm saying, my dear Miss Marin, is that this statue... this is the key I've been looking for! What I'm saying is that, with this information, and these new inscriptions and markings, now I know beyond a shadow of a doubt we are on the right track. What I'm saying is... I can find Chi Ubah Kan!"
Chapter 8
In the Middle of the Delusion
Dark and deep, the thick trees which surrounded on all sides, held fast to their secrets. The late morning sun was straining behind still darkened clouds. Doing it's best to dry up the rain from the night before. A deluge, which had more than saturated the soil, and succeeded in coating every surface with gathering water droplets, and a visible sheen, casting already slate gray forest in a sickly oppressive glare.
Layla couldn't stand the thought of being out here another day. What had once been her sanctuary, was now, only a place where darkness and decay seemed to consume every corner. Guaranteeing no more adventures. No more freedom. She sighed, and held back for an instant, clutching tight the trunk of a dripping birch tree, and shunning her eyes from the light, and the cold, sad truths that would now and forevermore embody her woods.
A hand placed on her shoulder disturbed her brooding solitude and caused her to look up once more. Her youthful, streaked face met the sympathetic gaze of the officer, one of many, wearing a Klamath County Sheriff's badge, as he removed his hat protected in plastic, and attempted to reassure the distraught child. "Layla, I know it's is hard. I don't wanna be out here either, but... you have to keep going," he said, compassion more than apparent in his tone, "we need you to do this. Those people? They need you to see this through." There was certainly a level of sincerity in his voice. Layla couldn't deny that. However, it was very clear to her from his words that she had little said in the matter. She exhaled deeply, and pushed off of the tree, leaving the officers behind, and leading the party deeper into the cold, damp wilderness.
As the time dragged on, and as less and less sunlight was permitted to pierce the forest canopy, the search team of police officers took to relying on flashlights to see where they were going. Layla didn't need a flashlight. She still knew these woods, with unwavering certainty. They just didn't belong to her anymore. She watched as a steady drizzle of rain had resumed in oppressively pummeling them. Layla could see it highlighted in every dancing beam of light that came from behind. She shivered, and pulled her slick blue windbreaker tight around her, though it was hardly successful in keeping her dry. The water clung to and dripped slowly down her blonde bangs, which hung in her eyes, causing her lips to tremble, and making it even harder to see beyond the dense stands of trees. Yet, despite all this, despite the damp chill that persistently hung
