* * *
Finally, Javier, Mari, Juan, and Carlos completed their task.
“It is over,” Javier said. “We must go now. We need to get in contact with our people. There’s still much to do.”
CHAPTER 23
Javier had contacted more of his people for help once they left the Cathedral cavern. They had removed the bodies of the Ares men and disposed of them in the jungle. There were many places where a person’s remains would never be seen again. They’d also removed all of the equipment Ares had left behind in their jungle encampment and hidden it away where it wouldn’t be found.
Afterwards, they’d taken to hiding the large metal boxes containing the metallic tablets deeper within the caves system. Rick and the Torres family had not been allowed to witness where the tablets had ultimately ended up and they had all been sworn to secrecy about what they knew of the metal library.
After what they’d just endured, and how close they’d come to losing their lives, Rick knew it was the right decision, and he respected the wishes of Javier’s people. No one protested. They all knew why it had to be that way.
They took a different passageway out of the cathedral cavern to the surface. The journey back to town had been a somber one.
The compass was taken into the city for safekeeping. Its whereabouts kept strictly confidential and known to only Javier and the other Shuar sworn to protect the secrets of the metal library.
Javier and his people had kept watch over the remaining Ares operatives in town, until a well-placed word to certain government officials had found them booted from the country. Permanently.
The Shuar people had decided to pause their research and study of the metallic tablets within the Cathedral cavern for the foreseeable future. All activity in and around the Tayos Caves system was also being further restricted. Once the rumors died down and interest in the area became less intense, they hoped to resume their important work.
* * *
Back in town on their first night, Diego had invited Rick over for dinner, along with Sofia and Luis. He called it their first Torres-Braeden family dinner, with Rick now being considered a permanent part of their family. He referred to Rick as his “hijo extra” or bonus son. Rick loved it. He was also grateful not to be alone with his thoughts and memories of what they’d just endured and to have people with whom he could share his personal experience of the metal library with.
That evening with the Torres family had left Rick reflecting on what he’d just been through. Twice now, he had gone into the jungle seeking a path to an extraordinary life. He’d sought life-changing experiences. He realized he had gotten both wishes, just not in the way he had hoped or envisioned. The jungle had held both untold terrors and incredible wonders. Things that had shocked, thrilled, and horrified him. He’d again peered beyond the veil and had lived to tell about it. His experience with the metal library had brought him to the brink of death, but in doing so had given him a peek into the very nature of existence and granted him a most extraordinary gift, one that he would cherish for the rest of his life.
Another lingering gift from his recent experiences was that he now realized that as much as he’d struggled and suffered over the years, as much as he’d wished throughout his life that things could be different—a different choice or reaction, a different opportunity or outcome, a different relationship, a mistake avoided, a calamity dodged—he knew with every fiber of his being that he was exactly where he was meant to be. Not only for him, but for everyone in his life. Including Diego, Sofia, and Luis.
He thought about how far he’d come in such a short period of time. At the outset, all he wanted was to be heralded for bringing a history-changing discovery out into the open. He wanted riches, to have his name in the history books, to be a person of renown. Now, after seeing how destructive Ares was, and how harmful their intent, what he wanted was to protect this secret for the benefit of those it belonged to, so they could shepherd their own futures, without outside interference. Even his.
Instead of feeling empty and disappointed at not getting to walk away with a magnificent prize that reporters all over the globe would clamor to interview him about, he was feeling content, even accomplished in a way. He’d played a role in history, a very important part, just not one that would make headlines. And he’d come away with something far more enriching and meaningful; new friends, new loyalties, an extended family to belong to, and the knowledge that he had experienced the extraordinary.
He thought of his father. Thanks, Dad, he thought, for helping me to understand and to see more clearly. I love you.
Rick knew he was one lucky guy, in a lot of ways. He’d been given a priceless gift. Plus, not many people had faced down death like he had and got to keep drawing breath. Confronting these latest demons, both old ones and new ones, had given him more clarity. He was still startled and shaken by a lot of it, it was going to take a long time to process it, but unlike last time, he felt more confident about himself, not less. He suspected that also had a lot to do with the fact that this time, he’d shared the journey with people he cared about. They’d gone to the mat for each other. He hadn’t been alone. And he wasn’t alone now. That made all the difference in the world.
Rick and the Torres family had made a
