Miles of dense vegetation, bird calls in the distance, and just about every type of insect swarming us. I remember it quite vividly actually, the details of it all.
Me and my two colleagues, we hiked through the dense rainforests of the Yucatán, our destination nestled deep within the jungle.
My colleague Sergio, a Mexican man from Oaxaca, was leading the trek. Him and I are historical Archeologists, the both of us having done most of our work in Mesoamerica, which is how the two of us met in the first place. Although he was the leading expert on the subject. Having studied these ancient civilizations for decades. Much of the work i’ve done was under his guidance.
“Vamanos mi gente, shouldn’t be much farther”.
Despite having hiked for several miles through the jungle, Sergio was unfazed, undoubtedly the kind of stamina someone with experience in this line of work would have. It was hot and humid, and there were several hazards in these parts, including venomous snakes and insects. Some of which I’ve been bitten by.
The third member of our expedition was Evelyn, an anthropologist from Cambridge who also studied Mesoamerica, specifically an expert in interpreting hieroglyphics and writing. Of course, this skill being essential in this field. She seemed rather eager to get to our destination.
“The sooner we find this place, the sooner we can publish the material.”
“¡Cállate! We don’t know what we will find!”
Sergio never liked to rush anything. To him, the best way to study something was to do so step by step, no matter what the process in doing so was. Traveling was no different.
This man knew each Mayan Temple from the inside out. Just about every inch of ancient stone within each pyramid known in the peninsula, and every artifact found within. Until now that is.
Several months prior, authorities had found somebody, a man; middle aged, who was severely dehydrated, and nearly dead. After being admitted to a hospital and recovering, he had claimed to have been with another person, having become lost in the jungle. He explained that the two of them had come across what they perceived to be ruins, most likely Mayan, and…claimed to have found bizarre ‘inscriptions’ inside. Apparently, for reasons unknown, he wouldn’t discuss anything else.
Of course, Sergio, who worked at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, was the first person they contacted. As soon as he was aware of this, he reached out to me to help set up this whole excursion. On account of the inscriptions claimed to have been seen, Evelyn was brought on from Cambridge to provide expertise, that was assuming these were even writings.
Most knowledge regarding the Ancient Mayans has come from the Yucatán. You see, their society was one of the earliest in the Americas to have used complex astronomy. This is most well documented in Mayan architecture, with temples and pyramids being designed in such a way that the sun, moon, stars, and planets would be visible from the top or through certain windows at important times of the year.
If we do happen to find a previously unknown structure, it could potentially contain knowledge about these people previously unbeknownst to the Archeological community. But that was only in theory, if there even was anything to begin with. For all we know, the account could’ve simply come from a deranged man, driven crazy from fatigue.
As we continued on through the brush, Sergio raised his hand, signaling Evelyn and I to stop. For a good moment, he surveyed the surrounding rainforest, before pointing to an opening through the trees. As the three of us headed on through, there it was.
Built into the edge of a sinkhole, was an old, foliage-covered structure, most likely a temple. No doubt this was it, the place we’ve been searching for.
“Well, here we are.” I told my colleagues.
Seeing how overrun by plant growth the outside was suggested a rather old age. Nature having reclaimed the ruins over the centuries.
At its base was a large opening, likely the entrance to the inside. However, there was one problem. It was at the bottom of the Cenote it was built upon. Cenotes, named from a Yucatec Maya word, are natural pits or sinkholes forming from the collapse of limestone bedrock, exposing groundwater. These pits were believed by the ancient Mayans to be portals to Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. Perhaps there was some significance in building it here?
Evelyn gave a puzzled look to Sergio and I.
“Don’t suppose you know how we’ll get in?”
“Allí”
Sergio turned our attentions to a small ledge which gradually descended into the hole. It was steep, but just right for us to walk along it. With Sergio leading Evelyn and I, we slowly walked down into the cenote.
Each step was carefully calculated, as so much as one trip could result in serious injury. Falling wasn’t the only hazard. Crocodiles have been known to inhabit the cenotes, and are potentially dangerous. This would require caution close to the water’s edge as well.
Slowly we descended, getting closer to the water’s edge. With our backs against a wall of rock, it was important we remained alert in the opposite direction, in case of crocs. Before long, we were on even ground, or at least the strip of dry land that could be called such at the corner of the pit. Regardless, it was spacious enough for us to all stand on.
In front of us was the temple entrance, a dark, looming corridor with nothing past 4 feet in front of us visible. No way any of us could get around inside without some sort of lighting.
The three of us strapped on our headlamps before entering. Sergio went a step further, grabbing a dead branch and igniting the tip with his lighter.
“Not sure we’ll really need that.”
He simply chuckled in response.
After several minutes of prepping, we entered without any further delay.
When we did however, I unknowingly stepped on something. I lifted my foot to see a stone of some bizarre sort. This was not just some weirdly weathered rock, no. This was curved, lined with jagged edges, not in the shape of a dagger or blade however. It..almost looked like a tooth.
I didn’t have time to analyze some random rock. Nonetheless, I was curious, so stuck it into my pack, and continued on inside.
The main hallway seemingly stretched on perpetually. I couldn’t see anything past the beams of our lamps, and even then, they hardly illuminated anything beyond a couple yards. The corridor was not very wide, hardly enough space for even two people to fit. This forced us to traverse the place single-file.
The overall atmosphere definitely gave off the impression of having been uninhabited for centuries. The air was stale, there was dust on just about every ledge, and the walls had been fairly eroded over time.
Soon enough, the light from Sergio’s torch revealed glyphic inscriptions. This was where Evelyn came in.
It took her about a good minute to translate, though that was on account of several glyphs that were partially eroded.
“The Path to Xibalba”.
Her translation made me think back to what I had initially guessed - that the building of this temple on top of a cenote had a connection to the underworld, at least in Mayan Belief. Of course, this was all just in theory. Evelyn honestly didn’t know what to make of it.
“Anything else?”
I asked.
“There’s not enough to work with here. If only this weren’t so vague.”
After a moment, we continued onward.
Making our way through, the temple ceiling didn’t look man-made anymore, rather we were in a cavern, stalactites hanging above us.
Much of the Yucatan’s landscape is karst, consisting primarily of limestone bedrock. Hence the reason for the formation of cenotes and caves. In this location however, the ancient Mayans were apparently able to take advantage of it, building an entire structure into a cenote, and through a network of caves.
Soon enough, at the end of the hall, we stumbled into what seemed like a much larger room than the narrow corridor we had come down. Around us were inscriptions, engravings, overall history of which the Ancient Mayans had recorded here.
Some of them were familiar, as these symbols of Mayan architecture are significant to the culture and mythology of their civilization.
But that was only some of it.
Many of the carvings in this room, weren’t typical of what one would find. In fact I don’t recall anything similar to these in any other Mayan structure.
Even Sergio, who had dedicated his life’s work to this stuff, had known of no other location murals of this variety were to be found.
I wasn’t used to seeing him so perplexed.
From what I can remember, one of them, looked like the top half of some giant reptilian creature peering out of the water. A crocodile perhaps? Only..it had what looked like a forked tongue protruding from its mouth, like a snake. Another one featured what looked like a warrior horde confronting some large beast gnashing its jaws. Only the head was visible, but something about it seemed vaguely familiar.
The most intriguing example though, was at the center of the room. With what looked to be some sort of winged creature, with a slender neck and long bill, like some hellish stork. Above it, there was a carving of what looked like a beam of light coming down.
“You ever seen these before?”
Evelyn was just as confused as Sergio and I.
“No, I don’t think so. They certainly seem unique.”
Below the central mural, there was a monolith with several glyphic inscriptions. Perhaps the key to understanding just what this temple’s significance was.
Immediately, Evelyn got to work on it.
It took a couple of minutes to do so given the complexity of Mayan symbols. But once done, she provided us with a proper translation.
“It said..through the gates of Xibalba, three gods appear. Kukulkan, Cizin, and Chaac. A clash for dominance over the underworld begins. Angered, Itzamná strikes with a bolt of fire, laying waste to all in the realm.”
“Don’t think I can recall anything like this having been discussed in old mythos.”
Evelyn was legitimately puzzled.
At first, this confirmed my original idea of this temple being built into a sinkhole as a an ancient shrine for religious purposes. At the same time, there were elements that I couldn’t quite piece together. How would this function as a shrine? If..that’s what it was. If this whole place was built for religious practice, it certainly didn’t seem like a place accessible to a lot of people, not accommodating for that specific issue.
It all felt off to me.
Sergio was most interested by this bit of mythology presented to us by Evelyn, only he seemed more suspicious.
“Algo está mal. These don’t seem right.“
“What do you mean”?
“Kukulkan is a serpent, not..whatever that is.”
He was right. Mayan mythology often depicts the god Kukulkan as a winged snake, yet this mural showed some sort of birdlike creature. The other gods allegedly depicted; Cizin and Chaac, didn’t look much like their mythological depictions either. Perhaps these were very some alternative interpretation? If they were, then they were quite far off.
As we continued to debate, something caught my eye. The carving of the large creature, apparently Cizin, facing off against the Mayan warriors, had one of the shapes of its teeth missing. Well, not really missing, more so there was an empty shape for one of the teeth. The longest in the top jaw to be precise. It was nonetheless confusing. But then I remembered something.
I reached for my bag and pulled out that stone I found at the entrance to the temple, and when I held it up, It seemed to be the exact size and shape of the hole.
Without thinking I just pressed it in, and it held.
Out of nowhere, the lights in our headlamps went out, as did Sergio’s torch.
“What the hell?!”
Evelyn was startled, as we all were, but we couldn’t just move around in pitch black.
“Nobody move, just try to remain where you are and we’ll..”
Before I could finish, the entire room started shaking.
Now shit had hit the fan. I didn’t know what was happening. Was the cave system just suddenly beginning to collapse? None of us could see and were now struggling to keep our balance.
That wasn’t all….
The outlines of the murals started to glow, and each second they grew brighter. The room started shaking more violently as they did, the force of which threw me back.
The last thing I saw, was a blinding flash.
I don’t know how long I was unconscious. When I woke up though, I remember slowly opening my eyes to an open sky.
I was..outside??
But that was only the least confusing part of it. My clothes were covered in sand, which surrounded me. Slowly I ascended to see that, I was on the shore of some sort of cove, overlooking the ocean.
My colleagues and I were in the MIDDLE of the jungle. How the hell did I end up here? Wherever here was..
The best guess I could think of was that I was on the Yucatán coast. Eh..no that’s completely insane, as the last thing i could remember was being in that underground temple. Before..well, whatever the hell it was that happened. As I stood there, trying to comprehend my situation I’d realized something else - Sergio and Evelyn. There was no sign of them. While I had no rational explanation as to what was going on, they couldn’t have been too far from me..at least that’s what I’d hoped.
As I combed the shore and edge of the jungle that bordered it, I called out for them, and looked around for any sign of their presence. I searched for hours, to no avail. I started to grow agitated, not having to idea as to my location, and having been separated from my team without any evidence of them being nearby. Then again, this led me to another realization..
There’s no sign of any human presence..like at all. Not even human articles or trash was littered across the beach. Even if there was no trash coming from inland, you’d expect some to just wash up on shore from elsewhere, given the unfortunate state of the Atlantic. This all felt abnormal to me, as well as off-putting.
After spending around half an hour looking, my attention suddenly shifted to the silhouette of a dark object embedded in the sand, with several birds surrounding it. I went to go get a better look, and recognized it as Sergio’s pack.
I rushed to retrieve it, shooing off some of the birds. What I didn’t anticipate though, was the state it was in. The pack, it had been torn apart. There were gash marks straight through it. In addition, hardly anything was left, likely picked off by animals. Just what the hell happened here??
Instantly I worried for Sergio. This told me something had happened, and it certainly wasn’t pleasant.
What happened next, took things a step farther into complete insanity.
One of the seabirds suddenly swooped down over me and let out a shrill squawk, and, when it did, revealed a row of teeth in the back of its mouth. I nearly fell over from the shock.
That bird..just gnashed its teeth at me. And I do mean legitimate teeth. What the flying fuck was that thing?
As much as I wanted to wrap my head around that, finding Sergio and Evelyn was my top priority.
I kept searching the beach, nervously trying to piece together my situation, and attempting to apply logic. Every moment things just continue to make less sense. There’s no sign of any people, birds with teeth, and zero explanation as to what happened back in the temple.
The sky was beginning to change color as the sun began its descent. With the overcast soon to be dark, I had to find them immediately.
Just then, the scent of something fowl, and putrid filled the air. I remember the stuff being one of the worst things I’ve ever caught a whiff of. As I progressed, it got stronger, and seabirds were flying in the direction I was headed.
I noticed there were already stars visible in the sky, night falling faster than anticipated. Strangely enough, one of them was unusually bright. And not by simply just a small amount, it gave off nearly as much as the setting sun, so much so that it illuminated my surroundings.
I turned my attentions away from the cosmos above, and was greeted to a sight of something in the distance. As I neared it, it was becoming apparent that this was the source of that rancid scent I picked up. Washed up was the carcass of some..animal. Perhaps a whale? There were bits of flesh and skin, and the ribs were protruding out. The thing was swarmed with crabs and those birds from before. The closer I got, the stronger and more vile the smell became.
That wasn’t all however.
Right beside the carcass, another item, man-made caught my eye. Only a small piece of it was visible but I could tell it was buried.
I reached down to pull it out, and found Sergio’s glasses….
Where the hell was Sergio though? Was he….even still alive? My mind was clogged with fear, confusion, just about every negative emotion possible.
Out of nowhere, I felt somebody’s hand grab my shoulder. It was Evelyn.
She was hyperventilating, dehydrated and her clothes looked all beat up. She looked as if she had just fled from something.
“Are you ok?? What’s going on where’s Sergio?”
“We need to go! Get out of here now!”
“What the hell do you mean?”
“Now”!
Before anything else could happen. The air suddenly became filled with a loud below. The most accurate way I could describe it was like a honking goose, only much deeper in pitch. The sound was followed by the shadow of something massive flying overhead.
I looked up, and what I saw was unlike anything in the air I had encountered before. A large, airplane-sized creature, with a long neck, and stork-like head soared over us with vast wings. When it came down, it landed on all fours, standing as tall as a giraffe.
Suddenly I realized. This thing. It was exactly like the carving in the temple..but that would mean…no that’s not possible.
The creature was looking right at me and Evelyn, starring us down. It lifted its massive bill, and let out another hoarse bellow, and proceeded to close in on us.
With a massive thrust of it’s neck, it lunged toward me. I jumped back and, just barley, dodged being shish-kabobed. Evelyn and I decided to make a break for it. We ran toward the jungle, hoping to loose this thing. But we were stopped short, by a noise..
The sound of a blood-curdling roar shook the jungle, scaring the birds from the trees, and sending shockwaves down my spine. Then, out of the jungle, came a terrifying yet familiar shape.
Standing in a bipedal gait, blunt, rounded head, dozens of massive teeth…
That…that’s a fucking T.rex!?! What the actual fuck?!? That was all that was going through my head in that moment.
But what was worse, we were now trapped between it, and the winged creature behind us.
The T.rex looked at us, presumably sizing us up. Its attention span however, was short, as it lifted its head toward the other beast and growled. The winged creature let out another throaty call at the rex, much to my surprise showing no fear whatsoever.
It became clear the two were more interested in each other than us, but we were smack in the middle of them, and about to be trampled.
Without warning the T.rex lunged forward. Evelyn and I managed to barley leap out of the way, it’s foot just inches away from us. The rex took a massive snap at the neck of the other creature, missing. It retaliated, jamming its bill into one of the rex’s eyes, causing it to roar in agonizing pain.
Now the rex was blinded in one eye, and ultra pissed off. With blinding rage it charged forward, the other creature galloping away like some demonic bird-horse, before leaping into the air and taking flight. The rex nonetheless pursued, as the creature flew over the water. It was gaining altitude, and the rex was running knee-high through water. And was soon unable to pursue.
It wasn’t over yet though..
Like a tidal wave, an enormous silhouette came racing toward through the water. It jumped out, revealing a massive reptilian creature with a forked tongue. Yet another creature seen in the temple mural. The beast clamped down on the T.rex’s leg, further aggravating it. In retaliation, the rex bit down on the sea beast’s back, and pulling out a massive hunk of flesh. The creature writhed in agony, as the T.rex continued to dismember it.
While it was occupied with eating, the two of us made a break for it.
We ran fast, as far as we could, and didn’t look back. Eventually we were out of breath, but thankfully far enough away from the rex. At least I had thought. Evelyn was just as confused and terrified as I was.
“Was..all that..what I thought it was?!?”
“You have any other explanation”?
With no time to bicker, I knew Evelyn and I had to get somewhere safe and soon, as we couldn’t stay out here in the open. Going off into the jungle was obviously not an option either, not knowing what sweet hell awaited us within.
We looked around for any spots secure enough, places that could shield us from any potential danger. Soon enough, we came to the foot of a cliff. At first glance a dead end, but I could just make out a stretch of rocks, one that led to a small opening or cave in the side of the cliff. Evelyn or I could easily fall or sustain serious injuries, and neither of us seemed to wild about it
“No, that’s just insane, and reckless.”
Much to Evelyn’s dismay, it wasn’t like we had many options.
“See anywhere else to go?”
That logic was convincing enough for her. To some extent for me as well.
Quickly, but cautiously, we proceeded to move across the rocky ledge, once more calculating every step we took. After all that’s happened today, neither of us could afford any injuries. We continued down until just below the cave entrance.
Now, we had to climb.
The two of us latched onto every reachable, and graspable surface we could find, making an effort to reach the cave. Both of us held on for dear life.
After about a few minutes of climbing, we were hardly a few feet away. Down below, I could see the dark, looming shape of another one of those sea beasts, motivating me to climb even faster. As I did though one of the rocks I grabbed came loose.
I was hanging on for dear life, feeling my grip weakening. With my remaining strength I threw my arm, and regained my footing.
Finally, I had made it, Evelyn coming up behind me. Quickly, I proceeded to help pull her up onto the ledge, her and I barley possessing any more strength.
Safe at last..was how I wish things turned out.
Without warning, the all too familiar sound broke the silence around us. And before Evelyn could react..another winged creature, like the one before, grabbed her in its bill.
I screamed in fear.
“NO!!!!!”
Helplessly I watched as it carried Evelyn, screaming in terror as the animal was attempting to hold her. She soon proved too much for it to carry, and was dropped into the water below.
She splashed around, struggling to swim, as the sea beast I spotted proceeded to snatch her up..and descended into the deep.
I fell, to my knees….
Both my colleagues were now dead, and I did nothing about it…I did nothing to save Evelyn, and had no idea as to Sergio’s fate….why…
Now.….they’re gone….
Soon, the sun had set, and the cover of night had fallen. Which brings us to where I am now..trapped in this cave on the side of a cliff, shivering, and terrified..
What started out as an ordinary expedition, turned into, whatever the hell had just occurred now.
That temple, somehow led the ancient Mayans, and now me and my deceased colleagues through some sort of rift into the ancient past. How, is beyond my comprehension. There’s no other way to grasp it rationally.
Things..aren’t exactly over just yet.
As I give you my account of these events, I am viewing the night sky. Faint silhouettes are streaming across the horizon, and it doesn’t take a genius to realize that these are small meteors. And in the center of it all, is that bright “star” from before..or so I thought.
By the second it continues to get brighter and brighter. Its light shines so bright that it’s casting vivid shadows on the ground..
If this is all what I believe it to be…then, if some way, somehow, anybody is reading my account of these events..I want you to know…I, no, we, should have let be that, which has a reason not to be understood. As the deeper we dig…the more we find things that weren’t meant to have been.
I myself wish I had realized that sooner.
It…it’s coming down….