The Ark

By N. R. Castle

Jake removed the mysterious silver cloth from the chest. Unfolding it carefully and placing it on the table. Without thinking, he removed the crystal skull from the chest and placed it on top of the silver cloth, a simple gesture that would change his and Bill's lives forever. What amazing secret have they u

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leap Write Literary
• Release date: Mar 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9798893760071

Book preview

C

ontents

DEDICATION

PROLOGUE

Chapter One: The Adventure Begins

Chapter Two: Remembering

Chapter Three: Contents of the Chest: Ark of the Covenant

Chapter Four: Contents of the Chest: Crystals Skulls

Chapter Five: Jake’s Delay

Chapter Six: More Crystal Skulls

Chapter Seven: Rico

Chapter Eight: U.S. Customs

Chapter Nine: Back to the Chest

Chapter Ten: Mulo: Discovery

Chapter Eleven: The Cave

Chapter Twelve: Mexico

Chapter Thirteen: Final Chapter: Return to the Cave

EPILOGUE

APPENDIX

D

edication

Tom,

Thank you for being so patient with me and for all your help and support sending me back to the computer every time I thought I was finished.

I also wish to express my gratitude to those that have provided the unlimited volumes of information and knowledge, sharing it by making it available to all. Information that stimulates the imagination and stirs the curiosity of all who search for the answers to the age old questions of who are we, where do we come from, and are we alone in the universe?

Prologue

GENESIS

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

—1:1

And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness"

—1:26

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

—6:1

That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

—6:2

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown

—6:4

Since our ancient civilizations accurately identified the exact order and number of planets in our solar system long before telescopes were invented—even those not discovered by our astronomers until the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries—why do we doubt their beliefs of our DNA being enhanced by beings from another planet?

The story you are about to read is fictional and not intended in any way to discredit the Bible or religion.

Chapter One

The Adventure Begins

Mexico

The midday sun beat down without mercy for anything in its path as Jake reached for the faded bandanna hanging from his back pocket. He removed his hat and wiped the sweat and dust from his face. Surveying the surrounding panorama, he glanced back at the mountains and neighboring hills. Leaning over, he patted Grey, his mule, on the head. Well, boy, that’s it, he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in disgust. I’ve had it, I think it’s time to call it quits, time to go home and regroup. There’s sure no gold in this godforsaken part of Mexico, he mumbled as he reached over, took hold of Grey’s reins, and turned him around to head for home. Suddenly, the earth began to tremble. It roiled beneath his feet knocking him to the ground, rocks and dirt falling everywhere.

Run, Grey, run! Jake screamed, grabbing Grey’s reins again, this time holding on tighter for support. He stumbled to his feet and raced for a clearing on the mesa ahead, determined to hold his footing against the jolting earth with Grey right at his side. They made it to the mesa as the tremor stopped abruptly, just as it had begun. Only the sound of dislodged rocks crashing against dry mesquite disturbed the air. Jake wrapped his arms around Grey’s neck and gave him a big squeeze. That was a close one, boy, but we made it. Breathless from the run, Jake turned to look back up at the mountain. Behind the veil of dissipating dust, Jake spotted the jagged jaws of a fresh cavern.

My god, Grey, look at that, he yelled, pointing about halfway up the mountain as if Grey would actually look. That opening wasn’t there before. He shook his head in disbelief, wiped the sweat from his brow again with the worn bandanna, and considered his options.

Let’s go see what we can find, he said excitedly as he headed back up the mountain with Grey following close behind.

Wait, Grey! he shouted, stopping so fast Grey bumped into him. First I need to get an exact reading of where we are. Pulling out his handy GPS, he jotted down the information in his logbook. OK, boy, let’s start climbing, gotta see what’s in that cave. Grabbing Grey’s reins loosely again, they started scrambling back up the mountain.

Glad to see most of the dust has settled, he approached the cavern wondering how big the cave might actually be. He could feel the adrenaline pumping and the excitement growing with every step.

As he entered the cave, he’s amazed at how large it was. It looked more like a finished room or chamber, not like any cave he had ever explored. The walls appeared to have been carved out of the rock by someone or something other than Mother Nature. They were extremely smooth, and though the earthquake had just reopened the cave, the air inside was not stale or dank. As he looked around, he’s shocked by what he sees. Sitting there in the middle of the cave was a strange but beautiful container, a box with hieroglyphics covering its entire surface. At first glance, the box looked like it was glowing, but as he approached it, he realized it was the sunlight coming in through the front of the cave bouncing off the box, giving the illusion of a glow. Jake’s puzzled by the look of the box.

My god, Grey, look at this, he muttered, kneeling down to examine the box closer, I don’t recognize this material. It sure doesn’t look or feel like wood. It looks more like some sort of metal, but nothing I’ve ever seen before. Opening the mysterious box carefully, a moment that will change his life forever, he discovered what appears to be a tablet of another strange material that also looks like some kind of metal, but again not like anything he’s ever encountered before. Lifting it gently from the box, he was amazed at how light it was. It felt like it wanted to float right out of his hands. The material was soft like cloth, but strong and flexible with the look of aluminum foil. The other items in the box were all so beautiful; he was not sure which one he should examine first. Dazzled by the contents of the box, Jake glanced at Grey realizing they must make sure they were reasonably safe in these surroundings.

Not only was the cave quite large, it appeared to continue deep into the mountain through several long tunnels. Exploring the cave and a couple of the extended tunnels, astonished at the number of artifacts and their condition, he felt as if he had stepped back in time.

Still overwhelmed by everything and hesitant to go deeper into the tunnels alone, he limited himself to a few of the choice items along with the box and its contents. The terrain getting back to home base was bad enough without putting a heavy load on Grey. It had been raining on and off now for a couple of days, so hiking back through the mud was going to be hard enough for both of them. Angry for forgetting to bring a camera along, he marveled at the drawings on the cave walls.

Boy, will Bill be surprised when he sees what I’ve found. Hope I still have his phone number handy, he mumbled.

Selecting the items to take back, almost overcome with excitement, he mused to Grey, It may not be gold, but I think we’ve finally hit the mother lode.

* * *

Arizona, 8:00 a.m.

Dr. Bill Messenger sat alone at his kitchen table breathing in the clean, fresh desert air coming in through the open garden windows. He admired the brilliant sunlight dancing off the flowers and trees in the backyard as he enjoyed his first sip of coffee. He’s just put his cat, Caesar, out for a morning romp and was trying to decide whether to read the morning paper now or get dressed and take a chance on reading it later before his day gets too busy. The ring of the phone made that decision for him.

Hi, Bill, how the hell are you?…You’re probably wondering who this is. It’s me, your old buddy Jake, Jake Jagow.

Hey, Jake, how are you and where are you? I haven’t heard from you in so long. I thought you’d probably gotten lost in one of those caves you’re always exploring. You still hunting for gold, or did you call to tell me you finally found it?

Well, you’re not too far off. I’ve been spending a lot of time, as you would say, ‘poking around in caves’ down here in Mexico. I’m coming out your way in a few days and thought I would check to see if you’re going to be in town for a while. By the way—trying to hold back his excitement—I have something I want you to see. I think it’s right up your alley, and maybe you can make some sense out of it. I’m going to ship a box to you today, overnight it if I can. But don’t open it till I get there. I want to see the look on your face when you get a load of what’s inside.

Sounds very mysterious indeed. I can’t wait to see what you’ve discovered. I’ll wait till you get here, and we’ll open it together, Bill promised. By the way, Jake, I’m only in town for a few more weeks. Then I’m off to Argentina to take part in a new archeological dig. When do you think you can get here?

Oh, it shouldn’t take me more then a couple of days, maybe three at the most. This is Monday. I should be there no later than Thursday.

Thursday sounds great, look forward to seeing you again, and I’m really curious to see what you’re sending. It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. It’ll be great catching up.

Remember, wait till I get there to open the box, Jake ordered, as he hung up the phone.

Bill decided to go ahead read the paper and enjoy another cup of coffee, but he couldn’t help wondering what Jake could be sending that made him sound so excited. Knowing Jake, he couldn’t keep from thinking. That old fool’s probably up to one of his pranks, and I’m the target this time. Oh well, it’ll be good seeing him again. It’s been so long, and we do have a lot of catching up to do.

He finished reading the paper. A small headline on the back page caught his eye, NASA’s Photos of Mars Reveal More Proof that Life Existed on the Planet. The story continued, Earlier photos that appeared to depict a face had been distorted. Experts have enhanced the latest photos, and now the face on Mars appears to be deliberate, not a natural phenomenon. There are also a number of pyramids and a strange glass tunnel. Photos show what appears to be an object stuck in an area that indicates a break in the tunnel. One researcher believes he can actually prove the existence of a city near the pyramids.

Wow! I’d love to be a part of the team that gets to explore the surface of Mars. It’ll happen all right. Someday humans will actually travel to Mars and check out firsthand all of this evidence and finally prove or disprove all of the old and new theories that are turning up every day. Never happen in my lifetime though, or if it does, I’m sure I’ll be too old to get a shot at it, he sighed, as he put the paper in the trash and went to check on Caesar.

He made a mental note to investigate this new information to see if he could get a firsthand look at the photos mentioned in the paper. I shouldn’t have any trouble with all of my contacts, he thought.

A retired professor of archeology, Bill had made many friends and contacts over the years, and even though he’s been retired for a while, he still stayed in touch with most of them. He’s often invited to speak and/or give lectures. Students and colleagues alike requested his help with research, but he spent most of his time now enjoying his retirement by working digs and exploring various sites that have been or are still being excavated. He’s finally able to practice what he’s taught for so many years. He preferred being in the field to presenting papers, lecturing, or researching. The only problem he had now was saying no to so many requests for his time.

He loved visiting the university, but not having to be there every day from sun up to dusk makes his visits a real pleasure.

He felt so blessed to have such control of his life. The only thing that could make it perfect now would be to have Mary there with him, he thought as he glanced up. Ah, Mary, my love, I know you’re up there watching over me.

* * *

Mexico

After finishing his conversation with Bill and hanging up the phone, Jake hurried off to the post office to mail the package that he’d so carefully boxed and double wrapped. Driving along, he was trying to decide whether to load all of his equipment into the jeep and drive to Arizona or leave everything here in Mexico and fly back to the States. He had a very strong feeling that once Bill got a look at the contents of the box, he’d be as curious and excited as him. He was sure they’d both be coming back to the cave soon to explore further and collect all the artifacts he had left behind. Bill will surely try to decipher the hieroglyphics and the meaning of the other objects, and I want to be there as the mystery unfolds. That’ll probably take some time, he thought, still trying to decide whether to give up the small place he was renting or wait to see Bill’s reaction and make his decision then.

Flying was the best way to go, he decided, so he’d stop at the small airport to see when a flight would be available. Being in a small village, he was lucky that there was a post office, let alone an airport, even a small one. The only way to fly out was to hire a private plane, or if you were lucky, you could sometimes hitch a ride with someone heading to the States in their own plane.

The cost wasn’t usually that much, but you had to wait until a plane was available, and either way there was usually not much room for luggage. You only had to wait a day or so as a rule, and if that were the case now, he’d still make it by Thursday.

He’d tried in the past to hitch a ride on the mail plane that flew in every day, but so far he hadn’t had any luck. The plane that delivered the mail was never full, but they had a policy, no passengers.

If he drove, he’d be worried about taking the box with him. Not only were the roads bad, but the Jeep would be hard to secure. He didn’t want to have to carry the box everywhere if he had to make a pit stop or when he stopped to eat or sleep. There was also a risk of bandits on some of the remote roads he’d have to travel. Bandits might not be interested in what he had, but if any of them stopped him along the way, they’d probably destroy anything they didn’t want. So why take a chance on losing everything? he thought.

The box was not that large but very heavy, and there were enough risks and problems just driving through Mexico. If I got stopped at the border, would the border police confiscate it and everything in it as Mexican artifacts? he pondered, knowing very well they would if they saw what it was, and they would surely make him open the box to check. Yeah, flying for the box and myself is definitely the best way to go, he mumbled to himself.

Jake approached the post office and saw the pilot arriving with the daily mail. He pulled up right in front of the post office door. Parking quickly, he grabbed the box and hurried inside yelling at the pilot to wait, I have an urgent delivery here. Please hold on a minute. I need to get this out today.

Everything seemed to stop for a second, and then the pilot motioned to Jake that he would wait. Not to hurry, he said in his broken English, I have plenty of time. I’m running ahead of schedule today.

Getting the box mailed and seeing the pilot leave with it, he felt relieved and headed for the airport to line up a ride back to the States.

Waiting around the airport for hours unable to line up a ride, he decided he would head for the airport early the next morning and try again. He remembered he still had to take care of putting the rest of his tools and personal belongings in the storage room the landlady had offered in the past, and this would give him the time.

Chapter Two

Remembering

Jake lay in bed tossing and turning, trying to calm down from the exciting thoughts of everything he had discovered in the cave and wondering how Bill was going to react to the box and its contents. He began to reflect back on his life wondering how different it might have been if he had found the cave years ago.

Even though he’d been married three times, he remained childless, his one real regret. Loving children, he always thought he’d be lucky enough to have a son or two and maybe a daughter.

He had met Laura King, his first wife, just before finishing his navy flight school training. The courtship was a very fast but romantic one. Laura was petite with short dark brown hair and huge dark eyes with a pixy look about her and a smile that wouldn’t quit.

Soon after finishing pilot training and before he shipped out, they were able to arrange a simple wedding ceremony with family and a few close friends.

Jake took flying lessons at a young age and thought a lot about becoming a navy pilot. Now he felt he had it all. He was a navy pilot, and the prettiest girl on earth loved him.

Shortly after graduating from pilot training, Jake received his orders and shipped out to Vietnam. Laura was pregnant, and they were both thrilled about having a child. Jake felt badly that he might not be home with Laura when the baby arrived but still felt very excited about life in general.

Laura suffered a terrible miscarriage a few months into the pregnancy. Not having made many new friends yet, she felt isolated and alone. Living on the military base, quite a distance from her family and old friends, made everything much harder for her to endure. As soon as she was strong enough, she went to stay with her parents for a while. When she returned home to the base, the loneliness took over again. She missed Jake so much.

Laura decided to get a job and keep herself busy. She found a job on the military base, and not only loved working but started to make new friends right away. Having complete control of her life was a new and exciting experience.

Unfortunately, for Jake, Laura met someone else and informed Jake via a dear John letter that she was divorcing him. Jake was stunned and felt at that time that it had to be the lowest moment in his life losing a child and the woman he was so deeply in love with.

Several years later, he met his second wife while he was working a surveying job in the Northwest. He’d become very fond of Seattle and decided to buy a small home and stay in the area. The real estate office he was dealing with set up an appointment for him to meet with one of their agents to view some properties. The agent’s name was Sue Mellon, and he was love-struck at first sight.

Sue was almost as tall as Jake, a very slender blond with beautiful blue eyes and skin like porcelain. His first thought was she’s definitely not the outdoors type. With skin like that she couldn’t have spent a second in the sun. Jake would soon find out how wrong first impressions could be.

Sue was also very surprised at her feelings for Jake at their first meeting. Over the next few weeks, a relationship blossomed. They dated for several months more, and then one evening decided to fly to Las Vegas, Nevada, to get married.

Everything seemed perfect for several years. The only real problems were their arguments over children. Jake yearned for kids, but Sue never seemed ready to start a family. She’d become a very successful real estate broker in the Seattle area and had grand visions of what she planned to do in the future, plans that did not leave any time for children. Jake loved Sue and she him, but they began to move in different directions. The relationship became strained and distant until they both sat down one night after dinner and seriously started talking about what was going on in their lives. The more they talked it over, they realized how different their dreams and goals were. It was the first time they had ever had a serious talk about their future and expectations. They realized, as sad as it would be to part, that they wouldn’t be able to enjoy life to the fullest as long as they stayed together. Their marriage ended. It wasn’t a bad separation but nevertheless painful.

They remained friends for years, and then finally broke the ties as each went on with their own lives and became involved with other people. The last time Jake heard anything about Sue was one day while he was traveling and had a stopover in Seattle. Killing time between flights, he happened to pick up a Seattle newspaper in the airport lounge, and there she was big as life on the society page. There was a large photograph of her and the mayor of Seattle presenting her with an award for some outstanding accomplishment. The article also mentioned her upcoming wedding to a local millionaire. Jake put down the paper and put her out of his mind forever. Eventually he settled down in the Tacoma area.

His third and, as he always said, his last wife—because the third time’s the charm—was a flight attendant. Jake met Angie Borrelli at a friend’s wedding reception, both reaching for the last two shrimp at the same time. Oops, she said, reaching for the same shrimp as Jake. Hi, I’m Angie, friend of the bride.

Oh, yeah, hi, I’m Jake, friend of the groom, he said, awkwardly extending his empty hand to shake hers. Suddenly, there was a loud commotion as the crowd turned to see the bride toss her bouquet, and Jake and Angie parted ways.

There were no sparks at that first meeting; it took several accidental encounters before Jake asked Angie out. They always bumped into each other at crowded events and never got to know anything about one another. One day they ran into each other at a coffee shop while both were in a rush. They exchanged friendly greetings and got their coffees to go. Both headed out the door of the shop when Jake suddenly said, Hey, wait a minute—as Angie passed him with her coffee in hand—why don’t we both take a quick break and enjoy our coffee together?

Angie paused for a moment. You’re right, I’ve been running around like a chicken with its head chopped off all morning. I think sitting down for a moment would be heaven, besides my feet are killing me. She set her coffee down and pulled a chair up to the table that Jake gestured too.