Skull of the Zipa PREVIEW CHAPTERS by Chuck Chitwood (english novels for beginners TXT) š
- Author: Chuck Chitwood
Book online Ā«Skull of the Zipa PREVIEW CHAPTERS by Chuck Chitwood (english novels for beginners TXT) šĀ». Author Chuck Chitwood
āMaybe thatās the point, Dad. Science canāt explain all things. Love. Laughter. Lady Gagaās whole career.ā
āWho?ā
āNo one. So youāre looking for these skull cups?ā
āNo. Iām only looking for one of them. We know there were three conquistadors executed. And two of the golden skulls are in a museum in Colombia. But the third is lost to history. Or so we thought up until a couple of days ago.ā
He kept talking as he put a rubber band around his notebook to keep all the loose papers from falling out. āSir Walter Raleighās son, Watt, wrote about a third skull in his diary from his 1617 expedition up the Orinoco River. The expedition was a disaster and only a few pages of his diary survived. But the pages that did survive are valuable and I think they might lead to the third skull.ā
I then watched my dad do something I have never seen him do this before; he reached up under his desk drawer, pulled down some sort of panel and hid the notebook under a false bottom. Wow, my dad has a secret hiding place. He might not be Indiana Jones but for the first time, my dad was totally cool.
He pushed the drawer closed and smiled. āCanāt be too careful with such valuable information.ā
āAre you afraid Nazis are going to come to New Providence and steal your notebook, Dad?ā
He didnāt answer. āI think that the third golden skull is only the first part of what they were looking for.ā He started straightening papers on his desk and filing things away. āSay, donāt you have an appointment to get your practice run for your hair done?ā
āShoot! Iām late.ā I jumped up and gave dad a kiss on the cheek. āIāll be back in a few hours. Iāll grab lunch with Stacey and Morgan after we get our hair done.ā
āHave fun.ā As I left the room my father called out to me, āHey, could you drop me at the airport on your way downtown? I donāt like to leave the car parked in the lot there.ā
āSure, Dad. Anything for you.ā I raced upstairs to call Stacey to let her know I would be late.
With dad on his way to South America and my hair all āplannedā I spent most of Friday, ignoring my teachers and instead day dreamed during class. My mind was planning for the prom. What do I say? How much should I eat? Should we learn a dance so we can break out into a tiny flash mob during the prom? Donāt be stupid, Haddie, that would take days to coordinate.
When Saturday finally came, I went on my morning run and when I was done, I didnāt even remember actually running because I was so excited. But somehow, I wound up at my house all sweaty. So Iām pretty sure I actually did go on my run.
I showered and made my way to meet Stacey and Morgan. I waited for them to finish getting their spray tans and was oddly happy I looked naturally tan. Then we went through hair teasing and curling (for me I had to have my hair straightened with a flat iron), eyebrow plucking, and other forms of benign torture. After which we wrapped up our morning of beauty by chowing down on Chinese food at the Golden Panda because Morgan said we should eat a lot of food now, so we didnāt look like pigs at dinner later with our dates. It was a dumb premise and yet it made perfect sense. Besides, I ran five to six hours every morning, so I can pretty much eat whatever I want and I was starving.
The last item on the list was getting mani/pedis at the mall while sipping on mocha Frappuccinos. I considered pointing out that our coffees probably had more calories than our lunch did. But, ignorance is bliss. We must have looked like freaks walking through the mall to go back to my car.
There I was in khaki cargo pants, pink flip-flops, and my favorite Ramones T-shirt with my hair all done up and wearing make-up like a movie star stepping on the red carpet. Fingernails and toenails bright pink. And to top it all off, my new blinged out earrings dangling from my ears. Lots of people smiled and said, āHave fun tonight.ā What can I say? Prom night is a pretty big deal in tiny New Providence.
After dropping off Stacey and Morgan at their houses, I pulled in the driveway and noticed the front door was slightly ajar. But I was pretty sure I had closed it and locked it, too.
I looked around the neighborhood. People were jogging, walking their dogs, and washing their cars. Nothing out of the ordinary, and yet I had that electric tingle that runs up the back your neck when something bad is about to happen. Uncle Ami calls it my sixth sense and told me to always listen to it.
I walked slowly up to the door and looked in the windows. Everything was in place. Maybe I did forget to shut the door. Noā¦ I would never do that. I pushed the door open a little more and a thought crossed my mind. What are you going to do? What if itās a burglar or something? You donāt even have a weapon. Then I remembered what Uncle Ami taught me: SPAT ā Scan, Patience, Assess, Think.
I felt like my heart would explode. So I took a deep breath and tried to lower my heart rate just like before a big race. Then for a second I thought that maybe Dad had come back. But why? To take pictures of me for prom? I doubt it. Besides I didnāt hear the news on the TV. And there wasnāt any jazz music playing in the background. My dad always had ānoiseā on when he was at home.
I stepped inside. The living room appeared normal. No one had stolen the television. I turned left and looked through the glass French doors into Dadās study. What in the world? It was a mess. Sure, Dad had stacks of files, but they were somewhat neat. I took out my cell phone, pressed 9-1-1, and held my finger on the āsendā button. Of course, I suppose I should have pressed āsendā before I came in the house.
I moved into the kitchen and everything looked normal. So far the only indication that anything was wrong was the mess in Dadās office. Then when I saw that the office had been ransacked. And I really should have pressed āsendā after I heard a loud thud come from my dadās bedroom like a dresser drawer being slammed shut. But I didnāt.
Instead, I grabbed a butcher knife out of the big wooden block on our black granite countertop. All of my training had been controlled sparing in a gym. I never had needed to grab a knife and I wasnāt really sure Iād be able to use it if I had to.
Then I heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen. Whoever was in my house was headed straight for me. Yes, I should have pressed āsendā a long time ago but instead, I slipped the phone in my pocket and gripped the knife with both hands. Uncle Amiās words jumbled in my mind. Assess. No. Scan. Prepare. Plan. No. Shoot!
The footsteps stopped briefly. I threw together a plan in my head. I raised the long knife, ready to bring it down with both hands in one swift decisive plunge. Then after I did that I would grab my phone, press āsendā and then run for safety. In theory it wasnāt a bad plan and Iām a pretty fast sprinter.
But then, a long shadow fell across the kitchen floor. In that instant, I froze. Suddenly in front of me was a man who was not my father. Why didnāt I press āsendā when I could have?
Chapter 9 - EXPLOIT WEAKNESS
Standing there with Pablo between me and my escape, I wish I had just grabbed the SAT phone and run into the jungle to call for help. Only I didnāt. Just like I didnāt press āsendā when I should have. But I canāt dwell on that now. Great. What now? Iāve only got about thirty minutes to get as far away as possible before the sun rises and everyone wakes up.
I stare at the man in front of me wearing green shorts and no shirt exposing is pudgy stomach with matted hair on his head and chest. I swear Iām pretty sure some of his dinner is plastered to his face with dried drool. Somehow I have to get past this knuckle-dragging caveman and run all out on sore legs at least two maybe even three miles of rough terrain, if Iām lucky, to safety. I hope. I hear Uncle Ami in my headā¦ Remember SPAT Scan, Patience, Access, Think.
Scan.
I look and see Mauricio is still sleeping. There is no movement from the other tents.
Pablo takes a step towards me and smiles. Seriously? Why is he smiling? A good soldier would have immediately called out, āThe prisoner is escaping!ā And then Iād be surrounded with rifles pointed at me. But Pablo, apparently, is not a good soldier. If he were a kid, heād be Santiagoās problem child. He also should be mad I escaped my ropes. But he looks entirely too happy to be so close to me with both my feet on the ground andā¦ alone. Ewww.
He touches my left cheek with his bandaged right hand. I can smell the pungent scent of his morning breath mixed with stale beer. Gross. Itās clear to me Pablo wants the other guys to stay asleep as much as I do, but for far different reasons.
I tighten my grip on the SAT phone. Itās heavy like a brick and I donāt think he realizes I have it.
Patience.
I know I need to work on patience. I wouldnāt be here if Iād been patient. But I donāt know what else I could have done. My father was missing. I had to get to Colombia. There wasnāt time for patience. If I get out of this and I find dad, heāll probably kill me for maxing out my āemergency onlyā credit card.
Assess.
Okay, Haddie. Focus. Uncle Ami always stressed to me how our brains can calculate thousands of variables in a few seconds. And if I just focus and clear my mind, my brain can sort out any situation just as fast.
I can easily out run him. But if I run, heāll wake everyone up. If they follow me I donāt know where Iām going so Iāll never be able to outpace them. Or I could go with the damsel in distress option again. It worked earlier and it wouldnāt be much of a stretch. Heās so repulsive. His sweaty, hairy stomach is touching me. I could tell Santiago that Pablo cut me down. Yeah, thatās it.
I push Pablo away keeping the SAT phone behind me; out of his field of
Comments (0)