Life Blood---XXV---Page No 89

The air in the dark groves was thick with the buzzing of

insects, harbingers of the coming rainstorm, but before long I

caught a glimmer of daylight ahead. Soon I emerged into a wide arbor that, after another hundred feet, opened onto the central plaza and the pyramid. Now . . .

It was daylight, but it also was . . . The sight took my breath away. What was going on?

A milling horde of men was gathered in the square, and

resinous torches were flaming on each of the pyramid's tiers of

steps. A lot of drinking from clay jugs was getting under way, and
the men were in the process of painting their faces, stripes of
black and white, with dark circles around their eyes. Some also
were applying rows of red-and-green-colored seeds to their
cheeks with white glue. The bizarreness of the scene rippled
through me like the shards of a dysfunctional dream. Jesus!
        Alex Goddard had said the ceremony got "frenzied," and now
I was beginning to realize. . . . What were they getting ready to

do? Had I been wrong in thinking the classical Maya never got around to ripping out hearts? Did that explain the half-dozen young Army privates loitering there at the far side, rifles slung over their shoulders?

I melted back into the trees and studied the geometry of the
plaza, reconsidering my situation. I needed to find some way to
get around it and onto the cobblestone pathway at the far side,
which led into the village. Finally I decided I could skirt the
periphery if I was careful not to advertise my presence. Dawn had
come and gone and the quick light of tropical day was arriving, but
everybody appeared to be preoccupied with their nightmarish
preparations.

Thank God it worked. I weaved in and among the trees and in
five minutes I'd reached the central pathway, now deserted. Still
barely letting myself breathe, I turned back and gazed up at the
pyramid. I had no idea what was next, but I decided it would be
my signpost, to help me keep my bearings as I moved through the
confusing, tree-shrouded huts of Baalum. Except for the men in
the square, the village now seemed deserted, though a pack of
brown dogs, curious and annoying, had spotted me and now

circled around to sniff. Don't bark, damn it.

That was when I saw Marcelina, in her white shift, striding

through the crowd of drinking men like an alpha lioness parting a
posturing pride. My God. My heart stopped for a moment. Does

Alex Goddard already know I've fled and has he sent her to lure me back?

No way. I clenched my fists and kicked at the surly, longtailed mutts, still circling and nuzzling.

As she came closer, I saw she was smiling and carrying a brown wicker basket. What. . .

"I've brought you something," she announced as she walked up, her dark eyes oddly kind. "You must be starving by now."
        "How did you know I was down here?" Looking at her earnest
Mayan face, I suddenly wondered if she could have any idea what Alex Goddard had done to Sarah, and to me?

"You were gone from your room," she declared, settling the
basket onto the walkway and beginning to open it. "Where else
would you be?" When I looked, I saw it had a sealed container of
yogurt, a banana, and two eggs, presumably hard-boiled—
traditional "safe" food for gringos in Third World places. "I'd been
planning to bring you down today," she went on. "They all want to
meet you."

Was she coming to look after me? The more I examined her,
the more I began to suspect something else was going on. Would
she help me get Sarah out and away from Alex Goddard?

"I want to find Sarah," I said. Why not start out with the truth? "Does he . . . Dr. Goddard know I'm here?"

"He's not here now," she said, her eyes shifting down. "He left for Guatemala City early this morning. I think to meet with the Army. On business. . . ."

Yes. His big Humvee hadn't been in the clinic's parking lot

when I went by. Why hadn't I noticed that? For the first time I felt the odds were tipping. Now was going to be the perfect time to get Sarah. Yes. Yes. Yes.

"If you want to see her, I can take you," Marcelina offered, replacing the lid on the basket.

Yes, perfect. I wanted to hug her.

"Then let's go right now" And while I was at it, I was

determined to get through to this woman somehow, to enlist her
help.

As we headed down the central walkway of the village, we
passed the rows of compounds where I'd seen the women that
first morning. None was in evidence now, and the gardens were
empty, as though the entire settlement had been evacuated. It felt
very strange.