The moon rose above the rim of the volcano, trailed by the light of Venus in a cosmic dance across the sky. A helical duet. Mia peered over the cliff down into the crater, where a group of robed figures had gathered at the edge of a lagoon that glowed like a pool of radiance, billowing great clouds of steam into the atmosphere.
A rhythmic drum beat accompanied the shrill cries of death whistles. Atonal chanting droned on above the rumbling volcano, mixed with the mournful sound of the wind, which scattered the coils of steam in all directions.
Torches flickered as the cultists turned their eyes towards Venus. An old man waved his stick around and shouted at the morning star. He then flailed his arms dramatically as he told a story, laughing maniacally and pointing toward the starry heavens.
When the shaman fell silent, two burly men stepped forward. They held a girl by her skinny arms, dressed in beads and feathers.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mia had said to Clyde a few days ago. “Human sacrifice, really?”
“And you can’t interfere,” Clyde had told her. “The ritual must take it’s course.”
“We’re talking about the life of a human being. If you know that this will happen, then why don’t you take steps to stop it?”
“I cannot interfere,” said Clyde, his image beginning to blur in the cybernetic ether. “And neither can you.”
“What if I do? What if I just save her life?"
“Then you have to live with the consequences.”
Down in the crater, the cultists gave the sacrificial victim a spear and a shield then left her alone by the shore while they retreated to higher ground.
Like a phantasm in the steam, a black jaguar appeared on the shore. Muscles quivering as he stepped forward, its paws leaving tracks on the volcanic ash.
The girl began to whimper and back away.
The animal made a screeching sound and moved towards her. In a single leap, he pounced on her.
She screamed and raised her shield and spear to ward off the oncoming attack. The jaguar roared as it crashed onto her. She closed her eyes and screamed again.
The tip of her spear pierced the animal’s breast. In spite of the mortal injury, however, the creature's momentum carried him forward and with bare fangs, he latched himself onto her throat.
Lifeless, the girl and the beast fell on the ash.
The water began to churn and boil. Mia gasped as a jade archway rose out of the water, gleaming in the twilight, steaming in the heat.
The chant of the cultists rose in the wind. Then one by one they made their way to the archway in the middle of the lagoon and walked through it. Astonishingly, they did not reappear on the other side but simply vanished.
At first, she thought that her eyes were deceiving her, but then Mia realized that it was all too real.
Just like Clyde had told her.
"You must follow them."
"Where does it lead?"
"It leads you back to me."
She took a deep breath and once all the cultists were gone, she threw the rope over the cliff and began her descent into the crater.
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