Waste Not, Want Not Chapter XX

Paul quickly found his way to the rock. He was excited but somewhat apprehensive as well.
As he pulled to a stop something seemed odd. He got out of the truck and walked over to the hole. It was covered! The rock had been put back in place! There were no tracks, no foot prints. How could this happen?
Truly perplexed he once again ran out his winch line and wrapped it around the rock. He got in the cab and began to reel in the line. It would not move. The line pulled taut, he gave it some gas and the truck moved, a sideways lurch toward the rock!
His tires were hot and smoking so he decided it best to give up on the idea.
Paul drove back to the ranch house and tried to think this out. It was odd and more than a little scary.
He got on the phone and rang up Conrad.
“Conrad, can you get on down here? I am going to need you here. Things are a bit problematic and I need your help.”
“Sure Mr. Hewitt,” Conrad replied. “You want me to come right now?
“No, you can come down in the morning.” said Paul. “I am going to do some other work tonight and make a phone call to Washington. In the morning will be fine.”
Paul opened his filing cabinet and drew out a handful of manila file folders, all bulging with documents. He sat down and began thumbing slowly through a stack.
He heard a knocking on the front door. “Who could that be?”
It was El Indio he greeted as he opened the door.
“Senor Hewlett,” said El Indio. “Did you move the rock?”
Paul was surprised. “What about the rock? How did you know about the rock?”
“May I come in””
“Of course, come in. Tea?”
“Yes, thank you.”
El Indio took a seat at the table. Paul had some water boiling and brought two cups, each with a tea bag draped over the edge.
“You moved the rock?” El Indio asked Paul. His face betrayed a slightly quizzical expression. “What did you find?”
“A big hole,” Paul replied.
“Why did you move it?”
Paul had no intention of saying anything about his plans. “I am just interested in caves,” he said.
“Did you have a visitor last night, “ asked El Indio.
“What do you mean? I had no visitors,” Paul said.
“Maybe in your dreams?”
Paul found this very disturbing. “What are you talking about? How would you know anything about my dreams?”
“I saw him” said El Indio. “I saw him go to your house.”
“What do you mean you saw him?” asked Paul.
“I saw Palinche Kha flying into your house last night,” said El Indio.
“You saw what?” Paul had no idea what he was talking about.
“Last night you had a bad dream didn’t you?” El Indio asked pointedly.
“How could you know anything about my dreams?”
El Indio said “He will make himself known to you as you sleep, He will appear in a dream. He is wanting to see into your ways. He wants to try to scare you, a test.”
This kind of talk was making Paul edgy. “El Indio, I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“I know you have an interest in the cave. That is a place you need to leave alone, stay away from there and never move the rock again,” said El Indio.
“Now look here, this is my place and I can do what I want! If I want to look into that cave I will!”
El Indio paused and looked into Paul’s eyes. Paul did not say a word.
“I will tell you about the cave,” said El Indio. “Let me explain the situation.”
El Indio said he needed a smoke and they sat there at the table and smoked together, El Indio with his pipe and Paul lit up a Cuban cigar. Then El Indio spoke.
“That rock covers a portal to Xibalba, the underworld where the dead go and the lords of Xibalba rule.” El Indio paused and looked intently at Paul as his words sunk in. He continued.
“It is a dreadful place. It reeks of sulfur, there is a river of putrid pus flowing through it. All along the floor of the caves, which are vast and meandering as they wind deep down into the earth, scorpions crawl and vampire bats fly through the caverns. There are holes and caves throughout, many are filled with the bones of long ago dead."