But it was what she saw next that caused her mouth to fall completely open. Drawn on the inside of the walls were lines…and shapes. Crude, but easily recognizable as circles and lines.
“Oh my God,” DeeAnn whispered. Her vest made a loud buzz. She covered her mouth and continued shaking her head in disbelief.
“Oh my God, indeed,” a woman’s voice said behind her.
DeeAnn whirled around to find three silhouettes standing in the entrance, backlit from the moonlight.
“Who are you?”
One of the figures approached. She stepped close enough for the blue light to show her face. Her Portuguese accent was thick. “My name is Marie Becca.”
“What do you want?”
Becca ignored the question, her eyes panning the wall, then falling onto Dexter in amazement. “My God, it’s true.”
DeeAnn stepped between them. “What do you want?”
The other woman smiled with an air of condescension. “I’m here for the same reason you are.” She then looked past Dexter to the others. “An evolutionary wonder that no one else has ever seen.” She shook her head incredulously. “But I never thought it would be true.”
DeeAnn’s face hardened. “Leave them alone.”
Becca nearly laughed. “Leave them alone? Are you serious? Don’t you understand what this means?”
“I know exactly what it means. But you’re not going to take them. Any of them.”
Becca’s eyes returned to DeeAnn’s as if seeing her for the first time. Hearing another loud buzz, she lowered her gaze and studied the strange vest with the blue light. “What is that?”
DeeAnn instinctively turned it off. “It’s none of your business.” At once, the light went off, causing them all to disappear into the darkness.
Moments later a red flare burst into light, revealing both men standing behind Becca, one holding the flame over his head. More of the cave came alive, revealing even more capuchins.
Both women gasped nearly in unison. The cave continued for quite a distance, extending deep into the mountain. About twenty yards back, they noticed something remarkable on the floor. It was a large area ringed by stones. In the middle were several small piles of leaves, layered with taller sticks leaning over them. It didn’t look like much, but the women studied it with astonishment. The monkeys were trying to create fire with piles similar to those they had seen from humans. They still didn’t understand how to make it happen, but they were trying.
Out of the corner of her eye, DeeAnn saw Becca withdraw a small tranquilizer pistol from behind her back and point it at a nearby monkey –– one covered in white fur.
“No!” In a split second, her instincts kicked in and she lunged for the other woman, trying to knock the pistol out of her hand. The two fell to the ground, causing the gun to fire, and a dart ricocheted off the cave wall.
DeeAnn clawed for the gun, trying to wrestle it from Becca’s hand. But the taller woman fought back, striking DeeAnn in the face with her fist.
Becca rose onto a knee and tried to aim again, but DeeAnn quickly pushed forward, knocking her back down.
Before she could lunge again, one of the soldiers stepped forward and pushed a heavy boot against DeeAnn’s back, pinning her in place while Becca returned to her feet. Not bothering to brush herself off, the Brazilian repointed her gun and fired a dart into the chest of the monkey at close range.
The monkey screamed and clawed at the dart, pulling it out. At the same time, the other capuchins surged forward trying to protect him. But within seconds its movements began to slow.
Forcefully, Becca pushed through the troops, grasped one of the monkey’s flailing arms and pulled it off its feet. She immediately jumped back behind the two soldiers for protection.
Becca lifted the monkey and examined her prize as it went decidedly limp, dangling from her hand. She looked at DeeAnn on the ground and smiled. “I win.”
Those were the last words spoken before Becca, followed by both men, turned back to the mouth of the cave and disappeared into the night.
By the time Steve Caesare arrived, it was too late. His flashlight searched the cave floor and walls until he spotted DeeAnn leaning against a rock. Next to her was Dulce, and both were surrounded by the capuchins. He slowed and studied DeeAnn, who was holding one of her arms.
“You okay?”
“I will be. I had a run-in with our Brazilian friends.”
“What happened?”
“I tried to stop them from taking one of the monkeys and lost.”
Caesare tucked his light under an arm and bent down to examine her. He checked her arm and it didn’t feel broken. He shone his light around them, scanning the inside of the cave. “What is this place?”