Now it is Alex's turn to go on his journey. The gift that he desires, the Water of Health, is only found near the center of the earth. Walimai shows Alex where he must commence his journey, which is at a small tunnel that leads down into the earth. He begins crawling down and the passage becomes ever smaller and tighter. When he finally reaches a large chamber where he can stand, he discovers that there is a lake in the middle, and on the other side is a girl who appears to be a mermaid. She sings to him, trying to draw him into the milky white water, but he locates an exit, and bolts out of the first chamber. The next room contains a large drop off with a skinny ledge upon which he must circumnavigate the hole. After reaching the far side and nearly falling along the way, he comes upon a dark hallway with the end blocked off by a wall of rocks and pebbles. At first, he feels that his journey was a waste, but he realizes that this must be the way, and slowly clears the rocks away. As soon as he creates a hole in the wall, a rush of hot air comes through that smells of sulfur. When the heat wave finally dies away, he looks through the hole and discovers that there is another ledge, but this time the middle of the chamber contains a pit of lava. When he enters the room, he looks across the cavern and spots a dragon-like creature that seems to be guarding a fountain of some sort. As soon as he takes a few steps on the ledge, the ancient bird charges toward him. He whips out his flute and begins to play, which has a soothing effect on the bird. The bird goes back to the spring and no longer prevents him from acquiring the Water of Health from the fountain. There is one condition that he must follow, just as Nadia did, and that is that he must give something of value in return for the healing water. The only thing that he possesses is his flute, which he is incredibly reluctant to give up since it has helped him numerous times. After acquiring the water, he retraces his steps, and begins his ascent to the top of the tunnel that leads back to El Dorado. Upon reaching the top, Walimai and Nadia are waiting for him. They must leave immediately or forever be trapped in the city. They retrace their steps through the ancient tepui, but once they reach the end, Walimai gives them a drug that will make them forget the way through the maze to El Dorado.
The next day, Alex and Nadia, no longer with Walimai, headed back toward Tapirawa-teri. When they got close enough, they discovered that helicopters had landed in the village, and that a camp had been set up with soldiers guarding and everything. Alex and Nadia waited outside the village until they discovered that César Santos and Kate were also at the camp. They walked into the camp, and the guards surrounded them until Kate and César realized who they were. Around midnight that night, Nadia snuck off into the woods to talk with Walimai. She asked him what they should do about the People of the Mist getting vaccinated by Dr. Omayra Torres. They finally decided that the tribe should get vaccinated, and Walimai left to discuss the matter with Iyomi, chief of chiefs. The next day, Iyomi came into the camp. Mauro Carias demanded that Nadia speak with Iyomi and convince her that the tribe needs to get vaccinated. The next day, Iyomi came back to the camp with the entire tribe. To the soldiers and other campers, the tribe seemed to materialize out of thin air. Finally, the tribe was convinced to get the vaccines, and a line was set up with Dr. Omayra Torres at the front administering the vaccines. The previous night, Nadia had seen Torres and Carias kissing in the woods and talking about the Indians. She told Alex about the conversation, and they came to the conclusion that the vaccines were not truly vaccines, instead they were diseases. They ran back to camp and pushed Tahama out of the way, preventing him from receiving the shot. Nadia quickly explained to the People of the Mist, "...she was wrong, that the vaccine would not save them, just the opposite, it would kill them, because the Rahakanariwa was in the syringe" (351).
Only seconds after the disruption caused by the two children, Karakawe revealed himself as an officer of the Department for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples. He explained why he had been snooping through Dr. Omayra Torres's vials of "vaccines", saying, "I will have them examined in the laboratory. If I am right, these vials do not contain vaccine but deadly doses of the measles virus" (353). As soon as he finished his sentence, Captain Ariosto shot him in the chest, and Mauro Carias shot the vials, destroying any possible evidence. All in a rush, Tahama beat Mauro on the head with his club, soldiers began shooting blindly at the Indians, the Indian warriors launched a few arrows at the soldiers, the women and children Indians dematerialized, and the International Geographic crew stood openmouthed, watching the madness. In the aftermath, Torres ran over to Mauro Carias, praying that he wouldn't die since they were arranged to get married, and Captain Ariosto had the crew line up against some trees. Also, Ludovic Leblanc's entire perspective on Indians changed; he previously viewed them as cruel, treacherous people, but now he views them as the victims of the foreigners. Leblanc managed to cool Ariosto down a little, and by nightfall, he got him to have a drink and play cards with him. Before nightfall, Ariosto sent the injured soldiers and all but five uninjured soldiers back to civilization in one of the two helicopters.
During these three chapters, many things changed. First of all, Alex and Nadia were reunited with the crew. Without this event, none of the killing or other changes would have occurred. Second of all, we discovered that Dr. Omayra Torres is the accomplice to Mauro Carias's plan. She is the one who Carias and Ariosto were talking about as being part of their plan to get rid of the Indians. Another change that occurs is that Leblanc finally comes to his senses. He sides with the Indians and tries to help the crew out by making Ariosto feel all-powerful and as if he is in full control of the situation. We also discover the full extent of Carias's plan, and that he has been behind several other operations such as this one where he gives the Indians "vaccines" that in reality kill them.
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