Chapter 13
Captain Julien's Journal
"Ow."
The voice sounded far away, even to Josh himself. He lay still, his head spinning as he tried to remember where he was. He couldn't open his eyes just yet. Anyway, he didn't want to. If it wasn't for the hard ground beneath his bruised limbs, he might have been persuaded he was hanging upside-down, or tied to the underside of a rocket as it blasted into outer space. Really, he considered, as the freezing cold rock beneath him began to send its icy fingers into his veins, either possibility could still be the case. The growing ache in his bones finally inspired him to force his grainy eyes to open. He blinked a few times, causing the stinging eyelids further pain as they grated against his vision. Josh squinted, blinking again. Gradually, the fog in front of his face was clearing away. As his line of sight grew less fuzzy, he managed to make out a dark shape hovering above him - the jagged edge of stone, dirt, and grass tufts provided a rough frame through which he could view the night sky. Was he underground? Shifting a little, he found a large piece of rock propping his knee up, and suddenly realized just how uncomfortable his sleeping arrangements had become. He wiggled a few of his appendages gingerly, then pulled himself to a sitting position with a deep groan, staring back up at the overhang as he rubbed the back of his throbbing head. The ground wobbled beneath him as his head and stomach swung in different directions, like opposite ends of a pendulum. Clearly, they had fallen. They .. wait .. they ..
The details of the rapid descent came flooding back into his scattered mind all at once. The cannonball. The ground had given way. He looked down at himself only to find the lower part of his person sandwiched by dirt and pebbles both above and below. Shaking himself a little, Josh staggered to his feet, head and stomach reeling again with the effort of maintaining his balance. What had happened to Skye? The last time he'd seen her had been just before the world exploded. He tried to call out for her only to find his voice suffocated by a layer of dust. Several minutes of sandpapery coughing ensued, during which Josh dropped involuntarily back to his knees. When he finally revived, tears streaming down like tiny rivers through the grime on his face, he discovered that the small mountain of dirt on his right had shifted, revealing two bleary eyes that appeared to be focused on him. He stared down at them, not trusting himself to speak. The eyes stared blankly back. Then slowly, ever so slowly, they blinked. The action seemed to snap Josh out of his stupor. He leaped forward and began to swipe madly at the blanket of debris that covered his helpless companion. Thankfully, it was mostly chunks of mud and gravel. Flinging it away this way and that like an out-of-control hose, Josh finally managed to locate an arm, then a shoulder, then a neck. To his great relief, they all still appeared to be connected. Over the next few minutes, in the weird dimmed moonlight of the cavern, a strange, Skye-shaped puzzle was uncovered. It was more challenging than it should have been, as her entire body was now the colour of the soil that had cushioned it from the fall. With no communication traded between them save a few assorted grunts and groans, the view must have been decidedly peculiar. Should any passer-by have happened to look down the hole at that moment, they might have been forgiven for mistaking the weird pantomime for some sort of disturbing caveman ceremony beneath the surface of the earth. For now, however, the two were completely alone in the heart of the hill.
Next, the canteen was uncovered. Skye, who had been carrying it, was propped up against a nearby wall like a ragdoll and made to swallow some water, half of which she choked on. She turned hurriedly to spit across the ground, expelling a fair amount of ingested dirt in the process. The unladylikeness of the act didn't seem to bother her companion. When she turned back to him, Josh had broken into a grin, the whiteness of his teeth contrasting eerily with the stained darkness of his face. Skye stared wordlessly at him, then handed him the canteen and looked down at herself.
She could barely discern where she began and the ground ended. The pair sat in silence as Josh drank, staring at each other in growing surprise and amusement. They looked like something that had just stepped from the bowels of the earth itself. With matted hair and ruined clothes and caked in filth of every description, they were in a frightful state to be sure, but miraculously, they were alive. Even more miraculously, they were alright.
Handing the canteen back to Skye, Josh grinned again, his teeth glowing still brighter than before.
"You look like you grew up out of a tar pit."
Skye snorted.
"Try looki-" She coughed so sharply this time that she wretched, and Josh hurriedly confiscated the water again, shaking his head at her in a mix of disgust and concern.
"That's attractive."
She turned a furious and very watery glare upon him for a moment before moving on to other areas of interest. The moon had risen a little higher now, and their underground cavern was coming into its own. They appeared to have fallen into the centre of a large man made tunnel - a hallway of sorts, with walls, floor, and ceiling made completely of grey stone, though much of it was obscured now by a ravenous green moss blanket that was growing over it. Older perhaps than anything else above or below the mountain, Skye's mind was already buzzing with questions .. or maybe it wasn't the questions. She slumped sickly back against the stone wall as her stomach flipped. Josh eyed her warily.
"I can't tell if you're pale or not under all that, but you don't look so good."
Skye's head flopped sarcastically in his direction, but she made no attempt at a retort. That in itself wasn't a good sign, Josh noted mentally to himself. He squinted up at the hole above them. The ancient hallway seemed to be in unusually good condition, considering it had been buried under the mountain for who knows how long .. or maybe it was because it had remained untouched for so long that it was still standing. He turned away from the ugly opening with a faint touch of guilt. At least, it had been standing. But then, it wasn't their fault the projectile had misfired. And they had almost been killed in the process. And anyway, if they hadn't fallen in here, it might never have been discovered at all .. unless ..
"This must be it." He murmured, causing Skye to look at him quickly.
"What?"
"This place. These ruins, or whatever they are." Josh shifted against the wall to face her. "You remember earlier today, on the other side of the mountain."
Skye smiled wryly.
"Are you sure that was today?"
"They're excavating for something." Josh persisted. "They're pulling up stone - this stone."
He tapped the grey rock beneath him, as though it provided all the explanation that was needed. Skye frowned, staring down at it.
"But why would they want an old tunnel?"
"Well, think about it, it must come out the other side, right?" The young doctor's eyes were shining in the darkness. "Maybe it goes straight under the mountain. Maybe they're planning on coming through here to launch an attack from behind the colony. We don't know it's there. We'd never expect them until it was too late."
"But how did they know it existed?"
"Maybe they didn't." Josh shrugged. "Maybe they accidentally blew it up, like we did."
"We didn't." Skye corrected, somewhat defensively. "We didn't ask to be blown to pieces."
"The point still stands." Josh retorted. "We have to get out of here and warn everyone. And you need a doctor."
Skye narrowed her eyes at him quizzically.
"I thought you were a doctor."
Josh was staring at the black abyss where the hallway descended into the darkness of the underground. Conveniently, he didn't seem to have heard her.
"If they've found the tunnel, they could come through that opening any minute, and we do not want them finding us here. Again."
"How do you know they've even found the tunnel?" Skye pointed out. "There could be lots of tunnels. They could have found a single room. We don't know what they had there. They could've found a single brick .."
"Still, we should get going."
"How." Skye muttered lifelessly as he stood up. The question was barely a question at all. He looked down at her, then up at the hole. It was at least 4 metres above their heads. They had no rope and no way of radioing for help, and in this condition, it seemed unlikely that they could pull each other out .. not that they could have reached at any rate. He slumped back down beside her again.
"We're trapped."
Skye snorted, then, realizing he was genuinely depressed about the whole situation, patted his shoulder sympathetically.
"Don't worry. We're probably safer here until morning anyway, unless something decides to drop down here with us."
"Agh!" Josh shivered violently, shaking her hand off as he brushed invisible crawling things off his person. "Please. Don't say things like that."
"Sorry." She grinned, settling down with a sigh. "Try and relax. Get some sleep if you can. When the light comes, we can see what we're dealing with. Maybe someone will come looking for us. A massive hole in the side of the mountain is about as good of an SOS as anything I can think of."
"I guess .." Still apparently unconvinced, Josh seemed to relax anyway. For exactly forty seconds. Then he turned back to her. "Hey, do you still have that keyring? The fire-starter one."
Skye pulled the flint and steel bars out of her pocket and dropped them into his hand.
"Not much to build a fire with. Although, I have to admit, it is getting kind of cold down here." She pulled her dirty jacket closer around her as she watched him get up and wander away. "What are you doing?"
"Don't worry, I'm not going far." His voice came back to her from across the hallway. "Just getting .. this .. !"
As she watched in surprise, the wall seemed to spring to life, bursting into flames in front of him. Detaching the long wooden handle from its mount, Josh spun triumphantly, holding the torch up like the Statue of Liberty as he returned to her. Skye was bathed in light and warmth as he sat down again. She reached her hands out tentatively toward it. Though the initial flare had died somewhat, the smoldering head was still producing a satisfying amount of heat. Skye tensed and released her numb fingers, turning gratefully to the bearer of the torch.
"How did you know that was there?!"
"Saw it." Josh couldn't resist a small grin of self-satisfaction. Skye nodded, closing her eyes and smiling as she placed her warm hands on her icy cheeks.
"Nice."
"Thanks."
They sat together in silence for a little while, enjoying the comfort the flame provided. Josh found a gap in the floor where two stones didn't quite meet properly and managed to wedge the handle of the torch into the crack, freeing his hands. He held them up to the light like it was his own little campfire, in the same manner as Skye had. She watched him thoughtfully for a few minutes.
"How long do you think it'll last?"
"Would the morning be too much to hope for?"
"Probably."
Silence fell again. Listening to the hum and crackle of the fire, both of their minds returned separately to the events of the day. Josh closed his eyes tightly when he thought of Inky, then forced his mind away with an effort. Inky would be alright. He had to be alright. He was probably home already ..
"Hey." Skye's voice interrupted his thoughts, pushing back the dark possibilities that insisted on fighting their way into his head. Josh turned to give her the full measure of his concentration.
"Hm?"
"You said before I'd changed, that I'd been different lately, right?"
Josh frowned as she hesitated.
"Yeah. I did. I wasn't wrong, by the way, you have-"
"If I have .." She interrupted him impatiently. ".. I'm not the only one. I barely recognized you back there. You know, at the camp. Standing up to the other guys. You were .. I dunno, you were kind of cool, I guess."
"You guess?"
"Then again, I just got banged in the head, so don't take my word for anything." She hurriedly amended, causing a short laugh to spring from Josh. "It was .. just .."
"What?"
She hugged her knees, staring up into the sky far above them. A sudden sadness seemed to have fallen over her. She continued more quietly, almost reverently.
"That guy I saw today .. he was a far cry from that freaked-out teenager that I first met .. the one that'd never even seen a dinosaur."
Josh smiled a little into the flames, but said nothing. After a few moments, Skye rested her head back against the stone wall in defeat.
"You know, once upon a time, I thought it would always be this way. You, and me .. going on adventures .. pushing the boundaries farther and farther outside the gates .."
"Hm." Josh nodded, his mouth twitching ironically. "Well, in a sense you weren't wrong. I mean, here we are, lost, cold, possibly about to be eaten or buried alive, far away from the colony."
"Happy thought."
His face briefly transformed into a grin.
"Hey, did you ever think you would get your wish? Look at you, no bars anymore, no fences, no sneaking around. You can go in and out of the gates whenever you want."
"You're right." Skye agreed, leaning her chin on her knees wistfully. "Then tell me. Why do I still feel so suffocated? There are times now I feel more trapped than I ever did then. Why?"
Josh snorted.
"Don't look at me, I'm just a medical doctor-ow." He rubbed his arm indignantly, shaking his head at her like he was eyeing a rebellious cat. "Uncalled-for, but seeing as you're having a crisis, I'll humour you this once."
"How generous."
She had returned her gaze to the atmosphere above. Curiously, he followed her line of sight. Beyond the overhanging dirt and rock, beyond the trees, he could just make out a smattering of bright stars, only a tiny portion of the spectacular canvas that rolled itself across the night sky every evening. These days, he was usually too busy to stop and pay attention to it. After all, the novelty had worn off pretty quick. The sky was there yesterday and it would be there tomorrow. There would always be another chance to admire it. But during the odd times he found himself outside after dark, he would occasionally happen to look up. In those moments, the sight still took his breath away.
"I thought so too, you know."
Skye looked at him quickly.
"You thought what?"
"That we'd be partners in crime forever, you and me." Josh smiled at her for a couple of seconds before returning his gaze to the heavens. "But it just .. wasn't meant to be. I guess sometimes life takes you on different paths .. even in a colony this small."
Skye stared down at the hard ground beneath them, her fingers playing carelessly in the gravel.
"Guess so."
"But for the record, I still think you're pretty awesome."
"Yeah .." She looked up at him, summoning a smile with an effort. "Same here."
"I knew it." Josh hugged his knees solemnly. "You can just tell about some people."
Skye studied him for a moment, frowning a little. He turned to meet her gaze, his serious expression transforming into a grin a second later. Skye shouted with laughter.
"What, shut up!"
As he chuckled, she turned to stare down the long passageway. It was obviously designed for a reason, a continuation of the rest of this strange facility hidden in the mountainside. What's more, it was leading somewhere. Glancing back up at the sky, she stood, dusting herself off briskly before snatching up the torch from its wedge.
"Let's go."
"'Go'?" Josh narrowed his eyes up at her. "Go where?"
"Down there." She nodded in the direction of the passage. "We're stuck here til morning anyway."
"I thought you said we should wait here."
"I got bored." She grinned. Her moment of melancholy had evidently come to an abrupt end. "Come on, don't you want to know where it goes?"
Josh shrugged.
"Sure, but shouldn't we wait for backup before we go wandering off? What if we discover something important?" He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "What if we get lost and no one knows where we are? How will they know where to look? They don't even know this place exists!"
"So we won't get lost!" Skye argued logically. She stared back as Josh shot a look at her. "Seriously, what are we gonna say to them back home? 'Oh yeah, the passage kept going, but we didn't check it out because Josh thought he was gonna get lost walking in a straight line'."
"Bullying will get you nowhere." Josh stood with dignity, jerking the flaming torch from her grasp. "But if you insist on charging headfirst into catastrophe, at least let me lead the way."
"Fine, it's a deal." She gestured towards the tunnel. "Lead on then, great explorer. I'll make sure nothing gets you from behind."
"Not sure that's any comfort." Josh cleared his throat. "Right. Another bad idea, here we go. Stay close. Don't go wandering off."
"Me?!" Skye stared up at him in surprise. He glared back down at her.
"Yes, you. Now stop distracting me, I was just about to start."
Skye gestured again.
"Please, don't let me interrupt you."
"Right." He repeated, taking a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."
They set off down the passageway, slowly at first, pausing periodically to listen for any new noises. Then, as the tunnel grew longer and the trip grew increasingly more boring, they picked up speed. Finally, the dusty passage opened up, and they found themselves on the edge of a small chamber. Josh paused to look around, then nearly screeched as Skye's icy hand clamped claw-like onto his arm.
"Don't DO that .." He trailed off as he caught sight of her expression. She was staring in horror at something, her dirt-streaked face seeming white as stone in the orange flickering light of the torch. He wanted nothing more than to drag her away without looking, but forced his eyes to follow her stricken gaze anyway. He was almost relieved to find himself staring into the hollow eyes of a skeleton, leaning up casually against the blood-smeared wall on the opposite side of the room.
"Oh. Wonder how long that's been here."
Skye had already recovered somewhat and had relinquished Josh's arm. She crept slowly towards the precariously-balanced pile of bones, reaching a quivering hand out as she neared. The hand hesitated in mid-air as Josh's horrified voice broke into her thoughts.
"Don't touch it, what are you, crazy? What if it died of a disease, you think of that? We could be exposed already."
"Look."
Something about the mystified tone of her voice drew him closer. She had become fixated on a particular aspect of the former person. When he was finally near enough to look over her shoulder, he spied it. The skeleton was wearing something around its neck. From the rusted chain hung a familiar object - a Terra Novan tag.
"He's one of ours." She murmured. "But how did he find this place? Until we crashed into it, it was buried. And then there was the landslide a few months ago. Before that, it was really buried. Under an entire hill. No one knew about it."
"No one that we know of." Josh corrected. Skye looked at him quickly.
"You think Taylor .. ?"
He shrugged, and she turned back to the unfortunate man, her brow furrowed in thought.
"There have been people, in the past, that have gone OTG and just .. disappeared. We assumed, since they were never found, they must've been taken by a dino or something. But these .." Ignoring Josh's protesting groans from behind her, she picked the tag off the man's rib cage and brushed the dust off it with her thumb. "It's still active."
She looked back up at him.
"That's the weird part. We must be out of range of the EMIDs down here. If it's still active, it should still be transmitting. It should've sent word of their location to the Command Centre. Which means .."
"Taylor did know about it." Josh finished grimly.
"He's the only one that has the authority to call off the search parties." She turned back to the tag, resting it gently back against the skeleton's chest. "Why would he have just .. left him here to die?"
"One of Terra Nova's mysteries, I guess."
"I guess." Skye gazed down disconcertedly at the heap of old bones. "Wonder who he was .."
"He's not gonna tell us anyway." Josh remarked. "I say we keep going. Come on."
Skye nodded, following as he led the way out of the small rest area. The path had changed direction now, and had forked off toward the east. It also seemed to be slowly sloping downward. They were dropping deeper and deeper below the surface of the earth, into the real heart of Snakehead Mountain.
Before long, the ancient noble grey stone of the passage began to change into (possibly just as ancient, but decidedly tackier-looking) yellowish-orange clay bricks. The two colours clashed with each other for a short while before the clay won out and the hallway changed into a much more cheerful place. The blank clay bricks that now made up the walls began producing streaks and patterns which quickly turned into recognizable shapes. Skye stopped in surprise as the torchlight fell upon a particularly clear specimen.
"Josh! Look, it's a Carnotaur. Look at the horns."
Josh's mouth twisted sardonically.
"Yeah, well, so long as it stays stuck to the wall. I've had just about enough of those for today."
"And this is a slasher, isn't it?" Skye ran her hand along the indentations, following the passage further along. Josh, on her other side, nodded slowly.
"Think so." He shook his head in wonder as he caught sight again of the opposite wall. It was equally full of the artwork. "What is this place, the prehistoric exhibit?"
"I have no idea." Skye whispered, her jaw dropping open slightly as the wall suddenly fell away from her hand. They instantly found themselves standing on the edge of a wide circular room, with several new passages branching off it in all directions. In between the openings in the wall, the old grey stone made another appearance, this time carved into four statues, one of which was lying on its side. The floors were significantly less sturdy here, and bricks seemed to have come loose in places. In more than one spot, they were missing completely, and black holes gaped here and there in the ground like the gaps in a toothless smile. There were three more skeletal figures in here, and though the artwork from the hallway continued around the curved walls, it was periodically obscured by smears of blood. Josh set out carefully across the room, pausing beside one of the bodies.
"Tagged as well." He glanced over to Skye, who had gone to investigate another of the men. She nodded at him.
"This one too."
He shook his head, his eyes sweeping along the walls and then beginning an assessment of the cracked mud roof.
"The mystery deepens .."
Skye had knelt beside the fallen statue. She tilted her head first one way and then the other, as though trying to make sense of the thing.
"Looks broken." She finally said at last, sitting back on her haunches as Josh appeared behind her.
"What is it though?"
"Best guess .. an astronaut?"
Josh snorted and leaned over to take a better look at the figure. To be fair, it did look like a man in a space suit .. or a hazmat suit .. or some sort of containment gear. He grinned.
"Maybe he was playing the lead in some sort of old-world romantic comedy set in cyberspace."
Skye raised an eyebrow.
"And you assume it was a romantic comedy because .."
"Look at him." Josh gestured matter-of-factly to the poor subject of their discussion. "He wasn't a pop culture idol, wearing a costume like that. My best guess is, he was the jilted love interest in the intergalactic Shakespeare."
".. and yet they went to all the work of carving out a stone statue of him."
"Of course." Josh shot her a look as though the answer was obvious. "They hated him so much he became a household name. And because he was so infamous, they .. carved him so that they could throw fruit at him when they were eating. This used to be the dining hall. By providing a common enemy in their midst, they hoped they could prevent food fights. It worked."
Skye lowered her eyelids and stared at him for a moment. Josh stared boldly back, unblinking. Shortly thereafter, the two facades collapsed and Skye cracked up laughing as the court jester grinned cheerfully.
"Honestly .. I'd believe it."
She wandered away and stopped in front of another carving. This one was obvious. The pterosaur was crafted to the finest detail. Standing on its pedestal, it was taller than she was, regal head lowered, arms folded in sleep, it seemed as though the stone creature could spring to life at any moment.
The next statue along was a badly shaped sphere on a similar stand. Josh raised a critical eyebrow at it, beckoning Skye over with the torch.
"What is this meant to be, do you think?"
"Looks kind of like the Probe." She stared in surprise as she stopped beside him. Josh arched his entire upper body sideways to stare down disdainfully at her.
"Why, because it's a ball? Does the moon look like the Probe to you too? What about a promethium core? Or my head?"
"Okay, okay, Mr. Critic, if you're so smart .. what's this one?" She stopped beside the final statue and nodded to it. Josh sauntered over, jaw in his hand, index finger tapping his cheek thoughtfully as he eyed it.
"It's scales, obviously. Old-fashioned ones."
"Good." Skye encouraged, suddenly assuming the manner of a generous preschool teacher. "And what's on the scales?"
He squinted, stopping in front of it and peering down at the carvings.
"On this side .. a ship. Medieval. I'd say .. 16th century."
Skye began to snort, then cleared her throat instead and gestured with a hand towards the part nearest her.
"Alright. And the other side."
"Ahh .. this one .." Josh nodded wisely. "This one is my most favourite .."
Skye grinned as he studied it, his face gradually growing blanker. He had no idea what it was. But then .. neither did she. Finally, he turned back to her balefully.
"It's a .. broken clock."
"You don't know .. do you?"
"No idea." He cheerfully admitted, watching as Skye moved to peer down at the thing. She leaned in so close to study it that her nose was almost touching the wire of the stone scale.
"Is it a compass?"
"Could be. Then what are these parts?"
"Looks like the sail of another tiny ship on the clock hand. Could be some sort of .. extra .. like a .. mini sundial .. or a handle to turn the wheel .."
They turned to one another slowly.
"I got nothing."
"Me either."
Forgetting the mysterious sculpture, Josh watched listlessly as Skye turned and tiptoed toward the nearest new passage.
"You do know I can see you, right?"
She peered down into the darkness.
"So? Come on!"
"We probably shouldn't go any further."
Wincing visibly, Skye turned on her heel and trotted back to him.
"But .. we have to! This place was obviously important to somebody. This was someone's home. Don't you wanna know what else might be down there?"
"Not if it's the same thing that killed those guys!" Josh stared around at the bones strewn about the place with a sort of vehement horror.
"Josh!" Skye protested in exasperation. "Those guys have been dead for years. What makes you think it's still here? It's probably long gone."
Josh shook his head a couple of times, chewing nervously on his lower lip.
"Come on, please?" Skye stared up at him seriously. "I mean, what else are we gonna do until the morning? Just one more. If it branches off again, we'll stop. I promise."
Josh looked down at her.
"How are we going to know where to go when we come back this way?"
"Uhh .." She considered the problem for a moment, then darted across the room, pulling off her jacket and laying it over a displaced brick in the middle of the archway they had recently entered through.
"There!" She stood and stepped back, admiring her work. "Easy."
"Great. Now anyone who happens to pass by will know that we've been here."
Skye returned to him.
"Yes, but now anyone who happens to pass by will know that we've been here."
He glared at her.
"That's exactly what I just said. Literally. Word for word."
"I know." Skye explained patiently. "But now if something does happen to us, anyone who comes looking will know they're on the right track."
"But they won't know which of these five hallways we took." Josh countered. Skye paused, then waved a hand.
"Well, it's better than nothing. Let's go."
Josh glanced back at the abandoned jacket. It looked odd and out of place, even in its current organic state.
"You know, you could've used my coat for that."
"Your coat is the only protection we've got if we manage to get ourselves caught again." Skye dismissed him, as though she'd already considered the available options. "At least then we can plead neutrality and they won't kill us."
"Won't you get cold?"
"If I get cold, I'll hold the torch." She pointed out reasonably, eyeing the trickles of moisture on his temples. "You're sweating like a geyser as it is."
"Here then." He deposited the branch into her waiting hands and sighed wearily, running a damp palm over his forehead. "Which way now then, Corporal?"
She turned to the nearest exit.
"My Mom always taught me to take the one closest to me."
"Your Mom's a pretty smart lady." Josh agreed. "I say we listen to her."
"In that case .." Skye raised the torch. "Onward and upward."
And it was indeed upward. The passage inclined steeply just beyond the entrance. It was a hard walk, but it was a short one, ending abruptly in what used to be a heavy wooden door. A couple of half-hearted kicks later and it gave way, granting them access to a small room, furnished simply with a horizontal mound of cloth on the ground that had probably once been a bunk, or at the very least, a bedroll of some sort. There were a few bamboo odds and ends - chairs and stools and a very badly-manufactured shelf full of assorted knick-knacks, half of which had fallen through the gaps and were now buried in a thick layer of dust and dirt beneath it. The most interesting feature was a small round table that was positioned off to one side. It appeared to be made of the same clay as the floor it stood on, in fact, it was so seamlessly crafted, it seemed to rise up right out of the floor like a mushroom.
After such a short discovery and still with plenty of time to kill, Josh agreed to investigate one more. They set out into the next hallway .. only to be met with disappointment as it ended exactly the same way as the last. Even the furnishings were identical, despite this room containing an extra bed. Somewhat disillusioned, the explorers decided to begin at the passage furthest from them this time, skipping the two in between. It led to another chamber. The one beside it was the same. When they finally returned to the lobby, Skye sat down in the dead centre of the room, exhausted. Josh collapsed beside her, staring down into the last passage they hadn't yet investigated.
"Well .. at least we know you were right." He offered, attempting to cheer up his miserable companion. "Someone did live here. Not just someone either. Lots of people. And by the looks of things, way before our guys ever found it."
"There has to be something else here." Skye murmured. "Why carve out a fortress in a mountain if you don't have something to hide .."
"Maybe they did have something to hide." Josh grinned sideways at her. "Themselves. These guys had the right idea. Taylor built the walls around the colony. These guys built the colony into the walls. Seems like a more effective plan, if you ask me. Maybe we should move here .." He mused.
"Not enough escape routes .." She muttered back distantly. Josh scoffed.
"I wasn't serious .."
No response.
He turned to look expectantly at Skye, only to find she was squinting down the remaining unexplored passageway. She seemed mesmerized by something. He followed her gaze uncertainly.
"What .. What is it?"
"It's .. something .." She stood, walking slowly toward the passage as though pulled by some strange force. Josh watched her apprehensively.
"Skye .." He got up and leapt after her. Skye had paused just past the opening, her head tilted slightly. He grabbed her shoulder and shook her, less gently than he might have.
"Skye!"
"What?!" The irritated recipient turned on him, her teeth rattling in her head as she shoved his hand away. "I'm not deaf, idiot!"
".. oh." Josh responded dumbly. "I thought .."
"Listen." Skye tapped her ear and squinted back down the hall. "Can you hear it?"
Josh meekly complied, his self-imposed awkwardness melting away as his curiosity grew.
"It sounds like .. water."
"Exactly." Skye turned back to him eagerly. "Come on!"
"Woah-" He grabbed her wrist as she set off, pulling her stumbling back to him. "What if-"
He lowered his voice abruptly, beginning the suggestion again in something that more closely resembled a hiss.
"What if this is the Phoenix side? They were near the Falls. We could run right to them!"
Skye listened for another minute, seeming to consider this. Then she turned back to him.
"I don't hear any voices, do you?"
"What if they've gone home for the night?"
"Then we have nothing to worry about, do we?" Skye pointed out dryly. "Besides, they don't necessarily work the 9-5 shift and then clock out, do they?"
"Still .. we should be careful."
"We will."
"Keep your voice low. Be as quiet as possible."
"Okay."
Josh eyed her as she crept forward again, getting the distinct impression that she was only going along with his suggestions because it improved the atmosphere of the game. Nevertheless, he followed.
This passage, being the central one, was longer than all the others. That in itself was a promising sign. Perhaps they had known instinctively that this one would be the one they were really seeking, and so they had left it til last, like withholding dessert from themselves until they had finished their beans. Whatever the reason, it had been worth the wait. The sandy-coloured brick began to fade back into the old grey stone, and as the abundance of green moss on the stones grew, so too did the thrill of excitement between the explorers. They were reaching something exciting. They were creeping towards something new and unknown. As the sound of gurgling water multiplied in volume, they found the orange torch light in their hands was playing against a new background. The passage was no longer dark. Instead, the closer they got to whatever the end contained, the less they needed their own primitive light. Their path was being illuminated for them.
The passage narrowed slightly, jutting out at the edges as it melted into a large archway, beyond which it fell away completely. They were on the precipice of an enormous room, this one containing its own source of light that was far more effective than their puny torch had been. Nevertheless, Skye clung to the smoldering stick as she crossed beneath the archway, running a hand over the carved stone. It seemed as though it had been built to house a door, but there was no sign whatsoever of any hinges, no evidence of any such door ever having existed. The sound of water was quite loud now, echoing around the circular room cheerfully and playing off the walls. As Skye and Josh stepped forward into the room itself, they simultaneously stopped breathing. The sight that greeted them was like something out of a dream.
Beneath their feet, the stone brick floor had transformed into a sea of small cobblestones, worn smooth by many feet over the years. They stood on a two-person wide shelf that seemed to run around the whole edge of the room in an endless loop. Beyond them, in the centre, the shelf seemed to drop off sharply. Above them, the ceiling receded dizzily in steps. Each ring of roof was less than a metre wide, giving way to the next section, and the next, and the next, each step retreating higher and further until the final point was barely more than a small black hole far away up in the ceiling. Below that pinnacle, directly in the centre of the circular room, was a platform, upon which stood a thick stone pedestal, but it was the object above the pedestal that had immediately captured their attention. I say "above", not "upon" for the specific reason that the object didn't appear to be touching the pedestal below it at all. The sphere simply hovered. Its surface appeared to be made of a silvery metal, partially transparent, through which the internal core seemed to glow like a hot coal. A series of rings spun smoothly around the surface of the ball, seeming to melt through each other with an almost liquid-like movement. Their course was uninterrupted by the constant meetings, their pace never slowed. Whatever the thing was, it evidently didn't obey the usual laws of motion. The 'rings', such as they were, seemed to generate a familiar blue plasma that zapped and crackled between them as they moved. Every few seconds, a glowing whip would flick out from the sphere and lick the surrounding cobblestone like a slender tongue before vanishing. Shortly after it disappeared, another would take its place, shooting out from a different direction, and so the dance continued. It seemed as though it would continue indefinitely. Truth be told, it might have been resting here under the mountain for centuries, always spinning, always generating the same strange electricity that didn't seem to be serving any purpose whatsoever other than lighting the cavern.
Connecting the central platform to the walkway lining the rest of the room were three curved stone bridges, stretching out over a round pool of water. Skye and Josh peered over the edge of the unrailed shelf into the shimmering surface. The water didn't seem to ever stay still, a constant flux of ripples and tiny waves unsettled the glassy top layer, diffusing the light that fell upon it. It was evident what had been making the first sound now, as the miniature tides slushed against the stone wall beneath their feet, but as they listened, another noise had become audible. At first, they had suspected the strange machine to be the culprit, but found to their surprise that the low hum wasn't coming from the centre of the room. Actually, the machine didn't seem to be making any noise whatsoever, which was a strange enough fact in itself. This dull roar seemed to be emanating from behind the walls themselves. Skye suddenly turned to Josh excitedly, her voice still automatically keeping to the agreed-upon whisper.
"It's the Falls! We must be right under them!"
Josh nodded slowly, finally feeling himself capable of speech again now that the initial spellbound silence had been broken.
"You think that's where the water's coming from?"
"Could be." Skye turned back to the orb in the centre of the room. The first of the bridges began just inches away from her feet. She knelt and touched the cool stone, then held up a hand to the spinning sphere. "Weird."
"What?"
"It's freezing in here, haven't you noticed?" She explained, turning again to stare up at Josh. "That thing looks like it's generating heat, but it's colder here than anywhere."
Josh shrugged.
"Maybe the water cools the place down?"
"The water .." Skye muttered to herself, peering over the edge again. "The water should be freezing, right? Like the lake."
"Maybe the movement doesn't give it a chance to freeze."
"Maybe .." She reached a hand down into the water, but immediately yanked it back up the moment she made contact. Josh smiled pleasantly behind her.
"Cold?"
"Just a bit."
"Yeah well, don't jump in, will you."
Skye stood and turned on him icily.
"I wasn't planning to."
"Oh good." Josh folded his arms. "You had me worried for a second. You know, because there was that one time .."
"Why do you keep bringing that up today?" Skye muttered absently. She had already refocused on the levitating machine. If it wasn't generating heat, and it wasn't obeying the laws of physics, even the updated ones ..
"I dunno, it's funny. Woah-!" Josh reached out and grabbed her arm as she began to venture out into the bridge, pulling her back sharply, not for the first time that day. Skye turned to him in annoyance, but he cut her off before she had a chance to begin.
"Are you crazy?! That thing could blow you to pieces!" He eyed it suspiciously. "And anyway, weird objects in secret caves are always trapped, don't you know anything? Don't go near it."
Skye's irritation seemed to have disappeared throughout the course of this admonishment. She raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah, how many secret caves have you been in recently?!"
"Well .." Josh refused to be dissuaded. "I didn't need to. Everyone knows they're always booby trapped."
"Does everyone?" Skye grinned. "What, you think a bunch of flaming arrows are suddenly gonna be launched at you from all sides? Think a boulder's gonna fall from the roof?"
"It could!"
"But-"
"Look, I am not moving on this. I've given into you on everything else, but this time, I am Not. Moving." Josh gripped her arm tightly and took the torch back with his other hand, staring down at her with great superiority. "You can pull me all you like, but you won't get anywhere. I'm stronger than you."
Skye narrowed her eyes at him, but he didn't budge. Finally, she shrugged and dropped her gaze.
".. fine."
"Good."
He released her arm and stepped away, expecting her to follow him. The moment his back was turned, Skye made a dash across the bridge again, but immediately found a tight arm around her waist and felt herself dragged back to safety and dropped unceremoniously onto the hard floor. Josh peered down at her disdainfully, but this time, she was laughing.
"Have you learnt your lesson?"
"Alright, alright!" She raised her hands in submission, then held one out to him. "I yield. Here, help me up then."
Upon Skye's ascent, they continued their investigation, avoiding the centre of the room as though their lives depended on it. Gone unnoticed until now, there were actually other areas branching off this one. At intervals as they travelled the pathway around the lake, they came across several new entrances which stood waiting for them. These were similar to the ones in the previous antechamber, except this time the openings were closed, barred by big double doors. Unlike the previous decrepit wood doors, these were solid and in strangely good condition. One could break their legs trying to kick down one of these. What's more, each door seemed to be secured with a particularly complex locking mechanism. They tried their hardest to no avail. With numb, cold hands, no tools and no other equipment, the locks were unmoved by their feeble efforts. Eventually, they gave up and moved on.
Between each door, at about eye level (for Josh at least), was stationed a lantern, hung on the wall by a thick stake embedded between the cracks in the stone. Despite the machine in the centre of the room giving off some light, the majority of it was streaming out from these lanterns. How they were still functioning after all this time was anybody's guess, but they didn't appear to be running on any sort of known fuel source. The two stared into the glass canister, squinting against the brightness. There was no actual flame that they could make out. Instead, the lanterns contained a strange mix of glittering purple and green swirls, the pattern slightly different in each. The sources of the light mixed together so thoroughly that the end result was neither purple nor green. Instead, the light that reached out and filled the cavern was an entirely different colour, a perfect combination of both, and one that, despite their best attempts, would be impossible to paint a proper description of after the fact. They turned away from the lantern, blinking as their eyes adjusted to the dimmer atmospheric light diffusing about the place.
They had almost circumvented the round room completely now. All the unearthed doors up until this point had been on the left-hand side of the main entrance. All the doors, that is, except one. Skye and Josh paused curiously in front of the single door adorning the right-hand wall. It was different to the others, and sunken into the actual stone at least a foot deep so that it was harder to spot at a distance. From certain angles, it would be - and had been - nearly invisible. This door captured their attention in a way that none of the others had. The wood seemed to be older, the design was more detailed and the patterns seemed to have been carved with more care. Here and there, the door was swollen or cracked, and between these cracks, drizzles of watery light managed to seep through. The path under their feet continued around the ring, just the same as always, but in the space below this door, it formed a sort of bridge, beneath which the water continued to flow freely, filling the pool in the centre and recycling the old water back out, flowing beneath their feet to and from the room next door. They put their ears to the old door and listened. The rushing sound was much stronger here. The source of the water must be behind this entrance, along with perhaps the Falls themselves. Maybe this was the other side, the opening the Phoenix soldiers had stumbled upon, or perhaps the one they'd only managed to find traces of.
Unlike the other doors, this one was locked with heavy chains. At first, this seemed more promising, but it was soon discovered that metal chains, even rusted ones, could be just as impassable as high-tech locks if a person lacked the proper tools. As they began to turn back glumly to their stroll, Josh hesitated, staring more closely at the wall of the alcove.
"Hey .." He whispered at the bricks, raising a hand to dust the moss and dirt away from the surface. "I think there's something else here."
Skye, assuming he was addressing his comment to her and not the bricks themselves, appeared beside him. She stared over his shoulder, positioning the torch so that the little light it could offer would fall upon the wall.
"What is it?"
"Don't know .." Josh frowned, tapping a knuckle against the surface. It responded with a metallic echo of its own. He smiled to himself. "It's hollow. Here, give me your knife."
He held up a hand, into which Skye promptly deposited her smallest hunting blade.
"Here you are, Doctor."
"Thank you." Josh remarked politely, setting to work scraping the edges of the metal frame, searching. After a few moments, the knife blade suddenly sank, embedding itself into a thin ridge. Following the dint with the edge of the knife, Josh slid it around the rectangular border until it stopped.
"Aha!" He crowed, still in his best whisper. "Here's the lock."
Skye watched with wide eyes from just behind him.
"Can you pick it?"
"Doubt it." Josh said bluntly, causing her hopes to plummet. "If it's anything like the rest .. wait .."
He pulled the lock away from the wall with an effort - it seemed to have half melted itself into the stone - and dusted it off, scratching at it with the knife blade.
"It's old .." Skye stared at it in wonder, her spirits rising once again. "It's just a regular lock. Wonder where the key is .."
"Doesn't matter where the key is." Josh grinned, inserting the knife tip into the keyhole and wiggling it enthusiastically. Skye watched him grunt and fight with the rusted mechanism for a minute or two before venturing a comment.
"Do you want some help?"
"No."
She fell silent for a few seconds.
"Want someone with muscles to try?"
"Nope."
Another few seconds. She could see the sweat dripping down his face now as he battled against the stubborn object. Realizing she had let the torch wander far too close to his head, she tilted it back again, hoping guiltily that he wouldn't notice.
He didn't notice. Instead, he gave a cry of triumph as the lock sprung open, forgetting his own instructions for quiet as his excitement overcame his paranoia. He turned and raised his eyebrows at Skye as the lock broke into two pieces and fell from his hand, clattering to the cobblestones at their feet.
"Well? Shall we see what we've won?"
She contemplated this for a moment, then shook her head.
"Neh, let's just leave it. We've seen enough for one night."
Josh nodded slowly.
"I suppose you're right." He sighed, folding the knife back into its sheath and handing it to her. "Well, time to head back I guess."
"I guess .."
The pair turned and took exactly three steps away from the archway before spinning in unison. Skye almost clambered over Josh in her attempt to get back to the lockbox before he opened it. He paused with his hand on it, holding it shut as they both regained their senses and tried to stifle their slightly hysterical laughter.
"Alright." Josh cleared his throat. "Enough of this idiocy. Without further ado .."
He gripped the small handle and yanked at it. The stiff metal gave a horrendous screech as it gave way. The small door swung slowly open to reveal a tiny black cavern on the inside .. just big enough to hold a tin flask. Josh extracted the object and sniffed at it, almost gagging as he handed it over to her. Skye stared at it in disgust.
"Moonshine?! We've come all this way, discovered ancient ruins, seen more advanced technology than we even knew existed, and at the end of the day, humanity's greatest legacy is .. moonshine. Great."
Josh snorted.
"If that isn't some sort of metaphor, I don't know what is. Wait .." He pulled a small rectangular object out of the box. Stained by the flask that had evidently been leaking above it for many years, the little book was regardless in decent condition. Josh opened it up to the first page.
"It's a diary."
"The diary of a whiskey-drenched time traveler." Skye muttered, grinning despite her evident disapproval. "This oughtta be interesting."
After a thorough search of the lockbox, they found nothing else inside but dust and sticky gravel. They replaced the tin flask exactly where they had found it and sealed the pungent odor back up into the wall as best they could. When this job was finished, Josh turned to Skye, eyeing her sternly.
"Well?" She was almost hopping up and down with anticipation. "Shall we read it?"
"How long have we been in here?" Josh asked instead, changing the subject. Skye frowned.
"I don't know, gotta be more than a few hours. Five, maybe?"
"More, I think." Josh mused, staring around at the otherworldly cave of lights. "I think we should head back. We still have the torch, and the sun'll be coming up soon. We can read it while we wait. No point in staying here."
Skye bit her lip, hesitating. There was sense in the words, but ..
"I suppose you're right." She said finally, sighing as she took one last look around the room. "In that case .. race ya!"
She broke into a sprint almost instantly, and Josh watched her vanish back into the corridor with a low groan.
"Come on .. haven't we done enough running for one day .."
"It's a new day! More running!" The voice travelled back to him, and he realized just how wise his original warning for quiet had been. In these lonely tunnels below ground, a single voice could carry for much further distances than one would usually imagine possible. He suddenly realized he was being left behind and followed hurriedly.
Skye was waiting near their skylight for so long that she began to feel uneasy. A series of intermittent scratching and scuffling noises from above didn't help the situation. She peered out of the hole. The stars were still up, but they were fading. They really had been underground for longer than she'd thought. The time had passed quickly. Overall, not a bad way to spend a night in the jungle. She almost shrieked as two hands snaked around her neck and a voice hissed in her ear.
"Leave me in the dark alone one more time and I'll throw you into the river myself."
She turned, her heart pounding wildly in her throat, to see Josh's menacing grin behind her. Somehow, that was less comforting than she'd imagined. She threw him off irritably and shook herself.
"Don't do that."
"Why?" Josh smiled placidly. "Scared? I guess we're even then."
He glanced up through the hole in the roof.
"Couple of hours yet. Might as well take a look at this."
He dropped down onto the ground, producing a bundle of material from somewhere on his person and plumping it up into a nice little seat. Skye watched, unimpressed.
"What is that?"
"Oh. This?" Josh looked up at her in surprise, pointing down at his creation. "It's your jacket. Since you abandoned it, I figured you didn't want it, and this ground is pretty hard, so-"
"If your skeletal old rear has problems with the ground, then use your own coat." Skye snatched the material up, holding it to herself possessively. "My jacket's not the solution. But thank you."
"You're welcome." Josh sniffed as she dropped beside him. "And by the way, I find your choice of wording very insensitive considering all we've been through tonight."
"You're right." She responded soberly. "Now hurry up and get on with it."
"Very well." He produced the book with a flourish, then proceeded to open it very slowly and carefully as Skye looked on with growing impatience. Finally, however, the diary was open and lay waiting on his knees. Josh cleared his throat and began.
"'This journal is the-' See, it's not a diary .." He interrupted himself to look knowingly at his reading companion. ".. it's a journal."
Skye blinked.
"What's the difference?"
"I have no idea."
She lowered her eyelids a little and tapped the page lightly.
"Keep reading."
"Alright." Josh cleared his throat again, and began again from the top. "'This journal is the sole property of .. of-' I thought these people were supposed to have good writing. I've never seen such chicken scratch, and I work with doctors!"
"Josh!" Skye burst out in annoyance. "Get on with it! Or give it to me if you can't read it."
"No, I can read it." Josh insisted, refocusing his attempts back on the book. "Just .. give me a minute."
Skye waited anxiously as he studied the page for a moment or two, then relaxed as his face cleared.
"Got it."
"Proceed." She gestured her assent. "And Josh .. if you stop in the middle one more time, I will rip that thing right out of your hands."
"You'll wreck it!"
"I'll risk it."
"Fine." Josh sniffed, resettling himself in his seat. "Here we go."
He cleared his throat one more time and began.
"'This journal is the sole property of Richard Julien, and contains the earnest thoughts of no other, be their existence past, present, or future. I, Captain Julien of The Angels' Bridge, do hereby write this in my own hand.
November 11th, 1826.
Very well, I admit it now, Mary. Perhaps the journal was not so misdirected a gift as I had originally judged it. I must remember to thank you when at last the sea delivers me home. We have met with more turbulent waters than I have ever had the displeasure of encountering. Storms upon storms upon storms have arisen against us. Verily, many of us are beginning to question whether the voyage was doomed from the start. I have retreated to my quarters to gather my thoughts in solitude when perchance I discovered your gift, this book. My dear, it is just what I needed to help me through these rough seas. I cannot confide in the men. I must remain strong for them. There is much I cannot record in the log, so I find my solace here. I cannot thank you enough for your thoughtfulness.
But I must away temporarily, for by the shouts I can only surmise that Bernett has again fallen from the crows nest. Such a balance-lacking soul I have never had the privilege of meeting prior .. and I hope such good providence shall shine upon me henceforth that I should never have an equal honour again!
November 14th, 1826.
My dear, such an odd circumstance has befallen us that I hardly know how to write you. For both our sakes, I shall try.
We have left the sea completely, our fleet has been irreparably divided, and my men are rapidly succumbing to the madness of the desert. But let me begin at the beginning.
Two nights prior, we had just come through the most unimaginably horrible storm. Frankly, we were all astonished that our lives had been preserved. The fact in itself was bordering on miraculous. However, it wasn't during the storm itself that it happened. It was quite early morning the next day, when the sky has just turned pale green and the light is waking up. You know the time. I was standing at the bow when my entire vision was affronted by such hypnotizing colours as I have never seen. I was blinded by the light, and when my vision returned and I awoke from the daze, I found myself lying on the deck near the bow. Yes, I had remained with my ship even during this ordeal, but twas not long before I discovered the sad truth. The Angels' Bridge had been severed. I sat on the bow, and only the bow. Where the rest of the ship had vanished to, I hadn't the faintest idea at the time. I only found myself alone, in the desert - the desert, of all places, not a drop of ocean in sight!
It was later than day, after I had finally gathered the courage to venture forth from my patch of homeliness that I heard them, the voices of my men, calling for me amidst the sands - such beloved voices I have never heard or believe I am capable of hearing again - I am sorry, my dear Mary, but it is true.
Several of my men later explained to me what they had seen take place. A few holes in the atmosphere had appeared, shining brighter than the brightest electric lamp. They were like pieces of the fabled aurora spun into being and made to unleash terror upon the seas. Well, our dear ship sailed right into one. My men and I (and indeed, the poor lady herself) were separated - they to one side of the desert with their part of the ship; I to the other side with my own. Where we are exactly, I do not know, but I suspect that we were mystically translocated to some distant shore - the wild southern americas maybe, or sub Saharan Africa.
As for the rest of the fleet, some apparently met the same fate as us, and we may stumble across them here soon, if in fact they were sent in our direction. The lucky survivors of the voyage, if there were any, may turn back for home. Perhaps they will bring reports of our strange destiny back to London. I hope, my dear, that they do not worry you.
Well, we have our stores and we have shelter. Above all, we have each other and we have faith. Pray for me, Mary, though I know you cannot possibly know what has transpired, nor could you comprehend the situation if you were to discover it. But pray anyway, my dear.
I don't believe anyone could survive out here for long.
November 28th, 1826.
We have abandoned what remains of our ship to the desert and ventured north to greener pastures.
December 3rd-"
"Wait!" Skye cut in, leaning over to examine the paper curiously. "That was it? That was all he wrote?"
"That was all he wrote." Josh confirmed, pointing to the rest of the blank page. "Maybe he got interrupted. Like me just now."
Skye laughed a little and slumped back against the wall, gesturing lazily with her hand.
"Proceed."
"December 3rd, 1826.
The beasts of this region are extraordinary. Wherever this storm has cast us, we could rewrite the history books four times over. Such monsters you could not imagine, Mary. Such teeth and weaponry is quite beyond description. At any rate, I should not wish to frighten you. Suffice it to say, we have taken shelter in a cave system the men have located beneath a nearby waterfall. We have adequate water, shelter, and the men are even learning to hunt for food. It really is beautiful here. I wish you could see it. A part of me wonders if I shouldn't like to remain here in this paradise forever.
December 24th, 1826.
We are not the first to be stranded here, it seems .. nor will we be the last, though our former inhabitants were in possession of far greater technology than seems possible for even the greatest mind. They left no trace, no indication of who they were, or where they came from, except their near-magical devices. I have decided to leave this journal behind me when we move on from this place, so that anyone who comes after us knows that we were here .. that we existed.
Merry Christmas, my darling. God-willing, we shall be in each other's arms soon enough.
December 25th, 1826.
What a marvelous present! We have found friends! Another ship has made it through as a whole, the crew intact. I know them by sight, though not by name. We have helped them stow their craft beneath the earth for safekeeping from the violent lightning storms that rage in this place. But how nice it will be to have visitors for Christmas! I look forward to deepening my acquaintance with them. Perhaps a return journey home is not so hopeless after all.
December 26th, 1826.
We've found an odd-looking machine! - it appears to be levitating above the earth in quite an impossible fashion! This is technology beyond any our best scientist could dream up - possibly even extra-terrestrial!" (Josh assumed an exaggerated British accent with this last sentence, causing several conspiratorial chuckles and a brief intermission in the reading. Shortly thereafter, he continued.) "Upon further examination, I believe it to be a time machine. Maybe God has provided our way home from this strange place.
January 2nd, 1827.
One of our remaining men - Augustus, not to be uncharitable - has turned the time machine on, and we have no way to turn it off again. Several rings have pushed out from the centre and are now spinning around the sphere WITHOUT MAKING CONTACT. This really is an extraordinary device.
January 3rd, 1827.
Mutiny! Cowardice! The filthy dogs have been planning it from the beginning. A small portion of our remaining number has disagreed with our approach to survival and fled into the wilderness. They threaten to come back with reinforcements and commandeer our machine. Where they intend to procure such 'reinforcements' in such a desperately empty place, I do not know. Well, good riddance!
Thankfully, I've managed to hide the machine deep below the earth's surface, in a place they'll never find it even if they do return, but I worry for the future of this world.
January 4th, 1827.
We've lost another two men to the darkness. These creatures .. these beasts are relentless. They'll stop at nothing once they taste your life's blood. I have tried and failed, and tried and failed to prevent them from returning. They find any minuscule flaw in our security. It's only a matter of time ..
January 7th, 1827.
The machine continues to spin in increasingly rapid increments. I fear the constant energy build-up will have a detrimental effect. This will kill us. We have survived wild beasts, asteroids, earthquakes .. only for this.
January 20th, 1827.
I fear Death is close now, but it wears not the face of this machine. I feel it watching me. Sometimes in the pale light, I catch a glimpse of its eyes .. waiting. It lives in this place, but I cannot leave. My comrades have passed into eternity here, and here, I soon shall join them. I am not afraid .."
Here, his shaky scribbles betrayed him. His writing was growing more and more difficult to read by the letter. One page left.
"January 21st, 1827.
I shall leave my journal in the safe. If there is any chance of surviving the impact of the imminent energy blast, its best chances lay here. If you are reading this, know that we were explorers, we were warriors .. and we are now at rest."
Here, the journal ended.
"Creepy." Josh muttered, looking around uneasily. "Wonder what got him. We didn't see any remains .. other than our men, I mean."
"Probably dragged him off to its lair or something."
Josh shivered at the unpleasant thought.
"Glad we didn't meet whatever it was in there."
"Tell me about it." Skye agreed enthusiastically.
She opened her mouth to make another statement, but a faint sound interrupted her, a scratching like the rasping of nails on stone. A chill ran down her spine at the sudden indication of another creature's presence. The noise hadn't come from above this time. It was in here with them. Then the noise stopped, just as abruptly as it had started. Skye turned to Josh, her voice automatically dropping back to a whisper.
"Did you hear that?"
"I wish I hadn't."
"Guess we spoke too soon."
The scratching returned again, increasing in volume. It was coming towards them from somewhere deep within the passage .. the passage they had not long returned from. Scratch, scratch, tap, scratch ..
Skye and Josh stood up slowly, the latter closing the book and placing it carefully in one of the large pockets of his lab coat.
"But how?!" Josh hissed. "We've been all around this place, we didn't see a single sign of anything living in there."
"Maybe .. it dropped in from above when we were back there. Maybe it's been hiding in the tunnels."
Josh felt his sweat break out anew at this prospect. He heard Skye's soft breathing quicken behind him, then stop altogether.
"Josh-" The sharp note in her voice set his entire body on edge. Her outstretched arm appeared beside him, and he followed the direction of her pointing finger.
"Look."
He looked. Three sets of amber eyes stared back at him from the darkness. He tried to swallow his panic, but only succeeded in nearly choking on his tongue. The eyes were creeping nearer.
"Get your knife." He commanded, glancing at Skye to find her nearby, a knife already in each hand. He shrugged and stepped forward, waving the spluttering torch wildly in front of him.
"Hey! Who's there, huh?! Come on, show yourselves!"
The eyes blinked at him blankly. Then, halfway through one particularly powerful swipe .. the torch went out. Josh stared numbly at it. The eyes blinked again, then continued their approach. The rasping grew louder. It was slow, methodical. Josh and Skye watched in silence as the gap grew narrower and narrower. Soon, the concealed creatures would step into the predawn light filtering down from the hole in the ceiling and they would be able to see what they were dealing with. The glowing orbs paused momentarily, then continued forward again. They were playing a nasty game of chicken, the two realized. The creatures were analyzing them even as they waited. If they let them get too close, they would gain an advantage at the risk of losing their lives. Something told them that the hidden enemies could move quickly when they wanted to. The horrid scratching of the claws on the stone seemed to drill into the ears of the humans and set their teeth on edge. Skye flipped the knife in her right hand and prepared to throw it. Just as she did so, a small chirp burst out of the cluster of eyes and a fat body threw itself out of the darkness, falling at her feet. As she watched in surprise, the animal pulled itself up to its full height and blinked at her indignantly. She stared back. Standing straight, it barely reached her thigh in height, but most of her attention was now concentrated on the head. The thing was bizarre. Puffed-up, spiky cheeks with a flat forehead coming to a point in a bird-like mouth. It looked like someone had bodymelded their snooty aunt with their cockatoo, and coupled with the stress of the previous few minutes, the result was nearly hysterical. She stared briefly into the yellowish eyes. They were going in slightly different directions. As the creature cocked its head and executed another weird little chirp, Skye collapsed upon Josh's shoulder with something between a laugh and a sob.
"It's so stupid .." She muttered, losing her will to stand then and sinking to the ground with another shriek of laughter. Josh patted her head in sympathy, vaguely wondering if they'd ever make it to the other side of this long night. He dropped to the floor beside her, causing the curious animal to skitter away nervously. Skye had laughed until she cried, and now she sat wiping the tears out of her eyes, still chuckling softly to herself. Josh seemed to have lost his sense of humour somewhere along the way for real this time. He simply sat, staring in silence as the collection of brainless eyes stared back from a few metres away. Skye looked up to follow his gaze and shook her head, choking out another short laugh as she refocused on the animals.
"Malcolm has to see this place."
"If we ever get out of here." Josh murmured, jumping up and stamping forward to send another two of the creatures scattering. Skye pinched his pant leg and tugged it weakly, still wiping her eyes with the other hand.
"Don't. Stop it. They might be able to help us."
Josh's mouth twisted.
"Right. Maybe they can yodel for help."
"Stop it." Skye repeated, pushing back another wave of laughter. She really had been awake for far too long. They both had.
"Hey." Josh surveyed the hated hole above them again before turning back to their new house guests. "How did they get in? Do you think they fell from the roof?"
"You think they're dumb enough for that?" Skye stared at the crooked eyes of the creature nearest her, then looked up to join Josh's nod. "Yeah, probably."
Just then, a chirp from above drew their attention back to the skylight. The same yellow eyes were peering down at them from the lip of the hole. Josh blinked up at it, shielding his face with his arm as a shower of unstable dirt dropped down on him.
"Careful! You wanna fall in too?! How many of these things are there?!"
The sun was rising steadily now. A few minutes later, the cavern was flooded with light. Skye stood, dusting herself off, and came to stand directly below the hole. She stared upward dismally. The distance looked even harder to make up in the daytime than it had at night. There was no way they could ever reach it on their own. She glanced sideways at Josh, hoping he had been struck by some sudden inspiration .. but he looked as hopeless as she felt. The small parrot dinosaurs were chirping cheerfully to one another in the corner, gradually getting noisier and noisier. Skye turned to tell them off, only to find that they had suddenly vanished. Another few seconds and she would have missed them completely. As it was, the final remaining sign of the creatures was the spray of feathery tail that had disappeared right into the stone itself. Wait a minute ..
Josh turned to see Skye moving slowly away. He watched as she stared obsessively down at the wall and then knelt before it, as though it had suddenly begun to tell her the secrets of the universe.
"Skye .. whatcha doin' .. ?"
Skye ignored him. Instead, she crawled closer to the stone wall, continuing forward until she was head and shoulders inside it. When she pulled herself free, he was standing beside her, arms folded.
"You okay there? Gonna try dig our way out?"
"No!" Skye responded, her eyes shining brightly. A little too brightly, Josh thought. "We don't have to. Look!"
She shuffled over so he could see. Casting another look of barely disguised concern at her, Josh peered upwards. There was a gap in the wall where a few stone bricks had fallen in. They had managed to walk right past it in the dark and miss it entirely. Behind the narrow slit, a round tunnel stretched sharply upwards. It was just large enough for a human .. maybe, provided it didn't get any narrower further along.
"This is how they get in and out."
"This is our way out." Skye sat back on her heels, securing her bag around her waist and tying it to the back of her belt. "You first or me?"
"I dunno, Skye, it's pretty steep." Josh leaned in further and stared up through the dim tunnel. It seemed to tilt almost vertically as it reached the surface. He returned his doubtful gaze to her. "What if we slide back down?"
"Dig your feet in." She retorted. "Come on, you got a better idea?"
"No, but .."
"I'll tell you what, I'll go first." She offered generously. "That way, if you get stuck, I can go for help."
"And leave me here, trapped in a tunnel from which there's no escape, gasping for oxygen past the dirt compressing my chest?" He smiled. "Thanks. What would I do without you?"
"A lot less breathing, by the sounds of it."
"Aha!" Josh gave such a sickly sweet laugh he almost nauseated himself. "Get in the tunnel before I throw you in."
"You're the doctor."
Skye crawled forward, pausing inside the mouth and turning to salute him in such a sloppy manner that it would have made her superior officer cry just to witness it.
"Well, see you on the other side, partner."
"If I live that long."