by T. S. Hall
“Pretty cool, huh?” Almas said, noticing the four leaning against the sides with their mouths open.
“How are there so many Sonorans living here?” Katie asked.
“Well, as humans have aged, our people on Earth have had to find refuge within underground cities in order to maintain our secret existence,” Almas explained. “Plus, with King Salazar pushing out the rebellion, many have had to come to Earth in order to survive. We are massively overpopulated, and it’s a constant problem that we’ve been dealing with.”
As they flew by the bottom of the cavern, a ship with flashing lights sped by, followed by a trail of sirens. Then they traveled through a dark opening and into a cave. The pilot flipped on the outer lights, which illuminated the large cavern as they traveled deeper into the ground. The transport slowed as the cavern became larger and the walls became flatter. The pilot set the ship down and opened the back. The seatbelts unclipped automatically. Everyone in the transport, except the pilot, made his or her way to the back of the ship and down the ramp to the dirt-covered ground. The air was cold and damp, reminding Allora of the cave underneath Crater Lake. The ceiling was shaped into a dome, and the walls were covered with the intricate carvings of soldiers. The pilot came toward the back of the transport and pushed a few buttons on the metal boxes. They suddenly began hovering, and then moved out of the cargo hold. They flew toward the front of the transport, disappearing into a large, dark opening on the far side of the dome.
In the darkness, a distant light appeared. As it came closer, it exposed a flat, hovering metal slab that stopped a few feet from them. Almas jumped onto the slab. From the bottom, two flat metal rods slid upward. The tops made two half circles around Almas’s waist, securing him in place. He motioned for Allora and the others to follow. After being fastened into the standing platform, Almas sparked the metal slab, causing the thing to take off into the dark opening. The invisible field within the metal belt kept the force of acceleration from pushing them backward.
The tunnel was about two miles long, and it didn’t take very much time to travel through. The slab slowed to a stop on the edge of an expansive cliff. At the bottom and along the sides were the remnants of an ancient civilization, like journeying to an underground Incan monument. The cavern was shaped into a large crater, like it had been a mining operation. At the center was a large sandstone pyramid, about one hundred feet tall.
“We could go on personal hover planks, but I want to show you guys the scenic tour,” Almas said as they walked under an archway and then down stone stairs. Brutus and Grunt remained silent, following closely at the rear of the group. Large marble pillars lined the walkway, with lonely, dark doorways along the right side of the path. The place was empty of life. In the distance, they heard the shallow sounds of a pickaxe hitting rock.
It took about twenty minutes to hike down. A few openings were illuminated by small glowing orbs. Allora peeked into one of them. In the center was an empty pool with two large spouts on the far wall.
“That was an ancient public bath house,” Almas said, peering around the corner. “There are about thirty in all. Some of the more prominent figures had their own personal baths, but most of the people during that time used these to get clean. It’s actually a very sophisticated plumbing system.”
“Have you explored all of the ruins?” Allora asked.
“Not even close. We only discovered this place about fifty years ago. It was completely cut off from the rest of the city. They were expanding the residential area because of the population growth when one of the engineers accidentally blew up the wrong area. It caused a massive cave that exposed the old tunnel. When they dug out the passageway, they discovered this place.”
They kept winding their way toward the pyramid at the bottom. Large glowing orbs hovered at the base of the pyramid, illuminating the expansive central area. It was about the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The stone was a little more polished since it hadn’t been as exposed to the elements. The sound of grinding grew louder as they walked across the large, dusty obsidian tiles that covered the bottom of the bowl. Shards of marble, limestone, granite, and obsidian littered the floor, along with the bases of large pillars that had fallen. From the bottom, they could see just how large the ancient city was, spanning hundreds of feet into the darkness. At the base of the pyramid was a large doorway, and on the sides were metal boxes from the transport. The surface lit up in a yellow glow as Almas plugged a sequence into the metal interface terminal. The metal sides folded down and slid underneath the bottom. Inside were numerous strange-looking plastic facemasks and pairs of black tights.
“Just slip into the black suit, and then spark it,” Almas said as he handed out the suits. “Then place the mask over your face, and spark that as well.”
“What are these for?” Allora asked, slipping on one leg and then the other.
“Protection,” Almas said, placing a mask over his face and sparking it.
The mask wrapped around his head and then spread downward, fastening into the top of the black suit. Allora could see his lips moving, but she couldn’t hear him. He motioned with his hands, pointing to her mask. She sparked the suit, which hugged her body, and then placed the mask on, sparking that as well. The plastic screen lit up, showing a compass on the top-right corner, a temperature gauge on the top-left corner, an altimeter on the bottom-right corner, and a toxicity gauge on the bottom-left corner.
Almas’s voice echoed into the interior of the helmet. “These are protective suits used in any archeological dig, construction, engineering, or really anything that may be dangerous. If you fall or are buried, the suit will expand, allowing for less impact. There is an interior breathing system, along with a mesh moisture reallocation filtration material in the suit that will give you a couple days of water.”
“You mean that we’d be drinking our own urine?” Dax asked.
“Essentially.”
“Gross,” Katie added, shaking from the thought.
“All right, let’s go over a couple of safety protocols,” Almas said, standing in front of the glowing doorway to the pyramid. “Do not touch anything. Do not leave the group. If you see something out of the ordinary, please let me know right away. These ancient buildings are highly unstable, and you can’t be too careful.”
“Should we just leave Dax here then?” Katie said.
“Ha,” Dax responded. “Real funny. You should be talking, Ms. Clumsy.”
Almas ignored them and entered the pyramid. They followed, stepping down a narrow staircase, while Brutus and Grunt surveyed the area. As they stepped down the last step, lines of green covered the screen.
“What’s with the masks?” Allora asked.
“It’s a mapping system that is constantly updated so that we can track the areas that we have searched already. If you see glowing red, it means that is an unknown area that we haven’t explored yet. Don’t go toward the red.”
The narrow hallway was only five feet wide but about twenty feet tall. The walls were adorned with ancient paintings. From her studies, Allora notice the artwork spanned a number of different ancient civilizations. Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, Chinese, Russian, Mayan, and Incan artwork covered the hallway walls. Allora focused on one painting of an enormous giant with one eye who was holding a large spear and staring down on kneeling peoples.
The screen outlined the drawing in green lines, and then a scrolling list of words formed, followed by a robotic female voice.
“What is this voice in my helmet?” Allora asked as the voice continued.
“It’s the Earth Anthropological Database or EAD. It’s our artificial intelligence that contains all of our history. It’s like a database of every living creature, place, event, and unknown thing on Earth. There is also one for Sonora. If you want to turn it off, just say, ‘EAD off.’”
At the end of the long hallway, they descended a spiral staircase, which led them into a large chamber the size of a football field that was
lined with oblong marble pillars. The air was surprisingly warm compared to the rest of the cavern, and it smelled of dust, lilac, and oil.
“Watch this,” Almas said, pointing at the wall.
He sparked the marble, and fire shot upward, covering the walls on both sides. The flames danced toward the ceiling, dissipating before reaching the top. The orange glow revealed how expansive the chamber was. They walked to the middle, where it split into two other sections to the right and left. Allora wiped away the dust on the ground, which exposed an intricately designed circular pattern, like that of a crop circle.
“Those are actually tributes to ancient mathematical equations,” Almas explained. “This pattern in particular is a visual representation of the breakthrough that allowed scientists to eventually create the hadron mercury core that powers most of our airships.”
“Isn’t this, like, thousands of years old?” Katie asked.
“Yes, but most of our scientific progress was halted because of what happened after the Titan Wars. That is why this place is so exciting. It holds the key to finding out what happened.”
They kept going straight, surveying the numerous carvings on the ceiling, pillars, and floor. Once through an arching doorway, they moved into a darkened tunnel. The sounds of chipping rock grew louder. In a small room to their right, two gnomes were meticulously chipping at the filament buildup that lined the walls. They looked up briefly and then went back to work.
“Hi, Baldar,” Almas said. “How are we doing?”
One of the gnomes stopped. His face was covered in dirt, as if he’d been in the cave for days. He had a safety suit that was slightly torn, and his helmet looked as though it had been dinged by a couple of falling rocks. Like the other gnomes, he was about four feet tall, with sharp cheekbones. His eyes were different, though. They were dark brown, almost black, and somewhat pained, like a battle-worn soldier.
“Sir, we have finished sections eight, fourteen, and twenty,” Baldar said. “There are no signs of—”
“Thank you, Baldar,” Almas interrupted. His body became rigid, and he leaned forward. “We have guests today. Will you show them into the main chamber room? I need to check up on our progress in the other sections.”
Baldar’s expression remained steady as he scanned the four teens and two security guards, looking each one in the eye. He knocked his feet together, stood straight, placed his hand upon his chest like a salute, and then parted the group and moved into the dark tunnel.
“He’s a very serious individual,” Almas said, smiling halfheartedly. His eyes suggested that there was more to the story. “I’ve got to do some progress reports, so I want you to go with Baldar. The main chamber room is amazing. I wouldn’t want you to miss it.”
“Are you looking for something?” Allora asked, squinting her eyes like a hunter stalking its prey.
“Just trying to find out this place’s history,” Almas replied. “Always searching for the truth.”
He smiled and then walked back into the large chamber.
Allora looked over to Tanner. “Why do I feel like—”
“You’re hungry?” Tanner said, grabbing Allora’s helmet. He then placed his index finger on the plastic facemask and puckered his lips. Then he mouthed, “They can hear everything we say.”
“Yeah, I’m totally hungry,” Allora said, remembering the intercom system that linked everyone.
“Could definitely go for a burger,” Dax said.
“Or a smoothie,” Katie said, patting her brother on the stomach. “You’ve been packing on a few too many pounds.”
“That’s just my winter weight,” Dax replied, standing up straight with his hands on his waist. “What about you, fatty? I saw what you posted on the scale.”
“That’s muscle, idiot,” Katie said, mimicking her twin brother’s stance.
A deep, raspy voice interrupted the argument. “Are you coming?”
They all peered around the corner into the tunnel. Baldar was standing fifty feet away. They followed the gnome down the tunnel, peeking into the rooms that lined it. In the corners of one of the rooms were enormous, twenty-foot vases that hugged the ceiling. In another room there was spiral shelving with old, dust-covered remnants of books. Allora went into the room. On the ground were old pieces of deteriorated parchment. She was about to grab one of the crumbling books when a sharp voice screamed into her intercom.
“Don’t touch that!” Baldar said, tensely stomping into the room. “Are you insane? That artifact is thousands of years old.” He grabbed her frozen, outstretched hand and yanked it down. “Any exposure to our oils or bacteria could completely ruin these relics. Don’t touch anything!”
“OK,” Allora said, rolling her eyes at the gnome as he trudged out of the room.
At the end of the tunnel, the archway opened to a domed room with large, metal double doors. Baldar had to jump to grab the brass rings that hung in the middle. He pulled while standing on the tips of his toes. The metal creaked and shuddered as the crack in the middle opened. A slight breeze blew outward. From his pocket, Baldar pulled out a few translucent orbs that he sparked and tossed inside the dark room. The orbs’ light showed an expansive, circular inner chamber, sunken into the ground. The pillars that lined the exterior of the circular room bent at the ceiling, connecting into an intricately designed archway-like dome. At the base of the pillars was a series of marble seats that were falling apart. Chunks of stone littered the floor. In the center was an elevated marble throne that faced the horseshoe. They walked toward it, inspecting the chamber like awestruck tourists. Brutus and Grunt hung back, standing at attention at the door.
“This is where the founding guardians met,” Baldar said. His monotone voice suggested boredom and annoyance at being a tour guide. “This was the room for the original council, which was led by Zeus, who was the leader of the guardians during and after the Titan Wars.” Baldar went up to the seat in the middle of the room and pointed. “He sat here.”
“Really?” Allora said sarcastically. “Thank you so much because I couldn’t have deduced that myself. We are just simple people with small brains.”
Baldar glared at Allora, turned his head as though listening to something through his helmet, and then stalked off toward the double doors.
“Stay here. Don’t touch anything,” he said, leaving the room.
“How many times do you think he’s going to tell us not to touch anything?” Dax said.
“I heard that,” Baldar’s voice said through the intercom.
“I was kidding,” Dax replied.
“I’ve got an idea,” Tanner said, huddling up with the other three. “Outside intercom link off.”
The robotic woman’s voice came on. “Please choose private com links either by visual selection or vocal name identification.” Tanner pointed his facemask to each of the others, which displayed each of their images in small, round, live links along the left side of the facemask.
“Confirm private com link, and shut off outside com link.”
“Private com link confirmed,” the robotic woman said.
“How did you know how to do that?” Allora asked, smiling.
“They had a couple of the suits in the transport, along with the manual. I was a little curious, so I read a few pages while we were flying down here. Comes in handy, huh?”
“You sure it worked?” Dax asked.
“Try it out.”
“Hey, Baldar, I just knocked over Zeus’s chair, and it broke into a thousand pieces, you small, crazy dwarf.”
They waited for an angry voice to echo into their ears. Nothing happened. Allora nudged Tanner flirtatiously and smiled.
“Nice work,” she said. Then she turned to look around the room, walking toward the center. “What do you guys think they’re trying to find down here?”
“Maybe they’re looking for the Eye,” Katie suggested.
“Nah, I think they’re trying to find exactly what we are,” Tanner said, following Allo
ra to Zeus’s chair. “Almas said it himself: they are looking for the truth.”
“I’m just wondering what they’re going to do when they learn that truth,” Dax said.
“What do you mean?” Tanner asked.
“Zeus and the other guardians went to a lot of effort to cover up the truth about the Titan Wars,” Dax said, placing his hand on the armrest of the large marble chair in the middle and staring at the backrest as though trying to look into the past. “I just have this sinking feeling that the events of that war were meant to stay secret for a reason, and I’d hate for that secret to get into the wrong hands.”
“I agree,” Tanner said. “That is why we need to find the scroll before anyone else.” He placed his hand on top of Dax’s. “We need to swear on Zeus’s throne that we will do whatever it takes to retrieve the Scroll of Alexandria before anyone else.”
Katie placed her hand on top of Tanner’s. “I swear by Zeus.”
Allora placed her hand gently on the top. “And by Uncle Ben.”
They all looked at Allora, realizing the seriousness of her comment. A slight chill ran down their backs and the hadrons within pulsated from the sudden emotional jolt. Allora pulled her hand back slowly and moved behind the throne, searching for a distraction from her thoughts.
“Well, now what?” Dax asked.
Katie, Tanner, and Dax discussed the next steps while Allora ventured to the back wall. A mural had recently been restored, uncovering a beautifully painted depiction of an epic air battle with what looked like dragons, flying horses, birds, discs, winged warriors, and fire throughout. Allora moved to the right, feeling a slight sensation coming over her, like she was living a dream. Her eyes started to gloss over as she scanned the mural, and her mind flashed suddenly. Then she saw a small eye staring back at her, like a sentry. Her mind flashed again to an outstretched arm that was much longer than hers. Without conscious control over herself, she placed her palm on the Eye, feeling the hadrons flow into the wall. The ground shuddered and opened up beneath her. Allora dropped into a black abyss, screaming as she fell.
