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The Fallen

The tunnel is cold and offers only darkness around each bend.  Each symbol I uncover assures me that I am following the course left behind.  Then in the distance I see a mist and a faint odor fills the tunnel; still I continue moving forward.  As I do so, I run my hand along the wall and note a change in the texture of the rock; it has become moist to the touch.  However, I will not let this deter me.  It isn’t until the cold rock turns soft and my hand is covered in a thick spongy substance, that I question my reason for being here?  I take a sample of the gunge only to discover that the test is inconclusive.  Still I am determined to find the origin of this cave, and it is then that my eyes uncover something new.  There before me is a vast empty void.  Could this be where the symbols were meant to lead me?   Here within the shadows, the walls themselves seem to breath and the distance above appears to soar for hundreds of feet.  I take several samples before exploring the cavern for answers.  Then I find what appears to be an exoskeleton embedded in the sticky matter; it is the remnants of something quite large and unknown to man.  I stand motionless trying to make sense of what I’m looking at.  Although it appears to be a Cicadoidea; a species better known as a Cicada and this is no ordinary Cicada!  This anomaly is the size of a boulder and has the same markings embedded into its shell as those found along the walls of the cavern.  This creature is not of God; but then what force created this creature?

The Fallen

I tumble and hit the hard rock below, pain radiates through my body, but nothing seems to be broken.  I wait for the dust to settle before pulling myself to my feet.  As my mind clears I notice a light masked by debri.  I cautiously make my way toward the light to get a closer look.  Then I remove the rubble that entombs the lifeless body of Doctor Koontez; one of our geologist.  This is an unfortunate casualty, and for me a sad reminder of the darkness that dwells within these tunnels.  I rest the Doctors body along the cavern wall, and gather all essential belongings to help navigate my way.  I turn off the light on his hardhat and say goodbye, I must stay focused if my journey is not to end with the same fate.  The others must have continued on, however I am no longer following their footsteps.  If we should reconnect it will be purely by chance.  I know that I am completely on my own and now there is no turning back…

 The Quest

Samuel is a soldier of fortune and the leader of the expedition, chosen for his ability to track and hone his surroundings.  Doctors Simpson is our team’s medical doctor and Mathias is an experts in Mayan history, and I am a geographer.  The others include two geologists, a weapons expert and a chemist.   I have spent my entire career reading maps and deciphering codes; it is our collective abilities that eventually lead us here.  I am ready to move forward, I turn on the light on my protective headgear and remain careful to stay close to the cavern walls.  I continue to run my hand along the smooth surface and again come across the strange markings.  The symbols always display the same pattern and are beginning to make sense to me.  The deeper I venture into the tunnels the better I understand what the etchings mean; these particular markings are a map code of sorts, and are leading me toward uncertainty.  I see an obscure light in the distance and am hopeful that I have found my party.  I call out but no answer is returned, perhaps they are still too far ahead, therefore I will stay the course.  In my haste I quicken my pace, focusing only upon the light.  No more do I stay close to the cavern walls, instead I take to the center of the tunnel, a decision that would be costly.  Before me a hole large enough to swallow a man, draws me in, and without the help of my colleagues I find myself helplessly falling.