They all looked at where he pointed and they examined everything tiredly, but did not see anything, and Bryson spotted an immense amount of rock in a small gap between two distant trees.
“There’s something!” Parker confirmed. “Quick over there! There’s something for us ...”
After intense rushing they came to a region where they got a proper view through the trees and saw a large solid rock hill and they made their way there, sure that there could be somewhere there where they could shelter.
When closer it was clearer that the hill reached far higher than the height of the trees, with its length going away into the distance somewhere, and as they approached there they saw a gap/canyon running straight through it.
Their lights radiated the canyon rock through the wood and they forced their legs to go faster to it, and Bryson and some of the others scientists started to see how perfectly formed it was and that it even looked cut through the hill. It resembled a pathway going straight through the hill, from the ground to the top of the hill, and when they reached it they all started ignoring what had been behind them and examined the strange pathway trying to give a natural explanation to its exact perfect shape.
Everyone there was convinced that it was artificial, but nobody could explain how it could be created, and why it had been created, as the expense and time constructing it would have been great, and when they saw its smooth perfect walls accurately carved through the sold rock with not even a dent with its perfect and mathematically accurate angles going straight upwards and through it.
The technology behind it was highly advanced and they tried to guess what form of equipment could carve such a creation.
Its appearance at such a location gave it the look of something left there by some past civilization that no longer existed there. Surely its builders could no longer be there as their workmanship would be visible through the island, but some ancient civilization could be buried away somewhere.
The appearance of it, in the hideous place, out of the night, amidst the jungle of vegetation, was staggering.
Even though it was confined and had no escape route other than straight forwards they felt safer entering it, and they had only two locations to watch and defend themselves if attacked, and they were sheltered there from the freezing gusts and snow.
They knew it had to be a place of sanctuary, and a heaven within a hell, out on the edge of realism beyond the bounds of what lay beyond, and they rushed straight into it, trying to return to reality.
For a long time Bryson rushed along with the others and wondered why some of the others were so sure it was an escape route to where they were going!
Quick glances behind him surprised him as there was now nothing behind them and they had escaped, and he saw the sky above and that it looked static, with a slight glow, and he checked it over not fully grasping if it was what he thought it was and that the sun of the world was making its appearance below the horizon, and he even considered if it was his exhaustion and breathing heavily affecting his mind!
They rushed into it trying to get as far away from the jungle as they could, and he examined the rock and its flat hard shape, and felt its rock, and considered what had created it and wondered how far it went into the distance and if it would put them into another jungle area that was the same or worse than there, and he started to realize that the expedition there could be a disaster and even their last that they ever had!
A deep thud like an underground explosion made the ground shudder, which he was sure was some form of earthquake and he looked up to the top of the cliff to see if it had dislodged any rock that could come down on top of them, but he saw nothing except that they had gained a great deal of ground from their original position, and he watched Parker away ahead of them, with two of his scientists, and that he started to react to something, and Bryson gasped and realized that his legs were too tired for him to escape.
Chapter 19
The Canyon
Bryson rested against the canyon wall as he tried to go back to sleep, but he could not. Not because he was not tired enough, but because all the events of the past day and all their actions made his body to energized and alert.
He was also sure it was survival instinct of something and he rested with the others, gaining as much rest as he could, especially if the next day was the same or worse.
Radiance appeared over the canyon and Bryson realized that it was the sun and not another star, and as time shifted by they watched it swiftly appear, at an incredible speed with its white beams shining through the above canyon like an immense spotlight in the sky.
He was still surprised at the large boulders further back that Parker and his two scientists had reacted to when they had seen it falling over the edge of the canyon cliff above. It had been lucky that they had seen it, as it would have killed at least one of them.
What amazed him and them was that it had fallen there, and nothing else had come down anywhere else! It was clear by the almost empty ground of the canyon that nothing really fell, and that it had not happened in along time.
Had the thing in the jungle followed them and been capable of carrying out such an action? Though it had shown to be a beast with many powers, it had not shown any human or abilities to do it! It would have had to have climbed up to the top and followed them along. Yet it had many powers and they had all sensed it and it could have had powers to get there and follow its prey!
They all rested about, ignoring what was behind them at the jungle, and sheltered there and settled down, and Bryson searched around for at a proper view of his surroundings, in daylight. His dreamy sight probed into the canyon tunnel and into the abyss going deep into the horizon, out of reach of their sight, where silky dust blew about in gusts of wind and settled, and as he searched about he covered his mouth with a piece of clothing, allowing him not to inhale any of the dust going about him.
Faint echoes of their breathing and whispering could be heard going through the canyon, with occasional deep gasps for air from many of the others, and Bryson wondered what they were dreaming of, and what would happen to them.
Later he watched glimpses of the figures of scientists and archaeologists moving deeper into the canyon and it eventually made Bryson stand up, from where he had rested, and he vigorously checked through debris about him, realizing something, and that the cavity was created by a highly advanced technology, which he was positive the world had not invented.
The freezing air there now seemed to feel heated with the warm sun and rock about them, which held much of its heat from earlier that day before the freezing air and new world appeared, and he wondered why there was not more storms there with the hot and cold air there, and realized that the island was too small.
By the anxious reactions of some of the others around him he sensed that they believed that something was actually ahead of them, along the canyon. Although the descriptions some of the archaeologists, which had been further along, showed there was little there.
Where could it lead them to? Was it in the same direction as the structure?
What he had heard from Parker and his scientist only confused them of its direction, and showed they never got its exact location!
Everything was there mysterious all around them and the dangers were in the distance awaiting them!
Something about the structure was clearly being hid by them, and they wondered what it was! What would they keep secret?
Bryson just did not know Parker enough to guess what it was!
If it never existed why was it specified in vivid detail from the scan?
His mind conjured up visions of spooky medieval things roaming the island and the structure being of a supernatural structure that shifted its presence.
Yet again everything was far too vague and he could not remember anything like it remotely turning true for some reason!
When the scientists and archaeologists started discussing going deeper inwards everyone seemed to go along with it, and w
ere fully against turning back to the jungle, even during the day, if they could avoid it. But the problem was that they were trapped there and in going in a single direction!
Bryson joined Parker, Merton, and Mortimer at the front of the group and they moved out, while one archeologist suggested covering up where they had been so as not to be traced by anything passing through there.
Bryson rushed along keeping up with their fast start, grasping his torch and putting it away.
What could be at the end of such a construction? If there had been something back there at the entrance it was covered over now, and would be centuries old for it to be covered over in such a way, with the immense jungle growing over it. Unless it had some form of different growth rate caused by something!
Nobody had heard of anything like the canyon before! Its sides had been cut by something with powerful force, and they regularly examined it expecting to see marks from some form of machine.
About a few hours later the canyon changed direction and went from one direction to a sideways one and Parker and his scientists started discussing it annoyed, and Bryson knew the direction that they wanted to go from it and why they were annoyed, and Bryson watched some archeologists and scientists examine the canyon’s bends, which changed its direction, trying to see how it had been formed, and what science had been used to achieve it, but they mainly still never knew.
Many were still tired and still thought of it as night, as it was already getting dark, and wished them to find a good location to spend the night, and the others wished to be further away from the dangers behind them, and from where the rock fell, and they all by some degree wanted to see and discover where it led.
Their normal reactions created a less tense atmosphere amongst them and Bryson wondered what Mortimer thought of things in the jungle. He mostly seemed to be considering it for some reason, and he wondered if he believed that they were of supernatural origins!
It was phenomenal, they had been surely nearly killed and they never had a clue by what! What was the motivation? Was it animal motivations? Did they intend to consume them or kill a danger to them?
How would they handle something like them back in civilization if they were of supernatural origins? He could not decide the outcome of it and if they could not destroy them! And he realized that he still had not answered such a question, after many years!
Parker was not stupid and he did not push things too far, if he could help it, and he allowed them to choose how fast they wanted go at and continually proved that it was the only direction that they should go in, even though he was still slightly depressed in that it had altered direction.
Yet Bryson was sure that he never properly knew where the structure was located and that the direction that they wanted to go in was where they most likely thought it to be!
One time Bryson shifted his light downwards creating a circle of light where he closely examined the debris from the walls of the canyon and he picked up pieces and examined them, examining the cut edges, considering what had occurred there.
It reminded Bryson of a tunnel that had been built for some work to take place, and where they were going! Yet when he thought of it he did not have a clue what it was! What was a tunnel doing out there? Why had they gone to such lengths to construct it going all the way up to the top of the hill above? What hidden motive had been behind that?
They only built it for logical reasons, as all such constructions were, which he could recall, and he could not imagine them putting so much resources into such a project for nothing!
Perhaps it was the only width size that they could cut it and had been able to build it higher, and had used it to allow large amounts of water to be moved around. The jungle at the entrance could have had something else there that needed vast amounts of water.
“Perhaps there was a natural canyon here!’ Merton concluded, trying to answer Bryson, recollecting something such as it. “And they increased the size of it with this?”
“What happened to all the constructions that would’ve been here?” Mortimer continued.
“How could they have built everything about here with all those trees and stuff about?” Professor Thomas, of the Exploration Association, asked curiously.
He shifted up close to them from the back of the group, which was now in a stretched out line going backwards, and Bryson watched the archeologists behind him that he had been with, and decided that they never had any proper answers to his queries
“There’d be some remains of a past civilization being here?” Thomas continued, considering if they had seen anything.
“Perhaps it’s part of a route to get somewhere quicker,” Merton replied, trying to recollect something; maybe from his memories.
“I’ve never seen anything like that!” Thomas continued. “We think, something has to have been behind it! Its technology is not ours! I have never seen anything that can create this canyon the way that it has been created!”
“I’m sure it’s not all from this world either whatever it is!” Merton finally spoke, testing their reactions, and considering it.
“I’m pretty sure of that! It seems in an entirely different environment here! This world is incredible! It’s unfortunate that the island itself is from ancient Earth! But has altered a great deal over the millions of years that it has been away from the Earth!”
Bryson was surprised and realized that the Exploration Association members there had been collecting information and evidence of things, and had been working with the archeologists, and he invited him to stay with him.
The Exploration Association still amazed him, and their unseen findings and research!
Parker pointed his light straight out in front into the distant darkness there, illuminating different parts of the ground like a spotlight, and he crept forward, as if he had decided that he wanted to find the answers to everything no matter what, and the sooner the better, just like they had been doing for many years.
He shifted along determined to examine everything for the slightest clues, examining his steps, as he went into the darkness, which seemed to go endlessly on, and he examined everything.
It resembled an ancient mine with top removed, with a few faint stars sprinkled over the black sky above, and Bryson examined the stars again, and knew he would not recognized where he was as he knew that he was in another dimension, or universe (which he had entered in the last castle that they had investigated).
It had surprised him that some of the other scientists had tried to locate the stars and where they were and believed that the island could have just been moved to another region of space. Some of the others had only said that they thought it was in another galaxy or something, but he knew that it was another dimension, even though it was basically the same.
It was startling that there were no signs of any materials like rubber, parts of materials, and debris. Yet if it was the age it looked and they estimated it, would there be anything there? And he wondered what any remains there would have turned into, and even considered it might be part of the ground rock. But he was sure that it would have been washed away, as the rain and water could get down from above.
The tunnel kept them dreamily going endlessly on into the distance, going where there was nothing but more of it, and they marched off into it preparing themselves and ignoring their sleepiness.
What dangers could the outside world hold for them? Did it have something of an incomprehensible nature existing in its darkness? Had they underestimated the things in the jungle? Could it fly or transport itself to far away locations? It could also know the whole region, and where the canyon led?
All the significations of such places were startling! The normal world had vanished behind them, and it felt absurd that they were doing what they did! The world was like somewhere out of place that should not be there! Nothing seemed to put a conclusion to what it was all for or how it had gotten there!
Merton seemed obsessed with handling fantasy situations more th
an anything!
“Do you want one?” Merton gasped, lighting a cigarette, and blowing out smoke everywhere about him, to the surprise of a few of the archeologists, and one of them quickly grabbed the moment to get out his and hand a few out.
Bryson and Mortimer took one each and smoked them strolling alone together as if in a park or underground cave, and Bryson wondered why they now had them so hidden away anyway, and realized it was only the era that they were in.
Bryson strolled along blissfully puffing away, wondering where the hell they were going to this time. Wondering what he would have taken if he had predicted that they would have found something there? He realized he would have had a bad time carrying what he would have taken, and he wished that they had wine and better food supplies.
It was surprising that the canyon never showed any signs of having flooded, and there was nothing showing water pouring down the rock, or water springs seeping up. He was sure there was no water sources nearby and the top of the canyon was angled away from the canyon cliff, and that the water would not gather and would pour away in the opposite direction. Then he saw signs that the water had been pouring down in small streams, and saw thick layers of dried mud away ahead in places.
Mortimer looked happy and in his natural environment, and at night, with the strange and unusual, with unsolved mysteries everywhere, and he smoked like he was experiencing an expensive cigar, flaring away at his mouth, tasting the smoke, with the smoke spinning through the air behind him, and he felt as though he knew something.
The mystery of where it led to was certainly one of the main inspirations that kept him interested, seeking an answer they knew they had to receive, driving them on no matter what.
If they turned back, they would never know and could even have to face death!
Bryson realized that none of them would have believed that it went out to that length! Their pace now stayed the same and their walk never changed!
The Lost Treasure Map Deluxe Book Collection (2017 Edition) Page 71