The Alien Artifact 5 2014 (Novelette)

by Victor Bertolaccini

  It was when they slowed that he properly looked outwards and about him, and realized that the fog formed a perfect halo circle right around them, perfectly positioned all the way round, and was intensifying, and he wondered what they were trapped in.

  “What are we doing?” one of Parker’s scientists spluttered, fighting for air, furious that Parker had put him in such a situation!

  Parker instantly showed how annoyed he was at the way things were going, and walked back towards him.

  “We better agree to something!” he moaned bitterly, giving glances about at things and the mess of the expedition.

  “Where can we go?” Merton intervened, wondering what they would do. Barely able to realize what the outcome would be!

  They all waited for the outcome and a solution and Parker just stood staggered, sleepy and weary, and asked the scientist and everyone, “What do you want to do then?”

  At the same time one of his men shrieked out from behind them, and they immediately turned to see him!

  At that point one of the archeologists removed a gun and he swiftly fired it at something hidden in the trees, like a gunfighter, and the bullet smashed into a tree, and the loud explosion temporarily shocked and deafened them in the deep silence there, sending piles of snow falling everywhere from the trees all through the jungle.

  Bryson was not sure what to think! Where had he found the gun? Why had he used it? Surely it would not be at the cloud?

  For one thing it was not where he fired it, and it was much further out, and he was sure by his reactions that he would not have wasted it on nothing!

  All the men stood ready to be attacked and to attempt to defend themselves from the unknown assassin.

  “What’s there?” Parker whispered, eventually asking him, confused, not seeing anything but the surrounding mist getting in the way again.

  “You never saw that thing?” the man moaned, satisfied by his dramatic display and the deadliness of his weapon.

  They stood confused by what he meant by thing!

  Suddenly, a black humanoid figure rushed out and into the jungle from behind a distant tree, and they stood considering if it was what he had seen and if it was something new, and if it was as harmful as the man had described it, and if it was an inhabitant of the island?

  As they discussed it a radiance emerged out of the jungle and pulsated like a living thing, magically illuminating and intensifying until it was incredibly almost blinding light, stretching shadows from everything around it across its front, with shifting reactions, and Bryson watched the circle of mist around them disperse and shift away from the region, and he wondered how dangerous the new intruder was and if it was what had made the airplane land.

  While they were silently observing it something of colossal weight rushed out and attacked them, causing them to rush away from the location.

  Chapter 18

  The Jungle Monsters

  The radiance viciously pulsated through the jungle behind them as they hurried away, magically illuminating everything about them, except what was behind them.

  Bryson was fascinated with everything, and wondered how surprising the structure would be if they managed to reach there.

  The archeologist with the gun was their best defense against it, and they allowed him to get to a key position that he could use to kill anything that charged out of the dark regions.

  Bryson watched two archeologists beside the archeologist with the gun and realized that they also had hidden guns, and were waiting to remove them when something appeared. It surprised him that out of all the people there that only the archeologists had brought the weapons and were prepared to defend them.

  While they silently listened to its deep pounds they started to see the black shape of some form of creature/beast with immense height and weight moving along through an area that was the most hidden from view from them, where the trees were tightly together and the light was blocked, and trees covered any proper view.

  When it started to look dangerous and able top rush out at them the three archeologists started shooting, ripping chunks off the sides of trees it was behind, and they watched it hide, and Bryson stood stunned by the magnitude of the blasts and explosions, and they scurried away.

  Bryson’s legs became weak driving them through bogs, shifting away to alternative regions to cover their movements, even though they still left a clear trail.

  The three archeologists and the others were left in confusion and unable fully discover all the results of their actions and what they were up against!

  They ran almost blindly through high vegetation, over rough ground, rushing around gigantic prehistoric-like trees, as thick as large vehicles, while silent heavy beast sounds gave away the thing’s presence somewhere behind them, and they occasionally heard smashing branches.

  It frequently resembled something out of a strange nightmare!

  They were almost breathless at times and had to stop to control themselves and move on at a speed that fast enough without exhausting themselves, and a thing stayed away at a distance, and they saw it observing them trying to recognize what they were, with some astonishment.

  One of three archeologists shouted, “Can you see something up ahead?”

  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 were 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 wa
nted 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.