The Amazon rain-forest is unnaturally humid. Yes, I understand the irony in that statement. But it's true. How any civilization thrives, let alone lives in this climate is beyond me. But, I guess if I was raised here, I wouldn't know any better. As much as I dislike this particular part of nature, I specialize in it.
I'm an environmentalist from one of the most prestigious universities on earth. To get into this school, I proposed theories to reduce carbon emissions by 15% in major cities by implementing a custom filter, which the prototype I made in my garage, and this got me a full ride. As my farewell to the years at this university, I revised my old research, and tripled the results. I'm an environmentalist who dabbles in clean engineering. I monitor earths every breath, its movements, and I make sure we don't damage more than we have to. Which is not at all, but that's a losing battle to bitch about at another time.
With me in this “green hell" are 4 guides, some from the region, some from other universities.“Professor Wheeler, we stop here" said one of the guides as he swung the machete at the relentless vegetation. Luckily, he said so before the ground beneath our feet dropped into a massive sinkhole like structure.
I say “sinkhole like" because it didn't show the normal signs of being one. No signs that limestone dissolved and gave way. In fact, the edges seem to be what you would find around the caldera of a extinct volcano. Which, volcanic activity would explain how flora became so lush in this region. This would also give us a reason for the seismic activity not far from here. A extinct volcano this deep in the Amazon would be a great notch on my belt. One of the guides, the man with the fire red hair, was in fact a volcanologist sent with them for that very reason. The main guide, a small boy, walked the trail with no shoes. A feat I can't comprehend. We quickly made our way down the hell within hell.
Old pottery, and other artifacts from another time littered the inside of what was beginning to look like a labyrinth of a cavern. Even here, we still were getting seismic readings. Small, and harmonic. Which, in all other situations, is a tale tale sign of an oncoming volcanic eruption. Otherwise, they would have to be man made. Another feat I cannot comprehend.
The boy without shoes stopped. The other guide, went to his side, in what seemed like a coaxing manner. “This place is haunted, huh bud?” the fiery haired man joked. “I do not understand that word sir” said the guide. “Oh, well...occupied by spirits. He replied, “The dead.” “I see..” said the guide. “This place is not what you say. There is no dead here. This place is occupied.” “Occupied? I thought this place was cleared for exploration beforehand?” I exclaimed. “I didn't expect to deal with a tribe of natives, several hundred feet underground” said the red haired man. “No sir, these grounds are occupied by one entity. The spirit of the world resides ahead.”
That was a new one. The natives have mentioned river gods and cloud demigods, but the spirit of the world is as notch worthy as the possible volcano. As insane as this sounded, the evidence progressively showed that the area was most definitely occupied. But, not in the sense of someone living down here. It just looked well kept. No dust. No mold. Just smooth walls.
There was suddenly a change in the air. It became fresh. Not damp and mildewy like before. And this occurred after passing a certain threshold, of which I was uncertain. And we all stopped. A throbbing, pulsing, hum filled our ears. “Holy shit..” said the red haired man, “these readings have to be from some sort of machine.” Still further we went. The hum growing ever so slightly. Until, finally, the inclined leveled. The end was found.
Upon the walls, were runes, gems, and crude representations of what can only be conceived as a depiction of fire and the sun. “Jesus christ…” murmured the red hired man. “Look at this...these runes...they're..Greek. How the fuck..” He was right. They were absolutely Greek. They were accompanied by nordic runes as well. Considering no civilian are allowed here, with the hostile tribes and all, this can't be graffiti. Besides, the gems are genuine.
“Can you read this?” I asked. “Oh yes. It's very clear. This is a depiction of Gaia.” “Gaia..” I replied as I put my hand to the depiction. As soon as my calloused hand made contact with the smooth cave wall, my entire bodied seized.
My entire mind felt as if I was jolted from a dream. I saw the cave. And I saw it change. Time itself was rewinding before me. I saw the entire history of this place. The region. The continent. I saw the void of space. The vast cosmos. The formation of nebulae and galaxies. Worlds burned and cooled, collided, and vanished. But the crafts I saw dwarfed those planets. They were piloted by beings who's features seemed a blur. And even from just this observation, I could feel the intent of the beings. They were leaving...things behind, from planet to planet. “World souls.” I said out loud.
I was back in the cave. The gems on the wall immediately illuminated. One of them darted from the wall towards my hand. More visions followed. Human history. Technology. Destruction. The development of nuclear weapons. I could sense that's when this...thing, started being active. Sentient. I was back in the cave once more. The rest of my group all seem to have just experienced what I have. Our body language communicated it clearly. There was another entity with us.
Crouched at first, illuminated only by what can only be described as colored energy emitted from our hands. The gems...felt...incredible. Mine made me feel like a pure cloud, a fresh breeze. I could hold my breath forever it seemed. I looked to the red haired man. His stone was brilliant. I felt immense heat. But, felt completely safe. And I was safe. No one was harmed. This entity rose. His skin was a smooth silver blue. What seemed like hair was emerald green. “Alright you some of a bitch”, I said I a drew my flare gun and pointed it at the entity. “Don’t fucking move.” The entity chuckled. HE chuckled. Then what felt like an eternity, the entity, with a voice that filled the entire cave, spoke once more.
“That's a new one. Never been called that. You know...back in the day...they used to call me captain."
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from Short Stories https://ift.tt/2BYWmAQ
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