The Lost Treasure Map Series (70 page)

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 t
hey 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 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.