#when they finally listen to my theories and start using that fungus that makes ants kill themselves to wake up coma patients

[vamptastic]

i do all my best "coming up with weird probably wrong but theoretically viable medical theories" when severely sleep deprived. unfortunately this makes it hard to explain once i am properly awake.

[strikersunindie-a]

Adventure Down Underground || Hanson/Scott

@blue-eyed-devils​

Scott had to be flown in by helicopter to get to the top of the mesa. He got a great view of the arid landscape, reminding him once again how far he was from his frigid homeland.

The helicopter dropped him with a cloud of dust, leaving Scott to locate Dr Hanson alone. He’d read enough of the detailed reports to know the dig site, even if it was his first time visiting. A cave marked by First Nations drawings leading down into an extensive underground network left by a lost civilization.

The historical significance of which had drawn Dr Hanson, but Scott was more interested in finding the cause of their demise - for it’s modern day applications.

Scott figured he wouldn’t find the man in the cluster of tents, so he pulled out a torch from his backpack and started his descent into the caves. About halfway down the cave floor changed to rough-hewn steps, eventually leading down to a big cavern with buildings and walls cut into the stone. A series of flickering torches led him down to where Dr Hanson was working.  

The man must have heard him approach but didn’t look up, seemingly too entranced with his work. Scott hadn’t met him in person before, only spoke briefly on the phone. He was taller and more fit & handsome than he’d expected. Scott stowed his backpack by one of the metal cases and dusted off his white shirt before approaching Dr Hanson.

“I’m Scott Verdant,” he said, offering his hand. “I believe you were expecting me?”

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Hanson had surprised the crew when they first met him as well. As the leading archeologist, they were expecting some nerdy academic, with thick rimmed glasses, sunscreen all over the place, and either sweating buckets with just a few steps or overly lean. Hanson was fit and definitely caught the eye of a couple of members, but he ignored it all and had them focus on mapping and setting up the caves.

It was magic when they finally discovered the route to the city of stone. Despite centuries of neglect, nearly all the buildings were intact. It took them days to set everything up, knowing they were going to eventually explore each one to see what life was like inside. Unfortunately, the items inside weren’t as intact, as opening the door to one with the utmost care caused many items to finish turning into dust. With the funding they received however, they used a machine to chart the place, similar to sonar.

Hanson was examining one house with certain inscriptions when he heard someone approaching. He just assumed it was one of the workers, giving him an update, but he didn’t think it would be their financial savior!

“Mr. Verdant! Welcome!” Mr. Hanson walked over to the man, taking it and giving him a strong and enthusiastic grip. “You’ll be very pleased to hear we’re making great progress on everything. Come!” The excitement was almost like a kid’s at this point, as he showed the drawings he was examining.

“So this is interesting because somehow, this is similar to Anasazi drawings and language. Yet it’s older, meaning this would be a connecting point to that tribe that mysteriously disappeared. At this point, I can tell you that it wasn’t another tribe that wiped them out.”

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Theirs was a mutually beneficial arrangement. He funded Hanson’s expedition and Scott got access to anything unearthed. Hanson’s eyes lit up as he spoke passionately.

Passion is good. Means he’s fully engaged with the task at hand and more tractable. Boys and their toys….So predictable.

Scott came in closer and quickly glanced over the drawings. “You found these here? Do you think we’ve finally found the lost tribe?”

He considered Hanson’s conclusion for a moment. “So not another tribe. Maybe my theory that this is a special religious site is more plausible. Maybe they had a mass sacrifice and must be somewhere special. How the progress going on the lower levels?”

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“Perhaps, but we haven’t been able to find any remains inside. Each house is practically sealed, any new motion might turn the contents into dust. That machine you got for us however is helping us map each one though.” He knew that Hanson would want some artifacts for his personal collection, but Scott hoped that he would at least get to examine and photograph them for research.

“I’m not sure about the mass sacrifice, but it definitely possible this was a religious site. Or perhaps something similar to a last stronghold, where they go for safety.” It was pure speculation at this point, as he’d need more time to examine everything.

“However, we’ve opened the way to the lower levels at least and cleared a path. There is where it’s real interesting. Come,” he said as he clipped a portable light to himself. “Once we found this, I wanted us to double back and examine each place carefully, in case we can find more things related to this.” As they traversed down, things got darker, but it was definitely carved out. At the end was a massive wall, but had a few indents in it that were definitely man made.

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He followed after Hanson, eager to see what they might find. Scott was inexperienced with being on dig sites and archaeology in general, but he knew a fair amount about geology and the natural world.  

He noticed how the rock changed the further they went down. Softer sandstone changing to denser rocks like granite in the torchlight.  “There just has to be so much more than what we’ve found. To sustain a community of this size to build all this….they’d need a fresh water and food source. Where’s the signs of all that? There just has to be more to unearth h-”

A rock suddenly crumbled underneath his foot. Scott stumbled forward, bumping smack into Hanson’s surprisingly solid body. “So sorry,” he said, steadying himself. He gave the man’s shoulder a brief pat. “I should be more careful, less excited.” He smiled ruefully and gestured for Hanson to continue the way.

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Hanson was familiar with the area and knew where to stand. He was also rather light footed because of the fact many places could simply crumble underneath a step. Scott however, was not. So while he was a bit startled by feeling the man’s body against his own, he held firm so Scott didn’t fall anywhere else. Then he turned around to make sure Scott was secure before turning to the wall.

“I’ve only allowed a few people in here because they know how to examine things. Please, don’t touch anything. Even something like the oils from our fingers can affect the composition and quality of any artifacts.” Hanson didn’t like having to tell his benefactor this, but it was necessary.

He pushed open the wall and revealed a rather large cave. It was raised, as much of the floor was covered in water that led even deeper. The walls were covered in a bio-luminescent algae, that revealed patches of mushrooms and other fungus growing. “The water must have come from there, while they ate the mushrooms. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if these are poisonous or not, or if the water is actually safe to drink either.” There were paintings there too, around the algae on the wall, of creatures that didn’t look like the humans they’ve seen everywhere else.

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Scott wanted to point out it was an accident, not deliberate, but he held his tongue. The man had a point and there was need to distract Hanson further.

He followed after the man, down through to a cave covered in fungi, bio-luminescent algae and rock art. “It’s beautiful…” breathed Scott, as he looked all around.

“You think the fungi was still around in their time? Maybe some of it has hallucinogenic properties,” he wondered. “How deep is this water? Perhaps there is more to be revealed in it’s depths… -but after we’ve fully explored this complex, of course.” he quickly added.

Scott raised his torch to view the cave drawings as they passed. Beautiful… so pristine…But nothing unremarkable. What if this site comes up empty? That this whole project’s been a waste of time and money?

He followed Hanson through the cave, down some rough-hewn steps that seemed to go on forever till eventually they stopped at a passageway, cleanly cut into the stone. Already Scott could tell the masonry was different here. The passageway led out into an enormous ante chamber, filled with countless carved stone pillars and other things Scott didn’t recognise. The chamber was so big, his torchlight didn’t reveal the end to it.

“Wow!” Scott didn’t know where to look first. “Hanson! This is incredible! This is it, right? You’ve found it!”

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Although Hanson had lectured Scott just moments before on proper behavior at a site like this, Hanson couldn’t help but enjoy the look on Scott’s face. It was as if the man got younger again, the stress of life seemingly lifted as it was replaced by wonder and awe. It was how Hanson first felt when he first saw the giant t-rex skeleton in a museum.

“I have to study some more to confirm it, but yes, I do believe that this chamber was likely used in some sort of ritualistic manner.” The chamber was huge underneath the earth, though there was clearly air filtering in through some natural vents.

“If you look closely at the pillars here, you can see markings of some sort that are repeated on each of them, with only very slight differences. And they all lead to that center,” he said as he pointed to each one with the torch. “I wish to leave this last while we explore further up, to see if we can gather clues as to the details of each markings,” he said to Scott, hoping the investor would listen to him.

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Scott aimed his torch in the direction where Hanson was pointing. The centre had some kind of stone altar, or at least what appeared to be to Scott’s untrained eyes. Below the altar, a channel was cut into the stone, leading away into the shadows.

“Are those cut lines down there to capture blood from their sacrifices?” asked Scott, thinking out-loud. The run-off might lead to human remains -  And I can finally get a sample of the disease!

“Wonder where it leads to?”  Too excited, Scott immediately set off after it.  A half-dozen paces and there was a soft click!  A sickening sound of stone scraping again stone echoed in the chamber. Scott stumbled. The floor beneath them started to give way.

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Scott felt a strong hand gasp his as he fell. Sliding on stone into darkness for a few scary moments. Scott tumbled on a hard surface before his whole left side slammed into solid stone, his skull hitting it with a lound thump. “Are you alright?”  asked Hanson, from somewhere in the dark. “I’ll live,” muttered Scott, rubbing his pounding head. It felt a little sticky.  Must be bleeding. I'm getting too old for this. His eyes adjusted to the gloom, lit only by the flashlight that must have fallen with them. Scott pulled himself to his feet with a groan. “It looks like this might have been a dumping ground for sacrifices,” stated Hanson. “What was that? Was that you?” “Hmn? Oh that’s a snake. Easy now. Stay still while I find it.” Scott grabbed the flashlight and looked around for the snake. “He’s just warning us that we’re in his home. Give him space and he’ll be fine.”  The flashlight’s beam revealed a number of snakes, most were relaxed and out of range, except the one coiled up in strike position near Hanson. “Stay calm. That’s it. I’m gonna distract him, and you’re gonna step back towards me when I do.”   Scott slowly bent down to pick up a rib bone. “Alright,  ready-”  He tossed the bone with the snake’s reach, but away from Hanson. The snake dived after the bone, sensing movement in the air. He sighed with relief when Hanson stepped beside him, the two men pressed close together against the wall. “Phew. I didn’t want to tell you that was a black  desert cobra and pretty venomous. You good?”

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Hanson was a bit surprised by how concerned Scott sounded. Of course he knew that snakes around here probably were poisonous, as he worked in these environments. But anti-venom was on the campsite, not on him, and even all of his powers couldn't stop that. When he saw Scott toss the bone, Hanson jumped to Scott's side against the wall. "Yeah. But how the hell are we gon a get outta here," he wondered aloud, looking at the walls and ground to see if there was an way out. There had to be, since even snakes needed oxygen to live. They were still breathing after all so there had to be an exit. "Guess you're getting a bit more adventure than you paid for," he joked as he looked at Scott, trying to lighten the mood."Here, hand me the light," he said. Looking around, he waved the light up above and saw a bunch of stalactites, but one area was clear. "There. I think we need to find a way to press it. Otherwise we will be stuck here." Looking down at the ground, some snakes were nearby but they were relaxed at the moment too. "If only we could make a torch. The fire would scare them away," he said, trying to figure out who to do so without revealing his ability.

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Scott passed Hanson the torch and looked up where he was pointing the light. a A bunch of stalactites. What’s he thinking? All the way up there?

 “Um...how would we even get there?  You on my shoulders? I'm not a smoker so no lighter or matches. Nothing to burn anyway, unless you’re counting clothes.” Scott paused to check his pockets. “But I do have a Swiss army knife. And some gum, if you want.”   He lightly touched Hanson’s arm. “Shine the light back down here. Maybe we’ll get lucky.” 

Scott took hold of Hanson’s hand, an unconscious gesture, needing the other man close and safe as they inched along the wall, away from the snakes. His foot crunched on something in the shadows more solid that sand. Scott immediately stopped, feeling Hanson bump up against his backside. “There’s something down there. Point the light down a bit.” 

 The light revealed a pile of bones blocking his way. Scott didn’t recoil, instead it got him thinking.  “Now if I had a chamber with a trap door or sacrificial pit, I wouldn’t want the dead bodies stinking up my lair. No, I’d want them cleared out.” 

 He knelt to start moving the brittle bones away from the wall. They were tangled up with bits of god knows what else but Scott grit his teeth and worked them free revealing a fair-sized opening cut