Jack walked over to an edge of the path and peered into the deep void. Mist hugged the ground, obscuring the details of the lower level. The musty smell of ancient abandoned places wafted up from the darkness shrouding the space below. His headlight moved over the thick, swirling mist that continued under the bridges and flicked back to its previous position. He thought he had seen something move in the mist.
Jane peered over the edge. “What do you see?”
Jack turned with a smile on his lips. “Only my imagination playing tricks.” He noticed the others moved off along the path. “This is certainly one strange spaceship and far removed from what I expected.”
“I know what you mean. It’s not like the type of spacecrafts normally portrayed in science fiction movies like Star Trek and Star Wars.”
Jack glanced around at the strange architecture and then into the misty void. “It’s more like something out of that Alien movie we watched last night.”
“Well, let’s hope we don’t meet any of those aliens. I’m no Ripley.”
Jack smiled. “I’m not sure I’m the hero type either.”
Jane grabbed his arm gently and flashed him a smile. “Oh, I don’t know. I can easily picture you saving us from terrible alien monsters.”
“Are you two coming?” called out Henry, from halfway along the path. He was keen to make sure they all stayed together.
Jane reluctantly let go of Jack’s arm and side-by-side they walked off to catch up with the others.
The group headed for the green glow emitted by something in the room’s center. Everyone was struck speechless when they were close enough to make out its details. Rough sculptured metal rock surrounded the base of three two-yards-wide by five high transparent cylinders, set in a circle. Each was filled with a semi-transparent emerald green liquid and occupied by an alien creature almost as tall as the container.
There were variances in the three creatures’ faces, but all were unmistakably of the same species. Though impossibly thin and tall by human standards, they had a vague humanoid appearance. However, the details of these humanoid appendages resembled nothing human. Long white wire-thick wispy hair grew from the back of the head and wavered in the liquid like Medusa’s snakes. Blood red skin stretched over its face and neck faded into green shoulders that then faded into taut parchment-textured silver skin that covered the rest of its body, except for the wrists and hands, which were also red. Five long slender digits, each tipped with a short black talon, grew from large thin hands.
Jane studied the amazing life forms with interest. “Though a little scary, they do have a certain elegant appearance.”
“I agree,” said Lucy. “Though due to their skeletal appearance, I’m not sure if this was how they looked when alive, or if we’re looking at partially decayed ancient corpses,” She was enthralled by the strange alien beings and pressed her nose to the cylinder for a closer look at one of the males.
“The red skin on their faces, necks and hands gives the impression a layer of skin has been peeled off,” said Theo, not quite believing what he was looking at.
“Is this the crew?” asked Richard, a little shocked by the aliens’ appearance and size, but mostly by their existence.
“One would assume so,” said Henry. “But they seem too tall to be able to move through the corridors and doors we’ve just passed through.”
“Maybe they’re the crew’s gods or some revered species they worshipped,” Eli suggested. “They seem to have been held in some significance to be on show in this cathedral-esque chamber.”
Jack paused at the female alien and ran a hand down one of the four claw-like scratches in the container’s surface.
Max noticed Jack’s worried frown. “What’s wrong?”
Jack pointed at the scratch marks that were apparent on all of the containers. “I was wondering what made these.”
Max shrugged. “Something a long time dead, I hope.”
“Even though the aliens are dead, does this count as first contact?” asked Richard, quickly working out the monetary value of such a discovery as Lucy took some photographs.
“I would assume so,” said Henry, “because no one has come into contact with an alien species, proving they exist, but it’s not something that particularly worries me at the moment.” He turned away from the fascinating life-forms and gazed around the huge space. “We need to find an exit from this room.”
Though reluctant to halt their inspection of the alien life-forms, the others joined Henry in the search for an exit.
Unaware of the yellow eyes watching them from the high balcony, the group moved across the room and soon made another amazing discovery.
At the far end of the room they stared at the gigantic face of the terrifying alien creature their light beams revealed. It was vastly different from the three elegant life-forms previously encountered. Arms stretched out from broad shoulders toward them. One hand, positioned a short distance above a five-yard-high stepped platform, was cupped into a chair-like form and faced into the room. The other hand lay flat on the floor, palm up. A ramp formed in the arm led up to an opening in the side of the alien’s head, in the position where a human ear would be. The whole thing had been expertly sculptured from metal. Streaks of rust, heavier below the lips formed into a viscous snarl, gave the impression blood had seeped between the teeth and poured from the open mouth. With the skeletal theme of the ship, it was something they all thought a distinct possibility. Its eye sockets, vacant and hollow, were filled with such a deep darkness it was easy to imagine something hidden within and peering out at them. Long shards of serrated bone of various lengths and thicknesses surrounded the head like a gruesome sun burst.
“Now that looks like a God!” said Eli.
“The Aztecs had frightening gods, maybe the crew of this vessel did also,” said Henry.
“Rather a god than a representation of the crew,” said Jane. “It doesn’t extrude friendliness. To think of an alien species like that having the ability of interstellar travel doesn’t bode well for the human race.”
“Well, it’s certainly been represented in godlike proportions,” said Eli, joining Lucy in lighting up the room with camera flashes when he snapped off a few photographs.
Richard regretted leaving his camera; he’d left it in his bag back in the cavern. Photographs of the ship and the things inside would be worth a fortune. As soon as the chance arose, he would nip back and collect it, but first they had to find a way out of this room.
Three bridge paths they had not yet tread led to doors, but each had smashed controls. Theo and Eli attempted to pry one open with their ice axes.
On the far side of the room, high above on the balcony, the pair of yellow eyes had been joined by many others. The scent of the new arrivals had drawn the hungry creatures to their next meal. They climbed beneath the balcony and scrambled down the rough walls.
Other creatures, though smaller, but just as deadly, had also sensed the chance of an unexpected meal; they were much closer.
Theo gave up and stepped back from the door. “It’s no good. The join’s too thin to fit the axe point into.”
A soft clicking caused Jack to peer over the edge of path. He saw nothing but darkness and swirling mist caught in his headlight’s beam.
The others had also heard the noise. It definitely came from the lower level.