"What did you find, Lazarus? Is something on the ground?"
"I wonder if the alien structure extends underground."
"Eh? More work? Come on. We all know there is nothing here. Give up already," Lexus scoffed.
"..." Lazarus stared at the ground. Lexus was right. This was just a hunch. Should they burn more daylight just because she felt something? If they followed her, the sun would set, and they would have to run through the forest in the dark.
"I will help you. You can ignore Lexus. He won't work anyway. So, what do you need me to do?" Xiaolang nodded in approval and came to her. "It's not like Lexus is the type to get a job done anyway."
Then Bob, Anna and Shingo followed.
"Xiaolang…" Lazarus frowned. A good child shouldn't bad-mouth others. That's what the reverend always advised her.
"Huh! What the heck, acting so high and mighty. Listen, it's not because I can't, it's because I know it would be useless. There is nothing here but a piece of rock. Unless you have a tool that can break these steel walls, we should give up!"
"So, where should we dig?" Xiaolang turned to Lazarus, asking for directions.
"Uum… Right here. The whole ground."
"I will help. Hm… it would be best if we had some tools, huh?" Laurel said.
"Here, it isn't much, but we can use some rocks to break the soil." Bob handed them some rocks. After digging through the soil for a while, they unearthed a hard, metallic purple surface. Its surface curved, and light from the setting sun gleamed on it. Despite being buried in the soil for who knows how long, it still retained its glossy finish.
"What's this? It's different from the wall. Why is it curved?" Laurel asked.
"This is a plumbing pipe! If we follow this pipe, we could probably enter!" Lazarus said. Her assumptions were spot on. Every building must have pipes for water to enter and pipes for wastewater to exit. If this is a building and not a monument, they must have a pipe.
"Isn't it too big for a pipe? Even Bob could easily fit in there," Shingo muttered. He knew about plumbing. But the pipes in his mind were only the size of a head at the largest.
"Ah! They might be an aquatic species! That's why there is no door on the ground!" Anna exclaimed. Excitement went through the crowd at the possibility of meeting alien species.
"You are right. It's possible. Let's follow the pipe," Laurel nodded. Despite Lexus' complaints, he still helped Lazarus dig alongside the pipe.
"Ugh!! The pipe went underwater! It's useless!" Lexus said after he dunked his head into the pond. There was an opening there, barely visible under the setting sun.
"I can dive. Xiaolang, can you watch the water for me? Tug the rope if you sense any danger. I have a flashlight watch," Bob said, turning on his watch. "It's waterproof."
"Don't forget to come back as soon as possible, okay?" Laurel said. They didn't know what was in there, and she didn't want to risk it. The pipe might be big, but it was barely over a meter in diameter.
"Yes." Bob nodded, and after taking several deep breaths, he dived into the pond. A few minutes later, he resurfaced with a gasp. He had been holding his breath for a while.
"Phuah! It's fine. It's short. There is a large room inside."
"What's in there?" Laurel asked.
"I am not sure. It's a big room with a few glass panes that look like lamps, but they are dead though," Bob said as he sat on the edge.
"How far is the pipe? You were down there for a bit too long," Laurel said. She was confident in her athletic ability, but she wasn't sure if she could hold her breath for over two minutes.
"Just a few meters. It's basically a straight line, maybe less than ten meters. Then you emerge on the other side. There is air there."
"Alright. I will go. My smartbox is waterproof," Laurel said.
"Hey! My smartbox is the best and most expensive. It's naturally waterproof too!"
"So, will everyone go?" Xiaolang sighed. Apparently, his question didn't matter, as everyone wanted to go. They couldn't hide their excitement at the prospect of the alien structure that lay before them. The hope that it brought them.
With Bob up front, they dived into the pond and through the pipe opening. The pipe was dark, with only Bob's flashlight lighting the way. The group felt the walls closing in on them. Fortunately, it didn't take long for them to emerge into a dark pool inside the structure. Bob shone his flashlight to the side, revealing a ladder.
"Where are we?" Laurel said, climbing the ladder. Just like Bob said, the ladder brought them to a room filled with control panels. It felt like they were in some sort of lab or control center.
"Inside the spire. I wonder what the pipes were used for. It didn't seem like they were an entrance for aquatic beings," Xiaolang said. He took out his phone and photographed everything.
"Anyway, let's explore," Laurel said. "Bob, please lead the way."
"On it." But as their footsteps echoed through the room, light flooded their view. The whole building suddenly came to life as machines whirred in the background.
"Eek!" Anna ducked down, fearing something might come at her.
"Lexus! Did you touch something?" Laurel shot him an accusatory glare. However, exus stood still behind Lazarus. he didn't
"I didn't! Stop with your baseless accusations!" Lexus scowled.
"It probably reacted to sound. Or maybe it reacted to the vibrations from our steps," Xiaolang said. Bob turned off the flashlight as they climbed the stairs.
"Hm… there doesn't seem to be much here," Laurel said. All things considered, the rooms were basically empty, with a few panels here and there. She thought that these rooms must have been specifically designed for the pools.
"I wonder what this pool is used for," Anna muttered.
"Let's go to the next floor," Xiaolang said as he turned toward the spiral staircase at the corner of the room.
"Whoa, it's like a lab." The next room was filled with various liquids in sealed tubes connected to the floor.
"It's like some sort of sci-fi lab," Lexus said.
"Yeah. A real lab didn't look like this. They don't have beakers, monitors, or even a desk for taking notes," Laurel nodded.
"But these liquids can't be normal water, right?" Lazarus glanced at the sealed tubes lining the wall.
"Of course it isn't water. Why would anyone put water inside these tubes? This must be some secret immortality medicine or something. Or maybe it is a dangerous poison that could kill an entire colony with just a drip," Lexus said.
"Lexus… Why would anybody do such things?" Shingo sighed.
"Well, who knows?"
"Anyway, what's on the next floor?" Bob then walked on to the next flight of stairs. The next room was even more bizarre. It was filled with shells. Egg shells. It was familiar, but also alien. They never saw purple or red eggshells. Whatever hatched from these eggshells, it must be native to this land. It was on this floor that they finally met someone. Or something.
"Is that..." Laurel inched closer. Realization came to the group as they saw a pile of bones at the corner of the room with an unknown purple fabric on it. Anna gasped.
"It's dead." Xiaolang sighed. A wave of relief and disappointment washed over him. On one hand, he was relieved that he didn't have to engage with this alien lifeform. On the other hand, help wasn't coming.
He assumed they wouldn't make the best impression. They didn't know how these aliens would behave. They might be hostile, and they had also invaded their home.
"It's a skeleton. It didn't seem to be human," Shingo said. "Yeah, they are definitely sapient."
"The desk, something resembling a pen on the table, and the way they sat there erased any doubt. They even had tattered clothes on them." Laurel nodded.
"They are aliens as well. These skeletons didn't have hands. Nor ribs either. Just a spine," Bob said.
"Huh? How could they not have hands? That's impossible!" Lexus said.
"The head was also a bit too large, don't you think?" Shingo stared at the skeleton's head. Their eyes were a bit small, but the head was easily bigger than a basketball.
"It's definitely not a human skull," Laurel said.
"I wonder what killed them…" Anna said. Xiaolang turned to her, realizing that this wasn't a natural death. There was no way a skeleton could be left here alone. Even if these aliens didn't have any religion, leaving dead bodies alone would pose a serious health hazard.
"Let's pray for them and bury them outside," Lazarus said.
"No. We don't know their religion, and we don't know what killed them. It's best to leave them alone. There is one more stairway left. Let's investigate and then return here another day." Xiaolang turned toward the stairs. Exhaustion crept up on him, but curiosity had won him over.
"... Okay." Lazarus gave a sad look toward the skeleton. She wanted to argue, but as Xiaolang said, everyone here was tired. They wouldn't agree to dig a grave for them. Besides, there was no way this skeleton could survive being dragged outside the pond.
The last floor was mostly empty, with just one single control panel.
"It's empty," Anna said.
"It can't be. There must be something. Let's try to push some of these buttons!" Lexus stomped toward the control panel. There was no way he would return with nothing. He had to at least try to reach out for help.
Just as Lexus approached the control panel, a machine tentacle popped out from the panel. Its needle-like tip turned toward him. Lexus stared at it slack-jawed.
"Watch out!" Lazarus pushed him aside as the needle came for him. The needle stabbed Lazarus' arm, and blood splattered on the control panel.
"Lazarus!" Laurel dashed to her, but Xiaolang held her hand tight.
"Waa!!" Lexus yelped.
"Both of you, get away from the control panel!" Xiaolang commanded. He clenched his spear tight, wondering whether there were more of those needle-like tentacles. He then threw the spear right at the machine tentacle, but it did nothing. It simply retracted to where it came from, went silent as some sort of beeping noise hummed int he background.
"Lazarus, are you okay? Did it do something?"
"I'm fine. It's just a scratch," Lazarus said as blood dripped on her hand.
"We should check that out in the pod. Let's return. It's already nighttime anyway," Anna said with a concerned look.
"You are right. Let's go back," Laurel nodded. Lazarus and the rest of the group nodded. They all rushed toward the pond. Bob turned on his flashlight and led the way.
Through the purple night, they swam away from the spire and to the shore on the other side of the pond. Then, they crept through the dense forest to the lifepod.
"The scarab is gone! Watch your surroundings. Stay close. If you see something, shout. Bob, keep your flashlight on," Xiaolang commanded as dread filled him to the core. Fighting against scarabs in the night wasn't ideal. But they had beaten scarabs before. He believed he could do it again. He just needed to thrust his spear or knife into its flank.
In the end, they arrived at their lifepod with no fight. A trail of blood from Lazarus' arm followed along the way.
I am scared! I am not brave. I don't have any special backstory. I am just a regular kid. Why did I get transferred to this island with all these monsters? Mama. Papa. Please save me. ~Anna