Prodigy Returns (book 3)

Chapter Seventeen

Leaving the pitdador at the forest's edge, Alex and Kyodin proceeded to walk out of the shaded area and into the glade. Alex immediately felt the intense heat from the sun as it bore down on her. Her eyes squinted as she looked around, taking in her new surroundings with an unbridled curiosity. There wasn't much to see, but she remained open to the possibility that 'something really cool' would emerge.

They walked toward a downward sloping hill in an otherwise flat landscape and Alex didn't think anything of it. Making their way down the embankment they soon arrived at the bottom and were once again on flat ground. Kyodin then told Alex to look behind her.

Standing next to her brother, Alex turned around and was shocked to see a large opening embedded into the side of the embankment. It appeared to be some kind of ancient stone doorway. It was covered with thick moss, vines, and shrubbery and had Kyodin not pointed it out, Alex may have walked right passed it without even noticing.

"Cool, right?" Kyodin asked.

Alex took a moment before responding. "What is it?"

"We're not exactly sure, but it seems to be some kind of bunker," Kyodin said.

"You mean, you guys didn't build this?"

"Oh no," Kyodin said. "Father and his team found it many years ago when they first arrived. As you can imagine, they were very excited when they discovered it since it was the first indication of intelligent life existing outside of their home planet."

"Have you ever been inside?" Alex asked.

"Of course," Kyodin smiled. "I didn't take you all this way to show you a door. Come on, let's go inside and take a look."

Kyodin seemed to know what he was doing so Alex followed his lead. The opening was large enough for them to walk in together. Once they were passed the point where the sunlight met the darkness, Kyodin activated a light on his suit and the entire area around them lit up. Alex was apprehensive, but had the ultimate bodyguard escorting her, so she felt safe.

Similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs, the walls were made of stone and were covered with symbols carved into the rock. Where they differed was that the symbols did not portray any pictures, but they were clearly some kind of writing. There was also a precision to them that was unlike the writings found at the ruins in Giza.

Alex had yet to say a word as she was unsure what to say. For centuries, humankind had speculated about intelligent life existing on other planets. The Drake equation was an attempt to assert the high probability of such lifeforms, but never did anyone on Earth receive satisfactory confirmation. Alex was now among a handful of people who had clear evidence that humans were not alone in the universe. The realization weighed heavily on Alex's mind as she studied the surrounding walls.

"You were right, Kyodin, this is really cool," Alex whispered as if they needed to be quiet.

"This is just the beginning, wait until I show you the rest."

They continued to walk further down a long corridor. The air was significantly cooler than it was outside, which felt nice. When they reached the end of hallway, Alex saw a staircase, leading further underground.

"Are you doing okay?" Kyodin asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Alex said.

"Then let's proceed, shall we? Stay close to me."

Winding down a spiral staircase, Kyodin led the way deep into the catacombs. Neither of them spoke a word. The sounds of shuffling feet on the gravely floor echoed off the stone walls. The further they went, the cooler the air became. At a certain point, Alex got chills, but was not sure that was entirely due to the temperature.

The staircase seemed never-ending and with each step, Alex grew more anxious as to what would be waiting for them when they reached the bottom. Her excitement was similar to an archaeologist discovering an ancient tomb. She flirted with several possibilities as to what she might find, but tried to enter the experience without any expectations. Eventually the staircase ended and Alex and Kyodin stepped into a large open room that could easily house a football stadium.

"Whoa," Alex said under her breath.

It was so quiet that they could hear a pin drop from across the room.

"I thought you might like this," Kyodin said. "This underground facility is comprised of a vast network of rooms, corridors, and secret passageways. It would take us many days to explore all of it, so I'll just show you the good parts. Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

"Sort of," Alex responded, thinking of her family and friends at Incarus. "But nothing quite like this."

"We've explored every inch and believe that at one point in time this place was an underground colony that had dozens of families living in it. There are many exit points, irrigation channels, and air vents."

"It almost resembles an ant colony."

"Yes, I agree," Kyodin said excitingly. "We have ants on this planet too. I'm told they are a bit different than Earth ants, but to keep things simple, father wanted to reuse as many names of species categorization as possible."

"Have you ever found more of these underground colonies?"

"No, this is the only one."

"Do you have any indication of what species lived here? Were they humanoid or giant insect-like creatures?"

"Great questions,"Kyodin smiled as if he knew more than he was revealing. "I think there's something you should see."