Quantum Mirror Series

Quantum Mirror Series 10 1

The vortex reached out and then splashed back into the gate. Three seconds later Ford emerged and walked down the steps onto the new jungle world.

"Woooooo!" Colt bellowed as he crossed the event horizon just before the gate closed. The steamy heat and the smell of the jungle washed over Colt. "Uh aw! What's that smell?"

"The jungle is not always filled with pretty flowers," Natock said in a low tone as he waited for Colt to come down the steps.

"What is it, like a hundred and twenty degrees here?" Madison asked as he passed Natock and stepped into the thick jungle brush.

"MALP said ninety six degrees with eighty three percent humidity. Mine as well be Hawaii," Ford said with a smile. "Let's go for a walk."

The gate closed behind them, and the sounds of the jungle quickly returned to normal.

"Natock, take point. Washington, take the rear," Ford said, as they walked away from the gate.

SG Ten walked on in silence for half an hour before Colt's attention span reach its limits. "Ok, so ten bucks says ancient Mayan temples...probably full of alien monkeys."

"I'll take that action," Madison replied.

"I got ten that says lizard people instead of monkeys," Ford said, over his shoulder.

"God, I hope not. Those little gater people were a pain in the ass," Colt said.

Natock raised his fist and froze, and everyone stopped. Colt and the rest of the team dropped into a crouch, waiting for instructions. Ford silently jogged up behind Natock, and crouched down beside him. Natock pointed up into the trees. Ford looked where he was pointing and saw why he stopped.

Fifty feet above the ground, in the lower tree canopy, a ten foot by ten foot cage hung by a tangled parachute from the thick branches. The metal door of the cage had been torn open from the inside, and swung slowly as the trees swayed in the wind. Ford and Natock exchanged quizzical expressions. Ford looked ahead half a mile and saw a similar cage at the base of another tree. It's parachute was torn and partially covered the square metal cage.

Ford gave the signal to advance with rifles at the ready. They continued on another mile, and the invisible path that Natock had been tracking became wider and more obvious to Colt. It finally opened up to a massive clearing. Bright sunlight washed over the skull strewn field.

Ford signaled Ten to fan out and look for danger. Colt examined the clearing for a few seconds as he skirted the tree line. He didn't need Natock to explain what it was to him. The skulls of at least twenty different alien species on spikes decorated the clearing. In the center of the clearing there was a large pit filled with scorched bones and ash. Three metal crates with a thin band of alien script engraved across the top sat beside the fire pit. It was a hunting camp.

They scanned the area around the camp, but found no signs of the Hunter. Ford waved everyone to the center of the clearing by the dead fire pit. As Colt approached the fire pit he stopped to examine one of the skulls. To his left was a long curved skull with a smooth top and thick ridges along the sides and bottom. Colt didn't see any orbital sockets and wondered if the creature even had eyes.

To his right there was a T shaped skull that was three feet wide with a sagital crest that extended upwards almost three more feet. It's mouth was wide and very angular. Like the skull to his left this one had no orbital sockets either. Colt looked past them and counted twenty three more skulls placed on spikes around the camp.

Colt passed an obelisk with chains bolted into its side. He couldn't tell if the structure was stone or steel. He'd never seen any material like it before. It was obvious to Colt, however, what it was for. The dried blood stains made that clear enough.