LOST ISLAND | bxb adventure

30: MAYDAY! MAYDAY!

VIDEO above - One O'Clock Jump, Count Basie 1943

Brad makes a Mayday call not only to save the day but also the planet!

As the three boys hurried down the road to the City of Death, Brad looked around in awe at the array of buildings laid out before them. They were incredibly ancient and the fact that they'd been built by a race of beings from another galaxy totally amazed him. Even though the place was so old, he knew it had to be filled with technological wonders far in advance of those known on the rest of the Earth. After all, they were on their way to call Admiral Nemmings, Commander of the U. S. Pacific Naval Fleet, with a wireless radio set that could call fixed locations and transiting military fleets far away in outer space.

"Holy crap!" Saroh slowed to a walk as they entered the town, and Brad and Kyrri followed suit. The mission boy shaded his eyes with his hand to look around. "If Palua Pae survives its current invasion from space, it'll become the biggest tourist attraction on Earth. Look at these awesome ruins. Built by 'the gods' too."

"They're beautiful," Brad agreed, "and not anywhere near as ruined as most old ruins are. I'm beginning to think all the ancient places on Earth were built by the Andromedans. This looks like old Egypt and all those other locations where the buildings defy even what we know today about construction."

"I told you the Andromedans have been to other locations on this planet," Kyrri reminded him.

Saroh nodded. "It sure makes sense. Someone had to help native people do things they weren't capable of doing on their own."

"This is proof of it right here." Brad looked thoughtful for a moment. "But if Palua Pae survives, Saroh, the governments will never allow civilians to come see it. They'll keep it secret. Letting the masses know that beings from space come to Earth on a regular basis would only scare the crap out of them."

Saroh nudged Brad in the ribs. "Not if they could see Kyrri and his mates. I think everybody'd be happy to have them as visitors."

Kyrri grinned as they strode along and Brad hooted, adding, ""Yah, they'd sure cause a  sensation, especially in the Pacific Rim. But most humans sure wouldn't be happy to see Egron and the reptilians."

Saroh made a face. "I forgot about him. If we ever get out of this, it'll be a real bummer that we won't be able to tell anyone a fuckin' thing about it."

Many of the buildings they were passing were crumbling into ruin, but a surprising amount of them were still in good condition. There were rows of lanes set out in grid fashion and it was still obvious that many of the buildings had been homes, others places of business and recreation. Brad could easily picture the streets filled with happy ancestors of the Pacific islanders leading a peaceful life with the guidance of the enlightened reptilians from Magnatar.

The road followed alongside the stream which widened more and more as they neared the center of town and the temple with its tower high above everything else. Below the building, where the ground sloped down to the stream's edge, were rows of smaller buildings, almost all in disarray. Between them and the stream Brad could see two arched entrance ways that obviously led underground. In front of them were the steaming bubbling tar pits.

Saroh pointed. "There's the entrances to the caves. We went in the one closer to the water but I somehow managed to come out the other one."

"You've already been down in the caves?" Kyrri asked in surprise.

Saroh nodded. "Yep. And it's a long story, one I'll tell you all about when we have the time. A lot of old torch handles are strewn around down there by the pits and they must've made them with wood from Magnatar. They're not rotted in the least after all these years. We'll be able to tar them and have torches."