Just west of the mountain range in the Lake District, Demadrian, Jenna, and a small team of technicians were on an expedition to locate new resources to extract. Demadrian and Jenna were the grandchildren of Locum Alset.
Demadrian was a technical genius. He was considerably more athletic than most other Linap. Demadrian was often absentminded and lacked refined social skills.
Jenna was both a talented sociologist and archaeologist. She was a much smaller build than her muscular cousin. She also lacked his scientific gifts.
The two together made a great team. The two often went on adventures together. They had become very close.
‘I’m picking up something interesting below the surface,’ said Jenna as she looked at the readings on their machinery.
Demadrian looked over her shoulder. ‘It’s an air pocket,’ he said. ‘A very substantial one.’
‘I think it’s much more than that,’ replied Jenna. ‘I think it might be a cave or even an underground tunnel.’
‘How deep is that?’ asked Demadrian.
‘A little too deep for us here,’ replied Jenna. ‘But it is slightly inclined.’
Demadrian rubbed his chin. Then he walked over to a technician.
‘Add to our expedition log,’ said Demadrian to the technician. ‘We’re going to explore this underground cave.’
They followed the tunnel in the direction it was inclining closest to the surface. They monitored the density of the rock beneath them to find a spot where they could drill downwards. After several hours of travelling, they reached the east mountain range.
‘This is going to be too tough to get through,’ said Jenna as she looked frustratingly at the mountain range.
Demadrian looked at the recordings on their machinery. ‘We need another plan,’ he said as he looked at the mountain. ‘The entrance to this tunnel has to be around here somewhere. I suggest we look for a cave. Do you want to go north or south?’
‘North, of course,’ replied Jenna with a smile.
‘I admire your confidence,’ said Demadrian. ‘It feels like more than just an educated guess.’
‘They headed north. After about half an hour, they encountered some fallen rocks.
‘Scan this area,’ Jenna told the technicians as she pointed to the rocks.
‘Hahaha,’ laughed Demadrian. ‘A cave hidden behind fallen rocks. Sounds way too much like wishful thinking.’
‘No, it looks deliberate,’ replied Jenna. ‘Therefore, there must be a reason. A possible reason is to hide a cave.’
‘There is a large air pocket behind these rocks,’ said the technician, looking up at Jenna.
Jenna smiled at Demadrian. She then turned back to the technicians.
‘Great, let’s remove them,’ she told them. ‘I won’t get in your way.’
‘Let’s set up camp for tonight,’ said Jenna to Demadrian. ‘I have a feeling we might be here for a while.’
A few hours later, camp was set up. Demadrian went in his tent to rest for the night. Jenna was too excited. She stayed up to watch the technicians continue with their work.
The next morning, Demadrian came out of his tent. The cave was fully uncovered. Demadrian entered the cave. He turned on a portable light. The cave appeared to go deep into the mountains. Demadrian continued exploring. He saw a light up ahead. It was Jenna.
‘I found our tunnel,’ said Jenna as she shone her light towards Demadrian.
‘Looks like our ancestors found a cave and then made the most of it,’ said Demadrian.
‘They didn’t find it. They made it,’ said Jenna as her face lit up with enthusiasm.
Demadrian rubbed his hand along the wall. He then shone his torch at it. ‘Good grief!’ he said. ‘This has been intentionally cut.’
‘This is etinarg,’ said Jenna. ‘No basic tool could have cut through this.’
Demadrian shone his light around the cave as he studied every surface carefully.
‘Something caught your interest, cousin?’ asked Jenna curiously.
‘I’m looking for something that doesn’t belong or is a little out of place,’ said Demadrian as he paused between words.
Demadrian rubbed his hand along the wall. He stopped and then he smiled. He pushed the wall hard. A small, square-shaped piece of stone shifted into the wall.
‘Let’s go back and get some tools,’ said Demadrian. ‘Looks like we’ve found a secret passage.’
Jenna stayed in the cave to inspect what Demadrian had discovered.
Ten minutes later, Demadrian returned.
‘This is some fascinating engineering,’ said Jenna with enthusiasm.
‘Pretty rudimentary if you ask me, but if it keeps you happy,’ joked Demadrian.
Jenna gave him a hard nudge. She then shone her light on the square so Demadrian could see what he was doing.
Demadrian inserted a jack-like tool into the square. He then began to crank it. The larger stone panel next to the small square began to slide across. Demadrian cranked as hard as he could. The jack was soon fully extended. Demadrian pulled it out and inserted a larger jack. He continued until the stone had shifted sufficiently for them to get past it.
‘Ladies first,’ said Demadrian as he gestured to the gap in the wall.
Jenna started to climb through the gap. Suddenly, she slipped. She gasped in shock and quickly grabbed the larger stone and pulled herself up.
‘You could have told me it was a straight drop,’ said Jenna angrily.
‘Sorry, but you always tell me you like to find things out for yourself,’ chuckled Demadrian.
They both shone their torches down.
‘Looks like a little ladder has been carved into the wall,’ said Jenna as she looked up at Demadrian. ‘It’s narrow and possibly a long way down. No wonder you’re too scared to go first. No need to worry. Just follow me.’
Demadrian shook his head as he shone his light down so Jenna could see.
Less than a minute later, Jenna reached the bottom.
‘It’s not as far down as it looks,’ she called up. ‘Come on down. We can explore together.’
Demadrian nervously looked down. He could see Jenna. She was not too far away. Demadrian climbed through the gap and turned himself around. He slowly and cautiously made his way down. A few minutes later, he reached the bottom. As he put both feet down, he sighed in relief.
‘Well done,’ said Jenna as she patted Demadrian on the back.
They both turned around and shone their lights ahead. They were in a tunnel.
‘Wow, this is amazing!’ gasped Jenna. ‘This tunnel has been made with some very sophisticated technology.’
‘I tend to agree, but how is this possible?’ asked Demadrian with a baffled look on his face.
‘I’m consistently talking about the possibility of lost ancient civilisations,’ said Jenna as she looked disappointingly at Demadrian. ‘You only listen when someone mentions gadgets.’
‘Gadgets have completely changed our world,’ said Demadrian. ‘Gadgets got us into the cave. They opened up this tunnel, and they are providing us with the light to explore it.’
The two of them continued walking down the tunnel. They shone their lights at the walls and ceiling.
‘Look at this,’ said Jenna as she tugged Demadrian’s arm.
‘Looks like these guys wanted to decorate their tunnel,’ said Demadrian sarcastically. ‘Let’s give them a gold star.’
‘This isn’t decorations or even just art,’ said Jenna, sounding stern. ‘It is a message from the past.’
‘Woo wooooo,’ said Demadrian in a creepy voice.
‘Take a closer look,’ said Jenna. ‘Tell me what you see.’
Demadrian shone his light at the drawings on the wall. He rubbed his hand over them as he and Jenna continued to study them until they reached the end.
Jenna turned to face Demadrian. Demadrian frowned.
‘Am I right?’ asked Jenna.
‘I’ll hold the lights. You photograph it, section by section,’ said Demadrian, sounding quite serious.
‘Do you think you can decipher it?’ asked Jenna, sounding a little nervous by how serious Demadrian was looking.
Demadrian shone his light down the tunnel.
‘There’s a lot going on down here,’ said Demadrian. ‘We need a bigger team and our best equipment.’
‘I’m so glad you are taking this seriously,’ said Jenna, sounding pleased.
‘You are right,’ said Demadrian. ‘A very sophisticated civilisation. They used pictures as a form of universal language. I think they knew they had limited time. So they left a warning to any advanced civilisation that might follow them.’
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my 
