Chapter 66 – The Lost Shiva (7)

The interior of the ruin was rather eerie and desolate. The corridors had signs of battle. There were charred walls that seemed like it got melted by something hot enough to burn through the metal plating of the walls. There were skeleton remains but they were mostly not human. There are human-like remains but most of them were crushed to bits. As if there was something that broke their bones, crushing them through something big and wide.

Archie and the Commander walked through the interiors. They searched for any signs of anything that they could use. Most of the items, however, were unusable. They did not know what they are for. It was far too advanced for them so they could only leave them behind.

The two were in a room filled with equipment. There were chairs and tables. There were strange box-like furniture’s that the two could not figure out what they are for.

They were tired after searching cautiously through the area. Luckily, there were no death traps so far. And even though there are similar looking ones. They were empty and they would only make clicking sounds. The two was happy to hear the sounds. They have been wary, scared at any barrel that points at them.

Archie was stressed out. He felt like a single mistake he would end up dead like Cassia. Meanwhile, the Commander was more steadfast. He tried to take investigate everything while keeping aware of his surroundings. Archie was impressed by the Commander. He could keep his head. He was a person who’s a man in a mission.

The Commander was examining the furniture around him. He had no idea about them. He could only shake his head wryly each time he finished his examination.

Archie was taking a rest in the middle of the room. He would sometimes look at the vines that streak through the ceiling. He could see some odd light shining past this sealed room where a skeleton was trapped in between. The place was a metal graveyard. At least that’s what Archie thinks.

The Commander walked around. He investigated the room before sitting near Archie with a downward expression. “All of these things are beyond us. I don’t understand how any of these things work.”

“They wouldn’t work,” Archie pointed at one of the furniture. “Most of them are either burned or destroyed. I don’t know why but the ropes that are inside them have tiny metal wires. And they are charred. Something must have melted them off.”

“But they are well-preserved,” said the Commander. “I am no historian but I can tell that these things are years old. The metal plating that covers this entire ruin isn’t rusting. Whatever they did, it made these things last this long without any single rust. What is this place?”

“You’ve been asking that question for a while now,” Archie’s brow furrowed. “We don’t know and searching this ruin gives us nothing at all. We don’t understand any of these things. And going on further seemed like a dangerous case.”

“So you want to come out of this place empty-handed?” The Commander glared at Archie.

“I don’t. But the deeper we go down. The tougher it is to take a step. I am not that much of a superstitious person but this place reeks of death and despair. Each hall had signs of battles. Each wall had disturbing burns. There are skeletons that we don’t know off. And many skeletal remains are laid everywhere as if they were forgotten. This place is more of a graveyard than a ruin, a dangerous tomb that preys us with death at each turn.”

Archie said that with clear fear in his tone. The Commander looked at Archie with questioning eyes. “I’ve heard that you are a brave man, Archie of Avilla. Why are you so scared? Why are you this afraid of this ruin?”

“Because I’ve seen what the weapons here could do. You can feel safe in the face of anything with a weapon. But holding an iron sword to a dragon’s face would make anyone feel scared. I consider the death traps around here as dragons and the weapons we have are nothing more than frail iron swords that won’t even damage their scales. Fifteen of your men died instantly at the black orb with metal arms. Cassia and the others also died just by a single weapon attached to a wall. How can I not fear?”

Archie spoke with a grimace. The Commander said. “Yet you still move despite it all.”

“Because I have no choice but to move, do you really think that I’d just go back to the entrance and have myself killed? You wanted something from these ruins. And I’ll be getting something here. All those lives lost just so that we can search this blasted ruin must not be forgotten...”

Archie clenched his fist tightly. The Commander smiled at that.

“You are a good man, Archie. I can understand your fears.”

“I know. That’s why I can only complain. I’ll open my mouth to cope with this bullshit. But it doesn’t mean I’ll stop fearing for whatever that lurks there.”

“I see.”

The Commander nodded. He kept silent and prayed to his God. Archie stayed still in deep thought. He waited for the Commander until he was done. The two then continued their exploration of the ruins. But as they dive deeper they were starting to smell cold air. Archie could feel the windy smell of water. Archie wondered if there was an underground river down the tunnels. But when he and the Commander exited out of the tunnels, they found a strange room filled with giant glass tubes.

There was blue liquid inside the tubes. The Commander inspected the tubes. There was something inside the tubes. They looked human but their appearance was different as if they were mutated. The Commander looked at the tube. He wondered what the creature is inside. But as he observed the creature inside, he cleared the dust around this slant table that had many odd shapes. The Commander patted the dust away, only to feel like he pushed something.

Then, it happened. The tubes that were holding the creatures inside shook. Archie took his rifle and pointed at the shaking tubes. The Commander cursed, “Fuck, I must have pressed something” as he took cover in one table. The shaking ‘awoke’ the specimens inside. And as the tubes retracted, the creatures were released to the floor. They seemed frail but the moment they raised their heads and showed their glowing blue eyes.

The Commander knew he messed up.