Blinding lights filled the cave. Thirteen men covered their faces simultaneously.

Rayman, Kevin, Fin, Billy, and Wolken stood their ground as the giant door opened with a hiss. Everyone else stepped backward and huddled next to the wall, bringing up their shields. Ben whipped around the corner with his torch, hiding, then poked his head out to look.

The blue pulsing lights stopped and through the door, bright white lights lit the inside. Staring in awe of the moving doors and lights that lit themselves on fire, they took it all in.

“How are those torches lighting themselves?” Fin asked, flabbergasted.

“This is a ruin,” Kevin said, in shock. “One of the Ancients structures. The king was right.”

“This one is active,” Rayman stated obviously, still shielding his eyes. “This is a first is it not? What do we do now?”

Normally, Rayman would take charge, but this sort of thing was out of his skillset. Kevin however had gotten a good education and in doing so, learned much of the Ancients. If anyone knew anything, it would be Kevin.

“It’s different from the one I visited in Xer but it looks similar. The torches lighting themselves have something to do with the technology.” Kevin explained. “But I don’t know what we can do. Your touch activated it somehow.”

Many details were withheld due to the kingdom’s regulations of sharing information. However, during Kevin’s own education he had been granted permission to visit one of these ruins which lay in Xer. That one had been dead since the day it was discovered. The one before them was new, unexplored. Alive.

The advanced technology was far beyond anything they could comprehend. To Rayman, the ruins were simply a reminder of the past civilization, never to be understood.

To this day, universities were dedicated to understanding their ancestors. The Ancients remained a mystery. Something had wiped them out and Rayman wasn’t sure he ever wanted to know why.

They were a dead people. A dead language. A piece of the past.

“I remember reading a book on one ruin.” Kevin bit his lip. “There were rooms with glass windows with pictures on them. The paintings could move on the glass and speak out loud. Even images that looked like humans could project themselves like ghosts into the real world.” I never understood what they meant.”

“The one I visited, was dead. We should see what’s inside this one.” Kevin said aloud. “This might be the first chance in history to find out more. More about the Ancients. More about how they went extinct.”

Rayman frowned, disliking the idea of going inside.

“What made the doors move?” Rayman asked. “They moved on their own. How is that possible?”

“What are Ancients?” Billy asked dumbly. “I’ve never heard of them before.”

Kevin turned and looked at the kid. A look of bewilderment and understanding. “I keep forgetting how young you are. What do they teach you in schools these days?”

“Didn’t go to school.” Billy smiled, unabashedly.

Rayman looked over at him, not at all surprised by the young man. The average man to get an education was rare.

“I suspect there is a machine inside that makes things move on their own,” Kevin explained. “I am no expert but I studied several books on them. Look there,” he pointed. “Those are the mirrors that can show moving pictures. I can’t believe this is real. Here. In Vulkira.”

“Let’s keep the explanations short,” Rayman ordered. “Remember. There was something behind this door a few minutes ago. It still might be in there somewhere.”

Everyone’s attention was on the mirror that Kevin had pointed out. No one noticed a low creeping figure coming out of the darkness behind them.

A noise behind Ben made him turn his head to look at what caused the disturbance. The glare of Ben’s torch and light coming from the room blinded most of his vision but he saw something move. It was too late.

A loud howl of pain echoed off the walls, followed by muffled screaming that turned everyone’s attention. Rayman and all twelve men whipped their heads around, but Ben was out of sight. Only a few heartbeats passed before the screaming was cut short. Scratching and growling could be heard from around the corner where Ben had been.

“Ben!” Mark and Steven yelled simultaneously. “Ben, where are you!” they moved towards Ben’s previous position.

“Stay back!” Rayman bellowed as he saw several moving creatures in the shadows.

They had red glowing eyes and they were hunched over like giant dogs. Dozens of figures flooded in, filling the space of the entire cave. It was the Vog.

“Demons!” Mark gasped. “I told you, Billy!”

“Shut up!” Wolkin hissed.

“W-what do we do?” Fin panicked.

They all instinctively gathered together, creating a shield wall. Rayman ordered Fin behind them, protecting the physician. They shifted backward slowly into the doorway.

“Stay calm,” Rayman said. “No sudden movements. Any wrong move could be the end for us.” Rayman ordered. “Keep moving back. There might be a way out through the ruin.”

“I thought you said the Vog wouldn’t attack us,” Wolkin grunted. “

A quickly rising panic gripped Rayman. He needed to think, and fast. His men depended on his cool head and Rayman fought to keep calm.

“Stay together and in formation,” he ordered. “We will find another way out.”

“What about Ben?” Billy asked. “We can’t just leave him.”

“He’s dead,” Rayman stated, fighting to keep his voice level. “Our priority is to get out of here alive.”

Suddenly, everything grew completely silent. Nothing moved, dozens of red eyes stood stationary gazing at them. One stepped out of the shadows, revealing itself completely for the first time. It was around a good two heads shorter than them and was the equivalent of two horse's length including its tail. It had thick layered armor plating all the way down its back. Scales covered the rest of the body. Many sharp bone-like spikes protruded out of its shoulders and down the middle of its head. Bones stuck out on the rim of its jaw, lining its lower mouth with what looked like teeth. Its neck was thick and muscles bulged out from the legs as it stalked closer. Monstrous teeth jutted out of its jaws as it opened its mouth with a low growl.

The Vog was terrifying this close. Its short stubby tail flicked back and forth like an irritated cat. His eyes twitched and its lips trembled. The Vog let out another low growl.

“Stay calm,” Rayman repeated. Seeing everyone tense in fear at the sight of the creature.

“We are all going to die down here,” Zeph almost wept. “There is nowhere to go.”

“Shut up,” Kevin hissed. “Rayman will get us out of this. We just need to follow his lead.”

Rayman silently blessed Kevin for keeping them focused and assuring the men. This was the time to stay vigilant and not lose themselves in fear.

Several more Vog broke from the shadows and followed the first. Dozens of them began to approach, slowly but steadily.

As the Vog moved forward, they moved backward. Rayman and his men entered the metal room, taking care not to run into anything. There were small glass tables close to the walls, and giant panels with windows covering the upper corners of the room. The lights still shone brightly and turned light blue as they entered.

Rayman stood in the middle of the line of shields, he risked a glance backward and saw a fork in the giant hallway. He silently cursed under his breath then refocused on the threat before him.

“They're nervous,” Kevin stated. “They tensed up when you glanced back into the ruin.”

“Yeah.” Billy gulped. “I don’t think they like us going in here.”

“Something’s not right.” Kevin frowned. “Why are they so aggressive? We didn’t do anything to them.”

They made their way further into the ruin and the Vog started hopping about, over and under each other. More snarls and growls, clearly getting more and more agitated.

“What if they are protecting something?” Wolkin guessed. “This is their home, right? What if we stumbled into a nest?”

“You might be onto something,” said Kevin, stiffly. “That’s as good a reason as any. I’ve got nothing.”

“Alright then.” Rayman raised a fist, stopping their backward advance. “If we-”

He cut short as the Vog once again stopped moving, and froze in silence.

“We should try going around them.” Fin offered. “They might just let us leave.”

Rayman’s heart was pounding, threatening to burst from the stress and fear. More growls came from the monstrous creatures but they remained still.

He took another glance behind them, one pathway led to another large room where giant tube-shaped pods lined the walls. Out of several dozen, Rayman saw one glowing a cyan color. Small puffs of freezing air covered the large tube. It was roughly the height of two men and hung on the wall. The second pathway was a long slender hallway, he couldn’t tell if there were doors or other ways out. It curved and Rayman couldn’t help but think it was a dead end.

“Which way do we go, sir?” Billy questioned.

“I thought the Vog don’t attack people.” Fin chimed in, his voice shaky and uncertain. “What do we do?” he echoed Billy’s question.

“I’ve never seen this many in one place before,” Rayman added. “I think Wolkin is right. We’ve stumbled upon a nest of sorts. Very slowly, we’ll make our way to the right side of the room. If all goes well, the Vog will move opposite us, and then we can leave without any more bloodshed.”

He gave the order with his fist, and twisted, gesturing for them to start moving to the right side of the room.

At the corner of his eye, he saw something move. Noticing it too late, Rayman realized the Vog looked past them over their heads, not at them. He jerked his head around to see a massive monster the size of the room. It was so big it could barely fit inside. How it managed to creep up behind them without a sound, Rayman would never know. This must have been the sound they heard previously coming from behind the closed door.

The enormous Vog crept from the second room where the pods on the walls were and lunged at them in the span of a second.

“Down!” Rayman shouted.

The warning came too late. Rayman pulled on Kevin's breastplate and yanked him to the side and simultaneously dove down next to him.

Enormous claws swiped sideways from one end of the room to the next. Wolkin and Billy managed to duck under its attack but the rest of the men all smashed against the wall from the impact. Instantly the smaller creatures pounced on the heap of men, clawing and ripping at flesh and shields.

A brief moment of hesitation at seeing his men being swarmed told Rayman everything he needed to know.

“RUN!” Rayman bellowed.

Without hesitation, Rayman led them down the fork in the tunnel away from the gigantic creature. It stumbled and shifted in the cramped space and tried to swipe at them again. Surprisingly, they were faster and were already on their feet, scrambling down the fork in the path. The huge Vog smashed its head against the ceiling, trying to get its arms under itself and claw at them.

He could hear a deafening growl reverberated through the metal halls. A crowd of scaled monsters immediately gave chase.

Rayman frantically searched for a way out. They had roughly a thirty-foot headstart on them. Kevin, Wolkin, and Billy sprinted behind him.

“They’re coming!” Billy panicked, picking up his speed.

“There! Kevin screamed, pointing at a slender door down the blue-lit hall.

Not daring to look behind him Rayman shot straight for the door. He could feel the presence of the danger behind them. Their footsteps echoed off the walls, claws clanking off the metal floors. Rayman could hear the loud snarls and pounding feet and panic threatened to overcome him.

His urge to escape gave him an extra boost of speed. A panic overwhelming him to get to safety.

Billy took the lead and crashed into the frame of the door. Rayman and Kevin both lost their footing and slid past it and fell to their knees. Scrambling to their feet, Billy grabbed Rayman’s arm and heaved him through, while Kevin launched himself through the air and into safety. Wolkin had slowed, waiting for them to get back to their feet. Luckily Wolkin had held onto his shield and backed into the doorway with it up.

Unable to find a door Billy pressed his back against Wolkin for support as the enormous creatures skidded passed them, clawing and swiping at them. They too lost their footing and slid on the sleek metal ground.

“Close the door!” Rayman screamed at Kevin.

“I don’t know how!” he frantically looked around the room in vain. “There’s no handle!”

Bodies flew at them and momentarily knocked Wolkin off balance even with Billy’s support. Rayman rushed behind him and shoved the shield forward, using one arm to brace it, and his other to brace Wolkin. Kevin awkwardly pushed himself off the ground and quickly joined them.

A headbutt from a Vog almost knocked them all over again. A thick scaly limb reached over the shield clawing at their heads. Giant mouths pushed around the shield, trying to shove their way in. Kevin briefly stepped back and swung his sword at a scaled head. It clanged off the thick hide harmlessly but shocked it enough for it to retreat.

Straightaway another took its place, biting at Rayman. Ducking down, he barely avoided the razor-sharp teeth from ripping his head off. Again, Kevin swung and repulsed the attacker. A momentary respite gave them a chance to breathe.

Looking back over his shoulder, Rayman frantically scanned for an exit.

A moment later a large paw swiped down onto Wolkin, almost crushing him to the floor. Billy and Kevin swiftly reinforced their weight, managing to stand their ground. Claws pulled backward across Wolkin’s shoulder and ripped at his flesh, pulling off part of his chainmail and leaving him bloody.

Wolkin howled in pain but kept the shield up.

Suddenly the force of a ramming machine slammed into them and threw Wolkin straight off his feet backward, opening the entrance. Billy was flung to one side and hit his head against a wall, knocking him out. Kevin and Rayman smashed into a metal table and flipped over backward onto the floor.

Looking up, dazed Rayman noticed where Wolkin had landed. He had been flung ten feet and lay motionless partially inside a large spherical object. Blue goo oozed out from it. Rayman hadn’t seen it during the mad rush into the room.

The gooey liquid spewed out from the thick crumpled outer shell. Wolkin’s body had cracked the object on impact. Still dazed from being tossed over a table Rayman grew aware of his surroundings.

Howls and screeching came from outside and several monsters rushed into the room after them, only to halt in their tracks. A tiny screech came from under Wolkin, making them all pause in shock.

Kevin looked over to where Billy lay. He stirred but his head was bleeding and he had collapsed to the floor.

Movement from Wolkin’s unconscious body caught everyone’s attention, the Vog included.

A small baby creature pushed itself out of the blue goo, knocking Wolkin to the floor and revealing itself. It opened its mouth and they could tell it was screaming in pain. The silent screech ripped at their hearts even though this creature would grow to be a monster. Breaking its shell further it slid to the floor, writhing around as if gasping for air.

The Vog in the room seemed to whimper in helplessness. Unable to aid the baby Vog but huddled around it, ignoring the humans in the room.

Shame filled Rayman as he looked at the poor thing. Guilt nearly overwhelmed him but he quickly snapped out of it and looked for an escape.

“We need to do something,” Rayman whispered to Kevin.

“There’s nothing we can do,” he whispered back, a look of resignation in his eyes.

Lowering his head in defeat, Rayman didn’t know what to do but stand.

“What are you doing?” Kevin exclaimed.

Nothing stopped him as he approached the squirming baby Vog. Its mouth opened in another noiseless scream which yanked at his heart at watching it suffer. More than likely it was suffocating to death, unable to breathe due to the premature birth.

Rayman walked past the monsters huddled over it and bent down without a word. He placed a hand on its warm gooey body and whispered to it. His voice, simply a source of comfort.

Kevin looked in bewilderment. The monsters didn’t try to stop him. Only bouncing around like dogs unable to help their dying child. Whimpers and low squeals echoed off the walls.

Rayman sat down and pulled the creature into his lap and held it like he would any child. It didn’t try to struggle but lay there heaving on his lap. Its chest moved in and out trying to take a breath but unable. Kevin could tell Rayman was terrified but he rocked the baby back and forth, trying to comfort it as it slowly died.

Loud crashes from outside the small room revealed the big one getting closer. Presumably, it was squeezing its way down the narrow hallway, bending metal to do so.

Rayman looked down at the poor creature in his arms and locked eyes with it. It was as if it spoke to him, telling him it was okay. He imagined this thing as an innocent child. Alexi popped into his mind, imagining his daughter in this state and he wanted to weep. Pools of tears formed in his eyes, he thought he could hear it telling him to not blame himself. That everything was going to be alright. He could feel emotions emanating from the dying baby.

Its deformed arm flopped up to his chest and a flood of emotions and pain hit him like a battering ram and Rayman started yelling from the shock. Images and thoughts that were not his flooded into him.

Without warning the entrance bent inward from two giant claws smashing through. With visible strain, the arms ripped the thick metal walls outward revealing the enormous monster from before. It was crouched low and looked awkward but it had managed to bend steel walls at will. Several smaller monsters sped around it, weaving under and over trying to gain a view of the egg.

A roar so loud, Rayman and Kevin covering their ears couldn’t block out the sound, came from the beast. It completely ignored everything and shoved its way toward the dying baby. This was the first time Rayman had got a good look at the thing and couldn’t help but gawk at it. There was nowhere to run or hide, they just sat there watching.

The baby seemed to respond to the giant Vog’s cry and thrashed around even more. Several more Vog entered the room and swarmed around Kevin and Rayman, the baby still in his arms, whimpering as they watched helplessly. Strange groaning sounds came from all of the creatures as if mourning the passing. If the Vog could cry, Rayman suspected they were doing so now.

The premature baby slipped from Rayman’s arms and flopped towards what seemed to be the father. The moment its arm left Rayman’s chest, the flood of pain and emotions vanished making him gasp for air. It made an effort to stand on its half-formed legs but slipped in the blue yolk and fell still. It stopped moving.

Rayman started to cry in realization that he felt what the creature was feeling before it died.

Wolkin had woken from the roar and stared in utter horror, unable to move. Not wanting to draw attention to himself Wolkin stayed completely still.

A moment later, a monstrous red gaze fell upon Rayman.

He thought it would swallow him whole right here and now but it stopped inches away from his body. The smaller creatures started growling and snarling. He guessed they were talking to each other but hadn’t the slightest idea what they were communicating.

Red eyes from all directions looked to Rayman, and shear fear gripped his body.

Rayman felt cold and utterly helpless. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable, thinking of Shay and his two children.