A Question of Humanity

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:42 am

"I'm Dane," the big man replied. "It isn't an archeological expedition, not a legitimate one. All the signs are wrong. Too much money being spent to be pot hunters, so it has to be a commissioned looting. And something scared the hell out of them. I hope it was the cops." He didn't sound hopeful.

fgalkin · Post by **fgalkin** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:09 pm

"It's not illegal, not entirely. This looks like the cover for some corporate operation. It's just that it's....strange. Best thing I can think of is they're looking for rare metal deposits, platinum group possibly. But they're going at it by analyzing pre-Columbian trade patterns, which seems....counter-productive, to say the least." she shrugged.

"None of this makes any sense. Why point the beams in the sky in the first place? Why leave suddenly? And it's not only the people who left, in case you didn't notice. Where are the animals? This is the jungle, you saw what it's like on the way here! And yet, this place is completely lifeless! Something very strange is going on here. And I want to know what."

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Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:22 pm

"Oh something strange is going on, I grant you that," said Dane. "I took a few courses in anthro and archeology in college. Did a stint on the field school. Whatever the fuck this is, it isn't a legitimate archeological expedition. We aren't going to do anything by crashing around in the dark though. We've got essential survival gear. Fuel, lighters, water collectors, food. Clothes. Packs. Now we need weapons and we need to sleep together with a watch."

fgalkin · Post by **fgalkin** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:26 pm

"Dark? It's almost bright as day here, and I'd say we need to make sure whatever scared the people away into the night is no longer here, and we need to do it soon, before the lights go out. We should at least see what's in the command tent. Maybe there's a radio or something," Nadya said and disappeared into the command tent.

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Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:29 pm

The interior of the command tent is still lit up, even though everything else that draws power, including several computers, is unplugged, including the radio. Strangely, not only is the radio unplugged, but it is also missing several of its important connecting wires, in contrast to the computers neatly put away with all their parts. Sitting open next to the radio however is the communication log, open to the latest page. Most of them have the time of incoming and outgoing message neatly labelled, but the last few entries the hand writing becomes increasingly distressed and the time stamps are forgotten.

Those who can read Spanish find the most recent entries read, from the top of the page to the bottom

In 16:38 Appraise of fuel sitaution

Out 16:39 Supplies critical, only what is available in the individual tanks. Will not last the night

In 16:39 Run all lights anyway. Vital importance to keep them on. Air retrieval expected at 00:30

Out 16:41 Estimated supplies will not last that long. Send something else sooner

In 16:42 Scrounge more, only have one transport capable of retrieving package

Out 16:44 Acknowledged

Out 22:14 Weather conditions worsening. Please advise

In 22:15 Retrieval still go. Will attempt to send additional fuel by air

[Time not entered] Weather conditions catastrophic, intercepted radio transmission from civilian aircraft. Lights may confuse them and draw unwanted attention

[Time not entered] No, keep lights on at all costs

Outside another generator sputtered out dead. The once brightly illuminated camp is now in twilight and the two largest tents, one of them being the command tent, the other the large circular one, can now be seen to have lights on inside.

fgalkin · Post by **fgalkin** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 4:48 pm

Nadya swept her eyes along the tent, taking in the interior- the maps and geological surveys on the walls and table, chairs knocked over and papers strewn everywhere. Computers, by contrast, were neatly powered off and tucked away. Then, she spotted what she was looking for- a radio!

She practically leapt across the tent, only to discover, to her horror, that the radio was missing several wires.

"Fuck!" she cursed loudly.

Next to the radio was a thick log book of radio traffic. The latest page was open, and Nadya read it over, once, then again.

There was a sputtering noise from the outside and another generator died. Nadya shivered as another chill crawled up her spine.

----------------------------------------------

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:19 pm

"It's bright at the camp," said Dane. "Out there it isn't. We want to know what they're up to, it'll be at the dig site."

Losonti Tokash · Post by **Losonti Tokash** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 9:39 pm

Zach wandered into the tent just in time to be greeted by Nadya shouting "Fuck!" He gave her a quizzical look and reached out for the log she was holding.

While Zach read the most recent entries, the color drained from his face as the significance of the failing generators dawned on him.

He looked at the other two. "I have no idea how, but we've got to try and get all the fuel into one generator, and maybe we can rig that up just to power one light to make it last longer. I'm not real keen on finding out why those lights need to stay on, and I don't think you are either. I'll look through all this crap and see if I can find anything useful." Zach's voice was shaking by the end and he turned back to dig through the paperwork.

It'll be just my luck to travel all the way here and find him waiting for me.

Soontir948 · Post by **Soontir948** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 8:25 am

Andy had finished preparing some of the food stores into a decent meal. It wouldn't fill them up a whole lot but at least it's something to keep going. Who knows how long we'll be trapped out here. "What the," he said as a another generator died. He went outside to find soldier boy wasn't there. Probably checking said generators. "Hey, dinner's ready!"

fgalkin · Post by **fgalkin** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 10:59 am

Nadya looked at the medic. His eye looked as bad as ever, but at least he was standing firm on his legs once more.

"Stay here and risk the owners of the camp coming back?," she limped across the tent to one of the maps, and looked at it.

The camp, it seemed, was located near a hill, at the bottom of a mountain valley (or, perhaps just one of the slopes, she wasn't enitirely sure).
On the other side, the valley ended with a cliff-face about a klick to the south-east. The road the former owners of the camp seemed to leave by,followed it's winding back and forth for about for about twenty kilometres before connecting up with a "main" jungle road. The closest listed settlement (although there could be smaller, private residences closer) were about thirty klicks away by road, although maybe only twenty if going overland.

"Hmm...." she wondered aloud. No, going up the hill doesn't make sense, we'll still have to get past the camp in daylight on the way down.

"You're probably right," she nodded. We can stay here, and head towards civilization tomorrow. I see a village about 30 kilometers up the road, we should head for it in the morning."

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Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 11:50 am

"We'll make crappy time in this terrain, but we can cross most of the distance if we push hard tomorrow," said Dane. He paused. "Anyone find any weapons?"

fgalkin · Post by **fgalkin** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:14 pm

"A found a machete," Nadya said. "But one machete for four people is not enough even for jungle clearing. We'll have to follow the road pretty closely tomorrow. There might be knives and such in the kitchen tent. I didn't find any weapons in any of the tents, though. If the people who lived here had them, they took them."

"By the way, you were right," she nodded to Dane. "This isn't an archeological expedition. Or one seeking new platinum deposits."

--------------------------
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:31 pm

With a final gasp and flicker a third generator fails. The camp is now more shadows than light, the last tent to be explored now glowing brightly from within, casting shadows of tables, chairs, and less identifiable objects found inside.

The wind then shifts slightly, bringing back the scent of the thick, incompletely combusted smoke from the fire still burning less than a kilometre away.

fgalkin · Post by **fgalkin** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:41 pm

Nadya was about to say something else, when another generator sputtered and died.

"We're not paying attention to that lights nonsense, right?" she put on a smile on her face. The smile came out far more rigid than she'd like. Her teeth felt like clattering again. Just the cold, she told herself over and over. Just the cold.

"We can stay here in the camp till morning, then head out."

--------------------------------------------

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:54 pm

"Wish I was wrong," said Dane. "Not that the world gives a fuck about what I wish for. We build a nice fire, we camp around, always with someone on watch. In the morning we get the fuck out of here."

"I'll get the fire going." He headed out into the darkness. Plenty of wood inside, but he also wanted to get a decent knife, if he could find one, a wooden pole or shaft.

No need to limit their weapon options just to the machete.

fgalkin · Post by **fgalkin** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 2:05 pm

"If you're venturing out, take the machete," Nadya said, offering it to him. "You're probably better with it than me, anyway."

"Fire? In the tent?" She looked at him suddenly. "Nothing will burn outside in this rain." She paused for a second. "No, that's wrong. Jet fuel will burn just fine."

She shuddered at the thought of returning to the scene of the crash, but if there is no other way....

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Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 2:13 pm

"Fire," he said. "In the tent. Dig a pit in the dirt and line the outside with rocks. It'll get a little smoky, but it'll keep us warm, dry our clothes, and make us feel a whole lot better." He took the machete. "Thanks."

fgalkin · Post by **fgalkin** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 4:12 pm

"There are dry clothes in the tents," Nadya reminded her companions.

Light a fire in the tent? She threw a quick glance at Zachary, still immersed in reading the log.

------------------------------

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Soontir948 · Post by **Soontir948** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 4:19 pm

Andy went into the tent with the radio surely with someone trying to call in for rescue and found all three of them there. "Hey, I've prepared some food in the mess tent. I'm sure you all are starving as much as I am given they didn't give us anything on the plane. So uh, what'd ya guys find?"

fgalkin · Post by **fgalkin** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 6:02 pm

The thought of food called....other images to Nadya's mind. Her stomach churned, and she barely suppressed the urge to throw up. She teetered and grabbed the table for support.

"I...uh...I'm not very hungry right now," she said.

--------------------------------------------

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:59 pm

Dane walked into the final tent, hoping to find more gear. The cave mouth was something of a shock. This camp was reminding him too strongly of F. Paul Wilson's The Keep already. It didn't help.

There were maps and photos. He casually flipped through them and then stopped cold. There were photographs of symbols painted on the inside of the cave walls. They didn't correspond with any known language, although there were similarities with several alphabets. They were the gibberish written by a madman. He should know. He had spent more than twenty years try to track them down or derive meaning from them. And here they were, written on the walls of an ancient cave.

The machete fell nervelessly from his hands. "Oh no," he whispered. "No no no no."

Losonti Tokash · Post by **Losonti Tokash** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:36 pm

Zachary finally gave up, having found nothing. He tossed the log back onto the table with an exasperated sigh, and looked up to notice Dane missing.

"Where'd the big guy run off to?" asked the rather confused medic.

Soontir948 · Post by **Soontir948** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 8:54 pm

"I believe he was suppose to be getting the wood for the fire," Andy replied back, "I'll go check on him."

Andy went out and look about and notice one of the tents was lit up with a silhouette of a human inside it. He went inside and found a cave in front of him. "Hey, just checking on... whoa! What's a cave doing in here!" Andy notice that Dane seemed to carry a face of disbelief. "You all right, man?"

Looking at what was in front of Dane, he saw photographs of strange writing and then a few of them caught his eye. Some of them were the same kind of writings that were graffiti in the subway. What the hell were they doing here? Back home, these had always stuck out wrong for him and the veterans never seemed to have wanted to talk about it. They always felt flat-out weird, funky, or even wrong and no one ever seemed to have tried to paint over them. He had suspicions that they had something to do with the things he saw down there.

Andy shuddered. Plane crashing about a hundred meters from an abandoned camp with the same glyphs in this cave? No way was this a coincidence. "I think you and I can agree that we both have a bad feeling about this."

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:40 pm

"We've got to get out of here," whispered Dane. "Now." He bent over and picked up the machete. "If it's not too late."

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:50 pm

The second last generators coughed and died, its fuel spent, causing almost all of the last remaining lights to go out. Everything was dark in the camp and the tents except for the last pool of yellow light cast about the entrance to the cave. Whatever was in there the people who run this camp really wanted to stay exposed to light.

Outside, if one waited for a flash of lightning for illumination next to the last still active generator, the needle for the fuel gauge was quite clearly buried on the empty side of the scale.

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