[ WP ] Recently , a cave has been discovered housing a species with technology far more advanced than ours

“ Johnson, ” Jasper whispered into the dark. “ Johnson, where are you? ” 
 
 For a moment that seemed to stretch on for ages, there was silence until Johnson finally answered back. “ Over here. Follow the light. ” 
 
 Johnson waggled the beam of the flash light out of one of the many mouths that led into the heart of the mountain and ended god-knows-where. 
 
 “ Didn ’ t I tell you to wait? ” Jasper barked, trotting toward the opening. “ God knows where these things lead. Last thing we need is to get separated and end up wandering through these things for ages. ” 
 
 “ Okay, okay. Wait. Why were you whispering? ” Johnson asked. 
 
 “ Are you nuts? There could be literally anything lurking around in here. ” 
 
 “ The kid got lost in here and didn ’ t find a soul. What ’ s got you so worried? Afraid of the dark or something? ” 
 
 Six weeks ago, hikers had spotted a young Mexican boy named Ronaldo wandering around at the base of a mountain somewhere in the Sierra Nevadas. His eyes had been glazed over and he was whispering in what seemed like tongues, but when they saw the condition of the boy — lips cracking from being dry, eyes and cheeks sunken in, his yellowing complexion — they had thrown caution to the wind and carried him to their car, where they drove him to the nearest hospital. Full of questions about who the boy was, why he had been left alone, what had he been holding in his hand with such a death grip were burning at them, but on the way there, the boy had passed out. After a few days, he had woken up and though he had stopped whispering in tongues, he had also stopped speaking altogether. Instead, he motioned for some paper and a pen, dropping the thing he had been gripping so tightly in order to begin to write. To draw. 
 
 “ Just because that kid didn ’ t find anyone doesn ’ t mean there ’ s no one hiding in here. And no, I ’ m not afraid … just cautious. ” 
 
 “ Okay, you are ’ t afraid of the dark. You ’ re cautious. I get it. Can we keep going? It ’ s not much further now. ” 
 
 Even in the dim light reflected from the cavern walls, Jasper caught the smirk on Johnson ’ s face, but thought better than to piss off the man holding the ticket out of here. “ Fine, keep going. Just don ’ t move too far ahead. ” 
 
 The two men walked on into the belly of the mountain through tunnels and pathways that logically had to be carved by water that once flowed through the giant rock like veins, but something about them seemed manipulated. Like someone had created a labyrinth for anyone daring to enter. 
 
 Randy Johnson was leading the expedition into the mountain because he was the one that had figured out what the hell Ronaldo had drawn — the puzzle he had put down on paper — when no one else had. And he had figured it out because he had taken the time to _try_ to understand when other people just brushed the boy off as a cracker box. It was a map. A goddamn map. Not only had he been the one to suggest it, he was also the one to figure out what it was a map _for_. As they walked, he kept the flashlight trained on the map, occasionally sweeping it ahead of him to make sure he was going the right way. 
 
 Jasper Jones, twenty years Randy ’ s senior, though he was following on this particular trek, had been a long-time adventurer and generally knew how to survive in the wilderness. Despite the time he had spent in the great outdoors, he had never gotten used to the night time. More to the point, he had never gotten over his fear of the dark. It wasn ’ t a big deal, really. Just keep a flashlight handy. Some kindling and a box of matches. A lighter. Flares. All perfectly normal stuff to keep in a hiker ’ s rucksack. 
 
 “ Johnson, how far now? I want to make sure we leave enough time to get back. ” 
 
 “ Not far now. We ’ re about halfway. ” 
 
 They ’ d been walking for well over an hour now, negotiating the seemingly endless hallways and Jasper wondered whether they ’ d be able to get back. Of course, he had been leaving path markers the entire way as any experienced pathfinder should, but there was something about the place that seemed off. Like there were little goblins that would come out and erase the marks, turn the arrows around and leave false marks elsewhere. They were the same goblins that lurked in the pressing blackness of caves just like these. They were the reason people and caves didn ’ t get along. 
 
 “ Halfway? Are you shitting me, Randy? It ’ s been almost an hour and you ’ re telling me it ’ ll be another hour there, plus two hours back? That ’ s like— ” 
 
 “ Jasper, you knew this would take at least six hours. There are no boogymen in here to reach out and grab you. At worst, there are some creepy crawlies. Bugs. Maybe bats. Nothing serious. Look, it ’ s simple: we march to the site, take a look around, gather some video evidence and then we hike the hell out of here. We run into any trouble, and we can just set up for the night. Okay? ” 
 
 Jasper ’ s stomach did some internal gymnastics at the mention of “ setting up for the night ” that made him feel like he was going to get sick all over the place. “ Set up for the night? You mean here? ” 
 
 “ I ’ m beginning to doubt all those big, heroic stories you keep telling me. Are you sure you weren ’ t lying about your time in Africa in that National Geographic piece? I mean, someone as brave as you surely can ’ t be afraid of the dark. Sorry, _cautious_ in the dark, ” he added. “ _Cautious_… ” 
 
 Though Randy ’ s little joke was already starting to piss him off, Jasper bit his tongue. “ Look, kid, I— “ 
 
 “ Do you want to turn back? If you want to leave without seeing it, just say the word. I ’ m sure some other explorers wouldn ’ t mind taking credit for — oh, I don ’ t know — the biggest goddamned discovery in the history of mankind. Yeah, you know what? Let ’ s just go. ” 
 
 “ NO. No. Let ’ s just. That ’ s fine. Let ’ s just keep going. I ’ ll be okay. ” 
 
 “ Because I wouldn ’ t want— “ 
 
 “ I said I ’ ll be okay. ” 
 
 “ You sure? ” 
 
 “ Just move, damnit. ” 
 
 Internally, Jasper weighed his terror that went along with the absence of light and the discoveries that lay hidden in the deep of the cave. His whole life had been dedicated to venturing into the unknown, finding what had been lost or what had never even been seen by the eyes of another man. This was his purpose. And if so, why had God seen fit to curse him with a fear kids outgrow by the time they enter fifth grade? It wasn ’ t fair. 
 
 Still, the boy had drawn the map and had given him the thing he held in his hand — the thing that didn ’ t make sense. It certainly wasn ’ t anything either of the men had seen before, or read about. Both of them were convinced well enough that it wasn ’ t even from Earth. That was enough to tip the scales in favor of pressing forward. 
 
 “ Johnson? Did you disappear again? ” 
 
 “ Jasper, quiet,'' Johnson said in hushed tones. `` I thought I saw something move. ”
