Civilization X

Chapter Two

"GO AWAY!" Jay screamed. He didn't see his pursuer, but knew he was there. He had moved from against the wall to perched atop a box in the corner.

"I'll go when you get out of here!" The man yelled from outside. "It's not safe in there."

Jay leapt off of his box and climbed onto the various others blocking the doorway. He had left a little crack at the top to see through. "What, are the boxes full of deadly weapons that some magical people from underground are going to use when the pop out from a secret doorway and kill me?"

The man sighed from outside. "Yes, kind of. But they aren't magical!"

"I wouldn't leave even if I wanted to!" Jay exclaimed, hoping Anne could hear. "My friend is here, and she kind of left me on my own."

"There's... another?"

Jay poked his head out. The man had a look of fear on his face, but not for himself. For Anne. Jay pulled his head back in. "Yeah, why? Are the cave people going to get her?"

"YES!" The man cried. "They probably already have! You'll be next, because there's a passage in there! I don't think they know about it, though."

The boxes shook, the toppled over. Jay rubbed his head as he picked himself off of the floor. The man looked impatient.

"Come on!" He grabbed Jay's arm and started to pull him down the hall.

"Where are we going?" Jay inquired wearily.

"To Shaft 15, the only other working passage here."

"What's a passage?" Jay wondered aloud.

"Shut up and I'll explain." The man responded. "A few years back, I was working on a good-sized team to study the jungle further. We wanted samples of the mantle in the area when we discovered something truly incredible. Primitive people had managed to find a cavern stable enough to live in.

"But, unfortunately, these people were extremely hostile. All of us who survived the first couple attacks on the lab were greeted by a much worse sight: Someone had been picking us off, pitting us against each other in a way mush more efficient and deadly than any Kagen, as the primitive men called themselves, ever could.

"I'm the last one. I've been protecting the research from those who would rather have it destroyed for about six years now. Now, you two idiots are here and this has become increasingly harder."

Jay yawned, having managed to stand back up and run along side the man instead of being dragged. "That's nice and all, but where's Anne?"

The man sighed. "If we're lucky, outside."

"And if we're not?"

"Dead."

"Any possible alternatives?"

"Still wandering the lab, or captured by the Kagens."

The two ran through the hallways, the light from the skylight fading. Jay frequently tripped over roots and debris, while the man avoided every obstacle.

At the end of what felt like a never-ending labyrinth was a corridor that seemed darker than the rest. Even the man couldn't navigate the treacherous path, stumbling and falling almost as much as Jay.

"Why is it so dark?" Jay asked. Jay thought the man looked his way, but it might have been his imagination. "It's just as dark as the other halls, but I never go here. It's the way to Shaft 15, and usually crawling with Kagens. At the first chance they got they would be prodding my corpse with a spear." Jay decided to shut up at this point.

After what seemed like days of stumbling over every little thing in their path, the man stopped Jay. He shuffled over to the wall and felt around. A small brass knob hit his hand. He grabbed the small object and opened the door, revealing an elevator-looking thing.

The man stepped into Shaft 15, then beckoned Jay to follow. "Why should I trust you?" Jay asked, skeptical. "For all I know, you could be one of those Kagen guys."

"Yes, I could. But for the sake of your friend, I suggest you get in!" Jay sighed, then reluctantly stepped in with the man.

On the way down, Jay remembered something. "I don't know your name," Jay said, not really realizing it.

"Daniel." He replied. Daniel was fiddling with a control panel on the side of the shaft. His fingers danced around the screen, buttons flickering up then disappearing just as quickly.

Finally, the shaft jolted to a stop. Jay nearly fell down, but Daniel looked perfectly fine, having done this dozens of times before. "Here we are," Daniel whispered. "The Kagen City, or as we scientists call it, Civilization X."