The Pile of Bones

"Oof," When Su Xin Yu came to, she did not know where she was or how much time had passed. All she remembered was pulling that lever into a spiral shape and then the ground beneath them opening, like the cover of a manhole splitting into eight pizza slices and opening in a spiral position.

She had no idea there was a door waiting beneath them, the ground was too uneven for comprehending the nature of traps here. And then they fell, into a long ditch, or was it a tunnel? She had no idea, but it did feel like an eternity, especially not knowing that they were going to live or die at the end.

At least, they were together. If even one of them survived, that would be great. She had prayed for other two to get out alive out of this, if this place really needed a sacrifice, that should be her.

But when she opened her eyes, her face full of dust, she felt she was in some kind of hell. It was hard to breath, it felt like there was a lot of burnt ash in here. She did not have her equipment with her, so she was still light, what about Li Ming Hao.

Oh yeah, did she get separated from him too? She tried to feel the ground around her but her hand caught something rod like in her hand. She looked into her pockets and found her small flashlight, which miraculously had survived the fall.

Shining the light on the thing in her hand, she shrieked in fear. It was a bone! She shed the light around and found she was sitting on a pile, no, a sea would be a better description, of bones.

"Woof, woof," she heard all familiar bark from the dog. At least the dog was intact and with her.

"Rocky, are you here?" Su Xin Yu called out. She heard a muffled bark in reply.

"Good girl, come to me," she said, while still trying to find the two in the rubble.

Rocky arrived near her wagging her tail and tried dragging her by her wrist. That was when Su Xin Yu realized she did not get a chance to put on her dry clothes and she was still in her tube top and shorts. The ash was not covering her whole body. She really wanted to take a bath right now.

"Hey, hey. Don't touch that, I will come with you," she patted Rocky to calm her down and make her open her mouth that was clenching a protective talisman from her tribe.

Her grandmother had told her to never let it go, ever. It was made with seven ancient copper coins and a red string. Seven number and the red string were considered auspicious in her tribe. Thus, she had never removed it once she got it, even while sleeping or bathing.

Anyway, she got up and tried to balance herself in the bones. Those bones definitely belonged to humans. There were a few rib cages intact here and there. Interestingly, she did not see any skulls. She followed Rocky and a few meters away found Li Ming Hao sitting and looking around with his flashlight.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, where are we?" he counterquestioned. How would poor Su Xin Yu know? This was the first time she had encountered such a territory herself.

As they assessed their situation, Li Ming Hao checking if they managed to bring their bag intact and Su Xin Yu checking their surroundings, they realized they were in much better position that before.

Although, this was supposed to be the basement level, there was natural light seeping into the place. They could also see a network of tunnels, no it was rather a network of trees.

"Is that the root of that big tree on the top?" Su Xin Yu tried brainstorming with herself. She had seen stairs and ramps before, going up and down various levels. Those looked rather man-made. But this was all very natural, undisturbed even, except those human bones under them.

"I don't see any bones out there," Li Ming Hao had finished his inspection and was helping Su Xin Yu to scope out the place.

"There is only one entrance here above us. I guess we have no choice but to keep walking," Su Xin Yu looked up and found a big hole but it was majorly pitch black. There was no way to determine how far below the surface they were at the moment.

There was not even enough space for them to stand up and walk. So, they crawled. Rocky led them while Su Xin Yu was in the middle. Rocky smelled the floor and navigated them through the complicated network. Li Ming Hao kept an eye on behind for any lurking dangers.

"Xin Yu, did you notice there were no skulls there," Li Ming Hao looked behind again and again. This place was creepy as hell. There was no sound, nothing apart from their bodies rustling against the floor. He had even lit a lighter to check the flow of air. There was enough oxygen to sustain the fire but there was no wind. They were in an enclosed space then.

He was still looking behind when he collided with her butt and fell down.

"What… what happened?" he rubbed his nose and looked at the girl who had stopped moving and was staring constantly above them. There was not enough space for him to crawl beside her, so he slid under the root on her left and came out.

"I wondered the same earlier and now I know," she spoke, completely dazed.

Rocky also whimpered as the three looked at the vast pillar before them. They had reached a central region of the space. In front of them was a completely open space with no tree parts. It stopped there abruptly.

They still could not determine the source of light there; it was a low ceiling with just wooden network on their top.

But right now, there was nothing but a tall pillar in front of them. Four big torches were burning surrounding it. It was dark all around. They could not see what laid behind the pillar.

"Are… those skulls?" Li Ming Hao gulped and realized what incredible discovery they had stumbled upon. It was spooky yet exhilarating. Would they get to tell it to the world? Would they get to research on it? He was already forming so many ideas in his mind. But if they go back and actually get the tools to research, would they really be able to come back to this place?