Alien: Out the Shadows

There was some property to the stone all around them that gave it a subdued glow. It was light borrowed from the flashlights, he was sure, subsumed and then given back as a surprisingly sharp luminosity. He’d shine his flashlight at one spread of stone, move it aside, and the stone would glow for a long while afterward. It helped them light their way. It helped them see where they were going.

This wasn’t part of the ship on which they had been. This was a building, a grounded structure built into the rock of the land. It was a ruin, yet one that was remarkably well preserved in places.

Fleeing though they were, Hoop couldn’t help staring around in wonder.

They’d entered through a badly damaged area, climbing over piles of rubble, some of the fragments the size of one of their boots, some five yards across. Anything could have been hiding in the shadows. From what they could see, nothing was, or if it was it remained hidden.

They soon found themselves on a curving, sloping path that led upward, and kicking aside dust and gravel Hoop could make out the fine mosaics that made up the paving. Swirls of color, unfaded by the immensity of time. Curling, sharp patterns, features he could not make out, splashed shapes that fought and rested in harmony with each other. He suspected the mosaic told a story, but it was too smothered with dust for him to make it out. And perhaps he was too short to appreciate the full tale. Those dog-aliens might have seen it better, with their longer legs, higher heads.

This was amazing. An alien civilization, an intelligence the likes of which had never yet been discovered in almost two centuries of space exploration, and many hundreds of star systems entered and charted.

“I don’t think I can process any of this,” Lachance said. “I don’t think I can think about it all, and run at the same time.”

“Then just run,” Hoop said. “You okay there?”

Lachance was still lugging Sneddon, slung across one shoulder so that he could still access his charge thumper with the other hand.

“All that time in the Marion’s gym is paying off.”

“Tell me if—”

“You’ve got enough on your mind.” And Lachance was right. Ripley still clung to Hoop’s arm, and though her eyes were open and he could see that she was taking some of this in, she was still bleeding, stumbling, fading in and out. They’d have to stop soon. Patch her up.

Baxter and Kasyanov were helping each other, arms slung over shoulders like casual lovers.

The curved path rose around a massive central column, like the largest spiral staircase ever. The huge building’s ceiling was high, damaged in places but still largely whole. Their flashlights lit some of the way ahead, and the glowing property of the stone helped level the illumination. But there were still heavy shadows in front of them, hiding around the bend, concealing whatever waited.

Hoop remained ready.

Doorways led off from the central spiral. There were intricate designs around these, beautiful sculptures showing dog-aliens in what must have been tales from their civilization’s past, real or mythical. He saw the creatures in groups and ranks, at war, bathing, creating an obscure form of art, exploring, and in some carved spreads they seemed to be interacting with other, even stranger looking creatures. There were star charts and the representations of aircraft, spacecraft, and giant floating things that might even have been living. This made him think of the buried vessel they had just left behind, and the implications…

They were staggering, yet still too dangerous to muse upon.

Concentrate, Hooper! he thought. Don’t look at the fancy decorations around the doors, think about what might come though them!

The curving, rising path ended in another vast open space. Huge columns supported a solid ceiling so high that the lights barely touched it, yet the material still became subtly luminous, retaining some of the light they aimed upward. They were creating their own starry sky, soft splashes of color and light retained and shining back down at them, if only for a time.

Around the nearest supporting column, upright objects cast long shadows.

“Is that them?” Lachance whispered. They all paused, panting from the climb up the spiraling ramp, some of them groaning softly from their wounds. Ripley was relatively alert again, right hand pressed tightly across the wound in her stomach.

“No,” she said. “Too big. Too still.”

“Statues,” Hoop said. “At least I hope so. Come on. We’ll stay near the wall, look for another way up.”

They kept close to the edge of the wide-open space. In truth the size of it scared Hoop. He’d rather move through corridors and tunnels than this inhuman cavern, where the lights couldn’t reach the other side and shadows might hide anything. But keeping close to the wall did something to hold back the agoraphobia.