Cathedral-

-Cathedral-

By Satoshi Nakamoto

Land of the lost YouTubers - Prehistoric evolutionary Development.

Off the coast of Fiji, there is a small “U”-shaped island with a cavernous system that can be accessed by an underwater chimney. The ancient lava tunnel leads directly underneath the southern Pacific Ocean, opening up to a real-life land before time.

Video footage summary:

In 2019, two friends filming for an online video documentary channel found the island with the cave and began exploring a vast system. After seeing how extensive the underground cave was, the two men decided to come back with cameras and spelunking gear to document their adventure so they could post it online. Forced to postpone the expedition during COVID lockdowns, it wasn’t until 2 years ago that the group, now four friends, was able to return. Once relocating the island, they waited till low tide, then entered the enclosed chimney chamber into an air pocket. The pool, with a waterline that sits nearly as high as the cave’s entrance, opens into an air pocket that is separated by a basalt and limestone wall. The wall connects to a secondary pool that allows water from small openings to enter from below. To reach the entrance to the tunnel system requires scaling a barrier wall between the first pool and the second pool. The men swam through the chamber’s opening, then inflated a raft before entering into the limestone depression. The second pool has become filled with a majority of sand and reef sharks that have been trapped throughout time. The wall prevents large sharks from entering, but small holes within the wall below allow fish to enter and exit. The men made their way to a rock platform that marked the entrance into the main basalt tunnel system. A pile of rocks stacked on top of each other, three high, next to the entrance marked a signal that the cave had already been discovered at least once before. A tent and camping gear had been left abandoned by unknown individuals. As the group’s documentation process continued, they began descending further into the cave. The men, fully equipped for an extended expedition, were able to move easily through the darkness, passing by old cans and other human debris without investigating. The items didn’t make a strong impression about those who had been there before, but rather gave them the notion that this tunnel system must be a lesser-known destination spot. Without knowing exactly where the tunnels led, the men continued forward. The deeper they went, the more they noticed the airflow was traveling toward the cave’s opening from deeper within the tunnel. A strange phenomenon for a cave system blocked by an underwater barrier. The air, still breathable, was moving past them. After traveling nearly 20 miles from where they began their journey, they had just traveled through an air-filled tunnel deep below the Pacific Ocean. Plant life that has never been observed by science began appearing. While filming, the group was able to document their observations. The cave began glowing with bright phosphorescent, photoluminescent, and bioluminescent moss, algae, and fungi. Following the airflow moving outward toward the opening of the cave, they traveled deeper, searching for a second opening. Confused about the directional path of airflow, they couldn’t figure out how or why air was moving outward. The only plausible explanation was that they must be underneath the ocean, with the source being a secondary island with a connecting tunnel between two openings. Without cellular reception or internet access, the four men were forced to rely upon topography maps for plotting their possible exit point. After studying the maps and cross-referencing their GPS locations, they realized that there were no islands within close proximity to their geographical locations. They were, in fact, below deep water in an air-filled cave under the ocean. Still anxious to find out the source of the atmospheric phenomenon, they made a camp, rested for several hours, then continued on. Eventually, reaching a large conduit caldera with a high ceiling, giant natural basalt steps had been formed by volcanic and tectonic activity. The steps eventually led to a sheer wall with a small cavity into a cavern filled with neon-colored eukaryote life. A few miles forward, they reached a sheer cliff with two rappel lines and a rope secured by a rock. Proof that they were not the only people to reach this point in the cave. After scaling a sheer wall, they began to realize that there was evidence of living creatures inside. They began finding bones of what looked like large birds and lizards. Thinking that they were fossils at first, they examined them closer. Realizing they were not fossilized, the men began questioning their origins as possible trapped birds or crocodiles. They began searching the floor and noticed that there was scat on the ground, eggshells, and other skeletons of creatures they’d never seen before. As they examined their surroundings, they noticed articles of clothing that appeared torn. Behind a rock, a body in modern clothing was found. A woman in climbing gear and hiking boots. They began to hypothesize the cause of death. The two men questioned whether or not she had fallen from the sheer wall, until they noticed bite marks and rips in the jacket. One of the men began to panic and urged the rest of the group to turn back. They began to hear the echoing of small rocks being shuffled in nearby chambers, as if something was moving close to them. As the video progressed, two of the men had moved forward around the corner of the tunnel, notifying the other two that there was light coming from a nearby tunnel. They walked around the corner to regroup and saw their friends fighting off what could only be described as a dinosaur. A small raptor-like creature, with three fingers and three toes, was caught on camera for the first time in history. As the friends rushed to help, the camera rolled to the right, revealing an underground canyon with vegetation and flowing water. The video ends with two of the men seen being surrounded by a pack of raptor-like creatures. One man running forward out of the entrance of the cave, while the one holding the camera pointed it back at the entrance, revealing more raptors emerging from the cave. The man holding the camera begins to run into a stream, then into dense ferns. After running into vegetation, the camera drops and remains in the same spot for four hours, inadvertently capturing a previously thought-extinct herbivore. A subspecies of the Ceratopsidae family, grazing on ferns. The footage was the first documented proof of life inside an underground cathedral-like canyon beneath the Pacific Ocean.

Rescue and recovery:

2025- A drone sent into the cave system has located the four men. All separated from each other, believing that they were lone survivors. Each one adopted into tribes of intelligent beings. A multipurpose rescue drone was able to recover the camera, relaying the footage to be documented formally.

Merfolk - Reptilian - Amazon - Citadel - Short dicks - Neanderthal - Jelly-whisp - Raven - Sweethearts - Overlord- Isabelline

The first confirmed contact of intelligent humanoid/highly evolved species on Earth. Found in a series of underground caldera cathedrals that have collapsed as the tectonic plates shift. The canyon, with sheer walls nearly two miles high, 40 miles side to side, and 1,000 miles long, with a CNT-quartz crystal ceiling able to produce UV light from underneath the ocean.

YouTuber #1 - Merfolk

The first person found living had been adopted into what he calls “Merfolk.” After being separated from his group, he was approached/ambushed three days later by a tribe of highly evolved mollusks closely related to oysters. They brought him back to a settlement against the south wall closest to the cave’s exit. The village is secured against an overhanging cliff, with an underground river passing through lower elevation. A brachiosaurus that they stick themselves onto is used to travel and forage.

Males and females appear visibly different from each other, but share similarities in height and weight.

Males - stand around 9-12 feet tall and around 400-600 pounds. They have a thin, shell-like body with a reflective shell plate on their forearm that is used to attract mates. The face/head is similar to a mantis shrimp with a ponytail. Males appear relatively similar to each other without much difference visually. They give very emotional responses to everything, show empathy, and understand complex social practices.

Female - 8-9 feet tall, about 300 pounds. Each is born with a distinctive shell formation on their head resembling hair. The teeth are mildly reflective like the inside of an abalone shell. Pink coloration can be seen on cheeks, lips, and eyes, resembling makeup. Each female has a very unique look compared to others. Shell formations on the head, resembling hairstyles, vary in shape due to genetic variability. Human-like appearances with two eyes, a nose, and teeth, but no fingers or toes, just arms that form suction on surfaces and leg-like tongues. Also very expressive of current state emotions. Attracted to males with large, shiny forearm shell plates. Each male and female has a pearl sack as a biological immune system.

From YouTuber #1’s account living with the tribe, they are a peaceful group that literally feed off each other, highly spiritual and sentimental, practicing advanced social structure and ritualistic culture for tribal members. They each have a giant clam-like bed that marks their homestead. The social structure revolves around peaceful community life and survival from megafauna and lesser-evolved humanoid beings. They move around by sliding across the ground with their tongue legs in an upright posture, and do multiple front flips off high areas, landing on the ground on their belly without injury. Their mucus-covered body allows them to jump and then stick to different types of surfaces. He said that he’s never been in such a peaceful state of social life within this tribe. They saved him and treated him as if he was one of their own. He has been able to share survival strategies against the short-dicks and share human knowledge with the tribe.

Short-Dicks “Bobs”

Lesser-evolved cavemen-like humanoid mammals that found their way into the cave system thousands of years ago. Once making it to the cave’s drop-off wall, they fell off until enough were able to break the others’ fall.

Height 4-5 ft, weight 180-350 pounds.

Semi-intelligent, with primitive man-like features. Able to build shelters and hunt, but incapable of advanced states of rational, coherent reasoning. Spend the majority of their time hunting game and spying on other tribes with the intent of capturing, imprisoning, or eating them. As described from YouTuber #1, they’re like a character named Bob from a claymation animation called Prometheus and Bob. Extremely gullible and fall into every trap they set for them. The women resemble the men in physical appearance and share communal duties. Both have broadly shaped shoulders and short, husky builds. Called short-dicks for the males’ extremely small genitals that remain uncovered the majority of the time. Most wear vest-like covers made from animals or things they find that will stay on them while walking (e.g., bird nest hats, dinosaur hides, foliage, etc.). Carry rocks and sticks, but don’t use complex thought processes. Primitive adaptational qualities that center around hunting and gathering. A hierarchy is formed amongst the males by comparing anatomical attributes. The male with the largest chest and smallest penis is the alpha male.

When hunting, they wait far away from the villages or prey, poking their heads up over objects, waiting for a chance to get closer. Once an opportunity presents itself, they overpower their prey with objects, then drag it back to the community.

YouTuber #2 - Amazon

After YouTuber #1 was found, exploratory drones were sent out over the landscape searching for other life forms. A settlement with a large wall was found against one side of the canyon. Inside, YouTuber #2 was found living amongst a large group of female-appearing hermaphrodites, which he called “Amazon.” Found after approaching the wall and captured by the tribe, who thought he was a short-dick. After showing a picture of his family, they brought him inside the walls and eventually let him out of the cage he was kept in. Once he proved to be peaceful, YouTuber #2 was allowed to live in exile on the outer perimeter with two partially exiled tribe members. Living as a lookout wall protector, YouTuber #2’s presence had become tolerated, but not fully accepted.

Amazon - Height from 10-16 ft tall, 400-1,200 pounds. Appear female, with gonads allowing them to reproduce and remain nearly always pregnant. Body appears human, with a larger-scale female frame and small evolutionary differences, most noticeably the hands only having one thumb and no other fingers.

YouTuber #2 - After being separated from the group, YouTuber #2 made a straight line into the canyon. Walking forward, searching for his friends, then made a southeastern path, eventually walking into a large wooden structure against a pitch curve along the southern wall. He describes the Amazon social structure as a hierarchy of the one to make the loudest sound come out of them. A complex social system that revolves around an alpha female. Shelter and tool-making skills are a part of the tribal culture. The wall was constructed to protect the tribe from predators. Built over thousands of years, it acts as a border for the territory that is pressed against the caldera’s wall. YouTuber #2 spoke of life as an outsider after being taken in by two of the Amazon women who defended him against persecution from the alpha female. He has been living in a house outside the main village with the two Amazons that found him. When traveling outside the gate, he rides on their shoulders to set traps for the short-dicks. By using holes in the ground with leaves covering the surface and meat on a stick, he was able to show the Amazon trapping techniques to create a defensive barrier. Provided guidance on tool building and medical treatment, showing the tribe how to build shovels and other equipment to help make life easier. Still regarded as an outsider, he is forced to live away from the main community. Once found, he was given a phone to communicate with YouTuber #1, letting him know that he was still alive. He became aware of other humanoid species after being allowed to travel to a trade center with a nearby communal clan of Neanderthal-like beings. Description of the clan was both male and female genetic traits. Five fingers and one big toe. It seems as though the majority of the primate-species humanoid beings traveled the same path as the four friends. Understanding the danger, they made settlements in various locations relatively close to the cave’s exit point.

YouTuber #3 - Reptilian

Reptilian - Highly intelligent reptilians who have evolved to understand complex emotional and social dynamics.

Height - 4-5 feet, weight - 100-120 lb.

Social and communal, with the ability to build structures and agricultural systems. Highly skilled craftsmen, engineers, and architects. Excel in their environment, living in a fully developed city with walls of stacked stones, streets, and governance. Structured legal systems that involve court proceedings and imprisonment, with the maximum penalty being death by engorgement.

YouTuber #3, wounded after being able to escape from the raptors, wandered toward the north wall away from YouTuber #1 and #2. For two and a half weeks, he made his way through the prehistoric landscape, utilizing his camping equipment to survive and a camera to record his journey. He encountered and documented a modern-day descendant of tyrannosaurus. The creature behaved in an unusual manner. Instead of chasing him down, it froze when he made eye contact. The creature didn’t move forward, but remained perfectly still while he euthanized it. #3 documented large insects, herbivorous animals, carnivorous animals, and a short-dick. After waking up to a short-dick attempting to steal his supplies, he began trying to communicate with it. The short-dick wanted his sunglasses and began approaching him menacingly. Trying reasoning with primitive man, the effort was not received. The short-dick, resorting to basic instinct, attempted to hit Youtuber#3 with a rock. #3 in self-defense hit the short-dick in the face, dropping the primal man-like entity to the ground with a confused look. The short-dick grabbed what he could and ran, taking the sunglasses with him.

On the brink of death and exhaustion, YouTuber #3 walked into an agricultural settlement. Thinking he had found signs of human life underground, he followed a road to a farmhouse. After knocking on the door, #3 was shocked when an iguana-like creature standing on its hind legs, fully dressed in traditional colonial attire, opened the door. The reptilian farmer immediately hissed in fear and began ringing a bell. The reptilian, closely resembled a raptor mixed with an iguana, with less primitive attributes. #3 began to run away, unsure whether the reptilian species were peaceful or hostile. The bell ring was answered by a responding bell in the distance, then followed by a chain reaction of more bells ringing in the distance. Within only a few minutes, a series of armored reptiles appeared riding small triceratops began chasing YouTuber #3. Eventually, circling around him, they threw a net on YouTuber #3 and dragged him back to the city.

Once inside the city, he was taken to a room to be executed. Seeing the short-dick who had stolen his sunglasses dismembered, he began pleading with the guards, showing them pictures and items that he possessed. Intrigued with what they were seeing, the reptilians ushered YouTuber #3 into a holding cell where he awaited his fate. Around an hour later, YouTuber #3 was brought in front of a formal council of elites who resembled reptilian ministers. He began pleading his case by showing video footage of his journey and pictures of the surface level of Earth. Amazed, they reached a conclusion that he was not a threat, but rather someone of importance. Two weeks later, after remaining imprisoned, the council granted him the right to live amongst them. For nearly a year, YouTuber #3 guided the council on innovative ideas to better their lives and city ordinances.

The city, mainly built from rocks stacked on top of each other, with an adhesive made from droppings mixed with dirt pressed to form walls. Unable to use opposable thumbs, the infrastructure had been built up throughout the centuries, resembling giant nests. #3 became an important part of an advisory committee focused on building up the city. Providing ideas for running water systems and agricultural practices, he became an asset to the community. He even had members of the reptilian community build a windmill and water mill. Unfortunately, the windmill burned down after a reptilian walked into it with a lit torch attached to his claws. As described, the reptilian were mesmerized by the flames, putting their claws in the air, making a hissing “Ahhh” sound over and over again. Once everyone realized that the reptilian with the torch had died, they began to look at YouTuber #3 like they were going to eat him again. Bells and other fixtures were traded items from nearby civilizations. While remaining in the city, #3 was able to see other species of humanoid beings brought into the city. One looked similar to an albino woman, deaf, with webbed hands and feet but no definitive fingers or toes.

Although emotionally complex and intellectual, the reptilian culture, psychology, and anatomy are very different than human. YouTuber #3 reported that each time something went wrong during construction projects, they would turn and look at him hissing as though they would eat him. After showing the reptilian chancellor a picture of his dog on his phone, he immediately began salivating and ate his phone. Being somewhat of a hero for the ability to accomplish practical engineering tasks, YouTuber #3 was brought into the head chancellor’s home as a guest. His time was spent working on projects for the community. Taking time to understand the reptilian’s individual characteristics, friendships were formed among citizens.    Everything was fine until the chancellor walked in on YouTuber #3 massaging his daughter’s endolymphatic calcium glands on the side of her neck. Like the round things on iguana necks. Being a former caretaker of a pet Iguana, YouTuber #3 knew these glands to reduce stress when rubbed, but not the context within reptilian culture. Immediately, the chancellor hissed in shock, summoning the guards to have him imprisoned. At YouTuber #3’s court proceeding, he was sentenced to death by engorgement. Without understanding what they had said, one reptilian bit his arm. Immediately, he began trying to fight the reptiles off him. Due to an adaptational characteristic, #3 learned that whenever he pointed in a certain direction, all the reptilians would look where he was pointing. By pointing toward the wall, YouTuber #3 got the reptilian council to turn as the chancellor’s daughter rescued him. The two fugitives escaped the city together, seeking refuge in a nearby cave. After days of hiding, a living space built inside the small cave was sealed-off at the entrance. Living in exile until the time the rescue drone arrived, YouTuber #3 was notified that two other party members had already been found alive. His backpack had remained hidden near the place of #3’s capture. After locating the bags hidden in a patch of vegetation, he was given a power bank to charge his electronics, allowing him to relay the video content to the surface.

YouTuber #4 - Citadel

Video summary: First-hand account

After being separated, #4 began moving in a straight line directly down the center of the underground canyon. For two weeks, he walked through a series of tree and fern forests as he began moving toward a cliff formation. Encountering a wide range of wildlife, from large carnivores to peaceful herbivores. Using a chest-mounted camera, #4 documented in video how a tyrannosaurus used camouflage like a chameleon while against a vegetation backdrop. The tyrannosaurus subspecies used its tail to tap YouTuber #4’s shoulder, getting him to look the opposite direction while it lunged forward in attack. When YouTuber #4 looked back at the dinosaur running at him, it immediately froze in place. Terrified that the dinosaur was going to finish him right there, he kept eye contact. The tyrannosaurus remained frozen in place, shifting colors, then began slowly moving backward without breaking eye contact, continuously trying to tap him on the shoulder with its tail. #4 started walking backward in the opposite direction when a second tap came from his other side. Looking around as a second tyrannosaurus jumped out, YouTuber #4 turned to focus on the other one. The modern-day T-rex behaved the exact same way, froze, then moved backward. As YouTuber #4 did this, the first tyrannosaurus made a second attempt at an attack. YouTuber #4 looked at it and it froze as the other one made an attempt. A stop-and-go pattern began as YouTuber #4 started looking back and forth at the two T-rexes. Then two more joined in. As though YouTuber #4 was juggling T-rexes in a red-light, green-light game, he began trying to line them up so he could keep all of them inside his line of sight. This continued for nearly a mile before reaching a cliff’s edge as YouTuber #4 began climbing down the side. The dinosaurs remained fixated on YouTuber #4 as he climbed downward, putting their tails over the edge, trying to tap his shoulder.

Once reaching the cliff base, the tyrannosauruses still remained fixated on YouTuber #4 from above. As #4 turned away, one T-rex rushed forward off the cliff, falling to its death. YouTuber #4 began running without stopping, hearing the sounds of the others falling down, then hitting the ground behind him. As #4 ran away through a thicket of thin trees, a clearing came into view with a pale blond woman holding a basket filled with flowers. YouTuber #4 ran to her, trying to let her know about the situation with dinosaurs. Shocked and surprised, the pale entity became startled, reaching for a sharp blade, holding it with an oddly formed hand. Unable to communicate directly, #4 realized she’s not like anything he’s ever seen before. YouTuber #4 tried to express that his intentions were peaceful by making a PLUR heart with his hands. This is where the video ends.

Beginning to show her items and pictures of the surface of Earth, pointing upwards. Starting to understand YouTuber #4, he stops to show the woman video footage of the encounter that had just occurred with the dinosaurs. Showing the humanoid woman a phone screen with the video of the tyrannosaurus, #4’s description was that it immediately frightened her seeing the images, and she tried to attack the phone until he was able to turn it off. Without ever seeing a phone screen before, to the woman it was as if YouTuber #4 had trapped the dinosaurs inside his phone. The woman hugged him, seeing YouTuber #4 not as a threat, but more as someone who could trap dinosaurs within this rectangle. The woman then brought YouTuber #4 back to a temple that he describes as being a citadel of only pale blond women. YouTuber #4 was found by a rescue drone living in a pyramid structure as a doctor-like figure among the community. Being able to use five-digit fingers to perform simple medical treatments, YouTuber #4 had become an irreplaceable member of the civilization. All four men have been notified of each other’s survival status, and families have been informed of their whereabouts.

Citadel - Height 4-5 feet, 90-110 lb.

Appears as blond albino women with self-reproduction anatomy and a shorter-than-human lifespan. A two-pregnancy-cycle lifespan dictates the length of life. Similar humanoid features except the hands and ears. A thumb and mitten-shaped finger with minimal digit dexterity. The ears are not fully formed, leaving the beings mostly deaf. Large bells are used as vibrational cues amongst the community. As a whole, civilizational and agricultural skills are practiced regularly. Highly intelligent and spiritual, the women worship a crystal skylight at the top of the underground cathedral caldera canyon. Temple builders similar to Mayan or Aztec architecture. Peaceful and friendly to accepted visitors, protective of others and territory.

The Explorer - Sweethearts

After locating the four missing YouTubers, reconnaissance drones were sent outward to search for more signs of life. After 200 hundred miles further into the underground cathedral canyon, AI scanners picked up human activity. The fifth person to be found, a lone adventurer who had been trapped inside since the later 1980s. An explorer who had recently divorced his wife and set out for the Fijian islands for a maritime journey across the Pacific to the Hawaiian Islands with a new girlfriend. The Explorer bought a boat in Fiji and began working his way across the outer coast en route to Hawaii with his new girlfriend. Only two days after setting out on his voyage, he found the “U”-shaped island as a stopping point. Before losing radio contact, an emergency radio call was issued about a developing storm warning. The two used the island as a harbor for an approaching typhoon. Believing the island would provide shelter from the storm, The Explorer anchored his vessel directly in the center of the lagoon. Using the deepest water possible to prevent the coral reefs from penetrating the ship’s hull during the storm, The Explorer and his girlfriend spent the rest of the day preparing for turbulent weather conditions. Both enjoyed a lazy afternoon, catching fish with a spear. While watching the sunset, the two ate dinner, then went to sleep after battening down the hatches.

Around 3 a.m. the next morning, The Explorer woke to the sound of wind, rain, and storm surge. With a jolt of the anchor line being pulled tight, a routine observation was initiated in darkness. As The Explorer inspected the boat’s orientation, whitewater breakers rolling into the lagoon from the opening swept across the bow. Feeling the boat lift and begin moving backward with the breakwater, the anchor released from the coral floor, then pulled tight as the swell receded. The unexpected rise in the water’s height and the depth of the lagoon was causing the anchor to lift off the ocean floor, repeatedly forcing the boat to shift violently forward as the anchor pulled over new ground. With conditions worsening by the second, the boat began to travel further inside the inner curve of the “U”-shaped lagoon. Unable to avoid waves breaking into peaks as they reached the shallow coral reef bed, the tension of the anchor line increased as the boat released. Freeing itself from the anchor completely, the boat sat idle as The Explorer ducked below deck. Inside the cabin, The Explorer lost footing as the ship began to catch break forces of the storm surge. The new love-struck couple were now surfing backward. Waking to turbulence, The Explorer’s companion stayed below deck injured while he rushed to right the ship.

Beginning to turn as the rudder swung the bow forward, The Explorer attempted to steer the boat, catching an incoming break sideways, and capsized. Vast weight turned over in the night, sending The Explorer overboard. The ship was now spinning towards the inner ring of the island. Bouncing over high reef colonies, he felt sharp edges cut deep as The Explorer felt his way toward shore. Drowning alone in the Pacific, The Explorer desperately swam for the boat, knowing the fate of his new companion remained undetermined.

Through the storm’s flashes of lightning, The Explorer was able to see rock formations beneath the waves. Pushing through whitewater for something to hold onto, The Explorer dipped below the surf. Sounds of chaos muted, transforming into hollow clicks below a dramatic surface. Floating under crystal-clear water with eyes open, flashes of white cast light over the mouth of a rocky coral outcrop shaped like a chimney. Using the strobing clear lens as a guide, coral reef formations were the only solid source to counter the ripping undertow. Diving under as drastic changes in water levels lifted above the reef, The Explorer held on as his body moved with the current. As a last-ditch effort, The Explorer’s only chance of survival was to make an attempt to reach the boat. The clear water lit up the reef as the sky flashed white. Caught in the currents, The Explorer began to float in the direction the boat had moved. Approaching the chimney formation, The Explorer held the reef tight as a passing swell spun underwater around him. Water flowing through the cave beneath pulled down, dragging The Explorer with it. A power never felt before grabbed hold of every part of The Explorer. Feeling water move faster, The Explorer’s body bent, folding against solid walls on every side. With nothing else to do except move with the vortex of water, The Explorer broke through a black surface. Able to breathe, but unable to see, light cut in from below, hitting the ceiling above. Water held calm, then plunged, leaving The Explorer clinging on as the surface dropped past his legs, then lifted to his chin. Treading water, waiting for the vortex to drop, The Explorer’s arms reached over a solid stone lip. A small sanctuary in the midst of chaos, suspended, partially submerged at the top of an air pocket, The Explorer held on to the wall. Unable to escape through the vacuum’s pull inside the chimney, The Explorer climbed over the barrier, dropping back into water on the opposite side. With each flash of lightning, moving silhouettes filled the pool. Without a choice, The Explorer crossed the tide pool depression. A hit from below snapped into a sensation of pressure. Feeling a shake, then release, pressure gave way to pain. Bitten on his leg by what could only be assumed as a small shark, The Explorer floated, feeling his wound. Making an effort to stay calm, The Explorer felt the pressure again on his hand. Struggling against the inner wall of a dark shoreline, The Explorer pushed himself onto a solid platform.

Emerging from the water in darkness, feeling blindly for space between himself and any other walls, The Explorer made his way to the edge of the pool. Flashes of lightning reflecting in the water created a strobing effect, illuminating the walls, casting silhouettes of tropical fish and sharks swimming in the pool below. The Explorer wrapped a torn shirt over his wounds, fighting to remain conscious, realizing that this may be his last night on Earth. Grief-stricken by rapid calamity, The Explorer closed his eyes and waited out the storm.

Severely injured during the storm, The Explorer, now alone, remained inside the cave until the storm passed. Overcome by realization of the severity of fate, The Explorer broke down into tears. With light only entering through refraction inside the pools below, The Explorer remained in sight of a faint glow at the end of the chamber. Only able to identify a larger opening along the enclosed sea cave wall by touch, The Explorer crawled inside. Near pitch-black inside the volcanic tube, the open space was used only as a restroom. It was two days later that the turbulent storm pumping subsided.

Sunlight could be seen glowing through the water at dawn of the third day. Crossing over a glowing turquoise pool, The Explorer made his break to locate his vessel. Diving underneath the submerged entrance, The Explorer pulled on the chimney’s rocky outcrop to the surface. Making his way onto a sandy beach, The Explorer’s sailboat lay tipped on its side, marooned on the “U”-shaped island’s innermost shore. A swift realization of becoming stranded alone on a desolate island began to take form. A body lying motionless on the beach confirmed The Explorer’s worst fears. His partner, forced onto the beach by storm surge, had suffered a head injury, then was cast off the boat as it was taken by the water. Remorse of the trip’s proposal weighed heavily upon The Explorer’s mind. A single palm tree facing out toward the Pacific, with a pile of corals and lava rocks, marked the grave. The Explorer was now alone.

For nearly a year, The Explorer stayed isolated on the island with nothing except his boat and travel supplies. While waiting for help, nothing could be done except utilize the island for resources while using the boat as a shelter. Life stranded on a desert volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific became a constant reality. As time passed, food rations and clean water began running low. Although fish were plentiful, without a secure water source the island became increasingly inhospitable. While searching the island, The Explorer noticed small amounts of water separation near the rocky outcrop of the shoreline, indicating freshwater deposits. Somewhere under the island, a freshwater spring had formed.

As weeks turned to months, The Explorer began utilizing the cave as a refuge from storms and extreme elements. Being that the pool entrance was always filled with sharks and the cave itself was most accessible at low tide, frequent trips were left to a minimum. The lagoon was becoming less inhabitable the more time passed. Fresh water became the main obstacle. The Explorer, forced to act, decided a venture into the cave was the only possible solution.

The first descent was guided by torchlight, with a battery-powered flashlight as a backup. Moving through a long volcanic corridor, the cave extended further than previously imagined. Noticing signs of human presence, small scratches on the wall were used to represent days. Clear evidence now that The Explorer was not the first person who had been stranded. It looked as though whoever came before had made the same mistake he had. Abandoned nautical equipment sat as a forewarning reminder of a survivalist waiting for rescue. Life jackets and tin cans lay scattered across the floor. Whoever came before had reached the island by boat. The Explorer began to see signs etched across the cave walls, arrows leading forward. Following the advice of the guides, eventually a line of arrows led to water pouring down from the walls. Licking a small seep, then sitting with his back against the wall, The Explorer reevaluated his approach for collection. Once reaching the point where immediate thirst wasn’t an issue, the next course of action was to begin storing water. The thought of relocation became more alluring. With no way of knowing exactly how far he had traveled, The Explorer made the decision to stay close to the water source while searching the cave for resources. For the first time since anchoring, the constant thought that The Explorer was not alone passed into mind.

Looking for guidance, The Explorer began shifting attention toward finding established pathways and etchings. Collecting items as he found them, evidence of long-term survival presented a shared story of similar interest. A rusty tin can was found with one side flattened, as if it was used as a cup by the previous inhabitant to press against the water wall. Each item made sense within the context of the cave. Ropes, cut into small pieces, marked directional paths for someone feeling their way through halls in the dark. As The Explorer searched the walls, he noticed an X etched into a smaller chamber. Peering inside to see what the chamber held, The Explorer waved his torch from one side to the other. A skeletal figure next to his right leg that he had not noticed while walking in caught The Explorer by surprise, enough to drop his torch. Looking closer as the torch burned on the floor, a cause of death was visibly clear. A missing hand and a large crack on the skull gave a speculative glimpse into the final moments of life. As frightening as it was, the body lay as an omen to a grim reality of the hostility this cave presented. The Explorer, humbled by the sight of a momentary glimpse into a fellow inhabitant’s life lost, moved on.

For four weeks, the trips into the darkness became a ritual for survival. Bottles with collecting funnels made from flattened aluminum cans pressed up against the wall on the floor in a row. As the only constant source of drinking water on the island, the wall had become a staging ground for continuation. With options being limited by the thought of rescue, efforts to explore the depths of the cave became postponed. Preparations were made for each venture into the abyss routinely. Torches made from palms, clothing, and gasoline were positioned at the entrance of the cave.

With little hope of rescue, nine and a half months had passed. Just as the ordeal began, monsoon season approached with dark clouds forming over the ocean. A calm turquoise lagoon had transformed into a turbulent whitewater jetty. Seeking relief from the storm’s heavy winds and rain, The Explorer made camp inside the cave. Upon the storm’s passing, the boat had been carried away with the receding tidal surge, leaving The Explorer alone with only the items he had stored in the cave. Now, the only possible chance for survival lay within the shelter of the cave.

With no boat and no way of knowing if or when rescue would ever come, The Explorer came to the conclusion that life on the island was reaching an end. Even with the odds stacked against him, The Explorer’s pursuit of survival remained intact. While collecting water, The Explorer noticed something he had not taken into consideration before. The way the flame moved wasn’t the way it was supposed to be moving. Locked in an airtight vacuum, seeing continuous updraft movements move past the flames toward the entrance pool rather than the interior caused The Explorer to pause. With his last hopeful effort, The Explorer collected his remaining items, venturing forward into cavernous tunnels beneath the ocean.

Mile after mile passed as The Explorer walked deeper into the volcanic tunnel. As air pressure still pressed backward toward the entrance, The Explorer followed the flame as his guide. Noticing along the way that small pieces of rope had been dropped in a singular line showed evidence of someone attempting to mark a course in darkness. After scaling a series of black-step drop-offs, The Explorer entered a small fracture at the base. Walls began to glow, leaving the ground-floor cavern illuminated with multiple species of multicellular life. Making a small camp amongst the illumination, The Explorer cooked a fish he had brought, then pulled a small amount of the glowing algae, lichen, and fungi from the walls and began to taste them. Blue algae was spit out, giving off a taste and odor similar to the dibutyl phthalate inside a glow stick. Another photoluminous red tasted more like iodine and kelp. Although earthy, a green lichen became the most favored over all others. A glowing orange fungus found nearby was tested as well. Aware of the dangers of ingesting unidentified fungus, a small amount was placed at the tip of The Explorer’s tongue, then spit out. Shortly after, The Explorer began to feel sharp stomach pains, profusely sweating as he fell ill. Hallucinating as shadows bounced in the fire, strong psychoactive effects of the poison fungus lingered on for hours. Experiencing sensory deprivation in perceptive isolation, The Explorer curled into a ball, eventually falling asleep to visions of shapes and rainbows. Waking up in total darkness to the sound of what he thought was a horn, a new torch was lit.

Not knowing what was illusion or reality, the sound inspired The Explorer to move forward. Thinking about the possibility of being under an island with a port, The Explorer gathered his belongings and proceeded onward further down the tunnel system. A sheer edge drop appeared as the single lit path ended. One rope with a poorly constructed knot was wedged into a crack, then wrapped around a rock. Another signal from whoever came before to keep going. Without being able to see the bottom, The Explorer picked up handfuls of bioluminescent algae and began throwing it off the edge. Still being able to see the light as the algae landed below, The Explorer was able to estimate the wall was around 20 feet high. Attaching a makeshift rappel line made from the rigging of his sails to the rock in the same fashion as the rope before, The Explorer lowered down his gear with the rigging, then grabbed both ropes and lowered himself to the floor below.

Immediately after the descent, The Explorer heard a crawling sound coming from within the cavern. A black arthropod similar to a centipede was moving toward him. Using his battery-powered flashlight to highlight the creature, The Explorer began running. A vivid glow from a nearby tunnel filled the rocky hallway. The Explorer, running toward the light, emerged out of the darkness onto a stone cliff platform. Looking out over the canyon cathedral landscape that appeared in front of The Explorer, a high ceiling stretching out as far as he could see. Turning back to see if the insect was still following, The Explorer noticed a large amount of what looked like large birds running toward him. Within seconds, the first animal stopped only feet away. Hissing as it bowed, the animal held up two hands with three clawed fingers. The creature’s feet had a large hook-shaped talon on each inside toe, with two longer toes that resembled its fingers. It was a dinosaur, living in modern time. As The Explorer faced the animal, he could see more emerging from the cave and surrounding cliffs outside the exit. The Explorer reached for his satchel containing the fish he had brought along. Swinging the bag at the creature, it attempted to snap at the fabric as it moved closer to its face. Shaking uncontrollably, The Explorer began to feel a paralyzing fear. Unsure of what to do, the bag was thrown at the animal to break its attention. The Explorer ran, turning without knowing where he was going, running forward away from the cave across a shallow stream into a fern-covered landscape. Looking back to see more animals surrounding the bag, the pack was tearing away fish as they were shaken free. With only two animals following him across the stream, The Explorer turned around. Squaring up with the beasts as they lunged forward, The Explorer grabbed his dive knife from its sheath. Brandishing the blade at the animals, The Explorer readied himself for an attack. One raptor made a streaking attempt to circle around to The Explorer’s back as he broke eye contact with the second. Using the gained ground from the diversion, the raptor jumped onto The Explorer’s back.

Panic turned into a primal need to fight for survival. After everything The Explorer had been through, he was still not ready to give up. The Explorer pulled the animal off his back with both hands over his head, slamming it on the ground as the other bit down onto a fanny pack around his waist. With one hand, he held the creature down, forcing a blade directly above the shoulder at the base of the neck. Without hesitation, The Explorer grabbed the second creature with both hands by the snout as it held onto his pack. Using all his strength, he forced the animal onto the ground, trapping it between his legs as he mounted it. Turning the raptor’s head in the opposite direction, The Explorer broke the dinosaur’s neck. With a knife still stuck above the shoulder, the first raptor, injured, scrambled to right itself into a standing position. The Explorer picked up a rock, waiting for an opportunity to strike, then went on the offensive. The Explorer hit the raptor as it repositioned a hind leg to stand, grabbed it by the face, and forced the head in the opposite direction. Standing up, The Explorer felt his hand run over a shoulder onto a large cut running down his back. Gathering his belongings, The Explorer entered into the vegetation, moving forward into the cover of the crystal cathedral canyon.

For over 30 years, The Explorer traveled through the underground oasis. Encountering every civilization up to the point where he was found. Nearly 500 miles from where The Explorer began, he was found living with a group similar to “Citadel,” a civilization of self-reproducing females he referred to as “Sweethearts.” A civilization placed directly beneath the center of the CNT-quartz crystal ceiling. Named “Sweetheart” for their devotion to others’ well-being. Willing to save any other member’s life even if it means giving their own. In his own words, “Out of all the civilizations I’ve been with, these ones are the best.” Upon asking if The Explorer had encountered any other humans while the cathedral, he said, “Yes!” A short while later, he introduced a younger couple. A man and woman who have been trapped inside since 2016. The Explorer was informed that only three days after his ship had been swept out to sea, a search party visited the island. The vessel found floating in the ocean was reported to the Fijian coast guard officials. The crew searched the island, finding the grave that belonged to his girlfriend. Without knowing what had happened, the government labeled The Explorer as a prime suspect to homicide. Upon further investigation, his name was cleared by the government. Right now, The Explorer is still inside the canyon, in communication with the outside world for the first time since his voyage began. The Explorer, a man named Busch from Tampa is expected to return after quarantine assessments.

New dawn, new day -

To fully understand this prehistoric underground canyon, you have to understand how it was created in the first place. As it stands, the cathedral provides evidence of evolutionary courses that have developed over millions of years within an isolated space. The fact that multiple intelligent/semi-intelligent humanoid and intelligent non-mammalian species have existed relatively undisturbed gives a unique insight into how evolutionary biology adapts in isolated populations. Being that both dinosaurs and humanoids coexist inside gives a unique perspective about how the geological formation acted as a catalyst for a miscellaneous assortment of species from different eras within Earth’s history.

The first steps of figuring out how something like this could happen is figuring out the parameters of cathedral formation itself. Massive scales with some of the most interesting anomalies ever recorded within geological science kept life intact. A giant quartz crystal ball cluster that branches into veins on the ceiling is infused with naturally occurring carbon nanotubes, giving exposed underwater protrusions the ability to pass light from the surface. This crystal canopy acts like a magnifying glass for what little UV light is able to pass from the surface of the ocean as it transfers into the darker zone near the bottom of the ocean. Located near the Tonga Arc and Monowai Seamount, a series of perfect geological symmetry allowed life to prevail within a terrestrial underground ecosystem. With CNT-quartz pillars jetting out of the seafloor, the ginormous crystal cluster is able to send UV rays throughout the cathedral ceiling. Providing the base of a perfect atmospheric and ultraviolet phenomenon for what would become God’s terrarium. Life underground, living and flourishing with adaptation running the course of multiple evolutionary sequences, then going a step further and providing a landscape for the interjection of new species. Creatures believed to be extinct found a way to survive inside a fragile ecosystem that knows nothing of life on the surface of Earth.

The canyon, a stretch of interconnected caldera chambers, one thousand miles from one side to the other and 40 miles across at its furthest point, 1-2 miles at the highest sector, with multiple entrance points connecting to known tectonic fault lines. To figure out the structural format, the base concept of an ever-changing surface would be a simple explanation of how and why this canyon exists. With the developmental process of the surface of Earth throughout history, life over time became trapped. Virtually unaffected by extinction events and rising sea levels, wanderers from above entering without ever leaving. An ongoing battle between old and new, with permanent extinction as the underlying driver for survival.

Since the formal global discovery in early June 2025, evidence of the geological origin is still being investigated. Although classified, the discovery marks a pivotal milestone in our understanding of the capacity and complexities of life on our planet. By using a combination of aerial drones, high-resolution cameras, and remote geo-analysis technology, evidence is being gathered to identify the true nature behind this mysterious new underground world. The true origin points to these island chains being above-ground prehistoric volcanoes. The island the travelers found, most likely the rim of a once-active supervolcano, the tunnels made majority of basalt lava tubes reinforced have become reinforced with carbon and high-GPA concentrations of mineral deposits. The canyon, 20 miles from the island, a once-inhabited above-ground area that supported prehistoric life. As the tectonic plates shifted over millions of years, the volcano became inactive, allowing for mineral deposits to form. The CNT-Q crystal clusters formed over a cavernous area where volcanic deposits once existed. Volcanic eruptions, conduits, and other geologic processes created a livable region below the surface. In the time of dinosaurs, life migrated through the pigeonhole-like topography, bringing with them nutrients and seeds for vegetational growth. Natural selection began to occur as time progressed. Species began to isolate themselves, either living on to colonize or go extinct. Subspecies emerged as a result of captivity in compatible species. Even then, life found a way to progress. At some point in time, the world was reshaped by an extinction event. The entrance now became a barrier wall between life above and below. The chambers themselves formed an enormous, near-indestructible structure beneath the ground. A phenomenon that combined multiple extinction events within the microenvironment, mixed with mineral compositions, to form a barrier between the inside and the surface above. Caldera walls collapsing to refill chambers introduced high amounts of fauna-based carbon plasters. With minimal access to the world’s progression, the canyon acted as a time capsule for what was and once was, up until the present day. The chain of life entering without leaving was never broken. At various points in time, higher levels of evolution and intelligent life emerged from the outside world. As the flow of life into the underground environment slowed, the cathedral, able to provide the platform for isolated evolutionary changes, was sporadically modified throughout centuries with each new addition to the collection. The integrity of the underground topography preserved as the one border-line tectonic foundation began to slide under another. With the cathedral’s mineral composition being an assortment of carbon subtypes, quartz, basalt, and other volcanic materials, it was able to withstand time and seismic activity. Located in one of the most tectonically stable sections of the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire, a perfectly natural chain of geology transpired. With high GPA of the fortified walls, the lighter basalt layers around the outer subterranean settlement acted as a seismic dampener. Almost like a diamond football between two mattresses, pressure from basalt layers absorbed seismic changes as the structure held its shape between them.

Over time, as the living assortment grew, dominant species established themselves, while other ancient species lost ground. Without the ability to adapt, extinction was inevitable. Life blossomed into isolated pockets, unaware of others only hundreds of miles apart. A truly remarkable anomaly with the thinnest possible statistics of creation. Each caldera, unique in formation as a result of receding molten rock leaving the given space subjected to a cooling process, building a thin wall between each segment. Due to shifting plate tectonics, eventually volcanic activity would move, creating a new caldera while leaving the old caldera dormant, but intact. Over millions of years, these processes occurred. The thinnest areas formed as a result of volcanic channels eventually experienced erosion or collapse. Each section produced an interconnected structure-like chamber following the volcanic line right to the most recent eruption. With the presence of time, water, air, and UV light, biological fertility began to increase. Over the millions of years taken to create a livable environment, eventually life forms found themselves trapped in prefabricated spaces. After relocation, adaptation, or extinction would occur. The size and shape of each geological section dictates migration between each subsection. As the cathedral sits now, smaller creatures are able to pass between chambers, while larger animals remain trapped within individual sections.

The topographical and geographical nature of the canyon’s biodiversity is centered around the ability to provide ultraviolet light mixed with natural biochemical properties. The now-center of the crystal cluster burning light acts as a pseudo-equator between the two sides. The chambers, forming as multiple calderas that eventually collapsed as the tectonic plates shifted, made a near-perfect line of interconnecting ovals/circles. (A good analogy would be like cookies pressed together on a baking sheet.) Being that the crystallized chandelier formation is one of the key factors behind making light possible, the further away from the center, the colder and darker the areas become.

Reconnaissance drones were able to detect multiple entrances other than just the Fijian island tunnel. At the furthest northern point, a tunnel system stretched out over a 200-mile gap, connecting to a system emerging out directly into the southern Mariana Trench. The tunnel can be accessed underwater, then followed upwards until it reaches an air pocket, which means the chambers are acting like a perfectly pressurized air tank with siphoning capabilities. Water pressure pulls air from the surface like a vacuum, while plant life helps replace oxygen through carbon-dioxide absorption. If the atmospheric space has too much oxygen, it gets pumped out into the ocean, adding to the siphon effect. A second tunnel was found stretching out from the northeastern wall, leading to an island between Thailand and Indonesia. Inside, a spelunker has been trapped living amongst a pod of small triceratops. Unable to progress due to the large number of oversized insects. A third tunnel travels south, intersecting Papua New Guinea, then splits toward Australia’s northeast coast. The Australia tunnel systems have created a nearly impassable labyrinth of crocodile pits and changing geological zones. Multiple other tunnels have been found collapsed at various points.

Geothermal activity and underground aquifers allow for sustained cooling and atmospheric circulation. Large amounts of freshwater flow through the calderas. Most notably, the source of where the popular bottled water “Fiji Water” comes from. A natural diamond aquifer and basalt filtration system allow for purification and storage of water. Some people have reported finding diamonds in bottles, while others reported the water tasting like marshmallows. Both link directly back to natural phenomena that occur within the underground environment.

Party of two-

In 2016 two couples traveling together in the Southern Pacific Ocean found the cave after filming themselves snorkeling in the remote island’s lagoon. A man from San Diego, California, a man from Denver, and two women who had met in San Diego—one a Florida-born college student and the other an exchange student from Finland—entered the cave and were never seen or heard from again..

The two couples: Woman from Finland recently partnered with man from San Diego. Man from Denver Colorado together long term with the Woman from Florida.

Video summary:

An underwater GoPro video shows the snorkelers diving down in front of the chimney without realizing anything is out of the ordinary. The female free diver spots an opening around 15–20 feet below the surface, then dives down far enough to point the camera up into the chimney. After noticing an air pocket at the top of the chimney, she returns to the surface for air, then dives down again, entering the enclosed space until she reaches the surface inside. She returns to her friends to tell them that there is a large chamber inside the chimney.

The two women enter the chimney, making their way through the tunnel to a wall between the air pocket and a deep connecting pool. Both women, experienced free divers, observe the second pool from above by leaning over the edge and looking down through their masks. They realize that the pool is completely filled with common reef sharks. They contemplate the risk and choose to take the chance of crossing. They reach the other side unharmed and begin pulling themselves out of the water onto the ground at the mouth of the cave. Inspired and amused, they avoid further exploration and return to the water, crossing back over the depression, through the chimney, and into the lagoon outside.

After reviewing the footage, the group begins entertaining the idea of a spontaneous adventure into the cave system. The girl from Florida, a seasoned mountain climber who had summited K2 earlier that year, opts to act as guide for a spelunking expedition. The rest of the group agrees that it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They set a course for Fiji for gear and supplies.

Without a large mountain-climbing or spelunking market on the island, the available gear is limited to carabiners, headlamps, mast climbing and sail-rigging rope, heavy jackets, camping equipment, and camera mounts. There is no way of knowing exactly how far the cave stretches, so they plan for a two- to three-day expedition. As far as they know, it is just a small cavernous formation. The idea is not really to spend more than a few days inside the cave. After seeing the size of the entrance, the girls agree that this is something more than a small sea cave. Once the equipment is purchased, the group of four boards their boat and begins the journey back to the island, returning to the exact location of the chimney formation. They anchor the motorized boat and prepare their bags.

To accommodate the amount of gear they brought, a small inflatable raft is used to shuttle equipment across the shark-filled pool. The four make the descent into the chamber. The first two to cross are the girls, while their boyfriends wait in the air pocket, holding onto a rope connected to the raft. A few minutes later, the raft is pulled back. One of the men enters the raft with as much gear as possible, shuttling across the shark-filled depression. The last man winds up the rope, loads the remaining equipment, and paddles across. The excitement cannot be contained; after all the anticipation, they are finally inside. Everyone begins removing camera equipment for documentation purposes, securing their headlamps, and fixing personal items for the adventure. The mountain climber places three stones on top of each other as a marker of their presence. There is nothing left to do except step into the center of the universe, expanding out into the darkness—a journey into the center of the Earth, reality collapsing behind them as it fades to black.

Immediately after entering, it becomes clear that they are not the first to reach this space. Signs of a previous inhabitant are scattered across the cave floor. With the tunnel illuminated by high-lumen LED light, the evidence of a fight for survival casts shadows as they move. Items left behind sit as omens of the sanctuary the cave may have provided for someone lost and alone. They begin to hypothesize about the events that occurred leading up to their arrival, contemplating whether this person might still be alive and what they would do if they found whoever had been there before. It is as if they have become entangled in an unsolved mystery unfolding in front of them.

The farther they go, the more answers they receive. The adventure had turned from a simple spelunking journey into a deep state of consciousness seen through fresh eyes. As the party begins piecing together fragments from multiple layers of information, it becomes apparent that the story is separated into two different time frames. Dates on American-made items mixed with older objects made from organic material give them a better understanding of how the cave may have been used by more than one lost traveler.

The anxiety of not knowing carries them forward, already changed by the short amount of time spent inside investigating abandoned objects and etched writing on the walls. Two stories are interwoven together while being documented by a third party.

The group is now nearly a mile and a half into the cave system when they reach a slick downward step. Once they regroup at the bottom, the tunnels branch into a fork. One side is marked with an X, while the other is marked with an arrow pointing forward. The mountain climber shines her light into the tunnel with the X at the entrance. The beam hits a wall a short distance from where she stands, making it clear that the chamber is a dead end. She enters the chamber hall, then screams as the light pans right toward the ground, the sound echoing through the cave from both sides.

The two men enter the hall as the woman holding the camera follows. Stepping around the corner, she focuses the camera down toward the ground. A skeleton with a missing hand sits toppled upright, arms crossed, back against the wall. After a short examination, the group exits the chamber hall to discuss their concerns. The four weigh their options: go back to the boat to report the incident, or continue on to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the death. They decide that the best option is to follow the cave until they reach the end, or at least find out whether there are any others inside.

One of the women points out that they are now morally obligated to report the findings. Since they are inside a cave in the middle of the ocean, going back to the boat and reporting the incident would be time-consuming. The group comes to an agreement: one person will return to the boat to report the incident while the others wait inside for further instructions. The party of four then proceeds back to set up camp in the entrance chamber.

Once at the entrance, the two landlocked members drop their packs and begin making camp, while the San Diegan and Floridian board the raft, paddle over the shark pit, and head through to the chimney. The man dives underneath the water, reemerges into the lagoon, and swims to the boat anchored nearby. The sun is now beginning to set. He grabs the microphone for the radio system and begins issuing a mayday call over the airwaves. A few minutes later, the female mountain climber climbs onto the boat. They sit next to the radio waiting for a response. He continues the broadcast for nearly twenty minutes, then waits for an hour. No one answers the distress call.

Giving in to the reality of the remote location and the unanswered broadcast, he grabs a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of wine and tosses them overboard. The two jump back into the water. The San Diegan grabs the bottles by the neck and swims back to the chimney. After attempting to dive down with both bottles in his hands, the buoyancy of the whiskey forces him to return to the surface. The mountain climber points out that there is a tiger shark swimming nearby. Deciding that the whiskey is not worth swimming back to the boat for, he leaves the bottle floating at the surface and dives under. The second attempt is successful. He enters the chimney with a bottle of wine, reemerging in the air pocket above. A few seconds later, the female mountain climber appears nearby. They climb into the raft, giving their friends the signal to pull them across the secondary pool.

As the raft approaches the middle of the pool, they see a splash from below. Air begins bubbling from the side of the inflatable raft. They start sinking into the water, paddling forcefully in an attempt to gain ground. The two on shore, holding the ropes, pull them forward until they reach the opposite side. They are safe, except that the raft is now deflated. The two exit the water holding a bottle of wine. They make a quick dinner, toast to their adventure, and pass the bottle around. The rest of the night, they sit together drinking wine and talking about how far they want to go. Each comes to the agreement that they will follow the path until the end, looking for closure before returning to notify authorities.

They sleep inside the cave, waking a few hours later ready to continue. Each person begins buckling their pack, leaving a tent and cooking gear behind at the entrance. They move through the cave without recording until reaching the chamber with the X at the entrance. They stop to grab the camera gear and begin recording. As they move forward past the chamber, the walls begin to tell a story.

Writing etched into the wall in English explains how the previous inhabitant had been trapped on the island. He was a man from Tampa, Florida, a member of a mafia crime family who had left the United States in fear of capture. The etchings depict his story of surviving a storm that claimed the life of his girlfriend, how he found the cave after being swept inside, details of his life before, and how he ventured deeper into the cave in search of a way out. The camera is used to capture the story while a light is directed at the wall. A short distance away is another wall with water dripping down from the ceiling. Even without investigative experience, the party is now able to piece together the chain of events through simple logic.

A quick discussion follows about what will happen if the man is still inside the cave. Judging by how the items have sat undisturbed, they conclude that he has not returned after leaving the area. The possibility that he fell or became trapped somewhere inside seems more likely. The party of four begins its descent deeper into the cavernous tunnel system, guided by small pieces of braided jute rope and etched indicators at each fork. For miles upon miles, they follow the trail deeper into the ground, expecting an ending that never comes.

Airflow becomes a topic of conversation. Why is air flowing outward, passing through the cave from the inside out? One of the men, a cigarette smoker, lights a cigarette inside the cave. When he lifts the lighter to it, he notices a gust of wind as the flame jets sideways toward the entrance behind him. He blows out smoke, and it begins traveling backward. In awe of the phenomenon, the girls continue to contemplate the possibility of an exit somewhere farther down the system.

While pausing for a rest break to drink water and discuss their plan of action, they hear the sound of fluttering in the distance. Through the darkness, they hear movement coming toward them. They form a circle, grabbing items they brought as weapons. A few seconds pass before they hear the sound of something landing in front of them. It is a bird. As it walks into the light, it bobs its head, scanning them. It is about the size of a peacock, except with an unusually prehistoric appearance. It lets out a flat-sounding honk that reverberates through the tunnel. One of the girls gasps as it turns and runs back the way it came, taking flight as it disappears from view.

“Did we just see an archaeopteryx?”

In complete disbelief, they gather their belongings and move forward after it. The group, now nearly twenty miles from where they began, has just documented for the first time the existence of a prehistoric creature believed to be extinct.

After descending into a chamber with large natural steps, they turn a corner into a narrow chamber illuminated by an array of bioluminescence. They turn their lights off after entering to record the spectacle. Vibrant neon bioluminescent protist and fungi cover the walkway inside the chamber. Electric blue, green, red, and purple growths decorate the walls all along the way. They move through the space, mesmerized by the vivid colors surrounding them. They find a section large enough to move around in and begin making camp.

With no sense of time or urgency, they sit together in the dark, illuminated by color. Not knowing exactly where they are or how far they have traveled, they sit quietly, humbled by the forces of nature. Above them, two miles of earth and water separate them from the world they knew. The man from Denver gets down on one knee and proposes to the woman from Florida, capturing the proposal on camera.

The two couples, now beginning to recalibrate their plan of action, returning to the fundamental principles of life: food, water, and shelter. An LED lantern is placed on the ground, lighting up the chamber as they ration out food among the group. Without wanting to travel back to the base camp at the entrance, they decide to rest, then continue on until they are able to finish their goal of finding the missing traveler. After a few hours of rest, they are ready to move on. They speak about how hard it must have been for the survivor and what might be farther down in the cave.

Just as before, they begin to hear a flutter in the distance. Without any doubt, it is the sound of wings. Thinking it may be the bird from before, the mountain climber grabs the camera and starts recording. Two creatures appear, different from the bird before, comparable to puffins with bat-like bodies. More aggressive than the bird, they fly in circles around the cavern. One flies directly at one of the men, clinging to his gear while trying to bite him with a mouth full of sharp teeth. He tries to throw it off, grabbing the creature and forcing it to the ground, then stepping on it. The other lands on a rock nearby and begins climbing toward them, opening its mouth and forcing air out, making a hollow noise from its throat. The mountain climber hits it with a backpack, then continues hitting it until it stops moving.

Shaken by the sudden disturbance, they examine the creatures. Completely stunned by how rapidly their trip has transformed into a prehistoric event, they become more aware of the dangers the cave poses. If something as developed as an archaeopteryx and a small pterosaur can exist within this space, there has to be more. Curiosity gets the best of them. Even after the first encounter, the need to know overpowers the instinct to flee. Life at this level of development would need space to survive. The only possible explanation is that there is something more than just the cave itself. The creatures definitely are not blind or pale like other known cave animals.

The decision is made among the four: they will move forward until they have to turn back. They make a final determination that this discovery of life below the surface of Earth is too important to pass up. Undoubtedly, it would be the greatest natural scientific discovery in history. They would be famous for it.

After two more miles of following the trail of jute rope, the four come to a sheer cliff. Over the edge are two ropes connected to a rock and fastened with a knot in a crack. Seeing the ropes strung out over the edge gives them the impression of an old movie in which a group of friends goes searching for lost pirate treasure. One of the girls begins to object to the idea of rappelling into a space that may contain creatures they have never seen before. The mountain climber encourages her to take the risk. They have all the gear needed to rappel down, as well as foot harnesses with locking ratchets to help them climb back up.

The mountain climber opts to go first. She secures a rope down the middle of the drop-off with the other ropes on the left, uses her climbing experience to lock the rappel line into place, cracks a glow stick, leans over the edge to test the strength, and drops the glow stick to the bottom. After giving a quick lesson in rappelling to the others, she vanishes over the cliff, shouting up from below that it is only about twenty feet high.

The second to descend is the woman from Finland. She locks herself in, then slides out backwards over the edge on her stomach. A short while later an “all-clear,” of safe decent from below is heard.  The two men begin lowering bags down on a different rope while the two women below remove them and hook the rappel ratchets onto the lines. After the gear is down, the men place themselves over the edge and start climbing down.

Being more cautious from this point on, they decide to look around for any signs of life, then turn back if the area becomes too dangerous. The four continue filming while walking around the bend. Less than a mile from the drop-off, light can be seen on the walls. Here it is: a real-life journey into the center of the Earth, a completely non-fictional world beneath the surface. The party of four has just found themselves in a strange new world where life is capable of surviving. Their first sight out over a thousand-mile underground canyon is documented on camera.

They begin celebrating their accomplishment, completely caught off guard by the magnitude of their discovery—history in the making. Not even a minute after the celebration begins, one of the women, horrified by what she is seeing, notices something moving on a nearby cliff. Gripped with fear, she begins focusing the camera on it. The cliff face to their left begins moving with more than one creature. Whatever they are seeing has seen the travelers and has started running toward them.

The mountain climber runs back into the cave, while the other three run forward, screaming for her to stay with them. Before they can go after her, the creatures have already surrounded them. The last they see is their friend entering the cave, followed by a large number of animals.

Fear is the thing pushing them forward. The now-party of three runs down the mouth of the cave’s exit into a shallow stream, then across to a shoreline. The ground is fertile with dense ferns. As they run into the ferns, they are followed by multiple small reptilian creatures. The three have no choice but to face them. They turn with their backs against each other.

Raised on modern cinema, all three have grown up with fictional depictions of man and dinosaur. The difference now is that they are living it firsthand. Easily identifiable by a large hooked claw on the inner toe, upright bodies, and clawed hands, the creatures look like raptors.

“Raptor.”

Just like in the movies, they have become encircled in a standoff with raptors. Breathless and paralyzed by stress, fatigue, and adrenaline, they keep their backs pressed together. The two men remove their backpacks and hold them out in front of themselves as shields, trying to protect their hands from being bitten. The creatures circle them, hissing and darting around in attempts to attack from behind.

With their backs pressed together, they keep eye contact with the dinosaurs. The three begin moving as a group farther into the ferns, away from the shoreline. The creatures walk upright beside them as they move. As the three advance in unison across the foreign landscape, as if glued together, the raptors size them up from a short distance away, periodically darting from one side to the other, looking for a breach in their formation.

The two men grab the closest things they can use as weapons while holding their bags. One pulls out a pickaxe; the other attempts to light clothing on fire. The woman, grappling with reality and the life-or-death scenario they have been thrust into, hugs her bag by the straps while doing her best not to break the line. She struggles to breathe and keep eye contact with the creatures surrounding them.

Second after second passes as the three move forward, looking for some kind of break in the suspended anxiety. The woman’s camera remains recording at her side, connected by a lanyard on her wrist. Then, from somewhere in front of them, a low-frequency rumbling draws their attention away from the raptors. The small pack that has followed them into the ferns turns toward the sound, hisses, and begins running away in the opposite direction it came from. A giant three horned creature appears from the brush, bursting out in a defensive display of dominance. The party of three seize the opportunity and run forward into the vegetation. Not knowing where to go or what they will find, they simply turn and run.

They run until they reach a cliff overlooking an open valley that stretches out as far as they can see, a seemingly endless space disappearing into a haze. It is fully enclosed by a ceiling littered with veins of mineral deposits. A clear crystal root system refracts rainbows of light from above. Unsure whether it is day or night, they can see no sunlight from their vantage point.

Looking for a secure location to hide, the three travelers scale down the cliff to a nearby overhang. Dropping their gear, they break down in an emotional state of shock. Reality seems nonexistent in this world of unknown possibilities, a fractured state of existence beyond the grasp of fiction. This is actually happening. Tears begin pouring out in a vulnerable release. It is as though they have crossed the line that blurs the boundaries between time. Going backward would almost certainly be the end of them all.

A few minutes pass in silence as each member contemplates the gravity of the realization. Traumatized by the sudden turn the trip has taken, the three are stricken with grief over being separated from their friend. As they begin picking up their gear again, something crawls onto the ledge. It is a large insect resembling a centipede, scanning back and forth across the platform. The girl from Finland panics at the sight of the giant insect and stomps on it. As it begins dying, its pincers lock down onto her foot. One of the men jumps in and hits the insect with a climber’s pickaxe, pinning it while the woman limps free.

Unaware that the camera is still recording until a beep indicating a low battery breaks them out of their state of withdrawal, the girl lifts the lanyard-attached pole-mounted camera, unintentionally recording footage out over the cliff to a panoramic view across the valley below: the first documented video evidence of a land beneath the surface of the Earth, an anomaly appearing as a landlocked cathedral below the sea. She lifts the camera as the video cuts to black.

From the firsthand accounts of the survivors, the three, fearing for their safety, remain on the cliff debating the fate of their friend Olivia, the mountain climber from Florida, who ran back into the cave. They question whether they should attempt to escape through the cave. After the experience with the raptors, they decide against it. Judging by how aggressive the creatures were and the numbers they traveled in, they assume the animals probably stay close by, waiting for prey to get trapped.

Without knowing the state of their friend’s well-being, they continue to hypothesize about the possible outcomes of her actions. If she made it out, she may be able to get help for a rescue. Alternatively, though none of them wants to say it aloud, help may never come. Winding down into a new plan of action, they decide they will wait nearby, and if help does not arrive, they will eventually be forced to find a new way out or try to sneak back the way they came.

After three days of waiting, the three—now running low on food and water—are forced to act. The woman from Finland is now hardly able to walk because of the swelling from the poisonous sting on day one. While sitting and thinking about what to do next, they hear a sound from across the valley. It is a bell ringing far away, an unmistakable hallmark of intelligent life. They wait quietly and hear it again. Their first thought is that it is their friend, and that she may have led a search party down but overshot them. That must be where they need to go. Packing their bags, they prepare to leave the cliff and head into the valley below.

The two men act as support, one on each side, while the woman limps between them. After leaving the cliff, they begin walking toward the sound of the bell. Any thoughts about how their friend may have managed to find an alternate route deep into the center are suppressed by the overwhelming need to move toward the sound. They walk for hours, beginning to realize the sheer scale of their surroundings. The difference between day and night is marked by a warm glow followed by a dimming into silvery darkness. The air becomes cold and dank once the light fades. From their previous vantage point, it looked as though lava was flowing somewhere in the distance. At night, areas with volcanic activity glow red.

With no visible connection between themselves and the source of the sound, all they can do is make camp within the vegetation.

After two days of walking through the vegetation and trees, the thought of finding a rescue party becomes less logical. They begin second-guessing the source of the bell. There is no possible way a search team could have arrived and passed them without being noticed. Thoughts of the man in the cave come to mind, or even other people who may have been trapped inside. They all agree they heard the bell ring multiple times. It has to be something—or someone—else. As the cave begins to turn to darkness, they hear it again. A bell rings out from somewhere far away beyond them, echoing quietly throughout the cathedral walls.

Still following the direction of the bell, a week later the party of three runs out of food. Water is easier to find, as fresh streams are scattered throughout the canyon. Food, however, is a much greater obstacle. Plants are everywhere, but without knowing what is edible, the three take turns testing different species. Reaching the point of starvation, they begin hunting larger game.

The shock of being in an underground trench capable of supporting prehistoric life becomes secondary to hunger. Since they prepared for extended video documentation of the cave system by bringing spare camera equipment, they now use their cameras to record segments of their journey. One of the men is able to corner a small emu-like dinosaur in a patch of trees. By throwing a small log at it, he injures the animal, then delivers a fatal blow and presents it to the camera.

The landscape changes the farther they proceed toward the center, transforming from a fern-laden plateau into a basalt scrub valley, then into a jungle swamp, all within a few miles. Prehistoric creatures are everywhere. The group documents their existence with recorded footage. Megafauna larger than anything on the surface of Earth still exists here. Giant crocodiles and sauropods survive undisturbed, intertwined with plant and animal species from multiple time periods. It is a land of lost wanderers and migratory specimens.

The three understand the importance of their scientific discovery. Each knows that this is now their life’s work. A short video segment shows a man in the distance hitting something with a rock. As the three nearly call out for help, they realize he is not identifiably human. They begin to question whether he is a caveman or the man from the cave above. After reviewing the zoomed-in footage from the camera, they notice he is not wearing pants or traditional clothing. Instead, he is wearing what looks like a dinosaur hide arranged like a vest. The woman from Finland coins the phrase “Short-Dick” as a reference to the noticeably small genitalia of the caveman-like humanoid.

Still moving forward toward the center, nearly two weeks have now passed. The land is dominated by thin trees with pockets of rocky clearings between each patch. While walking through this landscape, the man from San Diego begins recording as he follows behind the other two. He starts filming himself narrating as though he is hosting a YouTube channel. The video shows the man from Denver and the woman from Finland together. She is holding onto him over the shoulder as she limps forward.

Walking behind them at a slower pace, he begins speaking in a descriptive manner, showing the landscape in all directions before turning the camera toward himself. The woman from Finland objects to his sudden choice to become a video host. She says it is out of line to record a travel-style video while she is lost, injured, starving, and dehydrated. The man filming counters that the discovery is too important not to document and talks about the fame they will all gain from it.

The woman, reaching a breaking point, argues that it is disrespectful after everything they have been through. In the frame of the video, a tail is seen crossing behind his neck and tapping him on the shoulder. Suddenly spooked, he flinches. As The San Diegan turns to face the opposite direction, a large creature approaches him from behind. Before he can fully turn around, everything above his waist is inside the mouth of an unidentified creature.

The camera, pinned inside the creature’s mouth, records his final moments as he speaks to his father, apologizing and telling his family he loves them, before falling to the ground as the creature lifts its head. Audio of a man and woman screaming is heard, followed by the sound of rocky soil being pressed underfoot. The remaining man and woman can be seen momentarily frozen. Panicked voices are heard as the sound fades away. The rest of the recording captures a backdrop of ferns as a second creature emerges from the trees, passes through the frame, and disappears. A short time later, the camera is repositioned upward toward a stone ceiling with crystal inlets.

From the firsthand accounts of the two surviving party members, they had turned away from their friend briefly after arguing about the ethics of recording the journey. When they turned back, he was partially visible, with his upper body inside the mouth of what they described as a T. rex. The dinosaur froze when they looked at it, then began moving backward without breaking eye contact.

Immediately after this first visual contact, the man from Denver felt something tap his shoulder. A second T. rex appeared from their right as he looked left. The woman looked the opposite direction, making visual contact with the creature charging toward her, which then froze and moved backward just like the first one. The party, now reduced to two, ran away in the direction they had been traveling. The woman, supported by her companion, hopped on one leg while holding onto the man. They ran for two minutes until fatigue forced them to stop.

Expecting to be attacked, they watch as two of the large dinosaurs come into view. Unlike their understanding of tyrannosaur hunting behavior, the creatures move sideways along a tree line, changing color with their tail ends pointed toward the survivors. Once in camouflaged positions, the creatures begin using the ends of their tails to tap the humans on the shoulders. The man identifies this as an instinctual ambush behavior. Like lions and tigers, they seem unwilling to attack while in full view of their prey.

Calling the dinosaurs’ bluff, he stands with crossed arms in front of his partner, keeping eye contact with one while a second tyrannosaurus appears, displaying the same exact behavior. With two dinosaurs now in front of them, he tells the woman to keep her eyes on the second while he watches the first. The two stand facing each animal as the tails repeatedly move around behind them, tapping at their shoulders in an effort to get them to look away.

Now convinced this is the key to survival, he tests the theory. For a split second, The Denverite breaks line of sight with the first animal and looks directly at the second. When he looks back, the first dinosaur has already made a move toward him, then freezes in place and repositions itself, tapping his shoulder and face repeatedly with the tip of its tail. The two gather themselves, stand upright, and begin moving backward without breaking eye contact.

The position they eventually secure is a small geological overhang formed into the landscape. Once they begin to move again, a third creature appears, which they recognize as the one that took their friend. It is clear that he is dead. Blood covering the animal, and the lower half of The San Dieagan’s body, legs still connected by a belt, rests outside the dinosaur’s mouth as it settles into a hunting position against the tree line.

Horrified, the two slowly begin moving along the path of least resistance, trying to keep all three giant dinosaurs in sight. They continue until they reach a cliff face. With only one option left, they descend. The woman goes first and makes it halfway down before her partner begins climbing after her. A few moments later, two of the three dinosaurs appear over the edge, waving their tails down toward them. The man scales down and meets up with his partner three-quarters of the way down. As the two reach the ground, they run toward the tree line across the way, turning just in time to see two of the large dinosaurs freeze in midair as they fall from the cliff.

Within a few hours, the bell rings out louder than they have heard it since beginning their journey. They are now close enough to walk directly toward the sound. Moving frantically, they reach what appears to be an established pathway, almost like a well-traveled trail. The two, now sweating profusely, rush down it. The Finn, fighting off infection and in desperate need of medical attention, is beginning to lose consciousness. The Deverite picks her up and begins carrying her.

Stacked stone wall formations appear along the pathway. The Denverite travels along the path carrying his companion until he comes upon what looks like a church procession: a long line of small women dressed in white, moving upward along a path. He runs toward them with the woman over his shoulder. She is partially conscious as he rushes toward them, begging for help. As he approaches, waving his hand, the women become aware of them. A large number gather together, pulling out blades and making deaf-sounding vocalizations.

The Denverite sets The Finn down on the ground beside him and begins showing the women her foot, swollen and discolored from the injury. Still the women in white stand together, holding their blades in a defensive posture. Realizing he cannot communicate in English, he begins a series of gestures in an attempt to convince them that they are not a threat and need help. He reenacts the insect bite with his hands, then gestures about hearing the bell and being attacked by dinosaurs.

The women stand silently for a moment. Then one woman in white moves forward, losing her fear of the man, and begins evaluating the injured woman. She makes a quick gesture, and more of the women move forward to examine her. After a few moments, they begin trying to lift her up. The Denverite, taking this as a sign of acceptance, moves to pick her up again. The movement startles the women in white, who raise their blades. Tension begins to dissolve as they realize he is not a threat.

He picks up his friend and begins walking toward a wall surrounding a cityscape beyond. He starts to notice that their hands are formed differently, along with a few other irregularities. Compared with everything else they have encountered in the cathedral, these are intelligent beings capable of compassion. To him, it feels like a gift from God.

Upon reaching the wall to the city beyond, The Denverite is directed to stay outside while the women carry the woman from Finland through a gate marking the entrance. After two days without word from his companion, she returns. After regaining consciousness, she had awoken inside a room made of stone, surrounded by pale humanoids. They had given her medical treatment by wrapping the insect bite in a thin bark tourniquet-like bandage lined with white flowers. The flowers pressed against the infected area acted as an antiseptic.

The Finn attempted to speak to the women in white, but it is as though they cannot hear her voice. Once she was able to move, The Finn made an effort to locate her friend. Without knowing exactly where he was or the circumstances of her place in this community, she attempts to communicate without words. Eventually The Finn’s efforts are understood, and she is reunited with her male companion outside the walls. They are granted permission to stay within the city.

For four years, they remain living within the Citadel district until receiving information about other beings with five fingers and five toes farther into the cathedral canyon. The two leave together in search of another person living within the canyon. Unsure whether it is their friend Olivia, they leave the pyramid city walls. Eventually they find another city with a similar subspecies of humanoid beings, along with two men living among them: one a Filipino man who had been trapped inside since childhood, and the other a man from Florida who had been shipwrecked.

With the arrival of reconnaissance drones, the two remaining members of the 2016 party are notified about the fate of their friend. She had died while attempting to climb the sheer wall at the exit. Her GoPro was recovered, revealing conclusive evidence of her attempt to escape. The two remaining survivors are still inside the canyon, now in communication with their families. The only evidence of their disappearance came from a research vessel who had found a full bottle of whisky inside a floating tiger shark.        

The Lone Survivor — The Story of Ping

A man from the Filipinas who was left orphaned after he and his family drifted out to sea on a small fishing boat while traveling to visit relatives on a nearby island. For over forty years he lived inside the cathedral underneath the ocean. This story was written by his mother, who documented the events that led herself and her son to the island off Fiji, the island over 4,000 miles away from where they started.

The family’s boat was temporarily used as a ferry between islands as a way to pay for their own trip. After a tropical storm warning was issued, ferry services began refusing service until after the storm had passed. Ping’s father was approached by an American woman offering to pay to reach a larger island across the channel. After agreeing, three Norwegian soldiers on vacation noticed the deal being made and approached Ping’s father. Once leaving port, the boat was caught adrift in a channel as a tropical storm blew over, a direct result of a motor malfunction leaving them floating, unable to reach their destination. Ping’s father, acting as the captain to four tourist occupants, was unable to regain control over the vessel before it was pulled out to sea. The occupants were a retired American woman meeting her husband on the island, three Norwegian men attempting to cross the channel before the storm, and Ping’s mother, father, and sister. The ferry and all its passengers departed the shore, never to be seen or heard from again.

Once the storm had passed, Ping’s father, amongst friction with the ship’s passengers, was able to restart the motor. Darkness had fallen, and the ship was now back en route to the intended island destination. The motor began to sputter again before cutting out completely. This time, however, the engine had run out of fuel. The American woman became furious, demanding a full refund for the unexpected hindrance. The men from Norway attempted to help, but no amount of technical knowledge could replace fuel. The time spent drifting and the distance covered in current were too long. Once they began fighting against the tide, it was too much for the ship’s fuel supply. For the next three months, Ping would travel nearly 4,000 miles before making landfall on a deserted island.

Ping, still hardly able to talk, was looked after by his mother. His father, a seasoned fisherman, was able to provide food for himself, his wife, daughter, and guests. The mother, still able to produce milk from her pregnancy, was able to provide for her son as they waited for rescue. Due to the fact that it was the early 1980s and the family belonged to a remote island community, the chance of a swift rescue effort was limited. Without electronic communication and with limited resources, the family could only hope for a miracle. Their greatest chance of rescue was that the American woman’s husband had contacted port authorities and assembled a search party. Now at the mercy of the South Pacific Ocean, the family and tourists had no other choice than to occupy their vessel while it floated with the current.

As the days passed by, the sea began to reemerge as a desert of water. The fish became more scarce, and fresh water was not available. Despite efforts to build a makeshift solar still alongside a rainwater collection system, there simply was not enough water. The family began to feel the effects of dehydration, starvation, and overexposure to the elements. The American woman became increasingly agitated by the fact that her life hung in the balance as a split decision to risk crossing a channel. The men from Norway were helpful and friendly, but due to the language barrier were unable to communicate effectively. After two weeks out at sea, they began losing their thought of rescue. The will of a parent’s paternal instinct was what they relied on now. A few essential items made the difference between life or death. A fishing pole, luggage, plastic and metal containers, and a few personal belongings were all they had left. The mother began documenting each day in a journal.

Being that the boat was not just occupied by adults, misfortune emerged as the result of a child’s innocent mistake. The fishing pole, left unattended on the hull of the boat, was stepped on, causing it to fracture into two pieces. The father, asleep at the time of the incident, awoke to find their most valuable lifeline was missing. Panicked, he questioned the rest of the family, only to discover that the pole had been broken and thrown away. The breaking point had been reached. All hope for survival began to drift away.

Now six weeks after what should have been a short island-hopping excursion had turned into a nightmare survival scenario, multiple attempts to procure food and water had failed. The family of four, exhausted and alone, began to lose rationality. The communal bonds began to fall apart. The once mildly stable state was now becoming increasingly divided. During one of the nights, two of the Norwegian men began to argue. This would become the first instance of the descent into chaos. As the others watched from a distance, the two men began wrestling each other. One of the men forced himself out over the edge of the boat, dipping his hand into the water and pulling seawater into his mouth. The man let go of his friend, shouting at him. Within a day, the man who had drunk the saltwater began screaming at the horizon, losing his grip on reality. The others began to form a circle around each other. The man’s cognitive decline was evident. Noticeably larger than the others, his strength and size became a cause for concern. During the night, the man became aggressive toward the group. Focusing his attention on Ping’s mother, explicit advances began as the disgruntled man moved towards her. The Norwegian’s  fought to restrain their friend by force while he struggled against them. Breaking free from the grasp, overtaken with delusion and rage, he continued his advance. Ping’s father stepped forward and stabbed him. In shock, the Norwegian man was forced overboard into the ocean. He made no attempt to swim back into the boat. They watched as the distance between him grew. A few seconds of unrecognizable words continued, and then silence. The two remaining Norwegians grieved while the rest of the passengers sat quietly. Without being able to speak directly, hand gestures were exchanged between themselves and Ping’s father, a shared understanding of the actions that were taken, as if they were trying to tell him they understood why. The American woman, however, became afraid of the captain. She refused to go near Ping’s father and would shudder every time he came close.

One by one, the remaining passengers began to lose their grasp on reality. The distance traveled was immense and unforgiving. They had since crossed over the southern equator without realizing it until one of the Norwegian men noticed a change in the shadows. He began drawing a circle with a line in the middle representing Earth, eventually coming to the conclusion that they were probably somewhere between Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Fiji, a feeble attempt to reclaim their bearings in hopes of rescue. The endless sea was the only thing they had seen in weeks. A few days later, they awoke to the Norwegian man lying motionless on the deck. They could only assume that his death was a result of malnutrition or illness. The need for water and food remained an unchanging constant as the remaining voyagers clung to precious resources.

Rainfall was collected in containers, but still insufficient to sustain now six survivors. Stress of over exertion brought on constant disputes over rations. The American had opted to stay on the opposite side of the boat. Her demeanor was increasingly difficult to understand as words from the three cultures were lost in translation. Communication depended heavily upon hand gestures and drawings. The American began to feel as though her water rations were not enough to satisfy her needs. Desperation led to the woman becoming irritated and irrationally angry. In an attempt to steal some of the children’s water rations, Ping’s mother began to lose her composure. She pushed the American woman, causing her to lose her balance, falling overboard as a result. Within a minute, she was surrounded by sharks and pulled under. Ping’s mother sat down, unable to watch, breaking down and crying.

The remaining survivors said nothing of the incident, too tired to talk or express any type of emotion, they were drained of all moral obligations. A few days later, a storm rolled over the boat, causing it to rock violently in the storm surge. Once the ocean calmed down, a small glimmer of hope was rising. The water that had been collected was enough to last them for weeks. Again, tragedy struck in an unexpected circumstance. The Norwegian man began to act irrationally, as if he had drunk seawater. Realizing this, Ping’s father began warning his family not to drink the collected water. The only people who didn’t drink from the water trough were Ping and his mother. Fighting a battle within the mind, the men became cast into hallucinations. The Norwegian man walked to the front of the boat and never returned. Ping’s father, for the first time since their journey began, broke completely. He entered the water and began swimming out toward the horizon, leaving his wife and children alone. Ping’s mother held on, trying desperately, too tired to do anything except sit in the shade. Eventually falling asleep, when she woke her daughter was gone. It was now just Ping and his mother alone in the ocean.

For two more weeks they floated. A small supply of fresh water was able to keep them alive. Just as all chances of survival seemed to disappear, a tree could be seen on the horizon. The island grew until it became clear that the boat was being carried straight toward it. A pull from the incoming tide allowed for the boat to enter the U-shaped island. Overcoming all odds, this island became a godsend, pulling them straight into salvation. The boat drifted calmly through the center of the lagoon toward the shore, grounding itself as it beached.

It was as though fate had placed them exactly where they needed to be, exactly when they needed to be there. Although it was not rescue, the island was relief. The mother and her son remained seated on the island oasis for the next two years. Ping’s mother, Yan, Using every available resource she had left, found a way to survive. After regaining her strength, she began exploring every possible part of the island. During an extremely low tide, Yan noticed an unusual formation breaking the surface of the water. After spending her entire life on a tropical island, she was an expert diver and spear fisher. Curiosity brought her out into the lagoon toward the chimney formation, diving down further toward the bottom. A large school of fish congregated inside the opening. Using a spear she had made, she reached out and poked a fish. Immediately, the fish began to swim sideways with the spear attached to its back. The movement triggered a sudden response from a nearby reef shark. Without warning, the shark swam past Yan, taking the fish into its mouth while swimming upward into the chimney, causing the spear to lodge itself somewhere above. Yan returned to the surface and dived back down, pulling herself into the chimney’s chamber and swimming upward to retrieve her spear. After regaining possession of the spear, she made her descent. A stream of water forced into the chamber by the rising tide created an enormous amount of water pressure that began pushing her up in the opposite direction. Fearing as though she would be trapped, she attempted to escape the inner chamber. Again, she was met by swift pressure. With her heart beating faster, she swam with the pressure. A moment of darkness, then she broke the surface. Gasping, she breathed in, looking around, turning to see a dimly lit air pocket inside a cavernous space. Although not wanting to explore at the moment, the cave became an area of interest, a possible location that could accommodate herself and her son as they waited for rescue. Thankful to be alive, she continued her attempt to make it back into the lagoon. Taking a breath of air, she swam down the chimney formation with her spear and pulled herself back outside into the main lagoon.

The boat they had used during their journey was the only secure shelter on the island. Knowing the cave would be a safe place during storms, she planned to return the next day. Over the next few weeks, multiple trips were taken inside as Ping waited on the boat. She knew that eventually her son would have to make it through the underwater tunnel. They would practice holding their breath underwater while swimming in the shallow water near shore. As time passed, they became more aware of the danger the island posed. Sharks frequently swam into the shallow waters near the shoreline. A plan was created to use rope from their boat as a way to pull themselves through the underwater channel and into the air pocket. Every chance she had, Ping’s mother would move items from the boat into the cave, knowing that it was only a matter of time before a storm would pass. As expected, the sky darkened to grey and the water began moving uneasily. With only a warning from the sky above, Yan knew the time was approaching to make the first trip through the chimney. Ping, now a few months older than before, was taken out on a life vest. His mother, who had secured the entry rope into the air lock above, brought him out to the chimney. She spoke to him calmly, making sure he understood what needed to be done: hold your breath and kick like a frog. They made a countdown and descended down into the base of the coal-laden chimney. Pulling Ping as she dove as fast as she could, Yan grabbed the rope and began pulling them toward the air pocket above. The two broke the surface. She checked her son. Coughing on water, Yan patted his back as though she was burping. The trip through to the second pool was next. In the time of preparation, Yan had forced pieces of life preservers into the air pocket. The pieces of the life vest were used to make a small raft for her son to cross the pool. Grabbed a spear strategically placed onto the barrier wall the two swam across, poking anything that came nearby. Placing the raft on the edge of the rocky platform, she pulled her son to safety. For the next two years, Ping and his mother Yan would remain in the cave.

Over the course of the two years, Yan and her son Ping explored the cave in near pitch-black conditions. The majority of time was spent at the entrance next to the water pools. Glowing water along the entrance was the only place where fragmented light could reach. Without wanting to bring her son across the shark-filled water of the secondary pool, Yan was forced to cross over to spear fish. The boat the two had traveled across the Pacific on was now gone. At some point during the storm, the fishing boat had lost its anchor and disappeared. Knowing that the chances of rescue were now almost nonexistent inside the cave, the fight was now—to be or not to be. The only drinkable water was found far into the cave’s chamber. Tin cans were pressed into slanted angles against the wall to collect a slow stream of water that passed through the porous stone. Life had to be relearned in darkness. Every item Yan brought inside was utilized to the full extent. Eventually, they adapted, as well as one could in blind conditions. Stones and pieces of rope were used as guides to navigate through the dark. Ping, now older than at the beginning of their time at sea, had only known survival as a reality. The cave was the only home known. Ping’s mother, a Buddhist, would teach Ping what she knew of life, religion, and the world outside. The everyday battle to navigate dark pathways, procure food, and drink water was abruptly ended.

During a trip out of the cave, Ping’s mother Yan was bitten by a shark. After suffering a severe injury to her hand, she attempted to reach Ping and had fallen. Through the dark, Ping found his mother unconscious in a small chamber along the cave’s pathway. Unable to recognize danger, the first initial reaction was sleep. Eventually, the realization that his mother was not waking up dawned. Now alone, there was no other choice than to venture further into the underground trail. Ping left his mother where she lay and moved forward, further than he had ever gone before.

Once past the last marking stones, pieces of jute rope brought into the cave were used to leave a trail. For hours Ping walked further into the earth, tapping everything around him, then dropping a piece of rope. The channels slowly moved downward. Any time a ledge was felt, a stone would be dropped over the edge to gauge the distance between the fall and the sound. Following nothing but where the air was moving from, Ping was now nearly ten miles from the shore and a mile below the surface of the ocean.

Light began to glow as neon bioluminescent algae bloomed along the walls. Further on, the luminous protist and fungal life grew. Ping continued to move forward faster. The little light the protist produced was more than sufficient to guide him. A pathway opened into a high-ceiling cavern with a massive natural stone staircase formation. At the bottom was a narrow crevasse leading into a smaller bioluminescent grotto. A few miles through the grotto garden, Ping reached a sheer drop. The pathway, now at its end above, was halted by a ledge into a continuation below. Bioluminescent algae and stones were cast over the edge. With nowhere else to go, Ping managed to wrap the jute rope around a rock jetting out from the wall and wedge it into a crack. He grabbed the rope and slid downward, making three-fourths of the distance before falling to the ground. He moved forward around a corner. Light could be seen on the roof of the cave. The path opened up into a rocky pile of stones that led to a large exit. The area beyond was a dank, dimly lit oasis. A shallow stream cut between the cave’s exit and a small sedentary beach with ferns on the opposite side. As far as the eye could reach, the underground canyon filled the horizon. Ping crossed the river, stopping only to drink, then began walking into the ferns.

Years went by without any contact or connection to the world above. As Ping moved into adulthood, his time in the Cathedral was filled with harrowing revelations of survival and adaptation to a prehistoric world in the modern age. Without knowing anything more than what his mother had taught him, he became accustomed to life inside the ecological anomaly. Throughout his lifetime within the cathedral, Ping encountered almost every intelligent creature inside. Without knowing anything of the world above, the primeval dwelling was a gauntlet of parallel normalization. Hostile and unwelcoming, Ping’s journey is a tale of resilience in a foreign land. Years went by traveling throughout the cave, looking for a way out. After suffering a near-fatal injury given by a clawed crab-like scorpion, Ping was left as a partial eunuch. While fighting off infection from his injury, he went unconscious next to a stream. When Ping woke, he was being rescued by a pale-skinned humanoid. A group of pale beings brought him back to their city on a stretcher. Referenced earlier as Citadel, Ping called these beings “Sita.” The name stems from a Buddhist and Hindu goddess, Sita Tara (White Tara), who represents compassion, fertility, and healing. As taught by his mother, the spiritual figures of the Buddhist religion, these deities were often used to describe the beings who Ping encountered. As a way to express his understanding of the subterranean world he considered home, the word “Kaluwalhatian” was used, believing himself to be cast into the realm of ancient Indian mythology told to him by his mother. Ping lived his life as a pilgrimage through a vast world of deities and gods. For over forty years, Ping remained a pioneer in a real-life land before time, a place where prehistoric remnants thrive, home to a lone survivor cast away from the world’s view.

Ping was found living 500 miles from the cathedral caldera’s entrance with the three other survivors. To Ping, the cathedral was nothing more than normal. Life inside never broke his love for life. Ping was found to have taken a Sita as a wife and is living in a small settlement outside the Mecca-like city of the Sweethearts.

Overlords—

One tunnel in particular connects directly to an adjacent terrarium cathedral, which has partially collapsed. The adjacent terrarium cathedral has become dominated into a monolithic environment by a species closely related to house/horse flies. The tunnel’s entrance is guarded by an intelligent reptilian species, given the name “Overlords” by an inhabitant from Australia who has been trapped inside since 1974.

The city is a melting pot community of species from the cathedral who have relocated from other sections of the cathedral. The “Overlords” are a subspecies of raptor that have evolved inside the cathedral. Tolerantly peaceful to inhabitants within the cathedral, they act as a military force between the two cathedrals.

The “Overlords,” being the oldest civilization within the environment, have evolved with carbon deposits integrated into their anatomy from birth. A diamond byproduct is infused into their bodies from early raptors that have thrived for millions of years within the cathedral. Without being able to remove the carbon, diamonds are transferred into the eggs, which fuse into the hatchlings.

A traditional greeting of peace involves a kiss-like gesture to the hand, which is then reciprocated by the recipient. Those who do not perform the gesture are considered hostile and are not welcomed into the city.

Unable to differentiate themselves from other species, diamonds are considered the key to entering the city. As long as the presence of diamonds or other reflective materials is observed, the reptilian beings recognize the other species as their own. Those who do not wear diamonds are eaten.

The Australian —

The oldest surviving human in the cathedral is a man from Australia. Up until communication was established via aerial exploration drones, he wasn’t unaware of any other human presence. He was the only person to enter the cathedral from the Australian cave system. The Australian man was 18 years of age when he began a spelunking expedition with a friend. The two men entered a dormant volcanic cave system in the northeast territory of Australia and never returned.

The men had been exploring an underground network in Undara Volcano National Park that was rarely attempted. These dormant lava tubes occasionally filled with water in the wet season, making this particular area one of interest. When the journey began, the men planned a test run into a smaller section before entering a well-traveled route. As they expected, the tunnels were free of stagnant pools. The absence of standing water allowed for an unhindered passage through to a subsection of the tube network. In this section of the cave, there were stories of larger-than-average descents. The two men were warned by a ranger before entering the park about deaths connected to lava tubes. Some sections remained unexplored due to the lack of sufficient gear in the 1970s. The niche for specialized spelunking adventures in northeast Australia was minimal. The two men, however, shared the same interest in subterranean exploration.

The initial reaction was a mixture of excitement and disappointment. The two men, after hearing about the 160 km of tube networks, came loaded with gear only to find something of a tourist attraction. Fearing that they were overprepared, they began asking questions about other accessible sites within the park. One of the rangers hosting tours even laughed at the two boys after they showed up in full spelunking gear, saying they looked like scuba divers mixed with mineral miners. Loaded with equipment, the two sported oxygen tanks with respirators, rock-climbing essentials, carrying packs, and guano-proof suits. Although the two were disheartened by the lack of real spelunking the park offered, they continued to ask questions. The ranger spoke of a deeper cavern that was not used for touring. She gave them the general location of where to find the entrance and told them she didn’t know exactly what was inside, but it would be a good place to use their gear. The two men left hoping for the best, but expecting more of the same.

Once the entrance was located, they marked it with a totem and went inside. The last time anyone saw them was from a car that passed by moments before they entered the cavern. Now, 52 years later, the full story about the disappearance has been revealed. After an entire lifespan apart from the surface, the mystery has now been solved.

Immediately, the men knew that this secret cave was what they came for. It was exactly what was expected, dark and foreboding, with little to no signs of tourism. A bit of litter and clothing near the entrance suggested that it was more of a make-out spot, but once further into the dark zone, all signs of life disappeared. They moved comfortably through the darkness with clip-on flashlights and mining helmets. Without knowing how far or where they were going, a small amount of food and water was packed. After reaching a substantial drop-off, the path began to fork. One tunnel was partially filled with water, so they began traveling through the path of least resistance. After traveling a short distance into the tunnel, they found that the path forward was blocked by a large number of boulders. Fearing the end, they backtracked to investigate the water path. Although expecting to get wet, water was avoided if possible. Looking at the surface of the stagnant pool, a small crevasse in the ceiling indicated a potential way forward. They deliberated on who would enter first by flipping a coin. The Australian, losing the toss, waded into the pool after throwing a rock in to check for crocodiles. He breathed in and ducked underneath the water. A few moments later, he reemerged, telling his companion that there was an open space on the other side. They placed their belongings into a water bag and crossed underwater into a shallow lake inside a large cave. On the opposite side was a large amount of fallen rock that formed a small shoreline. Impressed with their discovery, they seized the opportunity to document the exploration by taking photographs of themselves. A few pictures were captured of them in their gear, and more photos were taken of the subterranean lake. It was photographic proof that they were now real spelunkers. The two drank some water, ate a small snack, and cracked open a beer they had bought.

Both, enjoying the moment, decided on their next plan of action. Still only a few hours in, they decided to check for a continuation of the lava tube. They both knew that at this point the danger was magnified. One wrong move could turn into disaster. Feeling as though they were the first to make it this far, they decided to go until they could go no further. Armed with a mix of mining equipment and rock-climbing gear, they continued into a nearby waterway. The first chamber they found was a dead end. More clothing was found and some old beer cans. “R + A” was etched into one of the boulders. Although they were not the first people to experience the area, they continued on. The two swam back into the shallow lake inside the cave, shining flashlights around the walls looking for an opening. A wall with an overhang blocked the view forward; the water flowing beneath the wall was the only way through. The two tied a rope around their waists. The Australian waited for a signal on the rope. One tug was felt, meaning that his friend had made it to the other side safely. The Australian signaled back, letting him know he was about to cross the divide. He held his breath as he was pulled forward, then surfaced at an awkward angle. This room was less spacious, with only a few feet of headroom. The waterway meandered along a narrow corridor, then ended in an upward climb onto a slanted rock wall. The wall was a gentle slope downward, but there was no sign of what was below it. The two began moving slowly along the upper section near the ceiling. Any further down the face and they would surely fall. Taking the chance, they moved forward around a blind turn. As they moved, the steep slope began to intensify. With only a few feet of walkable space left, their feet began slanting downward. The way the rock was angled and the low ceiling offered little maneuverability. The water from the lake caused their feet to slide. Talk of turning back was exchanged momentarily. Without warning, The Australian was being pulled down. His friend, reaching out for something to grab as his shoes lost contact with the wall, slipped as well. The Australian caught an outstretched hand and began losing contact with the rock. Both men were now sliding down the face of the wall. The two men slid into a space between the wall and dropped. As they fell, it was his friend who hit the ground first, The Australian landing on top of him. After a moment of shock and disarray, the realization of disaster became apparent.

The light from their flashlights was casting outward at obscure angles. Both, winded from the fall, regained composure. The Australian helped his friend into a seated position, asking him about his current state of well-being. His companion was less lucky. The fall had fractured his leg. Immediately, the two began talking about an emergency exit strategy. The flashlight was positioned upward toward where they fell. A sheer wall with a crack was visible, with no sign indicating a stable reentry. They had fallen into a conduit. The space was far greater in size than the tube above. It was a vast space with a large circular ceiling, reminiscent of the exposed lava tube they had explored above. The floor, partially filled with water, was oddly clear, with a small amount of rocks and boulders. A makeshift brace was attached to his friend’s leg. The Australian pulled his friend upright, and the two began searching for a way out.

Within a few minutes of walking, the light landed on an unexpected discovery. An ominous reptilian skeletal silhouette was cast against the wall. As they approached, the two were in disbelief at the size of the bones. It was a perfectly preserved crocodile skeleton. The bones, near fossilized, gave the impression that it was not of this era. A prehistoric relic that lay undisturbed for thousands, if not millions, of years. The sheer size of the head was unlike anything they had ever seen in the outback. Saltwater crocodiles are known to grow large, but the fossil specimen dwarfed modern crocs in comparison. The head was about as large as a small vehicle. A photo opportunity presented itself. Battered as they were, the two began snapping pictures of the ghostly remains. A tooth the size of a knife was picked up as evidence of the discovery upon their rescue.

The discovery sparked hope that the accidental fall would not go in vain. Still, the fact remained that their only hope was to find a connecting lava tube. Fear of dangerous CO2 levels and a lack of guided travel into this particular segment was a concern. The idea that eventually the conduit would intersect a well-traveled space seemed logical, but with no way of knowing, the young men did their best to reorient their position. With limited options as to the direction they were able to travel, and no way of going back, they moved forward, deeper into the conduit. Knowing that lava tubes formed in layers, and the presence of a large conduit meant they must be somewhere below the main tube field, their attention was focused upward. The problem was that instead of remaining on a flat path forward, the floor was gradually sloping down deeper underground.

Volcanic conduit talk:

The best way to describe what a conduit is is a basalt-hosted aquifer. Similar to other mineral conduits, like karst limestone long cave tubes, it is a third layer under the lava tubes that once carried magma and other volcanic byproduct, then cooled, possibly allowing water to percolate through the basalt (lava rock) foundation. Unlike the lava tubes, conduits are like magma superhighways, an area where large amounts of molten rock and gases persistently gather before being displaced by pressure through the lava tubes. Like the main container for a tube of toothpaste with multiple crazy straws attached to the cap. These foundations get stronger over time due to mineral collection brought in through the porous basalt layer. Once fully formed, these conduit corridors allow water to be carried into fractures, underground aquifers, dikes, and water tables. The formation of conduits can be tracked through volcanic fields adjacent to volcanic activity and tectonic movement. From the Undara Volcano location in northern Australia, believed to be a stationary volcano, the volcanic pathway travels along the eastern inland border in a north-south pattern adjacent to the Coral Sea, then stretches from the Cape York Peninsula to Tasmania. Along the same volcanic pathway, a transition from granite to limestone extends in the same north-south pattern. In the north, the Torres Strait sits at the edge of the northern Australia subduction zone. After the Torres Strait, the volcanic zones cross over a tectonic rift, then spread out into the Pacific Ocean, making up the Ring of Fire.

Even with the thought of being trapped, The Australian and his injured companion remained hopeful they would find a way out. Although they may have been the first humans to set foot inside, the amount of fully intact skeletons of creatures was a testament to the conduit’s trapping capabilities. Along the walls and floor lay the bones of creatures that once lived long ago. Their discovery would surely make world news, but after 24 hours inside walking, there was still no sign of an exit. They began to realize just how far they had gone. The plan had changed from finding an adjacent lava tube to simply following the path, and maybe it would open up at the bottom of the mountain. With only a small amount of survival rations, eventually food would have to be found. Water was covering the floor, moving like a slow stream. The conduit seemed as though it would never end. Other than a few twists and turns paired with small hallways that led to more open cavities, all they could do was go straight forward. Following the water path seemed to be the only choice presented.

Both wanted nothing more than to find a way home. The dark corridors and desperation to leave became uncomfortably claustrophobic. Resting, then walking, then repeating the process, all while The Australian supported his friend as he limped through the space. The ground began to slope more dramatically into a gradual angle.

Thousands of years of mineral deposits and microbes had made the floor slick, much different than the basalt terrain they started on. The two men struggled to keep their balance in uneven sections. Through the darkness, without noticing immediately, the ground seemed to slope down as the ceiling followed. The two stood shining their lights over the ground in front of them while looking down into a slide-like extension. The white mineral-laden floor resembled a geological ski slope for beginners.

Both men, already having trouble moving efficiently without slipping, agreed that this section would be best to slide down feet first. The angle didn’t look extreme enough for them to lose control, but with limited mobility, it was an obstacle that required a specialized approach. The odds of them falling backward would be much greater if they attempted to stand. A few moments were taken to test their theory. The Australian sat down with his legs forward and began digging his heels into the ground, moving forward with minimal resistance. The idea worked.

The Australian’s injured friend fastened a rope around his waist, and as The Australian lowered him onto a sled made from two oxygen tank vests, dry bags, and supply packs, the companion was to lie facing forward behind The Australian while he acted as the brakes. To avoid pressure on his injured leg, the plan was that the two men would slowly make a controlled descent down the slope, and in the event they began to slide, they would just ride the angle to the end. It was a conceptually sound plan with moderate variables. The two wove climbing rope through the vests and loose gear and began the descent.

For the first few hundred meters, their idea worked exactly as planned. The Australian used his heels to maintain a slow forward slide. A patch of mineral growth was observed in the lit path in front of them. An adjustment in direction to avoid the stalagmites caused the sled to shift. With this imbalance of weight, the sled began losing shape. Still tied together, The Australian was pushed to the left as the weight of the gear and friend lying on top passed him on the right-hand side. Within a few seconds, the sled made from two oxygen tanks rolled over on itself into a shapeless pile, the injured man now hugging the items together as he took the lead. The Australian was now being pulled forward.

With the rate of descent intensified, the two slid uncontrollably forward. The injured man was now using the aluminum oxygen tanks as a shield and battering ram for upcoming stalagmites, while The Australian attempted to shine light forward. As though the two were riding a snow-covered mountain, they let the momentum take over. A moderately large patch of mineralized deposits caught the rope, causing the sled and its rider to dislodge. With a jolt, the gear broke form completely. The injured man, now hovering two feet above the floor, was sent flying. As the rope straightened out, it was an oversized charm bracelet made from spelunking equipment and lost men. Loose items were thrown across the sloping floor of the cave as the two bounced over the uneven surface.

Their speed slowed to a gradual stop as the conduit began to level. Tension around the waist began to tighten. The men, still connected by the climbing rope, called out to each other. A passing stalagmite at the base of the hill split between the rope prevented the two from moving forward. Random items slid past slowly, then disappeared into the shadows. The Australian released his end of the tether, causing the rope to move in an upward direction as the two slid down a few more feet to the base. Battered, but relatively uninjured, The Australian crawled over to his friend. His companion laughed a little, trying to see the brighter side by saying that it would have been fun if it was not for his leg. The flashlights were cast around the tunnel. The hill from below looked much steeper than their initial vantage point. Loose inventory dislodged from the slide was collected. All but two essential items were reclaimed. The dry bag holding their food and an oxygen tank were missing. The Australian, spotting the bag of food on the stalagmite where the rope got stuck, made multiple attempts to retrieve it. Each time he slipped and fell back down the steep base of the conduit’s hill. It became clear that going back up the decline was not an option. The two men sat, weighing their options, holding onto hope that somewhere within the 160 km of lava tubes an opening would appear.

Once again, the two pressed forward into the depths of the conduit’s dark halls. The oxygen tank was located further down the tunnel. All the gauges were cracked, and the air-release knob had been severely bent. Even damaged, the oxygen inside provided a crucial lifeline if the two were to make it out alive. Around the floor and ceiling, stalagmites and stalactites began forming larger spiked columns. Even with the amount of peril the men faced, both were thoroughly impressed by the geological formations. The sound of water echoed through the pitch-black landscape. Somewhere in front of the two, running water was flowing through the cave.

The men were now standing at the edge of a large underground river. The immense pulling current made the two uneasy. To get to the other side, they would have to wade through it. Upon putting their hands into the river, they found the water was moderately warm. They began hypothesizing that the source was a hydrothermal spring or groundwater from the surface flowing through an underground aquifer. A small dark shadow passed by, then a few minutes later there was another. Fish traveling with the current could be seen passing every so often. With a closer inspection of the edge water, minnows below the surface were tucked into the calmer sections where mineral formations blocked the current. The river’s current was moving from their left to their right-hand side. Erosion caused the river to appear directly from the conduit’s left wall, then flow through a larger cavern on the right. Fearing the possibility of being swept away and exhausted from the distance traveled, the two decided to sleep, then cross after they regained strength.

The two lost men woke to an ink-black backdrop. After the flashlights were turned on, they began strategizing about a way across the underground aquifer. The Australian, able to use full unhindered mobility, proposed throwing an anchor line to the opposite side, pulling himself across, then pulling his injured friend to the opposing bank. All gear was arranged into a pile. One side of the climbing rope was woven through open loops in the fabric, while the other end was cast over to the other side of the water. After a few attempts, a knot with a loop acted as a lasso to snare a stalagmite across the river. The river itself was over ten meters wide with an undetermined depth. The Australian’s injured friend braced himself in front of the gear as The Australian waded into the river. In an instant, the current began forcing The Australian into the middle of the aquifer. He held onto the rope and pulled himself across to the other side. His partner attached the rope to a carabiner on his oxygen vest and lowered himself into the water. The Australian began pulling on the rope as his friend attempted to close the distance. Once the man reached the deepest section in the middle, the water started moving him backward with the current. The rope, still attached to the gear, made a V shape as the man drifted downstream. Unable to kick with his legs, he used his hands to pull himself forward against the fast-moving water. The weight of the resistance dislodged the gear from the shoreline, causing the pile to enter the water. The majority of the equipment sat below the waterline as the buoyancy of the oxygen tank marked its location like a buoy. Once caught inside the current, the oxygen tank drifted past the man in the water, pulling the rope tight after reaching the end of its length. The Australian’s slack began to tighten as he held on. Excess rope near his feet started to slip through his hands. Drag caused by the dislodged equipment in the current, mixed with microbial films accumulated from the conduit’s surfaces, gave the rope a slimy, soapy feel. The Australian’s friend, caught in the middle, continued to pull himself to shore. When the rope finally extended to its full length, it pulled with a sharp yank, then failed. The lasso anchor was now unraveling as The Australian struggled to hold on. With one last heave, The Australian pulled his friend and the gear forward through the water. The current regained force as the drag increased, and the rope slipped back to full tension as The Australian lurched forward. Losing traction with the slick floor below, The Australian dipped into the river. The men and the gear, all attached by a single rope, drifted past the conduit’s circular tunnel into the rift in the wall. Now floating in the current, the men drifted into the void.

As if being lost in an underground conduit was not bad enough, the two friends floated helplessly deeper through uncharted territory. Every hope of rescue was shattered by the turning water. The Australian gained ground closer to his friend. The injured man held close the supply bundle as though his life depended on it. Unable to swim efficiently, he held an oxygen tank under his arm to reduce the need to swim. With only a few yards to go before the two men could make contact, an overhanging rock formation forced them underwater. The Australian, poking his hands over the surface, felt small gaps passing over his fingertips. As the water ran beneath the eroded rock ceiling, it carried the men through, leaving no room to breathe. The Australian, reaching the end of his breath, attempted to force his head to the surface. Immediately after his face broke the surface, a narrow gap forced him under. Believing that his life was only seconds away from ending, he forced his head up over the surface of the water. Without resistance, he gasped air into his lungs. Choking on water and struggling to stay upright, The Australian was met with a respirator being forced into his mouth. His companion, now floating next to him, had activated his oxygen tank. The Australian gave a reassuring signal and removed the respirator from his mouth. The water began to calm, allowing the two men to regain composure as they observed their surroundings with their flashlights. The river was a catacomb of pillars. Both above and below, gigantic mineral formations created a surreal combination. The walls sparkled as the light hit them, creating a dreamlike image as they floated past.

With the absence of major obstacles, both men compartmentalized their deaths, coming to the full realization that this was surely the end. Words were exchanged between the two, not of ill will, but rather acceptance of their fatal errors. An epic landscape and the thrill of adventure were held as their final mementos. With the odds unfavorably stacked against them, the two made a pact to see it through until the end. Both, only just beginning their lives, never wanted to admit defeat or surrender. Now, 48 hours after entering the lava tube, the men were meandering through an underground water passage, making them the first in history to discover this geological terrain.

Hours went by with no end or exit to the waterway in sight. They attempted to theorize how this particular water path was possible. Water from spring-fed rivers and surface drainage into lava tubes over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, if not more, collecting and eroding the walls between multiple intersecting conduits. The volcanic space, now acting as an aquifer formed by erosion, carried the water through the path of least resistance. The presence of common freshwater fish species was unusual for closed cave networks. The two men spoke of the possibility of emerging into one of the nearby rivers. At this moment in time, they were not sure exactly where they were or how far they had come.

Other than a few narrow passages, their path was relatively unhindered. The time spent using the flashlights had drained the batteries. As they floated, the two fished out a pack of spare batteries. With only enough to fill one flashlight, the batteries were successfully transferred in darkness. Bright yellow light filled the space, providing a welcome optical boost. The Australian, holding the flashlight, pointed it at a large column rising from the water to the ceiling. As the two moved close to the column, a flash of yellow light shot back at them. The Australian’s hands began to tremble at the radiant eye-shine now directly in front of him. His friend, seeing the eyes too, knew it could only be a crocodile. Without wanting to panic, a quick optimistic observation was made, maybe it was dead. As soon as his friend spoke, one glowing eye turned to two as the crocodile turned its snout in their direction. The Australian, not knowing what to do, handed his friend the flashlight while he grabbed a bag to stuff into the crocodile’s mouth. The Australian warned that it was coming toward them, looking back to see his injured friend frantically swimming forward. The Australian ducked underneath the water while the crocodile swam past him. A few seconds went by as he held his breath in silence. When his head broke the surface, the Australian watched from behind as the crocodile snapped down on what he could only assume was his friend. There were no cries for help or any other sound. The flashlight illuminated the water like a bright orb as it sank to the bottom. A large lizard-like silhouette passed over the light and disappeared. The Australian watched the light grow smaller from behind his oxygen tank life preserver. He was all alone now. After everything he and his friend had been through, this was the first time he truly felt scared.

Grasping the sudden loss of his dear friend, The Australian floated quietly on the surface, thinking about his family and the series of events that had just unfolded. He wept as he drifted, jumping any time something bumped into him. His body was waterlogged and his mind was spent. Hours of being submerged prevented him from sleeping. Unable to keep his eyes open, The Australian attached himself to the two oxygen tanks and went unconscious.

When he opened his eyes, there was nothing but black. The water was moving faster than before. He felt his feet touch the ground below the surface, then begin to slide at an angle. The sudden change in depth caused him to crouch as he slid down a slick algae-covered slope. A short descent downward was followed by a splash. Without being able to see, The Australian covered his head, then felt around blindly for any type of spatial cues. His hand hit a slimy surface, and he pulled it back in fear of another crocodile. The smell was unmistakably that of fish. He felt fish all around him, bumping into his legs and midsection. Without hesitation, he began feeling for the supply raft, pulling out a dry bag and placing it between his arms. Sinking down into the water, he held the bag like a pot, slowly scooping upward. Feeling movement on the surface of the bag, he managed to grasp onto a fish. Doing everything he could to maintain contact, The Australian lifted the fish to his mouth and bit down.

Without light, The Australian waded through the pool. Knowing that crocodiles were present inside the waterway, he proceeded with caution. His movements became slower and more calculated. The feeling of fish darting past made every step forward anxious and unnerving. Doing whatever he could to overcome the fright of sudden movement, he held an oxygen tank in front of him. A sweeping motion was used to check for obstacles ahead. This continued for hours as he kept moving further into what he could only assume was forward. The Australian, able to walk through the chest-deep water, was now pressing through large schools of fish. He began sensing a bottleneck within the water. It was not moving him as it had before. The current was almost still. With every step, high numbers of fish would break the silence as they broke the water’s surface. His tank, floating on the surface, hit something foreign as it extended out to his right-hand side. The feeling was that of bone. The sound made a hollow ring as the metal made contact. Through the dark, a white flash crossed his eyes as he winced. Small needle-sharp teeth struck the side of his face from the cheek to the back of the ear. Flinching, he pushed the tank forward. Water kicked up as the animal propelled somewhere behind him, leaving The Australian stunned. He lifted his hand to his face to survey his injuries. The crocodile, a fraction of the size of the previous one, had caused slight lacerations along his hairline and cheeks. Now desperate to reach any source resembling a solid shoreline, he pressed forward at an accelerated rate.

The water began to lessen into shallower depths. Gear began sliding along the ground as it was pulled beside him. Now waist-deep, The Australian marched blindly toward stable ground. Without caution, he pushed into the shallows, attempting to find the end. The oxygen tank used as his guide struck rock. Feeling around the surface with his hands, he managed to pull himself out of the water for the first time in nearly 48 hours. Feeling over the gear, he found his dry bag. Inside was a carbide lantern along with calcium carbide, a traditional miner’s lantern that uses acetylene gas and water to produce a flame. Shaking, The Australian filled the chamber with water and carbide rocks, then struck the flint. A warm glow cut through the black. His hands were almost unrecognizable, withered and waterlogged with a red tinge. The relief was short-lived as half of his carbide began to ignite when exposed rock mixed with drops of water from his hands. As the cave began to strobe, the sudden bursts of light gave The Australian a visual layout of his surroundings. The surface of the water stretched out as far as he could see. Along an adjacent wall across the water, a dark fracture opening appeared, then disappeared as the light pulsed.

Carbide around his feet began to fizz, emitting a sulfuric smell, then burst into small isolated fires as a chemical chain reaction to the open flame. The Australian attempted to separate the reacted rocks before his supply was depleted. Using a dry T-shirt from inside the bag, he covered the open flames while closing a tin full of salvaged carbide. The T-shirt began to smoke as the chemical reaction continued below. Flames burst out through the open airways of the fabric, resembling a small campfire. Heat and light were a welcome gift after spending countless hours floating in the dark water. As The Australian perched on the small rock island, he cupped his hands over the burning T-shirt, shivering.

The next few days were spent on the rock, drying out as best as he could. The carbide lantern was used to scan the surrounding area. Yellow eyes appeared at the surface of the water every so often. The man counted three small freshwater crocodiles and one medium-sized saltwater crocodile. The large number of fish in the shallow lake kept the predators well fed and lethargic. There were so many fish trapped in the underground lake that all he had to do to catch one was dip a bag in the water while making a scooping motion toward the shore. With food and water satisfied, The Australian regained his strength.

A psychological change began to take hold, as the pursuit of a swift rescue transformed into long-term survival. Knowing that where he was had most likely never been documented, he gave up hope of waiting for someone to find him. His actions became centered around surviving long enough to find a way out. Eventually, The Australian ventured back out into the water, checking the edges for openings. It seemed as though a sedimentary change had occurred, causing the conduit to end as water seeped through smaller pathways. He traveled into every gap he could fit into. Each day was spent holding the carbide lantern above the water while surveying possible continuations. The large fissure adjacent to his rock became his main area of focus. A partially water-filled gap in the wall, large enough to squeeze into, traveled to a metallic ore vein. The path stopped at a section where the walls merged together, preventing further exploration. On the other side of the blockade was a large chamber. The gap was marbleized with rock and metal, making the sediment difficult to break through. A metal referred to as tungsten wrapped through the walls. The Australian was able to find a large jagged shard. This piece of metal became his probing tool. Using all available resources, the shard’s sword-like shape proved useful for traveling through the water.

Days turned into weeks as The Australian became accustomed to life underground. He had backtracked the lake searching for any continuation of forward progression. A few areas branched outward only to lead into dead space, leaving only the rift in the wall as a potential exit. Every day he used a geologist’s pick and the metal shard to widen the space between the two walls. The process was extremely slow due to the presence of metal ore in the rock. The Australian spent hours holding the carbide lantern to the metallic veins in hopes that the heat would weaken the surface. Multiple attempts to pry off segments produced minimal results. After reaching the point of exhaustion, The Australian would wade back to his camp and cook a fish in a metal cup. His lantern was his most prized possession; without the fire’s light, he would have surely died.

The key-shaped lake and his dry rock island became a prison. As he cooked a fish with his lantern, The Australian noticed a pair of bright yellow eyes. Compared to the other crocodiles he shared the lake with, they were much larger, with a wider gap between each eye. The smaller crocodiles could be easily prodded away with his metal rod. This one seemed different. Sounds of throaty, low-frequency rumbles bounced off the walls at great distances. Fearing the crocodile would sneak up on him as he slept, he moved his camp into the crack in the wall. Water flowed nearly all the way to the blocked section before transitioning to a small rock floor. The space was hardly large enough to lie down. The Australian positioned his oxygen tanks as a small retaining wall as he continued chiseling at the pinch between the walls.

Even with the added work, the wall refused to give way. Hours spent heating the metal veins took a toll on The Australian’s morale. Frustrated by the dire need to find a way out, he began growing angry. Various strategies were used, but nothing seemed to work effectively. The Australian positioned an oxygen tank upside down to hold the lantern at the wall. Due to lack of nourishment, he missed the shard he was using as a chisel and burned his hand on the heated ore. Losing his composure, he yelled obscenities while swiping his hand across the surface of the water. Reaching a breaking point, he began splashing handfuls of water at the work site in a fit of rage. The water steamed and hissed as it hit the heated metal ore. There was a moment of silence as The Australian, accepting defeat, finally gave up. A cracking sound broke the stillness as a section of the pinched gap fell to the ground. As though his prayers had been answered, he gave a half-laugh and moved through the opening.

The area behind the elusive opening was dry and narrow. The Australian moved his belongings away from the water and blocked the gap with his oxygen tanks. For the first time in weeks, the space allowed him to fully extend his legs. He stretched out over the floor and slept peacefully. When he woke, the search for an exit continued. Over the course of days, he moved further into the split. The walls pressed together with hardly any room to move. With only millimeters to spare, The Australian was able to squeeze himself along the corridor. The texture had changed from smooth mineralization to coarse rock with jagged metal deposits protruding from the walls. His movement was slow due to the amount of gear being shuttled daily. Before abandoning the lake completely, he replenished his food and water supply.

The further he went, the underground features began to show signs of humanity. Circular holes bored from above scarred the earth below. Sections of rock lay scattered across the floor near the winding pinstriped cores. He was underneath a mine. At every hole he saw, he shouted upward. A long metallic pole sat motionless, partially exposed through the ceiling, continuing into the floor. The Australian began etching his name into the side of the metal drill bit along with a short SOS message. He waited for any type of response from above. Eventually, as he ran low on food rations, he was forced to continue onward.

Each day brought a new challenge. A mix of climbing, crawling, ducking, and swimming became routine. The Australian, before entering the cave, had studied geology as an introduction to spelunking. Being a native Australian man, he was familiar with local mineral belts. Within a few days, he reached another section of mining remnants. With the relative distance between the two mining networks, he believed himself to be near Mount Garnet and Innot Hot Springs. The veins had changed from wolframite, scheelite, tin, and copper to large gold and silver veins littered with garnets, zinc, and lead. Seeing an enormous amount of gold in its natural formation was something The Australian had only read about. He knew then that, upon his escape, he could lead miners to the location of the largest gold vein he had ever seen. It was as though the gold spouted from every section of the cave. With only a carbide lamp to guide him, the light bounced off the walls, turning the darkness into a warm glow. Completely untapped and undisturbed, The Australian camped in the midst of the treasure-laden cavern for the night. Samples of gold and garnet were taken as he continued on.

Days continued to pass. Water was easier to access than food. The Australian’s diet became whatever he could find, including insects, reptiles, and occasionally bats. With each small meal, he became increasingly feral. He had stopped keeping track of days and time. A beard grew over his face, marking the descent into madness. Like clockwork, The Australian woke, ate, walked, slept, and repeated. The granite slab walls shifted again as he transitioned from the mineral belt region into the Devonian reef limestone karst of the Chillagoe–Mungana region.

The Australian, tracking his route with a compass, seemed to be heading from northeast toward northwest. The eastern route out of Undara was now leading him toward Queensland. The air inside became increasingly warm and humid. His initial thought was that the path, if it made a deep subterranean connection into limestone, would lead him closer to the coast or at least closer to the surface. For the third time, The Australian crossed into a transitioning sedimentary zone. The change began with the sound of water in the distance. The narrow mineral corridor he had traveled through ended as it began. A tight squeeze through a small opening was like stepping into an entirely new world. An overwhelming number of stalagmites and stalactites filled the lantern’s glow. Water poured down from the ceiling, striking the ground like an orchestra. The sound was almost deafening compared to the silent granite corridor.

The cavernous expanse was a true limestone cave system. Having become accustomed to a singular-path route, the omnidirectional layout provided a navigational challenge. The Australian set a central point and began probing potential outlets for a clue onto his next move. Water being brought down from above indicated a natural phenomenon geologists call a disappearing spring. Small amounts of litter, bones, and leaf debris around small waterfalls hinted that the surface was accessible somewhere above him. Following the direction of the flowing water, The Australian came to a heavy-flow waterfall. As water poured down from the ceiling into a pool below, the sound generated was noticeably louder than the others. Scanning the area with his lantern, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. As if the heavens above had blessed him with a miracle, an automobile tire, fully inflated with air, sat at an awkward angle on the floor of the cave. It was as though someone had let a spring above carry it forward just to see if it would truly disappear. The tire must have bounced around after falling through the eroded ceiling. As out of place as the air-filled tire was, The Australian knew the tire would be an important lifeline in case of any water transit.

Water poured into a collection of pools, then flowed into a developed channel thick with mineral growth. The sight was as if something out of a motion-picture film. As the channels cut from the limestone floor intensified, pathways began to merge. A wide river of fast-moving water converged into an unwalkable corridor, then vanished beyond the lantern’s reach. After a day of scouring other routes, The Australian concluded the only way through was in the water. It was a huge risk that could ultimately seal his fate. Becoming trapped in an underground torrent or dropping into an abyss was possible. The Australian, already hanging on to life by a thread, took the chance. Gambling his life on a reemerging exit, he gathered his belongings, placed them on his tire, and tied the gear down. Using one oxygen tank as a float and one firmly secured to his stomach by a vest for quick activation, he held onto the tire as he drifted into the center of the waterway.

The first leg was easier than expected. His legs were able to touch the bottom, allowing him to control the rate at which he traveled. His gear floated alongside as the river grew. Water being accumulated from other disappearing springs funneled to the main channel. The Australian held his lantern attached to his helmet to prevent the light from being extinguished or jolted off the bracket. Dark pointed shadows expanded and contracted repeatedly in the light as he passed by the exaggerated mineral formations. The Australian was enjoying the swift movement of the canal. As the water moved faster, the floor began to leave his feet. Riding the now raging torrent felt like falling. The free fall ended with a plunge into darkness. Holding onto his tire, he struggled to spark the wet flint on the carbide lantern. The Australian bounced around in the dark rapids, trying to keep his head and hand above the water. Fast-moving water began to steady as it had before. With his hand cupped over the reflective shield, he let the acetylene gas build in his hand as he slid his palm over the flint. The flint caught the wheel like a lighter, and the spark restored the flame.

As The Australian surveyed the shoreline, the walls appeared to be looking back at him. Fossils plastered into the earth created a mosaic of ancient life. The ground beneath his feet felt like he was sliding on shells. Remnants of creatures both old and new were scattered through the hall of bones. An inclining shoreline began to form. Now able to stand, he scooped a handful of the loose ground from below the water and lifted it to the light. Miscellaneous fragments of once-living animals were laid out across his palm. Shells, teeth, ribs, and skulls, all randomly assorted. It appeared that the underground river continued deeper into the earth, but over time had become clogged, forming a beach made entirely from skeletons. The river, still able to progress deeper through the gaps in the bones, ended with the buildup preventing any further travel. From sheer scale, it was as though everything that had ever been caught in the disappearing springs must have added to the pile.

Upon exiting the water, the ground poked and cracked as The Australian dragged his tire out of the water. The morbid hall was eerily fascinating. Stalagmites had formed a fusion of fossils and mineral. A perfectly preserved Jurassic-era carnivore skull hung suspended off the ground as the stalagmite fused itself through the fossil. The distinctive tyrannous-like shape and large teeth were a testament to the cave’s deadly snare. A massive remnant from the time of dinosaurs, raised by the earth like a trophy. As The Australian stood mesmerized at the discovery, he began casting light around the walls. Fossilized whales and sea life were pressed in the walls as well.

The sound of scattering came from the piles nearby, breaking his gaze. For a moment, he felt as though he was the only living thing inside the hall. Turtles, hidden in the bone piles, began sliding away in an attempt to reach the safety of water. As the turtles darted past his feet, The Australian, jumping into action, caught one by pressing down on the top of the shell. The odor the turtle gave off was terrible. Reluctantly, out of starvation, he made a small camp and ate the turtle after cooking it in a metal cup. Over the next few days, The Australian caught three more turtles. Once again, he had found himself at a pivotal crossroad, weighing his options based on what the cave would allow.

Traveling over the pile of fossils was comparable to tearing every page from every book and trying to read them. Nothing was where it should be or who it belonged to. A cave of wonders and historic fauna collected over millions of years. Although the paleo-fascination of fossil dinosaurs and turtle dinners satisfied short-term needs, a way out became prioritized. The Australian, fearing that his fossils would be the newest addition to the hall, searched long corridors for continuations. On an expedition into a distant chamber, a breach opening in the limestone wall merged directly into a high-ceiling dreamscape conduit, a close comparison to the conduit from where his journey began, with the exception being the absence of basalt. Limestone conduits were more susceptible to erosion, allowing chandelier drip stalactites to hang ominously above. The size of the hanging pillars was disproportionately large. The Australian packed two small turtles in a satchel, then used his climbing rope to harness a larger soft-shelled turtle. Rope was fitted around the large turtle’s legs, tied around the center of the shell, resembling something between a leash and a suitcase. After multiple trips transferring gear into the limestone conduit, The Australian was now ready to continue on. The conduit was filled with slow-moving water that stretched out further than his light could travel.

A large bone was used for a push pole as The Australian sat comfortably above the water in the center of his tire. Oxygen tanks and item bags tied to his tire made up the outer edges of the raft. The large soft-shell turtle, still connected by the rope leash, swam freely. Every so often, the turtle would swim forward, pulling the raft with it, then stop. Each time the raft drifted close, the turtle would swim further away, creating a guided sled feel. Eventually, the water began to move steadily faster, pulling the turtle along. With no sense of urgency, The Australian and his turtle guide drifted with the current.

As the limestone karst conduit widened, the water became deeper. The Australian, using any viable dry surface to make camp, had lost track of relative location. Time seemed to disappear without sunlight. While awake, he floated on the water until he found a decent place to rest. During each trip onto solid ground, the raft made from a spare tire and oxygen tanks was moored while the larger turtle remained tethered. The Australian had now spent a week drifting on calm water. The two small turtles had been eaten along the way. The larger soft shell would eventually become a resource to provide nourishment. Reluctantly, The Australian pulled the tether into shore. He had become fond of the turtle and enjoyed watching it float alongside him as they drifted down the underground river. The turtle was a powerful swimmer for its size, with a shell over two feet long. The creature’s weight had become increasingly hard to manage in the deep water. On numerous occasions, the turtle, attempting to dive deep underwater, nearly tipped the tire. It was time for it to be eaten. Even with the sentimental camaraderie, The Australian was battling starvation.

A rock was placed next to The Australian’s feet as he pulled the turtle’s harness toward the shore. Dead weight was felt as the line pulled tight, the turtle succumbing to the forces of leverage and finally budging. As the turtle came closer to shore, it made a final attempt to swim in the opposite direction, with no avail. The large soft shell was dragged onto the rocky shoreline, then hoisted up by the rope over its shell. The Australian prepared himself to do the deed, unbounding the turtle to prevent contaminating his rope. The turtle kept itself tucked inside of its shell as The Australian reached backward to grab his rock. With one quick dash, the turtle shot back towards the water. The Australian rushed to grab the turtle as it made a break for the water. He caught the turtle around the upper end of its shell, picking it up out of the water. The turtle, still kicking its legs, started scratching his arms and stomach. Fighting through the splashes and scratches, The Australian struggled to keep a firm grip. While attempting to reposition his hands, the long neck of the turtle began extending outward. The turtle, hissing and opening its beak, lashed out at The Australian’s fingers. In fear of getting bitten, The Australian pushed the turtle away as it fell back into the water. He watched the turtle from the shore float on the surface, then went to sleep hungry and beaten.

Moving over the deep water was a slow process. The Australian, after bouncing between a north-eastern fault trunk, had crossed into a north-traveling master conduit. As the transit merged, the distance between walls widened. A pressure-driven current naturally pushed the tire towards the deepest section of the flow. Floating at a walking pace lingered on for hours. By using a spare bag tied to a bone, he scooped water along each side of the raft to accelerate momentum forward. With no end in sight, long segments of the master karst conduit left little room for sustainable shorelines to stop. To rest, The Australian was forced to wedge himself close to the wall while remaining on the floating tire. Every day was wet and dark; his lantern was the only source of heat. His supply of calcium carbide had grown hard, but he used a surprisingly small amount to keep the lantern burning. Knowing the danger of water exposure, he kept his remaining supply close to him at all times. Maintaining proper nutrition had become a challenge. Most meals came from pulling himself along the wall while looking for insects. Crickets and arachnids could be found, but were difficult to catch efficiently. Miles upon miles drifted by slowly in echoed silence. Mentally, The Australian began losing the threshold of who he once was and what he had become. Approaching the age of just 19 years old, he felt as though his life had been reduced to savagery. The Australian’s birthday passed without celebration, instead spent clinging to a cave wall while chasing a spider. Fearing that he had lost complete control over his senses, he began hearing the sound of birds.

Since his time underground, it was not the first time he had heard familiar sounds from above. The darkness had a way of causing deprivation symptoms. Even in the isolation of the deep cavern, sound traveled great distances. A few times prior, he had sworn he heard cars and even people talking. Although plausible, the pursuit of possible sounds in far-off places at the time was unobtainable. This was different, though. The sounds of parrots shot through the cavern. Diffusion from reverberation caused long, warped tails to the high-impact calls. The Australian began moving forward toward the source. Within an hour, collapses in the karst ceiling and walls left rock debris scattered in place. Water dripped down from above as The Australian’s floating tire pulled to the breach.

Climbing over the limestone was a difficult task. Without proper food, The Australian suffered from fatigue and malnutrition. The rocks were jagged in some places and smooth in others. Speleothems covered the fallen litter that spilled over into the conduit’s waterway. A small mountain had formed in the wake of the collapse. What seemed like millions of tons of limestone had crashed down onto itself, breaking into an upper layer. The Australian’s heart raced as he climbed up the fallen formations. As the ascent leveled, he found himself in a parallel chamber, a miniaturized version of the master conduit below. The chamber provided solid ground and a steady, but manageable, waterway. The Australian, desperate to free himself from the master conduit’s monotony, descended down the speleothem collapse, grabbed his tire, then returned to grab one oxygen tank. With his physical limits expended, he lay down on the ground and passed out.

For hours he slept, waking up to pitch black. The carbide lantern had died at some point while he slept. Feeling around blindly, he found the light on the floor and proceeded to strike the starter flint with his fingers. Using the small flashes of light, he located his dry bag with the calcium carbide. Carefully, he chiseled off a few chunks into the base of the lantern, then crawled to the waterway to refill the water dropper. Within a few seconds, he began smelling the sulfurous acetylene gas expelling from the lamp’s orifice tube. He cupped his hand over the reflective shell and slid his palm down, striking the rolling flint. The spark ignited the flame as the room filled with light. Light then turned to fire as The Australian stood at the top of the breach to face the cave. With a whooshing sound, the air around his lantern chain-reacted. The whole cave turned into a trail of fire as the atmosphere inside the chamber combusted, immediately dispersing as the wall of flames disappeared into the surrounding tunnels and then out of sight. The Australian felt a rush of air against his back from the master conduit as methane gas trapped inside the chamber was replaced with oxygen.

For the next day, The Australian explored the upper chamber, collecting an array of charred insects. It was like the cave’s way of saying happy birthday to The Australian. Without wanting to reenter the running water, he decided to walk along the underground river until the cave rendered it impossible. The floor had turned into an all-you-can-eat buffet of crickets and spiders. If someone were to ask The Australian to eat a spider only a few months ago, he would have been repulsed by the thought of it, but now, in his current situation, he did not seem to mind. The fire had spread much farther than his view allowed him to see. Like a trail of breadcrumbs, he continued to follow the path of fallen cave creatures.

For the first time in weeks, The Australian felt warmth as the atmospheric temperature increased. The air was noticeably drier than the humid master conduit. Reptiles and bat guano began to emerge along the karst corridors, signaling an upper-level biosphere. Wispy strands of smoke flowed forward with the airflow. Smoldering guano along the ground sat idle as slow plumes of smoke danced from orange bands around the center. Smoke carried by the airflow blocked the lantern’s reflecting beam. A bat flying in the opposite direction bounced off the walls and sputtered to a stop on the ground. The Australian, sensing danger, activated his oxygen tank. Only upon turning the air valve did he realize he had brought the damaged tank. With the dial partially engaged at a half twist, he received a small stream of air pressure through the respirator.

Smoke thickened into cloud-like plumes along the floor and walls. The Australian rolled his tire through the deluge in hopes the end was near. A red glow pulsed through the dark smokescreen in front of him. As The Australian entered the karst chamber, he placed himself into a waterway in the center of the room. Fast-moving water from the narrow channel forced him forward deeper into the plume. He held onto the tire with his head above the surface, speeding down small dips in elevation, breaking away from the chamber and entering through a wall into a parallel tunnel. A sight resembling what one would imagine hell to be.

Everywhere he looked, scorched piles of guano emitted radiant red, yellow, and orange. The cave seemed to come alive with ember-infused bats. As the water meandered around bends and low ceilings, swarms of bats took flight. Smoking bats covered with glowing embers began to hit the water around him. Unable to fly properly amidst the chaos, bats fully engulfed in flame shot into the water. Tiny winged fireballs sizzled as they hit the surface of the water, then floated alongside The Australian. The canal passed through one chamber after another as it cut through the walls separating adjacent sections. Each chamber was worse than the one before. The barrage of smoldering guano and fire bats transformed into a chamber filled with open flames. Bird nests caught in the crossfire burned violently as fire lined the walls. A flurry of wings hit The Australian’s face as birds, seeking refuge from the heat near the water, rained down upon him. His hair began to singe as he passed bonfire-like piles of bird nests and guano. The Australian ducked his head below the waterline to escape the heat. Without sufficient oxygen pressure from his tank, he was forced to surface, gasping as he inhaled smoke and ash. A true nightmare scenario had escalated into what The Australian believed to be his final minutes. He moved his tire over his head and floated on his back. By placing his face in the center of the tire as it lay flat on the surface, he provided small relief from the heat. It was too much to bear. The Australian, praying to God for mercy, closed his eyes to shadow and flame and lost consciousness.

Bright, piercing light illuminated a red hue behind his eyelids. The Australian could barely open his eyes. It felt like his lashes had been glued together. His face was raw and his mouth completely parched. Feeling the waterline at his cheeks, the tire could be felt over his chest and shoulders. By a miracle of physics or a true act of divine intervention, The Australian was alive. The buoyancy of the oxygen tank pressed against the weight of the tire floating above had forced a wedge between the two surfaces. The Australian, sandwiched between the two buoyant surfaces, had floated face up for an untraceable amount of time. The water moved calmly around him as he regained functionality. Still unable to open his eyes, he forced his head under the surface, filling his mouth with water as he righted himself. His feet hit the ground as he dipped below the edge of the tire. By placing an elbow over the upper rim, he used his hands to pry an eye open. It was a painful process, as one eye opened to a blurred backlight while the second remained closed. The Australian repeated the sequence for the second eye and ducked back under water. His eyelashes had felt withered and scabbed. Flashes of sunlight rendered into view. Fighting through the pain, he rinsed his eyes multiple times as the fogged vision slowly subsided.

Holes in the karst ceiling made circular pillars of light along the surface of the water at varying angles. The columns created an ethereal arch of swords as light cut through the dim corridor. The Australian pulled himself out of the water onto the tire. It was the first time he had seen day in months. When passing by a band of light, he would reach out to feel the warmth as it passed by.

The end of the corridor opened into a pristine rainforest. Vegetation covered both sides of the river bank, while sounds of birds and insects filled the open air. Feeling direct sunlight brought him back to reality. The brutal darkness had given way to life, an Eden. Unable to move, the lush paradise disappeared once more as the water moved back into the karst. The Australian turned to watch the light disappear as he floated onward into the limestone cavern. Too weak to fight the current, he ventured further into the mouth of an adjoining cavern and dropped into darkness.

The bottom of the tire raft left his body, then connected with the back of his head as he sank into a deep pool of water. An unexpected fall into a disappearing spring had caught The Australian off guard. Forced to act, he reached out for the tire as the light from above dissolved. He abruptly stopped in motion, feeling limestone above and below. A slurping sound filled his ears as the force of the water around him was being pulled downward. The tire was wedged lengthwise in the gap as he held onto the overhanging ceiling. He felt the tire begin rolling forward, then turn sideways as it vanished below the gap. Now holding onto the ceiling with both hands, he fought to pull his legs out from inside the gap. Immense water pressure pressed down around him, sending the flow into his pants and shoes. He felt his belt give way and drop to his ankles, then his underwear. The force of the drag caused by his pants stuck around his feet acted as a parachute for the oncoming water. Unable to hold on, he let go, forcing himself underwater briefly, then pumping out the opposite side. Scrambling to pull his pants up and recover the tire, The Australian floated freely in the dark. As the water calmed, sunlight from the afternoon sun sporadically seeped through openings far above. Seeing the tire, equipped with the majority of his gear, floating further in front of him, The Australian swam to retrieve it, eventually gaining enough ground to hold on while it floated.

Disheartened by the sudden plunge back into the dark cave network, he proceeded back to his daily routine. He sat on the tire and continued on his way, making a mental note of his relativity to the surface. He felt safer than he had since the fall in Undara. Light from outside could be seen gradually shifting from the afternoon sunset to dusk. The karst-roofed stream transitioned from amber orange to moonlit silver. Into the night, The Australian moved through the cave, injured but happy to feel surface-level atmosphere.

With his lantern, he scanned the walls for openings. Small porthole gaps in the walls allowed for short glimpses of the sky and stars. At one point, a crack in the wall provided a view of a full moon and a large valley below. Still remaining vigilant for drastic changes in the topography and exit points, The Australian stayed awake. Without anywhere to make landfall, he drifted, hoping for a reemerging exit. A black sac hanging from the ceiling passed overhead. The Australian made a quick double take as he passed under it. It was like a flying fox, except huge in comparison. The body was almost as big as he was. A little further on, another one passed by. The Australian’s lantern caught the upside-down creature in the eyes as it looked directly at him passing below. The air left his body as he started to tremble uncontrollably. He turned his lantern forward to see a rising ceiling dotted with oversized winged creatures. The Australian stifled his lantern, causing the cave to go dark. A few seconds passed before his eyes adjusted to the fragments of moonlight. He sat completely still, trying not to make a sound. The sound of a low-frequency knocking echoed from behind. The Australian heard scratches against the limestone followed by a swooping rush of wind. The ribbons of the moon’s reflection vanished, then reappeared. Something had glided over him and positioned itself on the wall in front of him. The knocking sound was now directed toward him. The Australian dipped into the water as quietly as possible, diving underwater and placing the tire above his head. His feet touched the floor as he crouched down, pushing backward with the flow of water while unraveling the rope connected to his gear.

A ripple was sent through the water as the giant bat landed in it. The size was enormous compared to The Australian. Holding the outer edge of the tire with his fingertips kept his head directly in the middle. A small bump was felt, then the tire stopped in motion. The Australian could feel the bat’s lower legs next to his. He felt pressure on his right middle and ring finger, then pain. The bat had bitten down on the edge of the tire, forcing it from his hands. The Australian dived underwater, swimming as far as he could. He surfaced for a quick breath, then continued swimming underwater. His most prized possessions, other than his lantern, were now hissing as the tire deflated. The cave erupted with ultra-low-frequency knocking sounds in every direction. Splashing and screeches filled the air as more piled onto the tire. The Australian continued to dive under the water until the sounds grew distant. A narrow gap between the ceiling and surface caused the water to disappear below. Without any way of knowing what to expect, he used his respirator to dive into the space between. For nearly two minutes he was unable to surface.

The Australian didn’t see the creatures again after the water crossing. An unbelievable animal, something someone would only think possible in a sci-fi horror. It was plausible that the oversized fruit bats existed only in that one section of cave. After everything The Australian had been through and seen, it made sense to him that there would be undiscovered animals trapped throughout the karst belt. His whole trip had already shattered previous expectations of probability. Without his tire, navigating the water was inhospitable. It would only be a matter of time before he encountered a crocodile. Being close to the surface brought the presence of rational fear. As an Australian man, his whole life he had been warned about the dangers of freshwater. Eventually, he would have to find a way out.

A break in the cave finally presented itself in the form of an eroded skylight opening. The Australian climbed up a limestone pile that looked as if it had been part of the ceiling. Fallen rock provided a stable platform to scale the remaining distance to the surface. Surrounding the dome-shaped limestone surface was tropical rainforest. It was hard to imagine that just below the rock was a labyrinth of caverns and waterways. Looking at the stone from an alternate angle, it seemed like an unsuspecting place to hide such a vast network. It had been months since The Australian had spent a full day above ground. Even with the majority of sunlight blocked by the surrounding trees, ultraviolet light from the sky hurt his eyes. He sat down, acclimating to the open air. His hands were battered with cuts, and the tips of two fingers were completely gone. Signs of infection were beginning to show. He felt ill, tired, and malnourished. A rock wallaby hopped into his peripheral vision. Too exhausted to make an effort to hunt, he watched in appreciation as it looked his way, then bounced away over the rock surface. The surface level visually looked like a long stretch of rounded limestone. Trees grew around the expanse of rock, blocking any vantage point. There was nothing he could do except find a way off the rock and make a fire.

Still outside the grasp of civilization, life above ground in a remote jungle added a new dimension of survival. The Australian’s hand was causing complications with basic tasks. After multiple months in damp subterranean passageways and waterways, the warmth of the sun was a welcomed relief. A small camp was made inside a eucalyptus grove. The Australian used eucalyptus leaves boiled in water to treat his wounds. Over the course of three months, he camped inside the forest. Every day he would make signal fires in an attempt at rescue. During his first month, the injuries to his hand worsened. Unable to explore the surrounding areas, he was in a battle against starvation and infection. Anything that came close to his camp was eaten. During his time alone, The Australian began talking to himself. A group of hikers stumbled on his camp and watched him having a conversation with no one. When he finally noticed them, he began shouting in excitement, believing he was about to be saved. The girls in the group screamed and ran away. The Australian attempted to run after them, explaining he was lost, but was unable to move proficiently. The group vanished into the bush, leaving his hopes shattered. He waited for a return, even if it was the police, but help never arrived.

The forest was a dangerous place. The eastern taipan is Australia’s most venomous snake, and they seemed to be everywhere. The snakes would enter his camp and hide under loose branches used for the fire. This resulted in excessive sweeping and clearing of his sleeping area. Using the metal sword-like shard from his time in the mineral belt, The Australian could spear the snakes as he pinned them with a stick. The snakes provided a much-needed nutritional supplement. Although dangerous to handle, they proved to be a crucial factor in his recovery.

The Australian fell back on Aboriginal teachings he had learned throughout the years. Life was not easy, but he had become a seasoned primitive survivalist. As it was, he was incredibly lucky to be alive. Every statistical odd had been placed against him, yet he remained fixated on walking out alive. As his health became stable, walkabouts were used to gather a general idea of where he was. During a walk, The Australian reached a high cliff that overlooked the ocean. Still a mile or two from the coast, it was higher than previously expected. In the distance, a small coastal town was visible on an outstretching peninsula. The remoteness and density of the forest were the only things preventing him from traveling straight through. Although it would be possible, The Australian had no shoes or clothes left, except a shirt that he wore like a scarf. As he walked away, a taipan crossed his path. The Australian took this as an omen: “Fear the snakes.”

The Australian knew the caves. He had spent months underground. On the surface, danger was everywhere. Snakes were a constant threat, plus emu, southern cassowary, and crocodiles, along with many other animals. Wildlife had become less timid in his presence. A cassowary had taken an interest in him while he slept. The bird often passed through the campsite, but recently began pecking at The Australian while he slept. He awoke to two heavy birds inside his branch barricade, pecking and scraping the ground. One of the birds was keen on scoring a worm. The Australian, on the other hand, was horrified that it was his worm the bird was after. The bird began making attempts below the belt. As The Australian fought to keep his manhood intact, he grabbed a branch and set it on fire. One cassowary ran out of the camp while the other stood unfazed, seeing this bluff as an act of aggression. The bird began kicking as a rooster would in a cockfight. Fearing the brazen advances by the bird, The Australian waved the branch of fire closer. Even still, the bird stood its ground.

The Australian had little experience with cassowaries, but knew they could be unpredictable. At the end of the tridactyl feet of a cassowary is a small sharp claw. Cassowaries have been known to inflict serious damage on humans when they kick. This threat was not taken lightly by the cassowary, which reared back and began kicking in a one-two succession. As tensions escalated, The Australian launched an attack of his own, managing to knock the bird out with an oxygen tank. It was not as though he wanted to harm the animal. The bird was a beautiful creature, but with no other option he was forced to take its life.

The food the bird was able to provide pushed The Australian forward. Plans were made to make the bird last over an extended period of time. The Australian built a smoker to preserve the meat. Prepping and plucking the bird was a grueling task. With only a small pocket knife, he was able to remove one leg to be cooked. He spent hours pulling feathers, but the bird’s size made the process exceptionally difficult. As a giant-sized leg cooked over an open flame, The Australian cached the cassowary outside the camp’s barrier wall. A feast pursued upon removing the giant drumstick from the spindle. It was the first meal The Australian was actually looking forward to eating. He ate until he could eat no more, then fell asleep as the fat rushed through his body.

Waking up the next day, he felt rejuvenated and well nourished. The fire had died, leaving a smoldering pile and a partially collapsed wood spindle. Scraps of the cooked bird leg were scattered around the camp. A line marked into the ground cut across the center of camp. Investigating further, The Australian followed the sign back to his food cache nearby. The bird was gone, leaving only a trail of feathers leading into the vegetation. A low rumble starting somewhere beyond confirmed the source of the thievery. A young crocodile had walked straight past him as he slept, claiming the bird as its own. The presence of a crocodile marked the end of his stay in the eucalyptus grove. It was only then that The Australian knew he must move on. As he gathered his belongings, a larger, more aggressive crocodile slid down a hill toward the cache. Two more crocodiles were spotted far from water in the vegetation on his way out. The smell of the cooked cassowary had acted as a beacon for the apex predators.

The Australian located a nearby waterway from which the crocodiles must have come. Most likely an offshoot of the karst spring network, the water was covered in leaves with a stagnant tinge. By following the flow of water, he moved deep into the bush. The stagnant water began to clear after a naturally formed dam of fallen branches was passed. As expected, the water moved downward, providing a fundamental navigator to lower ground. There was no telling where the water would take him other than toward the coast or possibly back into the karst.

Psychologically, everything The Australian did revolved around survival. Being alone for so long had made him resilient physically, but emotional stress had hindered logical thought processes to a degree. Reminiscing back to something he and his companion had said, “follow it to the end,” was a key motivator to life en route. Due to a locational misidentification of the city he had seen from the cliff, he placed himself further south than he actually was. Since leaving Undara Volcano National Park, The Australian had traveled 300 miles to the northeast. Believing himself to be north of Cairns, he set a course to intersect a well-traveled highway he had been on once during a family road trip. In reality, The Australian was due north of a city called Cooktown, which shared similar landmarks. By identifying airplanes traveling toward an airstrip and the sheltered geographical location, he had confused the two cities, a mistake that ultimately became the catalyst for his departure off the continent completely.

In The Australian’s mind, by traveling west he would eventually come to a northbound highway. What ended up happening instead was that The Australian was walking in an area between Cooktown and a small outskirt settlement named Hope Vale. Missing the town by only three miles, he walked past unknowingly, then crossed a dirt road and back into the bush. By nightfall, he was fully immersed in wilderness. At daybreak, he continued walking until he found a freshwater spring pool surrounded by a karst cave formation. Water poured over the top of the rocks, creating a small waterfall that trickled into a pool below. The sheltered area provided a secure camping location and drinking water. Feeling as though he should have reached the highway, he second-guessed his position.

As The Australian slept, he felt movement alongside his stomach and legs, causing him to jolt upward, shouting from deep sleep. There was a sound like a rock being dropped into water, but upon waking he could see nothing. After a short time, he fell back asleep. Feeling the same sensation as before, he sprang upright. This time, it sounded like someone had thrown a handful of rocks into the pool. His whole body felt moist with a slight oil layer. The Australian lay awake with his eyes closed. Feeling that he was not alone, he lay completely still with a T-shirt over his midsection. Within a few minutes, he heard a padding of footsteps from the pool, then felt something nuzzling by his leg. The Australian pulled his shirt tight, using the middle as a trap net. The cloth started writhing as the animal made an effort to free itself. When his hands wrapped around the T-shirt, he was poked on his palm, letting the shirt loose. A small beak poked from under the pile of cloth. The Australian pinched a corner of the T-shirt and pulled back. A tiny webbed-toed creature with a nose like a duck scrabbled onto its stomach, then shot forward with lightning-fast speed back into the water pool. The Australian had never seen a platypus in the wild before. Amused with the behavior being displayed, he lay down again, keeping his eyes closed while remaining still. A few minutes passed before he heard a distinct waddling shuffle coming from the pool. Seconds later, he felt a wet beak squeezing into the space between his arm and the ground. Just as the first one did, more platypuses began leaving the water and piling onto The Australian. The feeling was like having a wet cat curl up next to you in bed. The platypuses paid no attention to personal space as more emerged from the spring pool. The Australian couldn’t help but smile. When he lifted his arm to change position, the platypuses launched off him and returned to the water. All fear of a wild crocodile or monitor lizard vanished. The Australian positioned himself in a comfortable sleeping pose and closed his eyes. As he expected, the platypuses returned, wedging themselves along the contours of his body and claiming every available space as their own. Eventually, he fell back asleep covered head to toe in a platypus blanket.

The Australian woke up to his hand swelling in pain. Sunlight had broken the horizon, and all but one platypus had entered the water pool. The platypus showed little fear of The Australian. Instead, it was licking the wound on his palm. His hand had swollen, resembling a latex glove that had air blown into the bottom while worn. The small platypus continued to treat his injury as if it were grooming itself. The pool in front of him was alive with activity as platypuses surfaced, then dived back below the water. Along the outer edge of the pool, platypuses sat idle, grooming themselves, then darting into the water. The sight was unlike anything he had ever seen. There must have been over fifty platypuses inside the pool all at once. The Australian sat up cross-legged, watching the frantic interactions unfold around him. Platypuses would exit the water, waddle over to his side without hesitation, and begin cleaning themselves. The platypus licking his hand had now climbed into his lap, paying no attention to The Australian. It was as though he had become part of the tribe.

While observing the pool of water, he noticed a high number of prawns at the bottom. The Australian entered the water, dived under, and began collecting the crustaceans. He lifted a rock from below, causing a chain reaction of splashing from behind. Immediately, every platypus in the pool had surrounded him in a feeding frenzy. Through the surface, dark brown streaks shot past his feet and hands. Every time a rock was lifted or The Australian managed to catch a prawn, he was swarmed by an onslaught of platypuses. With the stiff competition, every prawn caught was brought out of the water and placed on a ledge outside the reach of the group.

The Australian enjoyed being near the platypus pool. Every day was interesting. Within a few days, the creatures lost the fear of his presence and started following him around the area. The pool itself was out of the ordinary for a platypus sanctuary. Other than the abundant food, the area seemed outside the animals’ natural habitat. It looked like they had become trapped after being washed out by monsoon flooding. All around the pool were rocks, with very little soil to burrow in. The platypus became an early warning system for The Australian. Any time something larger wandered into the area, the platypuses scattered to the water. The Australian played his part within the community by lifting rocks and scaring away a monitor that frequently patrolled the stream. One morning, The Australian woke to find every platypus in the puddle lining the shore, making grunting sounds. Each one was facing a small crocodile floating on the surface. Not wanting to share the pool with a crocodile, The Australian ambushed it with a rock while it basked in the sun. The meat provided a low-effort, high-protein meal compared to the group prawn hunt with the platypus.

The rock garden was a small refuge in the short term. High thunderheads reaching far into the sky marked the beginning of the rainy season. Although The Australian had grown fond of the pool, the exposed rocks provided little cover in a torrential downpour. Eventually, the area would become a flash-flood zone. Sensing it was time to go, The Australian gathered the gear he had left and began walking out. A short time later, he reached a dirt patch and continued west toward what he thought would be the highway. As he stopped to drink, he noticed two brown dots moving toward him on the ground. Like two fish out of water, a pair of platypuses moving over dry ground caught up with The Australian. Using his satchel like a cave entrance, he laid the bag in front of the two nomad platypuses as they climbed inside. Now over a mile away from the rock pool, going back would exert valuable energy The Australian did not have. The two seemed comfortable traveling inside the pack, making the stowaway platypuses welcomed guests. A mental note was made to just set them free at the next water source.

As expected, rain started to fall from the sky. Streaks of light cut through the atmosphere as The Australian searched for cover along a cliffside gorge. A deep cut into the cliff provided a partial ceiling as the heavy rain intensified. Although the space would be an ill-advised location for any survival expert, it was the only dry space within close proximity. At the entrance was the rock garden wash The Australian had been following. Beyond the entrance was a transitional sunburnt expanse with sparse tree cover. The small slot canyon cut into the elevated sandstone cliff. On the bottom was sediment and rock, while the top was covered with exposed roots from nearby shrubs and trees. Water poured over the edges from above on either side. An overhanging section 500 feet from the opening allowed The Australian to duck underneath out of the rain. All day and all night, the storm battered the land, turning the previously dry wash into a raging torrent. Brown water filled with sediment poured through from higher elevations, following a trail of rocks and sand. Unable to sleep, The Australian watched as the murky water rose around him. By morning, his overhang refuge was reduced to a small island with only enough room to squat. From outside the cut, a depression at the entrance was now a body of water. For the next two days, scattered rainstorms pinned The Australian from exiting the canyon.

Eventually, the dark clouds and thunder moved past, turning the sky into an overcast grey. With nothing dry left to stand on, The Australian perched in a layer of water. Soaked to the bone, he probed for rocks beneath the water to stand on while making an attempt to free himself from the flooded canyon. The wash entrance was unrecognizable from before. A pool of water over one hundred feet across had formed at the mouth. Flash flooding brought with it predators from above. Saltwater crocodiles lined the bank with their mouths open as they basked for warmth. The majority were juvenile crocodiles, with the exception of one alpha dwarfing all others. From inside his satchel, The Australian could hear grunts from the platypus. Without seeing the crocodiles, the platypuses had picked up the electro-responsive signals, providing an early warning sign.

Bubbles from the pool made a line toward The Australian as he stood on the partially exposed rock marking the entrance to the canyon. Water broke in front of him as a crocodile launched an attack. With his aluminum oxygen tank placed between himself and the crocodile, he fell backward awkwardly onto rocks. Losing all composure, he splashed back into the canyon, stumbling over submerged boulders as he crashed through the flooded hallway. It would only be a matter of time before the crocodile found a way over the entrance wall. Acting in desperate urgency, The Australian passed by his roost as he looked for a way up. Deeper inside the canyon, a wall on his right gave a shallow enough angle to scale. Leaving his gear below, he attached a rope around his wrist and began climbing. The first attempt ended in disaster as the wall crumbled beneath his feet, sending him falling backward into the shallow water. Rethinking his approach, he climbed to the point where the wall collapsed, then threw a rope around a root protruding from the upper edge. After many failed attempts to reach the top, the wall had changed shape from a steep angle to a sheer upper wall with an indented rut. Believing the wall to be beyond his abilities, he made a final attempt. The Australian ran forward up the base of the wall, planted a foot into the indentation, catching roots with his hand. By using the tree roots, he pulled himself up the remaining distance until he was able to put an arm over the upper edge. By placing his hand at the base of the tree, he pulled forward, sliding over the edge on his stomach. After a moment of pause, he grabbed the rope connected to his gear and hoisted it up.

The difference between here and there was like a step into a new world. On one side, an extensive savanna stretched out over the lowlands. On the other, an elevated mesa thick with trees. What was supposed to be a journey to a widely used highway had turned into The Australian guessing where he was on the map. Up above, the chasm became disorienting as the mixed stone platform began pushing an eastern path. Trapped between a chasm, a cliff, and a now-flowing river wash, The Australian cut a path through the middle of the trees. The mix of marbled carbonate, dolomite, and sandstone was speckled with reefal limestone, a transitional anomaly found in prehistoric sediment foothill belts. Now moving slightly higher in elevation, the ground created narrow pathways through the trees. Each channel sank into the forest floor, leaving a trail of loose rocks along the bed. Pulled down by flowing water from above, the rocks acted as stepping stones through the forest. Ill-equipped for life on the surface, The Australian survived mostly on grubs from fallen trees and ungodly sized spiders that cast webs across the trees. Refusing to eat his platypuses, he shared meals with the two as he foraged. For the first time since he began the migration, he felt thirsty. Although the rainstorm had left dew beaded along the leaves, moving water was hard to come by. Puddles were a thick mess of brownish-red sediment, providing very little drinkable liquid. A few larger puddles were occupied by small mud-covered crocodiles washed down from the rain. The Australian began moving gradually higher, following the rutted trail of stones.

As the ground leveled, the stone path widened. Rocks and fallen leaves covered the hillside in front of him. Once fully exiting the trailhead, he looked back across the shrub-bed horizon, seeing not one, but many runoff pathways emulating the trail he had just climbed. The land bore large eucalyptus spread widely over an open space. Large numbers of kangaroos and smaller wallabies dotted the outer edges of the upper hillside tree line. Entering into the open vista was a welcome change from the sparseness of the lowlands. After days of eating only grubs and spiders, The Australian focused his attention on devising a way to secure a marsupial for food.

A small pop-up camp and a fire ring were set between three closely rooted trees. The Australian’s primitive hunting strategy to procure a kangaroo had digressed into him hiding behind a tree, then throwing a rock while holding a stick whenever a kangaroo came close. The plan to stun the kangaroo with a rock, then attack it with the stick, was good in theory, but failed to produce results. Kangaroos passing by were too fast and agile. The closest he came was missing with the rock, then throwing the stick like a boomerang as he chased it, hitting the roo as it bounced past. Although the process of tracking oncoming kangaroos left The Australian winded, his efforts were rewarded after a wombat strayed too close to the hiding tree. The Australian, seizing the opportunity presented, was able to chase the wombat down. Overpowering the small marsupial was not easily accomplished, as the wombat fought back against him. As though the hunter had become the hunted, the wombat chased The Australian to a fallen tree. The Australian eventually regained control as the wombat, succumbing to a fatal wound, lay dead on the opposite side. With every life taken, a feeling of remorse swept through The Australian as he apologized to the wombat. The apologies were short-lived as The Australian carried the wombat on his back like a backpack to camp. Rich in fats and protein, the meat brought rejuvenation to him.

Survival was a day-to-day battle, for if it was not food, then it was water. The serious nature of The Australian’s expedition had left him battered, but he held on to the hope that his experience would one day inspire countless generations. He had solidified his place amongst the greatest geologist spelunkers in history. All he needed to do was hang on until rescue arrived to tell his story. On top of the vista, he could see out over the lowlands below. It had become obvious that his initial assessment of being boxed between connecting highways was wrong. He began to contemplate a general sense of where he was. Figuring that he was now at the base of the Cape York Peninsula, the town he had viewed would have to be farther north than Cairns. Fixing the navigational error, he concluded that he must go southeast, backtracking toward more inhabited building zones.

The days spent on the vista gave The Australian time to prepare for the long walk back. He smoked meat from the wombat and from a second wombat he managed to procure. With a fortified food supply, his chances of rescue increased dramatically. A small stream was located along the upper hillside where the kangaroos gathered. The water had become foul from constant use, sending The Australian searching for a secondary option. Directly up the hill from the camp, a rock depression opened into a hole in the ground. The unique feature was only noticed after The Australian witnessed a wallaby emerging from below the surface. Inside the dropout was a spring forty feet from the entrance. By crawling into the narrow pathway, The Australian filled his canteen as he drank face first from the moving water.

The sky was grey, with monsoon thunderheads in the distance. Preparations for the long-distance walk were cut short by the ominous forecast. Although the rain appeared to be miles away, risking being caught provoked a decision to wait out the storm. A fire with a smoker was built on the outer ring of the spring tunnel as The Australian lay inside. For three days, The Australian smoked meat from the wombats. It had not occurred to him until after his hunger subsided that the isolated location they were found in was unusual. It was common knowledge that wombats were only found south of the Cape. Inside the inner chamber of the groundwater spring was a smaller tunnel no more than a foot and a half wide. To The Australian, after everything he had witnessed inside the caverns, it made sense that they must have traveled below ground. A plausible explanation of an animal traversing a similar network of interconnected underground pathways as he had, then reemerging due to perceptive adaptations, did not seem far from the truth.

As the day broke, the sun dawned to clear skies. The Australian packed his belongings and finished storing the dried meat. Leaving his gear inside the mouth of the dropout, he walked over to a tree to relieve himself. He had everything ready for the final leg of his journey. Today was the day he headed home. While perched at the base of a tree, he felt liquid filling in around his feet. The slow trickle grew rapidly, covering one foot, then spreading to the other. Leaves began to lift, moving down the hill as a thin layer of water coated the hillside. Every direction he looked, water filled the landscape. Rocks began to catch the current, rolling as the deepening surface moved with the flow. Like a wave breaking on a shoreline, the leaf-littered surface rippled with each oncoming pulse. The Australian stepped through a slurry of ankle-deep water rushing over his feet, then turned, looking upward from behind the tree. Sounds of a natural ambient forest were replaced with a distant roar. The noise from far away sounded like a jetliner preparing to take off. Now running, The Australian, horrified by the sudden change, made a line across the racing hillside. Cracking branches broke his gaze at the mouth of the tunnel. The Australian turned his attention up the hill. A wall of sandy white water turned rocks into projectiles as they bounced between earth and water. The wall hummed as it covered everything in its path, unforgivingly claiming the land as its own. The last thing The Australian saw before ducking inside the trunk spring tunnel was water higher than he was tall, casting rocks into the air around him.

Jumping inside the tunnel, The Australian had only enough time to hug his gear. The roar vanished into suppression as the sky disappeared. Rushing water filled the space, muting life as he knew it. The force of the current pushed him deeper into the narrow tunnel. The Australian, sliding headfirst, bent and crumpled within the small space, causing his feet to take the lead. His body pinched between the walls, sending him into the black. Scratching at the sides of the tunnel to fight the break, he let go in defeat. Stuck between two sides, his body became a plug, causing pressure to build against his face. Time became irrelevant as he held on to his remaining breath. With a final spastic kick, he released and inhaled. As the water filled his lungs, The Australian lurched his midsection forward toward his knees. The change in angle caused a slight shift within the foundation of the tunnel. Pressure built up from the water and shot him forward, choking. Air filled his lungs as water was expelled, inhaling into a momentary break in the deluge. His body gained speed as it hit the top of the tunnel, then was forced under again. A narrow gap of air along the upper wall of the tube allowed for shallow breaths as he fought to remain conscious. Sliding further into the dark, The Australian bounced blindly as he was swept underground.

Riding the water on his back, he struggled to keep his face and head from hitting the top of the tube. Without being able to see, on numerous occasions the ceiling scraped past his face, chipping teeth as the momentum carried him forward. What seemed like forever ended abruptly as the cut dropped out completely. For nearly a mile, The Australian had been flushed back into the earth. Water left his back, replaced by gravity. The fall was fast and sudden, lit up by an illuminated streak of neon green. Water broke around his feet, then traveled over his head. Now moving in a swift, deep-moving current, he surfaced to the glow. Pale cyan, with a greenish-yellow tint, covered the wall and ceiling. Still poorly lit, the master channel provided enough light to see the surface of the water surrounding him. Everything he owned was now floating or sinking in the water-catch river. The first item to appear was the oxygen tank, then a dry bag. Loose objects floated over the surface, bobbing alongside as The Australian treaded in the undertow. One of the two platypuses slapped the water next to him, floating with him for a minute, then disappeared below the surface. Gathering what he could, he floated onward until a hooked outcrop extending into the water reduced the current. The swirling hook-shaped protrusion provided a safe harbor as the water in the channel raced past. Climbing out of the water, The Australian took inventory in the shadows of the eerie glow.

His rope was gone, as well as the base of the carbide lantern. The bulk food stores and satchel were nowhere to be found. Inside the dry bag were the reflective lantern cone and calcium carbide tin, a metal shard, a golden nugget, and a large garnet. Connected to the oxygen vest were his drink thermos and cooking cup. Water from the channel continued to fly past only a few feet away as he examined the few essential remaining items. Bioluminescent droplets fell around him as he crouched on one knee, staring at the items laid out across the surface. The tiny blue light started to move, slowly wiggling in place, as The Australian pinched one between his fingers for a closer look. It was like a little weevil worm with a glowing band of blue light along its body.

Fast-moving water funneled into an overhanging ceiling, then disappeared. The small rock where he sat provided no chance of movement. Securing his belongings, The Australian dipped back into the water, pulled himself out into the outer edge, and let himself go. Within a second, the rock platform disappeared as the water carried him onward. By skimming along the outer wall, the speed at which he traveled could be manipulated in his favor. Searching for a larger platform, The Australian floated through the channel for over an hour. An exaggerated point cut the river in two. Along the wall, the water merged with the point in a V-shaped inlet. At the end of the intersecting rock, a near-empty satchel floated on the surface. A small amount of wombat jerky he had left for the platypuses and a cap from a carbide lantern remained. The Australian pulled himself onto the extended stone surface. In the glow, he could see shapes moving from beyond the light. Sitting on the ground, he felt weight press against his leg, then a second wet pressure wedged itself against his thigh. Reuniting with his platypuses brought tears to his eyes. Once again, The Australian found himself trapped underground, stuck, but not alone.

Movement on the opposite end of the platform kept The Australian on edge. Every so often, what looked like small shadowy boulders moved along the illuminated floor. By using a metal cup, cotton fabric, and the remaining pieces from the carbide lantern, The Australian crafted a carbide lamp. The familiar firelight filled the room as the flame, pointing upward, was carried by the cup’s handle. Investigating the movement on the platform, he walked along the wall slowly. Stone-covered ground stretched farther than he could see. Much larger than previously expected, The Australian continued on for hundreds of meters. Wombats, as far as The Australian could see, lined the riverside shoreline. As he progressed, he counted two kangaroos, ten wallabies, a bush-tail possum, and a lace monitor. The whole entire area was filled with marsupials, with the exception of the large lizard. Each animal paid little attention to his presence as he passed by. All the marsupials appeared to be licking the ground. Glow worms and a slippery green film covering the floor provided a supplementary food chain to support a small underground ecosystem. The Australian retreated back to his end of the platform. Even with an abundant presence of wildlife, the rock bed offered little protection from the inhabitants. Figuring out a plan of action would require reentering the water. Desperate for food, The Australian secured a wombat and began to process what he could, cooking small sections over a tiny flame. Within a day, the smell had attracted the large monitor lizard, who dragged the wombat away while he slept.

With the lizard encroaching on The Australian’s territory, the time had come to leave. Upon leaving the rock-bed platform, The Australian entered into the outer peninsula, letting the pull of the water carry him downstream. To his surprise, the platypuses followed suit, appearing next to him as he floated. The marsupial-covered shoreline passed by swiftly, showing the full scale of its inhabitants. Still transfixed on the ground, tiny silhouettes flashed past. A moment later, they were gone as The Australian passed into a walled-off channel. Along the way, more rock-bed platforms with the same characteristics appeared and disappeared. This continued on for hours as the three rode the current in hopes of a space they could call their own.

Unlike the master conduit, small rock exit points provided dry resting areas while en route. For two days The Australian floated, exiting the waterway only when opportunities became possible. Deep inside the master channel, the water trended northeast toward the coast. Desperate to find a way out, The Australian moved through the darkness, suspended on the surface by an oxygen tank and an air-filled dry bag.

On the second day, The Australian had already traveled over 50 miles towards the coast. Although unaware of his exact location, he was now directly below the Queensland Government National Park. As the rocky tunnel transitioned back into karst caverns, the river split in two. On one side, the luminous glow worms lit a path into deeper corridors. On the other, a sparse collection hung at the entrance, then seemed to disappear. Looking at both sides, The Australian was being forced left into the dark waterway. A momentary decision to swim to the right, into the glowing corridor, set in motion a chain of events that would go untold for the next 54 years. With the presence of glow worms acting as a biological indicator of airflow and oxygen, the glowing worms were a key factor in his survival in a subterranean world. Fighting to stay in the light, the gap was closed into slow-moving water. A calm surface reflected powder-blue orbs as The Australian passed under mega colonies of glowing worms. The density of the worms lit the water enough to see clearly in a tinted blue hue. As expected, the platypuses followed suit. One, then the other, floated alongside The Australian. With a gentle pull from the current, the three hardly moved at all as the water moved through limestone. Long strands draped from the ceiling above dripped electric blue as individual worms dropped into the water. Each one was consumed from below as the platypuses fed. The Australian, grabbing a tiny glowing worm off the surface, placed it slowly on his tongue, then gagged. A horrible sound of dry heaving and gargling echoed over the water and through the cave, breaking the serene ambiance.

Within an hour, the water’s current lessened, turning into a small seep as the narrow fissures dispersed the river. Now kicking over the bottom in waist-deep water, a calcified beach marked the end of the transit. Once out of the water, the space opened to a maze of light-blue columns and pools. Mineralization formed oval-shaped archways, separating one chamber from the next. The near-identical similarities of the rooms and their reflective drip pools created optical illusions as The Australian moved onto elevated ground. Fractal mimicry through geological repetition mixed the luminescence at various perceptive angle depths and formed a “hall of mirrors”-like foreground. Taking a moment to recollect, The Australian peeked through each viable window. Enormous chambers filled with small drip-water basins along the floor appeared to be moving. Electric-blue ripples from millions of randomized drips hit the surface of the basins, causing water to bounce and shadows to flux against the walls. It was a mesmerizing display that left The Australian disoriented as he looked across the synchronized procession.

The sensory deprivation overload caused his ears to ring. Dripping reverberated in rhythmic patterns, bouncing off the walls in combination with a natural quantum-dot-node bioluminescence that sent The Australian spinning. Closing his eyes, he lay down above the beach and slept. The platypuses, at some point during his unconsciousness, had made their way back into his satchel. Low grunts brought The Australian back to reality. Scanning the water, he noticed an abnormal arching in the water. Behind the spiny lump, a long ripple cut over the surface. Two crocodiles had entered into the channel, breaking the seclusion. Without wanting to spend more time than necessary close to the apex predators, he grabbed his gear and moved through the largest archway.

Hastily moving through the extravagant drip chamber, The Australian spent little time fixating on the optical marvel. By the time he reached the other side, one of the crocodiles was already moving through the archway entrance. Most likely following the smell of meat from the wombats, the crocodile was more than interested in pursuing The Australian. Not wanting to become trapped, The Australian followed the path with the largest openings and the most glowing worms. Hoping the crocodile would lose interest, he moved from chamber to chamber, then waited on the other side to see if the crocodile appeared. Relentless in its effort for food, the crocodile always seemed to be right behind him. Even as steep slopes and walled steps provided obstacles for the beast, it always found a way through. While moving through narrowing walls, the karst caverns limited accessible routes. Winding hallways stopped abruptly, causing The Australian to retrace his steps to find a way around. Losing his bearings traveling from one corridor to the next, each wrong choice resulted in confusion of where he was and once was. Looking at the twisted caverns from an opposite angle played tricks with his mind. Time was nonexistent as The Australian hurriedly ventured through dark passageways, knowing he was being hunted. The maze of openings gave many options of where to go, but only a few provided a way forward. Trying to memorize geological features offered little help in the lamplight. Fearing he was going in circles, rocks and markings left in front of each opening prevented him from reentering the same path twice.

Claws scraping against mineralized floors, low hissing rumbles, and the sound of a tail dragging over the surface carried long distances through the caves. A cat-and-mouse game had digressed into dissociative echoing as The Australian struggled to gauge the crocodile’s distance. Although he couldn’t see it, he knew the crocodile was only a few openings away. Now moving as fast as he could down a small outlet, he came to a wall with a small opening. Checking the size with his arms, then head, he was unable to fit all the way through without getting stuck. Desperate to get into the next room over, he used his oxygen tank to hit and break the opening wider. Through the hole, a large chamber stood idle, tantalizingly close, but unavailable to reach. As The Australian hit the wall, the strong mineral layer refused to break loose. The platypuses continued to grunt from inside the satchel. In the glow of the carbide lamp’s torchlight, a primal figure turned the corner. Reptilian eyes flickered yellow, showing no emotion other than a desire to feed. Although the crocodile was not extremely large, the size was formidable. It was faster and more determined to finish the pursuit. The Australian, with his back against the wall, held his aluminum tank as a protective barrier. Making its move, the crocodile raced forward. In a moment of clarity, The Australian tapped the tank on the ground to his right, pressing his hand against the top and pushing away to the left. Jumping flat against the wall as the crocodile snapped at the tank, it was pulled away. Running down the hall to the next corridor, he threw his wombat meat on the ground as a diversion.

Believing himself to be temporarily safe, he stopped to breathe outside the corridor’s entrance. Wondering what to do next, he looked around the room, then heard a small “ting” as he picked up the oxygen tank by his side. Teeth from open jaws wrapped around the oxygen tank. Looking down, a much larger mouth had clamped down on it. On each side of The Australian’s leg, ragged teeth held suspended by the oxygen tank surrounded him. A mature crocodile had caught him off guard, launching a silent assault on his aluminum air tank. Shaking the tank, the crocodile’s mouth knocked The Australian on his back as it leveled. His leg sat elevated in the air with a row of teeth pressed against his calf. Although by chance the pressure had concentrated on the metal air tank, The Australian’s leg had caught an awkward position between the tank and the snout. To free himself, he either had to pull his leg out past the snout or through the middle. The croc, not wanting to let go, paused as it wound up for the next round of thrashing. Anticipating a violent combination, The Australian pointed his toe and rolled to his left, freeing himself. Now lying on his stomach, he began rolling in the same direction toward his makeshift lamp.

The reflective lantern top pressed onto the top of the metal cup had fallen off, leaving the calcium carbide wrapped in wet cloth exposed. Acetylene gas emitted an open flame as it burned through the fabric stretched over the open end of the cup. Unregulated oxygen caused a flame to spill out sideways over the cave floor. The metal handle seared his finger as the cup was picked up and swung forward in a pouring motion. Too hot to handle, The Australian released the cup at the apex of an upward arc, spilling a stream of fire followed by the metal cup at the crocodile’s face. The calcium carbide hit first, spreading small fiery dots across the croc’s face and the floor. A hollow metallic “donk” echoed through the chamber as the cup bounced off the top of the crocodile’s hard head, then fell to the ground. The oxygen tank was sent flying toward a patch of stalagmites as the crocodile bellowed, shaking its head wildly. Amidst the chaos, The Australian attempted to collect what was not already attached before fleeing, reclaiming the oxygen tank and reflective lantern cover as he made his escape.

Without torchlight, the dark halls were navigated by glow worm colonies and short flashes from the ignitor flint alone. Bumping into columns and walls as his eyes adjusted to the dim blue glow, The Australian followed the hanging strands where they glowed brightest. Whenever he came to a dark space, a small amount of calcium carbide was sprinkled on the ground, then lit with the sparker built into the lantern head. Inside a darkened room, tunnels branched into a crossroads. Three paths stood level, while a single archway opened double overhead. Gambling on the leverage of escaping the pursuing crocodiles, The Australian scaled the wall after throwing his aluminum tank into the raised pathway. Breathing in a sense of relief, he sat in the upper deck as the crocodiles entered the room. To his surprise, three crocs pushed their way into the lower chamber. A moment later, the fourth and largest crocodile followed. Recognizable by the burn mark around the eye, the crocodile climbed over the others and positioned itself directly below the ledge. The risk had paid off for The Australian, leaving the crocodiles trapped in the space below.

For the first time since leaving the beach, the platypuses began to calm down, as the constant grunting turned to silence. Seeing this as a sign to stop, The Australian collapsed onto the ground, laying his head down on the floor, and slept. Waking up with a jump as something touched his nose, he started flicking his flint in fear that the crocodiles had found a way around the wall. The space was empty. The platypuses were inside their bag. Nothing was out of the ordinary at a glance. A buzzing sound around the ear revealed the culprit. Flashing the flint at the ground, The Australian noticed tiny black dots over his bag. Flies were present in high numbers. Although not unheard of, the thought of a nearby exit came to mind. Continuing on his way through the upper high-road hall was relatively easy compared to the karst maze below. The brightest path so far had steered him into wide hallways with little resistance or blockages. Glow worm colonies clung to every available space as flies began to thicken. Drip strands passed over his hair and face, causing flies to stick to his skin and hair. Soon it felt like a brawny beard of flies had formed over his chin and lips. With each step, the floor compressed, then turned neon blue due to the density of glowing worms.

Turning into an open arch strewn with glow worm strands, a river of radiant blue light cut down the center of the chamber. Every inch of viable space was occupied by glowing worms and flies. A river carrying glow worms from somewhere beyond view sent an endless flow of bioluminescence forward into the karst. Trillions of tiny luminous worms swept downstream, causing the river to pulsate light as they passed. Shocked and amazed, The Australian moved closer to the edge.

A natural phenomenon caused by groundwater aquifer flow dynamics, fauna integration, and decomposition created the perfect breeding environment for both flies and glow worm habitation. On the water’s edge, it was clear that beauty came at a cost. Animals floated by in a ghostly manner, one species after the other. Cast down from above into various waterways, the haunted passengers converged into narrowing collection chambers, backing up the natural aquifer. Rivers, seasonal flash floods, disappearing springs, and other natural entry points continued the cycle indefinitely. The ghastly river never stopped glowing. The Australian stared into the water, transfixed by the volume. In this space, as a result of favorable variables, two monolithic species reigned over all others.

Navigating through the worm-cast cavern was a slow process. Each step sank deep, leaving a trail of bioluminescent blue rings across the floor. The Australian stepped onto an uneven surface to feel it move under his feet. A glowing blur sprang up from under the sticky strands, uncovering a crocodile imprisoned beneath the fallout. A blue streak shot through the ground surrounding the fully encased creature. Unable to fully open its mouth or move efficiently, the mound throbbed ominously as The Australian redirected his path.

Continuing through the endless silk wasteland along the river, The Australian finally found a table-like rock to rest. Every part of him glowed blue as he moved onto the flat surface. With only one glow worm on top of the rock face, it provided a small island free of silk. Within a minute of lying down, The Australian’s platypus satchel rolled over and off the rock. Something had driven the two animals into a state of panic, as the platypuses squeezed through the opening, then bolted across the surrounding rocks onto the silk, then stopped. One platypus remained 50 feet away while the other ran towards the river, never to be seen again. Leaving the rock, The Australian laid down the satchel on the ground. As usual, the platypus entered. He picked up the bag and walked back towards the rock oasis. Just as before, once near the rock the platypus began shaking the satchel, breached, then ran back onto the silk. The Australian returned with the satchel, left it on the ground, and walked back to the rock empty-handed.

Confused at what was happening, he looked to the walls, noticing lines of granite free of the glowing worms. Everywhere the granite was, the glow vanished. It suddenly dawned on him — phosphorus. In the presence of granite and fossilization, radiation can be present in the form of phosphorus layers. The patchy walls acted as a visual indicator. The platypus, however, sensitive to electromagnetic fields and chemotaxis, acted as a canary system. It was enough evidence to set The Australian back into the silk-stream causeway. Undoubtedly receiving a heavy dose of radiation, he left the rock feeling wary about future side effects if he were to survive the ordeal.

Taking this as a warning to proceed with caution, a general census of fundamental principles was taken into account. Even though The Australian had been lucky so far, he knew what potential dangers subterranean exploration brought about. Experiencing these natural cave-specific dangers firsthand was far more passive than he had previously thought. Without warning signs or precautionary boundaries, he was on his own. Picking up the satchel on his exit, he was relieved to find his now lone platypus friend inside. The Australian’s kinship with the creature was one of mutual respect. For whatever reason, the small platypus stayed close, saving his life now on multiple occasions. As miner is to canary, a justifiable parallel would be platypus to the spelunker. Even with every opportunity to leave, she stayed by his side. Up to that point, a good rule of thumb would be: follow the glow worms and trust your platypus.

The Australian stayed close to the river, avoiding the outer edges of the transitional granite. Staying within the safety of the colonies, he walked through the silk bog using his oxygen tank as a crutch. Eventually, the ground hardened, but never to the sedimentary layer. Hundreds of thousands of years, if not millions, had turned the entire karst system into a spindle. Although it was easier to walk, the smell was unbearable. Animals that had been washed down into the collection chamber became surrogates to larvae as the silk strands dropped down from the ceiling. Entire colonies were dragged downriver as the hosts moved with the current. The water offered little resource. Undoubtedly contaminated by bacteria, it would cause illness if drunk. Large colony mounds drifted in the slowing current, bouncing aimlessly off the banks and repositioning to form a queue with other blue mounds. A sight more aligned with Greek mythology’s River Styx. Fighting the urge of thirst and hunger, The Australian pushed on. The grim blue glow marked each life lost. Wherever God was, he surely wasn’t here.

A break into a karst tunnel broke the view of the river, sending The Australian slightly upward. Low sub-frequency rattled his eyes as it pushed air molecules together. He had never in his entire life felt a subsonic force like what he had just felt. Shuddering at the sudden change in air pressure, he gripped the walls, believing an earthquake was causing the cavern to collapse. As fast as it came, the sound vibration vanished, leaving The Australian reeling to find composure. The call was answered by a response as the air oscillated, as velocity increased, then wound down back to silence. The tunnel had turned into a vent-cabinet speaker box. Following the sound, The Australian entered into a master-conduit shoreline. Struggling to process what he was looking at, he watched as a wall began to move, and radiant blue gel replaced the space of where it was, standing at the entrance overlooking the shoreline chamber and the wide glowing river below. He saw swirling cyan whirlpools form as the dark backdrop exited behind a wall, then out of sight. In disbelief of what he was seeing, the final realization brought The Australian to his knees. Shaking uncontrollably as the monster moved out of sight, in disbelief he sank to the ground as his leg collapsed beneath him.

Waking up to a foghorn drone sweeping through the halls, The Australian had fainted where he collapsed. Looking over the panoramic mineral surface below toward the river, two giant log-like shapes drifted with the flow, outlined in the glow, swimming side by side before slipping behind the wall. Goliath-sized crocodiles, bigger than he had ever seen, were dwarfed by the patrolling alpha that had caused The Australian’s panic attack. An avenue of giants hung in place like a framed picture. A two-way highway for nightmares, as more crocs entered, swimming against the current as they moved upstream. The Australian, seeing enough, moved past the lookout opening deeper into the system. An upward angle in the tunnel floor raised into a chamber above the master karst conduit. Looking into the room, he saw the familiar sponge-like silk-covered ground. Throughout the chamber, mounds of loose silk stood vacant, piled like spun sugar, then abandoned. Crocodile sign surrounding the piled silk showed light on the nature of the abnormal hills. By poking the center with the metal shard, he confirmed the dormant state. Under the surface layer, dried eggshells left to the hands of time filled the center. With the greater majority hatched, an odd few left suspended were collected. Biting down on the unhatched egg caused The Australian to gag as the foul contents shot out of the opposite side and through his fingers. Unable to take another bite, he focused on the other mounds. Most of the nests looked like they had served purpose years or even decades earlier. Even with a high concentration of nesting sites, the room was barren of crocodiles. Scavenging through the piles yielded nothing substantial other than a few beetles and dried hatchlings. Making his way to the outer edge of the chamber, a recent nesting site uncovered fresh eggs. The Australian, suffering from severe dehydration and starvation, began eating the partially developed eggs raw.

An opening along the wall overlooked the master channel below. Looking over the edge, a pile of rocks leading to the opening was covered in white specks. Trying to make out the white stones through the dark, The Australian climbed a short distance down the rock pile to investigate. Along the upper section, compiled rubble slipped as small stones caused The Australian to slide. Sitting down on the loose hillside, his feet dug into the stones to slow himself. The loose rock transitioned into broken limestone boulders. In the space between the rocks, crocodile bones filled the gaps. Picking up a crocodile skull, he looked up toward the opening, noticing slide marks coming from the entrance opening, then branching out into other angles toward the river. Unable to gauge horizontal perception, the crocodiles had slid out of the cave’s entrance onto the crumbled limestone slope, then out over the rocks. Mangled crocodiles in various states of decay gave a momentary glimpse into the final trajectory. Reminiscent of a bobsled team, crocodiles had plowed on top of each other, stacked, as each one exhibited the same lemming-like behavior. The Australian climbed the hill back into the elevated window to the chamber.

Cooking eggs on a metal cap from the carbide lantern, The Australian regained strength as he remained in the chamber. He had eaten almost every egg possible over the course of two weeks. A seep spring on a wall provided enough water to lick until quenched. Each day, The Australian watched giant-sized prehistoric crocodiles navigate the waterway, disappear, then return moving in the opposite direction. One in particular outmatched all others in size and length. At an estimated 200 feet from nose to tail, the king of the river passed by, filling the cavern with low sub-frequency. Feeling like this must have been the same crocodile from his entrance, he looked on as it moved against the glowing gel-like current. The Australian remained in the nest-roost cavern until an occupying crocodile entered the space from the entrance tunnel from which he came. Taking the last of the eggs, The Australian was forced to move onward.

Walking on solid limestone ground felt foreign after spending an extended amount of time on silk. The jagged edges dug into the bottoms of his feet, causing The Australian to move cautiously in the dark master conduit shoreline. Patches of granite were sought out to provide relief from the inhospitable texture of the karst. Every so often, deep rumbles bounced off the walls in the distance. There was no sense of direction or where to go next. After exploring the granite perimeter wall, he edged back towards the river as the walls curved. On the opposite side of the shoreline valley, a natural granite tower extended over the river. The Australian, not knowing what else to do, climbed the protruding slab structure. On the top, the surface was mildly flat, creating a bridge effect as it moved over the water. In the middle, a broken section prevented a complete transition to the opposite side of the master channel. Feeling his options dwindling, The Australian sat staring over the edge into the water below. From deep beyond his view, a sound of the beast filled the air, causing small pieces of glow-worm-covered karst to drop from the ceiling above, scattering debris along the surface of the slab bridge. A glowing blue wake turned over onto itself as it grew near, slowly emerging from the pitch-black backdrop. Teeth and scales nearly filled one end of the river to the other. Glowing yellow eyes paid no attention to The Australian as they passed by directly below the bridge. Picking up his gear, The Australian, without a second thought, ran forward. Frilled spike scales passed below as The Australian jumped, falling through the darkness. He felt the wind intensify as the subsonic vibration rattled his eyes. Impact came suddenly, knocking the breath from his body as the low vibration rattled his bones. With teeth chattering uncontrollably, the vibration ramped down and was replaced with the sound of water splashing as it parted. Sitting up, The Australian reached out for his oxygen tank as it slid sideways, rolling down the crocodile’s back toward the tail. A waterline behind the rear legs, lined with a wall of triangular scutes at the base of the tail, erupted as the tank hit. Smaller crocodiles hitching a ride on the giant broke the water’s surface, each one snapping at the aluminum oxygen tank as it floated on the surface.

Riding the giant crocodile reminded The Australian of a trip he had taken with his family aboard a car ferry. A stretch of water with dorsal scutes marking the outer edges was filled with ginormous crocodiles, each one respectively large under normal pretenses, but made to look tiny compared to their host. The space between the lower back and the tail’s base was like a steep hill, causing crocodiles attempting to climb out toward the upper pinnacle of the back to lose traction on the hardened scale plates, then slide backward into the water. A war had begun over the metal oxygen tank. The crocodile able to keep it inside its mouth was bombarded by other crocodiles until it either died or let go of the tank. The Australian counted four crocodiles who died trying to swallow the air tank. Comparable to a scrum at a rugby match, a pile would break out every time the tank resurfaced until a crocodile was able to break free with it in its mouth. A never-ending line of crocodiles attempted to reach The Australian on the upper shoulders.

One croc, who was finally able to get past a line of steep scutes on the lower back, made a break toward The Australian. The crocodiles had surprisingly little agility on top of a larger crocodile. The feet would slip multiple times in place before being able to move forward. Seeing the low friction as a weakness, The Australian moved as close to the edge as possible while holding onto a damaged scale. Once the crocodile reached the curved rib cage, unable to control the low-friction contact of crocodile skin on crocodile skin, it began to slide as gravity moved its weight downward. The large crocodile skidded down the slope and over the edge into the waterway below. Unable to sleep for more than a few hours until the sound vibration rattled him awake, the ride was a constant show of everything crocodiles can do.

After a few days, more crocs made the climb up onto the upper back of the giant crocodile. Watching the crocs for long periods of time, The Australian began to find them predictable and repetitive. All he had to do was hang on to the bad scale on the edge and they would just fall off on their own. The water next to the king alpha became a who’s-who of fallen crocodiles, now forced to swim alongside.

Even after losing the initial fear of close crocodile encounters, he remained vigilant. A stroke of luck came when a crocodile brought his oxygen tank up from the tail pool inside its mouth. Not wanting to lose his air tank, The Australian approached the croc head-on before sending it over the edge. Using his metal shard, he tapped the ground near the crocodile as it positioned itself at the center of the back. A snapping reflex caused the oxygen tank to drop out of the mouth onto the hard scute center. In the way a matador would taunt a bull, The Australian tapped the metal on the ground in a ring around the crocodile, causing it to turn. Losing interest in the tank, the croc focused all its attention on The Australian. Showing his agility and bravado, The Australian doubled back on the crocodile, grabbing his air tank as he ran past the tail. A chase pursued as The Australian easily outran the oversized reptile. With a safe distance to spare, he climbed out over the edge holding the air canister. At around twenty feet long, the crocodile was not small by anyone’s standards, although compared to the king it looked like a pet lizard. The Australian, in his element, hung over the side of the mega crocodile like a pirate climbing a mast, waiting for the pursuing croc to take the bait and walk the plank.

Something had caught the eye of the advancing crocodile as it changed direction, now moving toward the back of the neck where The Australian slept, and broke its gaze as it climbed higher. Still holding on to the side scale, The Australian could see in the dim blue glow his satchel holding the platypus rolling over the scute surface. Forced to play his hand, The Australian began banging the air tank and yelling at the crocodile. Even with the loud “dong” and shouts, the crocodile continued toward the satchel. The deep subsonic rumble picked up in the midst of the donging, drowning it out. In an act of heroism, The Australian, losing all fear, grabbed the crocodile’s tail first, trying to pull it, then began hitting it with the oxygen tank. His plan had worked. The croc spun around, changing direction. So far all the crocodiles had been moving up the back, slowed down by the incline with wet feet and slippery claws. An unexpected burst of speed caught The Australian off guard, knocking him over as he tried to run down the back. The oxygen tank, leaving his hands, rolled to the center of the back between the scutes and back down the tail. Unable to focus, The Australian ran between the shoulder blades looking for a way to regain control. Directly behind him, the crocodile had begun sliding on its stomach, using the downward momentum to propel its body forward.

Upon reaching the opposite rib cage of the super croc, The Australian made a “J”-shaped turn in desperation to change direction. Deafening oscillation cut out abruptly. The sound was replaced by a smaller snarl creating a Doppler effect from behind. Not knowing what had happened, he turned to see the crocodile hitting the wall below as it slid off the back completely. A hollow bellow dissolved as the crocodile disappeared somewhere between the wall and body of the behemoth host. Running back to check the platypus, The Australian picked up the satchel from the scute floor, finding the small animal, along with two platypus eggs, safe. A third egg with a small hole in the leathery shell was removed from the bag and swallowed whole.

A week had gone by riding on the back of the crocodile ferry. Threats from crocodiles below and the ceiling above caused persistent conflict. How a 200-foot prehistoric monster crocodile was capable of surviving underground was strange enough, but the fact that it continuously moved through a karst conduit was mind-boggling. In some areas, the ceiling hardly cleared the beast’s head. Chunks of limestone and colonies of glow worms rained down on The Australian as the king crocodile’s upper brow made contact. Without any food, The Australian resorted to eating handfuls of glow worms and beetles after they were dislodged from above. Condensation buildup on the crocodile’s scale plates was the only renewable water source available. The Australian felt no shame licking water off scales or eating insects. He did, however, refuse to eat the platypus and her eggs. With the presence of many crocodiles, the platypus’s electrosensory network prevented the nesting mother from leaving the satchel. Insects were placed inside the bag whenever available. The majority of the time was spent huddled around a small fire made from calcium carbide mixed with pieces of crocodile scales The Australian was able to pry off. Like a transient drifter riding a train car, The Australian continued down the river, waiting for the crocodile’s next stop.

Feeling the surface area expand below him as the crocodile breathed in caused The Australian to lose balance. Not focusing on his surroundings, he felt metal hit him in the head. A row of teeth covered both sides of his face as he sat on the expanding surface. Pressure clamped down just enough to fold his ears forward. Placing two hands on a scaled snout, The Australian pushed forward, freeing himself. Without realizing what had happened, he turned, looked to the unsuspected crocodile, then to the base of the tail. In front of him, a crocodile holding his oxygen tank in its mouth began trying to swallow the aluminum cylinder in place of The Australian. Along the base of the now-flattened back, crocodiles poured out of the pool created between the tail scutes as they climbed up the gentle arch. The Australian’s silent attacker, choking on the dive tank, released it onto the floor. A wall of multiple crocodiles moved up the back as The Australian picked up the oxygen tank and ran.

Seeing the moment clearly, The Australian turned to face the progressing congregation. Taking his time, he guided the crocs to his side scale overhanging the water. With his tank over one shoulder by a tattered vest, he climbed out over the edge behind the front leg. Each crocodile formed a line as they slid down to meet him, gaining speed while sliding over the rib cage, then were sent straight to a free fall into the water below. Within a few minutes, the pool below was emptied of crocodiles, except for one extremely large croc who slid backward every time it tried to climb up the lower back.

Ground limestone fell from the ceiling as the conduit walls narrowed on all sides. The dimly lit bioluminescence of the glow worm colonies disappeared. Blue dots on the giant crocodile’s back began fading to black as the scale fire smoldered. All around The Australian, walls crumbled into small pieces of jagged rock. Feeling dizzy, The Australian lay flat on his back at the base of the neck. The lack of light made his head spin as he grabbed the damaged oxygen tank. Feeling on intuition that an atmospheric change had occurred, he twisted the valve half a turn until the bent threads stuck. Only a torn rubber tube remained of the respirator, and The Australian held it under his nose. Movement from the satchel confirmed his thoughts about the cave’s airflow. Picking up the bag, he placed it on his chest and stuck the rubber tube inside. Now in pitch black, The Australian reached his hand in the air, feeling the tips of his fingers touch stone.

Hours went by without a break in space as the ceiling skimmed by with only inches to spare. Now covered in sediment, The Australian felt grains of limestone in his mouth. Fighting the urge to cough, he lifted his head from the surface and hit rock. Sharp points slowly drifted over his face in the dark as he pressed himself flat. Fearing being crushed between two forces, The Australian lay motionless as the ceiling slid over him.

In the dark, a blue glow passed overhead. The sound of scraping rocks vanished, and a low subsonic rumble filled the room. Within a minute, the pressure behind his eyes lifted. The air, now colder than before, filled The Australian’s lungs as the claustrophobic sensation subsided into an open chamber. Waterfalls poured from the walls and ceiling, raining down fresh water from above. Around a bend, the master conduit began to roar as water hit the surface. Debris washed over The Australian’s feet, followed by a thunderous hail of droplets. Heavy-impact water flow poured down the crocodile’s neck, then moved onto The Australian, forcing him to his knees. Falling onto his gear, he held on to a textured gap between scutes to prevent himself from being washed away. As the heavy mist followed the main cataract, a second impact hit at an angle. Water, sent sideways furiously, washed across the back, pushing The Australian toward the edge. Unable to differentiate the direction of the sound, surging torrential flow hit frequently without warning. Holding on for life, The Australian changed direction with each voluminous surge. Two waterfalls hitting in opposite directions at the same time caused The Australian to lose grip. Feeling for a break in the scales, the unrelenting pressure sent him sliding over the hardened back. Within the raging whitewater mist, a hold was found blindly as thousands of gallons of water pounded down against him. Like a row of cannons, streams shot out of the walls, then hit the deck. The Australian only had a few seconds to brace himself before the next white wall hit. The grand barrage ended with a row of water jets shooting out on all sides at once. Front, back, and side to side, more water than he had ever felt was sent flying across the conduit walls and ceiling as it cascaded over the crocodile. Unable to hold on, The Australian let go.

Items ripped away from his grasp poured across the back, then over the edge. Spinning across the slick, mounded scutes caused The Australian to lose contact as water pressure carried him over the center of the spine. In the air, he turned onto his stomach, spreading both arms and legs out to slow himself down as he returned to the surface. Spinning to a stop, the water subsided, leaving only small streams draining through the scutes. The roaring sounds of the waterfalls carried on from behind, growing quieter by the second. Looking over the surface, he found only his satchel partially empty, aside from the two platypus eggs and a few assorted items. The Australian stood to scan the river for movement, fearing his longtime companion had been sent overboard. In the distance, streams of water with a blue tinge began to vanish in the dark. Tears filled his eyes as The Australian positioned himself to sit down. Instead of hard scale, the feeling of oily fur touched his cheeks. A hiss and frantic wiggling erupted below him. The platypus broke free, sliding through the dark up to the back of the crocodile’s neck. A feeling of relief poured through him, knowing that he wasn’t alone. Walking up to the general area of where the platypus disappeared, The Australian placed the open satchel nearby and lay down.

The cave had calmed itself to a quiet river. Only the sound of breaking water echoed through the halls. Upon waking, a bulge in the base of the bag showed The Australian the platypus had returned to her eggs. Feeling cleaner than he had in months, he looked over the edge to assess the topography. Along the walls, granite bedrock floors mixed into karst walls. Glow worm colonies had become sparse, only appearing on the ceiling above in low-density patches. On shore, The Australian could see openings pass by in the limestone walls, each one marked with blue bioluminescence. Reoccurring patterns of natural indicators had been the most successful strategy in choosing movable networks. Seeing a possible way out, The Australian began contemplating an exit plan. Before he could make a move, the barge-like crocodile began turning around. Inside a keyhole-shaped chamber, the river seemed to end as all forward movement stopped. A deep bass brass horn bounced around the chamber. A hissing response followed from below.

In the blank space, sounds of agitated splashing replaced the king’s call. Without seeing the dissociated reptilian frequencies, habitual noise cut through the binaural spectrum. Coming to a standstill parallel to the bedrock shore, the giant crocodile stood idle as smaller crocodiles filled in around the sides. Surrounding the enormous body, a feeding frenzy broke out as animals plowing below the water began to surface. The dark horizon encircled the living platform in all degrees but one. A blue orb a hundred meters away hung like a lantern. The lapping water against the bedrock shoreline was audibly out of range to dismount. A week passed by in a slow state of transition as the giant turned to face the direction from which it came. Feeling a shift in stability followed by rocks turning under a weighted hide, The Australian secured his satchel around his neck and jumped over the edge. Armed only with a shard of metal, The Australian tapped the ground around his feet while setting course for the blue beacon. Around his neck, the platypus grunted as he waved the metal rod side to side. Hitting a hard cushion, a hiss broke the air. Using the metal rod to trace around the areas between the vibrational change, he stepped into a rerouted line. Tiptoeing through an arm’s-length semicircle, The Australian was able to gain ground toward the emitting light. With only 50 yards to spare, hardened textures blocked his progress. Bending low to the ground, The Australian used the light from the glowing fracture to create a silhouetted surface image. Dark triangular shapes covered the floor as shadows lifted and fell. A step down into the bedrock had filled itself with a bask of occupants. From one end to the other, crocodiles piled over each other. The Australian could feel the platypus shaking inside his bag as he stepped onto a scute-lined back. The crocodile rumbled as his feet transited to the next one over. With nothing to lose and no way out, The Australian stepped from one crocodile to the next. Midway through the pit, a shifting crocodile caused his feet to pull out from below. Falling on the backs of many crocodiles, he felt a snap on his ring finger. The immense pressure would not let go, as The Australian fought to pull his hand free. Again, a binding pressure closed down around his ankle, then onto his forearm. With his right arm immobile, The Australian poked into the dark with the metal shard with the left. Heavy weight at the end of his hand released. As he pushed upright, the smaller mouths of the two remaining attackers lifted off the ground with him. Running blindly over the scale backs, he carried the two small crocodiles with him as he tried to break for the blue wall. Tripping again, The Australian fell to the ground as more mouths closed down against his arms and legs. With the release of adrenaline, he closed the distance by dragging the small crocodiles up a granite step. Some crocodiles shook violently while others let go, falling and scurrying away. Able to see the faces of crocodiles in the glow, The Australian jabbed at the eyes and stomachs. The smallest croc on his arm was carried into the cracked blue wall.

A raised bedrock step opened into a karst tunnel. Blood welled in beaded lines from the needle-like teeth marks. Still holding on to the small crocodile, The Australian kneeled on the ground and pressed the sharp metal through an eye like a skewer. Inside the glowing mouth entrance, pools of water gathered in calcified basins. The Australian laid down against the wall, letting the water clean his wounds. Tremendous pain stinging across his body caused The Australian to lose consciousness. Opening his eyes to warm dripping water on his face, he rolled out of the trough basin. The Australian removed the metal skewer from the small crocodile lying dead on the ground, cut a line down the tail, and bit into it. True savagery in a primal existence, The Australian had become accustomed to pain. The small bite marks dotted his arms and legs as the wounds dried. After everything he had been through, the constant injury was not enough to break his will to survive. A few days went by nursing his wounds in the mineral water while picking off stray crocodiles that wandered into the step room. Other than his fingers, the injuries healed surprisingly fast. Within a week, The Australian began moving deeper into the chasm.

Unlike the other cave networks he had been through, the mixed sedimentary area formed in the shape of a triangle. The karst limestone along the upper sections held colonies of glow worms, while the granite bedrock made natural troughs. Following the only lighted sections, he moved through the corridor for weeks. Only one crocodile was seen moving through the expansive fissure chain. It was a prehistoric relic covered in mineral deposits that had fused into the limestone wall. The Australian didn’t notice its presence until it snapped down in front of him. The head stuck out into the corridor, leaving only a few feet to pass in front of the jawline, while the body had been trapped in an adjacent chamber. The presence of bats served as an omen of an opening nearby. A day later, the tunnel ended as The Australian resurfaced to tropical humidity. Sunlight cut through him like a sword as the UV rays forced his eyes shut. Emerging from underground, he sat down on hot rocks, looking out across a saltwater channel at a nearby island. Turquoise water stretched out along the shallows, with coral gardens visible from above.

The tropical island served as a reminder of how far he had traveled. Now somewhere along the Coral Sea, the small land mass hugging the coast provided an opportunity to wait for a passing ship. Abundant reef systems brought fish close enough to be speared in great numbers. After two weeks of lazy days patrolling the rock shorelines, no ships had appeared. The Australian began seeking a way to travel across the channel to the bigger island. At low tide, retreating water in the channel exposed a sandbar stretching out along the next island over. A sheltered beach along the shoreline was blocked by the fast-moving channel separating the two sides. Observing the movements of the tide, the quarter-mile swim would mean entering open water if not calculated with precision. Sharks patrolling the drop-offs posed the greatest threat once leaving land. Multiple times, The Australian watched as larger fins broke water near the island. After collecting a bundle of driftwood and sticks, a decision to move with the incoming tide was made.

The next morning, The Australian walked out to a partially submerged rock platform overlooking the drop-off and climbed into the water. Within the first few seconds, his foot made contact with a tiger shark. Without realizing what had happened, The Australian kicked towards the beach as the current pulled him into deep water. A strong undertow carried him past his intended destination toward a rock peninsula. As the point passed by, a larger beach came into view. Once passing over the deepest section, a tidal break moved his float closer to shore. Pushing through whitewater breaks, The Australian’s feet touched the sand below. With the island’s shore now only a short distance away, a final push into oncoming breaks carried him onto the beach. Moving onto shore, The Australian walked straight across the beach to the tree line and sat down, looking back at a chain of islands along the horizon.

The first days were spent climbing up the steep hillsides to view the surrounding areas. Once reaching the peak, a view of a dirt road on the mainland could be seen across a narrow channel. Looking at this as a way out, The Australian moved his belongings to a beach on the opposite side. Piles of she-oak and driftwood were used like a surfboard to paddle across the relatively short waterway between the island and mainland. Crossing only took a few minutes to accomplish, going by without incident. Pushing the makeshift raft into the current, he said goodbye to the island as it floated away. The Australian, locating the dirt road, began walking south. He knew now that he was on the northern tip of the Cape York Peninsula. Heading south along the Somerset 4x4 access road, he kept his eyes open for signs of travelers in vehicles. The Australian walked for four hours down the road without any sign of passing vehicles. Knowing the probability of a bush camper venturing into one of the most remote areas of Australia was slim, he continued to follow a single pair of tire tracks. The air was unbearably hot, with little shade along the open dirt road.

Movement in the brush caught his attention, causing The Australian to stop. Down the road, two dingoes were walking his way, with a third close by that ran out of the brush onto the road, then stopped to face The Australian. Without any sounds, it moved forward toward The Australian at a trot. Unsure of what to do, The Australian put his arms above his head while calling for the dingo to disperse. Unaffected by the domesticated scoldings, the wild dogs moved closer. The largest of the three was the most aggressive, jumping up to eye level and darting in and out of the tree line. Feeling the uncomfortable presence of prey, The Australian turned around and began walking back toward the island. The dingo followed, walking a short distance behind all the way back to the shoreline. Regretting his decision to abandon the raft, The Australian walked into the water until his feet left the ground and started swimming for the island. Hearing splashing from behind, he looked back to see the dog entering the water as it swam after him. The setting sun cast an orange light over the sea as The Australian paddled sideways with one arm, holding his satchel above the surface. Once reaching the center of the channel, a whimpering shot out from behind. Looking back, The Australian saw a silver tail breaking the surface as the dingo dropped below the water. Swimming at a sprint the remaining few hundred feet, The Australian pulled himself into the sand shore. Back to where he was before, he made camp, planning his next move.

Day after day was spent probing the island for resources. High numbers of sea creatures along the shoreline pushed The Australian to higher ground. Pythons controlling the higher vegetation areas, in The Australian’s mind, were less of a concern than the poisonous species along the beach. Without a clear freshwater outlet, morning dew licked off hibiscus and rainwater collection became a daily routine. Each day on the deserted island brought new challenges. Exposed to the elements, the island had very few options for shelter. Overlooking the southeast side of the island on the side of a rock hill, pythons gathered among the she-oak. Observing the gathering as a spectator, The Australian watched as the snakes launched their bodies at small bats in the setting sun. Sitting directly behind the cliff where the pythons accumulated, The Australian noticed a small bat squeezing itself from a crack next to him, then taking flight straight into the gauntlet of snakes. Knowing that the presence of fracture networks existed on the next island over, The Australian studied the surface as more bats filtered through the cracks. Marking the location, he returned the next morning to view the crack in daylight.

The Australian began to chisel into the stone to get a clear view of the inner workings. Each day, small amounts of rock around the edges of the gap opened until a hole wide enough to fit the top half of his body was etched out. Squeezing inside sideways, The Australian reached the back wall of a chimney fracture. Without being able to progress, the work was abandoned. The Australian, still determined to find the root of the fracture, began following a line of potential search areas in close proximity to the rock-wall opening. Drawing a straight line from where the fracture sat, The Australian moved over the land looking for any sign of an underground network. Without any doubt in his mind, and knowing from experience that the outward-moving air meant an open space below, every rocky hillside was investigated. On land, the dense rock offered little evidence of any adjacent openings. Thick vegetation covering the island, mixed with uneven terrain, made traversing clear paths extremely difficult.

Reevaluating his approach, The Australian scanned the shoreline for any noticeably abstract anomalies. By matching up a landmark on the mainland and a line of broken branches near the fracture on the island above, The Australian used a she-oak float to patrol the coast. The first attempt revealed nothing visibly intriguing as The Australian paddled back through the shallows. It wasn’t until the tide receded that a unique feature caught his eye. While paddling back to the beach he had cast off from, in the stillness of the lowered tide water, a freshwater lens mixing with salt created a brackish stream beneath him. Sliding into the water, The Australian ducked below the surface, feeling around for any changes along the rock edge. A pushing flow against his hand guided him to a rock cluster beneath the waterline. An arm’s-length area below indicated an extending sea cave cutout stretching toward the shoreline. Using the oxygen tank to probe the entrance as a way to gauge width, The Australian let the air-filled tank bounce along the upper edges inside. Still able to stand in the shallows, The Australian crouched down, ducking below the waterline and pulling himself into the sea-cave opening below. Holding on to a wall with an outstretched arm in front of him, The Australian traveled a short distance below the water, then felt the ceiling disappear above. Sticking a hand above the surface, The Australian lifted himself into a seating crouch. Feeling around with outstretched arms against the walls inside a dark fracture, the ceiling lifted enough to stand. A short distance later, the floor stepped above sea level.

A feeling of freshwater slowly seeped underneath The Australian’s legs as it continued to move over the step, then mixed into the tidal basin below. Taking advantage of the natural seep, The Australian pressed his face against the rocks, attempting to drink. A foul, brine aftertaste caused The Australian to wince in darkness. Feeling his hands up the seep, he felt along the walls for moisture while moving across the slick algae-covered step. On the edge of the brackish pool, a trickle of freshwater dripped into the wedges of his fingers. Again, The Australian pressed his face to the wall, tasting the clean water wash away the brine, then slipped down the rocks into the water below. Before moving out of the cave, another attempt was made for the hard-to-reach seep spring. The odd angle with the algae layer made standing nearly impossible. The Australian, believing he had found a reliable footing, drank his fill. While repositioning his feet, he lost traction, falling backward into the saltwater base and hitting his head. The injury was a period to the discovery. Without another attempt, The Australian moved through the water, reemerging to a set sun. With only minutes of daylight left, he made his way to the beach and passed out in the sand.

A splitting headache followed as The Australian woke at dawn, covered in sand, crabs, and two sea creatures. Feeling the back of his head, a knot with a cut filled his hand. Concussion sickness and irritated bowel movements left The Australian preoccupied for the remainder of the day. Through the sudden illness, The Australian made a short excursion back to his camp to recover. Two days later, the bouts of uneasy bodily function began to subside.

During The Australian’s stay on the island, a few crucial items were collected in the form of sea trash. A pair of lighters, alongside glass bottles and aluminum cans found at an abandoned campsite, gave The Australian the ability to boil water over fire. Tangled fishing line with a hook was used to pull in fish, and plastic scrap bags were used as lids when transporting drinking water. Making do with what was available, the items became irreplaceable lifelines for survival. Now occupying the cleared space the previous camper had left, The Australian, beginning to waiver to the elements, made a choice to explore the sea cave. Using bushcraft ingenuity, he developed an imitation carbide lantern from a pair of aluminum cans. The exposed landscape offered little protection against storms or heat, making the island increasingly volatile.

Upon entry to the sea cave, the makeshift lantern provided a new perspective onto the darkened fracture. Up until that moment, small movements along the lower steps were utilized. To The Australian’s surprise, a continuation fracture along the upper cave’s corner allowed for him to scuttle sideways between walls. Feeling at home in the pitched darkness, The Australian continued navigating every potential fracture for a way forward. An approaching storm system was all the encouragement needed to make a move into the fracture network. The last memory of the island was seeing grey clouds moving over the Coral Sea as the cyclone wind threw branches of she-oak across the channel’s surface. Once entering into the sea cave, The Australian never reemerged.

Following a sinking fracture cut toward the center of the island, The Australian moved below the island’s surface into uncharted territory. A fault-line anomaly caused by a perfect single geological chain of events set the scene for an unprecedented transfer between continental divides previously unconfirmed by science. Due to a tectonic rift zone below the Torres Strait, The Australian traveled the fracture north to the edge of Papua New Guinea. One perfect fold opened to a rock-slab chamber hallway as The Australian moved closer to the edge of the Indo-Australian Plate into the New Guinea Subduction Zone. Closing the gap between PNG’s eastern peninsula twenty days in, The Australian swore he could hear bells and horns from above. Without realizing an exact location, The Australian was now directly below Port Moresby on the coastal edge of a shipping lane.

A karst network surrounded the natural rift lane. Inside a circular chamber, a pillar of sunlight shined down onto a pile of round rocks below. Through a blowhole opening above, The Australian could see blue sky, then began shouting up in hopes of gaining the attention of a passerby. Unable to reach the ceiling skylight, The Australian attempted to pile rocks closer to the gap. Reaching the point of exhaustion from carrying boulders, The Australian gave up.

Moving on to new passageways, the caves began to fill with spider silk. What started as a few strands became a tangled mess of translucent castings. As the webs increased, large spools hung suspended overhead. Opening up a spindle sitting at chest level unveiled a small bird that had become ensnared in the invisible trap. Seeing the potential for an easy meal, The Australian began looking for signs of movement within the webs. Deep into the spider’s catacomb, a trail of broken webs led to a live bird immobilized by silk. Using the sword-like metal to swipe large strands, The Australian began reeling the trapped bird closer to the ground. Feeling the tension of two sides, the bird fluttered, yanking itself free and flying away in the way it came. Reevaluating the approach, The Australian continued to skewer the bundles of web, looking for any sign of life. The deathtrap cavern continued to showcase remnant travelers who had strayed too close. Lizards, bats, and birds hung like ornaments along the dark walls. As he walked, The Australian used the sharp metal to spin his own spool. Webs began to collect around the base of the rod, encircling his hands and fingers as they pulled tight. A long silver strand drew a line into the darkness as The Australian continued the spinning motion forward. Turning a corner into a connecting hallway, the air visibly moved with each turn. What had started as a small weave had turned into a boxing glove of silk around his hand.

An entire hallway filled like a tinderbox of spider silk blocked his way forward. Dense waves of clear silk rippled through the lantern’s light. Unable to cut through the bind, The Australian unraveled his hand free from the silk mitten, leaving it piled at the front of the hallway’s entrance.

With only one viable pathway to choose, a hallway with tight walls forced The Australian to squeeze through. The narrow space between walls pinched The Australian’s waist along the final stretch into an opening chamber. With one arm and a leg sticking out of the small fissure, The Australian became stuck in place. Hours passed as The Australian bounced himself deeper into the space between the walls. Unable to lift himself over the narrowest protruding point, he stood on the tips of his toes as his weight pinched him down. Feeling his body struggling to circulate, The Australian recollected his breath into a deep inhale. As the breath left, he pushed his toes down and relaxed his muscles. With a small fall forward, he slipped through the remainder of the gap. Unable to move as the feeling of circulation reactivated through his limbs, The Australian lay still on the ground, thinking of his home.

The tingling spread as The Australian regained control. Sliding himself upright against the fissure wall, he felt around in the dark space for his satchel bag sitting somewhere outside of his reach. From the outside, the crack in the wall felt impassibly narrow. Unable to grab the satchel containing the platypus and remaining supplies, The Australian felt around the cave for anything useful to assist in the retrieval. The bedrock chamber stepped down into a lowered floor level with little signs of former inhabitants. Scanning the surface on hands and knees, The Australian swept the area for a tool. In a nearby corner along a high step-down slab, a pile of bone scattered as The Australian’s hand swiped over top. Using blind hands, he felt for the largest of the scattered remains. The bone’s hardened texture hinted at an ancient accidental fall lost in time. Crawling back the way he had come, The Australian wedged himself into the cracked wall, raking the ground with a curved rib. Vibration resonated through his arm as the texture transitioned from hard rock to canvas. With a pulling motion, the satchel slid forward across the ground, bringing the bag within arm’s length. Repositioning himself on the lower opening, The Australian grabbed a handful of loose material, then lifted the bag over the narrow pinch.

Firelight returned the sense of sight, replacing the ink black with an orange glow. Seeing the room clearly, the chamber resembled an amphitheater as bedrock steps wrapped in a spiral into lower sections. A flat surface area at the base of the steps, under light, exposed the cunning trap the room played on its guests. All around the high steps, ancient bone piles sat undisturbed. Unidentifiable mammals from a time long ago, caught off guard by the steep edges, marked a natural pitfall for those who came before.

Making a base camp on the flat stage surface, The Australian made exploratory ventures into nearby openings. The expansive network was unpredictable, providing very few passable routes. Long hallways would end abruptly into hard bedrock walls, while other paths closed into small fractures. Without a sense of where to go next, The Australian moved forward by probing entrances, then returning to his belongings. A small pull from the lamp lantern’s flame became his compass guide, consistently leading The Australian into unrestrained subsections.

Jagged karst limestone opened to a mouth floor covered in round rocks. Following the flame, The Australian walked into the throat. Karst limestone disappeared as the ceiling and floor were replaced with a transition bedrock gauntlet into a plate fault. To describe the terrain, think of two mountains pressed together at the base. Through the air, a waning call went out somewhere far beyond. Echoing as the noise dissipated, fear shot into The Australian as the platypus shifted inside the satchel, grunting. The realization that he was not alone crept into his mind. It was a sound he had never heard before outside of American nature documentaries, a sound like a bear.

Unable to turn around, The Australian moved down into the exaggerated slab-plate cavern. An enclosed ravine-shaped hall amplified every step as rocks shifted below The Australian’s feet. Wherever the beast was, it was somewhere close. Rocks falling, paired with a deep breath, loomed over the ambient silence. Along a wall to The Australian’s left-hand side, a flat slab step raised above the boulder field, providing a level platform to travel. Quietly stepping with his back against the wall, The Australian held his sharp metal as he tapped the floor with his foot. Feeling his way around fallen rocks on sensory perception alone, The Australian kept a hand on the wall as he felt for a safe path around.

Midway through the high-road overhang, the feeling of a steep edge beneath his foot forced The Australian to use covered flashes to evaluate position. In the flashing light, a break in the step’s surface dropped off into a black space, then reemerged several feet away. With a series of repeated flashes, The Australian visualized the negative space as it faded back to black. Calculating his steps to the edge, he moved backwards, counting each pace. With inhibition gone, The Australian swiped the flint on the lighter rapidly, counting backward as he ran. On one, he felt the edge beneath his feet and jumped blindly forward. The moment passed in an instant as one foot touched down, followed by another. Without losing balance, The Australian wound down his strides, returning to the probing movements he had before.

Using sporadic flashes from the lighter, The Australian continued moving deeper into the chasm. A flashing spark covered by a hand lit the ground in front of his feet as the stifled light escaped over the edge. Below the step’s edge, on a flat slab, a mound of fur caught the corner of his eye. As the sparks faded, the rhythmic breath of a sleeping giant tuned The Australian’s attention downward. Reminiscent of a polar bear, an Ursidae figure stretched across the floor and lay motionless. The enormous size of the body, outlined by long gray hair, put a rigid sensation through The Australian’s body, causing him to seize in place. Holding his breath, he walked slowly forward in silence. Fifty meters on, from the opposite side of the hall, a sharp call echoed into The Australian’s right binaural field. Deep sniffing sounds could be heard along the adjacent wall, followed by rocks beginning to roll as a second bear caught wind of The Australian’s presence. Moving over the raised plate cliff with less discretion, The Australian swiped at the dead lighter’s flint while tracking any obstacle in the flashing light. Huffs and growls followed alongside from a parallel step on the opposite side. Turning the lighter out over the edge of the step cliff, the rugged image of a smaller bear in pursuit appeared, then disappeared with each flick. The bear, unable to bridge the sheer wall due to the height, perched over the edge facing The Australian as he ran. For nearly two miles, the stalking bear followed on top of the raised-step high above the separating rock gully. A natural stadium bleacher effect took shape as the slab steps tapered closer together. Running higher and lower along the steps, the bear kept pace, constantly peering across while it looked for a way down. Much like the way the step began, a gentle downward slope carried the path closer to the rocky middle ground. On the opposite side, the bear’s step, still too high to jump down, rounded into a sheer wall.

Between flint strikes, red bioluminescent glows illuminated a fissure crack running from the ceiling to the floor. With the step high road merging back into a boulder-covered bedrock floor, The Australian stumbled over piles of rocks while rushing toward the glowing red wall. Feeling the oblong rocks shift heavily beneath his weight, The Australian used his hands to guide him over fallen boulders. Flashing the flint at the top of a pile of fallen rocks, The Australian could see the bear pressed over the step cliff directly in front of the red fissure exit. Unsure of what lay ahead, The Australian limped toward the cracked wall for cover. An outstretched clawed paw swatted past in the red glow as The Australian ducked into the open fissure. From behind, rocks buckling under immense pressure tapped together with echoing force. A huge whining growl from the middle of the cave erupted as the larger bear launched her attack.

Now inside the cracked wall, bioluminescent red light surrounded The Australian as he pushed himself backward. An arm topped with a tractor-seat-sized paw extended into the fissure-mouth opening. Raking the ground in front of The Australian, the claws padded around the walls and floor searching for contact. The long-haired arm receded empty-handed out the opening, then replaced itself with the eye of a bear. As The Australian stood up, the face vanished as the bear repositioned itself for a second attempt. Sliding against a wall, The Australian crept backward as the massive arm shot forward into the narrow crevice. With only inches to spare, giant claws missed the grab, holding firm in midair. With a small backward step, The Australian began turning to move deeper into the safe space. With only the slightest reach forward, one claw hooked around the strap of the satchel. Within a fraction of a second, The Australian was yanked backward with more force than he had ever felt in his life. The bear’s heavy paw curled around his body as it smashed him against the smooth wall. Pinned firmly with unrelenting strength, air left his lungs as The Australian curled under the weight. Sounds of a throaty huff followed as the bear pressed harder.

Pushing against the force, The Australian’s strength was no match for the animal’s superior physiology. Padded sections of the paw rolled him against the stone wall as the bear’s fully extended arm lifted, then smashed down again as it dragged him closer. Feeling the awkward angle of the elbow wedge against the wall, The Australian held the paw on each side of the wrist. Under the long hair, the bear’s muscles flexed firm with extreme tension, then released. Within the feeling of slackened tendons, The Australian forced his weight to the floor, freeing himself from the restricting pressure. On the verge of collapse, he instinctually pressed himself into a backward slide as the bear’s hand connected with an empty wall. In every direction, the bear’s hand blindly searched for his presence.

Moving backward in a frantic state, The Australian pushed deeper into the heavy neon-red glow. The arm of the bear continuously pressed along the inner walls of the fissures, searching for its prey. Checking himself over briefly for mortal wounds, The Australian felt a long sting running from his spine to hip. Although violent, the attack left very few deep scratches due to the way the bear used its paw to contain him in place. Crushing pain from the pressure was the main cause for concern, as The Australian’s collarbone and ribs felt unsteady. Dragging himself as far from the open fissure entrance as possible, the glowing red algae filled the space around him. Bright red light covered every available gap of the stone surface as the soft plants grew thicker. Encased in a narrowing channel, The Australian pushed himself deeper into the growth. Lying on his back, strands of the glowing red algae covered The Australian’s face. With one push forward, the bloom pressed down against him on all sides, making it difficult to breathe. Unable to turn around in the small space, The Australian pushed himself forward using only his feet. Sliding over dense piles caused the cellulose barriers to crack, creating a slick gel beneath. In an effort to reach an end, The Australian kicked the ground, digging in his heels as he pushed. A strong smell of brine and a bitter taste filled the confined space. Stopping for a second in the densest section, The Australian gathered the last of his strength and pushed. Within a three-second burst, the floor broke away, dropping The Australian downward into a bed of algae along a sheer wall. Open air returned as the chamber’s ceiling lifted, marking the fissure’s end.

A room of red brought a sense of comfort after the chaotic state of panic. Bioluminescent algae blooms covering every surface gave the illusion of glowing red shag carpet. The Australian sat in the embrace like a bird in a nest. Peace filtered back into existence as The Australian closed his eyes. Through the pain, he let go of fear and slept soundly. Waking up to rouge-covered walls, the isolated chamber resembled a psychedelic bachelor pad in London more than a cave somewhere below Papua New Guinea. Along a wall, a seep spring collected in a perfectly formed bowl. Water pouring down from above rippled in the clear water base, creating red waves of reflecting light. The enormous bowl, carved into solid stone by the constant drip, overflowed into a trough around the perimeter of the chamber. A skeleton in vintage mining equipment rested against a nearby wall, partially covered in glowing algae. While uncovering the midsection, The Australian felt canvas below a layer of antler-like algae. Inside a torn bag, a mix of specialized mountaineering and geological tools poured over the illuminated floor as he pulled. A detailed journal, dated from the 1930s, was opened to a page marker. Leaning close to the red walls to read, The Australian was unable to decipher what looked to be Dutch handwriting, skimming dated entries inside the fine journal. The author’s last entry was in 1961, with a final closing sentence ending with, “Het warren de beren.” Unable to understand, The Australian continued to collect every item possible. For the first time in months, The Australian wore real clothing and shoes. Torn canvas bound with rope was used to wrap the remaining tools into a bindle. Still unable to progress due to the crushing injuries, The Australian remained inside the nest as his wounds healed.

After one month inside the red room, The Australian’s fractures began to heal. Living mainly off mice, water, and an injured possum that had escaped through the fissure wall, The Australian nursed himself back to a functional physical state. Small ventures into interwoven pathways gave a clear directional origin over many short trips. With only one possible way forward over a drop-off subchamber, The Australian gathered his belongings and left the nest-like sanctuary. Carrying with him a bushel of glowing algae, The Australian retraced his steps to the cliff-face drop-off, throwing the wrapped bioluminescent anchor off as he peered into the darkness. Forced to rappel down a sheer wall, The Australian knew there would be no returning once descending over the edge. Using a small iron hook wedged inside a cracked ceiling wall, The Australian lowered his body into open air and slid down. With a weakened collarbone, maintaining leverage over the rope while sliding down became increasingly difficult. The rope, now too far from the wall to touch without swinging, pulled The Australian’s body weight heavily against his hands. Still moving down into the dark corridor below, the rope continued to sway. Stability while moving in obscure, pendulum-like directions caused The Australian’s grasp to lessen, sliding faster as he lost control. Squeezing the rope tight in an effort to reduce inertia caused the twine to flex as he bounced. From above, tension vanished, leaving only a slack rope in silent free fall. Holding form while falling, The Australian fell in a seated position the remaining distance to the stone floor below. The wind left The Australian’s chest as he listened to the rope curling, followed by a metallic echo. Gasping as he rolled to his side, he felt his satchel moving as the platypus reacted to the change in gravity. Breathless but mostly uninjured, The Australian located his tin-can lamp, then sparked the lighter to ignite the acetylene wick.

The long chamber was compiled with a series of oversized slabs of bedrock stepping stones. Each flat surface ended with a distinct edge, just beyond protruding rocks partially submerged in water. On each side of the flat rocks, ink-black water reflected the lamp’s firelight. Feeling like a Lilliputian in a giant’s garden, The Australian hopped from one slab stepping stone to the next into the depths beyond. Dynamic variations in the slab shapes made each stepping stone unique in its own way. In almost a perfectly straight line, the dry stone platforms stretched on for miles, growing smaller with greater distances between formations. Water began creating large trenches separating each stone. Although still able to jump between slabs, the space between them continued to lengthen. After a transition into a high-ceiling chamber lake, the large stone platforms ended abruptly. Now standing on the water’s edge, The Australian could only make out what looked to be a small rock protruding out of the water at the edge of the torchlight. Taking a moment to weigh a plan of action, The Australian sat with his eyes fixed on the stone in front of him.

After careful deliberation, The Australian entered the water, leaving his lit lantern and supplies on the last step slab. Twenty feet away, The Australian climbed onto the small stone surface, looking out over the water for another. In the remaining light, still following the straight-line pattern, a flat slab surface reflected back from beyond. Limited on navigational options, The Australian swam back to reclaim his possessions. Deciding the best way forward would be to attach rope to the heavy metal tool bindle, then pull the weighted items from step to step, he sacrificed one of his aluminum-can lanterns as a marked beacon of light.

The Australian swam back to the isolated water-locked platform. Once on the step, he pulled the bindle across, resetting himself for the next step in the chain. Again, The Australian swam out to the next silhouetted rock above the waterline. The process continuously repeated until the lamp-light beacon was nothing more than a small dot in the distance. Now swimming in total darkness, The Australian could only make educated evaluations on the direction of the next stone checkpoint. Swimming in a straight line, The Australian let the rope unravel behind him, then made a fan shape as he swam from side to side, feeling for a bend in tension. With the slabs appearing less frequently, the space between them grew. Reaching the end of his rope without connecting to a linking stone, The Australian was forced to retreat. Following a trail of braided cordage back to the base step, he disconnected the satchel containing the live platypus and her hatchlings.

Again reaching the point of resistance in rope length, The Australian swam forward, holding his satchel close to the surface and pulling the bindle free from the stepping stone’s surface behind. Swimming hundreds of feet forward, The Australian struggled to maintain a straight line as the rope sank and dragged along the bottom of the chamber lake’s floor. Unsure if steps had been missed along the way, the feeling of stone returned to his hand. Stopping only to pull the sunken gear out of the water onto the flat surface stone, The Australian continued onward. As The Australian swam, the echoing sounds of splashing water became dampened. Stopping to check his ears for hearing loss, The Australian felt a noticeable shift in the water’s movement. Swimming to his left, he connected with a solid wall only a few feet away, then swam to his right, feeling a parallel wall no more than 20 feet away.

Hugging a wall, The Australian followed the straight line forward deeper into the boundary’s opening. Soon, both walls came within only two arm lengths apart, and ground could be felt below. Walking on an inclining round rock floor, The Australian felt the water drop below his waist. Thousands of smooth stone pebbles slid together as The Australian crawled onto a small beach along an indentation in the wall. Pulling the remaining bags onto the beach, in total darkness The Australian felt for his can lantern and lighter flint stashed inside the dry bag. As the flame chased the shadow to the walls, a shoreline made up of millions of small black stones filled The Australian’s eyes.

Above him, an overhanging chasm ledge opened into a dry tunnel. Spinning the grappling hook, The Australian cast it over the water to catch the tunnel’s edge above. Tied bags on the opposite end of the rope sat on the black pebble beach as The Australian swung himself over the water. Climbing up the wet rope to the overhanging break exposing the tubular balcony was a daunting task even for an experienced climber. With the rope firmly set by the multipronged hook high above, creating knots or footholds would require any additional alterations to be made while suspended over water. Unable to free the wedged end piece, The Australian searched for alternative edits within the rope’s structure. A series of loops secured with a knot in the middle of the rope allowed for a secure starting point while climbing above the waterline.

With each failed attempt ending in a fall into the pool below, the frustration built. Hunger in a weakened physical state led to fatigue. The vast lake’s waterway seemed to be barren at a glance, but with closer inspection along the pebbled shoreline, shadowy schools of small minnows hugged the shallows. Near invisible in the firelight due to the black rock shore, the dark fish could be heard skimming the surface while entering the water’s edge. Using pieces of torn canvas and a pile of stones, The Australian created a fish trap to corral the tiny fish as they passed. Finally able to cultivate a pescatarian diet, The Australian sat on the rocky beach eating handfuls of skewered fish while pressing live minnows through a gap in the satchel.

The young platypus had recently begun feeding on their own, eager to explore. For the first two months after the hatchlings broke free, the mother would not let The Australian handle or get close to the satchel without resistance. The majority of the time between the exit from the island until now, the mother remained nestled inside the satchel, eating only if food was left outside the bag. Like two small furry ducklings, the young platypus became difficult to contain. Feeling the sensation of water for the first time, they broke free from the protection of the satchel to reenter the shallow water of the pebble shoreline. Unable to fully contain the curious duo, The Australian built a rock-lined seal as he slept. A close bond and a desire to protect the growing pair’s lives gave The Australian a new responsibility.

Waking up to the sound of buzzing and water slapping against inexperienced feet, The Australian found the two platypus out of the bag and heading toward deeper water. One platypus close to shore was picked up as it floundered in circles on the surface. In need of help, the farther of the two moved in the same meandering motion over the top of the black water. Moving into position to make a short swim to the helpless stray, water broke from beneath as the tiny platypus was sucked under. The Australian, stricken with grief, scoured the area from where the young platypus disappeared. Diving below the water, The Australian felt over the rocks for a sign, finally giving up hope and returning to shore. From the middle of the waterway, where the rope sank below the surface, movement caused the line to pull. Rope once hanging straight began forming a lifted angle. Springing into action, The Australian dove back into the water, kicking toward the line. Using a hand to intersect the jute braid from above, The Australian curled the rope around his wrist and elbow. Feeling a dead weight firmly attached to a looped knot, he pressed a hand through slick gills. Lifting a catfish from below the waterline, The Australian made a sidestroke to the stone shoreline. Prying the fish from the unorthodox lure, he reached an arm past the mouth into the stomach of the giant. Pulling out the frantic platypus in the palm of his hand, he carried the two onto shore. Slipping out in panic, the small platypus fell a short distance, then waddled in a hysterical sprint over rocks and into the satchel.

Feeling stronger than he had since leaving the light, The Australian continued to breach the balcony’s upper apex. The round overhang left little room for error once reaching the stone ceiling. Releasing the rope completely, a free-solo push was necessary to keep contact with the balcony’s outer wall. Using a crease to wedge his fingers through, The Australian placed a foot on the underhang and pushed. Keeping three points of contact over the lip, he grabbed the rope, then heaved over the top. Having successfully crossed over the natural barricade into the exposed tube, The Australian located his hook and began tying knots. Creating a secure rope ladder from looped knots, The Australian climbed back down to transfer items over the balcony. Transferring tools first, The Australian tied the rope’s end around the satchel, then placed his lantern on the top. Firelight floated over the black water, then lifted as the beach faded away. Bringing a can lantern to illuminate the space above showed a vast network previously concealed by a broken wall.

Inside the porch window, layers of black stone raised into a two-level fracture corridor covered by a volcanic stone layer. Taking time to move through the widest halls first, the easily navigable paths wrapped around the edges of the metamorphic rock, stopping abruptly as the volcanic composition transitioned back to base layers. The black tube vein had seemed to have warped through the fracture corridor long ago, then hardened as the pressure subsided. With all other routes ending in an impenetrable transition to metamorphic, The Australian followed black floor receding flow lines in the direction they formed. Seeing a visual difference in directional textures, the waved lines provided a clue into the anomaly’s creation. Along the walls and ceiling, the pattern of once slow-moving molten rock layered in a dripping curve pressed in the opposite direction. Compared to the floor, the caked layers moved up and down, then changed into long stretched drifts against the lower edges. Following a downward slope, The Australian reached a metamorphic mantle above a black fireplace-like cavity. In the way an artist would paint canvas, high above the fireplace a black wall ended with a line brushed across a sheer rock face. Stepping into the hollowed fireplace indentation, a solid black hole dropped deep into the base of the mountain.

Climbing down beneath the outer rim, The Australian crawled on hands and knees into a narrow tube. The volcanic spring formed inside the fissure’s crack ended in a well dropping far further than the torchlight. Gambling on fate, The Australian tied a rope around his waist, letting the bags hang freely, then moved his legs into the hole as he pressed his weight against the wall. With only inches to spare inside a sheer drop, The Australian climbed down into the pit. Continuous pressure between the lower back and feet allowed for suspended periods wedged in positional holds. With no recognizable end, the slow descent brought cramping fatigue on every angle. Every reposition required an unnatural redistribution of pressure against the wall. Hours spent shifting through the shaft on the brink of exhaustion had brought The Australian to delirium. Unsure of the exact moment he had fallen asleep, The Australian woke to a shock of equilibrium, falling downward only a few inches and feeling his knees touch his chest.

Pitched deep inside the volcanic shaft, The Australian made microscopic movements upward in an attempt to free himself. Focusing breaths to match the pressing of his hands on either side, he lifted up as elongated wiggling of hips and shoulders rewrote a balanced posture. Desperate to free himself from the shaft’s grip, The Australian climbed down with haste. An inch passed by as The Australian felt the weight of the supply rope dissipate. With no more than a few yards remaining, he crabbed his way to the shaft’s floor.

Rolling out from under an overhanging base, waving layers of hardened magma stretched across the fault-fracture lava chamber. Unlike the conduits of Undara, jagged walls of bedrock remained plastered with cake-batter-like formations. The ancient lava flow appeared to have seeped in long ago, then receded as the continental plates shifted. Entering into the smooth waved chamber, life had seemed to disappear. Other than a few spiders, the chamber was barren to the eye. Traveling only in the direction of where the flow subsided, The Australian climbed over small step layers marking the face of each descending wave. The basalt waves continued to grow in size, transitioning from an easy step-over to a multiple-meter-high climb. Each formation rendered in place as the geological cooling process concluded permanency.

Hours went by climbing over increasingly thick layers until The Australian reached a particularly difficult shelf wall. The smooth textured steps prevented any secure footing. Only a break down the middle covered in sharp edges could be scaled. Using articles of clothing, The Australian covered only his hands and legs before moving up the center divide. Thin rounded sheets of volcanic rock cracked and fell as The Australian entered what looked to be once a bubble of molten rock. Knocking brittle pieces of basalt to the floor prevented collapsed footing before making the short push over the edge. Using a rope to lift the remaining baggage up the smooth section of the wall, The Australian slid down the steep slant back onto a plateau of lava rock.

Discoloration marking a split along one side showed the source of the drainage. Now sealed, the flow pattern frozen in time moved toward a covered shaft in the fault corridor. Testing the shaft’s center with a small geologist pick proved to be insufficient against the hardened rock. Unable to go back, The Australian began looking up. A crack in the wall, partially covered in a black stone layer, opened to a fissure high above. Only able to see the upper shadows of the opening in the lamplight, The Australian felt for a stable base to climb. Ten meters above, the fissure’s cavity opening was precariously fixed for a free climb. Casting a hook tied to rope into the raised space was like threading a needle in the dark. Over and over the hook hit solid wall, then fell back down, causing the process to repeat itself.

Only one sure shot out of many breached the base of the entrance. Feeling for a catch, The Australian gently eased the rope backward to the edge. Believing a secure hold had been found, a small pull to test the hold’s strength caused rocks to drop over the edge, bringing with them the hook and rope. Stones rolled down the caked-on base, sending them straight across the ground towards The Australian. The tin-can lantern was hit first, causing the light to spiral over the ground as the aluminum bounced away. In the dark, a hollow knock jumped through the black, ending at The Australian’s toes. Yells of pain filled the darkened room, then turned to frustrated chatter as The Australian limped to retrieve his can.

Enraged at the wall, The Australian cursed as he picked up the hook and swung it through the air around him. Hexing the wall and the cave while letting go, The Australian let the metal hook fly from his hands without looking at where it was going. The familiar clang of falling metal never came. Instead, the response was unraveling over the ground. Running after the loose end, The Australian dove after the sound, catching the frayed end with one hand before it slipped away. Feeling the weight of a lever suspended, The Australian walked the rope backward to his bags for an anchor. Held up in midair, the hook had passed through the entrance into an unforeseen space on the opposite side. Carefully fishing the tri-hook to a secure mount, he pulled tight as the rope lost slack.

Without wasting another minute, The Australian grabbed the rope and started to climb. Moving up the steepest section with ease, he turned to sit on a flat section under the triangular-shaped window. Perched high above the magma corridor’s floor, The Australian hoisted up the end of his rope tied to his bags. Once reaching the peak, he crossed over the short gap to the opposite opening, lowering the bags down to the transitional floor below. Taking time to make the optimal wedge for the hook’s retrieval, he climbed down only a few feet onto the lava seep hill. Molten rock from a prehistoric flow drifted down the fracture line, then mixed with a rock bed of boulders. A karst platform above the bedrock dripped in a straight line against the wall, then spilled over the edge into the rock garden below. The natural intersection created a four-way stop of geological sedimentary compositions. The metamorphic rock, volcanic basalt lava flow, karst limestone, and bedrock occupied their own section as they seamlessly transitioned from one to the next. Truly unique to the localized sedimentary compound, the four corners of earth stood as the crossroad for the next leg in the journey. One of many spectacular geological formations the fault held in secret, The Australian focused light from the lantern into each quadrant, humbled by creation.

Dehydrated from the barren volcanic corridor, water was a welcomed relief. Lying down on mineralized slab bedrock at the base of the karst wall, The Australian let water drip down from above to quench his thirst. Hours of exploratory probes to chart a course resulted in closed barriers and dangerous passageways in every direction except one. The most obvious choice, but last traced, was the continuation along the main fault fracture. Traveling over a trail of round rock boulders, the fault corridor’s wall began to widen in every direction, dropping downward into a concealed underground canyon with giant slabs of bedrock fractured from every wall. Looking as though the earth’s hand had rolled a bead of stone clusters, giant rocks hung fused from the ceiling. Trying to make sense of something separating two continental plates, The Australian’s canyon hole was like a hammered wedge in a log. With this one-off formation of natural forces caused by pressure of tectonic fault lines pressed against each other, The Australian crossed over the triple junction into the Ring of Fire. Where the north and south Bismarck plates border the Pacific plate, the spill pierced through.

Emptiness is a word that could describe the feeling of space below the sea. Looking for anything living, The Australian moved into a narrowing hallway. Feeling hunger overtake his mind, The Australian looked at his satchel with remorseful eyes. Pulling one of the small platypuses out, he held it in the lantern’s glow. The Australian placed the juvenile hatchling on a rock fused into the floor, pinning it with outstretched fingers as he wept. Undisturbed, without fear of imminent danger, the platypus remained still as The Australian picked up the geologist pick. Driven by hunger, The Australian readied himself for his strike, counting as he measured his line. The tiny platypus, still pinned with light pressure, put out its tongue and began licking the rock repeatedly. Seeing this as a sign, The Australian leaned close to the rock’s face. Desensitized by the feeling of unusual crawling sensations, The Australian looked deep onto the rock’s surface. Mite-like microorganisms moved in swarms as The Australian began licking the rock’s surface.

Rocks from the ceiling above hovered only inches over the surface floor. In places, boulders weighing multiple tons appeared to float in air over small stones below. Amazed by the resilience and strength of the volcanic plaster, The Australian tested its strength by trying to dislodge a round stone pillar bonded to the ceiling. Pushing with all his strength did little to separate the fixed stone’s hold. Losing interest, The Australian crouched down and continued on. From behind, the floor shook, sending a solid vibration through his body. Turning around to see the stone had dropped to the ground, the long boulder stood straight where it fell, then tipped. As if time had slowed to a crawl, the giant rock fell to its side, hitting an outreaching stone against the wall. A chain reaction of giant stone pillars slowly being knocked free from the ceiling, then piling up as they crashed into place, followed. Watching in horror as rocks blocked any way back, The Australian listened to the domino effect continue through the cave. Minutes went by in agony, with hands over head. Each knock brought the heat of ruin. Even with no one around, The Australian could not help feeling responsible for his unfortunate oversight and lapse of etiquette. Blushing in the dark, a final stone clattered into place somewhere in the pile beyond. Somewhat grateful that no one else witnessed the folly, The Australian crawled forward into the shrunken cavern.

Four rocks pinched together left little more than a pea-sized gap between them, blocking all forward progress. Looking back toward the fallen rocks, the realization of entrapment set in. For an entire year, The Australian remained stuck chiseling at the stones, surviving on only the tiny crustaceans and condensation rock dew from the humidity. After two months, The Australian finally managed to break through the gap. A hole wide enough for a platypus to crawl through gave insight into what lay on the other side. Dry platypuses crossing through the small gap returned wet, hinting at a body of water. Out of the four-stone blockage, only three were chiseled into, the fourth avoided due to the vertical position. Shortly after breaking ground on the small passthrough gap, the worst-case scenario of the vertical stone breaking free from its socket came true. With the rock’s gap now reduced to half the size, months of endless chiseling was the only option left. Forced to change his strategy, The Australian began attempting to free the rocks from their sockets. After months of intense labor, the wall fell, creating an opening wide enough to crawl through. Battered by the geological imprisonment, The Australian came out the other side with only a prayer that his efforts did not go unnoticed in the eyes of God.

Through the relentless assault of the senses, his devotion to his platypus companions never wavered. Due to mineral knowledge back in Australia, The Australian had mixed limestone with the calcium carbide, providing a near-endless supply of inert filler. The small flame tin-can lamp only needed the hard-caked layer of calcium carbide to be scraped to reactivate the gas reaction. Now a master castaway, The Australian was unrecognizable from his entrance photo. A year and six months from the start, he now had overcome every obstacle put in his path. Moving past the rock blockade, The Australian crossed into the southern fault of the Pacific plate as the last leg of the odyssey unfolded.

Airflow condensation from four-corner waterfalls built up over millions of years, converting the floor into a freshwater channel due to a slight change in downward elevation. Swimming through the drip canal, The Australian held on to the ceiling’s air pocket, hugging the shallow edges toward the Solomon Islands. Days went by moving in blind darkness as The Australian, feeling his way by touch, pulled himself through the subduction anomaly. Letting the platypus roam freely, the three animals used The Australian as a float to rest. Unable to restart the lantern, The Australian relied on the electromagnetic sensitivity of the platypus to guide him. Acting as The Australian’s eyes, the platypus trio were used to locate unseen rest perches and gauge spatial sound references. Following the platypus forward past alternate canal branches proved to be a life-saving decision. Without deviating from the chosen course, after a week in water The Australian exited onto dry footing.

A crack running between two walls glowed into view as The Australian, finally able to produce a flame, relit his tin-can lamp. Soaked to the bone, his hands resembled age beyond his years. Warmth of the fire and extreme exhaustion took hold over his eyes. Lying down on solid rock, The Australian slept. Waking to the sounds of grunts and platypus bills shaking, The Australian stood listening. Keen on the platypus intuition, The Australian felt danger’s presence. Grabbing his climber’s pick, he looked forward to the piled rocks in front of him. A black shadow of a creature’s antennae poked over into the flame’s flicker. The metachronal wave gait snaked over the stone as the feelers moved side to side. Jet-black shine split the torchlight, then stopped and lifted its head. Adrenaline caused The Australian to shake uncontrollably. Preparing for a fight, The Australian held the pick firm and waited for the next move. Unlike any myriapod he had ever seen, the beast of a centipede held its body waist high while the long antennae moved independently, scanning the foreground air.

Frozen in place, The Australian watched as two-meter-long whip antennae grazed across the ceiling surface, then swept to the floor. Cutting across the top of his feet first, a thin wire of exoskeletal hairs stopped, pressed lightly against The Australian’s ankle. Seeing an immediate change in behavior as the organ of Tömösváry reacted to the organic change, the creature paused. A second antenna swung to The Australian’s hip, tapping with feathered precision to his chest, then face. With the first antenna still pressing against The Australian’s ankle, the creature traced his outline with the second, tapping over him until the two met. The two feelers began drumming up The Australian’s leg until they reached the top of his head, brushing his hair as they swept over his shoulders. With nowhere to run, The Australian made his move, wrapping the two antennae around his left arm like a stagehand roadie, swinging the pointed pick down toward the base of the feelers. Connecting on point, the hard exoskeleton gave way to force as the metal broke the surface. The giant-sized myriapod curled into a spiral as The Australian let go of the pick’s handle. Picking up rocks from the floor, The Australian began stoning the creature from a safe distance until it moved no more.

After eating only piles of tiny roasted crustaceans, the high-protein mass the myriapod provided came as a welcomed gift. Eating until he could eat no more, The Australian slept. Waking to the sound of scuffled grunts, The Australian sprang into action as a second, smaller centipede-like myriapod curled around one of the small platypus. Beating the creature without fear of personal wellbeing, he freed the injured platypus from its pincers. Hobbling to cover, the platypus’s leg had been severely damaged. Using a cloth as a tourniquet sling, The Australian wrapped the year-old platypus and placed it into his satchel. Grabbing only what he could carry, The Australian moved forward over the rock pile to search for a secure landing.

Flat-step basalt mixed with a bedrock floor made up the cave’s construct. The remnants of a once-active volcanic fault chain had formed into a slot-shaped hall. Following the only path onward, the walls rounded as The Australian entered a basalt caldera. Insects not previously known to science darted across walls through the flickering firelight. Wide ranges of size could be made out briefly as the shadowed outlines moved with the flame’s border. Inside the chamber, the growth of insects had seemed to be maximized. Crickets and roaches, both large and small, moved with The Australian as he walked, clearing from the walls with each step. Chattering of many moving legs filled the air on the floor below. A coliseum of disproportion playing out amongst the different species left carnage against rock walls. Dismantled pieces of assorted exoskeletons littered the ground in heaps. Moving through the waste was comparable to the feeling piles of fallen leaves bring when kicked. Each step moved as insects hidden beneath the debris scurried in every direction. The hollow shells seemed to disappear at a border-line transition. Almost as though the ground had been swept clean, a flat surface stretched out in limited light.

Stepping onto a flattened basalt slab, The Australian moved over small naturally formed steps on the floor, listening for any sign of proximity. Sweeping sounds mixed in with pops and clicks consumed the chamber.

A battleground for the hunters left little to the imagination as partially eaten remnants of oversized millipedes lay where they fell. Step layers on a downward slope brought The Australian to a shoreline pool. The water’s top was covered in flakes of exo-material and floating shells of drowned insects. After filling a glass bottle, The Australian watched as microorganisms swam in front of the flame. A sickening feeling began to overtake his senses. Wanting nothing more than to be far away from this place, The Australian continued along the water’s edge.

Out of the black, a rope-like whip lashed across The Australian’s body. Taken by surprise, the sting caused him to scream. Crouching down, The Australian held the torch up as a second antenna swept into view, then rested on his shoulder. Ginormous was an understatement when finally looking at the myriapod. Standing up to face the monster, a black shape reared in the light. Taller than The Australian, the centipede’s body lifted for the kill. Feeling the fear of his final moments, The Australian began to pray. Just as before, the antenna traced his body, then connected on either side of the head. The Australian felt the creature’s body move forward as he stood firm, ready to fight.

Cutting through the light, a blur of teeth and neck hit the myriapod from the side. The Australian hit the ground, holding a broken antenna, then turned to the water. Prehistoric in nature, the long-necked creature dragged the curled myriapod over the floor and into the water. Cracking the shell, the serpent-like animal broke water as more necks appeared alongside. Running away, the sound of monsters echoed behind.

With the fear of being eaten looming over The Australian’s position, running far away from the water provided the best chance for survival. Holding a tin-can lamp in one hand and a mountaineer’s pick in the other, The Australian ran over the swept, arena-like surface. Antennae cast out from the shadows swatted across his body as he ran. Swinging at anything that moved, The Australian curled passing antennae around his arms, breaking the ends off in stride. A wall marking the outer boundary of the basalt slab prevented a quick exit out. Forced to follow the wall’s edge, The Australian moved over the flat base slab until ascending step layers granted access up.

Using his hands to press himself up the natural step layering, The Australian didn’t stop moving until reaching the top. Almost a mirror image of how the chamber began, a cracked fissure leading into the wall emerged from out of the darkness. Gasping for breath while heaving, The Australian wedged himself against a slot in the wall as he regained his composure. Feeling no higher than a cricket in the food web, great effort was made to leave the godless cauldron.

The familiar sound of hardened legs scraping over the ground came closer as The Australian waited for another attack. From out of the dark, a giant rounded head appeared in the light. Slowly moving past, the giant back shine paid no attention to The Australian as he bounced in a fighting stance, ready to strike. The aura of docile nature lessened the tension, and The Australian dropped his guard. Watching what must have been a thousand legs moving in perfect unison, The Australian stepped closer to the millipede and pressed his hand against the smooth chitin shell.

As the giant millipede passed, more followed, each one enormous in its own regard. Long black trains reaching The Australian’s waist passed by in each direction. Taking note of the dual transit, The Australian, choosing the largest millipede moving into the fissure, slowly mounted himself onto its back as it carried him deeper into the earth.

The congregation moved slowly farther into the dark corridor as The Australian used the time to nurse the injured platypus leg. Millipedes came and went past without notice of The Australian’s presence. Traffic jams caused the giants to crawl over each other if reluctant to move. Becoming comfortable riding on the back was interrupted during a sudden shift in The Australian’s weight. Sliding backward as one millipede climbed over a smaller curled arthropod triggered a defensive chemical pheromone discharge. With eyes beginning to water from the foul-smelling odor, The Australian dismounted in search of relief away from the creature’s ozadene pore secretions.

Continuing on by foot, The Australian walked over softened ground. Black pellets trampled and poked in a saucer-shaped, disk-covered floor. Inspecting a dried disk in the lamplight, The Australian, noticing the mainly plant-based composition, held one half to the flame. Within only a few seconds, the broken circle smoked, then ignited. Sanity to The Australian was something distant, like an old picture of a peaceful memory. After months spent within a small flame’s glow, seeing the fire brought a sense of humanity back into view.

Prying the ground, The Australian scraped off layers of blackened ground coating into a pile at the base of a nearby wall. Warmth began to accumulate as the fire took hold, causing millipedes on the walls, ceiling, and floor to change course. Unable to keep his eyes from falling shut, The Australian nodded off upright with his back against the wall.

Waking up to a toxic plume, The Australian opened his eyes to a smoldering pile of red embers speared out under a thousand legs. The passing millipede’s body slowly curved as it changed course around the substitute log fire. Each dense organic tinder composition reignited where it lay, remaining perfectly contained within the space that it sat. Unable to smother the flame, a line of small fires sprang up along the ground. Seeing the beneficial potential in the substance, The Australian began collecting the black tar-like disks off the floor and placing them into a bag. The only plausible explanation was that the circles must have been millipede castings that had pressed under the weight of other passing arthropods. Using the pliable organic material to wrap around metal surfaces of his mountaineering tool, The Australian built a torch.

Moving through the fault fracture guided by an open flame, the walkway opened into an interconnected caldera. A rounded room with high ceilings came into view as the congregation filled and separated. Like a herd of cows, millipedes everywhere hung in place, grazing on what looked like green slime growing on the surfaces. Narrow keyhole fractures along the walls acted as a queue line for incoming and outgoing arthropods. The room appeared as a crossroad into other outlet connections, with a partially collapsed rock pile filling the largest fracture corridor directly across from the entrance.

Moving amongst the millipedes, The Australian held his torch high, observing the edges of the chamber. As if someone had sounded an alarm, millipedes began to curl, secreting the invisible noxious plumes in synchronization. Crouching behind a living wall, The Australian looked on as a black centipede crawled through the entrance opening. The freight-train body followed in a spiral into the center of the room, corralling the millipedes between. Feeling miniaturized by the sheer size of the centipede’s length, The Australian crawled closer to the edge, then ran for the piled rock hill.

Climbing in fear, The Australian scaled over fallen stone as the jet-black monster lifted over a single millipede. High above the floor, The Australian looked back as he reached a small opening lined with micro-sized millipedes. In the torchlight, black shine pincers lifted to eye level as the centipede raised its head, then dropped onto the curled mass below. Forcing himself into the shadowed gap between the ceiling and fallen rock, The Australian made his escape.

Rocks pressed tight along the ceiling opened as the pile descended in the firelight. Heavy coats of green growth caused The Australian to slip. Bouncing over the fallen stone with near-zero friction, The Australian slid as he hit the floor. Pressing hands and feet to the ground was useless in the heavy bloom cavern. Lying on his back, The Australian slowed to a stop hundreds of feet from where he began. The torch, momentarily extinguishing, smoked red, then slowly relit.

Sitting upright to examine the surrounding area, black and green was all that could be rendered. Billions of chitin shells moved and broke under the weight, providing the only friction against the green slime algae. Falling as he stood, a shot of pain resonated from The Australian’s lower back. Platypus bills poking through the top of the satchel licked at the black layer, then bounced as they chewed. Sitting in place, The Australian contemplated his position, then rolled onto his stomach.

Placing bags onto his back, The Australian used the unlit flattened edge of the mountaineer’s pick to drive through the frictionless bloom, hammering the hard stone floor below. Pulling on the handle, The Australian began to slide forward across the floor. Like a candle, the black-wrapped patty guided the way as the pushing and pulling continued. Following a single path, The Australian slid almost effortlessly over a once-thriving millipede highway. Soft strikes dug into the gooey castings below. Now covered in bloom, the algae reigned supreme.

The fault fracture, littered with the remains of fallen giants from long ago, lay pressed against the walls. Every few miles, circular rooms appeared resembling the well-traveled network behind. With the amount of millipedes on the opposite side of the wall in search of algae, it was surprising that so few remained.

Stopping to cook the upper ends of small millipedes, farther than he had ever been in his life, The Australian sat back thinking about his life on the surface. Memories of a simple time washed into his mind as he looked into the black abyss on each side. Green algae from the wall began sliding across his back. Panicked, The Australian attempted to prevent himself from sliding. With hands firmly positioned on a stuck pick, the realization arrived that it was not he who was sliding, but the wall itself.

Holding to his pick, The Australian placed a hand on the wall in motion. The green film coated his fingers as it moved, then disappeared. Reaching out again, The Australian felt nothing but air. On the fire’s edge, rounded heaps of algae rose and fell. Placing all belongings on his back and picking at the ground, The Australian pursued the moving black wall on his stomach. Identifying the familiar framework of giants across the hall, an even bigger giant dragged The Australian along as his pick hit chitin.

The queen of the millipedes pushed onward into the unknown, pulling with The Australian attached to the telson hypoproct. A small plate along the lower edge allowed The Australian to sit sideways, clinging on to the queen as she moved. Crushing everything that stood in her way, the train-like body left a smooth center path, leaving piles of green matter pressed against each wall. In the wake of the passing giant, enclaves of other insects filed onto the open floor to feed.

Holding the queen tightly, The Australian watched oversized Blattodea family members descending from the walls into the fire’s corral. Oval-shaped bodies resembling common cockroaches, except magnified, darted in and out of the light’s grasp, then faded away. Coleoptera the size of bulldogs flew down from above, creating a thick hum resonance that filled the fracture. Knowing nothing of normality anymore, The Australian curled tight as the dynamic frenzy unraveled. Crushed beetles and roaches caught under the queen turned out the end as green lumps fighting to move. Keeping his feet tucked in close to the plate, The Australian could only look on as the less fortunate ones became surrounded by their comrades.

Mile after mile, the closed-loop food web continued. Holding to his pick, The Australian placed a hand on the wall in motion. The green film coated his fingers as it moved, then disappeared. Reaching out again, The Australian felt nothing but air. On the fire’s edge, rounded heaps of algae rose and fell. Placing all belongings on his back and picking at the ground, The Australian pursued the moving black wall on his stomach. Identifying the familiar framework of giants across the hall, an even bigger giant dragged The Australian along as his pick hit chitin.

The queen of the millipedes pushed onward into the unknown, pulling with The Australian attached to the telson hypoproct. A small plate along the lower edge allowed The Australian to sit sideways, clinging on to the queen as she moved. Crushing everything that stood in her way, the train-like body left a smooth center path, leaving piles of green matter pressed against each wall. In the wake of the passing giant, enclaves of other insects filed onto the open floor to feed.

Holding the queen tightly, The Australian watched oversized Blattodea family members descending from the walls into the fire’s corral. Oval-shaped bodies resembling common cockroaches, except magnified, darted in and out of the light’s grasp, then faded away. Coleoptera the size of bulldogs flew down from above, creating a thick hum resonance that filled the fracture. Knowing nothing of normality anymore, The Australian curled tight as the dynamic frenzy unraveled. Crushed beetles and roaches caught under the queen turned out the end as green lumps fighting to move. Keeping his feet tucked in close to the plate, The Australian could only look on as the less fortunate ones became surrounded by their comrades.

Mile after mile, the closed-loop food web continued. Scraping echoed throughout the hall as the queen rounded. Snaking into the largest cavity yet, the ground, devoid of the green bloom, turned matte black. The unbuckled movements of telson plates shifting dropped off The Australian in a seated standstill. Sitting stationary where he fell, The Australian could see round black balls dotted along the queen’s path as she moved on. Standing up, The Australian limped to catch up. Casting balls as tall as he stood marked a trail of breadcrumbs deeper into the cavern. Now fully out of sight of the queen, The Australian used the casting balls as cover while attempting to reunite. Without his mothership transporter, the fracture corridor became a menacing roadway of unknown dangers. In the torchlight, dark shapes moved down the walls, blocking away past. Hiding behind a spherical casting, The Australian ducked for cover. Clicking chatter off walls moved closer to his position. Now directly on the opposite side of his sphere-casting cover, the enormous Blattodea began feeding on the ball. Unable to extinguish the black patty flame, the insect took notice of The Australian’s presence. Moving over the top to face him, the roach-like insect looked down into The Australian’s eyes. Without empathy, the insect turned its head in calibration, moving closer as the front limbs wrapped over the lower hemisphere’s radius, then to the floor.

Backtracking to the previous casting, The Australian hobbled as the roach followed. Rushing alongside, The Australian, swinging fire at outstretched limbs, walked backward yelling at the giant roach. Feeling out The Australian, the roach walked step for step as it looked transfixed upon him. Moving to the giant casting for protection, The Australian cried out bravely, then broke off mid-yell as the fear of death grabbed hold of his senses. Again climbing onto the casting sphere’s upper pole, the roach continued its calculations. With more Blattodea on the way, the chase moved backward. Four casting balls back from where the hunting party began, The Australian, completely surrounded, stood to meet his end. Prepared to fall fighting, The Australian lashed out at a roach perched onto the casting. Lightning-fast reflexes of dominant evolution jumped left, causing The Australian’s torch-pick to break into the outer casting’s layer as he missed. Feeling the handle leave his hands, The Australian’s feet left the floor as a roach pulled him closer. Pinning The Australian to the ground, a pinch and release on the back of his arm was all he felt. The immense pain that followed was unbearable, then again the pinch hit a leg. Surrounded by three giant insects, The Australian, reaching out for something to grab, was pulled backward. Losing hope and too tired to fight, The Australian closed his eyes, blocking out the pain, waiting for fate to run its course.

Pressure of weight lifted off his back as The Australian opened his eyes. A moment of silence followed in anticipation while looking at the wall in front of him. An orange glow cast a single shadow against the wall as The Australian lifted his head. Rolling over to his side, the ball of fire escalated. Pushing off the ground, The Australian slowly stood up, stepping closer to the flames. Without hesitation, The Australian pulled the torch-pick from the fire, cursing the roaches as they scurried away. Hitting the casting ball with a sideward swipe broke burning chunks of excrement to the floor. Driving the pointed end through the hard-packed waste, The Australian walked forward, holding a bellowing flame, then lit the next ball. Shouting obscenities about the roaches’ mothers, The Australian slowly progressed from one fireball to the next.

With the high-ceiling fracture set ablaze with a line of neatly fixed fireballs running down the middle, parched and bleeding, The Australian collapsed. Laying on the floor, looking forward into the darkness beyond, a round shine broke the light’s barrier. Hardly able to move, The Australian clawed himself to the wall and pressed his back to the stone. As the giant millipede approached, the difference in size was instantly recognizable. Smaller than the queen, yet still dwarfing The Australian, the gigantic black mass moved closer. Making one final adjustment to avoid being crushed, The Australian lay down on his side. Moving with a succession of legs tuned to a sinusoidal wave pattern, the millipede passed with only inches to spare. Chitin-armored legs crashed down in front of The Australian with immense force while he lay in a delirious state of dehydration and blood loss. In the same manner as someone lost in the desert, The Australian reached out in thirst. With one hand skimming the smooth chitin shell above the leg’s point, algae began to coat his fingers. With an oncoming wave, The Australian’s hand bounced upward before he drew it to his mouth. Again The Australian reached out, letting his hand skim the upper regions of the chitin-pointed legs for moisture. Pulling a green hand away to avoid an oncoming wave, The Australian pressed the bloom into his wounds. With a final swipe, the millipede passed by, moving toward the line of fire.

With great effort in a weakened state, The Australian turned to see the first fireball break apart. Undeterred by the gas-fed flames, the millipede crashed into the next. Shifting in a long exaggerated “S,” the millipede moved closer to the opposite wall, bypassing the continuous line of fire. Looking back into the dark, The Australian pushed himself upright, moving closer to a flattened black circle and lit the surface. Green and blue flames turned orange as they spread over the surface. On the brink of death, The Australian placed his bags down and curled up to the flames. Going unconscious the moment his head hit the ground, The Australian felt the fire’s warmth against his skin.

Barely able to open his eyes, gum-like resistance on The Australian’s eyelashes stretched as he pressed. Feeling soreness from the injuries, The Australian placed a hand to the back of his arm. Algae forced inside the wound had transformed with heat into a gummy layer, closing the wound. The hydrogel treatment along his arm, leg, and back seemed to have worked in an unperceived way. In desperate need of water, The Australian pressed on, following the trail of flat pressed castings. Within a mile, the fractured cavern broke into a circular caldera. Inside, the queen millipede remained stretched out motionless as beads of water poured down from above.

Walking into the entrance of the caldera, three roaches lay trampled in pieces. Looking up, legs and remnants of crushed chitin exoskeletons stuck to the ceiling above. The Australian, seeking revenge, pulled a leg off the ground, vowing it was his turn to eat them. One dying roach remained moving as The Australian approached. Still broken, with missing limbs, the insect grappled at the ground, moving away from the flame. Barbaric in his lust for reconciliation, The Australian bore down on the beastly Blattodea family member with mountaineering equipment drawn. A full-circle affair concluded with The Australian victorious, striking down his opponent, then basking in the glory. With legs over each shoulder, a fire was lit alongside the queen in preparation for the feast. Cupping his hands against the queen’s hard shell underside, The Australian drank from her like a fountain.

A pyre of legs roasted over an open casting fire. Using the freshwater drip spring as a shower, The Australian cleaned himself for the first time since entering the insect kingdom. Pulling clumps of algae from the legs of the stationary millipede, The Australian dressed his wounds next to the flat-circle fire. Feeling admiration for the giant arthropod, The Australian studied her in full view for the first time. At over 7 meters high and 40 meters long, the creature was a god among natives. Surprise for the strange and unfathomable had died long ago for The Australian. With allegiance to the millipedes sworn, dinner was shared within the mist of the peaceful giant’s company. Poking at the transforming gummed texture of algae’s hydrogel bandage next to the fire, The Australian, seeing great medicinal benefits, collected the green slime and placed it inside his scrap bag. Resourcefulness being a key component in The Australian’s survival thus far, he had learned to take what was given.

Rejuvenated by renourishment, The Australian’s eyes and mind lay across unknown borders in anticipation of his next great adventure. Taking a day to settle, eating and bathing, The Australian explored the outer ring of the keyhole caldera castle. As the queen of the millipede moved on, so too did The Australian. Moving in the direction from where she had come, The Australian waved goodbye as she made her exit into the dark. Slipping through a tight fracture dripping with fresh water from above, The Australian cut through the earth, torch in hand.

Three platypus by his side made no attempts to leave the satchel as the side-chain trunk dripped ominously from above. Water running down from the main chamber pooled around The Australian’s ankles, getting deeper with every step. With the algae bloom returning along the walls and floor, The Australian prepared himself to slide once more. In the presence of deepening water in the narrow fissure, a new strategy had to be implemented. Moving now sitting backwards, The Australian pushed with his feet as he held to algae-covered rocks. Feeling the terrain slowly with thighs and hips, small pushes over uneven obstacles pushed into deeper water. Within an hour from the starting entrance, the trunk creek widened into a waist-deep algae runoff. Scattered remains of recognizable inhabitants floated on the surface, as others felt by touch rested below. Hard chitin shells had to be pushed free from the algae’s grasp as the spiked spurs dug in from underwater. Deep in the chitin creek, The Australian looked for an advantage against the wash pit’s fallen remnants. Like logs caught in a stagnate swamp, the crushed wreckage from the giants above had collected in the path of least resistance. Assorted collections of armored plates, legs, and antenna made moving perilous. Now chest-deep in a floating scrapyard, the constant barrage of miscellaneous arthropod pieces was too much to bear. Climbing onto an overturned millipede, The Australian sat, thinking of what he should do next.

Now up the chitin creek with an oversized insect leg as a paddle, The Australian now pushed himself like a gondolier aboard the upside-down millipede’s exoskeleton. Floating remnants of washed-out drainage levees above turned over, then gave way to the forced passage. A wall of the dead halted the giant raft in place. Blocked from wall to wall, the buildup of exoskeletons failed to break as The Australian pressed firmly with his leg pole. Holding his torch high, scouting the wreckage for a way through, a shadowy dugout resting on the wall’s opposite side caught The Australian’s gaze. To mount the wall meant leaving the safety of the floating escort and balancing on top of barbed chitin shells. To fall would mean reentering into the unforgiving waters below. Testing the first step by pressing down against an island of exo-fodder, the hard-cased shells ducked and bobbed under the weight. Pressing onto the heaviest thorax of an unknown arthropod, The Australian crawled on. Unstable distribution of buoyancy caused the midsection to dip wildly from one side to the other. Using his mountaineer’s pick to spread weight to the main wall, The Australian’s hips left the organic platform as he pressed both hands to remain above water. Kicking through the extension, The Australian laid flat, with only his chest on the thick biomass, as he reset his pickaxe. Pulling the handle hard as the metal point broke layers of chitin, The Australian lifted his legs above the waterline, scooting himself onto the stable blockade.

The Australian moved low over thousands of clogged invertebrates to a hollowed oval-shaped exoskeleton, pulling the shell free from the wall. Fully intact other than the legs, The Australian examined the specimen’s underside in the light. Heavy chitin framework pressed under the wall’s stress sealed into an airtight hull. Once clearing all foreign shell fragments, The Australian pushed the chitin canoe close to the blockade’s opposite bank, then pressed the torch’s wooden handle into the beetle’s mouth. Letting light lead the way with a push, the canoe pressed into liquid, floating freely, spinning in the dark. Laughing in the hall radiated positivity into the furthest corner of the chitin creek, bouncing off every corner before returning to the sender. Feeling like a castaway pirate on the open seas, The Australian pressed deep into the stagnate mixture, moving agilely through the water’s corridor.

Never giving up hope amidst the adversity of dynamic change, The Australian rowed his iridescent boat forward, conquering yet another hurdle thrown in his way. “Follow it to the end,” he said, as the thought of his fallen companion flashed through his mind. Unsure of luck or divine course, The Australian rowed on as the chitin creek narrowed. Before long, the high ceiling tapered to only a few meters above, reducing gradually with every stroke. Using his hands, The Australian laid flat, using the lowered rock ceiling to pull himself ahead. Walls pressing on either side stopped the hard shell in place, marking the route’s end. Dismounting into a cramped stream, The Australian turned the shell canoe sideways, pulling it onto dry basalt. Sponge growth on porous lava rock pressed against The Australian’s feet as he moved over the slot divide. The strange combination caused a momentary pause in route for examination. Secured to broken basalt stones, the waterlogged sea sponges contracted when pressed, releasing the water from which they held. Clear lines dropped down The Australian’s arms as he picked a second sponge and squeezed it above an open mouth. Spitting as the initial drops fell, the saltwater hit like a brick, shocking unexpecting senses. An upward-slanting sponge-strewn rock pile lifted through changing geology.

Limestone mixing with basalt pushed open to columned hallways harboring saltwater pools. A dreamscape corridor of exotic subterranean life thriving on seawater streams danced in the firelight. Looking at the tropical reef cavern below ground was something that should only have existed in novels. Sponges and starfish filled in along leaking walls, along a tidal-pressed body of water running the course of the outermost parameter. Not one to object to unfamiliar anomalies, The Australian pressed further into the maze of columns and pools. Passing by shallow depressions eroded into the floor, schools of juvenile yellow tang, isolated away from the wake pool’s corridor, shot from one waterhole to the next. Dominating the innermost sanctuary of the saltwater stream, yellow triangle-shaped fish navigated its path as if it were a road. Forming a solid yellow trail, the monolithic pathway led to a semicircular, moon-shaped pool surrounded in a row of columned windows. Inside, large yellow tang filled the pit, moving in an endless circle. Other than a puffer fish and a few spotted rays passing in the mix, dense bright yellow masses fluttered below the flame. Stopping at the water’s edge to view the near-monolithic spectacle, The Australian poked along the surface with his metal shard. The constant famished feeling left with the first bite of cooked fish. After a year trapped in a stone prison eating only small, micro-sized crustaceans, fish was a gift from god. Drifting off, watching the yellow pit’s waterline rise then fall every few seconds, The Australian remembered again what it was like to feel human. A peaceful calm swept through his eyes as The Australian curled up to his platypus inside a giant beetle bed frame.

Waking up sweating, an unquenchable thirst grabbed hold of The Australian’s mouth. Unable to swallow his own saliva, The Australian’s throat felt swollen as he gasped for air. Searching nearby corridors for freshwater yielded only salt. Desperate for a sip, The Australian rummaged through his belongings for a solution. Using his two aluminum-can carbide lamps, The Australian began constructing a steam vapor still to distill the saltwater. In the midst of the chaos, the platypus had exited the bag, appearing to be exhibiting the same symptoms as The Australian. The four gathered around the small carbide lamp as a second can boiled above. Holding a broken scrap bag above the steam, The Australian waited for the beads to settle, then licked. Even a small portion of freshwater had broken the parch-locked airways. Beginning to stabilize, The Australian again collected the steam, then placed the scrap bag on the ground for the entourage to consume. Billed snouts gathered around a sheet of plastic, hitting the surface with outstretched tongues. Refining the still required balancing cans in place as a catch dripped into a glass bottle. Using fishbones to secure the bushcraft still’s plastic drape to meet the glass bottle’s edge, the distilling process began. Hours went by nursing the still, sipping until satisfied, the four held in place, waiting for the next batch.

Although the water had cured his thirst, The Australian, still unable to breathe properly, looked to the yellow pool. Lying close to the water’s edge, The Australian looked deep through the school’s spiral. Rasping in an ah-ha moment, his hunch was confirmed as The Australian pointed at the dogface puffer passing by. Caught in the mix, tattered remains of what looked like a decomposing puffer fish turned in the tainted whirlpool. Yellow tang, immobilized in paralysis, floated amongst the school, blending in without notice. The Australian, solving the mystery of his raspy cracking voice, set his sights toward smaller pools away from the moon hole.

Making a kabob of tiny yellow fish was more difficult than expected; poking at holes with a raw point of metal only ended in frustration. Diverting from brute attempts at spearing the agile tang, The Australian laid still on his side with an arm along the small eroded basin. Juvenile tang, swimming unknowingly into a trap, had little time to react as The Australian swiped an arm through the water. Yellow triangles, sent flying through the air, hit the cave’s floor flapping. Small fish out of water, bouncing in distress, were collected easily enough to provide multiple rations. As The Australian claimed his prizes, a thump of a rock in the distance drew his attention outward. Learning to fear the unknown, The Australian stared into the dark sea cave. Sounds of splashing and dripping became amplified in the heightened sense of awareness. Far across the dark maze, a small glow held firm in the distance. Pausing for a moment to listen, The Australian crouched down to collect a fish, then carried on. Looking into the dark as he walked, an uneasy feeling began to rise.

Productivity had become a cycle as The Australian settled in with food stores and fresh water. Still unsure about his surroundings, The Australian ate his fill of distilled water, then placed the beetle shell over himself. Feeling like a barnacle curled under a protective shell, The Australian slept, heaving heavy breaths as he passed into the subconscious. Thoughts of the sun faded to black as sleep overcame his mind. A disturbance from outside the shell caused the platypuses to frantically burrow into The Australian’s side. Waking up slow, a knock hit the ground outside the beetle’s walls. Lifting the edge enough to see his endless torch burning against the wall, The Australian noticed a boulder that wasn’t previously there. The initial reaction of a fallen rock nearly missing his camp caused a quick jump out to inspect the ceiling above. Covered with sponges and starfish, the boulder had landed only feet from where The Australian slept. Different species of bioluminescent and fluorescent sea anemone covered the face of the rough surface. Looking up at the ceiling, The Australian, unable to see any clear marking from where the boulder had fallen, refocused his eyes to the rock’s face. Intrigued by a unique combination of living creatures, The Australian looked over each exotic specimen in the torchlight. Preparing to return to his protected shell, The Australian refilled the carbide still with saltwater, taking a sip from the glass bottle as he turned to face the boulder once more. Closing his eyes as the freshwater emptied into his mouth, The Australian looked back at the boulder. Noticing two large black dots on what looked like lips, The Australian recognized the boulder to be a giant clam shell. Bewildered by how a giant clam could have fallen from the roof without being noticed, a claw bigger than The Australian’s leg picked up a yellow fish, bringing it to the shell’s lips like a chip. Spiny legs reached out, revealing the monstrous hermit crab’s true form. Dropping the glass bottle in fright of what he was seeing, The Australian panicked as the glass shattered over the ground.

Grabbing the pickaxe torch, The Australian ran past the giant, stopping only to flip the beetle shell and throw his bags inside before dragging it away. More crustaceans, attracted to the smell of fish, lined the previously vacant corridor. Reaching out with enormous claws as he passed by, The Australian pressed the burning metal pick broadside against the hard shell forearm. Feeling great strength pressing back from the creature, the fire’s glow was enough to cause a sudden withdrawal back into the clam fortress. The line of giant clam-shell hermits only grew longer the further he ran. Jabbing at each meandering crab with the burning crucifix reminded The Australian of a book he had read about vampires. Caught in a tug of war over the beetle shell, The Australian used the power of flame to compel himself away from the slow-moving demons. Breaking past the final posse of the biggest hermits, The Australian headed deeper into the dark seascape cavern, unsure of where or what to do next. Sliding the shell to a stop, far from any recognizable pathway, The Australian remembered his place inside the darkness.

Gasping for breath with sore lungs, rest would not come easy knowing what dangers lay inside the walls. Judging by the size, the crabs must have remained hidden inside the maze with no way out. Walking through endless karst columns, each hallway looked nearly identical to the last. In the fire fog-filled halls, hanging over the surface, the warm breeze surrounded him as though it was a sauna. Licking his lips to fresh water, The Australian moved into vapor-filled chambers cautiously as the fog thickened. A circular ring formed around the torch’s flame, then dissipated into uniform swirls as air pressure passed. Bubbling water, blocked out by a fast-moving fog bank, grew closer. Covering The Australian like a blanket, condensation poured off in streams.

The bubbling hole, a phenomenal byproduct of an anchialine network of geothermal vents, appeared to be boiling. At first glance, constant turning water gave a distinct visual impression of scalding hot liquid. Hearing the bubbles without feeling radiant heat, The Australian touched the surface with the wooden end of his pick. Letting drops of water fall into an open hand, a mild heat rested in The Australian’s palm. Using one finger, The Australian dipped his nail’s tip below the surface, then pressed the water to his tongue. Fresh high-alkaline drinking water washed away thirst as The Australian climbed into the pool. Cupping handfuls of purified groundwater, The Australian extended below water, feeling truly clean for the first time in a year. Climbing out and opening his satchel, three platypuses followed suit, sliding to the bathing pool’s edge, then disappeared. Warm, but not extremely hot, the bath-like hole felt like heaven after the hell The Australian had been through. Pressing his arms over the edge, The Australian closed his eyes, letting his hips drift in the bubbling pit. Entering a state of deep relaxation suspended in the rising vapor, a pinch from below the belt sent The Australian crashing back to reality. Feeling bitten, The Australian pushed himself onto the stone floor, checking his penis in the fire’s light. Three white crabs clinging onto The Australian’s pubic hair and testicle raised their claws in defiance, warning The Australian that this was their turf now. Refusing to let go of his hair, the crabs pinched skin as The Australian pulled. Finally able to free himself from the pinching crab by breaking off a claw, The Australian cast them aside while the platypuses charged. Making short work of the promiscuous crabs, The Australian began collecting broken legs. Seeing great opportunity in the defensive characteristics of the crustaceans, The Australian went in again. Placing himself against the wall, The Australian noticed a subtle difference between the bubbles and oncoming crab legs. Using his pubic hair like a crab lure, The Australian pulled white cave crabs out of the water by the dozens, storing them inside a bag for later. Without any shame of how or why the crabs were so keen on attaching themselves below the belt, The Australian continued on until his bag was full.

Heavy fog began to lessen as The Australian looked for safe refuge. Filled with a dry bag of fresh water and a bag of crabs, The Australian pulled the beetle shell like a sled over the slick floor. Thin mist hung in wisps, moving gently through hallways. Freshwater plants started to appear, confirming a definitive transition outside the anchialine labyrinth. Water pouring down in the distance echoed without being seen through the looming karst structure. Waist-high holes in the limestone poured water over the floor, then drained into funnel-like indentations against adjacent walls.

Stepping through a small rivet carrying water, The Australian’s foot slipped in a gel-like film covering the floor. Ooze spread between open fingers as the jelly substance was removed. A strong organic smell filled holes as The Australian passed, thinking on guard of what caused the secretions. Stopping to look at where he had come from, The Australian’s intuition was telling him to turn back. Hearing distressed grunts from the platypus, The Australian reached for his pickaxe torch placed inside the beetle’s mouth.

Prayers for an animal The Australian had seen before in a nature documentary were not heard. Growing ill of monstrous creatures previously unknown to science, The Australian held his torch up, scanning the foyer. High above the floor, partially exposed in a hole, the serpent’s mouth opened and closed. Unaffected by the fire’s light, the menacing eel’s huge head pressed out, showing the extreme size clearly. Turning to run back from where he came, squelchy splashing broke the spectral plain. Two dark shapes, reflecting glints of light as they wound toward The Australian, moved blindly, probing lucid space with open mouths. In the heat of the moment, The Australian slipped forward trying to run through jelly secretions marking each limestone hole. Caught with only unexplored darkness in front of him, The Australian looked back at the two troglobyte eels swinging their heads side to side, tapping rocks, then pulling away. Taking a shot in the dark, The Australian wiped his torch along the ground, releasing the balled flame residue as he flipped his shell to cover himself. Slipping past with immense length, girth, and weight, an eel hit the hard shell, causing it to slide against the wall. With mouths large enough to swallow a man whole, the eel held its head pressed hard into the shell. Secretions raked under the beetle’s edge, forming a thick film covering every inch of The Australian. Pressure released, dropping the lifted edge as the eel moved on. For nearly an hour, The Australian remained curled beneath his protective exoskeleton.

Prepping his torch in darkness, The Australian blindly wrapped a fresh casting around hot metal. Lifting up the shell’s outer edge, The Australian stuck the pick outside, chaining a light from the previous casting patty smoldering nearby. The cave was quiet aside from faint sounds of running water in the distance. With gases in the casting breathing into an open flame, light returned to the hall. Letting the shell rest on top of his back, The Australian slid out to stand. Hidden in the shadows, a small eel no bigger than The Australian lay flat against an opposing wall. Needle-like teeth extending from the jaw turned in The Australian’s direction. In a fraction of a second, the eel’s body began gyrating forward, sloshing from one side to the other. Gasping at the horrible creature’s sensory response, The Australian dropped his torch. As if it were a shadow itself, a dark shape resembling a tall man stepped forward from the wall, pinching the eel with mantis-like arms. Comparable to a stick bug covered in karst camouflage and jointed bracelets, the creature hugged the eel while backing into the shadows. Sliding under the beetle’s chitin hull, The Australian pressed his back to the roof on all fours and started crawling toward his torch.

Wanting to be anywhere but right there, each inch gained required moving the torch forward, then sliding his bags. As a troglodyte mimicking a tortoise’s defensive adaptation, the passive approach was slow but safe. With recent accumulations of natural resources hindering movement beneath the protective hull, a purging of nonessential weight began. Water stores were poured out, reducing the load drastically. The smell of crabs filled the shell hull as the greater majority emptied out onto the ground below. Now able to move freely, The Australian lifted the beetle shell on a flat back while holding the torch, walking forward one step at a time. Bumping into rock walls and unseen columns as he went, an adoption of the great eels’ movements began to take shape. Taking small steps forward, The Australian shifted the hull out in each direction to feel for obstacles in his way. Long arms reaching out in ambush scratched over the hard exterior, causing The Australian to drop in place.

Crawling through a gauntlet of slender stick creatures, every few hundred feet the ambush predators launched their attacks. Pausing for a moment in an attempt to secure the shell with raptorial forelegs, the insects released over the torch’s heat, sulking backward from where they emerged. Feeling hits in each direction, The Australian spun, sliding fire around the lower edge until pressure released. A winning strategy in a time of despair, survival meant adapting to unforgiving circumstances. With life and death separated by a chitin layer, The Australian took his time to overthrow the beast. Passive in nature though cunning, thought outweighed force in the crawl forward. Feeling the scraping knocks sporadically declining, The Australian pushed up the shell, crawling out to test a theory. Long gashes dug deep over the iridescent elytron, exposing thin membranous hindwing below. Punching the pickaxe’s point through a reinforced section above the scutellum, The Australian pushed the wooden handle through. Fashioned to be part umbrella, part war machine, The Australian held on to the handle inside the shell while walking upright.

Movement against the karst gave forewarning of an oncoming ambush. Able to see the insect clearly in light, aside from imitation karst camouflage and reflective gold rings around each leg, the creature’s uncanny human characteristics were unsettling. A tall, slender shell body combined into a narrow head with two white markings resembling eyes. Two legs rested on the ground while two forelegs held above as the stick figure blended against a shadowed backdrop. The Australian thought back to a geographic magazine he had read about an African tribe called the Zulu. Although appearing human from the front, a throbbing thorax planted vertically with long outstretched limbs against the wall spoke otherwise. Waiting for the stick man’s next move, The Australian stepped closer, ready to drop. Crouching down as the insect broke cover, The Australian slid backward under the creature’s embrace. Pushing the torch’s wooden handle up from below, hot metal hit the mantis’s underside. A sudden halt released into retreat, leaving the floor vacant. Looking through a peephole punctured through a broken leg joint, The Australian picked up his shell as the creature returned to the wall. Defeated, the stick mantis wrung its hands in place while The Australian spoke ill of its mother and father. Again, The Australian had found a break in his adversary’s armor, exploiting evolutionary instinct as a way to survive.

Bats, moving in a swarm, descended upon the creature by the thousands. Jubilant under his shell, The Australian’s heroes delivered cave justice to the monster without warning. In the light, a stick figure of a swarm danced as the limbs fell to the floor. With one eye looking through the hole, The Australian applauded the assault with a fist pump and a yell. All at once, thousands of screeching bats in a frenzy fell silent, then turned to look at The Australian hidden below his safety shell. At that very moment, three dog-sized bats landed in front of the swarm, looking now at The Australian. A rush of wind pushed through the peephole as the bats flew straight toward the shell. The beetle’s outer edge lifted, sliding backward with the swarm. In less than a second, bats both large and small surrounded the hollow exoskeleton. The smallest squeezed through holes, breaching into the inner layer. Holding onto the wooden handle, The Australian fought desperately to prevent the shell from flipping. With tiny bats filling the space inside, The Australian knew it was only a matter of time before he would be overrun. Death was the only plausible outcome in The Australian’s mind. Making his peace with God, The Australian let go of the handle, grabbing the satchel holding the three platypus while curling his body around them. Bats pushing through the lower edges piled on top of The Australian, flipping the shell with sheer volume. Screaming as tiny feet climbed over every inch, waiting for the bites to begin, The Australian cleared his mind, thinking of better days.

Licking like a pack of puppies, the bites never came. Although the pressure of the weight was slightly uncomfortable, the bats seemed more interested in the shell. Thousands of tongues hit The Australian at spontaneous intervals as bats coming and going tested what he was. Although not completely toothless, a natural result of high levels of mineral content within the cave left the bats’ mouths blunted. Within a minute from when the frantic taste test began, the bats began taking flight. Standing up through the docile pile, The Australian got to his feet, reclaiming scattered possessions. A bat-filled crab bag tumbled over the floor like an amorphous blob, changing directions, then starting a new course. Loose items, appearing in wide proximity from where they began, littered the ground. Flipping over the shell was like seeing a new car in a showroom, shining iridescent green reflecting against the walls and ceiling. Each tool, bag, and clothing article looked as though it was brand new; even The Australian’s hair felt slick.

Although grateful for the bats’ curious makeover, large bats attempting to steal away bags in mid-flight was a small price to pay for protection against the stick mantis. Any bag left unattended was swooped down upon and picked up. Unable to carry more than a few pounds at once, large bats flapping above the ground had to be chased down. Feeling safe to walk freely outside his shell umbrella, The Australian inspected a now-broken stick mantis lying in pieces. Without a single bite mark, it appeared that the weight of the bats had caused fragile limbs to break off during the covering. Still moving as The Australian approached, the insect remained alive. Drained of vital hemolymph, the sparkling clean head stared intently at The Australian with white eye markings as he picked up a scythe-shaped foreleg.

Following the direction of where the cloud had moved, The Australian walked toward the sound of clicks. Stepping to the camp’s outer reach, rhythmic click patterns intensified into percussive tribal sequences. Pulsating through dynamic ranges as a colony, deep clicks gave way to ultrasonic frequency. Communal in nature, the bats carried the festive sound, while The Australian drummed alongside. Feeling comfortable inside the cauldron, The Australian slept curled beneath the beetle’s hull, caught in a hypnotic trance.

Waking up to a war drum cadence of deep one-fourth notes, followed by a barrage of high-pitch twelfth and sixteenth notes in between, The Australian readied himself to enter center camp. Small bats, dropping down from above, clung to articles of clothing undisturbed by human presence. Walking into the main cauldron, The Australian pulled hundreds of curious bats hitching a free ride inside the beetle’s shell. Bat swarms, previously unaware of a foreign presence, rushed down for a lick. Although constantly being bombarded by hundreds of thousands of bats, The Australian kept his composure. After over a year underground without shaving, each bat swarm provided its own unique hair and beard styles for The Australian to wear until the next swarm came. Finally reaching the camp’s opposite perimeter, The Australian’s beard had been split down the middle, ending in points next to his ears; meanwhile, his hair had curled down to meet the beard’s points. Looking like a new-age hot shot Italiano with a lion’s mane, The Australian stared into his reflection against a polished beetle shell.

In the distance, echoing vibrant festivities in the heart of the colony ricocheted faintly against closing halls. Cold air, forced from a slot opening, sent chills up The Australian’s back. Damp, moisture-rich spray filled the cavity, drowning with a roaring of water. Unable to hear from outside, only feet inside the hallowed entrance, the camp’s pātē rhythms disappeared. Falling water from high above hit rock heavily, sending droplets flying in every direction. Eroded pools surrounding the waterfall’s outer ring spun in an Archimedean spiral around a tubular cut. Entering the outermost spiral, cold water washed over The Australian in a baptism, cleansing his stiffened coating. The freshest water he had ever drunk fell from the dark ceiling, refreshing The Australian’s thirst. Natural wonders from the depths never ceased to surprise. Living a nomadic life in a subterranean vault, resource replaced currency. Incomparably lucky to be alive, The Australian floated on his back, deep in thought, listening to the muted roar below the surface.

Reoccurring dreams of civilization always ended in torchlight. Distant thoughts of a new life started, lived in memory, reactivating in a subconscious state. Days passed to weeks traveling along the fault-like trail. Climbing, crawling, squeezing, and swimming through a barren metamorphic hallway, The Australian pressed on. Surviving on only trapped bats and groundwater, miles traveled within the Pacific causeway passed by undisturbed. Content with a transitional path not filled with monstrous animals, The Australian made his way below the Pacific Ocean en route toward Fiji’s southern coast. A labyrinth of dead-end corridors gave little hope of ever finding a way through. Now a wandering bat rancher, supplies had run thin. Devoid of fauna, the network crawled with microorganisms, giving nutrients to his herd, who in return provided The Australian the nutrients to last another day. Even after freeing the bats in a remorseful act of despair, they always returned to him. The symbiotic circus roamed through countless halls, covering a 500-mile stretch before reaching a passage below the island of Kadavu.

Reoccurring dreams of civilization always ended in torch light. Distant thoughts of a new life started lived in memory, reactivating in subconscious state. Days passed to weeks traveling along the fault-like trail. Climbing, crawling, squeezing and swimming through a barren metamorphic hallway, The Australian pressed on. Surviving on only trapped bats and ground water, miles traveled within the Pacific causeway passed by undisturbed. Content with a transitional path not filled with monstrous animals, The Australian made his way below the Pacific Ocean en route towards Fiji’s southern coast.

A labyrinth of dead end corridors gave little hope of ever finding a way through. Now a wandering bat rancher, supplies had run thin. Devoid of fauna, the network crawled with microorganisms, giving nutrients to his herd, who in return provided The Australian the nutrients to last another day. Even after freeing the bats in a remorseful act of despair, they always returned to him. The symbiotic circus roamed through countless halls, covering a 500 mile stretch before reaching a passage below the island of Kadavu.

Unaware of how far the path had led or geographic position on a map, The Australian entered the last leg of his journey. Hard volcanic rock speckled in luminous growths opened to a garden. Seamlessly walking into a glowing opening, blue, green, yellow and red decked the halls in every available space. Only minutes from a geological dead zone, the radiant garden was a drastic opposing contrast. Each step released into an excitement of colors under weight, then slowly dimmed.

A plant looking similar lettuce or kale except sporting a luminary redline a quarter inch from the edge grew in patches waist high. The floor had grown soft with crumbled basalt as a sedimentary staple allowing the garden to thrive in peace from the outside world. Sitting on soft ground by a patch of the red seaweed like algae, The Australian began to break off stocks for bedding. Tasting like seaweed, bushels of the bushy greens were collected to eat.

Looking around the surrounding area a few other multicellular species and fungus were collect for sampling. A small blue bioluminescent algae caused The Australian to spit as the taste of luciferin filled his mouth. Green photoluminescent lichen became a first choice due to a taste comparable to sprouts. Bioluminescent mushrooms were forged carefully, tasting a small stem of the orange fungus, The Australian deemed them to be safe.

Forging in a short loop around camp, The Australian listened to an unfamiliar call ring out from a nearby patch. The bird like call caused The Australian to drop in place. Reaching for a chitin sword made from a stick mantis foreleg, The Australian waited for movement. High pitched whines called out again, a sound like the word “hing” repeated as the initial velocity decreased. Pulling back the vial of algae, The Australian stared down at a toad.

Cooking the foot long toad was easy enough compared to bats. Looking forward to a glowing meal of lichen, seaweed and mushrooms, The Australian sat patiently feeling like the day had gone well. Holding the toad like a rotisserie chicken, The Australian shoved a hand full of mushrooms and greens into his mouth as the toad cooled. Hungry for something other than bat, the toad remained skewered while The Australian bit down on a crispy thigh. Holding the top end of the metal rod with a strip of balled canvas inside his palm, The Australian pressed his fingers around toads head as he pulled away.

Pressure against the toads skin burst hot secretions from the parotid glands on the neck, hitting The Australian along the side of his mouth. Wiping the load off with leathery blades of red algae, The Australian continued to eat. Not knowing much about toads or ever eaten a toad, the taste to The Australian wasn’t bad.

Midway through the second bite, earth had seemed to dissolve. Like a zipper being pulled down, geometry rolled through the walls like an earthquake. Fearing the cave had begun to collapse, The Australian stood, looking at the neon colors reduce into multifaceted fractal waves then dropped the toad. Taking a step forward to run away, The Australian felt hot meat under his foot then a spray against his inner left leg.

Rolling his body to the match the motion of earth shaking, The Australian swayed back and forth to prevent himself from falling. Certain that world war three had begun, The Australian blamed the communist before falling flat on the ground. Shaking uncontrollably a sea of color swept through the cave while he screamed, “it’s a color bomb,” before going unconscious.

Whether it was seconds, minutes or hours was unknown but swirling visions of a toad king brought The Australian back to reality. Thinking of his mother and father caught in the color bombs fallout forced an immediate action to help them. Standing up with a stagger The Australian walked forward into the garden in search of a way out.

Feeling the effects what The Australian called, “parade-e-ation,” a colorful form of “radiation,” found a way to fight against it. The initial release had changed to euphoria, forgetting why he had panicked The Australian walked deeper into the glowing cave of wonders. Taking full advantage of the unique geological features, activities seemed to arise in the most unexpected of places.

Digging into the basalt pebbles, a nest was constructed then used to cover The Australian’s legs from the parade-e-ation with small lava rocks. Feeling now the color based warfare had been countered by Australian intelligence, The Australian’s mind began to refocus on more important matters. Burying his whole body up to his neck, The Australian meditated with only his head above the sedimentary surface layer.

Dancing became a way to send the color back towards the communist. Using hand fulls of glowing algae, The Australian used a mix of tai-chi and karate to break off on coming waves of rainbows trapped in the atmosphere. Swinging the lit pickaxe torch in circles with his eyes closed, allowed to The Australian to channel “feel-good, radio-waves,” issued by the Australian military.  Without realizing what had happened the Australian actually thwarted the gardens apex predator as he spun. A 20ft pit viper covered in orange fugal growths slithered away unnoticed after being struck as it lashed out. A collection of toads began inside a nearby nest, in an effort to preserve the species from “Parade-e-o-active,” particles trapped in the cave. Gifted by luck and in honor of the wartime efforts The Australian picked up a diamond off the ground. As a reward for The Australian, a diamond larger than any known diamond in human history rested in the palm of his hand.

Continuing to eat the mushrooms, the hallucinations intensified until The Australian decided he didn’t want to eat anymore mushrooms. The effects of the 5-MeO-DMT and psilocybin continued for three days. On the fourth day the effects had dissipated, now thinking clearly The Australian retraced his steps using a trail of pulled algae stocks and abandoned nest to locate his personal belongings.

Finding camp exactly the way he had left it, the toad laid where it fell. Starving and thirsty The Australian found the platypus to have wondered off as well. Tracking three slide trails into the garden, 50 yards in the opposite direction from where The Australian left, found the three basking along side a freshwater oasis.

Clear water pool full of prawns and tadpoles ran out of a wall then snaked out of sight as a stream. Taking the platypus advice, The Australian moved camp close to the waters edge. Collecting more than enough prawns for a proper meal, The Australian shared a peaceful dinner next to the platypus trio. Still sure Australian intelligence had countered the parade-e-ration with a feel-good radio wave device, The Australian slept easy.

Things in the underground didn’t always make sense until known-to-science barriers were broken. After all the magnificent creatures The Australian had witnessed firsthand, nothing out of the ordinary came as a surprise. Raw, uncut diamonds sparkled along the ground as the torch passed over. Catching the eye of The Australian, a zigzag pattern marked the stream’s edge as the minerals were collected. Added weight inside the beetle sled dragged heavy along the basalt stones. Practicality began to outweigh fortune, as the glimmer of untouched diamonds was reluctantly passed by. An almost painful feeling swept over The Australian when diamonds were kicked aside. Piles of the luxurious mineral sat dormant inside the garden by the millions. Taking only choice specimens, The Australian passed into a transition exit of high fractured basalt and andesite.

Again, the corridor became barren within only a few meters from the exit point. Making an adjustment to the sled’s hull to match the hard stone surface, diamonds wedged between a crack in the beetle’s forewings reduced friction against the ground. Scraping through the straight for days, collected prawns began running out. The point of no return had passed by, leaving The Australian in a bind. Resting to ponder available options, a decision was made to move forward until the next sleep, then turn back if a break failed to appear. Laying down to sleep, The Australian watched air push the torch’s flame. Knowing he must be close to something, The Australian slept.

Sticking to the plan of action, hours went by dragging the sled. Stopping while debating turning around to start a life in the neon garden, a sound rang through the slot corridor. A bell’s toll hit The Australian’s ears as he waited for the sound to hit again. Listening intently, the call was answered by a faint ringing in the distance, then stopped. Within an hour of walking, the cave floor became a mess of nesting birds. Stacked remains of fallen nests lifted off the ground, seamlessly transferring up the walls. Chirps erupted in active nests as The Australian climbed the woven hill. Small birds swooped down in defense of their hatchlings tucked between the basalt slabs.

Pulling a hefty load up what felt like a stiff hay bale, The Australian reached the peak. A vertical ramp tear-out dropped into a smooth curve below. Almost as if multiple attempts to climb the pile had caused the hill to give way, the broken segment’s 40-foot ramp would have to be traversed. Birds swiping at The Australian as he rummaged eggs from a low-placed nest drew blood. With angry birds pecking at his eyes and ears, The Australian pulled the beetle shell to the edge, climbed inside, and leaned forward. Chalk white glowed orange in a strobing flame as The Australian faced the ground.

A free fall forward connected against the bird ramp’s surface with a crunch. Fire from the torch wavered to wind as The Australian’s boxcar beetle shell gained immense speed. Sounds of hard chitin sliding over dried woven nesting materials and the rush of wind were all The Australian heard. Still not even halfway down the slope, inertia caused The Australian’s stomach to drop as he clutched the upper edge. Splashing down into collected waste caught inside the radius, sounds of broken plant matter turned to a smooth glide. Almost like ice, the shell skimmed the surface with a hiss.

With the most extreme transition high above him, The Australian hit the flat straightaway at full tilt. After streaking over soaked ground litter, the sled began to slow. Skidding in an uncontrolled spin, the shell’s rail tipped, scooping the floor and spilling The Australian out in a roll. Covered head to toe in white splatter, a triumphant, adrenaline-fueled yell echoed through the hall. Birds took flight in a rush through the corridor, then turned a sharp corner. A light at the end of the tunnel pressed gently against a flat wall. Gathering what he could off the woven white floor, The Australian followed the birds to the end.

A ninety-degree turn opened into open air. Blinded by ultraviolet rays, The Australian squinted as his eyes adjusted. Stepping out of the dark fracture, a soft light of a cathedral canyon filtered into view. In disbelief at the drastic change to the lit chamber, The Australian walked forward, looking up at a vast crystalline vein running through the ceiling. Waves of light coursed across the skylight in segmented intervals, creating prismatic pulses rippling outward, then beginning again. Ferns, shrubs, and trees covered the ground, blocking a clear view of the landscape beyond.

The Australian’s first steps into the cathedral marked the start of a new life underground. Migrating into the unknown, The Australian had reached paradise beneath the earth.

Unlike the others, The Australian had breached a pathway midway through the northwest wall, then walked a diagonal southeastern line. After being captured by short dicks, The Australian was freed by a female tribe member, then walked straight across to the opposite wall. Along a southern course toward New Zealand, a communal melting-pot civilization led by reptilians dubbed “overlords” accepted The Australian into the city after he presented his diamonds. Living 52 years as a military advisor and strategist against the fly-people, The Australian had found his place. Without contact with the outside world or other survivors inside the cave, the story of William Cameron remained a mystery until 2025. Although few immediate family members remain, contact has been made, letting his story be known to living relatives. Now renowned as the world’s number one spelunker and a leading researcher on subterranean geology, the world will grow as a whole hearing The Australian’s accumulated geological research.

Uncharted territory—

Jelly-whisp. Raven. Isabelline. Southern merfolk.—

Fallen revenants of modern day, innovation from the past supplement intelligence among empathetic beings. Evidence of Spanish conquistadors, tribal leaders, pirates, and missionaries live on within the cathedral as knowledge passed down to later generations. The survivors, knowing the formidable challenge of navigating the Cathedral, all remained in close proximity to an equatorial divide. Dangers that lay beyond had been avoided, with each witness choosing community over exploration. Without the need to go further, the mystery of vast space was left open.

By using advanced technology to scan great distances in short periods of time, the underworld expanse has now been mapped. Artificial intelligence designed to flag biometric and techno-signatures of evolved life aboard aerial drones have reached the furthest corners of the caverns, relaying video imagery in real time.

Past the cathedral’s CNT-Quartz central cluster, warmth and light begin to decrease. Due to the tapering decline of the ceiling’s height, ultraviolet light only runs through a narrow crystalline vein. Classified as a dark zone, life has adapted to high amounts of luciferin energy. Cold light produced in biochemical reactions acts as a staple among intelligent beings. Adaptation as a direct result of the bioluminescent plains.

Like the sun to the earth, thriving ecosystems inside calderas with high UV exposure and high temperature grow sparse the further away from the central energy source. Inhospitable jungles, swamps, and prairies exist south of the cathedral’s equator; each section remains dominated by apex species. Other than a few outposts of migrating Sweethearts, only one known civilization was found within the southern territory.

One hundred miles past the Mecca’s central ceiling, a group of merfolk who migrated a hundred thousand years previously has built an empire within the primal zone. Anatomically identical to the northern merfolk, higher UV levels in photosynthetic organisms have caused the tribe to appear green rather than blue. The city’s fortress, protected by an outer wall, remains isolated by a pseudo rain forest caused by condensation collected on the ceiling above. Inhabited mainly by southern merfolk, inhabitants include nomadic travelers from various intelligent tribes who have reached the city walls by chance. High towers overlooking a clearing warn the city of veracious carnivores that stalk the tree line. A descendant of allosaurus poses a constant threat to the inner civilization. Hunting in a bird-like fashion, the predators wait in hiding inside the forest, never leaving sight of the city. Testing the structure for weak points, the carnivores approach in the dark hours nightly. A daily communal chore of rebuilding damaged corridors is followed by a nighttime counterattack of rocks and spears against attacking dinosaurs. Caught in a repeating cycle, very few survive life outside the walls.

Further south, air temperatures drop drastically as trees give way to tan grass prairies. A no-man’s land dominated by prehistoric big cats, the prairie remains a prey funnel for wandering animals. Crossing long ago, surviving groups of Sita and Sweethearts passed through into the dark zone, colonizing the bioluminescent plains of algae. Overtime, evolutionary changes caused by hybridization in two hominid subtypes passed genetic lineage of a third now extinct subgroup. Taller than their northern cousins, the “Isabelline” established an isolated society inside the safety of the dark zone. The name was given to the group by one Spanish explorer who managed to cross the length of the cathedral. By introducing modern “Y” chromosomes to the tribe over 500 years, dominant genetic traits passed down from the Spaniard. Once strictly blond, evolved self-reproducing female hermaphrodite hominid, have now become genetic carriers producing black-haired and blue-eyed XY-XX genders. A community of male and female Isabelline live at a threshold entrance of the dark zone. Unable to survive in colder sections beyond, the tribe stands as a view into evolutionary genetics among humans.

Passing through the cathedral’s dark zone, within only a twenty-mile gap, higher levels of methane gas prevent almost all mammal habitation. Acting as the cathedral’s twilight zone, two intelligent non-mammal inhabitants remain. Invertebrates capable of complex emotions, thought processes, and sociological structure, a highly evolved descendant of siphonophores now possess intelligence. A combination of low oxygen and methane-filled organs allows for the species to float above the ground weightlessly. First to be found, a bioluminescent tribe of cloaked jellyfish-like entities have been given the name “Raven,” as a visual parallel to a popular superhero. Glowing in radiant illumination, the tribe fabricates coveralls out of digested alginate to prevent being spotted by a larger, but lesser evolved siphonophore. Social dynamics involve drifting over algae blooms for nutrient-rich building materials to make teepee-cone living structures. By pressing extending zooids along surfaces, Ravens pull themselves around as a single reactive colony. Without a definitive lifespan apart from predation, Ravens are capable of living indefinitely.

Living two miles away, a second intelligent siphonophore was found. Walled off by invisible atmospheric gases, a colony named Jelly-whisp for their pink translucent balloon form remain locked into small quadrants which are tended like corals for small lesser evolved siphonophores. The Jelly-whisp use their flock as harvesting carriers to process nutritional algae supplies. In simple terms, without zooids capable of chewing alginate cellulose, the Jelly-whisp rely on the Jelly-cows to chew for them. In return, the Jelly-whisp disperse phosphorous water and digested nitrogen to fertilize new algae blooms. Capable of living millions of years, the Jelly-whisp remain continuously repeating the same cycle. The Jelly-whisp dip a zooid extension in a nearby pool of water, spreading over algae, then pet the Jelly-cows to collect digestible nutrients. Possessing extreme hive-like intelligence and vast electrosensory capabilities, within five minutes of contact the Jelly-whisp fully understood the English language.