4 The Mysterious Cave

The silence suggested that the place was safe and empty, but the fire indicated that there was a presence in the cave. Since his father was miles away, the only possibility was that the cave was occupied by primitive men. Robin wondered whether they would be coming back, since they left the fire and some primitive tools.

Robin recognized some of the tools, he had seen them in the books before. Flint tools, quartz axes and spears proved that they were indeed made by primitive men. Robin thought of leaving the cave, fearing that they would return, when his suddenly Commune beeped.

'Any updates?' A rough voice asked.

'I am in a cave.' Robin stated. 'It's empty, but there's fire lit inside and some primitive tools were left behind. There is a possibility that they might come back though.'

'Good!' Kael exclaimed. 'Finally, you found a cave, that's great news. Nothing to worry about those tools. Even if they come back, they won't be able to touch your Shield Dome, and you have your weapons too. Be brave, kid.'

Robin wanted to quickly power on his shield dome to protect himself, when he noticed something on the cave walls. There were many paintings. He saw something that resembled a bull, and another that had a man-like figure with a goat's head. He inferred that these were some sort of ancient animistic or shamanic beliefs. 'It's strange that man believed in these things when they don't know much about the building blocks of the world that they live in, but it's even stranger that after thousands of years, mankind still resorted to beliefs to explain things. Different forms, but same kind of faith, nevertheless. Perhaps out of fear.' Robin thought to himself.

The paintings were roughly scratched on the walls by sharp-edged tools. In modern times, these would be dismissed as a child's doodles, but Robin admired the imaginations of these men who lived at a time where there were no proper clothes. Amongst the paintings, Robin was intrigued by an unusual pattern on the wall at the end of the cave. As he went closer, he was stunned.

He inspected it at various angles and his view changed from being impressed to absolute shock. The more he looked at it, the more mysterious it seemed. He felt that something wasn't right, and he picked up his Commune.

'General?'

'Yea kid? Any updates?'

'Not sure how important this is…but I noticed something. There are many paintings on the cave walls. You know, those scribbles of animals and such, but there is one pattern here that seemed rather out of place. I see a symmetrical pattern that's like engraved on the wall. It is a huge perfect square, and within it, a perfect circle, and within that circle, a perfect triangle. What I meant by perfect is that the lines of the shapes are accurately straight. How can these primitive people possibly create this pattern with such precision? Not only that, but there is a strange symbol inside the triangle, like something written in an undeciphered language. I don't think stone age people have such advanced capability to create patterns in perfect geometry.'

'Kid,' Kael grumbled. 'Is this the update?'

'Yeah, I mean, what if this pattern wasn't made by those prehistoric men?' Robin implied. 'Who could have made such perfect patterns? What I thought was a sweet, quiet spot to sleep now seemed creepy. Like a deep, tranquil lake where you do not know what lies beneath the surface. Should I leave? Like back to the forest or something?'

'No. Sleep in the cave.' Kael dictated. 'Kid, I understand that the mission didn't begin as smoothly as we wanted it to, but you gotta stop this overthinking. You are a scientist. Now, use your Shield Dome and get some rest. That pattern might belong to a primitive religion. Maybe these guys were smarter than we thought. All I could say, is that people were desperate for help from another higher being since ages ago. Perhaps it gives them hope. Now, you don't lose your hope thinking about all this too much.'

Robin powered the Shield Dome. Once he was fully protected beneath the dome, he placed his backpack in front of him and laid on the cave floor. His gun, pills, Commune, and the flashlight were still in the jacket's pockets. His mind was a chaotic mess. Thoughts of the pattern, John, and his father were appearing in a flash. The only way for him to feel better about John's death is to believe in afterlife, but he couldn't believe because such a thought never crossed his mind before. He wondered whether faith could have made a difference, giving him hope to stay strong in difficult times, as he was an Unbeliever throughout his life. But no, how could he possibly have faith in something which he doesn't even know? Despite the havoc in his mind, his tired body soon swayed him into a slumber.

***

As he was in a deep sleep, he felt a weird sensation of being observed. Slowly and reluctantly, he opened his eyes, and saw a pair of eyes staring back at him. His mind didn't register what it was at that moment, and he slowly closed his eyes back, when his brain suddenly realized something was amiss. Almost in a reflex, he rose from his slumber with his eyes wide opened. His heart was pounding rapidly as he strained to search for any unexpected presence. The fire in the cave was put off, he was staring into utter darkness. No one was seen. He took out his gun and waited for an ambush as he made sure he was fully covered by the Shield Dome. Nothing happened. Could it be just a nightmare?

Robin tried to recall what he has seen. The more he thought about it, the more he questioned the realness of his observation. Those pair of eyes seemed so real, he could remember how it looked like. Yet, it didn't look human. Could it be an animal? But there were no growls and no footsteps heard. He picked his Commune, but stopped himself from contacting Kael. He convinced himself that it was just another nightmare and closed his eyes. As time went by, his heart kept beating fast and his mind remained awake.

***

The sky softened to a blue hue as soft warm rays brightened the cave. The sounds of nature welcomed the new day as the birds chirped and sang their melodies, until they were rudely disturbed by the Commune's beeping. Robin picked it up and greeted Kael.

'Morning, general.'

'Oh, it's morning over there? Then get going, kid. Your father must be waiting for you.'

'Err, yea sure, general.' Robin hesitated for a moment. He wanted to tell Kael about the pair of eyes, but he couldn't bring the courage to do so. He decided to get going with his journey first.

He checked his pockets. His gun, pills and flashlight were still there. He got ready to leave when he discovered that something was awry. He stood still, horrified. His backpack was missing.