None of us knew what had happened to the Martians who had made the hall, presumably many years ago- for all we knew, they could still be somewhere in these tunnels. Dr. Snively didn't think that likely.

"We've confirmed time and time again that there was no organic life on Mars prior to our terraforming it for human settlement," he whispered. The device in his hands was blinking. "But if we recognize these metal guards- the presumed dragons or forms that have been spotted- as a lifeform, they could be considered the new Martians of the planet." He pointed at the right tunnel ahead. "My sensors detect a strong frequency that way."

"The writing suggested as much too," Detective LaLouf quietly added, "it said something about the right being where the metal guards sleep."

"So then perhaps these dragons- if metal and machine- have a programmed routine?" mused Dr. Snively, "or they're just programmed to be creatures of habit. In any case, the right tunnel is picking up more activity than the left."

"I still think there's another explanation for all this," grumbled Laurence, "old painting with French hardly proves the existence of dragons."

"Darling," Detective LaLouf remarked, turning to her husband, "we get it. You're the stock cynic character. But the rest of us are beyond doubt. You can keep your non-believer remarks to yourself."

"What's in the left tunnel?" asked Cleetus, "I mean, if we're certain the dragon is to the right, what's in the left that it doesn't care about?"

Dr. Snively moved his device that way and fiddled with it for a bit. "No, not picking up anything unusual or of note there," he whispered. "All signs indicate what we're looking for is to the right."

I swallowed hard. "Okay, so if we've all but confirmed the dragon is to the right, what are we hoping to accomplish by seeing it? Shouldn't the next step be avoiding it or trapping it down here so it can't come back and burn more of us?"

"Cole," sighed Snively, "we've discussed, this is a scientific mission."

"Cole's right, though," nodded LaLouf, "I understand that we're going to plant the equipment in there, but with the end goal of containing this thing so that it isn't a threat anymore, correct?"

"-IF anything is even in there," added Laurence, and caught a dirty glance from the detective. "Sorry. I'll be quiet."

Snively, however, did not seem to agree. "Well, I think it's too early to talk of containing or even destroying this dragon," he answered, "I agree we need to study it, but this is its planet. Hardly our place to come in and destroy a creature that's only doing what it's been programmed to do as a 'guard'."

"How long is long enough to study it, though?" the detective pressed.

"Typically research takes months, if not years."

"...in one day it's already killed around forty of the three thousand remaining humans in existence," LaLouf whispered fiercely, "we can't wait months or years if that's the rate at which it's killing!"

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"We don't know that it was all one dragon," countered Snively, "and we don't know why they've started to kill. There's much to learn still."

Suddenly, from the right tunnel, came an echoing groan, not unlike the creak of an old metal building rocking in the wind. We all covered our mouths and foolishly pointed our flashlights in the direction of the tunnel. There was nothing but darkness to be seen. Then, there was rumble, as if something large was moving or approaching.

I was certain we were about to be burned to death. I had never imagined I'd die in an ancient underground Martian hallway with French writing.

But before I knew what was happening, I found myself being shoved forward. We all were, as if we were being herded like sheep. Our shepard, however, was none other than Cleetus-his bodyguard instincts must have kicked in as he rushed to save us all. He quickly pushed us all forward until we were now in the doorway of the left side tunnel.

"Turn off your lights!" he firmly instructed. We all did just that, not sure what to make of the situation. The rumbling sound was growing louder and louder.

As the last flashlight went out, we heard it- a metallic roar not unlike the noise I remembered Godzilla making in the old movies of my youth. Though it was dark, we could make out motion- a large form, seemingly on all fours, entered the hall where we had stood moments before. As our eyes adjusted, I could make out a bit more about the creature- it had the shape like the creature on the wall paintings, though its sizable wings and boxy body were far more intimidating than the artist's depiction. It seemed to be looking around the room, though its gaze- a pair of bright red eyes that I had not noticed when I saw one in the darkness the night before- never fell in our direction in the left tunnel. Perhaps it had assumed intruders would not have made it that far yet.

We all stood still, not knowing what to do or exactly what the creature was capable of. Then, as swiftly as it had emerged, it seemingly turned around and loudly retreated back into the right tunnel. Even though it sounded further and further away, we all continued to stand there for a few minutes in total silence.

The scent of ammonia filled the air. Incidentally, someone had peed themselves in fear; it wasn't me, but I certainly couldn't see who it was in the dark.

After a few more moments, Cleetus clicked back on his flashlight, shining it into his face and making a "shh" motion with his finger. He then shone his flashlight at Dr. Snively, and pointed to the device in the doctor's hands. He pointed to the right- the direction of the tunnel where the creature had just returned- and made a thumbs down motion. He then pointed to the tunnel before us- the left tunnel- and made a thumbs up motion, though shrugged as he did so.

Snively, pondering a moment Cleetus's behavior, looked at the device for readings. But he too then gave a thumbs up. As an observer, I assume that meant there was no immediate threat in the left tunnel where we stood.

Truthfully, I hadn't wanted to be down there to begin with and my vote would've been to get the fuck out and bomb the place so the dragon could never see the light of day again. But we were there now and the creature obviously was listening for us; leaving would be a far more difficult task, at least the way we came in. Plus, in order to bomb the dragon we would need explosives- where would we find those? The first mention of such things since my time on Mars had been today in hearing that amateurs were using some at the Vice Villa construction...and that site was all but non-existent now.

Cleetus again pointed the flashlight to himself. He pointed his finger in a "move forward" direction to indicate he thought we should go deeper into the left tunnel. I did not like that idea. We had no idea what was ahead. Maybe not a dragon, but maybe something worse. But we were being quiet, so I couldn't voice my concerns without the threat of danger returning. Everyone else nodded slowly to Cleetus's direction and slowly began to move ahead, their flashlights now on to see what laid in the path before us.

I hesistently started to move too, reticently walking into the unknown. As I proceeded my light caught the shimmer of liquid on the ground. It was a fresh puddle of urine where Laurence had been previously standing. Mystery solved- he was our pants-wetter.