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Vol.3 Chap.55 A surprise welcome

***** Vol.3 Chap.55 A surprise welcome *****

As soon as the stone slab stopped moving, he shined the flashlight into the hole and discovered that there were stairs leading down. The passageway was very narrow, barely enough for one person to go down. He gathered all his stuff together and put them in his backpack. He carefully scanned over the whole cavern to make sure that he did not leave any artifacts behind. Of course, he took the plastic key with him also, though he did not know why. He just did not want to leave anything behind.

It was difficult to squeeze himself down the narrow passageway. It took some maneuvering and adjusting. He finally held his backpack with one hand and the flashlight with the other so that he could lowered himself down the stairs.

He did not know where the stairs would take him. It really did not matter. Somehow, he knew that this was what he was supposed to do. So, one step at a time, he descended the stairs. As soon as his head cleared the ground level, the stone slab closed on its own silently and quickly.

Shining the light around the edge, he saw no lever or buttons or opening mechanism. He was trapped again. He pushed, but knew that was in vain. If he could not lift the stone slab topside, there was no way he was going to raise the stone slab from underneath.

The only way was down.

With that thought, he picked up his pace and started his descent again, not knowing how far he had to go and what was waiting for him below. He did not have to go far. After about three flights of stairs, the stairs ended in a small room.

The room was empty with no windows and no doors. The only way into the room was through this set of stairs. The only way out of the room was also through the same set of stairs.

The other end of the stairs was a dead end. He knew; he came from there. Did he walk into a trap? Was this his prison? The mural clearly depicts creatures coming out of the stone. But the stairs brought him to a dead end.

Instinctively, he fumbled for a light switch but found none. But the walls were soft to the touch. He shone the light on the walls. It was smooth. He directed his flashlight all around the room, but found no distinctive features anywhere. The ceiling, the floor, the four walls all seemed to be made of the same material. The cube, as he called it, was perfect in every dimension.

He tried to examine the edge where the walls joined, but there was no visible seam. As he ran his finger down the edge, he sensed the same soft touch. It almost seemed as if the whole cube was cut out from an enormous block of some solid material. But he knew of no technology that could make such sharp angles so flawlessly. What was surprising was that the wall was soft to the touch.

When he was fumbling for the light switch, the wall appeared to give a little; as if the surface was padded by a soft material. When he removed his hand, there was a faint impression of his hand left on the wall. But his imprint did not last long. Even as he stared at his imprint, the impression smeared. Soon the impression disappeared, and the wall became flat and featureless as before.

His flashlight flickered, and the light became very dim. He knew he had little time left to explore the room. His battery was running dangerously low. He switched the flashlight off so that he could extend the battery life as much as possible. He sat down on the floor and let his eyes adjust to the darkness.

That was wishful thinking, actually. He knew he was in a sealed room with no windows and no artificial lighting. Instinctively, he squinted his eyes. Much to his surprise, he seemed to make out the outline of the room. Without thinking, he held out his hand and saw his fingers. He looked at his left hand. Yes, he could see his five fingers. He looked at his right hand; and he could see his five fingers as well. Shocked, he looked up and saw the room clearly without his flashlight.

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He walked around the room with both hands on the wall, hoping that the sense of touch would reveal what the sense of sight could not. Methodically, he searched the room with his hands. At times, he crawled on all fours to search the floor. He could not really search the ceiling, though he tried. He would jump up, trying in vain to touch the ceiling. After several unsuccessful attempts, he abandoned the idea.

His search ended in vain. Not having anything else to do, he thought he would try shouting.

“Hello!” He shouted on top of his lungs.

“Hello!” He repeated.

There were no echoes. The sound appeared to be absorbed by the wall. He went to the stairs and shouted up the stairs. But again, no echoes returned. He put his ear next to the wall and listened intently.

Nothing.

He tried to be as quiet as possible and even held his breath while listening.

Nothing.

There was no sound coming in or going out.

In desperation, he stuck out his tongue. Of course, he tasted no sensation as well. He sensed nothing with all five senses.

He turned around again. The opening through the stairs that he walked through into the room had disappeared. There was no more opening there, rather, where the opening was, now it was just a plain wall.

He drew a deep breath. The air was sterile. But then he realized there was air. The air must come from somewhere. Undaunted, he searched high and low for the source of air, but found no outlets for the air, yet the air never got stale.

Strange.

He drew another deep breath and froze in his tracks. He smelled the sweetness of fresh fruits. Instinctively, he swung around and looked in the direction where his nose led him. Right in front of him on the wall, there was a ledge protruding out from the wall. He knew it was a smooth wall just a moment ago.

Now there was a small ledge holding a basket of fresh fruits and a jar of fresh goat's milk. A simple cup sat next to the jar. At the back of the fruit basket was a stone tablet inscribed with the following writing:

“Welcome, Dr. Frank Abdulcizi. Please enjoy the refreshment.”

Well, Frank was dumbfounded. Though he was apprehensive, his stomach was also growling. Since he had exhausted all his food rations, this provision was a welcomed sight.

Was this his prison, and this was to be his last meal?

It did not matter whether or not the food was edible. It did not matter whether or not the fruits were poisoned. There was no reason to worry about this or to analyze how the food got here.

He was hungry, and he was going to eat what was provided.

The fruit basket was filled with all kinds of local fruits: dates, olives, pomegranates, etc. He loved the dates, and he soon finished all the dates. Next, he tore open a pomegranate and began to suck on the juicy meat. The meat was bright red and sweet. It almost seemed as if the fruit was just harvested from the tree a few minutes ago. Likewise, the goat's milk was fresh and warm. He promptly finished half a jug of milk.

Now that his hunger had subsided, he had a little time to consider the situation. The sudden appearance of the food was indeed a wonder. A straight wall being deformed to make a ledge was another engineering wonder. The inscription on the stone tablet with his name etched in stone was a huge mystery.

But the most mysterious question was: Who was behind all this? He immediately ruled out any human maneuvering. No one knew he was here. It appeared that no one had cracked the puzzle of the rock cap above him. Yet the inscription was very specific, since it bore his name. The material in the room was like nothing he knew before.

In no time at all, he deduced that this must be an encounter with someone or something other than his fellow human beings. But so far, his host was well hidden and had not been revealed to him. There was nothing to do but to wait.

He did not have long to wait. It happened right in front of his eyes. It happened so rapidly that he did not trust his own eyes. First, there was a hairline crack on the wall. Then the crack widened to form a door. Then the details of the door, such as hinges and doorknobs, were formed. Naturally, he went up to the door to examine this new formation on the wall. He was not sure if it was really a working door or if it was a model of a door. Then he heard it loud and clear. There was a knock on the door.

He knew the answer must be on the other side. The wait was over. Without hesitation, he opened the door.

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