Anthony Scherzenne wiped his furrowed brow with his silk handkerchief. It had been a long day at the site, and he needed to rest, but his hours weren't up yet. Grabbing his heavy iron shovel, he dug into the soft ground, hitting something hard on the way. Confused, he pulled his shovel out of the dirt, and bent down on his hands and knees to get a closer look.

After digging by hand for a few long minutes, he unearthed a large futuristic looking box. It was all silver, an indescribable lock keeping whatever was inside, safe. With all his strength, he hauled it out of the ground, and examined it closely.

"What is this thing?" he thought aloud. Everyone else was gone for the day, and it was just him. Curious, he grabbed his shovel that was lodged in the ground, and slammed the iron end against the lock a couple of times. With a loud crack, the lock opened. Sneaking his fingers through the edge of the lid, Anthony lifted it up.

Inside, a small pod glowed brightly. Getting bad vibes, Anthony backed away, not wanting to disturb whatever was inside.

"Pop!" The glowing pod inside burst in a cloud of gold. Wanting to get a closer look, Anthony walked up to the lid. Just as he was about to look inside, a loud buzzing noise sounded, and a large creature flew out, straight at the man. It had the build of a mosquito, but the size of a large dog, and a stinger like a scorpion. Anthony ran.

Anthony quickly found he had nowhere to run. He ran to the edge of the pit, before realising his radio was shot and he wouldn't have been able to yell for Bobby and the guys above to lower the ladder fast enough. He had insisted on staying half-an-hour late, he needed the money for Cindy, and the baby.

Oh God, Cindy.

Anthony ran in a circle, duping the creature with wings that buzzed like a chainsaw. The box lay cracked open metres away, half-buried still, and Anthony had an idea. As fast as he could muster, arms screaming, head sweating, he grabbed the box and slipped into the hole left behind. The soft ground gave way.

It was deeper than he expected.

He didn't know for how long he was falling, but he knew that at the very least, he hadn't broken anything on the way down. When he landed, he expected it to be dark. He was very wrong; he had landed on something feather-soft and damp. As he took his arms off his face, he was dazzled. The cavern around him glowed with a pale turquoise shimmer, and crystalline veins ran through the stone like frozen lightning. Anthony pushed himself upright, brushing moss from his arms, sweat springing up on his skin in the humidity. He turned slowly, taking in the impossible sight: intricate carved stone structures rose from the cavern floor, engraved pillars, archways, and bridges that connected platforms suspended over water.

“Jesus…” he whispered. “This is… this is a city.”

He took a cautious step forward, the moss squishing under his boots. Above him, faint echoes drifted down the shaft he’d fallen through. It took him a moment, but finally he registered the distant, angry buzz of wings. The creature was still up there, searching. He didn’t have the luxury of climbing back. Anthony moved toward the nearest structure, a towering archway made of smooth, cool stone. He crouched, running his fingers along the grooves.

A soft hum vibrated beneath his palm. Anthony jerked his hand back. The symbols around the circle lit up, one by one, like a sequence being activated.

“Oh no. No, no, no—”

The center of the platform opened.