Cave trip
I have seen videos of huge crystals in deep caves. I have always wanted to explore a cave like that. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. I opened my eyes, and I was at the entrance to a huge cave. There was a tent system of research tents and researchers. I was dressed like a team of people getting ready to go into the cave.
One of them told me that I needed three tanks for air and the warm jumpsuit. The temperatures on a nearby monitor were showing -10 degrees Fahrenheit inside the cave. So I found the last jumpsuit and put it on. We clipped several thick ropes to each other and the walls of the cave. I was handed a helmet with a bright fixed light on the front.
I could feel how cold the cave was as we went deeper into the darkness. Then we use our sensors and spotlights to point the way. At the base of the first huge crystal form were different monitors from the research team on the surface. I examined the crystal, possibly a cousin to quartz. The temperature was getting colder as we went deeper, passing more crystal towers. One of my team members handed me a small sample of the crystals.
I used a flashlight, and I was able to confirm that it was in the quartz family. As I put the sample in my backpack, I hear something crash up ahead. Then I could hear my team go into panic, so I ran up to where they were. Once there, one of my team members was crushed by a fallen crystal. This cut off our first two members from the rest of us. There was only one way in and out without climbing over huge, sharp crystals.
I had a map of the cave in my bag, so I double checked where we were. My team was able to radio to the surface about what happened. The surface wanted us out since we were almost out of time. The best option would be to use drones to get the other members out. The body belongs to the cave now; that tower weighs 30 to 50 tons. None of us liked this idea, but it was the best idea.
Our team members would stay in contact with the surface. We got back up there in record time. I was able to help add cameras to the drones before sending them into the cave. They passed by the monitors, but they were not working. Each screen was broken and static, like something had attacked each camera we had set up before. The crystal had huge claw marks on it, like a massive lion or bear had left a mark.
The drones continued to where we left off, but nothing was there. The body and the crystal tower were gone, like nothing had happened. The surface was talking to the members, and they were stuck on the other side. So we pulled the drones out and added sensors for heat and body temperature. We were able to see the body but not the other team members. So we connected to the radio in use.
The members had gone deeper to look for a way out. So we got around the blockage and followed the visible tail of flares. Then the tail just ended at random, like it then disappeared. None of us liked this, so we asked if we could break the blockage and go back down there. Some agreed, but the majority thought it would cause a collapse of the whole cave system. So I pulled off the sensors and put a flashlight and a camera on my drone.
I was able to find the same marks, so this was real. I followed the path carefully and with my eyes wide open for anything. I was able to see the fallen tower and body. Something enormous was snacking on one of the arms of the body. I quietly radioed this to the team and researchers above. Letting them see what I was seeing on the camera feed.
The bodies of the two other members were on the other side. Each body was in chunks as if they were torn apart. I was scared or worried, I know that we had to seal this cave. So using the drones, we loaded TNT near the first crystal and set it off. I was concerned that there might be another way this creature could go. But once on the surface, I was exhausted and needed to lie down. Once I opened my eyes again, I was back in reality.
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