A Nameless City (H.P. Lovecraft Tribute)

The Temple- I

Johanson soon found that this temple was larger than the others that the men had searched. He could stand up after he cleared the doorway, although the altars and such were still very short. He made his way to a tunnel at the end of the large, regularly spaced chamber. There was a sharp flight of steps, worn down greatly, but his boots and gloves found good grip. He descended the steps, for what seemed like an endless amount of times. He knew the other soldiers he had brought were whispering, and like him, all had a cold stone of fear growing inside them. Their flashlights couldn't reach down to the end of the passage, until it began to level out. 

They had to wriggle through feet first, until the chamber got higher. They could kneel, and shuffled forward slowly. Their lights illuminated the area, and all men cried out in fright. The monstrosities they saw were horrific. They were the size of short, squat men. Their body lines were like those of a crocodile, and covered in jewels, jewelry, and precious metals. They had thin, claw-like fingers on the end of their limbs. They also had alligator jaws, and high sloping forheads, yet they lacked a nose, and many facial features. There is no earthly creature remotely comparable.

Johanson, chuckled at his own fright, although the statues looked incredibly lifelike, and almost mummified. He continued to crawl forward, toward a light at the end of the tunnel. He chuckled, but he couldn't help but feel shivers going up and down his spine.

"Sir, can we get out of here? We've been gone hours, and this place gives me the willies." Jackson Alby, a rifleman, said.

"You silly American. This just proves that my Prussian Kulture has raised me with a stronger mind than you." Tobias Gunther, the machine gunner, a large German, said, laughing.

"Let's see what that 'blood and steel' Kulture got you. An ass whooping, twice."

"Shut up, dummkopf." The soldiers kept crawling forward, whispering to each other, until they saw something far weirder than the statues and idols they had seen.

Wall frescoes showed the birth of a great race, with shining cities and lots of maritime trade. The strange thing, instead of humans, the reptilian idols were depicted in all the art. The art was all scaled to the size of the creatures, and as Johanson thought about, the actual architecture of the city was also built to the same standard.

The frescoes continued, showing the peak of this civilization. Johanson shook his head, unable to understand the devotion to these idolic gods. He kept crawling, watching as the reptiles slowly lost their grandeur, as the sea receded, and land "rose" from the sea. They were nearing the end of the tunnel. Johanson saw something that was far more disturbing.

Amongst the final panels, he saw a depiction of an early human, not even out of the stone age, begin torn apart by a number of these reptillians. He thought to himself,

How could people make this? This is damn caveman, how the hell did they even know what one of those was? And why are these idols tearing him apart?

He continued crawling, and saw that the final picture showed the reptiles mummifying each other, in catacombs like the ones they were in. He kept crawling, and spoke low, calling out for his squad to check in. He knew it was foolish, but also thought it would be a good idea to make sure nobody was stuck.

Everybody sounded off, except one.

"Private Alby? Jackson? Where are you man? Don't you be messing with me, or it'll be half rations for weeks." No answer. Johanson felt true terror begin to build, threatening to spill out. He choked it down, when he heard a slithering sound. He remembered the sound quite well, because he had a snake as a young boy.

"Gott in himmel! Sir, there is something else in here with us!" Mutters from the group mingle with a low growl.

"Everybody, move your asses! Gunther, suppress fire back the way we came. You're last in line. Everybody else, we have to move!"