Alligator Eyes

Chapter 7

They don't leave at sunrise because Jinyoung himself doesn't wake and nobody else is conscious at the time. They sleep easily until a little before noon and then wake up in a panic, hurrying to ready so that they don't lose the entire day. While Jaebum and Yugyeom break down their shelter and pack up the tarps, BamBam goes out to find them something to eat and Mark builds a fire, brewing káva for everyone to get them going.

It turns out to be a mistake, because it's only grown in Reopa and there are no exports of it, none of them have ever had it and the effects are intense. Mark struggles to keep up with them as they hike through the jungle, fully energized.

It's somewhat amusing to watch Jaebum and Jackson sign to each other at such a speed and Yugyeom and Youngjae talk nonstop about every detail they notice in the jungle. Jinyoung and BamBam are on high alert, weapons drawn. Their paranoia showing itself.

Mark just feels awake, trailing behind them, he tries to get them to stop at certain points but they aren't paying him any attention. He offers them water and they ignore him, food and they ignore him. It goes on for hours, and Mark is starting to worry about their health. They need to stop and make camp before all six of them collapse and Mark is left to do everything. He is so lost in thought about how he's going to get them to stop, that he doesn't notice when they do, crashing right into BamBam.

All six of them are staring up at a giant stone wall with Rigoan written all over it. Old Rigoan. As a member of the chiefs family, he is well versed in it, but this is on another level. He walks up to the wall and runs his hand down one long carving of 'trespasser'.

Without waiting for them, he walks along the wall reading from trespasser on until he comes to what looks like two large doors. They would be impossible to open alone, in fact Mark is doubting they can open them even with the seven of them. He puts his hand against the door confirming that it's solid rock.

"Mark, what does all this say?" Jinyoung asks.

"It's a warning to trespassers, but also it's a welcoming? The language is tricky, everyone of these symbols are old and have more than one meaning, now we have symbols that divide most of them, but this was built before that"

"Does it say how to open the door?"

"No... but," Mark backs up until he hits the tree line, looking up at the top of the wall. The carvings here are deeper than elsewhere. Mark gets a running start, leaping onto the lowest one, several feet above his head. He almost doesn't make it, only successfully grabbing it with one hand. Luckily he's strong enough to hold himself and swing so he can grab on with his other hand and pull up until he can get a foot holding.

"Please be careful!" BamBam calls up at him.

It's inconvenient to climb, the spaces between the holds are taller that his own height so he is always extending himself. And to get on top of the wall, he has to leap, taking his chances with falling to the ground and breaking something if he doesn't just die.

Below him, the others are silent, and Mark hopes they haven't left, or found some other way to get through this wall and are waiting to laugh at him. He takes a deep breath and jumps the final time, barely grabbing hold of the ledge, he hoists himself, straddling the wall until he can stand up.

"You did it!" BamBam yells, jumping up and down. "Now please tell me we don't have to do that!"

"Ummm, give me minute!" Looking over the other side yields nothing, not even lettering that he could climb down.

On opposite sides of the gate stand two towers. He climbs up the closest one, but it looks likes it had just been a guard tower and he has no idea how his ancestors would have gotten up here. Actually nothing is inside the guard tower either, no way of opening the doors and checking the other proves useless.