A Bloody Melody (Discontinued)

Chapter Sixteen

A Bloody Melody

Chapter Sixteen

The information overload that came after I asked him that was astounding. I was amazed that he managed to find out about their history from the drawings on the walls. I was amazed that there was once other life on this planet. Period. 

He started to tell me the tale that he had come up with, “They’ve lived here for a long, long time, thousands of years before the first human ever set foot on this soil, they were here. They had formed these tunnels all over the place that where filled half way with a constant stream of water. You can see the marking that it left behind.” He pointed to a line that went around the entire room. “In some places it was deeper, in some shallow. They lived in the water but needed air to live… They were a bit like mermaids minus the tails. I don’t know what language they spoke, or if they even spoke at all. It certainly wouldn’t be English, though. I don’t even know if you pronounce it ‘Voda.’ It’s not our alphabet, it just resembles it vaguely. Still… wouldn’t that be amazing? If they still lived here? An actual alien race, it existed; someone completely different to humans.”

He had walked over to the other side of the room, lost in the words that tumbled out of his mouth. I trailed behind and jumped back when he dropped to the ground suddenly. He plonked his bottom on the floor, tracing the drawing in front of him. I crouched down next to him, glancing at the drawing of a human like creature, before turning to study his face.

He didn’t notice me. He just carried on speaking, that spark in his eyes brighter than ever. “These drawings, they tell the history of them. Someone spent their life drawing everything on these walls, and writing. I tried to read it but well, I don’t speak their language. The drawings were easier. You can see that lived all lived together. No houses here. I guess it wasn’t that bad. They seem quite peaceful. They just picked someone to grow old with and lived out their lives. And if I’m getting it right, there’s only ever been one war in their history, but I couldn’t tell what it was about, or how it ended, if it ended.”

He paused and moved his hand towards me, showing more engravings. “This story, this one is my favourite.”

I looked at it. It was hard to make anything out really. I wasn’t that good at interpreting drawings. Art had never been a subject I had been interested in until it crossed paths with science. “What is it?”

“The first human ever born on Deacon.”

My head snapped towards him. “What? But I thought you said they died out thousands of years ago.”

He shook his head, turning to me with a smile. “No, I said they were born here thousands of years ago. I don’t know what happened to them. The drawings were too eroded, or maybe I just haven’t found them… yet. I’m not a scientist, I have no idea how long ago they lived here, hell, they might still be alive, somewhere else. I just assumed, since they’re not here.”

“Wow.” My eyes grew big at the possibility of a new race here, on the same planet as me. If we could get the chance to talk to them, to learn from them, it would be the experience of a lifetime. A whole new race! I never thought it possible. I don’t know why I was so vain. Why on earth would humans be the only intelligent beings out there? Of course there would be others.

I wondered what they looked like. Did they resemble us? From the drawings I could tell the basic shape was there, but what else? My mind churned with the possibilities. “Tate, do you know what this means?” I jumped up and turned around, the biggest smile on my face. “What if we found them? What if we could meet them? Wouldn’t that be the best?”

He just laughed at me, standing up. “I seriously doubt that we’d be able to find them. We can’t exactly leave Deacon B to go on a search. It’d be a suicide mission. I’ve never been more than 60 clicks away.”