After a few hours of wandering through the jungle, Kong lead Hana and the others to the place he wanted to show them. The area was open, with little to no vegetation surrounding it. The ground was dry and cracked. In the middle of the area was a large chasm in the earth. Hana hesitated as she approached. She recognized this place.
"Kong, isn't this the place those Skull Crawlers come out of?" She asked.
She wasn't wrong. Years ago, when Kong had met Hana, Skull Crawlers began to emerge from the hole and attack the island. They were terrifying creatures with pale grey bodies and exposed skulls, along with long claws and glowing eyes. While their exact origin was unknown, most islanders believed they were born from the darkness in the heart of the island. Why Kong had brought them to this place, Hana had no idea.
"It's been a long time since the last Skull Crawler was seen coming out of it." Kong explained. "It should be perfectly safe... well, as safe as anything on this island is."
The explorers still seemed hesitant. Kong decided to demonstrate the safety of the chasm by jumping into it himself. He landed safely on the ground and looked up at the worried glances staring down at him.
"See? Perfectly safe." He called back up. Hana shrugged and began setting up the climbing equipment. After a few minutes, ropes descended down into the massive chasm, and the explorers quickly slid down on them. Kong lit a torch using a piece of flint and lead the way through the catacombs below the ground. A few of the explorers activated their night-vision goggles to look around as well. While they expected to see dirt-covered rock surrounding them, they actually saw carvings and patterns in the walls. The carvings clearly represented animals, creatures, and even people.
"Any idea what these things mean?" Hana asked.
"No... I've never seen anything like these." Kong said. "I had no idea Skull Crawlers would be capable of something like this."
"Unless these weren't made by Skull Crawlers." Hana muttered. "It almost looks like a prophecy of some kind."
As they continued to walk through the cave, they saw many more intricate carvings in the walls. One looked a figure with a blade in his hand, standing next to some sort of dinosaur or monster. Another looked like another figure wearing armour, standing next to what appeared to be a three headed dragon. Kong had no idea what these carvings mean, but they seemed familiar in some way.
"These carvings will be more than enough for the museum." Hana said, taking a picture of one of the walls with her high-quality camera. "But I have a feeling we're gonna find something even better."
Eventually, they reached what appeared to be the end of the tunnel. While Kong and the explorers initially suspected that they wouldn't find anything more, they actually did find something. There were holes all over the walls. They appeared to be approximately human sized, as if someone had dug them out. It didn't take them that long to figure out what they were. They were tunnels that the Skull Crawlers had dug out.
"This must be where the Skull Crawlers are created." Kong said. The explorers began shining flashlights down the holes.
"These tunnels go on for miles!" One explorer stated. "It looks like they go deep into the earth."
"And what's this thing?" Another explorer asked. They were referring to a strange object half-buried in the ground. It appeared to be some sort of coffin, but despite its age, there appeared to be no way of opening it.
"Any idea what that is?" Hana asked.
"I have no idea." Kong said. He peered in closer. "It has markings on it. They look like words, but they're in some language I don't understand."
He ran his fingers across the markings. They were carved clumsily into the surface of the coffin, as if they were done by claws.
"Oh wait, I know this language!" Hana said. She gently pushed Kong aside and shone her flashlight onto the words. "It's an ancient script from thousands of years ago. It's rarely used today, but I've seen it a few times. I think I can read it."
"So what does this say?" Kong asked. Hana carefully studied the letters. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "It doesn't make much sense." She said. "I can't translate it into words, but the syllables spell out a strange word..."
Everyone crowded around Hana as she finished translating. Finally, she said the single word.
"Ra.. Ma... Rak..." She read out.