Read Online Lunar Colony by Patrick Kinney - Free Book Online Page A

exciting.
    “Wow,” Salerno said, sticking her shovel into the ground. “The soil here is so fragile. It’s almost as if—”
    “Move!” Glen shouted. They both jumped back as the ground beneath them gave way, creating a massive hole.
    Glen and Salerno peered into the darkness and were astounded by what they saw. A coiled staircase led deep beneath the moon’s surface. They heard the fallen rocks land far, far below, but through the darkness, they could see a faint light.
    “What do you suppose is down there?” Glen asked.
    “I’m not sure,” replied Salerno, grinning. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
    Glen smiled back and asked, “Are you ready?”
    “You bet,” said Salerno, who was already descending the stairs. “Try to keep up.”
    Glen followed close behind her, wishing that there were rails along the stairwell. Even with the moon’s reduced gravity, he didn’t want to imagine what it would be like to fall, especially since he had no idea what he might find at the bottom.
    The pair descended hundreds of feet, both running their hands along the surprisingly smooth outer wall of the hole. It felt almost like marble. As they neared the bottom, the light that had once been faint grew brighter until they reached the floor.
    There, they saw the source of the light. Along the walls of an enormous arched tunnel were glowing orbs, balls of light that hovered in the air.
    “Cool! What are these things?” Glen asked, gently poking one, causing it to slowly glide away.
    “I don’t know, but look at this!” Salerno said, pointing at something on the tunnel wall. “It’s a picture.”
    Glen came alongside the commander and saw what she was looking at. It showed a stick figure standing next to a large circle. Like the mysterious engravings on the obelisks, it was etched into the surface of the wall.
    “What do you suppose it means?” Glen asked. The two looked at it for a long time, trying to figure out what it could represent.
    “I have no idea,” Salerno said at last. “But look,” she said, pointing at the tunnel wall. “Another one!”
    As Glen and Salerno approached it, the glowing orbs followed, providing light for the second picture.
    “It’s just like the first one,” Glen said, “but in this one the stick figure is standing inside the circle.” He stood looking at it, wondering what it meant, when Salerno, who had already gone farther down the tunnel, called him.
    “A third one,” she said. “And I think it’s starting to make sense.” Glen and the orbs followed Salerno, whose eyes were now sparkling. “See? This one shows the stick figure standing onthe other side of the circle. And look what else!”
    Glen saw what she was talking about. The picture showed a group of taller stick figures. It almost looked as though they were greeting the first one, but Glen couldn’t be sure. Also confusing was the other image in the picture. To the right of the taller stick figures was an obelisk like the ones he’d seen on the moon’s surface.
    “I still don’t get it,” Glen said. “What does this all mean? What is this place?”
    “Don’t you see, Glen?” Salerno replied. “They’ve been waiting for us.”
    “They?”
Glen asked. “You mean the aliens?”
    “Yes!” Salerno responded. “Thousands, or maybe even millions, of years ago, they visited the moon and built this base. They’ve been waiting ever since for us to develop the technology to find it.”
    Glen didn’t know how Salerno was getting all that from pictures of some stick figures and circles, but she seemed so sure of what she was saying.
    “Okay,” he said, “but what do you think they want?”
    Salerno looked at the engraving, her eyes filled with joy, and said, “I think they want us to visit them.”
    “Visit them where?” Glen asked, trying hard to follow Salerno’s logic. “Are they still here?”
    “No,” Salerno said, “I’m sure they left long ago, but I think they want us to