Craning my neck, the obelisk was probably seventy-five feet tall, and black, like polished obsidian. Runes were carved into the side, invisible except for when the light hit them just right. The closer I got to the structure, the more the air seemed electrified. I could feel it in my teeth, and that thrum started to give me a little headache.


    I cut through a final branch and found myself in a courtyard in the middle of the jungle, surrounded by trees and more dark water. Under my feet were polished black stones.


    The obelisk sat on a square base at least fifteen feet tall and twenty feet wide. The main part of the obelisk rose from the base, four sides, with a pyramid type point at the top. Those runes seemed to change every time I looked at them, though it was hard to tell. It wasn’t like I could read some random ancient alien language.


    There were archways, like there should be doors there, but there weren’t. The sides were solid black stone, with moisture leaking down the sides. Was that normal jungle sweat or something else?


    The archways were ornate, like Celtic knots, with various indentations.


    I crept closer, keeping back, but ready for anything. Nothing leapt out at me as I circled the structure. The base seemed like it could be hollow inside.


    Something flashed out of the corner of my eye. I found a small red crystal, in the dirt at the very edge of the courtyard. Getting closer, the crystal leapt to my hand and vanished. It only gave Opal a little power, but we were getting closer to the magical ten percent.


    With another power crystal in me, I had a wild idea.


    “Hey, Opal, I know you’re busy with your evaluation, and that my queries are not being prioritized, but could you help me with something?”


    I was surprised to get an answer.


    <<<>>>


    Evaluation of current circumstances paused.


    Please input a query.


    <<<>>>


    This was hopeful.


    “Can you tell me what your primary mission is?”


    I didn’t get anything. The second message hung in my vision, unwavering, and so I got closer to the obelisk.


    “Opal, I don’t suppose you can tell me what the structure in front of me is. Or would you spend days evaluating it?”


    <<<>>>


    Evaluation paused.


    Error: Power source low. 9 % of full.


    This unit’s functionality increased by 35%.


    Sarcasm detected.


    Auditory settings initiated for HOST.


    HOST’s primate species has limited auditory abilities.


    Would you like to switch to auditory messaging for easier interfacing during more casual interactions? YES/NO


    <<<>>>


    “Yes,” I said out loud. I was surprised I didn’t feel like a moron talking to myself. However, my voice didn’t seem all that loud compared to the buzzing of the obelisk.


    The display vanished, and then I heard a sharp whine in my ear, like feedback. I had to wince. Maintaining my hold on my ax and my pistol, I pressed the backs of my hands against my ears. It was so loud, so painful, that I thought if it didn’t end soon, I might go insane. Or find myself with shattered ear drums.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    I heard static, and then a robotic, slightly feminine voice.


    Auditory messaging initiated. HOST primitive sensory organs calibrated. Visual and auditory input accepted. Analyzing structure.


    The Arkadian Quantum Universal Intelligence Assistant had a lot of benefits, but a fast response wasn’t one of them. I found myself sighing. “Opal, if this takes forever, I shouldn’t—”


    Analysis complete. Fodoron Obelisk detected.


    “Fodoron Obelisk.” I said the words just to feel them in my mouth. “Is Fodoron like forbidden?”


    Linguistic similarities are irrelevant. Suggest ending interaction so Evaluation can be completed. Primary Mission is incomplete.


    Opal sure was focused. She had that going for her. “Can you tell me who or what the Fodoron are and what the obelisk is? Can I get inside? Who made it?”


    The Fodoron are an ancient, lost civilization with anomalous technology found throughout the universe. The Fodoron Obelisk is an anomalous structure. More input needed. Please charge to ten percent. Please allow for Evaluation to complete. Can I continue Evaluation? YES/NO?


    “Yes, Opal. Thanks.”


    It looked like I had to wait. I did like the new interface, though, because in combat, I didn’t want Opal’s messages blocking my vision.


    I had to think about what she’d told me. The Fodoron were an ancient, lost civilization, probably like the Mayans, but then who were the Arkadians and the Paraxen?


    I wasn’t going to interrupt Opal again. The best thing I could do to move things along was to find more crystals.


    In the end, the obelisk was simply another mystery to add to the pile.


    Now, I had to get back to the girls without running into Jack or Reggie.


    My mind raced as I went through all I’d seen that day. From eating the sweetberries, to seeing the huntress…from the giant rattlesnake to the T-Rexes. Lastly, there was the final mystery, the Fodoron Obelisk. My mind was whirling.


    Creeping back through the ferns under the giant redwoods, I made it back to the main forest road. The sun had set completely, somewhere in the sky, but all the different moons gave me enough light, so I could see the trail.  Jack and Reggie had only left Green Albert’s bones behind. I was thinking like a scavenger, wondering what I could do with the bones or the big chunks of fungal armor that the other T. rexes had torn away. However, messing around with spores probably wasn’t a good idea.


    I made it back to our home tree without anything else happening. I’d pulled down a leaf along the way to drink my fill of water, but I was getting hungry. It wasn’t too bad because I’d had such a huge lunch, all the deer meat I could eat.


    The soft white mushroom tree led me up to the bottom limbs of the redwood, and then to our little home away from. I had a surprise waiting for me. The girls had pulled the bus seats up to the top of the tree and had lashed them to the branches. It must’ve taken awhile. They’d even used some branches and rope to create a shelf to hold our gear. That wasn’t all. We had fresh water in our toolbox and more sweetberries.


    Billie let out a long sigh. “God, Sid, I’m so glad you’re back. When the sun set, we got so worried! And like, where does the sun go anyway? The skies in this freakshow don’t make any kind of sense.”


    Billie seemed normal, but Professor Kroft was oddly quiet. Why was she giving me the silent treatment? I would’ve expected that from the moody cheerleader, not the grown-ass woman.


    I lounged back in my bus seat, right in the middle between them. My bed was the closest to the top branches of the mushroom tree. Damn, but we needed a better shelter. Maybe if we could get into the obelisk, we could live inside. No. The thought of that thrum hitting me for hours on end made me nauseous.


    I drank a little toolbox water, ate some berries, and told them about my adventures.


    “Fucking dinosaurs?” Billie asked in wonder. “Why am I not surprised?”


    Professor Kroft again was quiet. It took a bit, and then she said in a quiet voice. “We should probably cut some meat off the haunches. Starting a fire so late is dangerous, but we should eat the protein while we can.”


    Then, without a word, she started down the tree with the rifle slung over her shoulder. She’d also grabbed the welding torch.


    “Wait,” I said.


    It was like the professor didn’t hear me, but I knew she did.


    I turned to Billie. “What happened while I was gone?”


    Billie grimaced. “Like I know! Before you got back, she was her normal self, talking about all this ancient human survival stuff. She talked for like forty-five minutes about finding clay and making pottery. We could use it for the water. Maybe she’s nervous about her basket weaving skills? I thought she was going to weave waterproof baskets.”


    “The swamps in Dino World might have the right reeds for it,” I said. “I don’t know about clay.”


    Billie bit her lip. “I hate seeing her like this. You should go talk to her.”


    “Me?” Why was I thinking that might be a bad idea? Then I had an image of me pulling the professor toward me and feeling those big tits pressed up against me. We’d kiss, but that wouldn’t be enough.


    Billie pushed me. “Yes, you. I could use a minute. I think we’re safe up here. At least I hope we are.”


    I knew what Billie would be doing with her minute, and I felt my pants get tight. I had no idea what to expect from a conversation with the professor. I really didn’t know her that well, and so far, she’d been handling our exile on the strange world with grace.


    Part of me would’ve rather faced the T. rexes again than deal with the emotions of the older women. What was going on with her?