The Lost Level by Brian Keene

amused to learn, a form of primitive cologne.
    Once we reached the bottom of the canyon, our trek across the
valley floor was uneventful. The air was noticeably warmer, due to the close
proximity of the fire, but not intolerable. Bloop took the lead, again.
Kasheena followed him. A few Slukicks chattered in the tree limbs far over our
heads, but none of us bothered to shoot at any of them. As I brought up the
rear, I kept glancing in the direction of the robot, expecting a blast of
extreme heat or clouds of smoke to round the bend and reach us at any moment,
or to see flames racing toward us. Thankfully, none did.
    I was still concerned about the robot, though. It had been
melting from within. What if it started a fire? Then, it occurred to me that
perhaps the robot had been nuclear–powered. If so, there was the potential for
a much worse environmental disaster than just a forest fire. But neither
Kasheena nor Bloop had seemed concerned.
    “That robot was melting,” I said, finally.
    “You mean the metal giant?” Kasheena asked.
    “Yes. In my world, they are called robots. They’re
machines—artificial constructs. Just like the airplanes I mentioned earlier.” I
couldn’t tell from her expression whether she understood me or not, so I pressed
on. “The robot was burning from the inside and melting. I can’t help but wonder
if we should have done something about that. What if it starts a fire or
something? We’re in the middle of a forest. That’s a bad spot to be if a fire
breaks out.”
    “It will rain soon,” Kasheena said. “So, even if a fire should
start, the rains will extinguish it.”
    I glanced up at the clear sky. “How do you know it will rain
soon?”
    “Do you see that moss?” She pointed to a cluster of blue–tinged
moss growing on a nearby boulder. “Normally, it is red. Its coloration changes
to that shade of blue when rain is certain. That is another reason why we must
find shelter soon.”
    “Interesting,” I murmured, and stopped to inspect the moss. “Some
sort of chemical reaction, maybe? In response to the humidity or change in
barometric pressure?”
    I was trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about, but
the truth was, I knew absolutely nothing about meteorology or botany. Even if I
had, I soon realized that neither of my companions were impressed by my
scientific method. I was still bent over, studying the moss, when Kasheena and
Bloop hurried me along.
    “The morning our paths crossed,” I said as we continued on, “I
thought I heard thunder. But no rain followed it, and there were no clouds in the
sky. Does that happen often?”
    Kasheena nodded. “My people have heard it before, too, but we do
not know what causes it or why.”
    “I’m still concerned that robot may have been nuclear powered.”
    “I do not know what that means.”
    “Well, it’s a type of energy. In truth, I’d do a bad job of
explaining it properly, but it is definitely something to be worried about.”
    “You worry too much about what is behind, Aaron. Instead, worry
about what is ahead.”
    There was a small footpath on the other side of the valley. It
wound up through boulders and crevices and crooked trees. As we began our
ascent up the trail, I asked Kasheena about the strange metal structure I’d
spotted beneath the valley floor, but she had no knowledge of what it could be.
    “There are caves below the surface,” she said, “and many
different tribes live in them, along with other things—creatures it is better
not to speak of. And as I mentioned before, there are some who believe the
Anunnaki live beneath the ground, as well. But I have never heard of a cave
fashioned from metal. Perhaps it was related to the giant who fought the
dragon. Perhaps the giant lived there.”
    “Maybe,” I agreed and let the matter pass from my mind. There was
so much bizarreness around me, it was hard to focus on one particular thing. I
was trapped on a world with dinosaurs, giant robots, a