each night i have the same dream, it is a dream of black nothingness, and i wake up remembering the utter blackness, the utter nothingness and slowly during my waking hours, the dream fades in my mind until it is gone.

the shadows flicker away from the candle, it has melted nearly to the wood board it sits on.  the mist in the air tells me its morning before i open my eyes and i pull my blankets around me.  the late mornings were a luxury i was awarded for still being alive.  nothing had gone wrong.  everything had gone wrong.

when everything is quiet you wonder what has caused the stillness.  the sun broke through the leaves as i pushed aside the tent flap and made my way into reality once again.  a crowd was formed near the baseline of the area we cleared away.  i walked to them to see for myself what it was.

one of the native boys hired to help carry bags had been digging to set a trap for dinner and had hit something metal.  further investigation had showed it was a crafted object, circular in shape, about 3 feet across.  I pushed the other men aside to get a closer look.

it was a perfectly shaped large metal plate underneith the surface of the ground, i asked if anyone had tried to move it.  They said they had tried.  The crowbars they dug in beneath it bent but the plate would not give, it was firmly attached to the ground.  i ran my hand over its surface, it was smooth and flawless.  I scratched my head.

"dig deeper" i told them.