Kanahn crawled ever closer to the group of travelers, each taking in the sight of the ancient city. Isaiah rubbed his gloved hands together, glancing towards his pda every few seconds. With each step, the continuing beeping on his arm grew steadily quicker. He tugged on the zipper of his heavy jacket, already zipped up to his chin.

“Would you mind turning that thing off before it beeps me to death?” Groaned Rachel from the head of the group. She had already begun to tie her hazel hair into a messy bun, her fingers fumbling to work despite her large gloves.

“That would be a negative,” Isaiah called from the back of the line. “I’d rather you die from aggravation than Affliction. It would be a lot more pleasant that way.”

Samson chuckled quietly and unstrapped a helmet from the side of his rucksack. He examined it closely, scrutinizing the large plastic visor and thin air filter placed near the bottom of the mask. He furrowed his eyebrows after his inspection, tossing it over his shoulder to Isaiah, who found himself completely unprepared to catch it. Back and forth, the helmet bounced between his hands, until at last he grasped it firmly in his grip.

“Are you positive that’ll do the trick, doc? It doesn’t look airtight to me,” Samson asked.

“It will work, Mr. Dale,” Isaiah replied. “Provided you and Ms. Bailey keep your hair tucked in. There are benefits to taming your manes, you understand.”

“If they do their job,” interrupted Rachel, “Then we’ll do ours. Find something worth bringing home, and I’d say this whole exhibition of yours was a success.”

Isaiah nodded his head. He secretly hoped they would find numerous treasures to behold inside the maze of buildings. Ancient relics that would give them a better glimpse into the past, and in doing so, pave the way for a better future. He gazed at the towers that inched their way towards him and jogged up to Samson, holding out the mask to his companion.

“From here, they almost look like hills,” Isaiah said in a hushed tone. “You can barely see the towers’ surfaces underneath all of that plant life.”

Samson took back his helmet, raising it to point towards a large building in the distance, with two large spires standing tall at the roof.

“That one’s taller than the others. The plants don’t stretch all the way up. Do ya think...?”

“Think what, Sam?” Rachel turned her head to the boys behind her as she walked. She smiled and playfully mocked them from up ahead. “You two want to go on a sightseeing trip?”

“No, ma’am,” Samson replied. “Just got to thinking, that’s all. Nevermind.”

Rachel laughed quietly to herself and stopped near a large hill, which stretched up and above the road from below. When the others caught up with her, she gestured for them to stop. All remained quiet for what seemed like several minutes, the only sound being the incessant blare of Isaiah’s pda. During that time, Isaiah found himself peaking around at each hill. Some had jagged corners of old buildings sticking out from the mounds. He hypothesized that they must have became that way from centuries of remaining untouched by civilization. Although as to why they had become buried over such a tremendously short amount of time, he had no idea.

Glancing at his wrist, Isaiah realized the beeping had turned to one continuous tone.

“It’s too dangerous to proceed further without the masks. Secure them tightly. Don’t leave any room for air to seep in.”

One by one, the helmets were placed upon their heads. Rachel and Samson took their time to tuck their hair safely into the masks. Samson patted the sides of the mask, glancing around at their environment. Each pulled their wool-covered hoods over the tops of their helmets, huddling up closely to speak through the filters.

“If these don’t work, doc?” Spoke Samson.

“We will inhale the Affliction and die a slow and painful death. There will be a tightness in our chests, which will soon leads to convulsions and nervous system failure. A greater pain could never be felt.”

“Cheery,” Rachel mumbled. “Shall we be off, then?”

Isaiah nodded his head, turning towards the great city of Kanahn.

“‘I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted’.” He whispered to himself. Without any further words, he took a step forward.