The Excavation

Word Count: 995

The Excavation

"Be careful there, son," the team foreman called. "Could be a dangerous artifact we got there."

Devann rolled his eyes, but slowed his already cautious pace. He had been running across the desert floor in a crouch; now he slowed to a hunched walk. The foreman had every reason to be anxious, after what had happened just two weeks ago.

Devann shook his head, pushing such thoughts out of his mind as he neared the hole.

"What do ya see?" Crendall demanded.

Devann hunkered down. "Nothing much." He spoke into the communicator band grafted around his left wrist. "Looks like just some rusted metal." He disengaged himself from the line that ran back to the excavator and slowly started lowering the hook into the hole. He had to be careful, but he was the best on his team at this job. As long as the thing didn't explode he should be fine. He could still hear Layla's screams when he closed his eyes at night.

The hook caught on the piece of metal. Devann sat back on his haunches and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was too hot to be doing this kind of work today. But when the call had come in that something had been found in the desert, Crendall hadn't hesitated to volunteer his team. Devann wasn't sure what exactly Crendall was searching for, but the foreman was always the first to request an assignment.

Devann rose and turned back to the waiting crew. "I need another line," he said through his communicator.

He watched as Crendall discussed it with the rest of the crew. Eventually, one of the figures detached itself from the group and started approaching. Devann didn't think all of these precautions were really necessary, even after Layla's accident, but a small part of him understood the need for the extra security. Judging by the small stature of the figure walking toward him, he could tell it was the only woman on the team now that Layla was gone.

"You're the lucky one, Kat?" he called to her when she was within earshot.

"Just don't blow us up." She slapped the extra line into his hand and stepped back to watch him work. She had been most affected by Layla's death. Even now, Devann was surprised she had agreed to join them on this excavation.

"Don't worry," he murmured. He moved to the other side of the hole and threaded the line down into it. He could sense Layla's interest, despite her fear. She hadn't moved from her spot twenty paces away from the whole, but she had leaned forward to try and see what it was the earth had buried.

"There. Got it." Devann brushed his hands together and stood. He flashed a smile at Kat and then spoke into his communicator. "It's hooked and ready. Pull her up."

He didn't wait for the thumbs up signal that he wouldn't be able to see Jinn flashing him anyway. He turned away from the hole for a second, waiting for the telltale sounds of the excavator coming to life.

It whirred for a moment as Devann studied the desert life. When he turned back, the two lines were just pulling taut. Kat had taken two nervous steps back. Devann crossed to her side to place what he hoped was a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's all right, Kat. You ready to do this?"

"Yes," she said, but her eyes said no.

Devann turned his attention to the excavation going on before him. There were no twists or snags in the lines. The piece of metal was just now breaching the hole. The excavator's whirring grew louder as it started to roll across the desert's floor. The lines rose into the air, too, dragging the metal further out of the ground. Devann and Kat took up positions on either side of the rising piece of metal, trying to steady it and keep the lines free and untangled. Jinn operated the excavator with dexterity and finesse until finally the hunk of metal sat next to the hole. It was a lot bigger than Devann had thought.

Crendall joined him. "Looks like a vehicle of some kind."

"Funny looking vehicle," Jinn said from the excavator's cockpit.

"No, he's right," Devann said. "Humans used to drive vehicles like that. They had wheels and glass and weren't so rusted. We probably have to do more research to make sure that's what it is, but it certainly looks like a twentieth-century vehicle."

"There, ya see?" Crendall clapped Devann on the back, almost sending him sprawling. "I knew there was a reason we kept college boy around."

Jinn had dismounted to take a closer look. He felt around the door closest to them. "How do you get inside? The window's too small to squeeze through."

Devann hid a grin and stepped forward. He had done some studying of twentieth-century life. He pulled on the door handle for Jinn and the door swung open. Jinn gasped in amazement and bent over to peer inside.

This vehicle was in pretty bad shape, but who knew how long it had been buried beneath the desert floor?

"Come on," Crendall said. "Enough looky-loo. Let's get this thing back to the lab where we can analyze it."

His team sprang into action. The excavator was moved away to make room for the transporter. It took only a moment for Jinn to program the coordinates of their work center. The vehicle would be waiting for their return at their workstation.

"Still doesn't look like a reliable form of transportation," Jinn said once the truck had been transported.

"I don't think it was, really," Devann answered, climbing into the excavator to sit next to Kat. "Technology's come a long way in the past few hundred years."

Jinn didn't reply. The two large machines hummed into life, taking the team back to the nearest human city where their latest project awaited them.