"James Rollins - Subterranean" - читать интересную книгу автора (Romeyn Henry)

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. But next time I touch you, try not to kill me."

Her face heated up. She cleared her throat, grateful that they had not reached the floodlit cliffs yet. The
darkness hid her red face. "Let's check out the lower dwellings," she suggested, stepping away from him.
She couldn't tell if she was more embarrassed by her near gaffe or mad at his action . . . or something
else. He was so unlike her ex-husband. Where Scott, ever the accountant, was steady and often sullen,
seldom sharing his intimate thoughts, Ben's easygoing manner and good humor were unsettling.

They arrived at one of the dwelling entrances. "Ladies first," Ben said.

Ashley avoided looking at him and crouched down, lighting up the interior with her helmet lamp. The
chamber extended back about five yards. The walls, unadorned rock, were obviously carved from the
stone and polished. She passed a hand over the smooth interior surface, impressed by the ingenuity and
tenacity of early man. With crude tools, it must have taken years to excavate each one of the chambers.

The interior, devoid of any hints about its occupants, stood empty. Bending, she crawled inside. It never
hurt to look.

Her helmet scraped across the ceiling as she wormed into the small opening. She noticed there was a
small hollow in the floor near the entrance. Probably an ancient firepit. She proceeded to the back of the
chamber. Nothing. She sat down for a moment, pondering who built these homes.

"Did you find anything?"

She looked back at Ben, helmeted and crouched on one knee by the entrance. He blocked the whole
opening. "It's strange," she said.

"What?"

"Where did they all go?"

He shrugged. "Probably died off. Went extinct. Like the dinosaurs."

She shook her head. "No. That doesn't make sense with the state of this site."

"What do you mean?"
"The first researchers only discovered a handful of broken tools and crude stone bowls. Usually these
primitive home sites are brimming with artifacts. But here . . . nothing."

"They must have moved on, taking their stuff with them."

"Exactly!" She nodded, impressed by Ben's intuitiveness. "But why leave? Why spend decades digging
out this habitat only to abandon it? And what about the diamond statuette? Why leave it behind?"

Ben remained silent.

"If only I could spend more time here." She smacked the flat of her hand on the rock.