Terra Incognita Crocodilia

This dream happened years ago and I will never forget how vivid and engrossing it was. I may not remember all of the details, but I know it was right up my alley and played out like an old pulp fiction lost world story.

A party of modern day explorers are cutting their way through the thick tangles of foliage in the western side of the Amazon basin. They are following the directions of their native guide as he leads them to a lost world hidden beneath the earth.

After an arduous ascent into the foothills, of what I must assume were the Andes Mountains, the party finds a vertical cavern shaft boring away into the rock, illuminated by some inner light. Their native guide is scared to death and will go no further. The party, lead by a stereotypical macho adventurer (i.e. me as I see myself hahaha), chocks their guide's fear up to superstition and begin to deploy climbing ropes and gear.

When the ropes are secured, the Adventurer demands to go first to establish the "beachhead" in this lost world. He descends the rope, rappelling into the shadowy unknown.

The descent quickly passes out of the rocky tube into a massive open cavern, stretching far out of the reaches of his vision. Heat and humidity reflect off the shimmering sea of prehistoric foliage spreading below. In the hazy distance he can discern massive pillars of rock hold the roof of the dome, the floor of the continent aloft. Water cascaded down from cracks in the cathedral, bathing the shimmering landscape is mist. Through the wall of mist he sees the great remnants of some lost civilizations, massive squared step stone pyramids rise up from the emerald tangle below.

The adventurer lowers himself hundreds of feet until he lands on terra firma. He scans the area for danger, before relaying to the others. The hairs on the back of his neck are raised and tickling, there are no predators near. Some unseen danger. But what lives here?

On the surface the rest of the party begin to lower equipment and supplies, followed quickly by the lead scientist. She is naturally intelligent, capable, independent, and beautiful. She is a stand in, and amalgamation of some girl or another that I was crushing on at the time.

The group is awestruck by the world below. The scientists cannot contain their enthusiasm for the myriad of prehistoric plant life that should not be possible. The Adventurers worries more about the animal life as well as sentient life and he tell the science team just that. They dismiss him, too caught up in their discovery.

When they are able to contain themselves, the party gears up and moves out, following the line set for them by the Adventurer. Cutting their way through the massive ferns and dangling vines the team makes their way in the direction of the massive ruins. Their first obstacle, a dark tannin-stained river, cuts its way across their path.

The adventurer deems the flow isn't strong enough to require a rope, but the murky water looks deep and there is something moving within its confines. The team watches and wait. When all seems quiet they prepare to cross. As the Adventurers steps to the shore the water froths with movement as some massive beast rises forth from the primordial waters.

The Adventures darts away from the water's edge, seeing the knurled scaled back of a massive crocodile push through the surface. Forty feet of reptilian fury pushes towards shore, but when it reaches the shallows the back keeps rising. It rises higher and higher, until the beast stands twelve bipedal feet above the ground. Water sluices off its massive scaled hide and the monster bellows its challenge to the outsiders.

The party is overcome with curiosity and fear, not knowing whether to observe the beast or run. No crocodile ever stood on two legs. Was this some unknown species from the past or an evolution of the species to the present? Did the crocodiles that survived the Cretaceous extinction migrated to this hidden world and continue down and evolutionary path that filled in for the dinosaurs?

The Adventurer, having been in more than a few hairy situations, uses his quick thinking to protect the others. If they cannot run, he will. Throwing up his hands and yelling draws the attention of the mighty beast. Now there is no choice, the Adventurer runs and the predator chase. He yells for the scientists the keep going and he will find them again, before he disappears into the green hell of the subterranean jungle.

The science crew is at a loss. Confusion, shock, fear, and undying curiosity mingle together. The Lead scientist rallies the group, telling them to trust the Adventurer because they hired him for a good reason, even if she is not herself sure he will be alive.

Here my memory becomes spotty on the details, but the expedition marches on into the wilderness until they encounter the ruins of a lost civilization. The builders constructed great, elevated walk ways and roads of stone between their massive pyramids, perched above the swamps like Roman aqueducts. The elevated walkways protected the people from the monsters they shared their world with. The gates to one of the pyramids, which served as a temple or coliseum, are flanked by massive Egyptian like statues of men with the heads of crocodiles. These lost people worshipped the crocodilian saurians as deities.

Finally, the Adventurer survives and reunites with the party. There is more, but I have forgotten it. It is a shame I did not write it all down immediately after dreaming it because this would be a great story for me to write.