Planet of Shapeshifters

The twisting, ascending shaft of light gradually brightened from its fading hues. The clouds above my head shifted from dark grey to deep black then to a dark blue and finally to a shining azure sky. It had been months since I was last in the sun. I removed my mask and took a deep breath of fresh air. The wind rustled through my hair as a lone tear rolled down my cheek. I turned to look at my companion, who was just beginning to emerge from the chamber; Niklas looked horrible. His skin was pale, his eyes sunken and hollow - he did not look like he would make it another day without sustenance.

"I hope you're hungry."

Niklas nodded, his hands trembling as he removed his own mask and goggles. He has been showing signs of distress for weeks now, but something in me wanted him alive until we were out of here. After all this time spent underground, away from the light and warmth of the sun, I was no more eager for it than he was. Still, I could not help but feel some joy at being back in the world above ground again; even if it was only for a moment before we made our escape into the night sky. With a smile on my face that betrayed my exhaustion, I pulled out two sandwhiches from my small pack and handed one to Niklas before taking one for myself.

"Let's eat quickly," I said with a mouthful of food, "We still have a bit further to go."

Niklas nodded again and began eating his sandwich in frantic bites while looking around nervously in all directions. We were standing at the mouth of an ancient tunnel carved deep into the rock beneath the city that sprawled out before us far beyond what either of us could see without aid. For as long as anyone could remember there had only ever been one entrance to this tunnel; one single pathway leading down into the earth where once upon a time aliens made their home. It is said that they came here many thousands of years ago when our world was young, a time before humans roamed its surface or even knew about its existence. It is also said that these aliens left after finding nothing more than rock and water below ground - perhaps they had already found what they sought and left behind all their tools for others who would follow after them? Whatever their purpose for coming here so long ago, their tools have remained ever since: mining equipment left abandoned underneath the city long ago when everything changed and people stopped believing the stories about those strange beings who came so long ago to live here among us and leave again with only their tools behind them; abandoned all those years ago when everyone lost faith in the stories of alien gods whose power was vast beyond all imagining - until now.

"What do you think happened?" asked Niklas between bites as he stared up at the massive city above us looming over everything around it like an enormous shadow cast by some giant creature none can see. "Where did everyone go?"

I shrugged nonchalantly as I continued eating my sandwich while watching him out of the corner of my eye. He was always like this when we first started working together: always questioning everything about his situation with an innocence that belied his true nature as a ruthless criminal. Wherever we went together wherever we ended up working together - whatever scheme we got ourselves involved in - Niklas always seemed determined to know why things happened, to understand why people did things, how they thought about things, what drove them forward into doing what they did - all seemingly unrelated questions with no answers until he asks them; things that seem strange at first glance but make perfect sense once you think about them for just a little bit longer than usual. And so we kept working together despite how different our pasts were: Niklas because he wanted knowledge he could use to get ahead in life, me because I wanted revenge against those who wronged me - until one day we found ourselves running away together beneath an alien city on an alien planet having been chased there by forces both human and inhuman alike; hunted now by forces within this world as well as without:

"Who knows," I said with another shrug of indifference as I tossed away half-eaten sandwhich wrapper into my pack. "Maybe they're still alive somewhere else."