The decision to explore the unmarked path fills the air with an almost electric anticipation. Each step takes you deeper into terrain that seems to exist somewhere between the natural and supernatural. The forest floor is carpeted with pine needles that muffle your footsteps, creating an otherworldly silence broken only by the occasional call of a raven.

After fifteen minutes of hiking, the trail begins to shift. What started as a simple dirt path now shows signs of ancient construction – subtle at first, then increasingly obvious. Flat stones emerge from the earth at regular intervals, their surfaces marked with weathered symbols that don't match any known Native American petroglyphs.

“Jake,” Emma whispers, her voice filled with academic excitement, “these carvings… they're mathematical in nature. Look at the repetition patterns.” She points to a series of interconnected geometric shapes that seem to flow from one stone to the next.

The air grows noticeably cooler as you round a bend in the trail, and suddenly you're facing something that shouldn't exist – a stone structure rising from the forest floor like a sentinel. The construction resembles a watchtower, its surface covered in the same symbols you've been following, but these are different. They emit a faint luminescence that pulses in sync with Emma's EMF readings.

Jake pulls out his geology hammer instinctively, then hesitates. “The erosion patterns on these stones… they're impossible. These carvings should have weathered away centuries ago, but they look almost fresh.”

Emma's camera starts behaving erratically, its digital display showing strange light patterns that shouldn't be visible to the naked eye. The EMF meter's readings are off the charts, and the air itself seems to vibrate with an energy that makes your skin tingle.

What do you do?

Choice 2A: Approach the watchtower to examine the glowing symbols more closely

Choice 2B: Document everything from a safe distance while trying to decipher the pattern of symbols