Beneath the Foundation

Chapter 14

It only got darker from there. The further I progressed through the winding corridor, the less in control I felt. It all felt so surreal, like a waking dream that had no beginning, no ending. The tunnel was smaller than I thought. I had to hunch over like some kind of humanoid ape just to move along. My arms brushed along the walls as I moved forward. The walls were more uniform than before. They were tighter packed with the moist dirt, like it was built or formed with longevity in mind.

The faintness of the flashlight could barely illuminate a few inches ahead at any given point. I began to think of it all. The tunnels, the hole, and that damned sound that had begun to plague me. How long has it all been here? How long have we been blind to the secrets of our own home, and who else knew about all this? That noise, especially. The rhythmic *tok tok tok*, what was its origins. If it even had one, I was unsure if I even wanted to know.

All the guessing and speculation could do nothing for me. None of it mattered anymore. I had come here to find Jasper, but at this point, I'd consider it a victory to just escape, but even that felt like a herculean task. The further into the corridor I wandered, the more I concluded that this had to be it. The mistakes, the lapses in judgment. None of them were of any fault but my own, and I couldn't hide behind any excuses anymore. I was no hero. I wasn't even old enough to shave. What did I think I could do on my own except get lost and die.

God, I was gonna die down here.

Something appeared, still and vacant, but enough to jumpstart my heart again. The shine from the light fell upon a wall of dirt blocking any further progress. A small hole layed near the floor, leading past said wall of dirt. The wall was like any other I'd seen up until this point, but its presence was peculiar, nonetheless. It was as if it was put there as a deterrent, or maybe just poor craftmanship design. I didn't even stop to think or to worry. I fell to the ground and began shuffling through. Any progress at this point was good progress, but as I crawled along the ground, the smell appeared in a stronger force. The smell of moths mixed with decay. It lay fixed to the ground, my cheek pressed against it as I crawled. The smell began to creep further and heavier as I moved forward. It was grotesque. A mix of rotten meat and iron. The source wasn't far off. In fact, it felt as though it was all around me as my legs crossed the wall, and I began to stand.

I found myself in a new room, but it was different. A faint light fell across it, its source coming from what I could only tell was a candle sticking out from the dirt wall. The wax was dripping down, falling to the ground in a pile that indicated that it had not been the first burned here, the light was faint, only strong enough to cast a minor glow around, casting shadows that seemed to dance along the walls as it flickered. The figures cast along the wall danced in rhythm with the candle, stopping and starting in a strange abstract movement that felt almost familiar. The room was small, but slightly larger than the area of which I fell down this horrific rabbit's hole.

The stench that had been permeating this god forsaken tunnel system had to be from here. It folded over itself. As before, it was a mere expression of distaste. Now it was strong and palpable, a heavy odor that almost felt as though it had weight. The furthest wall of the room was still obscured by the darkness, but the outlines of shapes could be seen. My feet felt numb, the cold had set in further along than I thought. Mixed with the pure anxiety and fear that seemed to all but fuel my muscles, the numbness was understandable.

Along the walls of the room were crude designs. I almost give pause to call them that, but they clearly had some form of pattern. Of which it was, I couldn't tell you, but something put them there with purpose. Red lines and splashes painted the walls, like veins through the arms of a smoker. The outlines seemed almost random, but I can tell you I spent less than a few seconds even studying them. I wanted out of this tunnel of horrors.