The church bells echoed throughout the town, ringing 8 times. The town center is empty, everyone presumably home, cafes or church.
"Eight already?" Sophie sighed, looking at the time. "Time flies by fast."
"Few hours hanging out in the mine with the last bit being the beginning of a horror story," I said, looking around, trying to spot Oliver.
"True," Sophie responded, starting to look for the others. "Let's drop this off at the church."
"You go," I say, "I'll go find the others. I will call you when I do."
"Fine," She spoke up. "See you later."
The police station lights shined brightly against the night sky, revealing three figures in the building. Some of the adults in a meeting most likely. The meetings are always at weird hours and about the little things. What else is there to do? The others and I go into the mines for a couple hours a week to continue to map it and I doubt we got most of it anyways. It seems to keep getting bigger and bigger each time we are there. There always seems to be something we find down there that people lost. I wonder what their stories were. Why couldn't the adults do this job? Are they wimps or have other things to do? I will never know.
There is laughter coming from some of the offices. This wasn't unusual as the higher-ranking officers often meet up after work, either here, or at the bar. I had noticed some at the bar on the way here. Something felt off about this place. I thought there would be more people here.
"Eliza," Someone called my name, though it wasn't anywhere nearby. "Eliza, over here!"
It was closer this time. It sounded like Oliver, yelling from the last meeting room in the building. So, there I was, standing there facing the other 4 of the group.
"What's going on," I looked at the others, with no answer for what is going on.
"I don't really know," Ace spoke up.
The course of 'I'm not sure,' and 'who knows 'came around, only for Oliver to say, "I was only told a small bit, which I told all of you, we get to take time off awhile. Though there's this course we must take."
'Why," Liam complained.
"You know why."
"Do I though?"
"Yes, you do, and it isn't optional."
"We're finally going to be certified," Ace sarcastically celebrated, but knowing why we were out of the job for a while was quite nice. It was required to be certified to do something like this, but from what I seen this mine was small and stranger than other ones I have seen. I wonder why that is.
Christmas day
Just a few hours before supper, around lunch, I noticed the farmhouse looked more festive than usual. The others seemed to arrive early, then again there were some last-minute preparations that needed to be done.
"Merry Christmas," I greeted as the wind followed me in.
"Close the door," Oliver yelled. "Happy holidays to you as well."
"Sorry for the mess."
"Don't worry about. It's not affecting the whole building."
Have yourself a merry little Christmas started playing as soon as we sat by the Christmas tree.
End of March 2016
To no avail, the mine gets bigger every time we continue to map. We even have a backpack of items, with some having no reason to be in the mine. Some small pieces of clothing that seem to have been made somewhat recently yet it didn't belong in the current century. The mine must've ended somewhere, it has been a couple hours, the map in the entrance area almost covers that entire wall.
"How bags of stuff do we have now?" Ace asked, trying to tie one of the bags closed.
"Close to 5 entire bags now," Sophie answered. "Though over the past few months, it has been closer to 12 bags. Given how small the bags are, it would be six garbage bags worth of stuff."
"That's specific," remarked Oliver, tossing a bag into a cart, opposite of Sophie using a portable table to sketch this section of the mine on a large piece of paper. It has gotten to the point where it no longer looks like a mine, but a tunnel system, and it looked like this for a while now. We aren't concerned about it anymore since by the looks of it, it has been like this for years, probably close to a century even.
"Let's take a break," Ezra shouted, adjusting his gas mask, prompting the rest of us to do so as well. We deduced not only that the air quality will likely never be safe, nor will the mine be safe for the public though that was never planned in the first place. "Why are we doing this again?"
"To make sure if it's safe enough to either to preserve it or use it for research," Oliver mentioned, "or to open it up again, because apparently this was asked of areas that had the mines."
"Weird," Sophie and I muttered, both leaning against a wall for support.
"Why wouldn't they keep it locked to the public and make sure it safe themselves?" wondered Liam, helping Ace with the gas mask.
"I don't know, something about being needed somewhere else and not having time," Oliver mentioned. "They probably did something when they gave us a couple weeks to be certified."
"True but why wouldn't they have time before we started?" I asked, because we were told the higher ups always sent someone do something when something didn't concern us, and this really doesn't concern us. Well, they could've quietly done it, though when have they ever done that. "They definitely had time then."
"Beats me," Oliver sighed, putting the recent bag in the cart. "I'm going bring this back to the main area."
"Know where you're going?" Ace chimed in, noticing what Oliver had planned to do, knowing we don't this are well enough.
"You know we marked our path with reflective on our way here," he stated, very matter of fact.
"Okay," Ace sounded defeated. "Now get going."
It wasn't the first time we forgot we did something like this. It wasn't a major thing since the tape was reflective, though the only problem was if it could easily break apart and it wouldn't be the first It happened. This was the best we got for the time being, as there have been many trials and errors in the past few months, and there isn't much we can do without damaging the mine and making its condition any worse than it is. The problem we have with the tape is that there have been some incidents. It shouldn't be breaking as often as it is.
I keep hearing random footsteps often enough to know it doesn't belong to anyone in the group, though it isn't a common occurrence.
"Hello," I called out, looking into the tunnel, "anyone there?"
"Heard something?" Sophie confronted me with a concerned look on her face.
"Wouldn't be the first time," I said, noticing the footsteps getting closer. "It sounds unusually close this time."
I never would leave someone to hear the screaming alone. We could've run but what else could you do when fear immobilizes you. Time seemed to slow which the footsteps echoed into my eardrums; the screaming driven deeper into the mines, and Sophie clutching Ezra, probably using him to dampen the sound. I don't know how long we been like this but there is still a ringing in my ears
"How long are you going to lay there," An older woman voice asked. She seemed to be wearing black pants and a red shirt. Nothing unusual but it is not something you'd wear in a mine.
"What do you mean," I sighed, getting back on my feet. The others sitting trying to figure out what had just happened.
"The screaming had finished a few minutes ago," She mentioned. "I thought you noticed."
"My ears were ringing," I responded, trying to get the dirt off my clothes, as well as trying to fix the gas mask. "Guess I was too busy to realize."
"You kids shouldn't be here anyways," She stated.
"And you should?" I retorted.
"No, but I am much more prepared than you are" She answered, picking up her bag.
"Is that why you aren't wearing a gas mask," It was something I noticed only moments ago, which seemed a bit odd.
"Exactly," she said, walking back towards the tunnel she came from. "You better keep wearing yours."
She disappeared; I mean I couldn't hear her either though I should have.
"What was that," Sophie said, trying not to cough, "and who was she?"
"Yeah," Ezra chimed in. "It was a bit weird."
"I don't know. She never said." I respond. "I wonder how she got in here. It sure wasn't where we came from. Is there another entrance?"
"That is weird. It's rare for two tunnels to loop and we only came across less than ten that do that," Sophie brought up. We nodded in agreement. Ezra went back to adjusting his gas mask. Whoever she was made a point, we weren't ready nor prepared completely for the mines anyway. I mean, the police officers did train us with the knowledge that they had, plus the people who gave that course to be certified prepared us more. But the majority of what we have we learned ourselves, they just taught us how to be safe and properly use the machines, but that's it.
Liam and Ace were a couple feet ahead of us, both sitting down either to understand what happened or were just waiting for us. Either way, they were still here and hopefully weren't injured either.
"Hey guys," Liam greeted, slowly standing up. Ace is still sitting with his hands on his head. "Don't worry, he's alright. I think he has a headache or something."
Ezra went to help Ace get up. "Come on. We're heading out"
That's exactly what we did. We left the mine for the day. What else would we do when we could be in danger if we went further into the mine. Plus, the screaming was bloodcurdling already.
"What happened," questioned Oliver, running towards us as soon as we exited the mine.
"We think there might be another entrance to the mine," Liam blurted out.
"Okay, how did you come to that conclusion," Oliver asked.
"A scream and an interaction with a stranger," Ezra answered, handing a water bottle to Ace. "That's how."
WIth a blank face, Oliver went and came back with a truck. We left to the farmhouse to talk. It was quiet except for the sounds of the truck.
"Come on," Oliver said, stepping out the truck when the truck was parked outside of the farmhouse. Once we were all inside, we all got ourselves situated in the living room. "Let's discuss how it is possible for someone to enter the mine."
Sophie got up from the floor, Ace was lying on the couch; to get the map of the area we were in from her bag. Once it was opened, we started to explain. We had some theories, like she somehow got in before the door closed, or she had an I.D. of her own.
"There is a possibility that there is another entrance somewhere," Sophie mentioned, looking at the map. "She could've also come through the gigantic hole in the cave area."
"Wouldn't she have some of the gear with her then," asked Liam.
"Maybe she left it there," I interjected, wondering who she was. "She might've had something to do with the screaming as well."
"It is likely," Oliver agreed. "Ace, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ace groaned. "Still have a headache though."
"Okay," Oliver said. "Let's meet up at the mine tonight. Remember to not alert the other officers, okay. If something happens, I will take the blame for this"
"Alright," was the response, remembering what happened last time, but at least we got the farmhouse out of it. This time we must get in to check the immediate area and get out immediately. Hopefully, there's nothing there.
It took a while to get there. Mainly avoiding the higher ups and trying not to make noise. Not making noise was easier since the gate was fix and we wear our everyday clothes some days. We have done this before since back in February so that the mine won't affect our skin, though we aren't sure about our breathing. If it doesn't affect our skin, it might not affect anything otherwise but until then, it is better safe than sorry. Our first clue for safety was that women who approached us in the mine. Ace, Liam and Ezra decided that it would be a good idea to test the air in the mine. Though we do have an idea of the dangers of the mines due to the noises that we have heard in the mines. We fear it may only get worse from now on.
"Are we all here?" asked Oliver doing a headcount.
"Does the gate alert our higher-ups?" Sophie questioned. We all looked at each other with a look of fear in our eyes. Thinking back to the first time we snuck into the mine, our higher ups found out we went in the mine, so an alert is a possibility.
"Maybe," sighed Oliver. "We'll have to find another entrance to test this."
"The cave we found when we first entered the mine," I brought up. "Couldn't we enter from the roof there?"
"No, that's too dangerous," Oliver said, sinking deeper into thought. "We haven't been there in a while, and we don't know how deep the water is."
We all stood there in silence, thinking of places that could be an entrance to the mine.
"Which one of you has a drone?" I asked, remembering one of them mentioned owning a drone but that was months ago.
"A drone will bring attention to us though," Sophie mentioned, pointing out how noticeable the noise a drone can make. "Wouldn't they notice anyways?"
"If they do then we'll say we were looking for above ground hazards," Oliver had answered, and it would be a half lie, since it is something, we should've done but another entrance is something is also possible. "Understood?"
"Yes," we all left to get chairs to relax while Liam yelled, "I'll get my drone!" How could I forget. As much as I wanted too, I didn't bother bringing my camera by I am sure that either the drone or someone else will have one.
As the sound of the ground grew softer, I noticed the others had started setting up the chairs while Liam was preparing his drone just a couple feet away. "Eliza, hurry up!" I pick up the pace, making it, while trying to keep hold of the chair. Then up goes the drone.
The vast amount of land we could see on the screen was not a surprise. What surprised us was the village. We didn't know it was that old and yet it was a mix of alive and abandoned. I couldn't get a good view of the villagers before the drone quickly started coming back.
"What happened" I asked Liam.
"I think one the villagers spotted us," He quivered.
"Wasn't there only one of them though," I asked, "plus we were on the edge of town."
"They looked like they were dead," He was shocked.
"Oh," The rest of us responded.
"How many openings did we see," Ezra asked, changing the topic,
"I saw one just before the edge of town," Sophie responded. We started packing up and ended up staying at the farmhouse. I swear I saw one of the higher ups.