Duncan sprang up smashing his head into the low ceiling, after falling back on his ass he rubbed his now throbbing head. Blinking away the pain, he looked at the still empty entrance but this time noticed something else. He cursed as he crawled over and picked up a small silver ring. Turning it in his hand, he saw that there was an engraving of a circle with three parallel lines running through it on the inner band.

  “What is this?” He asked himself

  As he examined the ring the sound of a loose stone echoed out from the tunnel. Duncan’s head snapped up to the entrance before quickly switching to his lantern. Killing its soft flicker, the room was plunged into darkness. He shifted leaning towards the entrance, straining to listen to what sounded like words. Several seconds passed before he was positive it was two or more people speaking. Not being able to understand what the voices were saying he risked discovery as he crawled forward a little. Now sitting in the small tunnel, he could hear the voices much better.

  “Why are we even looking for him?” a rough voice asked.

  “Orders are orders, now hush. Something is near.” Replied a softer yet still rough voice.

  Duncan’s heart rate quickened at the mention of him. As if frozen, he sat listening to the two men walk off deeper into the passage. Once their footsteps fell away into the silence, he exhaled, rubbing his chest as he tried to calm his heart. Once he no longer felt as if was in a vice, he started to crawl back towards his lantern. As he did, he heard the softest of whispers brush past his ear, causing every hair on his body to stand up.

  “I see you in there.”

  His head snapped towards the hole leading to the above tunnels; even though it was pitch black he could swear he saw something. A figure, one that was darker than the blackness around it, its form unknown but far too large. As it sat hunched over peering into the hole. Duncan moved slowly back until he felt his lantern and quickly spun around to turn it on. Grabbing the matches from his pocket, he struck a few against the striker. The flame sprang to life, filling the small tunnel with warm comforting light. Turning back to the hole leading out, Duncan saw nothing. With a sigh of relief and a hint of self doubt he began to gather his belongings.

  Must just be imagining things. He thought.

  Placing the lantern and his bag outside the hole Duncan crawled free and into the main tunnel. Looking around he was hit with an odd feeling of deja vu, confused by this he peered closer at the wall in front of him. He noticed a few specs of what looked like metal which was odd as there was no ore left within these tunnels. Running his fingers over the surface he also noted that the walls were less hacked and mined than they had been. He was lost in thought, still running his fingers over the now smoother wall when a sharp pain burst from his finger. Quickly pulling his hand back he looked down to see a small cut starting to bleed on his left pointer finger.

  “Smooth, yet still sharp. Got it.” He said to himself

  After wrapping the cut with a small piece of cloth Duncan was once again off to explore more of the tunnels. Backtracking to where he was yesterday, he made note of the small changes to the length and height of the tunnel. Once an hour passed, he quickly came to the realization he was not in the same tunnel as before. In fact, based on what he knew, he was about two tunnels south of that one.

  What is going on? This is the 28th tunnel, the only one that has spruce wood holding up the ceiling. How did I get here? 32 and 28 do not intersect. He thought while pulling his makeshift map free.

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  Unfolding it, he quickly located tunnel 28 and 32 on the map, running his fingers along both, he confirmed his suspicion. These two tunnels run parallel to each other and never intersect. Confusion etched itself upon his face as he continued to look at the map and the surrounding tunnel. Walking a few feet down tunnel 28, Duncan was hit with a rush of fresh air. He froze for a moment before instinct kicked in and he crouched to the floor. His hand moved to kill the light but something in the back of his mind told him not to. Staying his hand he sat in silence, only the flickering flame filled the air.

  “How is there wind? I am miles underground.” He hissed under his breath.

  “It is this way.” a soothing female voice cooed from beyond the lantern's edge.

  Duncan shut his eyes at the sound of that voice, his fist clenched as he gritted his teeth. Shaking his head, he softly began to chant.

  “You’re not real. You’re not real.” He continued to repeat.

  As he repeated his chant, the voice also repeated its own. The female voice grew louder, and more familiar the closer it got to the light's edge. This caused him to increase his chanting before dropping the lantern and clasping his hands over his ears.

  “Go away! You’re not real!” He shouted.

  The second the words left his lips the hair on his arms rose up and goosebumps prickled his flesh. He grabbed the lantern, which was now just a dim light, and quickly fed it fuel via the small dial on the side. It roared to life filling the tunnel with light momentarily before he adjusted back to normal conditions. In that moment of bright light, Duncan’s eyes noticed something several feet ahead of him. The same direction the voice was coming from, there was a bend in the tunnel. This confused him as tunnel 28 had no bends, but what made his skin crawl was the two unnaturally long fingers wrapped around the edge. As if it knew he had seen it, they slowly slid back behind the curve, in the same instance the female voice spoke again.

  “Come, it is this way.”

  Duncan turned and ran, no longer caring if he was heard, fear had fully taken him. As he dashed down tunnel 28 he was expecting an intersection to be coming up soon as he knew this tunnel did connect to a four way just up ahead. Once he hit the first curve, he knew he was truly lost. In that moment he slowed to a brisk jog as his mind reeled and attempted to piece together what was happening. While looking around, he noticed nothing strange or different, but clearly he was not in the correct place. He started to come to a full stop when he heard the soft pitter patter of footsteps behind him. Looking over his shoulder he saw nothing but darkness, it was then that the voice spoke again.

  “Come, it is this way.”

  He inhaled sharply and once again found his footing, rushing forward and around the bend. He was now running blind, but figured it was better than whatever was behind him. This tunnel was strange, more so than the others. Its floors had no etchings, and its walls were more smooth than the others. Rushing down the winding path, Duncan began to huff, his lungs fighting for air, forcing him to slow. As he did a sharp corner appeared up ahead, rounding it at a brisk jog he quickly came to a stop. His arms flailed around as he was now teetering on the edge of a cliff that led into an inky black hole of who knows what depth.

  “Holy Shit!” He cried while fighting to get his balance.

  Barely able to regain balance, Duncan leaned back and stumbled a few inches. With his feet now finding true purchase, he twisted on his heel and attempted to step forward away from the edge. As he did though, the sound of rocks coming loose echoed out and within a second his world shifted. He was no longer standing on the cliff's edge, he was now flailing, his lantern barreling over and over next to him. He watched as the edge was quickly ripped away and nothing but darkness remained. He was screaming, he was crying, he was begging anything and everything to save his life. Clenching his eyes shut he prayed, and prayed until nothing but his hope remained. Then came the crashing of water, and unconsciousness.