The Journey of St. Laurent, Chapter 41

Author’s Note:

For those of you who haven’t read any of the Journey Of St. Laurent before: You are now reading an online serial pulp novel. If you didn’t start at the beginning, you may want to do so. Chapter 1:  Down By The Bay. This serial is the sequel to my first novel, Oasis.

Thanks to RussF, DarcKnyt (Congrats on the new job, by the way), Bored robot, Mal, Glenn, Tyler, & Georgene for stopping by and commenting on the last chapter. Another thanks go to DarcsFalcon &  Mal for your words of support.

Chapter 41: Getting the Shaft

The mine shaft curved gently to the right. Within a couple dozen steps we couldn’t see the entrance anymore and I clicked on the little flashlight. A couple dozen more steps, and there wasn’t even a hint of surface light noticeable.

The puny flashlight may have done its best, but it wasn’t much use against a darkness so complete and oppressive. The walls and ceiling were black and didn’t seem to reflect anything at all. The thin beam of light failed to illuminate anything more than a couple of yards in front of us.

The darkness actually felt heavy, like it wanted to crush the breath from my lungs. I wound the flashlight again and I crept forward.

The air smelled stale, like a carrot that’s been left in a root cellar too long. I could swear there was also a faint hint of oiled metal.

Occasionally we could hear a distant echoing. There was no way of knowing whether it was our own shuffling, the sneaking around of the army guys, or something far more sinister, possibly with tentacles and lots of eyes. It may sound ridiculous, but my imagination gave the best odds to that last option.

I stepped over a fallen support timber and wondered how long we were going to be able to keep walking before the ceiling caved in on our heads.

“Corbin?” London bumped against me.

“What?”

“Is it just me, or is it creepy as hell down here?”

Hearing her voice took the edge off the mounting anxiety.

“I’m not so sure it is naturally creepy. I mean, I feel it, too, but maybe it’s just my imagination. Anytime there’s some kind of reflection from the walls I think it’s a pair of eyes. And if it weren’t for that, I’m sure I’d find it quite homey down here.”

Deep down I knew that we didn’t want for anyone to hear us, but it wasn’t like we were all that noiseless anyway. We might as well keep our spirits up.

London stayed close to my side. “You know, you might be right. I can see how people with less imagination might find the layers of dust, inky blackness, and bizarre echoing sounds to be warm and inviting.”

“Well, maybe not warm. It is a tich nippy down here.”

Rhett spit into the black void behind him. “Do you two ever shut up?”

London scratched the side of her face with her middle finger. “I’m sorry. Are we disturbing your stalking?”

I touched her elbow. “Hey, lay off. Maybe he just doesn’t like the sound of the human voice.”

Rhett stopped for a moment to give us his best annoyed face. London’s was way better. “Or maybe he just doesn’t want to give up his tactical advantage.”

London shook her head. “That can’t be it. If that were true, he wouldn’t have brought along a nurse and a school teacher.”

Rhett clenched his jaw and released it slowly. “You may actually have a point.”

About that time I could have sworn I saw a tiny red light up ahead. A few more steps and I knew I wasn’t going crazy. There was indeed a light, and it was blinking.

The light belonged to a little box with an antennae. It looked somewhat like a hand held radio. The box had been placed a few feet before the first fork in the shaft that we had come to.

London stooped down by the box. “What is that, Mr. Soldier Man?”

Rhett didn’t bother getting close enough to really check it out. “Does it look human made?”

Without even thinking, London scooped it up and flipped it over.

I put the light on it.

“Well, it does say Samsung on the back.”

Rhett eased forward. “Then it’s probably just some sort of electronic breadcrumb.”

The dust and dirt on the floor had been kicked up a little going down both branches of the tunnel, but there had clearly been a little more traffic going down the path to the right.

London dropped the box where she had found it, and we set off following the heavier traveled branch.

The tunnel sloped steadily downward as we progressed into the mine. We passed a couple of boarded up shafts and then we almost fell down one vertical shaft that had housed an elevator at some point.

It was about that time that I noticed how cold it was getting. The uphill hike through the forest in the Summer sunlight had warmed me quite a bit and I worked up a bit of a sweat. Now I was moving much slower in the cold, dark mine. If I stopped for long I knew my temperature would plummet.

If I’m getting cold, that means- “London, how are you doing with the cold?”

I could tell that her teeth wanted to chatter when she spoke. “Let me put it this way. I think it’s taken a liking to me.”

I reached out and took her hand. It was already ice.

Rhett prodded my arm. “Let me see that flashlight.”

He rifled through the backpack I was wearing until he located a pair of leather work gloves, a couple of stale Tootsie Rolls, and a small bottle of water. The pack felt a hundred pounds lighter.

London put on the gloves which were big enough to give her a bit of Minnie Mouse appearance. She was still happy to have them.

The water and hardened candy didn’t satisfy our hunger or our thirst. It probably did some good to take in a few calories. Unfortunately, it made me painfully aware that I hadn’t eaten in a while.

We got moving as soon as we could.

The air in the mine got colder and more stale. We continued to follow the footsteps in the dust, figuring that the Army guys had some idea where they were headed.

We picked up the pace as best we could, hoping to keep warm. Our banter dropped off and finally gave way to a nagging uneasiness.

The noises we had been hearing got louder and more plentiful. There were drippings, shufflings, and creakings. Behind it all there was some sort of weird throbbing.

Most of the time I couldn’t see the walls, but it sure felt like they were closing in just the same. My skin crawled. My guts shriveled and tied themselves in knots. I clenched my teeth to keep them from chattering. I hope something happens soon. I can’t take much more of this.

I didn’t have to wait much longer.

We plunged deeper into the mine, following several branches, and even climbing down a fairly sketchy wooden ladder. The further into the heart of the mountain we went, the noises got louder, and we started to feel a warmish breeze.

Two more turns, one more radio box, and then we saw it.

A hint of reflected red light coming from a bend in the tunnel ahead.

Rhett raised his gun and motioned for us to do the same.

London chambered a shell.

I eased out the Pistol.

Rhett fiddled with something on his rifle. A bright red dot appeared on the far wall.

The throbbing sound now had a harsh buzz to it, and was loud enough that we would need to speak up if we wanted to be heard.

The tunnel curved sharply ahead. We hugged the wall with Rhett in the lead.

Over the throbbing buzz I could swear I heard voices. Then there was no doubt. I couldn’t make out the words, but somebody from the tunnel ahead started yelling.

Rhett dropped to one knee and yelled. “Get down!”

And that’s when my head exploded.