The Tunnel

Danny tamped down his nervous energy. He hadn’t thought of much else but the tunnel since he first learned about it. Now he and Todd were making their way through the quiet streets of the small town towards the eastern entrance. They both wore backpacks and had on rugged shoes they could find. Sweatshirt hoods covered their heads partly to ward off the early fall chill in the air and partly to hide their faces from any probing cameras should everything go south.

They had decided to start on the eastern end and go west. If the train traffic followed the patterns Danny had tracked, this would give them the best chance of escape should a train show up early or otherwise outside the schedule. When they were within a block or so of the tunnel, Danny turned to Todd, “How’re you doing?”

Todd looked up from his own thoughts, startled by the question, “I’m doing OK. How about you?”

“Good. I’m really excited. I know we can do this, man. You trust me, right?” 

Early on, Todd had expressed major concern about the idea of walking 5 miles through the tunnel. He didn’t understand why Danny felt so strongly about doing it. But over time, Danny’s excitement had been contagious and had won him over. He and Danny had been best friends since forever and he trusted him, even though some of Danny’s schemes had led to scrapes, bruises and the occasional grounding. The 5 mile walk should take 2 hours at the most. And they were young, healthy guys. No reason they couldn’t do it faster.  They were starting just after the most recent train entered the tunnel, maximizing the amount of time between trains.

“Yeah. I trust you”, Todd said, readjusting his backpack. 

They both heard the horn from the approaching train. Todd looked at his watch, confirming that the train had arrived right when Danny said it would and smiled at this. They stopped about a block from the end of the tunnel to watch the train. As it neared the last cross street, the horn blasted several times as the lights at the crossing flashed and gates came down, blocking traffic. There were only a handful of cars lined up waiting for it to cross. 

Danny and Todd stood mesmerized by the flow of the train. After the three engines, the amalgam of different cars started flowing by. Almost all of them had graffiti covering the sides. Long black cylinders carrying liquid cargo, cars of lumber stamped from the originating mills and the ubiquitous box cars with doors running their full height. They all rumbled by, disappearing into the tunnel. The wheels echoed on the track as the long assemblage made its way under the mountain. 

Danny’s eyes gradually unfocused and the train was just a blur of vague color and sound that put him in a trance. He was struggling with the fact that, after all his hard work, he and Todd would finally be in the tunnel, making their way west. The ringing of the crossing bells brought him back to reality as the last car trundled by and the gates lifted to let traffic start up again. The final car slid into the tunnel and the sound and rear train lights slowly receded into the dark.  Danny and Todd walked the last few feet towards the tunnel opening. They waited until there was no car or pedestrian traffic on the street,  then ducked into the tunnel. 

The first 100 feet of the tunnel had enough light from the outside that they didn’t need to use their headlamps. Within a few dozen steps, they already felt like they were in another world. Turning around and looking back, they could see the street where the tracks crossed and some of the surrounding buildings. It seemed like a movie being projected onto the end of the tunnel. They turned back to the 5 miles of track ahead and the looming blackness. When they started having trouble seeing with the ambient light, they both put on their headlamps and switched them on . They didn’t want to turn the lamps on too early, fearing that someone out on the street might see them and alert the police or others, foiling their attempt. 

The headlamp made a cone of light in front of Danny. He swept his head around the inside of the tunnel, thrilled that he was finally here, doing what he had dreamed of for weeks. He couldn’t explain exactly why the idea of the tunnel had such a grip on him, but it had become an obsession. There was a lot of graffiti in these first lengths of the tunnel. Obviously, he wasn’t the first to be drawn to this space. He guessed that once they were deeper in the tunnel, the graffiti would taper off. Most of it was typical tagging or giant crudely drawn penises. There was some quality art work as well. He noted some odd symbols that repeated as they kept walking. Todd was lagging behind, staring at something on the wall.

“C’mon Todd. We need to keep moving”, Danny called out. 

Todd didn’t seem to hear him. He was tracing his hand over something on the wall. “You should see this Danny”, he said. 

Danny walked back and looked where Todd indicated. The same symbols he had noticed were repeated, along with a series of skulls and what looked like images of Native Americans. “What do you think?” Todd asked.

Danny just shook his head. “I have no idea. Someone has a good imagination. Honestly, I don’t really care. Let’s get going.” Todd shuddered at the thought, but Danny didn’t notice and Todd fell in step behind Danny.

Danny had looked at his GPS watch as they entered the tunnel and started the timer. He wasn’t sure how well the GPS would work, but at least he would have the elapsed time from when they started. The darkness ahead of them was absolute and the light of the opening where they had entered was fading to a pinprick behind them. There wasn’t much space on either side of the single set of tracks, so they were forced to walk in the middle of the rails, along the evenly spaced wooden ties. The tie spacing didn’t quite match their strides, so each step was awkward.

Half an hour passed and they were fully in the tunnel, with only the light from their headlamps. Danny felt excitement and a tinge of fear. He knew there were thousands of feet of rock above him. They had over an hour of walking to go before they reached the other end. He had always pictured the tunnel as a uniform smooth bore through the mountain but it was anything but. The sides had various imperfections where the men who built the tunnel must have encountered rock that was particularly difficult to remove. As he predicted, the extent of graffiti had diminished. However, the repeated symbols continued. They looked like they might be some kind of language and reminded him of Egyptian hieroglyphics . The sound of their footsteps echoed. They also occasionally heard the scampering of tiny feet. Danny assumed there were rats in the tunnel and shivered at the thought. 

Todd had asked a lot of questions before agreeing to go with Danny and he knew that if he brought up his doubts now, Danny would freak out. Todd was not a particularly big risk taker, so this was difficult for him. He had a flash of his Mom scolding him if she knew where he was. She still liked to make his lunches and treated him like he was still 10 years old, which made him crazy but also made him love her for doing it. Todd couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling about the continued presence of the symbols. They looked like they had been here a long time and there was something disturbing about them. Danny had been very convincing with his calculations and preparations for this walk and Todd did trust him. But that didn’t keep him from worrying. He kept his thoughts to himself and focused on moving one foot in front of the other. 

Todd let out a yelp when his headlamp winked out. For a few seconds he felt total panic and disorientation. Danny was about 20 feet ahead and until he swung around at Todd’s voice, Todd felt like the entire world had disappeared. “What the heck, Danny?”

Danny came back to where Todd was standing in the darkness. He felt a moment of worry, but tamped it down. He was prepared for this. “Hang on dude. I’ve got extra batteries.” He put down his pack and reached into one of the side pockets, pulling out a new set of batteries. Todd took off his headlamp, taking the opportunity to take a sip of water and to nibble distractedly at a granola bar. Danny pried open the battery compartment. He exchanged the batteries, burying the dead ones deep in his pack. He clicked the on switch, satisfied when the headlamp came to life. He could see the worry on Todd’s face but decided not to say anything. As Todd was repositioning the headlamp, they heard the first of the moans. 

“What the hell was that?” asked Todd, not able to contain the tremble in his voice. They both stood silent trying to figure out what they were hearing. There was only silence. “I bet it was some kind of wind current or something”, said Danny. “Let’s get moving. We’re already about half way.” Todd tried not to think that they still had to endure another hour in here. He knew that Danny was just trying to make him feel better about what he had heard. But what was the point of getting into an argument in the middle of this ridiculous walk. Better to just get it over with. See daylight again. Then he could confront Danny. 

While Danny was thrilled with the idea of the mountain above them, Todd felt its weight. Felt like it could crush him. The weight of the mountain and the darkness. He went through the mantra his mom had taught him to deal with his occasional panic attacks - Face, Accept, Float and Let Time Pass. He took a couple of deep breaths, noticing the smell of the tunnel. Diesel fuel, oil, and something else. Something unpleasant and organic. Something rotten. He put one foot in front of the other, hurrying a little to catch up with Danny. 

Danny had smelt it too. And more than that, he had felt something. Some shift in the air. They were halfway into the tunnel, which also meant they were starting to head out, but it didn’t feel that way. Down here, in the darkness, time and space stretched and warped. Danny would never admit it to Todd, because he didn’t want to have to deal with a gibbering mess, but he was feeling nervous. The initial excitement had worn off. He still wanted to accomplish this mission, but also could admit that he would feel some relief when they exited on the west end. 

Danny turned his head to the side. For some time, he had been focused on the rails and ties ahead of him, not wanting to trip. All they needed was for one of them to twist or break an ankle. The recurring symbols were there, now drawn in huge, looping arcs. They seemed more insistent somehow. He couldn’t help but feel they were some kind of warning. Todd’s light joined his and Danny saw Todd’s wide eyes staring up. They heard the shriek from just ahead of them and both jerked their heads back toward the tunnel ahead, catching what looked like a person running away about 20 yards from them. “Hey!” yelled Danny, “Wait.”

Todd didn’t know what Danny had seen. For him it was something reptilian; green-brown scales and yellow eyes fading into the darkness. His heart was hammering against his chest. “Danny…what?”, Todd stammered.

There was nothing to do but keep moving. They now walked side by side. Todd almost reached out for Danny’s hand, but put the childish notion aside. 

When Danny researched the tunnel, he found out that in the 1800s, when it was built, they had marveled at the engineering prowess that allowed them to work from both ends with a close enough tolerance that they met precisely in line. To minimize the work needed, there were no curves in the rail line. With none of the modern safety standards, several construction workers had died and many more were injured during the months of blasting and excavating to create the tunnel. There was almost no mention of the origins of the land, including the mountain, as a sacred Native American site. 

Ten minutes after they both thought they had seen something, both headlamps went dark. There was no gradual fade as batteries wore down. It was like hitting a light switch. One second they were walking along in their cones of light and the next it was total darkness. This time it was Danny who let out a shriek. “What the hell!” he shouted in frustration. He fumbled at the headlamp, making sure that it wasn’t just some glitch with the on/off switch. He could feel Todd next to him and that was some comfort in the darkness. “What’s going on Danny?” Todd's voice was shaky.

“I don’t know. I put new batteries in just a day or two ago.” What he was just now remembering was that he had thought about going to the store to get brand new batteries, but had forgotten. Then he combed through the junk drawer at home and found a box of batteries and used those. There was no telling how long the box had been in there. Danny hadn’t thought to look at the date on the batteries. 

“Do you have your phone?” Danny asked. He could hear Todd fumbling in his pants and then there was a clatter as the phone slipped out on the hard steel of the tracks. “Shit!” muttered Todd and then he was on his hands and knees reaching back and forth for the phone. He pulled back suddenly as he swore he brushed against something ridged and scaly. He knocked into Danny’s legs and they both heard the batteries Danny had been holding fall to the ground. 

Danny hadn’t brought his phone. That wasn’t exactly true. In the excitement of the morning, he had forgotten it. His mind was already playing tricks on him in the black. For just a second he thought he heard a train whistle, but couldn’t tell from which direction. Somewhere, water dripped and then there were the voices. In his mind, they sounded like Indians calling out. He thought of some of the old westerns he had watched growing up. 

The voices were angry and scared. He took a step back and bumped into what felt like a body, but he knew Todd was down on the floor of the tunnel. Danny screamed. 

He ran without thinking, reaching out in the black to keep from crashing into the side of the tunnel. Impossibly, he never felt the walls even though he could tell he was running away from the tracks. Footsteps seemed to be everywhere. He heard a scrabbling sound, like when his dog ran across the kitchen floor. Only this would have been a giant dog. The echoes in the tunnel ruined any sense of direction. He heard wet sounds and Todd’s scream abruptly being cut off. 

Danny stopped, sucking in shaky breaths as he tried to figure out where he was. His pack was somewhere. “Todd”, he tried in a hesitant voice. There was no response. But he heard something else. A weird rasping and shuffling of clothes or foot steps and a low chanting sound. Then he saw that there was a kind of light on the ceiling of the tunnel. It must be some kind of sensor. Every 5 or 6 seconds, there was a small blink of light that made him think of the smoke detectors at home. As his eyes adjusted to the almost pitch black, these brief blinks of light lit up the interior of the tunnel for an instant. The first time, he didn’t understand what he was seeing. It was no longer the narrow confines of the tunnel, but rather a large cavern that stretched away as far as he could see. 

Blink. Something was moving off to his left. Blink. He swore that he saw a figure on his right now. Blink. “Hello?” He could hear his own terror and felt a hot tear slide down his cheek. Blink. He looked up and saw the symbol that had accompanied them on their journey. Blink. It covered the whole ceiling of the cavern he was standing in. Blink. More motion on both sides now. His life was unfolding like a time lapse movie. Blink. He was now surrounded and glimpsed the paint on faces and feathers in long black hair. Blink. He couldn’t move. Where would he go? Blink. The figure was right in front of him raising a club. Pain shot through his head and Danny didn’t see anything more.