Beneath the Hollow Road

Jason and Eric, standing at the edge of the drainage tunnel, felt a surge of excitement as they prepared to embark on their daring adventure. Their backpacks, slung over one shoulder, and their muddy shoes were a testament to their readiness. The distant chime of the school bell was a mere echo, for school was the last thing on their minds. They were about to enter a world of mystery and danger, an adventure that would make them legends among their peers.

"You sure about this?" Eric asked, peering into the gaping mouth of the tunnel. The darkness within swallowed the daylight.

Jason smirked. "Scared?"

Eric scoffed, shoving Jason forward. "Nah, just don't wanna be stuck crawling through a sewer."

"It's not a sewer. It's an old maintenance tunnel," Jason said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Besides, I heard the high schoolers talking about it last year. Said it leads to some abandoned underground bunker. You wanna be the guys who found it or chickened out?"

Eric sighed, adjusting his backpack. "Fine. But if we get eaten by mole people, I'm haunting you forever."

They clicked on their flashlights and stepped inside. The tunnel smelled of damp concrete and something faintly metallic. The walls were slick with condensation, and their footsteps echoed unnervingly. A faint dripping sound came from somewhere ahead.

They walked for a while, cracking jokes to shake off the unease. But then, the tunnel changed. The air turned thick, and the faint smell of something rotten reached their noses, a stark contrast to the damp, musty scent they were used to.

"Okay, that's gross," Eric muttered, covering his nose.

Jason shined his flashlight around. The tunnel stretched ahead, but something felt... different. Once uniform and modern, the walls looked older, as if time had eroded them into jagged stone.

"This wasn't like this before, was it?" Jason asked.

Eric shook his head, his voice tinged with uncertainty. "No way. Maybe we took a wrong turn?" The thought of being lost in the dark, eerie tunnel sent a shiver down his spine.

A scraping sound echoed through the tunnel.

Both boys froze.

"What was that?" Jason whispered.

Eric swung his flashlight wildly, its beam dancing over the damp walls. "I don't know, but let's keep moving."

They quickened their pace, but the tunnel felt endless. The air grew colder. Then Jason stopped abruptly, causing Eric to crash into him.

"Dude, what—"

Jason pointed. Ahead, in the beam of his flashlight, was a rusted metal door set into the stone wall.

"Okay, this is officially weird," Eric muttered.

Jason, ever the thrill-seeker, reached for the handle. The door creaked open, revealing a narrow corridor. Dim, flickering lights buzzed overhead. The scent of dust and something stale filled their lungs.

"This is unreal," Jason whispered, stepping inside.

Eric hesitated. "Jason, maybe we should go back."

A metallic clang rang out behind them. They spun around. The door had shut.

Eric grabbed the handle, yanking furiously. "It won't open!" His voice wavered.

Then, the lights flickered out.

A guttural growl echoed from the darkness.

Jason's breath hitched. He fumbled for his flashlight, the beam shaking in his hands.

A shadow moved at the edge of the light.

Eric whimpered, his voice trembling with fear, "What the hell is that?"

The growl came again, closer. Then, a metallic scraping sound, like claws against the wall.

Jason backed up, gripping Eric's sleeve. "Run."

They bolted down the corridor, their flashlights bobbing wildly. The walls blurred as they sprinted, their lungs burning and legs screaming. A deafening roar erupted behind them, shaking the ground. Jason risked a glance back—a hulking silhouette with gleaming eyes surged toward them.

"There!" Eric shouted, pointing at a staircase. Their hearts pounding in their chests, they scrambled up, tripping over each other in their desperation. The door at the top burst open at their touch, and they stumbled through, slamming it shut. A wave of relief washed over them, their bodies trembling with the adrenaline of their escape.

Panting, Jason turned to Eric. "Do you think we lost it?"

Eric shook his head frantically. "I don't know! We need to find another way out."

Before they could catch their breath, slow, deliberate footsteps echoed through the corridor ahead.

"Someone's coming," Jason whispered.

The dim emergency lights flickered, casting eerie shadows along the walls. A silhouette emerged—a tall, faceless figure with a slightly tilted head. Jason's flashlight wavered as he trained the beam on it, but the figure absorbed the light as if it were nothing more than smoke.

Then, the whispering began.

Low, incoherent murmurs filled the space, growing louder and circling them like chants. The faceless figure stepped forward, and Jason and Eric stumbled back. The walls trembled and distorted, and the tunnel warped as if reality were breaking apart.

Eric clutched Jason's arm. "This isn't possible," he breathed.

Jason wanted to move, to scream, but the whispers were inside his head now, flooding his thoughts. The figure took another step forward, and the walls around them seemed to stretch, elongating into a dark abyss.

Just as Jason was sure they were about to be swallowed whole—

A low chime rang through the corridor, and a glowing symbol appeared on the wall to their left. Jason squinted, realizing the symbol looked familiar—like something from one of the games they played. Words, barely audible, echoed through the space: Find the sword sheathed in snakes, and it will lead you to the exit.

"Search for the sword. I want to get out of this place." Eric swung his flashlight frantically across the decaying wall, his feet splashing through the wet floors.

Jason matched Eric's pace, hoping desperately for the symbol to appear.

"Did we miss it? I feel like we're going deeper into this rabbit hole." Eric's hands trembled as he swept the flashlight across the walls.

"Wait! Over there!" Jason gasped, grabbing Eric's arm.

A soft pulse of blue light flickered on the left wall, revealing the intricate carving of a historical sword. The snakes slithering around the cold steel illuminated themselves.

A thunderous boom shook the tunnel, sending ripples through the puddles of water.

"What do we do now?" Jason screamed.

The boys looked back at the symbol, but it had vanished. In its place was a circular entranceway with lanterns illuminating the shallow passage.

Jason and Eric hesitate before sprinting, thinking they’ve finally found an escape—only to have reality unravel.

The walls were illuminated with panels of blinking lights. The rusted aesthetic flickered and vanished, revealing sleek metallic surfaces and hidden cameras—the perfect simulation for the teenager's deception.

A door on the far side of the room slid open with a soft hiss.

And then, stepping through the doorway, were their parents.

Jason's mom and Eric's father stood there with their arms crossed. "We told you boys that skipping school has consequences."

Jason and Eric gawked at their parents, the cameras, and back again. Finally, in perfect unison, they blurted, "Shit!"