| Until one day, a
piece of rock in the main tunnel collapsed onto the hose, crushing it and rendering it
useless. While attention was drawn to the task of moving the fallen rock, the plight
of the men was overlooked. It was nearly two hours before the alarm was raised and a
rescue party was sent in with a new ventilation hose. But this was all too late. Two dozen
men had suffocated to death. Their bodies were found along the passage, each having tried
to crawl back, gasping for air. The bodies were brought to the surface, one by one. Their faces contorted in desperation and their bodies frozen in a crouched, crawling position in their futile scrabble for air. Those men who continued to work on the tunnel were unable to forget. It was some months after the tunnel opened before the rumours began. A chilling story was spreading across the city. Something was in the tunnel. One unfortunate delivery driver gave the story chilling clarity:- Early one morning he had been driving though the empty tunnel when his engine began to falter. The truck shuddered and lurched then the headlamps flickered and died. The delivery truck ground to a halt. He tried to start the engine. He tried again.There was no sign of life. He began to feel very alone. He reached across the cabin for a flashlight. Switching it on, everything around him was immediately closer and the tunnel ahead of him, longer and darker. As he climbed out of the truck and jumped down to the road he stumbled and fell to the ground dropping the flashlight. The surrounding darkness became thick and impenetrable. He grabbed the torch and edged around to the front to inspect the engine. Strangely, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it. He began to panic and fought to compose himself. Fear was slowly taking hold of him. Every breath seemed more difficult than the last. Then he heard the noise behind him. |