The Typhon Project

Chapter 12: Too Old to be Afraid of the Dark

Maybe it was boredom that lured me toward that tunnel. 

Whatever it was, it was impossible to say no. Dressed in all black, I tied my hair back. I opened the door and peeked into the shadowy hallway. A dim nightlight lit a circle of tile near the bathroom. The slit below each bedroom door revealed nothing but darkness. Likely, they were all sleeping.

I tiptoed down the hall and through the common room, my ears alert to the slightest noise. Muffled sounds echoed down the boys' hallway. I hurried toward the back entrance.

I slipped through the back door into the cool night air and eased the door closed behind me.

My heart thrummed. I made it out!

A slivered moon glowed above me. Crickets chirped. Equally spaced lamps lit all the sidewalks running toward the fountain. If I followed the pathway to the Tesla Coil, someone would see me for sure. A figure strode down the sidewalk in the distance. I ran toward the chain link fence at the edge of the compound.

My lungs filled with night air as my feet padded the soft grass. There was something comforting about being out in the dark. Back home, it was the only time I'd left the house, but I hadn't been out at night since I arrived here.

When I reached the fence, I followed it South. The Tesla Coil building loomed ahead, a blocky shadow. I pushed myself faster. At the back of the building I searched in the darkness for the shaft among the sea of lawn. I walked back and forth over the area where I remembered it being. Where was it?

There had to be security cameras on the coil building. Did I dare venture any closer? Two steps, three steps. A few more. That was as close as I could safely go. Another step and I stumbled. The ground was lower than I anticipated. My shoe thudded against metal.

I dropped onto all fours. Dim orange-hued light shone through the holes in the shaft cover. I hooked my fingers in the holes and pulled. Its weight tugged on my shoulders. I heaved and the lid budged. Pushing with my legs, I yanked and the shaft cover popped up and swung open on a hinge.

I knelt next to the shaft and peered inside. A cold, dry wind blew up the shaft and scattered my hair. The ladder descended down, down, down a concrete tube and disappeared into a black abyss below.

I sat back on my haunches and huffed out a breath. I should have brought a flashlight. Should I go back to the dorm and try to find one? But what if I got caught? I could almost hear the questions now—why do you need a flashlight and why are you sneaking out at night?Then they'd send me off to talk to Dr. Rail about my strange behavior.

If there was anything significant down there, like some sort of maintenance passageway, there'd have to be lights. And they wouldn't just have a random shaft here for no reason.

I peered back toward the dorm. Was this the end of my grand adventure?

I didn't want it to be.

But it was so dark down there. 

I was too old to be afraid of the dark. Don't be a wimp!

Gripping tufts of grass, I backed into the shaft and hooked my foot on the first rung. A couple steps down the ladder, I heaved the hatch closed above me. It slammed shut with a deep boom that echoed down the shaft. The sound carried. And carried. Until it disappeared. By the sound of it there had to be tunnel down there. The singled light that lit the upper shaft grew dimmer the lower I climbed. I carefully placed my feet. If I fell in here, who knows how long it would take to be found.

The temperature dropped as I descended lower. How deep did this go?

I dipped my right foot for the next rung, but it scraped a surface. I waved my foot out in a circle. More of the same rough surface.

I clung to the ladder as I slowly lowered my weight onto what must have been the floor beneath the shaft. I looked up at the muted light at the top of the shaft. It did nothing drive out the darkness down here. I splayed my fingers and searched. They brushed a cold, rough wall. Probably concrete like the shaft. I walked along the wall, feeling my way through the blackness.

My pulse quickened. What if I got lost down here in the dark? I wouldn't let that happen. If I didn't find a light source soon, I'd go back to the dorm.

My fingers grazed something on the wall, smooth, narrow and rounded. Plastic maybe? A coated wire? Maybe it would lead to a light switch.

I followed the plastic tube for a dozen footsteps. I stubbed my fingers against something hard protruding from the walk. I grabbed it with both hands—a small cold box. Metal maybe. A circular spot in the middle. I pressed my thumb into the circle.

Lights popped on, one after another down the length of a t concrete tunnel that seemed to stretch on forever, the lights narrowing to a point. Pipes of varying diameters crowded the ceiling and colorful wires encased in a clear tube ran alongside them. If my sense of direction was correct, the tunnel ran in the direction of The Farm dome. It stretched so far it had to extend under the dome.

What if there was a way to the outside world?

I glanced back in the direction of the shaft. Should I go back?

If there was a way out of this place, I wanted to know.

I broke into a sprint bound for wherever this tunnel led.