The Tunnel

Jason moved slowly, every step careful. The darkness ahead felt thick.. too thick.

Mia stayed close, her gun raised, her breathing steady. Behind them, Ryan held onto Jason’s jacket, limping but keeping up.

The voice had come from the far side of the basement. Somewhere past the bodies.

Jason clenched his knife. This could be a trap.

But if it isn’t…

He pushed forward.

⸻

As they stepped deeper into the shadows, the air changed.

It is colder here. Heavy.

Then.. a faint movement.

Jason stopped, his grip tightening. “Where are you?”

Silence.

Then, a wheezing breath.

“…Here.”

Jason turned his head.. there.

Half-buried under debris, leaning against a rusted shelf, is a man.

His face is pale, his eyes sunken. Blood soaked his torn jacket, pooling beneath him. He looked weak.. half-dead already.

Mia didn’t lower her gun. “Who are you?”

The man coughed.. a wet, painful sound. He tried to sit up but failed.

“…Darren.”

Jason studied him. “You’re alone?”

A slow, shaky nod. “Now I am.”

Jason didn’t like that answer.

Ryan swallowed. “What happened to you?”

Darren’s eyes flickered to the bodies across the room. His voice is quiet.

“They turned on each other.”

Jason felt a chill crawl down his spine.

⸻

Mia didn’t waste time. “Is there a way out of here?”

Darren let out a weak chuckle. “There is.” He gestured vaguely toward the locked door. “Leads to an old service tunnel.”

Jason’s pulse quickened. “It’s locked.”

Darren gave a tired nod. “We… blocked it. Didn’t want anything getting in.”

Mia stepped closer. “Where’s the key?”

Darren didn’t answer right away. His breathing is ragged, his gaze unfocused.

Jason could see it.. he isn’t going to last much longer.

Finally, Darren reached into his pocket with trembling fingers. Slowly, he pulled out a rusted key and held it up.

Jason moved to take it..

But Darren gripped his wrist, his eyes sharp despite the weakness in his body.

“Listen,” he rasped. “If you go down that tunnel… you don’t stop. You don’t turn back.”

Jason frowned. “Why?”

Darren exhaled. His grip loosened. His eyes fluttered.

And then.. he went still.

Ryan’s breath hitched. “Is he…?”

Jason let out a slow breath, pulling the key from Darren’s fingers.

Mia stood. “We need to go. Now.”

Jason nodded, pushing the unease aside.

Because Darren is right.

They couldn’t stop.

And they sure as hell couldn’t turn back.

Jason didn’t waste time.

He moved to the rusted metal door, gripping the old key tightly. Mia and Ryan stood close behind, tense and silent.

The basement is still. Too still.

Jason pushed the key into the lock. It stuck.

His stomach twisted. If it broke..

But then, with a grinding screech, the lock turned.

Jason exhaled. “We’re in.”

He grabbed the handle and pulled.

The door groaned as it swung open, revealing pitch-black emptiness.

A cold draft rushed out.

The tunnel is long, deep, and silent.

Ryan shifted beside him. “We don’t know what’s in there.”

Jason did his best to keep his voice steady. “Better than staying here.”

Ryan hesitated but nodded.

Mia clicked on her flashlight, shining it into the darkness. The tunnel stretched far, the walls cracked and damp. Pipes ran along the ceiling, rusted and leaking in places.

Jason stepped inside first.

The air smelled stale.. like something old. Something forgotten.

Mia followed. Then Ryan.

The door creaked as it closed behind them, sealing them in.

⸻

They moved cautiously.

Jason stayed ahead, gripping his knife tightly. Mia’s flashlight guided their way, the beam cutting through the thick darkness.

Ryan kept close, his steps uneven from his injured ankle.

They walked in silence.

The tunnel twisted and sloped downward. Deeper.

Jason’s gut twisted with it.

Darren’s last words echoed in his mind.. you don’t stop, you don’t turn back.

He hadn’t said why.

But Jason didn’t want to find out.

⸻

They walked for what felt like hours.

The deeper they went, the colder it got.

The air is thick. Heavy.

And then.. the smell hit them.

Ryan gagged. “What is that?”

Jason clenched his jaw. Rot. Decay.

Mia slowed her steps. “Something’s down here.”

Jason already knew.

And then..

A sound.

Soft. Faint.

A dripping noise.

Jason stopped. Mia froze beside him.

They listened.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

It is close.

Mia lifted her flashlight..

And the light landed on it.

A body.

Hanging upside down.

Its arms dangled. Its face is bloated and twisted. The flesh is stripped in places, exposing bone.

Ryan inhaled sharply. Jason put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him still.

Mia exhaled. “It’s fresh.”

Jason didn’t ask how she knew.

Because he could see it.

The blood hadn’t fully dried.

Something had put it there recently.

And then..

The sound came again.

Not the dripping.

Something moved.

Ahead of them.

In the darkness.

Jason’s chest tightened. He gripped his knife harder.

Ryan whispered, “We need to go back.”

Jason swallowed.

No.

They couldn’t.

Darren had warned them.

There is only one way out.

Jason forced himself forward. “Come on.”

Mia hesitated, then followed.

Ryan didn’t argue.

They moved past the body.. not looking, not stopping.

The tunnel stretched on, but they weren’t alone anymore.

Something was watching.

And Jason knew it.

The tunnel stretched endlessly, swallowing them in thick, suffocating darkness. Mia’s flashlight cast a weak beam ahead, flickering slightly, barely illuminating more than a few feet at a time.

Jason led the way, his grip tight on his knife, sweat slick on his palms despite the cold. Ryan limped behind, his breathing unsteady, but he kept moving. They all did.

Because stopping isn’t an option.

Something is down here.

Jason could feel it.. watching. Waiting.

The tunnel twisted sharply, leading them deeper into the unknown. The walls closed in slightly, narrowing as damp concrete dripped from unseen cracks above. Pipes rattled somewhere, groaning with unseen pressure.

And the smell.. it is getting worse.

⸻

Ryan coughed into his sleeve. “This place stinks like a grave.”

Jason didn’t respond. He is listening.

The noises are getting closer.

Not just the occasional drip of water. Not just their own footsteps.

Something else.

A soft, wet sound.

A dragging noise.

Jason exhaled slowly, his mind racing. What the hell is down here?

Mia’s light flickered again.

And then, ahead of them.. the shadows moved.

Jason froze. Mia stopped beside him.

Ryan inhaled sharply. “Did you see that?”

Jason’s stomach twisted. “Yeah.”

Something had shifted.

Not a trick of the light.

Something alive.

Mia took a careful step forward, her gun steady in her hands. She flicked the flashlight upward.

And they saw it.

Something clinging to the ceiling.

At first, Jason’s mind couldn’t process it. It isn’t a lizard.. not the kind they had seen before. It is wrong.

Its skin is slick and stretched too thin over its bony frame. Its limbs are unnaturally long, ending in curled, hooked claws that dug into the concrete above. Its head.. if it could even be called that.. is twisted at an odd angle, empty sockets staring down at them.

And its mouth..

It had no lips. Just exposed, jagged teeth.

Ryan made a strangled noise in his throat.

Jason didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.

Because the thing isn’t moving either.

It just hung there. Watching.

⸻

Mia’s hand is steady, but Jason could see the tension in her fingers, the way she hovered over the trigger.

Jason whispered, “Don’t.”

She didn’t lower the gun. “It’s blocking the path.”

Jason’s jaw clenched. She is right.

The tunnel is narrow here.. there is no way past without getting close.

Jason exhaled slowly. “We don’t know how it reacts to sound. If you fire.. ”

The thing twitched.

Ryan sucked in a breath. “Jason.. ”

Then..

It dropped.

Fast.

Jason barely had time to move.

It hit the ground in a wet thud, limbs sprawling, too many joints bending the wrong way.

Mia fired.

The shot rang out, deafening in the tight space.

The bullet slammed into its torso.

And the thing didn’t react.

Jason grabbed Ryan and shoved him back. “RUN!”

The creature lurched forward.

Jason barely dodged, feeling the rush of air as its claws sliced inches from his face.

Mia fired again.. this time hitting its shoulder.

Nothing.

Ryan stumbled, Jason catching his arm as they sprinted.

The tunnel opened up ahead.

Jason ran.

Because now, they knew.

It isn’t just the lizards anymore.

There are other things.

And they are down here.