The entrance to the mine was deliberately concealed behind a thick patch of nettles while the faux one was left invitingly wide open further down near the lake. Lord knows how many "explorers" had walked through and found it disappointingly mediocre, complaining to their cameras as they walked right by unassuming nettles.
Nobody's supposed to know about the real entrance but we found the old miner's map when the library burnt down and all they could save was left unattended for just long enough that a dozen or so precious documents slipped away. We meant to bring it back but after the mine ate Jake we buried it instead - none of us wanted to get the police involved.
We only went in there because we reckoned there might still be a cart of silver in there and with the map we thought there'd be no way we could get lost. We even brought dust masks with us in case the air was bad. There was no way we could have prepared for what we found, or rather what found us.
The walls were wet. That was the first thing we noticed and we blamed it on the recent rains as we headed from the mouth of the tunnel and deep into the belly of the mine. Everything on the map was named after a body part which we thought was miner humour or technical terms.
We were in over our heads before we'd gotten halfway down the main tunnel. That was when Jake slipped and cut his arm up on a broken cart rail, the blood vanished as soon as it hit the ground and the floor below us began to tilt like it was guiding us deeper down.
None of us wanted to go but Jake just walked away like he was being pulled. We all tried to get him back but even with all of us pulling at him he didn't budge an inch and just kept on walking and walking until we all ended up by a dead end.
I don't remember much of what happened next - one minute he was there then the wall opened up and he was gone and the wall was moving closer and closer to us. Next thing I know we're covered in scratches and stings from the nettles, we're by the lake and gasping for air and Jake is gone.
His parents think he was kidnapped on his way home because we all told them that was when we last saw him. Seemed better than trying to explain that the mine is a living thing that drinks blood and doesn't leave anything behind when it eats you.
I just hope he died quick, the thought of him still being alive down there is somehow worse.
Nobody's supposed to know about the real entrance but we found the old miner's map when the library burnt down and all they could save was left unattended for just long enough that a dozen or so precious documents slipped away. We meant to bring it back but after the mine ate Jake we buried it instead - none of us wanted to get the police involved.
We only went in there because we reckoned there might still be a cart of silver in there and with the map we thought there'd be no way we could get lost. We even brought dust masks with us in case the air was bad. There was no way we could have prepared for what we found, or rather what found us.
The walls were wet. That was the first thing we noticed and we blamed it on the recent rains as we headed from the mouth of the tunnel and deep into the belly of the mine. Everything on the map was named after a body part which we thought was miner humour or technical terms.
We were in over our heads before we'd gotten halfway down the main tunnel. That was when Jake slipped and cut his arm up on a broken cart rail, the blood vanished as soon as it hit the ground and the floor below us began to tilt like it was guiding us deeper down.
None of us wanted to go but Jake just walked away like he was being pulled. We all tried to get him back but even with all of us pulling at him he didn't budge an inch and just kept on walking and walking until we all ended up by a dead end.
I don't remember much of what happened next - one minute he was there then the wall opened up and he was gone and the wall was moving closer and closer to us. Next thing I know we're covered in scratches and stings from the nettles, we're by the lake and gasping for air and Jake is gone.
His parents think he was kidnapped on his way home because we all told them that was when we last saw him. Seemed better than trying to explain that the mine is a living thing that drinks blood and doesn't leave anything behind when it eats you.
I just hope he died quick, the thought of him still being alive down there is somehow worse.
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