Ah the middle of the week. We have made it. And thus far the days are clicking by in a relatively drama free pattern. Which is kind of a relief after the last few weeks. So lets start off as we do every morning and see what the sentence above brings us, story-wise. Timers set and off we go.
I may need to do a bit of reworking because it took me a minute to realize what this story was, but now that I know I am going to have to make some notes.
Wednesday, August 28th: We found the entrance to the passage.
We found the entrance to the passage. It took a lot of effort to open. Someone sealed it shut intending for it not to ever be opened. They had to cut through the thick metal bars with a blow torch as the locks were so rusted and corroded that they half melted into the metal surrounds. They had also been placed in such a way that it was near impossible to get bolt cutters in a position to cut the locks off.
They stood impatiently waiting for the bands to be cut. Once beyond there was further exasperation as it proved to be only the first obstacle. There were two further doors to get through, all metal, all reinforced. It was a process that could not be hurried. When the final barricade was breached they found the hinges were rusted shit. They were oiled where they couldn’t be cut through and finally the door was pushed wide, revealing the tunnel beyond.
It was hard not to feel nervous. Geran stared down the long dark tunnel and thought about how many protections were put in place to prevent people from opening the passage once they did find it. That thought led him to the trouble they had finding the passage in the first place. It took research in many dusty archives. There were dire warnings and even detailed explanations as to why the entrance was hidden as well as the passage blocked.
He read them all and duly reported them. He had concerns, but his concerns were not important to those in charge. He was nothing and no one to them. Hiss language and research skills were useful, but they knew there would be others found with those skills if something happened to him. It was also why he was here. Hs skills offered him a slightly better placement than many of the others captured in the war. It afforded him better rations and medical supplies. He used them for his family and what his family didn’t need they passed on to the rest of the community. He may have had the higher position, but it mostly meant that he could bring more resources back to the whole. Or it had. Geran felt his thoughts shy away from the recent memories.
It was only the officials who really thought it a higher status. ‘And even that doesn’t matter now,’ Geran thought. He was here with the others, technically lower status captives and being sent into the darkly forbidding tunnel. Those in charge wanted information. They hoped the others would take the brunt of the danger and he would bring back the information ass he was the most valuable. but he wasn’t valuable enough to keep safely clear of the tunnels. ‘And nothing really to come back for,’ he thought. The only two survivors from his small circle in the community were with him and about to go into the tunnel as well.
There was a sigh from one of the officials as the last of the debris created from opening the door was shifted to the side. “Finally,” he said. “We should have had the team in hors ago.” He waved peevishly to the waiting party and swallowing back his own fear Geran stepped forward, the small party following. They entered the passage, and he turned on his battery operated lantern. It illuminated only a few feet. The others turned on their lanterns as the door behind them was shut. While it wasn’t bolted with the original bolts, they could all hear something heavy being moved in front.
‘I guess someone listened to the warnings,’ he thought wryly he started down the passage.
Ten til Midnight 