The sun was high in the sky making the sand covered landscape wave under the scolding desert heat. A lone gas station stood off the side of the Pan-American Highway. The gas station was empty with only two pumps seemingly made during the turn of the century. Our Expedition pulled up to the side of them and the minute our doors opened the heat hit us like a punch in the face. “Damn, I wish they would have told us that we would be working in such heat”. I wiped my red face as I felt beads of sweat already running down my small beard. I removed my shades as the sun beat down on the both of us, “I’ll go in and get some cash. We have to make it to the mines by night fall”. I turned and pointed my finger at my partner, “it’s your freaking time table,” he shrugged at me, “yeah well the company wanted us to drive . . . what can I tell you”? I growled, “Just make it happen”. Still growling he walked towards the front of the store but stopped when an old bronzed skin man exited the station. “Didn’t see ya’ll,” he said behind a mess of grizzly gray beard. He removed his cowboy hat as he raised his melon sized head to the sky. “Sure is a hot one today huh?”
“Yeah can you fill it up all the way, we got a long journey ahead of us”. The man placed his hat on his head “very well,” “hey you guys got a bathroom”? I watched the grizzly old man bark, “ha, city boys round here . . . naw, but just piss out back that’s what everybody else does”! He stumbled down the stairs and made his way towards me. Gray dirt covered jeans over a sweaty white-tee was the man’s choice of ensemble. He stopped dead in his tracks at our Expedition, “Jesus Christ boy, don’t get much fancy cars like that round here”. I look confused and turned back to our company car, “it’s just an Expedition”. The man smiled and continued to stride towards the pump, “nice car . . . she yours”? He made his way to the pump, I groaned a little not really wanting to converse with an inbred desert man, “no, it’s a company car”. He barked again as he began fueling the vehicle, “must be nice? What company?” I lowered my shades and noticed my wrinkled hands roasting in the sun. “Global Green Mining,” the man rested his hand on the window “Mining . . . what’re all doing so far way from the states?” I groaned again as my partner seemed to be taking in the scenery, “investigating the mines out there in the north”.
I returned the glasses to my face and watched my partner coming around the corner, “hurry up Ryan I don’t want to spend all day here. We still got to set up camp”! I began to hear something like liquid hitting the dirt when the smell of gasoline hit my nose. I turned to see the gas tank overflowing as the man was gasping at us, his rotten teeth exposed for the world to see. “What . . .” was all I could muster with his gaze. My eyes watched the gasoline drench the dirt. He jumped as he saw his mistake, “Christ,” he stopped and fumbled with the hose. Finally returning it to its rightful place he exclaimed, “You mean you’re camping out there . . . . by the abandoned mines”? Running my fingers over my nose I removed the dripping sweat, “well it is our job after all”. “But, those mines have been abandoned for years!” “We know . . . that is our job”. The man looked confused as Ryan approached, “I think my friend Bruce here is saying we’re kind of like spelunkers”. “Spelunkers,” he said with a look of confusion, “never mind,” added Ryan as he began to point towards the north. “Can you direct us, we’re looking for this access road, it’s supposed to take us all the way to the mines . . . is it just down the road a little bit”?
The man ran his hand over his beard, “you shouldn’t go up there. That is sacred land . . . their land”. “Whose land,” my question was answered before Ryan could protest, “everyone around these parts knows that. They’re the reason the mines were closed in the first place”. Ryan now sounded interested, “Who”? The man leaned into us and whispered, “The visitors”. I saw Ryan turn to me and I smiled at him to show my comprehension of the man’s statement. “Well then don’t you think they’ll want some company,” he shook his head, “you mustn’t go up that access road. It is forbidden land”. “Well why don’t you tell us how much we owe you so we don’t get stranded out there,” “oh . . .” he fumbled with his hands as if thinking it over. “Bout fifty should do the trick”? I saw Ryan pay the man with a little, “well thanks for all your help”. “You must heed my advice no man must travel down there!” Ryan smiled at the grizzled man “I am sure a couple nights aren’t going to offend them”. Ryan made his way into the driver’s seat and I followed suit. We didn’t mean to kick up so much dust as we left but with the cloud behind us we were once again on the road. “Are you sure you know where you’re going, after all this is the tricky part that you were talking about right”? Ryan nodded, “yeah Bruce the G.P.S. can’t even find this road. It’s an access road, very small probably going to be deteriorated . . . leads straight into the desert. So make sure you keep a clear eye out.” I scoffed, “that’s a larf! All I see is sand and dunes. Let’s just drive through it.” Ryan shook his head, “no there is a road, we can find it”. We continued to drive with Ryan starting to examine the landscape, “it should be coming up. Mr. Hickelson told me that it is a couple miles past that lone gas station. He said he drove by it three times before he actually found it. All the warning signs had been knocked down . . . buried under several inches of sand. He reposted them but he said that they could blow down again.” We continued driving with the desert seemingly cooking us in our car. The road lay empty of anything except the meaningless landscape which consisted of the scattered bush or small tree. I almost could feel the time crawling by, “there that might be it”! He pointed to a bend in the road and a small crack in the wall of sand where only the smallest of cars could make.
“Are you serious,” I said as he nodded his head, “yeah I think that’s it”. I shook my head, “no that can’t be it”. Ryan pulled off to the side of the road and began to inch his way through the narrows. “Ryan there is no way we are going to make it,” “no, we can make it” he said sounding determined. “This has to be the way . . . other people have been there and Mr. Hickelson made it”. The car edged its way up the path as the walls were mere inches from the sides. “I swear if you make it through this gap then I will consider you the greatest driver to have ever lived”. The car inched its way through as we traveled up through the dunes. Finally we broke through to emerge upon the top of one of the largest dunes. It was like a table of sand, the wheels squealed loudly and we drove over the top. “How far is the mine”? Ryan began to laugh as the sand rose around us, “Oh it’s a good drive”.
“A good drive I thought . . . ha!” The sun baked us in the car more as we drive miles into the desert. The sand dunes made our way back seem futile. But Ryan kept driving as if getting there was the real issue. “Don’t you think . . .” my voice broke as we fell down a giant sand dune. It was like a roller coaster and took several seconds to descend. We hit the floor as Ryan caught his breath from shouting, “we need to get there before nightfall. Don’t want to be caught out here lost in the middle of the night . . . am I right?” He turned to me and slapped my arm, “hey you still awake there Bruce! Your shades are falling down you know?” I removed my nails from the door and caught my stunned expression, “where the hell are we”? Waving his hand, “relax . . . ok, just relax . . . . up ahead here”. He pointed as he made his way towards a town that camouflaged into the background. I had to squint to see the remains of an ancient town and a large hole in a particular large rocky sand dune. The buildings were made of a very useful resource especially for this landscape. “Sandstone huh,” Ryan nodded “good old natural sandstone”.
We pulled up to the town and parked next to a building which looked as if it was literally melting in the heat. I opened the door and gazed around at the small town. “So this is what Mr. Hickelson meant by, ou will see a small mining town’”. “Yeah whatever Ryan, it doesn’t matter . . . can we just set up camp and get going”? “Yeah Bruce, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden, you’re looking a little pale there my friend.” I shrugged, “don’t know . . . this place just gives me the creeps”.
We set up camp, equipped our gear including the climbing ropes that we had rushed out the night before to purchase. I slipped the rope over my arm as I met up with Ryan who was grabbing the G.P.R. or Ground Penetrating Radar. “You ready,” he shook his head, “no, there’s something wrong with this machine.” I walked over and studied the large stick that resembled an expensive metal detector. Static began to emanate through the small device, “that’s different”. I took it and twisted the wires, “it’s the wires . . . got to be the wires”. The static began to grow louder, a robotic voice played softly in the background. “What’s wrong with it Bruce . . . I don’t think it can do that stuff.” The detector went dead and then silent. A voice hoarse but soft as a whisper spoke through the machine, the words were strange but spoken like a language. Then the detector went dead and this time for good. I slapped the side of it and then flipped the knob. The red button clicked and the detector gave a familiar beeping sound. I stared down at it, “did . . . did you get any of that”? Ryan shrugged, “it didn’t sound like any language I could even compare it too”. Trying to shake the goose bumps off my arm I stood up to calm my shaky voice, “well works now. So let’s get a move on . . . or get started at least”.
We rappelled down the mine in front of another large black hole with a rusted and ancient railway. Ryan scanned around the hole unhooking his carabineer “why don’t you go check it out and make sure we should even set forth. I’ll call in the safety check and drop the locater”. He snatched his cell phone from his vest as I turned towards the hole. I ran my hands over the wall checking for any weak spots or danger zones. My eyes traveled over the ground as the hard surface seemed to provide a stable environment. The wooden beams however rotted and looked on the verge of turning immediately into dust. The air was colder the further I traveled into the hole. I grabbed my flashlight and examined every crevice of the mine. It went down deep into the earth and a sudden chill swept through the air. Like a gust of wind from the depths of the cave, “Bruce . . . how’s it look? Just finished check in we’re good to go. We got a fifty minute window until check in”. I nodded, “grab your light and let’s move”. My vest rattled slightly with every step as we headed deeper into the mine. “Stability is going to need some work,” Ryan focused on a pile of rocks held in the ceiling by a bending wooden board. We probed deeper into the mine shaft until it began to open wider to accommodate only the largest of wildlife. Soon the ceiling opened up and a bee hive like room came into view. This must be one of the stations I had read about in the initial report. We stared around the abandoned mine and our meager lights provided “fire fly” light in a large mining hole. “Wow this is amazing, it still looks stable . . .” I turned to him with a sarcastic look which he quickly added, “you know it’s not all mined out. We should really get some samples if we can.” I nodded as I raised my light. A shadow had darted into one of the small holes that led to another mine shaft. “What’s that sound,” my eyes narrowed trying to scan our surroundings as a small clicking sound could be heard. It only clicked in patterns until it was finally drowned by a soft sucking sound like mud boiling.
I turned to Ryan who was scrapping off a large amount of the wall and placing it into a large vile. He labeled it Sample 1 and turned to me, “well I guess we should head deeper huh”? I turned to him, “you don’t hear that”? He shrugged, “probably a crack in the foundation.” “I don’t know about that,” I scanned the different levels as my eyes traced along the walls. The light was minimal from our flashlights, but I had seen something as clear as day. A tiny figure had disappeared as quickly as it had become visible. It was tiny and meandered in the door disappearing from my sight. “Hey I’m going to start running some tests,” Ryan’s comment seemed distant as he added, “hopefully we will be able to reopen the mines within the year”. A wind blew through the deserted mine as the sand fell lightly from the top.
I saw Ryan pull out the Ground Penetrating Radar and begin to fiddle with it. I was not even paying any attention to him. My eyes continued to scan the levels, “Ryan,” I said softly. I froze when a rock came tumbling down the wall. It hit several times before it clattered to the ground. “Ryan,” I whispered again as I heard something like scuffling over the walls. “Bruce I can’t do this with you crying over there,” “Ryan will you shut up”! My panicked voice made him raise his head in alertness, “What is it”? I raised my hand, “Do you hear that”? I focused on the small almost scuttle like sounds that seemed to scamper over the very walls. “Do you hear that,” Ryan focused on our surroundings but shook his head, “it’s just water trickling down the walls or something . . . you’re all jumpy today, you need to relax. Soon will be back at camp sitting around a fire and sleeping under the stars . . . just relax ok Bruce”? I ran my hands through my hair, “yeah maybe your right?” Ryan began to smack the machine, “this thing is busted again . . . shit!”
Finally turning my gaze from the walls, “well we are just going to have to grab the reserve. Might as well, it’s getting late anyway and we still have to climb back out. So let’s just pack up and tackle the tunnels early tomorrow. Besides I’m getting tired, let’s just call it a night . . . get me in front of that campfire you’re promising me.” Ryan swore again before running his hands over his face, “yeah . . . guess your right Bruce”. We scanned the caves one more time and then returned down the tunnel, back towards our climbing gear. “Man I can’t wait to get back to that sleeping bag”. I was even happy about returning to the campsite. Hell after a long drive, setting up camp, and having enough time to do a scouting of the mines was a day that was long overdue to being finished. We made our way through and saw up ahead the large hole we had rappelled through.
The sun was virtually gone but that was not the shocking part. “No, no, no,” Ryan was running forward, I had not even seen his problems until he started to wave his hands in the air. I saw the absence of his concern and felt my own fear set in my stomach like a pound of cooked noodles. “THE ROPES,” he scanned the ground and found both of them crumbled behind a large rock. He withdrew them as they fell apart like wet pasta. His eyes were wide with shock as he stared up at the hole. “No,” he yelled with an added, “You got to be kidding me”!
I immediately turned my head back to the tunnel as a slight gust seemed to flow through the empty hole. There came a soft scattering of rocks as they tumbled lightly over the walls. “Bruce,” yelled Ryan as I turned to answer his exasperated groans, “I don’t know what we are going to do . . . I guess we are just going to have to call for help or find another way out”! Throwing the ropes to the floor, “we wouldn’t need to find the way up if somebody would have tied the ropes right”! Chortling I gave a quick, “me . . . you’re blaming this on me”? Raising his finger he advanced on me, “who else is there to blame, you tied the ropes”! He kicked them at me letting the shreds scatter over the ground, “useless, you didn’t tie the ropes good enough”. Gripping my chest, “me . . . you’re blaming this on me,” my repetition of words sent Ryan advancing towards me screaming “Now we don’t have a way out!” Grabbing the pieces of rope that had made it to my feet, I yelled, “This is not a faulty rope. This was ripped up by something . . . it was cut”. “Who would cut it Bruce? We are out in the middle of a desert . . . in the middle of Northern Chile”! Returning the ropes to the ground, “listen I’m sure there is another way out”. “HELP,” screamed Ryan at the top of his lungs as I shook my head, “you’re not helping anything. We need to find another way out . . . let’s examine a little more, besides we have to go further anyway . . . think of it like getting ahead”. “Getting ahead,” he repeated as I tried to give a reassuring smile, “yeah getting ahead, now come on before we loose the light”.
Gulping slightly, Bruce gave a quick scan of the opening as Ryan advanced on him, “well what are you waiting for”? Bruce gave another quick scan. “Move over then!” Ryan pushed past Bruce as he made his way down the tunnel. “Ryan wait,” Bruce raised his hand as dirt began to scatter over the walls again, “What,” he exclaimed angrily. “Do you hear that,” his shoulders raised with temper rising, “hear what, this abandoned mine? Jesus what are you so paranoid for”? Bruce gave another quick scan as Ryan yelled, “flip on your light we’re loosing the light too fast”. Ryan groaned as they moved down the tunnel into the large honeycomb where there came a soft scattering. Bruce kicked a rock as he noticed several shadows playing off the walls. “So which tunnel would you like to take? I would suggest the one with the most light wouldn’t you, after all light must be good because somebody couldn’t tie a rope right”! Bruce gazed him up and down, “will you get over yourself? How did we get down here if the ropes were that loose?” Ryan gave a laugh of utter disbelief, “So you’re telling me that somebody walked all the way out here, saw the ropes and cut them away?” Groaning Bruce seemed almost exhausted by Ryan’s relentless blame, “Look I don’t know what happened with the ropes but they are gone alright! So bring out that blueprint and we can just follow that map . . . it’s not the best, but it’ll help”. Ryan nodded and searched in his small backpack and withdrew the folded up blueprint of the mine. He unfolded them as he traced his hands over the large paper. “Well looky, looky, there is another entrance down this one,” he pointed to the tunnel directly in front of them. “The map says that it goes back a ways but there is definitely an exit”. Ryan traced his fingers around it and exclaimed in a groan, “by my calculations it should be a mile deep but it defiantly breeches the surface.” He shut the map, “god it’s going to take us forever to get back to camp!”
There came a soft cackling in the air as Bruce raised his hand, “will you shut up with the complaining . . . listen”. The cackling had grown silent and this seemed to send Ryan into an even louder tirade. “Will you stop it? Stop it! Just stop it! What the hell is your problem?” Bruce shook his head, “I keep hearing things . . . strange things.” Ryan took a step back and in such sarcasm he bellowed, “You don’t say? Strange noises in an old abandoned mine? Oh my god we must call the company immediately and tell them . . .” Bruce held up his hand, “listen Ryan for the sake of our partnership and the rest of this trip, which I am sure is going to be quite enjoyable, I wouldn’t say another word to me, because I am prepared to knock you right out”. Ryan slapped his chest, “oh yeah you wanna go? I’d love to take a swing at your smug ass. You think that your hot shit, but truth is that you’re washed up like this god forsaken mine”.
There came another cackling as Ryan advanced on him. Bruce stopped and raised his hand, “wait Ryan there it is again you hear it”? Bruce turned his head to see a fist flying at him. He took it full in the face as he stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. He hit the wall, “god damn it,” he screamed “what the hell Ryan”? He pointed his finger at him, “I’m sick of this job, I’m sick of this place . . . I’m sick of you Bruce!” He waved his hand and began down the tunnel. The cackle that Bruce had heard earlier now came louder as he watched a small animal scatter behind a rock and then another poked its head from behind another. He couldn’t make it out through the darkness but before his eyes could adjust it had vanished. “Ryan I just saw something!” “Yeah well why don’t you follow it and see if it leads you into a giant hole.” There came another loud cackle and then a whisper barely audible, “intruders,” and then another, “yes . . . intruders.” “Ryan I hear something, I think . . . I think we’re not alone!” Ryan cleared his throat, “well thank god at least . . .” he spun around as he yelled at Bruce continuing “I have something to keep me company in here besides you.” Bruce’s eyes landed on a small black head with eyes wide and dark. It hopped right onto Ryan as he screamed, “What the hell is that”? He reached up to it but then one emerged from a small hole and then another from behind a rock. Bruce ran towards him as Ryan screamed “get them off me!” Another fell from the ceiling as it began to tear at Ryan’s face. Ryan crashed against the wall as their voices whispered frantically, “intruder . . . intruder . . . intruder.” Ryan fell to his knees as Bruce stopped dead in his tracks as more came down from the walls and some turned their heads towards him. They were small gray creatures the size of small dolls. Their black eyes focused on him as they walked on two legs. They flexed their fingers as their small nails were like little tacks.
Bruce watched helplessly as one of the creatures was now spreading Ryan’s mouth open. It began to tug at his tongue tearing it out of his mouth as another one began to shred his eyes. “Ryan,” he yelled staring down at the creatures in horror. If he had to guess he would say that they were aliens, but aliens didn’t usually come in that size . . . did they? He backed away as Ryan’s screams became garbled as the blood poured out his mouth drowning him in it. The small aliens were now advancing towards him, “stay back!” He watched the creatures climb over the walls and ceiling. “Stay back,” he turned and ran down the tunnel back towards the dead end. He ran through the corridor and ended up at the original opening nearly tripping over the shredded climbing ropes. He stared up and knew that they were coming. He waited for them to appear around the corner. Waited for them to start crawling over the walls and move towards him. He began to search for some sort of a weapon but nothing came to his head. “Come on you little bastards, where you all at?”
The sun began to sink behind the horizon as the darkness consumed the mine. The aliens never showed but he knew that they were not gone. “Where the hell are you,” he yelled as his light seemed meaningless in such a dark tunnel. His light gave a little flicker and then died. He tapped his light several times “no, no, please just work”! A sound came from the depths of the tunnel as it sounded like a powerful jet engine starting up. The noise grew louder as the tunnel began to rumble, he watched the dirt fall in clumps from the walls. The mine shook as he gripped the sides blindly. The mine was on the verge of collapsing. The engine grew louder as air began to rush through the tunnels. His sun glasses blew off his face and smashed on the ground. He gripped the sides of the mine to try and hold him in place. “What’s happening,” he yelled as a bright light burst from the depths of the cave. He raised his hand to shield his vision from the light. “What’s going on,” his yell was barely audible as he felt his body being pulled towards the light. The vacuum sucked him into the light and Bruce disappeared in it. He screamed the whole way until the light died and the tunnel returned to its original state. Once again it remained still and abandoned. Just as it had been preserved all the years previously, the quiet desert it’s only music. The camp and car becoming part of the mine’s history, abandoned just like the mine.
The End