I Don't Believe in Ghosts.....

Phantom

Phantom

 - By Arran

There are many places in this world where mysteries occur. The Bermuda Triangle for example. Or Flannan Isle in the Outer Hebrides. But one place has always puzzled mankind much more than the others. A place they call Thanatos Caverns. It is a cave in the wall of a cliff on a remote island not far off the coast of Norway. Many explorers go in. None come out.

People have been going into Thanatos Caverns ever since they knew it existed. It has been regarded by many people as a "no-go" area of the globe, but some brave men and women think of it as a place of discovery. But they never discover anything. Dead or alive, nobody comes out of that cave.

Max Grant is how this story begins. He is a young explorer from Yorkshire and he feels that it's time he should check out Thanatos Caverns. But he's decided to do something new. He's going to broadcast live from inside the cave. So, he goes with a crew of some of his colleges on a flight to Norway, and then on a boat to the forbidden island.

"Good luck", said the ferryman as they arrived on the island. "You're gonna need it. It would be great if you came out alive."

"Thanks", Max replied. They got off the ferry and began their walk around the island. Finally they came to the large, darkened, unforgiving entrance to the cave. It was as if something was calling from the darkness: "Come to me..."

"Have you got the camera?" Max asked his college, Walter.

"Yeah", he replied. He smiled to himself. "You know, my son thinks that Slender Man lives here", he said.

"Slender Man?" Max repeated. "That guy with no face?" Walter nodded but a few other of his colleges started shaking nervously.

"Oh, come on guys!", Max chided them. "You're not gonna tell me that you're actually scared? Surely you don't believe in American fakelore! Besides, Slender Man only stalked children." After his colleges plucked up their bravery, they set the camera rolling and marched into the dreaded Thanatos Caverns.

Once they had strolled over the mossy threshold, they lit their torches (or flashlights or whatever you want to call them). "As you can see", Max told the camera. "The cave ceiling slopes down from here, making the path narrower. The cave floor is quite bumpy and a bit damp."

As Max took the next step forward, there was a sudden burst of sound and a blur of black, making everyone jump back in fright. A black bird had just soared up from one of the holes in the cave wall and flown outside. "This place gives me the creeps", said Alex, another one of Max's colleges. "Why did I agree in coming here?"

For what seemed like forever, they kept strolling into the caverns. The walls were getting narrower, and the ceiling got lower. For one part of the journey, they had to bend down and walk sideways like crabs. The daylight was long gone from sight.....

There was nothing but the light of their torches and the small red light on their camera. Eventually, they came to a dead end. "Oh, well, this seems like our journey has come to an end", Alex said. "Can we turn back now?" Max wasn't paying any attention. He was scanning the walls of the cave, which were now very close to him.

"I would", he said. "But it looks like this isn't a complete dead end." He pointed downwards. His colleges all bent down to see what he was pointing at. The water on the cave floor was flowing through a small opening at the bottom of the cave wall. It was wide enough for a slim guy to squeeze through.

"I am not going through there!" complained Helen, another one of Max's colleges.

"Oh, come on Helen!" he said back. "It is the only way to continue our journey." Still Helen shook her head. "Helen. There is no good in playing chicken. We've already got this far." There was a pause.