[OLD] Deep Underground

16. Trapped

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Groaning at the slight throbbing in my head, I slowly sat up from where I was on the floor, blinking to get rid of my blurry vision. I looked around once my vision was clear.

I was surrounded by complete darkness. There was no light in the room, where ever the room was. I wasn't entirely sure if I was even in a room. Am I even awake?

I stood slowly, holding my hands out in front of me, as though trying to push back the darkness. With nothing else to do, I walked forward, shuffling, so that I wouldn't trip over anything that might lie in my path. I kept my hands out in front of me.

My hands hit something smooth and flat, and I followed it, continuing to shuffle rather than walk. My left hand hits something rough and I felt it briefly, finding out what it is. It was a switch. Too easy. I think to myself. Something's not right here. I don't pull the switch, instead continuing to walk, keeping my hands on the wall.

A few steps from the switch, my hands hit something else. I feel it to figure out what it is. Another switch. I continue along the wall. I find a third switch. I continue walking. I find a fourth switch. Then a fifth. Then a sixth, seventh, and eighth. There are eight switches.

Shrugging to myself, I continue along the wall, only to hit a corner. I continue along the next wall. After a few moments of slow shuffling, my hands hit something. I feel it, to find out what it is. Even after being down here for so long, my eyes haven't adjusted? It's probably been close to twenty minutes since I first sat up, considering how slow I shuffled around the room.

The object is cylindrical, and is an inch away from the wall, but is attached to the wall. I run my hand down it, remaining standing, but it doesn't seem to end. I crouch and continue to run my hand down the object. There are specific parts of the object where it branches out at even points, but only on one side of the object. Continuing to run my hand down it, I feel the object connect with the ground. I  think I know what it is. A ladder?

Grabbing what feels to be one of the lower rungs of the ladder, I pull myself up and begin to climb. Every time I pull myself up a rung, I lift one of  my hands from the upper rungs,  looking for a ceiling. Eventually, I find one.

My hand hit the ceiling and dust drifted down lightly onto my face. I looked down,  grabbing the ladder with my dust covered hand as I blinked my eyes rapidly, coughing slightly. Using my clean hand, I wiped the dust from my eyes as best as I could, before I grabbed the ladder again with my clean hand. Looking down that time, to keep the dust from getting in my eyes again, I lifted my dust-covered hand from the ladder up to the ceiling.

The ceiling above me felt like decaying wood. For some odd reason, I had a hunch that I actually wasn't feeling a ceiling. Then my hand hit something metal.

I could tell the metal was rusty, giving off an older and worn feel like the ladder and "ceiling" above me. I traced my hand along the metal, figuring out quickly that it was a handle. That meant that the "ceiling" above me was actually a trapdoor.

I pulled on the metal handle, but nothing happened. I huffed in frustration and, after a moment, climbed back down the ladder.

Once on the ground I wondered what to do. I was clearly trapped down here. I was startled by a sudden loud noise from the other side of the room, as a small light lit up dimly over there. My phone. Someone's calling me.

Walking quickly, so as to get there before the ringtone ended, I stumbled over and around objects as I made my way to my phone. I picked it up, taking notice that my bag was right beside it. I looked at the caller ID on my phone. Mike.