The commotion at breakfast left me with little time for a morning run, and as Jess already so kindly pointed out, I have already run this morning, in the bitter cold surrounded by guard patrols, that I didn't notice in the slightest. It's seven in the morning meaning time to head to The Pit.
I arrive a couple moments before schedule and scan my Routine into the scanner noting my presence for this period. Once my equipment has been collected and secured on the barely fitting harness, I slip out of sight down the side of the large metal shed-like building that houses The Pit entrance.
The gap I squeeze into gives me a clear view out into the forest section where I spotted the thing yesterday, even though I thought it was just a plain old forest, spanning for miles and miles. The fence produces the low hum of electricity running through each wire ring. It's on, and whatever was there yesterday isn't there now. It must have been an animal or something. I take a few moments more to stare into the forest, counting the length of time I've been hidden.
1 2 3
Nothing. Absolutely nothing is there.
4 5 6
Still nothing.
7 8 9.
Everything is still.
10 11 12
Just trees, flowers and the darkness of the shadows.
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 2-20
What was that?! Far back in the rear of the shadows, in the shadows of the shadows, almost like a ripple.
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
It's still again, but that's good, right?
Thirty seconds I was gone, just a simple thirty, meaning I wasn't noticed at all, not even by Cat or Jess. Carefully, I slip into the line to enter The Pit.
In front of us is that large metal structure, on its front facing the wall is a huge bulk-head style door that divides in two. Creaking loudly with rusty metal, the doors are dragged open to expose us to the flood of dim orange flashing lights and low monotone beeping.
We're moving one step at a time into The Pit entrance, we gradually move towards the large metal casket called The Cage. The entire construction of the cage and its shaft is just big enough for eight people to cram inside it, leaving little room to move. Once inside they seal you inside the rusting metal box with two mesh fence gates, diggers go down the ladder while the expanders take The Cage down, further down than any digger as their job is simple, collect what the diggers excavate and bring it up to the surface via The Cage. After five minutes of waiting, it's time for me and Cat to enter The Cage. This will be her first time going down, so I take her hand to reassure her. I whisper towards her: "It's alright, we're safe, it's just a cage that lowers you down. You're safe. I'm here Cat." Her hand tightens around mine. "You're gonna' be okay Cat, I promise."
Her palm is sweaty against mine, her body shakes ever so slightly as we make our way into The Cage. Once inside, her body goes rock-solid-stiff with fear, and she doesn't even move or blink. "Cat look at me! This is perfectly safe."
Her young face, so pretty and kind, is alive with every anxious emotion known to man, yet she is perfectly silent. Unless you caught her eyes. Her eyes screamed in fear and horror as the gate to The Cage clanks shut and locked.
The small lightbulb flickers on just as the breaks are released. It's just me and Cat inside The Cage as we're the last ones down. In a matter of seconds, we're completely swallowed by the earth and plunged into darkness, occasionally broken by the bulbs flickering white light; just enough to let me and Cat see each other. She appears to mature with each mile we go downwards into the Earth.
YOU ARE READING
Descending Chaos
ActionA former British Army medic, Natalee Radcliff, lost more than just her limbs during the great third world war, her scars formed the cause of her extradition to one of the hundreds of labor camps which were established as a result of the economic cat...
