Humpty's bones

Nine

I went through the tunnel. Silence oppressed me. That quietness felt like a towel pressed over my face. At times, that alone, seemed as if it would stop me breathing. When I paused to catch my breath the silence got even worse. All I could hear was the scratchy rasp… rasp as I breathed in and out. The air from my lungs blew in white blasts in the harsh light. Got to find the others, I told myself. Then gotta get out. Get away from here.

Because I knew the truth — down here we were not alone. Some thing hunted us. As I rested for a moment I looked back the way I’d come. I stared until my eyes watered. All those vehicles covered in grey plastic sheeting. They waited for war. Above me, on the tunnel roof, clung a big black object with spider legs. My eyes locked onto it. A gurgle sounded in my throat as my heart raced — bang, bang, bang. Then I took a deep breath. The spider object was some kind of mechanical hoist bolted to the ceiling. That’s all. The black legs were a steel grab. Probably the soldiers used it to load equipment onto these trucks that lined the tunnel like slumbering beasts.

I rubbed my eyes then checked the tunnel again. Nothing there… yet. I continued walking. My footsteps echoed from the walls.

‘Pitt, Jenny, Adam.’ The call came as a whisper rather than a shout. A sense of danger filled me. I didn’t dare shout the names of my friends, just in case it heard. I shuddered. Were they still safe? Or had they been caught? Dread oozed inside of me. What if I never saw the three again? What would I say to their parents? If the worst happened, who would tell the police? Imagine having to identify the bodies? I pictured figures lying under sheets on the ground. There’d be police dressed in those white forensic suits with the tight little hoods. One would start to pull back the sheet. ‘Okay, son. This isn’t going to be nice. Brace yourself for a shock. But take a good long look at what’s left of the face… and tell me the name of the person you see lying there.’

Suddenly, a whispering startled me. I’d been so preoccupied with imagining the gruesome scene with the police that I nearly leapt out of my skin. A grey shape began to swell outwards across the tunnel. I couldn’t run back because I might bump into whatever followed me. Now I couldn’t go forward because a grey, lumpy mass blocked my way.

‘Idiot,’ I panted. ‘It’s only the plastic sheeting.’ I took a closer look. The relief! I even tingled with embarrassment when I realised what had happened. A ventilation duct at the other side of the truck blew air under the wheels, causing the plastic sheet that covered the vehicle to inflate in the draught.

I pushed on. With luck I’d find my friends soon.

But life isn’t always so kind. A moment later I found scratch marks on a wall. On the floor were the remains of a poster. From what I could make out it had been a picture of a man and a women with children. Their faces had been clawed away as if some creature hated the sight of humans.

A huge shiver crawled up my spine. So: whatever lurked down here didn’t like people. That’s a fact. What’s more, its claws were so powerful they’d etched deep lines in the concrete wall when it destroyed the poster. I found myself touching my face. What would those claws feel like when they hooked into your skin?

‘Keep moving,’ I murmured, ‘whatever happens, just keep moving. You don’t want to be standing here when it comes round that corner.’