Scene 1: The Mouth of the Earth
The entrance to Briar Glen Mine looked like the gaping mouth of a dead god—collapsed timber teeth and rusted rails disappearing into blackness.
"No one's been down here in sixty years," Carter said, adjusting his headlamp. "We're not just researchers. We're the first."
Arjun, the quiet geologist, hesitated at the threshold. "Maybe there's a reason for that."
Carter smirked. "There's always a reason. That's why we're here."
Behind them, Elise—camerawoman and freelance documentarian—scanned the entrance with her handheld rig. Nash, their drone tech, leaned on a metal case, earbuds in.
It was hot on the surface, but the mine exhaled cold air. Not breeze. Not wind.
Just breath.
---
Scene 2: Into the Deep
They descended through crumbling corridors, their lights slicing the dark. Walls narrowed. Water dripped. Dust hung in the air like ash.
Every footstep echoed—once.
Only once.
Then the sound vanished, eaten by the dark.
"Why is it so quiet?" Elise asked, voice soft.
Nash frowned. "Sound's not bouncing back. No reverb. Like the space is… absorbing it."
"You mean, like acoustic foam?"
He shook his head. "Like something worse."
Carter moved ahead. The deeper they went, the more unnatural the silence became. Not peaceful. Predatory.
---
Scene 3: The Forgotten Room
They found it three levels down.
An old breakroom—untouched. A cracked table, rusting tin cups, playing cards scattered mid-game.
And a single chair tipped over.
It didn't look abandoned. It looked… paused.
Arjun knelt by the cards. "Everything's clean. No dust. No decay. Like this happened yesterday."
Nash was pale. "This isn't right."
They filmed. They documented. They tried not to feel the weight in their chests.
But something was listening.
---
Scene 4: The Voice in the Static
Nash powered on his drone, preparing to launch it down the next shaft. Then the static started.
From his backpack radio—decades dead—came a faint hiss.
Everyone froze.
A soft voice broke through. Not loud. Not clear. Just one word:
"…below…"
Elise caught it on camera.
Nash blinked. "It's not plugged in."
"No signal this deep," Arjun whispered.
They stared at each other, chilled. Carter stepped back and looked down the shaft.
"I want to know what's beneath us."
---
Scene 5: Vanished
They set up camp nearby—just sleeping bags and lights. Elise wandered off for a final pan shot.
Ten minutes passed. Then twenty.
"Where's Elise?" Carter asked.
No one had seen her leave the corridor.
They searched. Called. Echoed shouts swallowed whole.
No flashlight. No camera. No sound. Just the suffocating dark.
"She wouldn't wander far," Nash said, though his voice shook.
Carter's jaw clenched. "She didn't wander. Something took her."
Silence settled again.
It felt alive.
---
Scene 6: The Shaft
A crack in the wall. Jagged. Fresh. Like the mine had torn open.
A narrow vertical shaft, too smooth, too deep.
"Natural sinkhole?" Carter asked.
"No," Arjun said. "This wasn't made by water or earth."
They dropped a flare.
It fell.
And fell.
And never hit bottom.
Then… from the dark—
A scream.
Cut short. No echo.
Elise's voice.
Then silence.
---
Scene 7: Descent Begins
They argued. Carter won.
Ropes. Harnesses. Gear. One by one, they lowered themselves in.
The further they descended, the colder it got.
The shaft narrowed around them. The rock felt wet. Breathing.
Nash whimpered. "I can't hear anything. Not even my heartbeat."
Carter stopped. "Keep going."
He didn't see the pale hand that brushed Arjun's rope.
Didn't hear Nash's breath stutter.
Didn't realize they were being watched.
From beneath.
---
To Be Continued in Part Two...