(This story contains gore and claustrophobia. Reader discresion is advised.)

Out of the prospectors, Cole wasn’t talking as much as the rest that night. He was mostly listening to classical music on earbuds to soothe his claustrophobia. This was different from the shipwreck since that place had some sunlight and spaces weren’t too confined. These slightly cramped tubes, plus the headlamps being the only source of light, felt almost how he always imagined deep sea diving would feel. The worry of an underground collapse or getting lost was compounded by a few others nagging him since late in planning, such as encountering armed adversaries, or maybe even the group turning on itself.

Finding the chamber and collecting the treasured gems lifted much of the stress off Cole’s mind and made him feel very adventurous. While picking up gemstones and stuffing them in his backpack, he came across a hole. He figured he could fit inside if he crawled on his belly, but he didn’t count on that happening anytime soon. That was when Arun signaled the group to shut off the headlamps and go silent. After turning off his music to listen for any approaching danger, Cole froze with near paralyzing anxiety as the thick blackness of the chamber rolled over him. His mind went blank, not knowing what to do as he heard three pistol hammers cock back. The moment of silence seemed ceaseless, until it was broken by the noise of a racking rifle. The chamber erupted into a firefight, sending Cole into a panic as he didn’t want any part in getting shot. Seeing the hole illuminated in flashes from the shooting of guns, he made the snap decision to take a risk. Hastily tying his backpack around one of his legs, he then worked his way through the hole straightaway. The reverb of the gunfire sounded louder at first, but began to grow quieter as he moved deeper, and he didn’t quit until he could hear no more gunshots.

At first feeling safe, it swiftly melted away when Cole realized his movements were restricted. He couldn’t sit up, stand, or turn fully around the other way. He tried crawling backwards, but the backpack filled the space in a way that blocked returning from where he came. Cole’s claustrophobia came roaring back, causing him to scream and yell for help in the dark. After a moment, he stopped himself, closed his eyes tight and tried taking deep breaths to calm himself through his whines. Once calm enough, he clicked on his headlamp, opened his eyes, and looked forward. The illuminated surroundings made everything feel constricted, and the way ahead yet to be brightened appeared to be unending. Cole squeezed his eyes shut and tried turning away so he wouldn’t have to gaze into the darkness; not yet. Switching the music back on, classical orchestral symphonies encouraged a brave continuation further deeper into the depths. Opening his eyes and looking ahead once again, he held his breath and forced himself to crawl forward on his arms, hoping to find another way out.

It felt like hours, following the cramped limestone tunnels that seemingly wandered. Occasionally, Cole opted to deviate into an intersecting path that wasn’t at too sharp of an angle to prevent a proper pivot. What really slowed progression was the increasingly frequent breaks. The stale air made him catch his breath more often, as he attempted to alleviate himself from the rough surfaces biting into him. The only barrier to his bare skin being rubbed raw was the fabric of his long-sleeved shirt and pants, which were gradually being shredded away by the ragged surroundings he crawled on. However, he knew the estimated duration of many of the classical compositions, and he guessed it couldn’t have been a little more than an hour.

Soon, Cole noticed that there was something a little different about the way ahead. From the way the lamplight shone on the walls straight ahead, it didn’t look like another junction. He stopped the music when he could have sworn he heard something. Listening closely, it sounded like there was crashing of surf and wind blowing past an opening. In fact, the quality of the air seemed to change too, from stale and musty to something somewhat fresher and crisper.

Cole started his music back up and hastened his crawl, feeling the jubilation build up over the expectation of finally leaving this maze. He then got jerked to a halt by the backpack wrapped around his leg. Looking back, the pack didn’t appear to be snagged on anything. He pulled his leg forward again, but it didn’t budge. He held still out of puzzlement, and the backpack jerked backwards. Shock was heaped onto his confusion, right before the backpack sped way, dragging Cole in tow. He screamed while being taken further from where he wanted to go. He tried clawing at his surroundings to gain a grip from being pulled, but the jagged stone ripped into his hands, while turning his clothing to tatters and scraping his body bloody. The backpack soon ducked into an intersecting tube when Cole finally managed to grab onto a groove firmly with his sanguineous hands. The pack tugged until the straps tied around his leg broke, allowing him to pull himself away.

Cole turned around to see what took him for that ride, but the headlamp flickered off from being busted up during the struggle. With one of his ears now missing an earbud, he could only listen. What sounded like thick nails scraping across rock approached, before the loud noise of sharp snapping compelled him to flip back over and quickly crawl for what he hoped was the exit.

The tunnel’s surroundings cut into Cole, as he moved forward with the sound of scraping and snapping coming from behind. Nearing closer, the end appeared brighter compared to the underground. The noise of waves greeted him as he grabbed the edge of the tube’s lip and pulled himself out, falling into the whipping waters of the reef cave. The salt of the sea washing over his wounds stung him mercilessly. Spitting and coughing out water, emboldened by the night sky outside of the cave mouth, Cole tried standing up among the rushing waves. They knocked him off his unsteady legs. He fought with tired arms to push the rest of his body towards the open ocean. A larger wave barged in through the cave mouth and slammed him against one side of the walls, before slamming him against where he crawled out from.

Something shot out from the hole, wrapped around Cole’s waist, and tried retracting back into the tunnels. He screamed fearfully and forcefully while pushing against the wall, trying to somehow break free from its grip. Each time, whatever pulled him smashed his face against the wall, but he would try pushing again. The thing that held him finally pulled with such strength, it caused something to crunch in Cole’s back. The agony it caused made him utter only a short, wet, retching sound, before he folded backwards in on himself with a sickeningly loud, bone-shattering snap. He was then briskly yanked through the hole, hitting the jagged edges in such a manner that skin, meat, and blood were flicked into the water and onto the walls.

The surf advanced into and pulled from the cave, washing away the carnage. By morning, what was left was a sight that could be easily mistaken as serene. Majestic even.