The tunnel is long and dark. Good thing I’m not claustrophobic. The glowing halo from my extended lantern reveals little in here. The occasional thin root juts from between the crooked bricks in it ceiling. Somewhere in the darkness, a thin water source drips into a puddle.

A baby coos. Its playful attempts at talking bounce around in the shadows. I move closer, following her giggles and ga-ga’s. Uneven earth beneath me.

Where the hell am I?

The shuffling of heavy feet slows my advance. They’re still at a safe distance, but remain hidden. My right hand reaches or the near wall. Cool, soft, and slimy. Ancient and enormous stones. Not much farther ahead, a soft orange light ripples on the next wall.

A small bone saw whirs. The infant’s lost his sense of humor. Those heavy feet scuttle some more around the other corner. I approach the bend in the tunnel. Snaps and crackles reveal that the unseen light source is a torch. Must be around the far corner.

Something long and sinewy slithers over the top of my left sneaker and speeds off between my feet. Fuck!

The baby whimpers and babbles as I creep toward the next turn in the tunnel. My eyes burn in the intensifying light. The bone saw grinds through something. Agonizing wails of pain. She’s screaming so hard that her little voice sounds nearly silent. I collapse to my knees in the dampness.

Why, Henry?

Tearing tissue. Splattering. Her crying dies off and the instrument slows. It clangs onto something metallic. I crawl forward through the cold muck. Easy. One leg, then the other. Not a peep, Sean. Not one.

A light sucking sound followed by a pop. Like when you pull your boot from a deep wet mud.