PART 32 - NEVER KNEW

 Varying rays of faint light, squeezed themselves past the crevices of the rubble and shone unevenly, bursting away the cave-like encroaching darkness which, crawled itself all over the entrance of the tunnel,  throughout the surfaces of the flight of stairs. Fading growls, soothed the monstrous panic that drew most of the air out of my lungs. Only the thuds of their large fists, crowded the silence that filled the underground tunnel and blew dust and small pebbles on the first flight of stairs. The nail- prickling sensation that was welcomed from my sting of the muscles, burned into the depth of my muscle fibers, when I tried to support myself to my feet. Upon brushing the scattered tint of dust that cover my goggles, heavy breathing and speeding up footsteps held onto the spaces of my ear, and clasped onto every ounce of my curiosity choking it, to be quenched. I squinted through the remaining faints rays of light and pitch black darkness, before, my feet carried me, with an accompanying limp and groan, and only a droplet of hope and will, pumping through my heart, to fight through the unknown territory. The footsteps ahead of me, began fading away from my own, which caused a lot more noise than theirs, due to the staggering nature of my run.

"Hey! Hey!" I called out, clutching onto my aching ribs, as my pace began to reduce. The only answer was an echo which lived on, into the depths of the tunnel. I held onto my knees, to catch my breath, pushing through the aches and pains that intensified with my short bursts of running. I settled my saturated pain in a deep gaze into the vegetation that grew from the tarmac, with my sweat dripping through the mask, like a honey comb with oozing honey. A groan from the distance knocked over my daydreaming attention span, back into reality, with what sounded like a trip and fall. My feet, skid on the floor, swiping off the cobwebs that attached from plant to plant as well as the pebbles that formed from cracks on the ground. Tedious efforts, poured out from every part of my skin, and arrived into a complete darkness, and only identifying my environment with only touch. I moved, a century at time, into rough, hard, crusty and a plethora of surfaces, before, the groans started to echo in my ear more. The wriggling of the person, knocked against my feet, over and over, until a bursting flash of light, illuminated into the center of my eyes.

"Anngh, Unngh!!" I flung my arms right before my eyes, to block the blinding effects of the intense light. I almost, tripped backwards, as my cargo trousers, were tugged by the edge of a rock. "Who... Are..." The pain of the fall, strangled the words short from the person I had just encountered. "Ahhhh, I'm.... Jus...t running away from John" He covered himself and flung his torch right before my eyes trying to protect himself, as I reached out to help him. "Huh? How did...What?" I asked. "You know... You know..." He replied, still trying to sooth his ache from the fall.