Forrest Tozer slumped inside the lift and slipped on a hard hat. He pulled the yellow lever and leaned back on the railing. As the metal doors slowly closed, he savored a last glance at sunlight. The artificial light made him feel uneasy as the lift plummeted deep down the diamond mine. The box entrapped him, made him feel weak. Forrest raised his palm to his forehead and closed his eyes. Memories flowed into his mind of his white simple cottage home, a life sentence without parole. He was a hamster running in a wheel, only death in sight. The rattle of the lift striking the bottom snatched his mind to the present. The doors slid open and the smell of moist dirt and stone swam inside his nasal cavity. As he dragged the metal gate across, coldness seeped into his hands, and he quickly pulled them back, rubbing them together for warmth. Sounds of men conversing and machinery echoed down the tunnel and Forrest felt happy. Some of his only friends he made down here, in the exhausting mine. He strolled down the shaft towards the sounds. The color of the light above him was now a dim yellow. It reminded him of a haunted house. Two men in blue working clothes were in a large cavity, one inside a CAT loader, the other crouched on the brown crumbly floor helping to fit a drill on the machine. Forrest walked up behind them and waited. He was in a cavern, with a high rock ceiling. Equipment was stored in here, and two bright spotlights lit the place up. They were loading a tough rock plow system onto the front of the loader. The loader had its bucket detached and it leaned on some wooden crates to the left. On the right there was a custom white Ram pickup designed for the mines. Nate spotted Forrest and waved him over. He stood up and pointed to the hydraulic cylinder. Reaching in his jacket, Nate pulled out a face respirator and handed it to Forrest. Forrest pulled the straps back and fit it tightly on his head, over his mouth and nose. Nate said,

“Where were you?”

Forrest said, “Stuck in traffic. A huge ore truck was crawling like a sloth in front of me.”

“Well too bad. Help us out.”

“Drilling into that basalt cavity today?”

“Yes, Corporate's tests came back and they want us focusing on it.”

“Ok. Shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Pull the wrench back, and tighten the seal.” Nate pointed at the cylinder again. Forrest got on his knee pads and helped attach the equipment. Forrest wasn’t stuck in traffic. There’s never any traffic out here. It’s a dirt road in the Northwest Territories. Of course there wasn’t any traffic, he thought. Forrest was standing on a frozen over lake. He laid on the freezing ice, and looked into the sky as snowflakes blew onto him. If I laid there for days, letting the snow bury me in a white grave, nobody would even know. A few minutes later, they sighed in relief and got up. Connor hopped out the cabin door.

“Hey Forrest.”

“Connor,” Forrest said and nodded. Nate started walking away and yelled back,

“Meet at the basalt. Bring the equipment!”

“Alright Forrest, let’s go,” Connor said and started loading the two seater pickup with the crates. Forrest lifted the lid on a crate and looked at the bags of the explosive, ANFO, used to weaken the hard rock.

“Help me out dude.” Connor said. Forrest proceeded to lift heavy crates and fill the truck up. When they were done, Forrest said,

“Let’s go.”

“Ok. You drive the loader.” Connor got in the Ram. A series of spotlights illuminated the tunnel ahead. The pickup rolled down and away from the cavity. Forrest climbed into the cabin of the CAT and turned the keys. The engine sputtered on and he slammed the door shut. His right hand pulled a green lever forward, and the heavy truck roared ahead. He steered the truck behind Connor in the pickup. Forrest felt tiny rocks crushed below as it sped down a network of tunnels. Nate was waiting at the end by the CAT AD22 ore truck. A recently relocated corporate worker named Wilson was with discussing with him.

Wilson said, “Hey guys. Position the machinery for a phase two insertion excavation.”

It took the men thirty minutes for all preparations. Explosive was placed into drilled holes in the black basalt wall. The mining equipment was placed twenty feet away from the blasting site. The four men stood behind a blast shield, wearing goggles. Forrest’s favorite part of his job was watching the shattering rocks. They slipped on ear protection and readied themselves. Wilson turned a key on his detonator. A red LED turned on, and Wilson counted down.

“Three, Two, One!” He yelled, and smacked a red and yellow button. The wall exploded, launching debris and a cloud of pulverized stone. A fan spun and blew the debris away, towards a ventilation duct. Nate high-fived them all and they walked to the site. A huge cavity was visible from the hole.

“Damn!” Connor exclaimed.

“Corporate was right. There’s a cave!” Nate said as he gazed into the darkness.

“Corporate always knows,” Wilson replied, and pulled a flare gun from his white coat. He handed it to Forrest and said, “You have the honor.” Forrest pulled the hammer back and pointed in the hole. Wilson said,”Do it.” Forrest squeezed the trigger and a bright red flare shot down the hole. It fell around forty feet and hit stone. A cave was illuminated in the crimson glow. All four men peered inside. Forrest noticed the floor seemed to be vibrating, or sliding around.

“What’s that?” Connor asked as something slithered past the flare. Nate flicked the switch on a flashlight. They gasped as thousands of insects scurried away from the beam.

“What the hell!” Forrest yelled.

“What are those?” Nate asked and stepped back. Forrest suddenly felt a worse uneasiness he experienced on the elevator.

“We should go. This isn’t safe…” said Forrest as bugs started crawling up the sides.

“Look! This is fascinating!” Wilson said and stepped closer. He grabbed the spotlight from Nate’s trembling hands and scanned the bottom. A silky white egg laid in the center of a slimy web. It was surrounded by giant insects and brown sacks.

Connor said, “Dude, I’m heading back up.”

“We need directions for what to do.” Nate said.

“No. You will listen to—” Wilson screamed. Forrest jumped back. Blood flowed down Wilson’s leg, and dripped onto a silky string wrapped around his ankle. Wilson screamed as he was yanked into the hole. A thud echoed up and a cacophony of screeches erupted. Forrest turned around and ran towards AD22 mining vehicle.

“Get to the surface!” Nate yelled as he ran with Connor behind Forrest. Forrest climbed into the huge ore truck and slammed the door shut. The machine accelerated down the tunnel. Jesus Christ. Wilson’s dead, he thought. He didn’t exactly like Wilson, but it was a shock to see him die. We need to get out of here. He hoped Connor and Nate would escape. They were his friends. He realized he was gripping the flare gun, and put it on the dash. The gun still had one more flare, and he thought it could be useful somehow. He noticed bright white light coming from behind, and turned around. The white Ram was speeding behind him. He could see Connor driving, but the passenger seat was empty. No! Nate… Forrest fought himself to keep a straight face, and navigated the tunnels. He knew each path, after years down here. They were getting closer to the main cavity. The truck plowed through some metal stands set up to stabilize the walls. The ore truck wasn’t meant to operate in the smaller tunnels, but it was the fastest way back. The truck crushed a cement pourer, and caused the truck to swerve. Forrest almost slams into the wall, but turns the wheel before it does. The side of the truck scrapes the dirt wall, causing a portion of the wall to collapse. He looks behind him and sees Connor speed through the falling rocks and dirt. The white pickup is no longer white, and has a jagged rock stuck in the hood, where the engine is. “Damnit!” Forrest yells to himself, and tries to avoid hitting the walls. Archaic chirps come from behind, and to his horror he sees the creatures stampeding in unison in the darkness behind the Ram. They spring onto the truck and start slamming into the glass windows. Forrest’s heart plunges. His friend is about to be eaten. He watches as they crack the glass. Connor screams and honks his horn and the bugs envelop the truck. He won’t make it. He won’t make it. He can’t. Forrest sees the crates of ANFO in the back, and gets a terrible idea. The insects are catching up to his own truck now. Connor is going to die. There’s nothing I can do. He grabs the flare gun and tears leak from his eyes. I need to save myself. I’m so sorry Connor, he thinks as he opens the cabin door, with one hand steering the truck. He points the flare gun at the back of the Ram, towards the pounds of explosives, and pulls the hammer back. He sees Connor one last time before the insects shatter the windshield. He fires, and the flare breaks into a wood crate. An huge fireball erupts and rushes towards the ore truck. Forrest slams the door shut and pushes the truck to its capacity. He feels the heat as the tunnel shakes and dirt falls from the ceiling. He looks back, and doesn’t see and insects anymore through all the smoke and dirt. I survived. I did what I had to. His survival costed him the death of his only friends. It’s not over. I need to reach the surface. Nate’s last words echoed through his mind. He could see the main cavity ahead. All of a sudden, the ceiling collapses. Dirt and rock fall and Forrest’s vision goes dark. Pain in his leg wakes him up. A foot long insect similar to an ant bites into his leg. Forrest screams and kicks it into a rock. He is on the side of a dirt pile. He stands and limps towards the cavity. Forrest clicks the hard-hat on his head and a headlight turns on. He hears sounds behind him and runs. He can see the elevator gate close to him. The entrance to the tunnel was his only way out.