Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 160

This week's photo prompt is an aerial picture of the Mir Mine, in Mirny, Russia. This picture is everywhere so untraceable, but for more pics of the mine and background on it, check out this link. 

Took me a while but I quite like this one. Who knows, it might turn into a serial. I've not done one of those in a while. 

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How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here.

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

At The Bottom

They drove south, in two cars, to find where it had landed, and came across the crater by a large, sprawling town. They worked their way round the deserted town, expecting to find devastation and destruction, but they found neat and tidy, and empty, homes. They looked for people, but there was no one living or dead. Where had everyone gone? It was clear it had been inhabited only days before: food was fresh in the fridges, homes were clean, cars weren’t covered in dust of any sort; electricity still worked and water still ran.

So they turned their attention to the landing site. They travelled the perimeter of the immense circular hole in the ground, bigger than a small town, and began to see something they didn’t expect: roads.

They spiralled round and down, each with a small plateau large enough for a vehicle – and not just any vehicle, mining vehicles. This was a mine, and yet their GPS also confirmed it was the site of the meteor crash. Could the meteor have landed inside the mine? It was possible. Had the people been evacuated? After several calls to different agencies there was no evidence of any such instruction, plus with cars in driveways and houses still fully stocked it didn’t appear that such an undertaking had taken place, so what had happened here?

Jerrod was the first to suggest it, and Christine wasn’t in agreement, but after much debate and with Floyd giving the casting vote, a decision was made that six out of the eight of them would travel in their two cars down into the mine to see what they could find.

Christine and Albert would stay behind at the top, using one of the civilian cars to wait in, and be on the receiving end of the walkie talkie should anything happen.

Christine had a bad feeling about it. Albert tried to jolly her along, but she struggled to be upbeat as they listened intently to the others. The drive to the bottom seemed uneventful but then static started to interrupt their broadcast.

“I’m not sure ... was that? ... ... hear it too? ...  do that, no!” It was Jerrod.

“Shit! ... they’re ...  the car! Look ..., no ... out now! Come ...” Floyd’s voice.

They heard the screeching of tyres and scraping of metal. Then they heard some kind of chanting, lots of voices, like some kind of collective. Christine could feel the hairs rise on her arms.

“Get ... from ... No! Leave ... alone!” It was Jerrod. He started screaming as did the others in his car.

Albert started the engine.

“What are you doing?”

“Going in there, we can’t just leave them!”

“Yes we bloody well can!”

“Then get out of the car; I’m going in!” Albert leaned across Christine and opened her door, shoving at her as she undid her seat belt. She snatched up the walkie talkie and got out, just having enough time to slam the door as he drove off. To his death, Christine was sure.

Then Floyd’s voice came through.

“Christine, Albert ... you ... me?” He was panting heavily.

Christine could hear the sound of tyres on gravel, he was driving. She quickly depressed the button on the walkie talkie.

“I’m here Floyd, I’m listening. Albert is on his way to you.”

“We’re ... our ... back. Don’t ... anywhere.”

“I can’t hear you very well, Floyd.”

There was no more sound just blasting static. She hated it and wanted to switch it off, but didn’t dare. Then she spotted cars moving along one of the roads, winding their way round and round. It was Albert’s car and Floyd’s. Jerrod’s wasn’t with them.

She waited, hoping the static would clear. It didn’t. Then she saw the cars coming towards her, and Albert’s face. He was screaming something, and beckoning at her. She looked at the other car, at Floyd and two of the others, they were smiling but there was something wrong with their faces. As the car got closer she saw it was their eyes, they had changed shaped and the colour wasn’t right, they were all black and shiny.

Then the passenger door of Albert’s car flew open and his words reached her, “Get in! Quick!” She leapt into the passenger seat while the car was moving and he sped off.

“What is it? What’s wrong with them?”

“I don’t know, but I’m not stopping to find out!”