Chapter 26

Tammy

The underground is nothing more than a complicated maze of tunnels and quarries. Down there the oxygen is scarce and the air so damp soon their skin gets covered with sweat. They keep running, their boots splashing in puddles, and growing the distance between them and the guards with every single breath. Still, the deeper they get into the unknown, the more unbearable the smell. It started as a mixture of dust and grease and something vaguely metallic, only to morph into a defensive odour of sulphur and mould. The walls have long lost their human touch, concrete turning to hard clay and wood pillars barely holding up the roof. Whoever continued the digging must have been in a rush, determined to never coming back, for their sloppy work is a miracle it hasn't collapsed.

They continue following the winding tracks and looking over their shoulders every time they hear the distinctive sounds of splitting and cracking of timber. The white beams of their flashlights captu