The Birmingham Secret Tunnels

It was a rather cold afternoon in Birmingham, England. Two students were walking out of school after the end of their school day – Aaron Nolan and Evan Gibson. As they were walking, Evan brought up a news story he had seen the night before.

– Aaron, did you watch the news last night? A teenager went missing here in Birmingham. When police investigated the disappearance, the guy’s trails led the police to a creepy undiscovered tunnel system under the city!

– Really? That sounds terrifying! – Aaron said, surprised – He probably got lost in there. I hope they find him soon.

– I doubt they will. – Evan responded – The police have deemed the tunnels too dangerous to explore at this time. They’ve closed the case.

– Oh, well, that’s terrible. But it is his own fault for going there in the first place. Pretty dumb decision if you asked me. – Aaron expressed.

– Actually, – Evan interrupted – I was thinking maybe we can explore the tunnels! Who knows, maybe some treasure is hidden down there. Besides,

– Are you kidding? – his friend said, angrily – A person mysteriously goes missing in these tunnels, the police are scared to enter them, and you just want to go in there for the adventure?? How do you not see how stupid that idea is?

Evan was well aware of the danger, but it didn’t stop him. He had always been and adrenaline-head, who loved doing extreme and dangerous things just for the fun of it. Stealing the test answers from the teacher, skipping class, and running from security – those were only some of the things he did, purely out of boredom.

And yet, he still had perfect grades. Evan was not stupid – he had prefect coordination and special awareness and he used those talents often, while running away from somebody, who would happen to be going after him. But sometimes he did not think things through. One of his biggest hobbies was exploring abandoned buildings. While it is a dangerous thing to do, he took Aaron with him on his adventures, and if things went wrong, he could always find a way out.

The two of them had been best friends since first grade – while Aaron was a perfect student, who did his best to never get into trouble, Evan and his shenanigans brought diversity into his daily life. Aaron would always have Evan’s back, even when that meant sacrificing his own reputation, because he knew that Evan would do the same for him. But he didn’t go about living life like his friend – he thought everything he did through in advance.

Like a good chess player, Aaron’s mind was always 5 steps ahead of everyone. That’s why he could get his best friend out of almost any situation, but he also never liked the uncertain things in life. That is the reason he knew that if they went down into the tunnels, they were certain to get lost – the terrain was too unpredictable.

– Oh, come on! – Evan exclaimed – Everything will be fine, it always is!

– If things go wrong down there, there is nothing we can do, man. It’s too unpredictable.

– Come on, dude, don’t be a wuss!

– I’m not going, Evan! – Aaron said, annoyed – And you shouldn’t go either. It’s a suicide mission.

– You know what, Aaron, I don’t need you there! – Evan said, as he stormed off.

– Man, come on, don’t be mad!

But Aaron couldn’t stop him. He knew that Evan was even more stubborn when he was mad or challenged. But still, he was worried. He tried to convince himself that Evan is not stupid enough to go down there, especially alone, but in the back of his mind he always knew that Evan was going there, not willing to think about possible consequences. Evan’s talents made him a bit overconfident, and while he often got out of trouble, this time he didn’t have Aaron there to help him out.

The next day, Evan didn’t show up to school. The teacher asked if someone knew, why he wasn’t there, and much to the others’ surprise, Aaron did not answer. While his classmates didn’t think too much of it, he was worried sick, because he knew exactly where Evan was. He couldn’t pay much attention in school. He didn’t participate in class and he didn’t even eat his breakfast during the break. All he could think about was whether Evan was okay or not. “But what am I supposed to do?”, he thought, “It wouldn’t help for me to there alone too, would it?”. For the rest of the day, all he did was hope to hear something from Evan. “He’s probably just out sick and isn’t responding to me because he’s mad. Yeah, that’s it.” Aaron kept telling himself over and over again. But as the day came to an end, he still hadn’t heard anything from him.

At home, Aaron hesitated on what he should do. He was the only one, who knew Evan’s whereabouts. Even if he sook help form the police, they wouldn’t go down into the tunnels. Aaron was the only one who could help. At about 2AM, Aaron decided to get his best friend out of those decrepit tunnels before it was too late. He grabbed a flashlight, batteries, water, a hunting knife, a notebook, and his father’s Beretta 92 G pistol, along with 3 magazines. He also left a note for his family in case he failed to escape the tunnels.

After 30 minutes, Aaron was at the tunnel entrance. As he stood in the beginning of the huge, unexplored tunnel system, he was impressed and intimidated at the same time. The architecture made the tunnel seem like an entrance to a castle. Aaron felt overwhelmed by all the emotions he felt at that moment. He was angry at Evan going down there alone, but he was also disappointed in himself, for leaving him all by himself. But most importantly, he feared the task that stood before him. “If even Evan couldn’t escape, can I?”, Aaron started to doubt himself. But he remembered that his best friend is in there, waiting for him. And in that moment, nearly all his fear vanished. “Hang in there bro,” – he uttered, loading his gun – “I’m coming to get you.”

Aaron stepped into the tunnels. As he went further inside, the walls started to close around him. The further inside he went, the more the temperature rose, and the walls tightened. As Aaron made his way along the maze, he marked all the twists and turns in his notebook, making a map. This was his way not to get lost inside the tunnel system. “These tunnels are huge.” he thought to himself – “If I were Evan, where would I go?”. He searched and searched but to no avail. That was until he found a trace. On the floor of a small hallway laid a phone. But it wasn’t Evan’s. “This must belong to the kid who went missing down here.” Aaron said to himself. He tried to look through the phone, but it wouldn’t turn on.

Nevertheless, he noticed trails on the unpaved ground – trails such as those of something being dragged along the ground. As Aaron followed the marks on the ground, the hallway walls opened up. He soon stood in front of a big double door.

He was a bit nervous about what was on the other side of the door. He just knew that the missing teenager was dragged in there by someone, or something. Aaron marked the place on his map, took his gun out of its holster, took a deep breath and opened the door quietly. Pointing the pistol ahead, he entered the room. This room didn’t look or feel like the rest of the tunnel system. It was a wide, open area. The ground and ceiling were paved and had various drawings of mythical creatures, along with text, written in an unknown language. The whole room was lit by candles. Along the walls laid 6 doorways. But what was most important about the room was that in the middle of it laid a man – Evan.

Aaron rushed to his friend. Evan was alive, but unconscious. He was heavily bruised and he had multiple cuts on his arms. He was tied up and asleep. Aaron woke him up. Evan screamed in fear before realizing he was looking at his friend.

– It’s okay, Evan, – Aaron said – it’s me!

– Aaron… – Evan replied with relief – We need to get out of here.

– Are you okay? What happened to you? – Aaron asked.

– They killed him, Aaron… – Evan said, with sadness and fear in his voice – right in front of me.

– They? Killed who? – Aaron replied, confused – What the hell happened here.

– We need to get the hell out of this place! There’s some sort of cult here. They saw me in the tunnels and kidnapped me-

Evan was interrupted by the sound of metal scraping the stone walls.

– Oh no… – Evan said – they’re here.

Aaron was stunned for a second. There was so much information that he had to take in at once. But he quickly snapped out of it, realizing their lives are in danger. He took out his hunting knife, cutting Evan’s restrains. He helped Evan up and headed towards the door he came from. But it was blocked by 5 men in white clothing, all of which had sharp sickles in their hands. From the other 5 entrances, emerged about 20-30 more cult members.

– It was a trap. – Aaron realized.

Realizing the fact that they were surrounded, Aaron, without hesitation, pulled out his gun and started shooting at the men.

– This way! – he yelled at Evan, after clearing the exit. – Here, take the knife.

Both started running for their lives, but Evan couldn’t keep up with his friend. His knee was badly injured and he had to limp along. Aaron let him go in front, so that he doesn’t get caught up to. From all directions, hooded men emerged, chasing down the two friends. Following the map, Aaron and Evan were making their way out, until Aaron slipped, dropping his gun. One of the cult members caught up to him, raising his sickle, but before he could strike, Evan threw his knife at the man, stunning him, and giving his friend time to escape. Aaron was able to get back on his feet and continue running.

Once the two were out of the tunnels, the men were nowhere to be seen. They ran for about another kilometer, before laying down on the grass to rest.

– I’m sorry I got you into this, Aaron – Evan said to his friend – I should’ve listened to you.

– Hey, – Aaron replied – I don’t care about that. What’s important is that you’re alive.

– Thanks for coming back for me. I don’t know what I would have done without you. – Evan admitted.

– Of course, man. We’re a team. I’ll be with you until the end of the line.

– Me too, brother.

After the pair rested, they walked back home, past the sunrise.