Description: Joshua Atkins, also known as Josh, is a sixteen-year old boy who always held a deep fear for two things: cramped spaces and darkness. Unfortunately for him, when his father goes missing in a nearby cavern, he must face his fears head on.
This short story was created for the Welcome to the Blumhouse Writing Contest. It was inspired by my own personal fears of caves and darkness, as well as the tragic death of John Jones.
Completed October 7, 2020
-
Three weeks had passed since Josh's father went missing. His father was an experienced spelunker who knew the Gemini Caverns like the back of his hand. He'd tried to get his son to involved but, ironically enough, Josh suffered from extreme claustrophobia and nyctophobia.
It was a typical Saturday, he and his father both had the day off from school and work respectively. Josh's mother bid the two farewell as she left the house to run her errands.
His mother returned home that evening, puzzled that her husband had yet to return. She buried her concern as she knew how difficult the caverns were to traverse with it's mirroring passageways and little to no cell reception. Her husband also had a habit of camping out in the cave overnight. Three days had passed before Josh's mother would finally alert the local authorities of her husband's disappearance. They conducted several searches of the caverns, only to return empty handed.
Rescue services chalked up his father's disappearance up as voluntary. Josh knew his father would never abandon their family and decided to gear up and sneak out of the window in his room to conduct a search of his own. He knew his mother would never approve, but he needed answers.
As Joshua's feet met the green grass, he flicked on his flashlight and began his journey. The caverns were located just over half a mile away from his home in a small patch of woods. Leaves crunched under his feet, his heart beater louder and louder as he neared close to the cavern's entrance.
"This is it," Josh spoke. "I'm coming to find you." Despite his words, his feet stayed firm to the ground below him until he finally gathered the courage to enter the foreboding darkness.
The sound of water cascading off of hanging stalactites resounded throughout the caverns. He shined his flashlight from wall to wall, looking for any sign of his father. Finally, he arrived at an impasse. Josh investigated each tunnel before his light came in contact with a hole in the cavern floor. At first it didn't alarm him at all, but at closer inspection he noticed it hadn't been made naturally. This hole had been dug away by someone or something. Against his better judgment, Josh descended into the hole head first and began to shuffle his way through the narrow passage. The rock ceiling brushed his helmet slightly and his movement was limited to a belly crawl. He forced to stop at something impeded his path. Josh hovered his light over it and was horrified. There lying a few inches away was the rotting corpse of his father, his legs still pinned to the floor by several large rocks. Josh screamed in terror before he was interrupted by the sound of falling rumble. Suddenly, an avalanche of stone buried him alive. Josh couldn't move and knew it was only a matter of time before he suffered the same fate as his father.
The end.
Three weeks had passed since Josh's father went missing. His father was an experienced spelunker who knew the Gemini Caverns like the back of his hand. He'd tried to get his son to involved but, ironically enough, Josh suffered from extreme claustrophobia and nyctophobia.
It was a typical Saturday, he and his father both had the day off from school and work respectively. Josh's mother bid the two farewell as she left the house to run her errands.
His mother returned home that evening, puzzled that her husband had yet to return. She buried her concern as she knew how difficult the caverns were to traverse with it's mirroring passageways and little to no cell reception. Her husband also had a habit of camping out in the cave overnight. Three days had passed before Josh's mother would finally alert the local authorities of her husband's disappearance. They conducted several searches of the caverns, only to return empty handed.
Rescue services chalked up his father's disappearance up as voluntary. Josh knew his father would never abandon their family and decided to gear up and sneak out of the window in his room to conduct a search of his own. He knew his mother would never approve, but he needed answers.
As Joshua's feet met the green grass, he flicked on his flashlight and began his journey. The caverns were located just over half a mile away from his home in a small patch of woods. Leaves crunched under his feet, his heart beater louder and louder as he neared close to the cavern's entrance.
"This is it," Josh spoke. "I'm coming to find you." Despite his words, his feet stayed firm to the ground below him until he finally gathered the courage to enter the foreboding darkness.
The sound of water cascading off of hanging stalactites resounded throughout the caverns. He shined his flashlight from wall to wall, looking for any sign of his father. Finally, he arrived at an impasse. Josh investigated each tunnel before his light came in contact with a hole in the cavern floor. At first it didn't alarm him at all, but at closer inspection he noticed it hadn't been made naturally. This hole had been dug away by someone or something. Against his better judgment, Josh descended into the hole head first and began to shuffle his way through the narrow passage. The rock ceiling brushed his helmet slightly and his movement was limited to a belly crawl. He forced to stop at something impeded his path. Josh hovered his light over it and was horrified. There lying a few inches away was the rotting corpse of his father, his legs still pinned to the floor by several large rocks. Josh screamed in terror before he was interrupted by the sound of falling rumble. Suddenly, an avalanche of stone buried him alive. Josh couldn't move and knew it was only a matter of time before he suffered the same fate as his father.
The end.
