InsaneJournal

Who: Michael Afton
What: Discovering a train Station
When: Early morning of August 8th, shortly before this
Where: The Forbidden Underground (feat. The Underground)
Status: Narrative, Finished
Warnings: MENTIONS OF DEATH, descriptions of dread, mentions & descriptions of panic & fear, dark & creepy tunnels, the ooze is gone, Michael is an athlete baaaaabyyyyy



Michael traversed through the Forbidden Underground again. He hadn’t been back down here since the last time which resulted in him running into Jason. He hoped the guy wasn’t weirded out after that whole thing. Still, he was thankful that he’d been able to mention it a little. He hoped that they were still friends. He liked the guy.

Tonight he had plans to track down the ooze again. He was following his notes and hand drawn map towards where he’d seen it before. However, this time he was being more careful about how he clambered around the debris in the tunnels. Falling back into his old habits to take care of the wounds he had. Michael swept the tunnel with his trusty flashlight to make sure there were no new oozy surprises and his eyes landed on his old nemesis. The rock that had popped his stitches last month sat nonchalantly in the tunnel up ahead. He carefully pocketed his flashlight and got ready to clamber over it. Truthfully, he didn’t need the flashlight at all with his robotic eyes, they saw in the dark and dim lighting easily. It was so dark down here that the ooze blended in easily, that’s why he brought it with him. Michael paused when he was on top of the rock to fish out his flashlight and check for the aforementioned ooze.

“What the hell?” He looked at his notes from July.

”Ooze closer towards sanitation center, visible from rock.” His notebook read in his loopy writing. He looked across the rest of the tunnel and it was empty. Michael jumped down and slowly made his way further down the tunnel. He kept sweeping his light around, now trying to hunt the ooze down.

“Where did it all go? It all get out from the sanitation center?” He paused to grab a city map from his backpack and consult with his tunnel map. “The sanitation center is close. It’s right up ahead to the left.” He mumbled as he haphazardly folded up the map to shove in his bag. It caused some new creases in the map but didn’t protest as he zipped the old bag. He started to run now, paying less attention to his surroundings.

At the end of the tunnel his flashlight illuminated a large pile of rubble and trash that sealed off the way further. He hadn’t seen one glimmering spot of ooze anywhere. Michael stopped at the rubble and glanced upwards. There was a hole in the roof. He could see some construction equipment around it up above with the stars shining brightly around the thinnest slice of the moon. Did it… burn up in the sun? Michael scratched the back of his neck as he tried to remember everything everyone had said about it. Is it possible that the ooze was leaving this whole time? Instead of just growing into a new area maybe it was receding into a previous area and then leaving the city from this hole? Did the city know that? He paused to write down his thoughts into his notes. This would be something he should talk to Gear about.

“Now… for the rest.” He glanced back into the tunnel behind him. Michael flipped his map out and made a light pencil mark for where he was before he started to back track. The way back was much slower as he paused to draw out the corridors. He came up to a branch in the tunnels that he’d passed on his way here. He missed it completely during his run down this tunnel. Michael debated walking down the new tunnel or following back down the one was in to complete it in his map. He checked his watch, 1:27am. I’ve got time. He headed off down the new tunnel.

Quickly it became cold. A sort of weird cold that even chilled his metal bones. He subconsciously slowed down a little bit as the tunnel continuously curved gently to the left. Eventually his pencil ran off his paper with his map. He tucked it away and opened his notebook to create a new page and continued the lines. It wasn’t long before the tunnel started to open up ahead of him. He could see a very dim dingy light. Michael started to hurry up, finding himself wanting to stand in the light.

He exited the tunnel into an old station. The tracks were covered in a thin fog coming from the tunnel at the other end. The platform was lit up by dirt caked fluorescent bulbs that looked like old gas lamps on the platform. At the end of the platform were tall worn looking decorative columns that supported the ceiling. Each one looked like it was carved with a different tree motif. “Spruce… Oak…. Pine…” Michael mumbled as he lit up the details with his flashlight, “That must be willow then.” He flashed the furthest pillar which he couldn’t make out the details too well, but sure enough it was also carved with a tree. Adam would kill to see this. It’s just like the scroll…

Michael walked to the edge of the platform and started to pull himself up. He saw one lone wooden bench against the back wall. Above it looked like an old greenish brass plaque. It was in desperate need of polishing, but he could make out the words Four Shadows. His eyes shot open and his shoe slipped on the platform. He stumbled backwards onto his butt. “Holy shit! Didn’t Edwin or whatever his name was say something about that? Zidane too. Some kind of dream. It’s real?!” His voice echoed in the large empty station. He’d found that station. It had to the same one they had dreams about. He needed to talk to them.

Michael dug out his phone from his pocket and opened the network. It spun and spun before giving him a cute little apologetic cartoon truck with the words ”No service. Will notify when service is reconnected”. He shook his head feeling like an idiot, he was underneath not only the city but also the regular subway! Of course he’d never be able to open the network here. He shoved his phone in his pocket and noticed the fog around his legs was thicker.

The station groaned with the sound of a bone chilling wind. Michael froze where he was sitting, staring at the other tunnel with wide eyes. The wind ripped through him like he was paper. His dead heart felt like it was racing out of control like he was going to panic. His blood ran cold, as cold as it did the day he saw his brother die in front of him. The fog billowed out of the tunnel like it was just a change in the wind patterns, completely unassuming and normal. But the slightly fresh scent of it filled Michael with the heaviest dread. Brought him back to the days he avoided coming home to avoid his father’s wrath.

He swallowed but his throat was bone dry. The hand on his flashlight was trembling violently making the beam of safety quiver shake rapidly. Run. Run. RUN He screamed inside his head, thankfully he’d never been one to freeze when he got scared.

Michael bolted scrambling over the tracks at first. He didn’t stop running until long after he’d reconnected with the old set of tunnels and he saw the familiar entrance he used coming up in front of him. He jumped up onto the platform, this one lit up by the floodlight he’d brought down here one night to be this very beacon of the exit. He jumped up the short flight of stairs two at a time until he got to the service door. He clawed it open and slammed it shut behind him.

”Red Line arriving in 5 minutes” The Underground’s cheery announcement jingle echoed across the empty station. Michael staggered to a nearby bench completely out of breath. He wheezed painfully with a few coughs that racked his body. His eyes were focused on the door he’d come from next to the signature broken mac n cheese advert. As if something was going to come from it. Nothing had followed him of course, and he knew that. He was too familiar with unnatural creatures moving around in the dark beside him. But that feeling to dread still clung to him.

He shook out his arms and dug his phone out. He needed to make a post.