I work in heavy civil construction in NYC. The current project that I’m on is the largest in the country (go ahead and google it) and takes place, for the most part, underground. If any of you work, have worked, or have been on a tunnel job then you know how completely jaw dropping and insanely creepy it can be at the same time. You can literally walk around for weeks, probably months, and still be completely lost. Not only are there tunnels and caverns but there are so many levels to this project. For instance, typically I would leave the office a half a block away from the site, descend about 40 feet of stairs to get underground, then walk to elevator which went another 80 feet down, take a right and walk about 100 yards to some stairs which went down about another 20 feet, walk a mile, take a left walk 400 feet and that’s where my crew is actually working. Think of it like Fallout Shelter except each room is miles apart and it’s the most maze like path possible to get to them. Not only is my company working underground but there are several other companies working underground as well. Think of it as a giant puzzle and different companies each have their own select pieces to that puzzle that they put together then, connect it into the another company’s pieces and eventually it all creates the big picture.
After a few weeks of being underground and walking with the other safety guy on the job site I finally felt confident enough to venture the caverns and tunnels on my own. Of course as soon as I got downstairs a strange feeling came over me. Chalking it up to nerves and continuing my navigation I made my way to the elevator. When I finally got to one of my work crews, I spent a good few hours there catching up with the guys and seeing what their work detail was for the day. After talking and watching some of the work I ventured on to the next work locations. It was while I was on my way to the fourth spot that I got lost. I had made a left at a fork in the tunnels when I should have made a right. Venturing onward not realizing that I had made a mistake I walked into a massive cavern probably the size of a football field. This was the largest cavern I had been in so I took a minute to take in the beauty of it and also yell at myself for getting lost. As I turned around to head back the way I came I noticed another tunnel branch at the far end of the cavern. I stared at if for a few seconds then suddenly it seemed to engulf my entire vision.
That’s when I noticed that I was standing about 5 feet away from the mouth of the tunnel. I had somehow managed to cross the cavern in seconds. Breaking myself out the trance I was in I walked back to the tunnel I had originated from and back tracked towards the last work location. When I finally made it there I must have looked a little off because the walking boss asked me if I was feeling alright. I told him about the cavern and the tunnel and to my shock he smiled and said “Ah that place. Listen kid if I were you I wouldn’t venture back that way anymore. In fact I’m going to put some barriers up for that tunnel so nobody gets lost in there.”
Now this guy is from a particular labor union that has a track record for being drunk, rowdy, and constantly messing with people, but they are the goddam hardest workers I have ever seen, so when he told me this I took it lighter than I probably should have and continued about my day. I finished up my tour of the tunnels later on and went back to the office to do my daily paperwork and head home. On the way home all I could think about was that cavern and that tunnel though. Every thought lead back to the overwhelming creepiness and how I had managed to make it across that cavern in that amount of time.
Lo and behold the next day while I was walking toward the fourth work location there were barriers in front of the other tunnel! While it gave me a sense of security that I wouldn’t get lost, I cursed because the old bastard wasn’t joking. When I finally got where I was going I approached the walking boss. Before I could say anything he looked at me and said, “I told you kid, I’ve been doing this for a long time but that place is something else.” I just nodded my head and watched the guys working then moved on.
Weeks went by and the tunnel and cavern seemed to fade from my memory as if it were a dream, the only reminder being the barriers I passed everyday on my underground journey. Eventually I forgot all about it, until one day the thought of the tunnel and cavern hit me like a subway train. I made my way to the barriers and after stopping to make sure nobody else was present, made my way over them. I wandered down the tunnel and eventually found myself in the cavern. This time I stared at the tunnel across the way and slowly but surely made my way over to it, this time fully aware of every step. I got within about ten feet and stopped, staring into the darkness, that’s when I started looking around and noticed the other tunnels all over the cavern. How had I not seen these before? The tunnel I was standing in front of was the only one without lights and felt more like a giant maw than a man made creation. I looked to my right as if something was drawing my attention there and noticed something sticking up out of the mud and muck.
I made my way over to it and pulled it out of the ground. I realized it was an ipad! I was pumped maybe this wasn’t such a bad place after all, just an old man’s superstition. I figured it was broken but as I began to clean if off I could see that the screen was somehow in perfect condition. There was some cheap case on it which must have protected it when whoever owned it dropped the dam thing. Just for my own amusement I pushed the home button and swiped the screen to see if there was a password. There wasn’t! “Hello free ipad!” I exclaimed out loud, my words bouncing around the cavern in a very cringing echo. I hit the home button twice and only one app was open, it was the notepad with a new entry. All it said was RUN DON’T LOOK BACK AND TELL EVERYONE TO LEAVE. YOU AREN’T ALONE IN HERE. I dropped the iPad and took off. I still haven’t told anyone what I found and have not gone into that place since, but I still feel the draw, the quiet pull every time I go subterranean to see just what hides in the darkness.