A natural born explorer and the new rules

It’s all about the location. Denny remembers thinking that the first time he was down here. In fact, when he looks back on it now, he realizes it was more the shock of finding the place. After all he is no great explorer. And a year ago, when he first stumbled on this place, he was worse than homeless. He was destitute. Fresh off a bus ride that cost him his last twenty bucks, he walked away from the road and fell head first into a nightmare.

He begins unwrapping the generator. It took most of the day to get it down here. Of course, once it’s set up and working, life down here is going to change dramatically. For starters there will be more lights. He’s never been afraid of the dark. However, some of that changed over the last six weeks. Especially when Denny found out he wasn’t alone down here. He was the only human down here. But definitely not alone.

After setting up this generator he has to get moving on the other tasks. This has been a long time in the making. Furthermore his boss is a bit on the impatient side. It isn’t that he appreciates this situation as an employee employer relationship. It’s more that he doesn’t want to use the word master. However, in for a penny, in for a pound. Six weeks ago when he fell into this waking nightmare, he was already dead.

Natural Born Explorer

Six weeks earlier: Denny had a life before his fall. His fall was a fluke. The fluke began in a very small town north of Dodge City Kansas. If it has a name Denny still doesn’t know it. He just knows his ticket expired here, and the bus driver was a stickler for paying customers. Therefore he became stranded. To make matters worse, the bus station here in mystery town Kansas, was little more than a clerk’s office.

Of course everyone’s heard of the hard luck tale where everything goes wrong, and then it starts to rain. Denny was studying on irony, as he walked away from the impossibly small bus station. In the rain. His immediate thought, at this point, was to find some kind of shelter until the rain eased up a bit. This was becoming more urgent with each passing moment. The rain was now a downpour. Denny is soaked to the skin within minutes.

With this in mind, he feels like he’s flat out doomed. Until he sees the phone booth. It sits a ways back from the highway. Furthermore, it is on the far side of an old dilapidated and abandoned, gas station. He runs for it. If its roof is still intact, it could be his lucky night. As he nears the booth, he can see the old folding glass doors are still there. So far so good. The wind is whipping the rain into a frenzy as he reaches the doors and pulls them open. He lunges inside and closes the door behind him. Safety.

The Falling Rain

The sudden cessation of the falling rain is such a relief, he nearly cries out. The sound of the rain against the roof of the booth is almost deafening. However, he is relatively, in the dry. Lightning blazes across the night sky. A second later thunder so loud, he is certain the glass of the booth will shatter. Doesn’t matter. Dry is dry. Another brilliant flash of lightning. So bright Denny loses all of his night vision. Barely a second later and a thunder clap so loud Denny is sure it must be an explosion.

The phone booth rattles on its moorings. Furthermore, the glass he leans against vibrates with an intensity that rattles him. However, he loses focus on any of that, as a new sensation suddenly takes hold. He’s falling. Arms flailing outward, breath gone in a surprised whoosh, as the ground crumbles beneath his feet, and he falls. Utter darkness passes before his eyes. It lasts for time he cannot measure. In fact, the darkness is so complete, he isn’t even sure his eyes are open.

The New Rules

Until he lands hard, and then sees stars. Now he knows his eyes are open. He also knows he is no longer anywhere near the rain. The darkness is absolute. The only thing greater than the darkness, is the depth of the silence. If not for being dry, and surprisingly warm, he would be moving from explorer mode into panic mode. Cautiously, he moves his hands around where he sits. The floor is smooth, feels like concrete. So far so good, he thinks. Then he tries reaching further outward. Hands seeking, searching, trying to find…anything.

“There’s a candle and a box of matches on a small table to your right.”

Denny nearly wets himself. In fact, he almost curls into a ball, and prepares for the worst. Where in the hell was he? Furthermore, who was he with? And why were they here, in this precise place? Now panic is setting in hard. In fact, Denny can feel his heart rate accelerating exponentially, as the seconds tick by. He’s in pitch black darkness, and he’s not alone.

The Natural Explorer

As it turns out, he’s the only human here, but he isn’t the only one here in the dark. A few minutes later, he’s lighting the candle.That is when he begins to learn about the new rules. That was six weeks ago. Since then he’s learned much. Getting the generator down here is just the beginning of what is ahead.

So far he has been the only one down here in the old forgotten bunker. It looks like that’s about to change. Denny listens carefully because failing at his next task, will cost him everything. _{^{End part one}}.

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Explorer

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