Free Tunnels 01, Tunnels by Roderick Gordon, Brian Williams

the ten-foot pole with the hole and then rammed it through, pushing it all the way in until only a short length protruded from between the bricks.
    "It hasn't hit anything -- it's pretty big," Will said excitedly, grunting with exertion as he checked the depth by letting the end of the pole swing down. "But I think I can feel what might be the floor. OK, let's widen this a bit more."
    They worked together and within moments had removed enough bricks for Will to slither through headfirst. He landed with a muffled groan.
    "Will, are you all right?" Chester called.
    "Yes. Just a bit of a drop," he replied. "Come in feetfirst, and I'll guide you down."
    Chester made it through after a tremendous struggle, his shoulders being broader that Will's. Once he was in, they both began to look around.
    It was an octagonal chamber, with each of its eight walls arching up to a central point about twenty feet above their heads. At its apex was what appeared to be a carved stone rose. They shone their flashlights in hushed reverence, taking in the Gothic beading set into the perfectly laid brickwork. The floor was also constructed from bricks laid end on end.
    "Awesome!" Chester whispered. "Who'd have ever expected to find anything like this?"
    "It's like the crypt of a church, isn't it?" Will said. "But the strangest thing is..."
    "Yes?" Chester shone his flashlight at Will.
    "It's absolutely bone-dry. And the air's sort of sharp, too. I'm not sure--"
    "Have you seen this, Will?" Chester interrupted, flicking his light around the floor and then over the wall nearest to him. "There's something written on the bricks. All of them!"
    Will immediately swiveled around to study the wall closest to him, reading the elaborate Gothic script carved into the face of every brick. "You're right. They're names: James Hobart, Andrew Kellogg, William Butts, John Cooper..."
    "Simon Jennings, Daniel Lethbridge, Silas Samuels, Abe Winterbotham, Caryll Pickering... there must be thousands in here," Chester said.
    Will pulled his mallet from his belt and began to knock on the walls, taking soundings to see if there was any sign of a hollow or adjoining passage. He had methodically tapped away at two of the eight walls when for no apparent reason he suddenly stopped. He clapped a hand to his forehead and swallowed hard.
    "Do you feel that?" he asked Chester.
    "Yeah, my ears popped," Chester agreed, sticking a gloved finger roughly into one of his ears. "Just like when you take off in a plane."
    They were both silent, as if waiting for something to happen. Then they felt a tremor, an inaudible tone, somewhat akin to a low note played on an organ -- a throbbing was building, seemingly within their skulls.
    "I think we should get out." Chester looked at his friend blankly, swallowing now not because of his ears but because of the waves of nausea welling up inside him.
    For once Will did not disagree. He gulped a quick yes, blinking as spots appeared before his eyes.
    They both clambered back through the gap in double-quick time, then made their way to the armchairs in the main cavern and slumped down in them. Although they had said nothing of it to each other at the time, the inexplicable sensations had ceased almost immediately after they were outside the chamber.
    "What was that in there?" Chester asked, opening his mouth wide to flex his jaw and pressing the palms of his hands against his ears.
    "I don't know," Will replied. "I'll get my dad to come and see it -- he might have an explanation. Must be a pressure buildup or something."
    "Do you think it's a crypt, from where a church once stood... with all those names?"
    "Maybe," Will replied, deep in thought. "But somebody -- craftsmen, stonemasons -- built it very carefully, not even leaving any debris behind as they went, and then just as carefully sealed it up. Why in the world would they go to all that trouble?"
    "I didn't think of that. You're right."
    "And there was no way in or out. I couldn't find any sign