Hesitating, but fueled by curiosity, I followed a slanted tunnel that led me underground. It
wasn’t long before I heard the growl, all too familiar for me to simply begin sprinting forward
with only one thought in my mind: That thing killed Jamie and Joanna. Whatever that thing
was, or even a thing at all. I ran until I was face to face with the ruins of what was leftover of a
once functional city. Houses were collapsed into a pile of stone and wood; trees were pulled down;
roads were cracked. A city. Underground. I did nothing but stare in awe, tried to advert my eyes
from the bodies that remained.
That’s what the two were talking about! An entire metropolis hidden under our feet. That is
why they called us Surfacers. I felt as if I was going to faint.
The growl behind waked me from my daze. The map, I thought. I had to find the map...
I began to run, scanning the area without a single clue where I was heading. I ran until my legs
felt numb and my muscles tensed. I ran until I hit a dead end. A large, concrete wall. The smooth
curves of a map was engraved on it. The area was so dark that I had to squint and move closer,
trace the lines with the tip of my finger. With adrenaline flowing freely through my veins, I drop
my pack and draw out my notebook, scribbling wildly, copying down as much detail as I could.
When I turned with a satisfying smile on my face, red eyes stared back at me. That was all I
saw. Red eyes. Well, this is the end.
But it can’t end like this, I reminded myself. It wss up to me, quite literally. I couldn’t give in and
let this city remain in ruins. I picked up the camera, therefore, it was my business. It’s my duty.
Strange, isn’t it? How moments in which death is looking you straight at you are moments that
causes something in you to finally open theirs and stare right back. Something that motivates
you, keeps you going. Something that pushes the urge to simply lay down and let it be and instead
tells you to fight back.
Ah, that was slightly dramatic.
Taking a deep breath, I ducked towards my right. What else did I have to lose, except for my
life? I remembered once that I prayed for an escape from my ordinary, boring life. This is not what
I exactly meant, I thought as my feet pounded on the ground. My lungs stung with humid air. I
bolted up the tunnel. Never have I ever ran that quickly in my life.
Again, I’m a historian, not a technician, not an athlete.
I stumbled out the exit, thanking God that it was still open, and dropped to the ground.
Nerves struck me and I tried to empty my stomach, ending up with doing but dry heaving. I
watched the boulder glide smoothly with tear filled eyes, and didn’t advert my gaze until it
blocked the entrance completely.
I don’t know it was that I saw back down there, but whatever it was, it was certainly no good.
As I said-- evil.
That’s where you come in, lucky reader. Attached to this is the map to all the entrances to
this underground world that I’ve discovered. They are scattered all over the world in different
locations, obscure or not. If I remember correctly, there might be an entrance near the Great Wall
of China. Or was it the Berlin Wall? Either way, underneath us lies an entirely different world, one
that is yet to be discovered, one that has to be rebuilt, and one that might help us discover a new
way of living.
This is not some random diary, or some scattered love letter, or a mere story. You have
been chosen.
I can’t do this alone. Help me discover these entrances, and maybe, once we join together and
