The Tunnel of Secrets

October 30, 1982

It was raining heavily on the evening before Halloween, and a group of American scientists were set to make their mark in history, by detonating the first ever atomic laboratory containing radioactive devices that would change the genes of humans so drastically, that they would be able to survive the bleak and isolated conditions of even outer space, which would mark a significant step towards space travel. The stage was set for history to be repeated after July 1969, and the room occupying the subjects was broadcasted across the world, with shops closing and streets desolated. Among the billions of people watching, there were four children, Kevin, Alex, Harry, and Henry, who watched and cherished the moment as if they were the masterminds behind the project and it was their dream to accomplish this feat. The countdown for a new page in history had begun, and all four children roared out loud. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, tw- space, we're coming! The laboratory exploded brighter than the sun, louder than the explosion of a volcano, and more powerful than ninety Hiroshima bombs. Its shockwave spread across New York City, at a speed mildly slower than the speed of light. It was pretty much evident that something had gone wrong, because the devices inside the laboratory were not supposed to be that powerful. Around the state, glass was shattered, unstable buildings fell, and all animals, including humans, were killed instantly due to the tremendous amount of radiation.

 

New York City, dead.

 

All four brothers, Kevin, Alex, Harry and Henry watched in horror as the most anticipated moment in their lives resulted in catastrophe; their eyes wider than the galaxy, their face whiter than milk, and their hands trembling. That night, Kevin couldn't sleep, thinking of all the destruction caused, and the incalculable amount of lives lost. He vowed to find out what went wrong himself, even if the reason was already found. He felt as if something horrible is going to dawn upon the family. How he wished it would just be a dumb feeling, and everything would turn out to be false, but fate turned towards the worst. The next morning, all four children went to their teary-eyed mother, and discovered the news that would change their lives forever, engulfing them with despair. "I want you to know, that your father was a part of the experiment, and he too has... has lost his life," she uttered as she started sobbing uncontrollably. It seemed as it the world had come to a standstill, and only despair engulfed the shattered home, with not a single ray of light or hope. In the home of the Dawson’s, happiness was an emotion not known.

 

26th March, 2004

 

"Happy 26th Birthday Kevin!"

 

"Thanks, guys. If my dad was here today, I would have had a great day, however, I am extraordinarily grateful that you still do all this every year. I just want to say that I love you guys, no matter what. Let's wrap the party up, I have to study now. Adios, mes amigos," announced Kevin.

 

"Kevin, I have a gift for all of you," their mother said as she placed four airplane tickets on the dining table, going to Pennsylvania. Neither of the four brothers could comprehend the reason, but one look at their lonely mothers' swollen eyes was enough to give out the conspicuous answer. They had to unravel the complication in their father's experiment, leading to his cataclysmic death.

 

"Just come back safe. I allowed you just because it was your ultimate goal, and I wanted you to spend the rest of your life in peace and harmony." Kevin solemnly answered, "Mom, don't worry about me. Take care of yourself, and I'll be back before you can say ‘Kevin’."

 

“Kevin.”

 

The very next day, they boarded a personal flight to Pennsylvania, from where they would drive to the laboratory in New York, due to the sheer isolation in the state. The roads were secluded, with little to no plants around. From a distance, the ruins of the Empire State Building were visible, with all its glass pulverized. "Look at that, the peak of one of the tallest buildings of the world surfing the isolated roads of one of the greatest cities in the world." mentioned Harry.

 

Coming to downtown New York, the sight of skeletons scattered everywhere was ghastly, and it was NOT a place for children to visit. The effect of radioactive elements in the air had worn out, because it had been such a long time, but the eerie memories still remained. Reconstruction was not initiated, and never would, because they believed that the radioactive elements might have mutated everyone, not killed them, forcing them to move underground, and in the new state, those hideous creatures may pop up again, and annihilate new residents. Thus, it was decided to leave New York as a ghost state.

 

The dark clouds, with little sunlight, had increased the intensity of the situation, and lightning and wind accompanied it to create a raging storm. Alex and Harry were convinced that this wasn’t a good time to inspect the experiment, but Henry encouraged everyone to keep on going. Alex sighed, and drove on.

 

They arrived at their destination after half an hour from that place, which was formerly a hub for some of the greatest marvels of infrastructure in the city; all devastated. There was nothing left in the area, except undisturbed ashes spread evenly across the lifeless land. All four turned on their torches, and closely examined the scene. "Hmmm, I think that maybe something is whimsical around here. An explosion so calamitous would have left everything soaring the skies!" All of a sudden, Alex shouted” Kevin! I found a tunnel! It’s really deep though, and there are torn clothes dotting the rough edges of the dirt, surprisingly blood stained!”

 

Now something that was exceedingly eccentric was unveiling its sinister face, gradually enclosing all four brothers in a plight- getting tenser by the second. First the even dirt, and now blood-stained articles of clothing! As the sun drowned, the atmosphere now turned alarming, and sounds of shuffling were startlingly detected by Alex’s sharp ears. It was pretty imminent that the wisest choice would be to head to the nearest inhabited city, but the explorer twitch in Kevin’s mindset encouraged them to go on, and reveal the mystery of the fail of mankind’s largest experiments. Thus, the descent began. Kevin used his ropes to descend first, followed by the rest. Advancing into the tunnel with Harry beside them was a boon for the group, for his skills as a chemist allowed him to recognize decayed amounts of neptunium, a highly radioactive element, which may have triggered the deadly explosion, taking everyone’s lives.

 

It was as if the tunnel was no less than a bottomless pit, but a sideways tunnel was unraveled fifteen long minutes after beginning the descent. The group of four split into two, and while two would go sideways, two would go down the hole. They decided that in case of a discovery or a critical emergency, they would yell out loud and produce a signal with their walkie-talkie simultaneously. They saw each other once before parting, and hugged out of love, perhaps for the last time. Very soon, Harry and Alex ran into a dead end. “What now?” questioned Harry, but Alex kicked through the wall effortlessly, which was the biggest mistake of his life. “Snarl,” was the last sound Alex and Harry could hear before being devoured gruesomely by genetically modified humans, now carrying the vicious virtues of vampires.

 

Meanwhile, Kevin and Henry, unaware of their deceased brothers, descended down the tunnel, where they identified charred lab coats, along with broken lab goggles. A few metres later, they found a coat that gave them the shock of their lives; the badge read ‘Richard Dawson: Head Scientist’. This meant that the coat was their father’s, but what was intimidating was that the dirt and dust covered coat too had blood stains on it. “Henry, are you thinking what I’m thinking? Whatever it is, I hope it’s not true. There were humans murdered and buried alive under the cover of the explosion in here!” shrieked Kevin. Suddenly, coming so deep wasn’t such a great idea, and Kevin gave a signal on the walkie-talkie to come back up. However, there was no response. Only static. “Oh no, they’re in trouble.” Kevin said, worried.

 

Both of them pulled each other up until the sideways tunnel, when they ran into a perilous problem. The vampires now wanted more, and in the hands of one beast, were the t-shirts of Alex and Harry. Both survivors broke into tears, but there was no time for it, because they had to escape quickly. Teary eyed, Kevin and Henry climbed as fast as they could, with the relentless vampires on their tail. Unfortunately, they weren’t fast enough, and Henry figured that both of them wouldn’t be able to reach the surface alive. “Goodbye Kevin, and take care of Mom,” sobbed Henry, as he selflessly sacrificed his life for his dear brother. Kevin was all alone now. Bawling uncontrollably, he made it to the car on the surface and drove away as fast as he could, but the vampires were faster than a cheetah, and didn’t stop chasing him. Tired and weary as he was, he stopped by the side of a road to call his mother in a telephone booth after four hours of continuous driving, to tell her about Alex, Henry, and Harry.

 

Two days later, the cops were informed about an idle car standing by the side of the road with no driver in it, near a blood-stained phone booth containing a decomposed body. After further investigation, there was no conviction, and the case was closed.

 

Till date, the mystery remains, and their mother is desperately searching for answers about the whereabouts of her sons.