The Hollow Below

When fourteen - year - old Richard sneaks his three friends through his father's hidden tunnel into the family's mining site, he only wants to impress them and witness the blasting of a new section. But one explosion changes everything. The earth trembles, the ground collapses - and the boys fall into a strange, ancient world buried deep beneath the surface. With no clear way out and danger lurking in every shadow, they must rely on each other, their wits, and a fierce will to survive. But this world isn't just earth and rock - it's alive, it's watching, and it might not let them leave.

Chapter One: The Tunnel Door

Richard had never been inside his father’s study alone before.The rules were simple in their home: no one entered that room without permission. But rules were meant to be broken—especially when your father spent more time with his mine than his son.It was a Saturday, and the house was unusually quiet. His father had left before sunrise, his boots thudding against the tiled floor as he mumbled orders into a walkie-talkie. Richard waited two hours after he left before sneaking in. He didn’t know exactly what he was looking for. A clue, maybe. A secret. Something that explained why his father always looked so tense, always locked away when he wasn’t shouting orders at the miners or whispering on the phone.

The study smelled of old paper and dust. Its walls were lined with thick books Richard had never seen before—strange titles like The Hollow Beneath and Voices of the Deep Earth. He swept his fingers across the desk, pushing aside an old compass and a rusted miner’s badge. That’s when he saw it: a large key, blackened with age, hanging from a hook under the desk. It looked ancient. Heavy. Richard grinned.

Later that afternoon, he called his friends: Davis, the loudest; Jake, the cautious brain; and Loret, the girlish boy with a fearless heart and a sling always strapped to his wrist. They met in the shed behind the house, a crooked structure no one had used in years. He didn’t tell them everything—only that he found something big. Something worth seeing.

“You sure this isn’t one of your ‘Richard Adventures’ that ends in us getting chased by a goat?” Davis asked, side-eyeing him as they arrived.“No goats this time,” Richard smirked. “Just secrets.”He led them to the far corner of the shed, where old barrels and broken spades leaned against the wall. Behind them was a rusted trapdoor, its outline almost invisible beneath layers of grime.“The key,” Richard said, holding it up like a prize. “Let’s find out what my father’s been hiding.”

Jake hesitated. “Wait—you’re telling me there’s a tunnel under your house?”“I’ve seen him go in at night,” Richard whispered. “He disappears for hours. I followed him once—he entered through here.”“What if it’s just a maintenance shaft?” Loret said, pushing past him. “Or a storage room.”“Then we’ll climb back out. But if it’s what I think it is…”He didn’t finish the sentence. The key slid into the lock with a loud clank. The trapdoor creaked open, releasing a burst of cold, musty air.They stared into the darkness.

The tunnel yawned beneath them—narrow, stone-lined, descending deep into the earth. Thick cobwebs danced across the opening, and the scent of damp earth stung their noses.Davis coughed. “This is a bad idea.”“Come on,” Richard said, his voice low. “Don’t you want to know where it leads?”Loret had already tied his scarf around his nose and dropped in with barely a word. The others followed. Richard was last, lowering the door behind them until they were swallowed by darkness.

Jake flicked on his torch. The beam revealed more cobwebs—huge ones. Insects scurried across the walls. Every step stirred up dust and old air. The tunnel wasn’t just old. It was ancient. The walls were rough, not like anything built recently. And on some of the stones were carvings—symbols Richard didn’t understand.“This doesn’t look man-made,” Jake muttered, touching one of the marks.“It’s a tunnel. Of course it’s man-made,” Richard replied. “But by which men?” Loret said, scanning the walls. “These symbols… I’ve seen them in one of my grandmother’s old storybooks.”“You read too much,” Davis muttered, swatting at something buzzing near his head.

They walked for nearly fifteen minutes before the tunnel widened into a rocky chamber. A grated metal bridge stretched across the space, leading to an overlook that hung like a balcony above an enormous cavern.Below them was the mining site.

Machines clanked in the distance. Sparks burst from drills against rock. Men in yellow helmets moved back and forth, calling out instructions. But from this hidden perch, no one could see them.“Whoa,” Davis whispered. “This is like... a spy cave.”

Richard grinned. “This is how my father watches them. He never comes down with the workers—he observes.”“And we just walked in?” Loret said. “Without anyone noticing?”Richard nodded. “Told you. This was the plan.”But then something caught his ear—a voice, down below, shouting. A foreman waved his hand and barked orders. A loudspeaker crackled to life.“Prepare for blast. Zone Three. Fifteen seconds.”The workers scattered to safe zones. A blinking light turned red.“Did he say blast?” Davis asked, backing away.“It’s fine. They do this all the time,” Richard said. “We’ll watch from here.”

Jake grabbed his sleeve. “Richard—this tunnel—what if it’s not stable? We’re directly above the detonation zone.” “It’s not Zone Three. That’s over there,” Richard pointed, but he wasn’t entirely sure anymore. The vibrations were rising beneath their feet. “Five… four…” The countdown echoed through the cavern. “Three…” Richard 's heart beat faster.

“Two…” Loret stepped in front of him. “We should go.” “One—” The world exploded.

A thunderous BOOM rocked the chamber. Smoke and fire erupted from the far end of the cavern. The shockwave slammed into the tunnel walls, shaking them like jelly. Dust filled the air. Lights flickered. Then came the cracking. “MOVE!” Jake shouted. They turned, but the floor beneath their feet groaned. The rock shattered. And then—they were falling.