Terror in the Tunnel
It's been several weeks since the frightening incident, but I finally feel ready to talk about it.
The day began with exciting thoughts of exploration and photography. I parked my car and hiked up to the mouth of the long, dark abandoned railroad tunnel. I could see the light at the other end, what could go wrong? As I reached deeper into the bowels of Clinton MA, what at first seemed so bright was now nearly pitch black. I kept going, heading toward the small hole of light that was now getting bigger. I made it to the other end. The view from this end was desolate, muddy and rundown. For me, this meant a great place for photos. With my tripod set up and flashes out of the bag, I got to work. Then it happened...
From the entrance I heard a noise. Yelling? Laughing? Crying? I couldn't tell. I turned around to look, but could only make out several faint silhouettes. I tried to ignore it hoping they would not be as brave as I was and enter the tunnel. I was wrong. They were getting closer and closer, louder and louder. Were they aliens who wanted to suck out my brain? Street thugs who wanted to steal my camera gear? Escaped convicts looking for a hostage? I had no idea, but I didn't want to find out. I fired off my flash toward the enemy several times to scare them off. This only made them advance with more intensity. As quick as I could I packed up all of my gear and started running toward the exit hole.
Outside the tunnel I was no better off. The mud got deeper under my feet as I looked for a place to hide. I was trapped. Rock walls on either side prevented my escape. For sure now I was completely exposed to them, but no time to stop and turn around. Who are they, what do they want with me, I kept thinking. Finally I found a spot where I could climb out of the ravine and hide behind some rocks. The echo of their voices got louder, they're almost here! From my hiding spot I saw them emerge. What came out of that tunnel was even worse than what I had imagined...
Four teenage girls with selfie sticks.
