What’s in the dark?

In a time before the civil war of 2067 in Whittier, Alaska was somewhat a thriving town. A place for prominent fishing, beautiful scenery, and full of fantastic wildlife. The caveat is everyone in town hives in the same on the building. She cursed herself for waiting so late to leave Anchorage to get to Whittier, Alaska, before the tunnel closed. She has not been home in Whittier since she was a little girl so, she wasn’t sure if the tunnel still had a closing time from 10 PM to 6 AM.

After going over the possible issue, she could run into her head; she decided to drive and see what happens. Therefore, thinking if it was closed, it was easier to pull over and wait out the morning or walkthrough if need be, but it was so cold outside. Looking up again, she noticed the black car following behind her. Assuming the vehicle in the same direction, she ignored the paranoid thought before giving it more thought.

As she approached closer and closer to Whittier, the weather started to get worse cold, snowing. First, snowing very light but beginning to pick up with the further north, she made her way through the thick snowflakes and blurring wind. At one point, visibility was terrible, thinking she might have to pull over and stop making her nervous, but she kept pushing because the last place she wanted to be was on the side of the road all night verses at least near the tunnel to get into town. The dash clock read 9:42 PM, and she had another twenty miles to go. She was hoping she could make it even with the weather as bad as it was getting. If not, it was an all-nighter she was going to be pulling in front of the tunnel.

Missing the tunnel by seven minutes wasn’t the confusing part. The tunnel looks like it has been abandon for years. Speaking with family recently, and they didn’t tell her anything about the tunnel being down. The tunnel was also the only way in and out of Whittier. She was trapped on the side of the road with the wind howling, the snow coming down thicker than before and no way into town.

“What if I walk it?” She thought. That thought quickly went out the window when she rolled down the window and felt the cold breeze cut through her skin like a knife. There was no way she would be able to walk through that dark tunnel in this weather.

The tunnel has not been operating since the mine was closed down years after the war. Why didn’t she know this before? I guess not bothering to look into it, and figuring Whittier is the same old Whittier, nothing would change. Staying off the radar and never looking back wasn’t supposed to mean that things change to the point I don’t even know where I am, and this is my hometown. Looking up from her phone with the little signal she did have, she thought she heard laughter but brushed it off as the wind howling from the storm blowing through. Locking the car door, she laid back and tried to develop a plan.

After waiting four hours and looking at the gas tank getting lower and lower, it was almost 2:00 AM; waiting four more hours just didn’t seem logical. Might as well take the chance to walk through the tunnel, and if you can’t get through, it turns around and comes back, a silly plan, but it was better than waiting to run out of gas and can’t even get through the tunnel in the morning, again the tunnel has been closed but how far is the question. The only way to find out is to walk through it, then drive and get stuck in the tunnel.

As she starts to walk, she notices footprints already in the snow. She flashed her flashlight back to her car and back down the tunnel, confused because she was sure she was the only one who has been out here for hours. Deciding to follow the footsteps in the snow, she noticed they were more extensive than hers, more comprehensive than hers, and somewhat deformed but curiosity got the best of her. The same footprints also headed through the tunnel.

A usual 15-minute ride would now take at least an hour with the way the cold and darkness were challenging to get through. The laughter she heard earlier grew louder as the tunnel seem to grow longer and darker. She wasn’t one to scare easily, but the laughter all around her with no one in sight would put fear in anyone.

She started to take her steps more carefully and light. She wanted to match the footprints she was following but without making noise. Her heart was racing so fast she thought she could hear it about to pound through her chest. Besides her heart, the howling wind, and the random laughter, she froze where she stood.

A quick thought about turning around to go back to the car crossed her mind. Just as she finished, a branch snaps behind her, but the fear was too much for her to turn around and face what could have followed as she entered the tunnel. The main question is, who was it and how long have they been following her?