The chains rattle against the cold stone floor, each step I take echoes down the dark corridor.
The metal gnaws at my ankles, my skin feels like it's being rubbed off.
Every step is a forced rhythm—too slow, and the guy behind me shoves; too fast, and I trip over the chains.
I turn slightly, hiding my glare at the idiot behind me.
Why even bother to put shackles on our ankles?
They've got guns.
The chains tug my feet forward again and I stumble, bumping into the guy in front of me.
Anger swells in the pit of my stomach for the tenth time. If I ever get the chance, I'm gonna kill him.
"Attention" someone shouts from the front of the line.
I look up to see a man in his thirties, dressed in a crispy clean military uniform with a dandy little hat.
How patronizing.
Beside him stands a skinny young woman dressed in a fine fitted dark blue blazer—neatly pressed and pants to match. She looks a bit afraid, her hands tremble as she adjusts her collar.
Don't worry lady, we ain't faster than bullets. I scoff and look around.
We were led into a spacious room with a small raised platform in the centre that serves as a makeshift stage. There are stacks of chairs on either side of the room, but we are kept standing.
Seriously?
An open door gapes in the back-right corner. Not an exit, I bet. Four guards flank us—two on each side. No escape.
So, I put on a mighty nice smile and tune in.
The skinny lady gathers herself and steps onto the platform.
"H-Hello. My name is Megan from the —" she hesitates, glancing nervously towards the open door. "Ne - nevermind. You lucky lot were selected to create h-hi-HISTORY. The first EVER expedition into the ABYSS!"
What?
The abyss?
The entire room goes silent. Well, as silent as it could be.
The abyss was something everyone's heard of, but no one brought up. We don't get much news from the outside, but even we'd heard about the gigantic hole that swallowed up a quarter of the country.
Megan swallows hard. "A-as you may all be wondering, w-why?"
Someone steps through the open door.
Megan immediately stiffens, eyes widening as the man looks us up and down. This one looks mean. His face is all serious, not a single muscle twitching. He's also dressed in a nice black suit, clearly more expensive than Megan's. He doesn't look that old, maybe also in his thirties?
"Let's cut to the chase." His voice is sharp, impatient. "Every single one of you is scheduled for execution."
What? Already?
He lets the words settle, then smirks. "So, what's it gonna be? Die here—" he gestures behind him, in the general direction of the abyss. "—or take your chances out there?"
Megan suddenly jumps in.
"Ye-yes, as Major Danyard stated, you are all set to be ex-exe-executed a week from today, but if you join this expedition, we can... make arrangements to prevent that." She flashes a shaky smile, tapping her finger nervously on her bottom lip.
Yeah, right.
They'll never promise something like that unless, they don't expect us to come back.
But this could be my chance.
"So, what will it be?"
As if we have a choice. My lips curl into a smirk as silence envelops the room.
"Good choice." Danyard gives a slight nod at Megan.
"Gr-great, we all seem to be on the same page. So everyone, pl-please follow me. We will be un-uncuffing you and performing a quick pro-procedure to ensure everyone's safety."
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I feel the blood drain from my face as they explain what the surgery was for. The 'quick procedure to ensure everyone's safety' didn't include us at all.
"For safety reasons we have embedded micro-explosives into your spinal cords." Megan states matter-of-factly—her voice now steady.
A slow, sickening chill spreads through my gut.
My eyes dart around—no one moves, no one breathes. Megan, the jittery little rat, isn't so scared anymore.
Of course, she's not. She's not the one with a bomb in her spine.
She calls Danyard over and shows us a device wrapped around his wrist. "This wristband has buttons with all of your numbers on it. You can see them here, one to ten." She points towards the colourful array of buttons lined along the bracelet.
"If Major Danyard presses the button with your number on it." She mimics an explosion with her hands. "Boom".
"If Major Danyard dies." She tilts her head and mimics another explosion. "Boom".
"If we see you as a threat to Major Danyard or the mission." She pauses for a moment. "Can you guess what happens?"
This derisive bitch.
A guard to my left raises their hand. "Boom?"
"Exactly right!" She points at him with her skinny finger and puts on a smug smile.
Shit.
This isn't what I had in mind at all.
Even though this is a suicide mission, I expected them to take precautions but, not this.
The micro-explosives, the secrecy... Considering how unethical this is, it's probably off the books.
That would explain why Megan didn't reveal her position.
But why hide this expedition?
The hole didn't appear quietly. It swallowed millions. All presumed dead.
Entire cities —gone overnight.
A hole hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers wide would do that.
So, they must have tried exploring the abyss by now.
Then why is this just the first expedition? And why us?
Other countries must have seen its depths already .
Unless… they couldn't.
It clicks. This isn't just an expedition—it's a race. A race to claim the unknown territory first.
Something down there must have thwarted all other attempts before this.
That's why they're sending us.
Expendables.
The unofficial first human expedition. We can gather information—no risk to them.
Damn bastards. I'm gonna kill them all.
"Alrighty, if you would all follow me, we will transport you to a more...uh... suitable location."
This time, we leave the prison walls—without the ankle cuffs.
A large military truck waits behind the prison, its engine humming low.
The flaps open, revealing a dozen soldiers inside. Every single one of them armed to the teeth.
All this for us?
Reluctantly, I hop inside and fit myself in between two soldiers. They take up too much damn space. My body starts to ache from the uncomfortably awkward position. Wedged between two large men with my body twisted and contorted at an angle just stay seated. Yep, living the dream.
We arrive at a massive encampment near the abyss, swarming with hundreds of soldiers. Guard towers loom over the perimeter with soldiers patrolling in rigid formation.
All this for us?? Really?
Do they think we can fly?
We are led into a large tent at the centre of the camp, the air buzzing with radio chatter. Inside, dozens of soldiers sit glued to their monitors, tangled in a web of colourful wires. Megan maneuvers past them towards the large flaps at back of the tent, beckoning us to follow.
Beyond the flaps lay a wall of black steel and polished barrels, all gleaming under the fluorescent lights.
Rows of high-caliber rifles, machines guns, and shotguns—all neatly organized and lined up against the wall, resting in their containers like sleeping beasts. Enough to level a city.
Probably not the best idea to dangle these in front of us. My fingers twitch, just for a second. A dark smile creeps onto my face.
"The guns will not activate until we authorize it remotely. So, don't try anything stupid." Danyard says stepping forward and resting his hand on the shiny barrel of a brand-new M16. His wristband glowing under the light in all its magnificence.
"This could be your last meal, choose wisely."
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How did it come to this?
I find myself now standing centimetres from the edge, toes curling over the abyss. The landing strip juts over the void, offering me a perfect, stomach-churning view of my impending doom.
Eerie fog swirls around the void, curling at my feet like ghostly fingers, pulling me forward.
The air shimmers with strange distortions, rattling my brain, lulling me into a haze.
Sudden bursts of heat shoot out from its depths and sear my face, warning me to stay away.
I cling tighter to my only weapon and squint through another burst of heat biting at my face. There has to be a way.
My mind races. There has to be something. Anything.
I scour my brain for a way out, my eyes darting around —searching, desperate— for anything, only to be met with a blanket of nothing. Just endless suffocating darkness.
Megan's voice cuts through the air.
"We recommend you deploy your parachutes as soon as possible after you jump." Megan mimics pulling an invisible cord.
That catches my attention.
What? Why would we need to deploy them right away?
"Make sure to protect the cameras attached to your shoulders at all times. Never take them off." She gestures to an imaginary camera on her shoulder.
Wait a sec.
"And lastly, remember to watch out for the bright lights."
Wait.
"Good luck. You are making history."
Wait.
Wait.
Please wait.
If I can just ask a question —stall for time—.
"Wai-"
My words get caught in my throat as I'm launched backwards, thrown into the impenetrable darkness.
The platform shrinks above me, smaller and smaller, until it's nothing but a distance memory.
My arms start floating weightlessly in front of me.
My stomach drops.
The wind whistles past, drowning my screams as I continue to plummet.
Shit.
Shit. Shit.