Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-25064424-20150503162213

I lived on that village since I remembered. It was the typical small, rural village with the small, aging and somewhat closed community. Everyone knew everyone else by the first name. Occasionally, we would gather at other families terrains in order to help them maintain their fields, which were their main, and sometimes only, source of sustenance. I was lucky enough to be born on the wealthiest of them.

Our family possessed most of the terrains around the village, from the river bank terrains below where most of our harvesting product came from, to the pine and eucalyptus forests on the surrounding areas located right above the village, that my family used to get some firewood from. Our house was a typical farmhouse, with the walls made of stone blocks with some kind of cement in between them, the barnyard with the animals and the typical well with a bucket to get the water from below. On one of these forest terrains above the village, there was an entrance to the mines where a fresh water spring would supply the whole village with pure and clean water. My father was more into managing our terrains than our mother, that had her job as a teacher in the city, consuming most of her time. The entrance to the mines was something of peculiar nature: there was a trench right next to a pathway,surrounded by bushes that apparently had nothing special about it even if you climbed down into it. But if you looked closer into the upper end sharp drop of the trench, the soil was stirred. To enter the mines you had to make a small hole on the that upper end, big enough to fit you in. You didn't have to dig too much. only 10 centimeters of soil would separate the outside world from the small tunnels in which you had to be crouched with water to your knees in order to navigate. The reason why it was accessed, was to check when the water was coming too shortly, or when it wouldn't come at all. on those cases, someone (usually my father), would go there, climb down the trench, excavate the entrance, enter the tunnels, find the tube that would bring the water to the village, and relieve the air pressure inside it One day though, the water came red. I was fifteen. It was a normal day, I woke up, went to to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and the water started coming clean, but suddenly, traces of red in the water fell off the water tap, until there was only red water. Finding it curious, I closed the sink's drain, keeping the red water in it, and called my father. -Hey dad! Come here. -What is it? -Look at the water. -Why is it... Are you hurt? Did you cut yourself? -What? No! The water simply came from the tap like that. -Impossible. -I am telling you. Look.-said me as I opened the tap again. It was still noticeable some red stripes on the water that was falling from the tap, but ultimately, it stopped. -I seriously don't know. Look, I am taking some samples to the pharmacy right away and just to be sure, I will tell your mother to bring some bottled water from the market and tell everyone else in the village to do the same thing. -Can I go with you? -Uhm... yeah. I guess so. I got dressed and just as we walked into our car, several villagers walked into our direction. They looked distraught. -Something happened. Have you seen the water?-said a man -Yeah-said my father-I am taking these samples to the pharmacy. Don't use the water until I have the results. Buy it bottled. -That is not all of it. Ricardo and his brother went to the mines a while ago to try and fix that and they haven't come back.-said Ricardo's mother -Ricardo? But he barely knows the mines, and his brother knows them even less! They will get lost! -That's what I told him!-she said-But he refused to listen. We came here so you could find him. -Have you called the emergency services? -Yes, they are on their way, but you know how long it will take for them to get here, and every second is crucial. Please, they are my two sons! -Goddamit!Let me get changed. I will be there as soon as I can.

The group left and my father and I went back inside in order to change clothes. When I appeared in front of my father ready to go into the mines with him, he said: -Oh, no you don't. I can't take you to the mines with me! -Come on! I never went there, and I am really curious to see what is like! Besides, you could use an extra pair of eyes looking for Ricardo and Marco! -I guess so, but when we get inside, you stick with me and do exactly as I say, ok? -Ok! When we got to the trench, my father excavated the entrance with a shovel and turned on his flashlight. -Let me go in first.-said him as he crawled into the tunnel. After he got in, he turned around and told me that I could enter. -These tunnels are very very old.-he said to me.-Even your grandfather didn't explore the whole network. Make sure you stick with me. From what I could see, the water was clear in there. -You know, if they are lost, they know that all they have to do is go downstream. We should go ba... And suddenly, an scream was heard coming from the bifurcation, echoing through the tunnels. -RICARDO, MARCO! TALK TO ME! RICARDO,MARCO!-screamed him. No one answered. The silenced had returned. -I am taking you back outside.-said him -No! What about Ricardo!? We should get to him as fast as we can! -Uhmm... Screw it! Stick with me! As I stuck with my father, i noticed that we were taking a right, from where the red water was coming.After quite some turns, we arrived at a considerably larger section of the tunnel, on which we could get up on. My legs hurted as hell after crawling all that distance. My father pointed the flashlight to the front, and a man was sitting on a small bank of sand, with his face between his legs, crying. It was Marco. -Marco!-said my father. Marco immediatly jumped and covered me and my father's mouths before each could say another word. -Quiet!-he whispered starting to wheep again-It will hear you! -What are you talking about!? Where is Ricardo?-said my father whispering to calm him down. -IT killed him. -What? Don't say that in front of my son! What tells you that Ricardo is dead? -Because... It also killed that...-said him pointing at a floating thing on the water ahead. My father raised the flashlight and I could only catch a glimpse of something simmilar to a dead carcass before my father covered my eyes. -My god!-said my father in horror.-What is that? -I can almost bet it is Martim. He was last seen 2 days ago as you know. He must have fallen off in some other hole, and ended up in here. That was what was causing the red water. It was from his blood. Suddenly, splashes could be heard from where we came from.Without saying a word Ricardo immediatly got up,terrified and accidentaly made my father drop the flashlight into the water, and it turned off. -No! Turn it on! Turn it...-screamed Marco before strong splashes and ultimatley dead silence followed. In the middle of the screaming, I swear that I heard my father say "Run!", but nevertheless, I was running into the tunnels, almost tripping over the corpse, surrounded by nothing but darkness, and to my despair, the tunnel got narrow again. when I finnally was able to construct my thoughts, I recalled having a flashlight on my pocket. I grabbed it and before I clicked the button, I heard a splashes behind me. -Dad?-I called No one answered, but the splashes were getting close.

-Marco? Tears of fear started filling up my eyes as the splahes were felt right in front of me. -Ricardo...? I did not wait for the answer. I turned the flashlight on immediatly and expected the worst. A loud screech was heard, and the splashes started sounding distant again. I did not wait though. I continued going through the tunnels as fast as I could. "Go downstream"-I said to myself remembering what my father had told me. I tried sensing the terrain as I went through, feeling any changes in the inclination. I made my way through several tunnels, as i felt that I was going down.I started feeling a breeze of fresh air, and then, I saw light. I reached a tunnel, where a circular, and almost blinding source of light killed the darkness on the mines. I heard the splashes again and started grasping at the walls, climbing my way up. Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled down. I looked, and to my terror, 4 white and extremely long, claw-like fingers coming from the tunnel, tried to bring me down, but I kicked them and continued to climb. I knew exactly where i was. I was at my home's well. I climbed out of it and ran back home, calling my mother through the phone that was already at the mine's entrance with the emergency services, ready to look for me, my father, Marco and Ricardo. After turning off the phone, I went to the bathroom and opened the tap and stared at it, crying as I could hear my mother calling for me from out side. The water came red. 