In a somewhat abandoned coal mining
town, in Northern Kentucky, a 17 year
old young lady, Elizabeth Woodson
"Beth", is still suffering emotional
instability over her boyfriends
death. To those who don't know her,
she seems just like any other ordinary
17 year old. But to her family and
friends, the trauma shows through
considerably. She withdraws herself from
everyone and all activities. Her
younger brother, now 16, is her only
link to the real world. For some reason,
she is more open with him than anyone
else in her family. Her boyfriend quit
school at the age of 16 to work in the
coal mines, as this is normal throughout
this part of the country. Poverty levels
are high and money is extremely limited
in this region. Beth spends most of
her time in the mine in which her
boyfriend died in, now closed due to
state and federal safety hazzards. Just
setting and staring aimlessly through
out the days, and some nights. Her
Brother, extremely worried about her, is
trying to think of a way to get her to
snap out of this mental bliss. Although
understanding, he also realizes it's
time for her to move on. So one
cloudy Saturday, her brother (Timmy)
goes into the abandoned mine shaft
looking for her, just to talk if nothing
more. As he enters the mine he begins
yelling her name, "Beth...Hey Liz, Where
are you?!" As he pauses a minute to
let his eyes get used to the darkness,
he hears a strange sound coming from the
depths of the mine. As he progresses
forward, the sounds are getting closer.
He can see Beth's candles, and personal
things where she was setting. Not
familiar with the mine, he decides to go
back home and get a flashlight. And also
his best friend, Jason, who is 23 years
old, and an expert in mine shafts, as he
has been working in them since the age
of 15. Timmy explains why he is
worried about her being in there, and
the dangers of the shaft. Without a
hesitation Jason grabs some gear and
quickly says, "Let's go! It will be dark
in about 4 hours, so grab your stuff,
this could be a long night!" On their
way back Timmy says, "Jason, could those
noises have been cave bats?" With a
witty smile Jason replies, "No Tim, cave
bats live in natural made caves. Mines
are man made, and the Carbon Monoxide
and Sulfuric Fumes will drive all
animals away. But these are normally
harmless to a human." Jason
continues, "I can't understand why Beth
would go deep into the mine without her
candles? It is PITCH DARK in those. Oh
Well, let's quit jabbering and go
see." As they cross the last green
field, Jason laughs and says, "Tim,
surely your sister has outgrown that
witch craft, and that spirital bologna
hasn't she?" "Dont ask!", Tim
replies, laughing and shaking his head.
"Your guess is as good as mine with
her". "OK, there it is. Just do what
I say, and follow close behind me. And
No loud noises or sudden moves," Jason
tells him. Upon entering the cave,
they can both hear these faint sounds.
Tim shows Jason where her things were.
And as they move on deeper into the
cave....
Timmy says
to Jason, "What are those sounds?"
Jason, noticing the quiver in Timmy's
voice calmly says, "Oh that is normal
after a cave in, the beams make noise."
Jason knows this is not the case in this
situation. The noise he was hearing
wasn't like any other he had ever
encountered in a cave. As they
continue deeper into the cave, the sound
seems to be getting louder.
"I..I...I...don't think so Jason," Timmy
stutters. At this point he doesn't want
to go on. Jason swings the flashlight
around in the darkness. They have come
to a fork in the cave. They have no way
of knowing from which direction the
sounds are coming from. "I think we
should leave and call the police or
something, Jason," Timmy says. But
Jason is too curious to leave at this
point and continues deeper, ignoring
Timmy. Jason's thoughts turn to Beth,
a beautiful girl that he is quite
attracted to. Her boyfriend, Billy, had
always stood in the way. Now wth Billy
gone, maybe he stood a chance with
her. Suddenly they hear a large
cracking sound; this sound is very
familiar to Jason. "CAVE IN!!" he yells.
"RUN!"
With the flash of lightening, Jason
starts running into the left fork of the
cave. "Follow me now," he YELLS to
Timmy. After a few minutes Jason stops
and listens. Glad that he had knowledge
of these mining caves, he turns to Timmy
and replies..."God, lets only pray that
Beth ventured into this fork of the
cave. I'm afraid that if she wondered
into the right fork, there is no hope of
saving her." As they stood there
trying to get their breath back, Timmy
whispers, "Listen, I hear those noises
again." With that, Jason's mind
starts racing. Being around these caves
for the past 8 years now, Jason knows
that the real reason the cave was shut
down was not because of "health
hazards". Strange things had been
happening for several years before the
shut down. He sadly remembers his
best friend Jake...who he had grown up
with as a young lad. They had done
everything together since there were in
1st grade. He'll never forget in his
entire life, the day he found his
"buddy" at the age of 16, just outside
the cave, so mangled.... that look of
terror on his face, was embedded in his
mind, just like it was yesterday. But
now Timmy is tugging on his arm, saying,
"Jason, Jason! Listen, the noises are
getting louder. We need to get out of
here and get help!!. Now snapping out
of his deep thoughts of Jake.... his
determination to forge on, to try and
find Beth, is the only thing he can
think of. "Timmy, you can go on back,
but I have to go deeper into the cave
and help Beth. There is no turning back.
There may not be enough time to save her
if we go back," Jason tells Timmy.
Timmy looks at Jason, thinks for a
minute, and even though now terrified,
he knows in his heart that something
lurks ahead of them and that if they
don't go on he may never see his sister
again. "Lets go find Beth.....," he
replies back.
