2000 Hell Miles. Hellhole
Copyright© 2026 by AlexNikolas
Chapter 1: She is dying
The floor gave way beneath their feet.
Archie crashed down. His helmet hit the stone with a dull thud, sending a sharp pain through his head. Total darkness closed in.
The space filled with the roar of falling rocks and a woman’s hysterical screaming.
Curled up in a ball, Archie covered his head with his hands.
Finally, the rumbling died down, and the rockfall stopped.
Now, Pam’s panicked words came through clearly:
“Help! I’m drowning!”
A man’s voice called out nearby, sounding shaken:
“Why is it dark? Am I blind?”
Sarah answered from the other side:
“I can’t see anything either!”
Pam cried out again, her voice sharp with panic:
“I’m drowning!”
Sneezing from the dust that filled his nose, Archie pulled a lighter from his pocket and struck it. The weak flicker of fire chased away the darkness. His eyes were fine, but there wasn’t enough light to make out the cave.
“I see light!” Sarah shouted.
“Why did all the flashlights go out?!” Jake called back.
“Save me!” Pam begged, sobbing.
Archie cautiously stood up, making sure he wasn’t injured.
He turned the valve on the waist tank of his carbide lamp, waited for the hiss, and brought the lighter to the reflector on his helmet. The lamp came to life with a pop.
Now there was enough light to see the cave, which was covered in stone chips and boulders. Jake and Sarah were lying on the floor, and a dark-haired head was sticking out of the water.
“Hang on, Pam!” Archie called out. He unclipped the rope from his belt and threw the end to her.
As soon as she grabbed it, he pulled. Soon she was at the edge, but she couldn’t climb out, only scraping the stone with her gloves and begging:
“Help ... It’s cold. So cold.”
Her soaked clothes made her incredibly heavy, no matter how hard Archie braced his feet.
“Jake,” he called out. “Help me.”
Together, they hauled Pam out. She collapsed to her knees, her whole body shaking violently.
Archie’s heart ached with pity. She needed to be saved immediately.
“She needs to change into dry clothes,” Sarah shouted. “Otherwise, she’ll die of hypothermia.”
“We’re going back to camp,” Archie decided. “We’ll carry her between us. Jake, take the other side.”
He grabbed the girl under her arm and hoisted her up. Together, the two men managed to get her to her feet.
“Where’s Tom?” Sarah asked anxiously. “Tom!”
Archie turned his head from side to side, his lamp lighting up a gruesome scene. A rock over two feet wide had crushed the instructor’s head. A huge pool of blood was spreading around him.
“Oh my God!” Sarah screamed. “Tom!”
Archie’s stomach churned. He swallowed hard and croaked:
“We have to go.”
“We can’t leave him here!” she cried hysterically.
Archie felt Jake’s hand on his shoulder.
“We have to take care of him,” the man said grimly.
Archie took a deep breath.
“We have to take care of her. We can’t help Tom anymore, but she will die without immediate help. She needs to get into dry clothes and drink hot coffee right away. We have to go to camp.”
“And what about Tom? I’m not leaving him!” Sarah shouted, wiping away tears. She walked over to the body and fell to her knees, sobbing.
“I’m going to save the living. We can come back for Tom later.” Archie turned to Jake and commanded, “Let’s go!”
Jake looked over at Pam.
“How are you holding up, Pamela?”
The girl answered in a weak, trembling voice:
“I-I’m okay. I j-just ... I can’t feel my legs.”
Archie lost his temper and yelled:
“She won’t be alive in an hour! And you want to mess around with a corpse?! I’m carrying her to camp. Do whatever you want.”
He threw Pam’s arm over his shoulder and pulled her toward the passage leading back.
Jake stayed in place, asking in confusion:
“But what about Sarah?”
“Let her decide.”
“But you’re the only one with light. Are you going to leave us in the dark?”
“I don’t have time to chat. Make up your minds.”
He didn’t have to carry her alone for long. Soon, Jake joined him. Footsteps followed, along with Sarah’s voice through her sobs.
“How are you, Pam?”
“S-so cold,” Pamela answered, shivering from head to toe.
Archie turned his head and saw large tears rolling down her cheeks.
He clenched his teeth—not long ago, she looked completely different.
The scene of their first meeting involuntarily flashed through his mind.
Two women and two men met him at the cave entrance.
A girl with black hair tied back in a ponytail immediately caught his eye. A strange streak of gray ran through it. Her blue eyes looked playful, a bit bold, and challenging.
A bald man in his forties spoke first. Thickset and confident, he had the air of someone long used to being in charge.
“Morning. You must be our Texan.”
Archie extended his hand.
“Hey. I’m Archie.”
“Tom,” the bald man said. “The instructor.”
He pointed to the others.
“Sarah.”
A tall, athletic blonde, almost his height, gave his hand a firm squeeze.
“Jake.”
A stocky, red-haired guy with a thick neck nodded.
“And Pam.”
The brunette with the gray streak stepped up and held Archie’s hand just a second longer than necessary.
“Pamela. But everyone calls me Pam.”
She looked him up and down like a demanding customer.
“So, are you really from Texas?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Pam smirked. “Oh, he even says ‘ma’am.’”
Sarah chuckled. “Cowboy.”
Tom crossed his arms.
“I hope you understand, Texan ... this cave is a bit more serious than the ones where they guide tourists with flashlights.”