In the Mine's Eye

In The Mine's Eye



There were rumours about the mines. People whispered under their breath as they past them on the roadside, "place no more".

Fifty years ago after a group of miners mysteriously disappeared. The coalmines were closed. One man survived, Edward Miller. They said he went mad. He screamed in despair, as if he had seen the unseeable. It left a mark of torment on his soul, terror he would never come back from. At the old asylum out past the mines you can still hear his screams, "darkness, darkness! Place no more!"

Some people think a dark creature dwells inside. Others think that the coal itself is alive, and it swallowed them in its darkness. No one knew what he saw down there. The Fiftieth anniversary of the tragedy was fast approaching and the local people believed that on that day whatever had been there previously was set to return.

David Edwards was walking home in anticipation of reading his monthly magazine, Strange Life. He arrived home, ran in shouting to his Mum, "I'm going to my room. Call me when tea's ready."

He didn't wait for a reply as he was already sat on his bed emptying out his bag. He reached for the magazine and noted the feature at the bottom it read: What happened to the coal miners in Old Lever?

David had a particular interest in the article, as Old Lever was only the next town over from where he lived. He read the article and all the bits of information he already knew, trying fit together a more complete story of the mystery. But, it still remained just that, a mystery.


Reading the article had stirred an urge in David to find out what really happened. February 28th was the 50-year Anniversary it was now February 20th. ' That'll give me just over a week to do some more research into this', he thought. He had already made his mind up to go there on the 28th as it would be the only chance he would have of solving the mystery if the rumours were true. He didn't fancy the prospect of encountering it alone whether it be beast or living rock.



David was approaching an old, worn red door, with a rusting doorknocker in the shape of a lion's mouth. He lifted the knocker and banged it three times as he always did, as he waited for the door to open he head was full of so much information and ideas waiting to be poured out, His heart was racing ready to talk, when the door opened. His heart sank as he saw Mrs Thomas. “Good evening Mrs Thomas is Roy in".

"Oh hello David, I'm sorry his just having his tea at the moment", she said politely, but even more disappointment formed at hearing those words whether they were spoke politely or not.

"I'm sorry I interrupted your tea, could you tell him I called and could he come and see me as soon as he can its important, thanks".

"Alright, I'll tell him" she nodded "Bye David".

The excitement of the project he was undertaking dwindled temporarily as he had to keep it to himself for a while longer.



David jumped up from the Sofa as he heard the door knock.

"Great you're here, have I got something great to tell you, I'm sure you'll be interested, Come on".

David lead Roy up to his bedroom where they could have more privacy to talk, this was nothing new to David's Mum as they often went to his room. David pulled out the magazine from under his bed and opened it to the page of the coal miner’s article. "It only came out today, I didn't know if you had it already".

"Ar, Yes", said Roy, "I read this article just before my tea, I heard you come round and I already assumed that's what you come round to talk about".

"You're smart and that's why I think we should look into this a bit more, do a bit of research, what do you think?" David's eyes were looking for approval from his friend.

"I was going to suggest the same thing to you". Roy smiled knowing he'd exceeded his friend's expectations.

"So, where do we start?" David asked with the enthusiasm of child of learning something new.

"Library."

"Library!" David had a puzzled look on his face. "What's in the Library?"

"Records, newspapers, articles….." Roy's lips were still moving but the words failed to be heard, as if someone had pressed mute on a TV remote control.

The room felt cold now. David felt a shiver through his whole body. The air was thin, David tried to breathe harder, and he could not get a breath. Something was sucking the air from his bedroom. The shadows in his room became darker and appeared to grow, consuming all the light in his room, yet he could still see his mute friend mouthing out words to a deafened audience. David watched his friend's mouth, hoping to hear his words again; he looked into his face and saw the shadows consuming the sparkle in his eyes. Shadow began to emerge from Roy's mouth forming a shape. It poured out swirling and collecting together in front of his friend. A silhouette, a figure had formed right in front of him. He could still see his friend through the figure, a vale of blackness that fit neatly in his shape.

"Boring, boring, blah, blah. He does go on a bit doesn't he? Why bother with the research, you're wasting your time. You know where the real answer lies".

"David, are you listening to me?" The room was back, as if nothing had happened.

"Oh yeah, Roy, research". David sat and thought for a moment trying to take in what he had just seen in his bedroom. Was it real? Or was it just a part of me, telling me what I really want to do? He didn't feel scared, even though he should. The voice was reassuring; he trusted it he didn't know why. He decided not to tell his friend what had just happened he had other ideas.

"I've got a better idea Roy, why don't we find out what's really down there in the mines. Let's go there, tomorrow".

Roy looked at David in horror, he knew David wasn't the type to be scared of going there, but this was unpredictable even for him.

"Err, d-don't you think we should try and find out what's down there first. We could be walking into our deaths and wouldn't know if there was any way of saving ourselves. Or even worse than that, we could be walking into eternal torment and torture. You remember what happens to Edward Miller". Roy looked for some kind of sanity to return to David.

"I know that it could be dangerous, but I've got a feeling about it, I think we'll be alright, c’mon what do you say?" David was very convincing and Roy knew he wouldn't stop until he caved in, no matter how much he tried to reason with him. I haven't got time to waste arguing with David about why we shouldn't go yet. I can use this time to do some research on my own, Roy thought.

"Ok then David, we'll go tomorrow, in daylight"

"Agreed". Replied David.



David lay on his bed, his friend had long gone. He stared into the darkness of the ceiling, trying to summon with his mind the apparition that appeared earlier. No matter how hard he tried, there was nothing. He played it over and over in his mind, was it real? Did I hallucinate? If it was real, why would someone or something want me to go there? Tiredness loomed over him, he drifted to sleep.



"Its going to be a long bike ride, rough terrain, you better make sure you've got your puncture repair kit, I don't fancy walking back". Roy said sarcastically. He was obviously annoyed at being dragged to the mines or scared. I hope his not going to be like this all day, David thought, I haven't got time for cowards, maybe I should just leave him behind, he'll only slow me down. Nah, I think I'll let him come; his vast knowledge of the supernatural will come in handy. Something had changed in David. He was no longer the excited little child going on a scary adventure; he had now become cold and serious as if some part him was lost to the shadows.



'VERY DANGEROUS, DO NOT ENTER' said the sign in bright red letters at the entrance to the mines. 'UNSTABLE MINES, RISK OF DEATH' it said on a different sign underneath. The mines were sealed with rotting wood planks. They lay undisturbed.

"The locals must be terrified of this place, it looks like no one's been back here" said Roy.

"Until now" David said as kicked the bottom plank of wood. It corroded to dust, and then the rest of the planks fell down.

"That was easy" observed Roy "NOW's the hard part".



They switched on their torches and started their decent into the deep, dark tunnel. Roy was terrified. Even though his friend was beside him, he felt alone. He felt as if he was descending into his death, but there was no light at the end of the tunnel. The only light was back the way he'd come. The light was life and that's where Roy wanted to be. He turned to go back, but he could not see any light, just blackness. 'Maybe we've gone round a corner, that's the only logical explanation, but the tunnel felt straight' Roy thought as he realised something wasn't right. He was dazed and confused and realised he was alone. He could not see David's torch. He called out but his voice had gone. The blackness suffocated him and he began to panic. He didn't know which way he'd come and started to run hoping he would reach the entrance. 'It can't be far' Roy thought over and over in his head as he ran.



Roy came to a sharp halt. He felt hands grab his arms.

"David" he shouted.

"No son" said a man's voice "I'm not David. What you doing 'ere son? You should go home". Roy stepped back from the man and shone his torch light towards him, but no one was there. He searched round with his torch. The light faded, and then went black. "Damn" said Roy. He put his hands out into the darkness and moved forwards and was relieved to find the cold rocky wall. He slowly edged his way along the tunnel. 'I've got some matches' he thought. He felt around in his pocket, he pulled out the little box. He opened it, took out a match, felt for the right end and struck it across the box edge. The flame ignited, Roy looked out in front at the flame and instantly noticed a face staring at him.

"Go home son"

Terrified he dropped the match and ran. Something caught his eye up ahead. It became clear what it was and Roy ran faster towards it. He didn't stop running until he cleared the entrance to the mines. He was panting, trying to catch his breath. He looked around 'our bikes, they're gone, someone stolen them'. Roy made his way to Old Lever to get some help for David.



"Roy, where are you". 'That coward, I bet his gone home. I don't need him anyway' David thought. He continued to walk down the tunnel. He didn't know what he was heading towards, it didn't matter, and he had an idea whatever it was would find him. David felt very safe in the tunnels, they were familiar to him and he didn't know why.

David stopped and listened; in the distance he heard a faint whistle. The tune was The Sky Boat Song, which was his favourite tune when he was little. David followed the noise. 'It knows I'm here, its guiding me'.

David felt a sharp pain in his head; he saw a bright flash within his eyes. He saw a light turning into dark; the blackness was intense as if it had depth. He did not know if he saw it with his eyes, how could his eyes see within his head. 'It must be a vision', he thought.

David felt drained, he lay down on the cold floor and fell asleep.



'Have I gone the right way' Roy thought. He'd been trying to find the road that lead to Old Lever, but there was only a railway line. He followed that instead. Roy heard a train coming, 'that's strange' thought Roy 'this railway line has been abandoned for years. Roy watched an old steam engine train chugging past.

He finally made it to Old Lever.

"Excuse me, Sir" Roy said. "What's the date today?"?

"February 21st", the man replied.

"What year?” asked Roy?

"1953"



Roy walked into the police station, "My friend and I were playing in the mines and we got split up, he's still down there, lost".

Armed with torches, the group of policemen stood at the entrance to the mines. Suddenly a man came running out screaming in panic. The policemen jumped on him and held him down. "Calm down Edward, it’s alright". Shaking and rocking Edward Miller screamed "The darkness, it got them".

Roy sneaked past them back into the mines, stealing one of the dropped torches as he went past. 'The magazine must have got the date wrong', he thought 'I'd better find David before its too late'.



David woke up shivering; a man wrapped a blanket around him. "It's alright David" the man said, "I'm here to help you".

"Roy, is that you?” David asked.

"Yes, it’s me" Replied Roy.

"What's happening?” asked David.

"Don't worry about that now, just come with me and we'll get you warm".



They walked down a corridor, Roy opened a door, bright light flooded the corridor, and they went inside. David was in a corridor with doors either side, it was very warm and bright. The doors were numbered; they came to a door, 21.

Inside sat three men all wearing white coats. "This is Bill, Ed and Tom", Roy pointed out.

"This was all built for you", said Ed.

"I know what's happened" David said, "I gone mad haven't I and this is a mental hospital"

"No David, you're not mad", assured Roy, "show him".

Ed got up and opened a blind to reveal a man lying unconscious.

"That's me isn't it?" said David, "What's happened".

Ed switched on a light on a screen; he put up what looked like an x-ray. It showed a tiny black spot emitting rays in all directions; very faintly a shape of a skull could be made out.

"What is it?" asked David.

"It’s an x-ray of your brain" said Ed.

He put up another x-ray, which looked exactly the same.

"The first x-ray was taken the standard way using radiation which passes through the body then on to the film. The second one was taken without the use of radiation, the source of the radiation is from the point" Ed pointed to the black spot on the x-ray. "This is a black hole".

David looked at them in disbelief. "You expect me to believe this? If I had a black hole in my head wouldn't I get sucked into it?"

"No" said Roy "The black hole in your head is so small that only a tiny amount of your brain has been sucked in. Even so it has caused devastating effects for you and anyone around you because of the radiation emitting from the black hole."

"So how did it get in there?" asked David?

"This place was built was to experiment with black holes to see if we could get rid of the one in your head, but we now realise it was these experiments that caused the black hole in your head in the first place. We created two black holes at the same point one disappeared and one remained, we now believe the one that disappeared is the one inside your brain. The theory was that if two black holes occupy the same space, they counteract each other and space returns to normal. We also discovered that two black holes together create wormholes to different places and times. We can control these worm holes briefly, making it possibly to time travel."

"So how do you create a black hole" asked David.

"I'll show you" said Roy

Roy pressed play on a video. The screen showed a ball of metal in the middle of a room. There was a very bright flash, the light started to disappear inwards till eventually all that remained was a tiny black area.

"That ball of metal was from mars, its heavier than any element on earth" said Roy "It starts with a nuclear explosion, that is held in anti gravity field, the explosion cannot go outwards, and the elements are so heavy that it collapses in on itself."

"So how are you going to get another black hole in my head?" asked David?

"Oh, that's fairly easy as long as we get the calculations right!" said Roy.

"What will happen if you don't?" asked David with a very frightened look on his face.

"Don't worry, Tom is a mathematical genius! All we need to do is send the black hole into your head through a wormhole, “said Roy.

"Just one thing, what did happen to the coal miners" asked David.

"That was set up to bring you here, along with the fake date in the magazine article, I knew that younger me wouldn't come on the date the miners disappeared and you wouldn't go on your own" replied Roy.

David lay on a medical table, his legs and arms were strapped down, and his head was placed in a vice to stop it from moving. He looked like he was on a torture table. Bill gave David a general anaesthetic. He left the room and joined the other three in the control room they watched safely on a monitor.

The room was sealed and an anti gravity field was set up around the room. Tom typed all the necessary calculations into the computer, Ed typed in the instructions and password to create the wormhole. A swirling vortex appeared in another room, which also contained a black hole, which was held in a small concentrated anti-gravity field. The black hole began moving in the direction of the vortex.



Young Roy materialised in the room with David, looking rather startled. He spotted David lying on the table and ran over to him. Roy undid the straps on David's arms and legs, and then started unscrewing the vice.

"Roy, come away from David, were trying to save him" boomed a voice from a speaker. Roy ignored it and carried on. David was free; Roy lifted him up and shook him.

"Wake up David" he shouted.

Roy noticed something strange in the place where David's head had been, a small vortex opened and deposited a small black area.

The door opened, older Roy burst in "What are you doing put him back down" cried old Roy.

Young Roy felt David tug away from him, he pulled back and noticed something going into the black hole, blood poured on the floor, and there was a hole in the back of David's head.

"Just lie him back down, it will save him, trust me" pleaded old Roy.

"You're me aren't you" asked young Roy.

"Yes, just do it before the black hole sucks us all in, I had to let down the anti gravity field to get in here and its gone from the black hole too" shouted old Roy.

Young Roy complied and placed David's head down on the table.



David sat on his bed and took out his monthly magazine Strange Life. The feature the bottom was 'Could black holes hold the key to time travel'.