A Spider’s Trail

Screaming starts to emanate from all sides, and people begin thrashing about wildly. The train shudders again, and there is another one of those hellish cries. Silence returns, however, then the panic really got started. Rolf realized he needed to do something to calm the people down. He thought about it for a moment.

Meanwhile, James had set out for the train engine to find out what happened.
When he got there, he saw that the driver was unconscious, and his head was laying on the steering wheel.
He went over to the man and tried to get him back to his senses. He took a piece of chocolate out of his coat pocket, holding it under his nose and poking him with it. When he finally succeeded in rousing the driver’s consciousness, James gave him a piece.
“Eat this here so you’ll get back your strength. What happened?” He asked the driver.

The driver looked down at the chocolate bar with wide eyes and took a first bite. Then he turned his attention back to James and said in a shaky voice.

“I suddenly saw two yellow eyes. They kept getting closer and closer. I was able to pull the emergency brake just in time, and that’s when we stalled here inside the tunnel. The last thing I saw was the same yellow eyes, big and frightening right in front of me. “

James looked out of the window, but he only saw a thick, terrifying darkness. Instinct told him that something was in it, but what? An involuntary shiver ran over his whole body; perhaps it was fear slowly taking possession of him.

The panic that had prevailed over the people throughout the train had cooled down a bit, and everyone was a bit calmer again. Rolf had taken on the task of speaking with the most afflicted and helping where he could. A few others had joined in, and he was extremely grateful to them for that. He also tried to contact Scotland Yard, but because they were in a tunnel, there was no connection and he was thinking of a different solution.
He decided to stay with the driver of the train, and together, they tried to restart the engine, but even though they had been working for almost half an hour, they still had no success.

He then went in search of other technical assistance. As he explored the wagons, he found a few passengers with engineering experience who were immediately willing to help. On the way, he met Rolf, and they talked about the state of affairs for a moment.

James told him he was looking for people willing to go out with him and try to reach the end of the tunnel to seek help. At first, Rolf did not think it was a good idea,
but he could not think of a better solution and reluctantly agreed. Then James went on his way through the locomotive.

After a quarter of an hour, James and several willing participants, entered the locomotive; and following a brief discussion they opened the exit door with the aid of the emergency release. Inside the tunnel there was a silent and terrifying darkness, and James felt a twinge regret within his small heart.

“Brrr, what kind of creepy atmosphere this is?” whispered James. Gigantic cobwebs abounded, and there was a dirty, gel-like mucus everywhere.
“I want to get to the end of this tunnel as quickly as possible,” whispered Beth, who shivering, was now very close at his side.

James felt pleased that Beth was staying near. He did not know her very well, just from seeing her on the train over the years. They had never really talked.
Occasionally, as they traveled through the tunnel, something would make a sound behind them, and they would turn around fast to focus the flashlight. When nothing appeared, they assumed something had fallen.
It was becoming much cooler, and James knew they couldn’t be far away from the end of the Tunnel.

Suddenly he stopped, startled by something behind him. CONTINUE