Navin’s Bazaar of Dreams
New Year, New Column!
Disclaimer: Every story published as a part of this column is 100% based off a real dream that Navin had and recorded. This may lead to a significant lack of context. Names are changed to avoid repetition
The Underground
Part I
The sun sets on the horizon, lighting the sky in hues of orange and purple. Toby Thomas, his sister Tabitha, and their mother are on the way to a gem and bead convention. They decide to stop for the night, and Mrs. Thomas takes the exit when they see a hotel beside the interstate. As they pulled into the parking lot, Toby whispered to his sister, “Hey Tab, look at that construction site.”
The children peered through the car window at the lot next to the hotel.
Abandoned construction cranes and bulldozers rested in the lot, resembling prehistoric giants in the dying light. The frame for some skyscraper had been left half finished, resulting in a metal tower that extended into the night sky. The children shivered and looked away.
As their mother checked in at the front desk, Toby and Tab saw dozens of posters of missing persons: Jimmy, age 8; Carina, age 7; Nelson, age 9; etc.
“Gee Toby,” whispered Tab, “Those kids are pretty much our age, and they’ve all gone missing around here!”
The wide-eyed children discussed what could have happened as they followed their mom upstairs. After a quick dinner, the trio went to bed so they could wake up early and continue their journey the next day.
1:30 am. CRASH!
Toby gave a shout and fell out of bed. Tab and Mrs. Thomas sat bolt upright and looked around. “Did you hear that?” asked Toby.
“Yes,” replied Mrs. Thomas, “It sounded like glass breaking! Maybe someone broke into one of the rooms!” She tried the phone. “Nobody at the front desk is picking up! I’m going to go down and report this noise. You two stay here and be safe; those missing posters scare me.”
After their mother left, the children dashed to the window and peered outside. Outside the first floor breakfast area was a patio that led to the parking lot, which was separated from the construction zone by a chain-link fence. On that patio, something shone in many jagged green pieces. “Looks like something was 
smashed on the patio,” said Tab, “I’m going to quickly go down the fire escape and see what it is.” She went out the window and was down the fire escape in a flash. “And mom says I’m the reckless one,” thought Toby as he followed. The children stood looking at the green glass. “Looks like a bottle,” remarked Toby.
“Over there!” shouted Tab, “Did you see that?”
“Yeah, looks like someone left a light on in the construction area. Wait, wasn’t that gate closed before?” said Toby.
The gate in the chain-link fence, which had previously been fastened with a heavy padlock, now stood ajar. The children crept through and looked around cautiously.
“Let’s check out that light,” suggested Toby. The kids walked toward the red light, which stood in an open area of the construction area. Next to it was a hole. Peering into it, the children saw a staircase made of scaffolding going down as far as the eye could see. It turned at right angles, making a rectangular hole in the ground, illuminated only by red lamps every few flights.
“That’s pretty unnatural,” said Tab. “Why would anyone make a staircase going into the ground, and how did they make one that goes so deep?”
“Beats me-,” Toby began, when Tab grabbed him. “Someone’s coming this way!”
A flashlight had appeared from behind a dumpster, and the person holding it began to walk towards the children. Panicking, they looked for somewhere to hide. There was only one place – in the hole. Toby began to run down the stairs, with Tab just behind him. He ran in a blind fear, and finally paused, dizzy and out of breath. When he turned to ask Tab if she thought they were safe, his stomach fell to his shoes; Tab had vanished.
“Tab!” he yelled, leaning over the railing to look up the staircase. He drew back with a shout. He had seen someone with a flashlight coming quickly down it. He looked down to see another flashlight-holding figure walking up the stairs at a fast clip. Feeling trapped, Toby leapt over the railing into the space between the stairs. He fell, faster and faster till the world was a blur of red lights flying past him. Toby looked down to see an endless darkness rushing up at him, closed his eyes, and knew no more…
To be continued. The story has a happy ending, don’t worry. 🥸
