Hanging

“So this is the deepest pit of hell”, he thought to himself as he descended down the deepest pit of hell. The walls seemed medieval and the scent of freshly burned oil reassured him. The harness was fastened to a sturdy rock somewhere above and all he could see now was the tunnel above and below. Perhaps he will never be able to see the entrance of the tunnel through which he climbed down.

The gas mask has to be used once the toxic level goes red in the digital belt. A loud scream echoed from somewhere down the pit. “Perhaps that is the devil himself”, he smiled and dangled down the rope. He felt the carabiner which held his life line.

The pit seemed to get narrower as he climbed down the rope. The gas mask was now indispensable. The temperature was getting unbearable. The saturated halogen glow was filling the tunnel from somewhere below.  “Maybe it is not greener on the other side”. He took of his gas mask. He could hear people talking feebly somewhere far away lost in the clicking of a life supporting machine.

“Should I let go or climb back” he thought as the loud scream

echoed through the tunnel.