Coal dust to dust

It had started as a distant rumble, almost like a soundless vibration that ran through one’s body. It struck before anyone had time to react. The roof fell straight to the floor in an instant; on top of it, more than five-hundred feet of shale and dirt. Up on the surface, the ground sank noticeably.

Six miners, all hard, seasoned men, ran for their lives; away from the choking dust and fumes that chased them down the narrow burrow of the coal mine. In the end, they appeared to have made it. “Survive the roof fall,” was the number one rule when it came to cave-ins. Next, they had to start looking for alternative ways out.

The men huddled together to discuss their options. Going out the way they came in wouldn’t work, courtesy of Mother Nature. Unfortunately, all of the numerous other ways out all lay on the other side of the collapse. It had happened at the absolutely worst location.

In the end, they elected to go deeper into the mine. In a sense, they would be going backwards in time to parts of the mine that had not seen a headlamp for more than twenty years. Perhaps they could find an old air shaft to climb out of.

After an eternity of walking, the last headlamp finally burned out. “We’ll never find the way out of here,” one man said. No one argued the point.

They continued to feel their way along using the rough surface of the walls. No one could tell how much time had passed; probably days. They were weak and thirsty. Hope became a thin thread indeed.

Finally, they sat and waited for the end.

It came for them…most appropriately.

They squinted into the sudden light at the end of the tunnel.

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