Samuel and Joseph were in the deepest part of the mine when it caved in. There was a lake nearby, and there was perhaps three or four inches of water in that section of the mine at any given time, but it was a strange and unhealthy-looking color. The mine’s refinery polluted the lake.
The cave-in was caused by a stray mining cart hitting a wooden pillar, one that had been weakened by the putrid water. Four or five large boulders fell to the ground with a voluminous crash.
Samuel had a lamp, but it was nearly empty, and its flame flickered in and out of existence frequently. The two of them had pick axes, but there were tons of rock between them and the only caved-in exit. There was only about 80 square feet of space where they were stuck. "Is the water getting higher?" Samuel observed. "I’m not sure," Joseph answered, "but we should try to get out of here right now." "But the rest probably heard it, and they’re digging us out right now." Samuel lazily justified. "Well, if we helped from this side, we’d get out quicker, and I don’t know how long we can stay in here. I think the water is rising."
Joseph began digging. "I don’t know if I can dig, Joe," Samuel began. I have to hold the lamp. We can’t put it down or the water will put it out, you understand." "I understand. But maybe we could take turns holding it." "Well, digging was your idea…" "Do you want to get out of here or not?" "Well, sure, I just know that we’ll get out in a few hours," Samuel told him. "Probably less, if you help," Joseph pleaded. "Fine," Samuel agreed.
An hour later, Joseph was still digging. He made a few inches’ progress. "Do you think you could do this for a while?" Joseph asked. "Well, the air is getting stale. I don’t know if I should." "But it’s okay for me to, though, right?" "Well, it was your idea, Joe." "Well, if you won’t help, I won’t do it either." "We’ll be out of here in no time." Samuel assured him.
The water rose to about seven inches, and it was discoloring their boots. Where the water from the lake leaked out must have been beyond the cave-in, since the water level hadn’t ever risen before. "How long have we been in here?" Samuel asked. "Give me the lamp, I can’t see my watch." Joseph commanded. He took the lamp, but when he pulled his wrist up to find the time, the watch slipped off and disappeared into the black water. "Well, I guess I don’t know how long we’ve been in here. My guess is maybe a few hours." "They’ll be here any moment. I think I can hear them," Samuel declared to Joseph, who seemed to be getting worried.
The water was nearly up to their calves. "This water kind of burns," Joseph said. "Let’s sit on that rock," he said, pointing to an outcropping. They did so, and, upon observation of their boots and pants, they noticed that it was weaker and thinner where the water has soaked through, and their skin was a little reddish. The lamp was dimming rapidly as the oil reduced. It went out for about 5 seconds, but it came back, much weaker than ever before. The two miners had to struggle to see clearly. The air was getting humid, and the water’s rancid smell burnt their noses.
The two men sat in silence for a length of time neither could measure. The water had crawled up to about a foot. All of a sudden, there was a rumbling from above, and a sizeable stone crashed square into Samuel’s head. Samuel, with the lamp, splashed into the water, and sprayed Joseph with burning black fluid. The earthen tomb was entirely dark.
"Samuel?" Joseph called out. He could hear his body knocking against the stone wall. "Samuel?" he called again, not because he held any hope for the poor fellow, only because he was afraid.
It was at this point that Joseph, trapped in a black room with a cadaver, began yelling for help. Between him and the others were tons of stone, so, predictably, Joseph’s puny vocal cords couldn’t compete. Joseph gave up after he realized this.
Some time later (he had no idea what time specifically), Joseph became increasingly aware of his hunger. He hadn’t eaten all day.
If he weren’t so terrified at his situation, Joseph would have been excruciatingly bored. Fortunately for him, he was scared out of his wits, so he didn’t have to undergo such pain as boredom.
Joseph’s hunger intensified while his eyes got used to the dark. They did so slowly, but they did. He could make out Samuel’s floating corpse bobbing slowly up and down.
His hunger became nearly unbearable. Since dinner the night before, which could have been a full 24 hours later, nothing had gone into his stomach but spit. There was no question what he was sincerely considering.
Joseph, like a blind man, used his pick-axe to feel around wherever in the gloomy cavern his eyes failed him. He, with much caution, stretched his arm out to Samuel’s corpse, and slowly brought it over to the rocks he was sitting on.
There was a great dent where the stone had hit Samuel’s head. His eyes were open, but Joseph couldn’t see well enough to figure that out. He hesitated for a few minutes, understandably, but decided eventually that he’d rather survive.
He bit part of Samuel’s arm off, and swallowed it without chewing. The idea repulsed him, and chewing would only make it worse. He had a few more bites of Samuel’s arm, but couldn’t eat anymore. He was still very hungry, but he was no cannibal. He dry-heaved for a few minutes, but it stayed down.
Joseph continued to wait for rescue. There was nothing telling him that he wouldn’t have to wait twice what he already had before he was rescued, and he didn’t have that long. The water was almost to Joseph’s perch at the top of the grotto on the rocks. It was at least 6 feet deep, and even though it was impossible to tell, Joseph knew it was black with years of contamination.
Even such a horror as Joseph’s one can get used to. After some time, Joseph not only calmed down enough to sit still, but he began to nod. For how long he did so, there was no way to tell.
When Joseph woke up, he was knee deep in water that’s painful to the touch. Samuel had washed away; even if only five feet, it may as well have been five miles, there was no way Joseph could have gotten him back.
Joseph was so near the ceiling that he had to bend down when he stood, so only his boots touched the water, and his boots felt like they were being eaten through.
There seemed to be no stopping the water. Joseph became panicked. He had to make another decision, but neither ended in survival. He must have been waiting to be rescued for days, and if he waited any longer, he would surely drown in the burning water. He still had his pick-axe, on the other hand. After an eternity of contemplation, Joseph drove the pick-axe into his skull.
Five minutes later, the others drilled through the rocks.