Shaft 29

By Michael Adashefski

EXCERPT: "So you haven't heard the full story then? About the day it happened?" he asked.

"No." said Rizzo. "Just that a few miners got trapped and never came out."

The foreman continued, "That whole day was a disaster from the time the sun rose. It was cloudy and we had trouble with heat lightning that day. No rain, just lightning shots that kept messing with the equipment all day. Lights kept going out, generators firing and misfiring, that sort of thing. By noon it was driving us all nuts."

"So you were here that day?"

"Damn right I was. Some of us were hearing the tommy knockers telling us to get out of the mine. Sometimes by random banging but some of us were hearing voices. And not just little whispers. I mean voices as clear as ours right now. Most of the crew were smart and cleared out quickly, but not those guys. Jim Jackson and his buddies were a little greedier, maybe a bit too driven to claim their stake of this rock. We tried like hell to warn him but he wouldn't listen. He had that gold fever in him bad. Really bad, like a sickness that keeps eating away at your soul."

"So what happened next?" asked Rizzo.

"We got out PDQ. And about 2 minutes later we saw a giant flash come outta the sky and whack the place, like a giant fireball from the heavens! This thing was huge and it knocked most of us flat on our backs, radiating heat everywhere. It even blinded one guy! Jack Mitchell. He got some of his sight back later but it took a few years. He still wears them thick dark glasses, even at night sometimes. Anyway the shot hit right at the top of the opening and then the ground shook like hell for what felt like an eternity. All we could hear was one giant rumble and the sounds of those guys screaming their lungs off from inside, but that didn't last long at all. After a few minutes everything stopped dead and all we heard was silence. Lots and lots of silence. Like even the birds and wildlife around here got the crap scared out of them. None of us knew what to make of the whole thing. And for a while none of us said anything, like our voices were struck dumb, you know."

"Did you try to....."

"Dig 'em out? Once the flash hit all of our trucks and equipment went dead. No batteries, no power. Nothing. And it stayed that way for days. The nearest town was 10 miles down the road and there was no point in trying to move any of that rock by hand. We all just picked up our gear, one by one and headed back down the mountain on foot. None of us said anything or registered any kind of emotion. We just walked and walked until we reached Kramer's Mill. And that's where some of these legends started because some of the residents down there saw the flash too, but not like we did. They didn't know what to make of it. After all this time most of 'em still don't."

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Adashefski
• Release date: Jul 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301160907

Michael Adashefski

I've been writing since my early teens, mostly lyrics and essays. I've recorded/narrated several audio books by some great writers that are all available on Amazon, Audible & iTunes. As a drummer I'm a former student of legendary drummer Ginger Baker and I work in my own home studio in the US.The audio versions of ECHOES and DON'T BADGER A BADGER are now available on Amazon, Audible & iTunes. The audiobooks were Narrated/Performed, Scored & Produced by me so I hope you enjoy them.

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Shaft 29

by Michael A. Adashefski

Copyright 2013 by Michael A. Adashefski

Smashwords Edition

Shaft 29 is dedicated to my dear wife Hai with my heartfelt thanks for her Love, Companionship and for teaching me to believe in myself again.

Cover photo taken by my sister-in-law Suiling.

You're invited to also check out my other works:

Echoes

Don't Badger A Badger

Dog Works

Escape From Cell Block Six

Introduction

Cold, dark, grimy water dripped slowly from several cracks along the cavernous floor inside the ruins of Mine Shaft 29. The lamps from the 4 miners’ helmets would sometimes catch a drop in mid air as it thunked on the tops of their heads. The crew, led by veteran miner Frank Grissom, had been hammering away at one section of the mine wall for what seemed like an eternity. This was the last area marked on a faded map that was found in some rubble not far from this spot, buried beneath a pile of rocks and the remains of support beams that were supposed to be sturdy enough to prevent any cave ins. After 30 years of being buried underground, this area looked more like the aftermath of an earthquake zone than a mine. After the shaft walls had collapsed on a group of six seasoned miners somewhere in this part of the mine, the area was left to rot quietly more as a grave. Any efforts that were made back then to rescue those guys proved to be far too dangerous considering the kind of equipment they had back then. Basic sledgehammers and pickaxes were no match for dealing with the amount of moist earth and unstable rock formations in this area, no matter how many support beams were installed to try and prevent the inevitable from happening. Even the cranes and bulldozers they had weren't stable enough to handle the rough terrain in this area. And then there was the usual population of bats to deal with and the occasional rattlesnakes. Sometimes when men went scavenging inside the earth to reap her bounty, Mother Earth would not always be a generous woman to let go of her treasures so easily. And sometimes she'd take a few miners as payment before allowing any paybacks out of her cache.

Grissom and his crew knew of the risks involved in digging this mine. Artie Jackson hadn't seen his Uncle Jim since he entered the mine on the day of the accident that sealed him inside. Artie was determined to rescue his uncle's remains to give him a proper burial to make up for the one nature dumped on him. Denny Digger Martin was a big, burly guy that looked like he could toss a steam locomotive 50 yards with one throw. Sometimes when he pounded the earth the crew behind him were either hauling out carts full of boulders or running for their lives to avoid being hit by them. He was more of a human bulldozer sometimes but very dependable with a great sense of humor. And Rick The Pick Rizzo seemed to have a sixth sense about finding gold in nearly every mine he'd ever set foot in. Rick was the wealthiest miner in these parts and was always up for a challenge, no matter how dangerous it was. These guys were 4 of the best miners in the area, hands down. If anyone could dig back into Shaft 29 and locate what was left of those 6 lost men it was these guys. But it took six tries and piles of bureaucratic red tape to finally get permission to re-enter this cursed place and now the crew were about to hit pay dirt.

Part One—The Deception

Bunker's Hole, Utah was about the most secluded place on Earth. Buried deep in the mountains far away from the more populated cities and suburbs, this tiny town had little more than a gas station, a general store that also served as a post office and a few assorted chow halls and flop houses. This was strictly a mining town, a place where guys could stock up on whatever available supplies they could grab and maybe get a hot meal and a place to sleep for the night, though not always so comfortably. Gold mining had a way of digging at a man's soul, driving him close to madness when his next paycheck was buried