Where it all began: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/149n8fd/im_the_only_person_who_has_reappeared_after_an/
What happened last time: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/14ao2c5/i_left_the_disappearing_train_and_ended_up_in_the/
I felt the water flowing all around me. I knew that once the creature fell into the water, it was only a matter of time before I got caught by them. I had to move fast. Although I was basically in free fall in the water at the moment, the river was carrying me away from the place I came. I still remember it like it was yesterday, even though this happened more than two years ago.
The current was surprisingly strong, so it would be nearly impossible for me to go against it. However, as I lay there, drifting lower and lower down the river, I realized that I didn’t need to catch my breath.
On Earth, this would be a near death experience, considering how long I was in the water for. But in this place? Calmness took over me, as I thought about the situation I was in.
There were three options that could allow me to escape the river and get away from the creatures following me.
Option one was to jump out of the water. Out of the question. All of the creatures were directly above me, so I would be only increasing my chance of getting caught if I went up to the surface.
Option two was to move against the current. While it was true that the creatures would have a hard time following me as I swam the opposite direction of the river, the problem was I also didn’t know how to not follow the direction of the river.
Option three
was to move with the current. While this makes me move the fastest, the creatures would also move that direction. Also, moving with the current would take me away from the exit, which is where I have to go.
Option two would be ideal, but if I didn’t figure out how to move against the current soon, I would be forced to choose option three.
I swam down below until I reached the bottom of the river. I didn’t feel bad at all. It felt like I still had loads of oxygen in my system, coursing through my veins. At the bottom of the river was, predictably, the black surface that covered every other inch of the area.
It was at this point where I was suddenly struck with an idea. If I didn’t have to go up to the surface, then depending on the material the black stuff was, I would be able to use my hands and feet as ways to stop myself from moving along the river. Much like a person free climbing a mountain, I would put my hands and feet in the crevices of the black material and use it to push forward. Instead of gravity pushing me down, it would be the river forcing me to move away from my objective.
I touched the bottom of the river, and was shocked to find a gooey texture on the blackness at the bottom of the river. A moment later, it made sense. Of course the ground was dry on land, it only makes sense that it’s gooey in water. Still, normal ground isn’t that viscous, even when wet. It was like putting my fingers into molasses.
I slowly crawled forward, digging my fingers and dragging my body along the bottom of the river. I knew that this strategy relied on two things. One was that the above creatures wouldn’t check the bottom of the river. The other was that they would assume I would’ve chosen option three, so they try to chase me further down where I landed in the river.
As I kept dragging myself along, I felt a faint, distant feeling of wanting to breathe. I sped up the process of moving myself forward. Quite often I found my chest landing against the thick, black liquid at the bottom of the river and my chest was stuck on it for a moment before I forced my belly up and got it unstuck with a weird hissing sound.
The earlier moment of fear had turned to mostly disgust. However, I still felt the presence of someone, no, something, watching me. I also couldn’t last much longer on the bottom of the river without breathing again, so I had to keep moving. Move farther, move faster than ever before.
I couldn’t let my mind wander during this. I only focused on moving my hands further along the thick liquid at the bottom of the river. Focused on my hand moving up and landing in the liquid. Putting a lot of power into my other hand until it snapped backward, made a hissing sound, then moved my hand about a foot more forward than the hand before. It was a slow, tedious process, and I was running out of air.
Eventually, I decided to give up and start returning to the surface. I looked all around me, but couldn’t see any of the horrifying creatures from before. The picture of the ticket collector still looms fresh in my mind even as I am telling this story many years later. If I ever came face to face with one of those creatures again, there would be no telling what could possibly happen to me. But still, I need to go back there. I know this place is a trap for anyone who sets foot in it and as I sit here, finally after escaping, I need to go back there.
Ah, look at me. I’m always getting ahead of myself.
I emerged from the river at what I’d estimate was about half a mile upstream of where I jumped in.
There was the disgusting black liquid on my shirt and hands and shoes, as I tried to walk, drenched in it. I didn’t make it even 40 steps when I was suddenly grabbed from behind by the mouth and silenced by someone. I wanted to scream but I knew screaming would not be the answer. If it was a creature, I would be dead within moments.
Luckily, it wasn’t a creature. I could do with a bit of luck right about now. It was just a confused human.
“Ah, finally decided to show your face, Burrower? I don’t know why you decided to come up here. Cave in? Scouting out the region? Or do you just have a death wish? Either way, you’re not going back there without me.”
A very confused human.
I stood there expecting to be choked out, but then I remembered being underwater. I was able to stay down there for a much longer time than normal before I had to worry about drowning. Even when I resurfaced I’m sure I could’ve stayed in the river for at least a minute longer.
Finally, the man let go of my face, and I started breathing again. “Well,” he said to me, “what do you have to say for yourself?”
“What on Earth are you talking about?” I whispered. This man was so loud, and callous, that I hated him. Didn’t he know there were monsters around ready to take us down?
“Don’t play dumb with me. I know you Burrowers are all secretive and all, but I already know about the secret, so you can just take me there anyways!”
He said those words with such conviction it made me question if I was the confused one in this situation.
“Look, I’m not a Burrower.” I whispered to him, trying to match his confidence. I failed.
“Look at you. You’re covered in dirt. You really expect me to believe you?” He practically yelled out the words compared to me.
I looked at my hands and shirt. This tar-like liquid was just dirt? That didn’t make any sense.
“Well, what is a Burrower? And who are you, anyway?” I whispered to him. “And please, be quiet!” I added.
He continued with the same volume as before, “A Burrower is someone who digs tunnels so they can try to escape this place. The Watcher’s tracking devices don’t show altitude, so it’s harder to pinpoint their location. And I,” he paused, pointing to himself. “I am a lowly traveler who also wants to escape. I’m not a one-eyed-Nancy. So, if you could please tell me where your hideout is…”
This response raised many more questions than answers.
“How did you get here? Why are you not scared of those creatures that are chasing me? How do you get out of here? What’s a one-eyed-Nancy?”
The man laughed. “Woah there, man. The Watcher’s are following you? That’s strange. You new around here?”
“Yeah, you could say that again. What the hell is going on here?”
The man’s expression turned dark.
“If you’re new around here and not a Burrower, then I don’t have any reason to keep you around. Looks like I’m just gonna have to kill ya.”
Part 4: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/14elf02/i_escaped_the_disappearing_train_but_saw_the_most/