- They called on Thursday, I think... Asked to conclude, I said yes.
When I got there, I caught one of the most beautiful dawns I'd ever seen. The road passed through a huge valley, and there was a mountain to the right of it, and we had to come to the foot of it. So the first rays began to appear on the edges of the mountain. It seemed as if they were hugging her and seemed...
- Okay, stop! What are you, a writer
- Er... - the man shook his head negatively. - No...
Opposite him, there was a middle-aged man at the table, in uniform. The room was a normal camera, with a small window, where the sunlight hardly ever penetrated. The situation was saved by a light bulb on the ceiling, which was constantly flickering.
- I hate writers! - continued the man. - How will they begin to describe it! If only they would write! It doesn't matter what, it doesn't matter, just to write! - The man pauses and pours his coffee out of the cup. - Nick, understand, nobody needs your dawns here. Let's be brief and clear.
- Okay... I met the head of the mine on the spot. His name was Oliver, though everybody called him old Oliver. The old wolf was about to retire. In the evening we had a little bit of a heat, something local, right there. I'm not an amateur, but miners - they are so... And even at night it is, you know, creepy how cold it is there.
In the morning we went for a check-up. While we were going down the elevator, Oli told me that there was a lake on the other side of the mountain!
- And you wonder why you are drowning? - I was perplexed.
There was a rattle, the elevator stopped. Oli tried to restart - it did not work. I had to go down on the ropes.
We shaved the tunnel for a long time until I saw the stairs leading upstairs.
- What about there? - I asked.
- Er... There's a warehouse there," Oli suddenly changed his face. - We didn't need to go there...
"Strange," I thought, but I never asked him again.
After a few more meters, we got to the place.
- Actually," Oli lighted up the wall.
The whole wall looked wet, even under our feet were puddles. After taking soil tests, I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.
- I'll make an official conclusion, of course, but...
- What? Oli asked.
- Don't you understand? Such deep mines are usually found for gold mining. And you have coal... I looked at the reports, you've been working in the negative for a long time.
- I do not make decisions...
- But you're making a prediction on production, you promise that the situation will improve soon!
- Do you want to close the mine?
- I am a specialist, I make conclusions! If you want a tragedy to happen here, keep working!
- You can't...
- What are you looking for here? - I interrupted him like I was shaking the ground that second.
- Run! - Olie commanded us, and we pulled backwards.
The shaking was getting worse. Dust was falling from above, and rocks were falling down. I was hoping we could escape until I heard water pouring out from behind me... I didn't even have time to think that it couldn't have happened to me like that, but the same second it knocked me down and carried me somewhere else...
I woke up in some pit in the water.
- Grab on!
With my head up, I saw Oli. He was holding the rope in his hands.
Climbing upstairs wasn't easy. My head was splitting, and I guess I hurt my head when I fell. What was happening at the time seemed to be a game, as if everything was fake. But the icy water gradually sobered up.
- Oh, no! - Looking at me with frightened eyes, Oli let go of the rope. I flew down...
- What happened next? - the investigator asked.
- When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was in a small, well-lit room. There was a cage in the middle with a man inside.
- I woke up! - I saw Oli in the corner. - You were lucky! The men were on time, but they couldn't save themselves...
- Where are we?
- This is the warehouse I was talking about.
- And who is this? - I asked about the prisoner in the cage.
- It's... Well... I'll tell you, but promise me it'll stay between us.
- Yes, it is.
Oli came to the cage.
- Meet God...
- God? (Laughs) - I asked you again, and I laughed.
The prisoner did not react in any way. I walked around the cage, but I couldn't find a place where it would open.
- Not a single weld... How did he get there?
- He hid from us...
I looked at the prisoner. An empty look. Long hair on his shoulders, overgrown face. The body was wearing normal, pretty worn clothes.
The man looked more like a homeless man than God. But at some point I was seized by a sudden flutter, and my body gave me goosebumps...