Part two Return to the Silver Head Mine Part 2 : nosleep (reddit.com)

“Damn,” Mairo said. “I wish we had a M67 frag grenade to toss down there. He mimicked tossing one down the shaft and made an explosion sound with his mouth. I hobbled to the truck still using the bolt cutter as a crutch. I tossed the cutters into the woods and climbed into the truck, making my way to the back. I grabbed my beloved Remington 870 and hobbled my way back to the opening. I stuck the barrel between the gap in the door as dozens of Wiowalk hands reached up. I fired and fired and fired, emptying all but one shell into the opening. You could hear the nine 32 caliber balls ricochet around the shaft and hit into their soft flesh. I looked at Mairo.

“There is your hand grenade, five rounds of double ought buck.” I started to reload the shotgun from the side saddle. “Shotguns are like pigs. You have to feed them constantly or else they are useless.” I said.

Mairo poked his head inside the generator room and let out a whistle. “What happened here?”

I replied with, “One of them got in there and tore the place up while fighting me. It snapped the control lever and tore up the hydraulic line for the brakes. Once the pressure was lost, the brakes released.” A few moments later Mairo came out holding a small device with a power cord hanging off the end of it.

“This is a fuel pump. Let's drain the fuel from the generator because lord knows Coffee Candy, I mean Mark, will not need it anymore and honestly I don’t know if we are going to make it to the closest gas station.” As the small pump did its job, Mairo looked around and I stood guard. He came out with a set of keys and the lever for the elevator control. “ I found the keys for the lock," he said, handing them to me. Also this lever looks cut, not broken. It looks like a clean cut, not jagged like you would expect. It's the same with the hydraulic line. It looks very clean cut.

I sighed and said, “Follow me.” We began to walk to the iron doors. “Look Mairo, these north woods have secrets and some secrets need to stay hidden away from everyone.” Mairo looked over at the bolt cutters as we walked past a chunk of rubber still stuck into the cutters and little beads of hydraulic fluid. In a smooth motion I picked up the bolt cutters and put them up on my shoulder. I walked over to the iron doors.

“Mairo, I've seen men like him. He would not have stopped, he would keep going and do anything to make a quick buck.” I dropped the bolt cutters down the shaft and then dropped the keys for the lock. I spun facing Mario, my shotgun swinging up. The former Marine NCO looked scared as I yelled, “GUNNY DOWN!” He dropped to the deck, spun, and pulled his pistol out. I fired one round as Mairo got three off lighting fast. The rounds hit the Wiowalk as it was in midair. The shotgun round tore his flesh apart as the three pistol shots hit within a centimeter of each other, all of them head shots. I bent down to help him up. I looked at the body and looked at Mairo.

“Hey buddy, what exactly was your job in the Marine Corps?” I asked.

“I was a pastry chef. Just a lonely little pastry chef,” he replied. We both laughed and headed back to the truck, ready to head home.

Epilogue One

**One Hour Later**

I was just tapping away on my phone when Mairo spoke up, “Hey what are you doing? You are not writing about what just happened are you?”

I replied with, “Yeah, is that cool?”

“Sure,” he responded.”I’ve got no problem with that. It's just my colorful vocabulary I’m worried about. I don't want people to think I’m a foul mouthed asshole.”

“Oh, don’t worry Mairo. I’m changing it up to make it more appropriate for the narrator to narrate, but I’m guessing most people can figure out the curse words easily. For example, I am using the word ‘rooster‘ when in reality you say coc…” Before I could finish my sentence, the armored truck hit a pothole and I almost got launched out of my seat, despite wearing a seat belt.

Mario let out a laugh, “Ok, good,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure and I better not read anything in the comments section like, ‘I love Mairo.’ ‘We need more of him, he's the best,’ or ‘Mairo is my spirit animal.’ If I find out that’s the case, I will come steal your dog. Oh, you don’t have a dog? I will buy one for you and wait until you have a great bond with it and then steal it from you. Also, what are you doing listening to this at night? You should be sleeping and those curtains do not match the wall color.”

“Woah, woah, woah Mairo” I said, "Are you breaking the fourth wall in my story? I'm sorry people, he gets cranky when he doesn’t get his Crayola crayons for a snack.”

Mairo turned and looked at me. “Who are you talking to”

“You know what? It's been a screwed up day. Let’s just focus on getting home ok.” I replied.

“ You got that right,” Mario agreed. “This was more screwed up than a nun doing power squats in a cucumber field.”

Epilogue Two

** Several Hours Later**

I arrived home to the sound of dogs barking and the wonderful smell of my wife’s cooking. I took a deep breath, trying to forget about the day as I walked into the house. My two Welsh Pembroke Corgis greeted me as I took one step inside. I gave them tummy rubs and walked into the kitchen. My wife, whose beauty always leaves my heart fluttering, was making dinner. I looked at her and smiled. “Did you do something with your hair?” I asked. She touched her hair, which now fell to her shoulders.

“Yeah, I just got a trim,” she laughed. She looked at me and said,

“Hey babe, what happened to your vest?”

“Oh, yeah I lost it in an underground lake. It was kind of a sink or swim situation," I responded, with a light chuckle in my voice.

“Well dinner is ready. Spaghetti and breadsticks, one of your favorites.” We sat down and enjoyed the quiet meal. “So how was your day?” She asked.

“I fought some Native American demon monsters in a mine today. How about you?”

“Sounds exciting,” she replied. “I think I met the actual devil today. We live a pretty exciting life, don’t we?” We both laughed, happy to be safe at home.

Epilogue Three

** Two Weeks Later **

An old mint green pickup truck drove down the old dirt road with the wind whistling through the one inch hole in the roof of the truck. Dried blood stains the color of rust covered the inside. The tailgate had black lettering that said Park Ranger. The truck came to a rest in the parking lot of the Silver Head Mine. Three men shuffled out. The driver was wearing a disheveled park ranger uniform. The name tag read Cory.W. The other two men wore suits. One sported a striped three piece suit and a fedora hat, while the other man wore a classic black suit carrying a bulky box under one arm and small leather bound book in the other.

“I was wondering if you were ever going to come back for them. You know they've been here a long time. So what changed? ” Cory questioned.

The man in the striped suit spoke, his voice as smooth as a snake. “Well, some bitch burnt my house down so I've come back for my pets. Now let’s shed some light on the situation.”

With a snap of his left hand, all the lights on the property came to life even though power had been off and the generator had run out of fuel long ago. Even with the lights on, the faces of the two men in suits were still somehow cast in shadows. The three walked over to the iron doors covering the mineshaft. Hissing could be heard and dozens of white bony hands shot out between the gap of the doors trying to reach for its prey. Every now and then a loud bang resounded as one of the Wiowalks violently threw themselves at the door.

“Stop demon, you master commands it,” The man in the striped suit said while the man in the black suit stood off to his left and Cory to his right. The hands retracted and the thrashing and hissing stopped. The striped suited man bent down to examine the lock and chain. Fire began to form in his right hand until he fully enveloped his palm with the flame. With a loud whoosh, he clamped his hand around the fire. Sizzling skin like fajitas on a hot plate could be heard. When he opened his right hand, an obsidian key had formed. The man said, “Now if I let you out, are you going to play nice?”

Silence filled the air and then in a booming voice the man said, “Speak Demon!”

A faint, “Yeeeeessssssss,” could be heard hissing from between the doors.

Before he opened the lock, the man turned to his left and said, “Doctor, any reservations about this?” The man in the black suit stepped forward revealing a skull face mask that covered his face from the cheeks to his hairline, but left his mouth and nose exposed. Under his left arm was the charred remains of an old tape recorder. The other hand held a book titled Beyond The Twilight World.

The Doctor spoke with a smooth British accent, “Well Lucy, it looks like we got ourselves a story.”

Lucy put the key into the lock. The lock and chain itself started to glow bright red and melt away. With a flick of his hand the iron doors slid open effortlessly. To his right, Cory’s eyes began to glow purple as he started to transform. Lucy took off his fedora to reveal a set of small horns and the Doctor stood there with an absolutely wicked smile as one by one the Wiowalks started to crawl out of the Silver Head Mine.