Writing Assignment 2 by novus – The Tunnel
The roadway dipped perceptively downhill towards the opening of the tunnel. Heavy rush hour traffic was bumper to bumper but moving briskly and I expected to be home for the weekend in another half hour. Moments after entering the tunnel, I heard a loud rumbling sound, and felt my car shaking and bouncing in the grip of the effects of the shock waves of a powerful earthquake.
Tires screeched on the pavement as the four traffic packed lanes came to a sudden halt. Suddenly, huge sections of the stone veneer from the roof of the tunnel as well as large chunks of concrete began failing on the cars and helpless occupants below. A large piece of concrete struck my windshield, shattering the glass with an explosion like effect. I instinctively covered my eyes to protect them from the glass fragments. Moments later, when I opened them, I was horrified to see pressurized water jetting through cracks into the tunnel from the river above. Knowing that the stalled vehicles were unable to move due to the substantial debris from the collapse, I knew my only hope of escape was to abandon my car and try to get out on foot before the tunnel filled with water.
As I exited the car, the initial shock of what happened began to wane, and I became aware of the screams and desperate cries of the injured for help from further along the tunnel. The passage was choked with debris which prevented me from going to the aid of those I could hear. The air was suffocatingly filled with dirt and concrete dust which was burning my nasal passages and throat and making it almost impossible to breathe. I felt the panic rising within me there in the dimly lit scene of devastation. The tunnel illumination had failed during the collapse and I could only see from the lights of cars shining eerily into the dust saturated air. I desperately sloshed through ankle deep water as I started back on foot towards the way I had come.
The water continued to rise rapidly and I knew that if I wasn’t out of the tunnel in minutes, I would drown despite having survived the initial collapse. Due to a bend ahead, I could not even be certain that the entrance was unblocked. Despite the almost overpowering feelings of fear, I doggedly moved forward towards what I desperately hoped was survival.
