ever more frequent .
The rocks on the ground were becoming more and more infrequent . Even when he moved one foot forward , cautiously , he started tripping more often . He felt as if he was either tripping on a rock or getting sucked into the mud . Soon it would be over . He had to be getting close to the surface by now . Soon he ’ d be able to see the moon or the sun . He had no idea what time it was , and no way to tell .
He tripped again . Harder this time . He felt himself reaching out for something to brace his fall , but his hands clutched nothing , only empty air . He expected to fall flat on his face , but he was suddenly jarred as he fell AGAINST something instead of down !
Leaning there , still partially upright , he started to move his hands against the object he had fallen against . Oh god ! No ! This was rubble ! The way out was blocked ! It was blocked with rubble !
Wait , don ’ t panic ! Panic is how you got lost and stayed lost ! Careful , think it through . I probably just got turned around a little , Tommy said to himself , but he needed more light than one match could provide .
He took off his jacket and began to feel around , looking for a loose seam or something . Finding what felt like a weak spot , Tommy began to tug . Slowly there was the rending of cloth and the seam came free ! Better yet , it felt like it had frayed some which would make it much easier to light ! Gingerly and with utmost care , he frayed the edges some more to make sure they ’ d light . The jacket was linen so he knew it would go up pretty easily . He needed to work fast once it was lit . It was going to take a minute for the full sleeve to burn , but after it went , he was down to one match . He had to make this one count .
By sheer will power , Tommy kept his hand from shaking as he lit the match . He tried not to look directly into its bright essence it as it flared to life in the abysmal dark , lest it blind him . With deliberate action , he slowly moved the flame over the frayed edges of his torn sleeve . He resisted the temptation to scream with triumph as the flames caught .
Tommy picked the sleeve up and held it aloft to assess where he was . Oh god ! Directly in front of him was an enormous pile of loose rock that ran completely to the ceiling ! A collapse ! His eyes looked everywhere and his heart plummeted as he saw the rails he had been following led directly under the fallen section of the mine .
Catching a reflection out of the corner of his eye , Tommy turned to see a sign bolted to the wall . If he could figure out which mine he was in , he might remember enough of its layout to find a ventilation shaft or one of the other ways in or out . I can still get out of this ! Tommy screamed internally . If it was a stilled mine whose exit had collapsed there would be other ways out . He had a rough idea how most of the company mines were laid out . All he had to do was figure out which one this was .
Tommy hobbled over to the sign . Holding his makeshift torch as high as possible , he read : “ Rules and Regulations Stone Ridge # 1 Mine ” He was inside Stone Ridge Mine . The mine he had signed an order to blast .
Stone Ridge Mine had claimed the lives of nine men the day it was demolished . Because of bad air and unsafe conditions after the fire , they had only been able to reclaim seven bodies . For the other two men , Stone Ridge Mine became their tomb . Their families still left flowers at the opening .
In the dwindling light of a burning scrap of cloth , an overweight man in his sixties fell to his knees . His shoulders hunched as deep , painful sounds emerged from deep