Author's Note

First chapter! Some parts I may need to rewrite though. Hope you like it!

Down the Tunnel

It was another long great day at the graffiti-lined slopes next to a busy railway line in the industrial depths of San Francisco, with three professional skaters having landed three sequential tre-flips and two 900s.

“You guys are like gods,” Harry remarked as they slapped him high-fives. “I might as well be in the little kids’ department of sorts.”

“Ah, don’t put yourself down, kid,” said Jack, one of the pro street skaters whom Harry admired. “I was even clumsier than you at first. Just keep going and boost that practice time.”

Harry nodded, trying to look confident. And he was – to a degree. Most of his time had been spent indoors playing with his Xbox (until it was stolen). His mother then took it as a sign that he needed to get outside more and keep a reasonable distance from technology at large. Recalling his childhood Harry decided to relive the moments he had as a 5-year old wanting to skateboard and watching gazillions of Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen videos.

Over time he’d built up some experience and could ollie, kickflip, heelflip, and grind fairly well, in addition to a few other unnamed tricks. Even so, he was nowhere near the skill and precision of the local pros.

Merely getting to this special arena wasn’t easy either. Harry visited this spot only on the weekends, and relied on what little allowance he had to take the bus down to a specific industrial area of San Francisco – his hometown – to play in an abandoned lot which had been converted to a street skating arena.

“Be back by 7:30 sharp!” The stern reminder of Mom rang in Harry’s head as he took up his position amongst the pros to try and see what he was capable of. It was kinda hard with twenty other players watching.

Gulping at the snap of fingers, Harry slid down the ramp and popped a well-formed ollie. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten to take into account the short distance between railings. A misjudged kickflip threw his legs onto the metal rail with a bang, and his body and head hit the concrete ground with a thud.

It was hard for Harry’s body and spirit to choose which brought greater pain – the grazed skin and aching, banged-up, slightly bruised body, or the roar of the mocking hyenas in the background.

“You okay, Harry?” Jack rolled up. He reached down but Harry blocked him. “It’s okay guys. You can go. I’ll be fine, honest.”

Jack’s lips twisted. “You sure?”

He nodded seriously, trying not to show the emotional pain from the humiliation arrows the mean spectator skaters had shot him with. Jack walked away and joined the rest of his group. As they walked to their cars, Harry slowly got up, carefully sliding his legs into position to stand up.

The other skaters stood up as well, and started to approach. It didn’t take a double thought to realize they didn’t have nice intentions in mind.
Not good, Harry thought. Rubbing his left forearm, his hand came back with a red smear. The skaters’ walk had quickened to a brief jog. Thinking fast, Harry glanced around for an escape route and located it – a small tunnel leading under the train tracks near the bottom of a slope adjacent to the far end of the skating arena.

“Sorry to bother you, but I gotta skedaddle,” he told the skaters who’d mocked him for his fail. Easing to his feet, Harry stepped back up onto his board, rode to the top edge, grabbed his small knapsack, and skated down the ramp towards the far end as fast as he could.

“GET HIM!” the other skaters all shouted, and Harry quickened his pace. They all ran after him, easily catching up due to their larger size and greater muscle. But Harry had one advantage – agility. Nearing the end of the skate park, he ollied over the short fence and jumped down into the wet valley below.

Scampering to his feet after a hard landing, Harry threw on his knapsack, picked up his board, and ran into the tunnel – just as the other skaters jumped down into the valley after him.

“Damn, you guys are determined,” Harry said, shaking his head in frustration. Running under the train tracks, he noticed another tunnel leading off to the side.

“Okay,” he thought, glancing back at the hounds on his tail. “If I can’t get out of this one, then I’ll simply turn ‘round and smother them with karma.”

Slowing down, Harry spun to the left, dropped his skateboard onto the ground, and skated into the tunnel, the skater hounds following close behind. His plan seemed less and less reasonable, however, as the tunnel appeared to go on to no end, leading into nothing but pitch blackness. At least the tunnel’s circular shape meant he could go a little faster, whilst his chasers would have it hard running on a rounded surface.

The chase, while a bit one-sided, was now becoming boring, with no ending. All Harry could do was keep going and hope there was something for him at the end – if there was an end, that is.

An answer came sooner than any of them expected, as the wheels of Harry’s skateboard hit a bump, which caused a large metal panel to flip up.

BAM! Harry’s pursuers got hit hard in the face. Harry himself, however, had it worse. All of a sudden, there appeared to be a white light at the end of the tunnel. Instead, just as the light seemed to come within reach, the world beneath him opened up.

Too frightened to even scream, Harry grabbed his skateboard and held it tightly as he fell down, losing all consciousness of the world around him.