Murat kept moving. Faster now. Not running—but close. His footsteps echoed sharply through the tunnels, the sound chasing him as he took turn after turn, each one feeling less certain than the last. “Just keep going,” he muttered. “You’ll find it.” But the passages didn’t change. Same walls. Same curves. Same darkness.
The voices were gone though. Completely. No murmurs. No echoes. Just silence. Heavy. Unbroken. Murat slowed. The cold had settled in now, deeper than before. It crept through his clothes, into his hands, making his grip tighten around the flashlight. He stopped for a moment, listening. Nothing. Not even the wind.
His breath sounded too loud. Too sharp. He turned slowly, scanning the tunnel behind him. Then ahead. No difference. No sign. No way to tell which direction led back. Murat ran a hand over his face, trying to steady himself. “Think,” he whispered. But the longer he stood there… the harder it became to focus.
Because for the first time he truly felt it. He was alone and completely lost.