Murat pushed himself off the wall. He couldn’t stop. Not now. He took a step forward and froze. He heard something faint in the distance. There it was again. Low. Uneven. Not like the wind. Different. Murat turned slowly, trying to place it. For a second, doubt crept in. His mind was playing tricks on him. It had to be.
The silence had been too long. The cold too deep. But then it came again. Clearer this time. A sound that didn’t belong to the tunnels. Murat’s grip tightened around the flashlight. “…Hello?” he called out, his voice cracking slightly. The sound stopped. Silence. Then something shifted. A faint response. Murat’s eyes widened. That wasn’t an echo.
He turned toward it, his steps quickening now, energy returning all at once. “Hey! Can you hear me?!” he shouted. The sound came again. Stronger. Closer. Real. Murat moved faster, following it through the passage.
Because this time he knew he wasn’t alone, and he might just make it out.