It was a balmy summer day on Anderson Street, and the air was still with the sound of crickets

chirping softly and trees gently waving their leafy fronds under the sun. The occasional car rolling
past languidly was the only sign of life. Outside number 23, a gate slammed violently, cutting
through the silence.

“I’ve had enough of this family, I never get any freedom! Just go away and leave me alone!”

Jake’s feet pounded the pavement heavily, his ears ringing with the deafening sound of his heart
thumping heart against its chest wall. He felt the burning waves of anger rise and fall with his rapid
breathing as hot tears began to prick his eyes. ​It’s not fair! I never get to do what i want, i never want
to see those peoples faces ever again! I wish i could run away forever!

Anderson Road forked out, with concrete paths giving way to unpaved roads, then eventually dirt
tracks. Jake stumbled forward blindly, ignoring the fatigue and willing his legs to carry him as far as
they could. Daylight slowly bled into a pool of lava, painting the skies with streaks of brilliant
vermilion. Miles away, city lights flickered on, and welcomed the cool embrace of nightfall. The
sound of people and traffic faded away, giving way to the feverish orchestra of insects and wildlife
fighting for their nook of the bush.

Jake shivered and pulled out his flashlight to shine on the rugged track. He tread carefully, narrowly
missing the rusty bonnet of an abandoned car that had made its way onto the middle of the path.
Every step crunched beneath Jake’s foot landing on the fine layer of twigs which had been deposited
over the track. Old trees groaned with every gust of wind, waving their heavy branches in protest.
Jake’s quiet footfall faded into the susurration of the leaves, as he dove deeper and deeper into the
bush. There was no sign of life to be found anywhere, only the solitary beam guiding the way.

In the corner of Jake’s eyes, a dark figure scampered across his feet, drawing his attention to the
damp soil. Jake followed the little creature and lost him quickly, his gaze falling instead on a singular,
large shoe print embedded in the dirt. This wasn’t just any shoe print.The shoeprint had perfectly
symmetrical geometric shapes with a worn away outer corner, as if its owner dragged his feet
reluctantly as they walked. The ridges resembled a vertebrae of a dinosaur and each of the ridges
were perfectly spaced leaving a few centimetres between each. The colour of the shoe was black- it
was as dark as the tunnel jake was walking through. Jake froze in his footsteps.

It was a footprint Jake had seen before.

Questions raced through his mind - there would be no reason why he would be here, ​surely​. He bent
down to inspect it more closely, holding the flashlight directly at it.

But that broad, distinct, asymmetrical erosion of the sole on the outer corners of each heel - how
many times had his mum complained about that exact print in the kitchen? Jake could see a trail of
similar footprints ahead of him, the depth of each print hinting at its heavy owner sinking a little into
the damp soil before taking each subsequent step.

Jake had seen darkness before, the kind that makes a street like an old fashioned photograph,
everything a shade of grey. This wasn't like that. The darkness robbed Jake of his best sense and
replaced it with a paralysing fear. The wind howled like the high pitched wail of a child. All Jake
wanted to do was to get out of there. Slowly making his way down the track, the image of the
familiar shoe print continued to burn in his mind. Jake trod carefully, scuttling to following the broad
pattern of prints left by an owner with a considerably wider gait. Gradually, the narrow dirt track
opened out towards a small, concrete landing and the opening of an abandoned tunnel. Wiping his
sweaty palms on his pants, Jake nervously advanced towards the tunnel.

His footsteps echoed as he continued to walk through the dark, circular tunnel. Slowly but surely,
nerves started creeping up and causing his spine to trickle with fear but curiosity, as intricate
symbols were carved into the walls of the tunnel. Symbols which made him feel like he was being
watched. Were they some sort of code? Do they mean something? Or are they just symbols, which
adolescents graffitied over this abandoned tunnel? Even though, so many unanswered questions
swirled in his mind. One thing was for certain. This was not a normal tunnel, and something lurked in
this place. Jake wanted to find out what.

With jakes spine tingling and the coldness aching through hus muscles, he continued to walk but this
time he started to walk at a faster pace as if something was behind him. The puddles of water on the
ground below him, started to get deeper and deeper as he drew near the end of the tunnel. One Of
the puddles had something laying on top of it. It touched him. He kicked it. It didn't move. Jake
stopped to explore his findings. He couldn't believe what he was seeing...this now changed the
outcome of his day. Jakes eyes were wide opened from what he was seeing.

….It was a body bag. Could it really be? He thought to himself. Hesitantly, Jake ran his fingers over
the bag, uncomfortably recognising the contour of a face, neck, and shoulders.. Unzipping the bag
slightly, a thin lock of brown hair floated out, confirming his worst fears. His heart pounded as one
question continued to race through his mind: could those footprints be the person who had killed
this soul?

The footprints started to become clearer and clearer as jake started reaching the end of the tunnel.
He knew he had seen them before. He had seen them in the place he called home.