Shock [1]

An oppressive silence filled the air, disturbed only by the occasional trickle of water and the distant echo of a bat's wings in flight. 

The temperature was cool and clammy, like a dank veil of the eternal night had settled over the passage. The only beacon of relief came from the entrance, through which a bright beam of sunlight occasionally shone, illuminating pockets of mineral deposits that sparkled like stars in the night sky.

The cave was a dark, damp abyss. 

It seemed to stretch on into eternity, filled with oppressive shadows and the occasional glimmer of a distant light source. 

Rock walls surrounded the path, hard and smooth with years of sedimentary deposits, providing a tight and narrow passageway. 

All of a sudden…

Cla Clank—!

The sound of metal clamping together reverberated, scattering all other sounds.