The Hollow Earth Signal
The first signal came from twelve miles beneath the Earth's surface.
At first, it was just a faint pulse—a rhythmic vibration detected by the seismic monitoring station in Reykjavik. The team assumed it was geological activity. A deep tremor. A shifting fault line.
Until the signal started repeating numbers.
And then, a voice.
"Help us. We are still alive."
The message was not in any known language. Yet, somehow, every scientist who heard it understood.
Dr. Elias Carter, an expert in subterranean geology, stared at the audio readout on his screen. The transmission was originating from a depth far beyond human reach, in a place no known technology had ever explored.
That was the moment he realized something impossible.
Something was speaking from inside the Earth.
And it was asking for help.
---
Antarctica – 6 Days After the First Transmission
The cold was absolute. Even through layers of thermal gear, Elias Carter felt the bite of Antarctic wind as he stepped out of the research station and onto the ice. The sky overhead was dark, scattered with stars, and the horizon was nothing but a white abyss.
In front of him, a massive industrial borehole yawned open. The deepest tunnel ever drilled into the Earth.
A government-funded black-budget project, hidden from the public. A failed project. The last probe they sent down never came back up.
And now, he and his team were going in themselves.
Elias turned to his crew, their faces illuminated by floodlights.
Dr. Naomi Voss – A linguistic expert and AI specialist, recruited to analyze the signal.
Commander Adrian Cole – A hardened military tactician, leading the expedition's security.
Dr. Mira Patel – A biologist and xenobiologist, specializing in unknown life forms.
Lucas Shaw – A robotics engineer, operating their descent systems and drones.
Elias inhaled deeply. This was it. The mission of a lifetime.
Or the last mistake they would ever make.
The descent capsule was reinforced titanium, large enough for the five of them. The inside was cramped, lined with monitors displaying depth readouts, seismic activity, and communication feeds.
Naomi strapped herself in beside Elias. "So, just to be clear," she muttered, glancing at the reinforced walls of the capsule, "we're dropping into a tunnel that we know something is broadcasting from. And we have no idea what's down there."
Elias exhaled. "That about sums it up."
The capsule lurched as the winch released.
They began to descend.
---
Depth: 1 Mile
The light from the surface faded.
A voice crackled over the radio.
"Capsule, you are clear. Tracking your descent. Depth markers confirmed."
Elias watched as the rocky tunnel walls slid past. The further they went, the stranger the formations became.
Naomi pointed to the screen. "That… doesn't look like natural rock."
Elias frowned. The scanner was picking up metallic traces embedded in the stone. Not normal iron deposits—something structured.
Something artificial.
---
Depth: 6 Miles
The signal was getting stronger.
Naomi's AI software ran decryption patterns. The words became clearer.
"Do not be afraid."
Naomi's fingers trembled over her console. "I—I think it knows we're coming."
A sudden jolt rocked the capsule.
"Hold on!" Cole barked.
The tunnel walls widened.
And then, they saw it.
---
The borehole opened into a massive subterranean chamber.
The capsule's floodlights flickered over something impossible—structures embedded in the cavern walls.
Towering pillars of obsidian and metal, covered in symbols no human had ever seen. The architecture was ancient, but the edges were still sharp, untouched by time.
Naomi gasped. "This is… a city."
Mira's scanner beeped. "Atmosphere is breathable."
Elias clenched his fists. This was not a natural cave. Someone—or something—had built this.
Lucas deployed a drone, its lights scanning the ruins as it drifted forward.
And then, they heard footsteps.
---
"Did you hear that?" Mira whispered.
The footsteps came from the darkness beyond the ruins. Not the echo of their own. Something was moving.
Cole unholstered his sidearm. "We are not alone."
Naomi's AI suddenly decoded another phrase from the transmission.
"They are waking up."
Lucas cursed. "Who's waking up?"
The drone's feed flickered. The screen went black.
And then, a figure stepped into the light.
---
It was humanoid, but not human.
Tall. Featureless face. Skin like liquid metal, shifting colors.
It spoke, and this time, they all understood.
"You should not have come."
---
Elias stepped forward slowly, hands raised. "Who are you?"
The being's head tilted. Its body shifted, its form becoming more human, mimicking them.
"We are the first. The ones forgotten. The builders of the world."
Elias felt his pulse quicken.
"The builders of the world?"
Naomi's voice shook. "Are… are you saying you built Earth?"
The being studied her, then gestured to the ruins around them.
Images flashed in Elias' mind—a civilization older than humanity, cities rising before continents took shape.
Then, an image of a great betrayal.
"Your kind sealed us here. Locked us away. And now… we wake."
Cole's jaw clenched. "If this is a prison, then what exactly are we waking up?"
The being's voice was like a whisper inside their heads.
"The ones below."
---
The ground shook.
Somewhere in the distance, a deep, guttural sound rumbled—not mechanical, not human.
Something ancient.
Something angry.
Lucas cursed. "We need to leave."
But the being shook its head.
"It is too late."
The ruins came alive.
Pods opened along the cavern walls, releasing figures that did not move like humans. Some were like the first being—shifting, fluid forms. But others were grotesque, misshapen, their bodies twisted by millennia of imprisonment.
And they were hungry.
---
"GO!"
They ran back toward the capsule as the creatures stirred.
A scream—inhuman, reverberating through their bones.
Elias barely made it inside before the hatch sealed.
The last thing he saw was the being watching them, expression unreadable.
And then, as they ascended, the radio crackled one last time.
"You should have left us buried."
---
Days later, Elias reviewed the recordings.
And then, the radio came alive again.
A second signal.
This time, it wasn't a request.
It was a warning.
Something was coming.
And it was coming soon.
---
The End…?