Going Deeper Alone

My phone woke me up at seven AM. Yuki calling.

I declined it. Texted instead.

"Feeling like shit. Need a bit more rest. Meet you at 10?"

Buying time. Three hours outside. Nine hours inside if I hurried.

She responded immediately.

"Where are you? I'll come to you."

"Arguing with a security guard at the moment. I'll come to your place."

"Just tell me where you parked."

"Different lot. Long story. See you at 10."

I turned off my phone before she could respond. Sat there in my car feeling like an asshole.

But I had three hours. Three hours to explore before I had to share this with anyone.

I went back into the pocket.

This time I was systematic. I marked every passage. Drew proper maps. Documented everything in my notebook.

The entry chamber led to the three-way chamber. From there I took the left passage I hadn't explored yet. It led to another chamber. Then another passage. Then another chamber.

The network was huge. Cathedral-sized spaces connected by narrow tunnels. Natural formations everywhere. Crystal chambers. Underground streams. Spaces that shouldn't exist.

I found the stream chamber again. Followed the water. It led to a large lake. Perfectly still surface. The stream flowed in but nothing flowed out.

Around the lake were five passages. Five more directions to explore.

I took the middle passage. It sloped upward. The walls changed texture. More rough. Crystalline.

It opened into the geode chamber I'd found yesterday. Massive crystal formations growing from every surface.

Beyond it was another passage. Narrow. I had to duck.

And at the end of that passage was something that made me forget how to breathe.

A wall. Not a cave wall. A constructed wall. Stone blocks fitted together with mortar. Deliberate. Intentional. Built.

Someone had been here. Someone had worked in this space. Made it into something.

I ran my hand along the wall. Felt the joints between blocks. The roughness of mortar. The deliberate construction.

This wasn't a natural pocket. This was engineered. Created. Built with purpose.

I followed the wall. It curved in a long arc. Formed the outer edge of a chamber. Like a courtyard.

At the far end was a doorway. An actual architectural feature. Stone lintel. Carved supports. Symbols etched into the frame.

I stood in front of the doorway and just stared.

This changed everything. Pockets didn't have architecture. Didn't have construction. Didn't have symbols carved into doorframes.

This was proof someone understood pocket dimensions well enough to build inside them. To modify them. To turn them into something functional.

I took photos. Copied the symbols into my notebook. Drew the doorway from multiple angles. Documented everything.

Checked my watch. I'd been inside for what felt like four hours. Technically I had 5 more hours if my calculations held but figured it best not to risk it. Go meet Yuki. Show her this properly.

I followed my maps back to the entrance. Emerged into my car.

Eight twenty-three AM. I'd been gone for an hour and twenty minutes.

Seventeen missed calls from Yuki. Twelve texts.

"Where are you?"

"Dex answer your phone"

"This isn't funny"

"I'm getting worried"

"If you went in alone I swear to god"

"Answer your phone RIGHT NOW"

"Fine. I'm calling PAS. This is over."

The last text was from twenty minutes ago.

Shit.

I called her. It rang once then went to voicemail.

I texted: "I'm sorry. I'm okay. I can explain."

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.

"You went in alone."

"Just for a quick look. I found something incredible."

"You promised."

"I know. But Yuki, there's construction in there. Actual built structures. Someone created parts of this."

No response. The three dots appeared and disappeared for a full minute.

Finally: "I already called PAS. They're sending an inspector tomorrow."

My stomach dropped.

"You reported it?"

"What did you expect? You lied to me. You broke your promise. You went into an unstable pocket alone. Again. What was I supposed to do?"

"Trust me."

"I did trust you. That was my mistake."

"Yuki, please. Just give me today. Let me show you what I found. Then you can report it. Do whatever you want."

"I already reported it. It's done. PAS inspector is coming tomorrow at nine AM. They'll assess it and determine next steps."

"Which means they'll take it."

"Which means they'll make sure it's safe. Make sure you don't die exploring it alone like an idiot."

"I found proof someone built this. Modified it. That's unprecedented. That's revolutionary."

"And PAS will study it properly. With resources and expertise. Not some broke hunter with a death wish."

That stung. Mostly because it was accurate.

"Where are you?" she asked. "I tried to find you this morning."

"Told you. I moved. Different parking lot."

"You didn't want me to find you."

"I just needed time to think."

"You needed time to go in alone without me stopping you."

I didn't answer. What could I say? She was right.

"I'm done," she said. "I tried to help you. I really did. But you can't be helped. You don't want to be helped. You want to kill yourself discovering things and I'm not going to watch it happen."

"Yuki."

"PAS inspector will contact you tomorrow. Probably the FDA too. Cooperate with them. Give them the mug. Get out of this before it gets worse."

"It's my discovery."

"It's a pocket dimension that's going to get you killed. And I'm not going to feel guilty when it does."

She hung up.

I sat in my car holding my phone. Watching the sun rise over the parking lot. Thinking about what I'd just lost.

My only friend. My only connection to the legitimate side of pocket hunting. The only person who believed I was worth saving.

Gone.

Because I couldn't stop lying. Couldn't stop going in alone. Couldn't stop choosing the pocket over everything else.

My phone buzzed. Text from Yuki.

"Don't contact me again. I mean it."

I put my phone down. Looked at the travel mug.

I'd lost Yuki. Would lose the pocket tomorrow. Would be back to being broke and alone and hunting garbage at estate sales.

But I had today. One more day before PAS took everything.

I could spend it feeling sorry for myself. Or I could spend it exploring.

I chose exploring.

I went back in. Straight to the constructed doorway. Through it into the passage beyond.

The passage had smooth walls. Level floor. Definitely built rather than natural. It led deeper into the pocket. Curving left. Then right.

After what felt like twenty minutes it opened into a square chamber. Maybe fifteen feet on each side. The walls were covered in carvings. Symbols. Diagrams. Maps maybe.

In the center of the room was a pedestal. Stone. Waist height. On top was a crystal. Different from the natural formations. This one was shaped. Worked. Polished.

I circled the pedestal carefully. Didn't touch anything. Just documented. Photos. Drawings. Measurements.

This chamber felt important. Like a control room or archive. Like someone had built this as a hub for understanding the pocket.

I found three more passages leading off this chamber. I picked the one that looked most traveled. The floor was smoother. The walls less rough.

It led to what looked like a workshop. Stone benches. Metal fragments scattered across the floor. Corroded tools. Or what was left of tools.

Someone had worked here. For a long time. Made things. Studied things. Built things.

On the wall were more symbols. These ones arranged differently. Like instructions. Or equations. Or warnings.

I spent hours copying them. Photographing every detail. Trying to understand.

I found another passage in the corner of the workshop. Small opening. Easy to miss. I had to crawl through.

It opened into what looked like living quarters. A stone shelf carved into the wall like a bed. Sleeping platform worn smooth from use. A fire pit with old ash still in it. Personal belongings long since rotted away.

Someone had lived here. Not just visited. Not just studied. Lived.

For years probably. Maybe decades. Built a life inside impossible space.

I sat on the sleeping platform and tried to imagine it. Being here alone. Choosing this. Or maybe not choosing. Maybe getting trapped.

Why would someone stay? What were they studying? What were they building?

I checked my watch. I'd been inside for what felt like eight hours. Exploring every chamber. Mapping everything. Filling my notebook.

Time to get out. Review my findings. Figure out what to tell PAS tomorrow.

I followed my maps back. Chamber to passage to chamber. The route was complex but I'd marked it well.

When I emerged into my car it was almost eleven AM. I'd been gone for two hours and forty minutes.

Eight hours inside. Less than three outside. The time dilation was consistent.

My phone had six missed calls. All from numbers I didn't recognize. Two voicemails.

I played the first one.

"Mr. Holloway, this is Agent Paz Okonkwo with the Federal Dimensional Authority. I understand you've discovered an unauthenticated pocket dimension. I need you to contact me immediately regarding a safety assessment."

The second voicemail was the same agent. More insistent.

"Mr. Holloway, failure to cooperate with the FDA regarding pocket dimensions is a federal offense. Contact me today or we'll be forced to obtain a warrant."

Shit. Yuki had reported it to both PAS and FDA. They were coming for it.

My phone rang. Unknown number. Probably the agent again.

I didn't answer. Turned off my phone. Sat there trying to figure out what to do.

I had maybe twenty-two hours before they showed up. Probably less if they got that warrant.

I could run. Take the mug and disappear. Change my name. Hide the discovery.

But they'd find me eventually. And then I'd have federal charges on top of everything else.

I could destroy the mug. Collapse the pocket. Make sure nobody got it if I couldn't have it.

But that meant destroying something unprecedented. Something that could change pocket research forever. All the evidence of whoever built this.

I couldn't do that.

Or I could cooperate. Hand it over. Get whatever compensation they offered. Walk away.

Let someone else explore it. Let someone else understand it. Let someone else take credit for my discovery.

My phone buzzed even though it was off. No, wait. Different phone. I had a second phone in my glove box. Burner I'd bought months ago for black market deals with Roux.

Text from Roux: "Heard FDA is looking for you. If you need to sell something fast, I'm buying. No questions."

How did she know already? Hunters talked. Word traveled fast when the FDA got involved.

I could sell to Roux right now. Get cash. Disappear before the FDA showed up.

But then I'd never understand what the pocket really was. Never finish mapping it. Never find out who built it or why.

Another text. Different number. How'd they get the number to this phone?

"Heard you found something big. Interested in discussing acquisition. -BC"

Bellamy Cross. Even my rival knew. The whole hunter community probably knew by now.

Guy finds massive pocket network. Guy loses it to the FDA because he couldn't follow basic safety protocols.

Another cautionary tale.

I looked at the travel mug. Sitting on my passenger seat. Dented. Stained. Just a piece of junk.

Containing something that could change everything.

I had less than a day. Lucky if it was half a day.

I could spend them trying to figure out what to do. Or I could spend them exploring.

I knew which one I'd choose. I'd known since the moment I found it.

I grabbed the mug and went back in.

This time I went deeper than before. Past the workshop. Past the living quarters. Down passages I hadn't explored yet.

I found more carved chambers. More symbols. More evidence of whoever had built this place.

The symbols appeared throughout. Always the same style. Always deliberate placement. Like signposts. Or lessons. Or warnings.

I copied them all. Filled my notebook. Took hundreds of photos.

Found another large chamber. This one had what looked like a library. Stone shelves carved into the walls. Empty now. Whatever had been stored here was long gone.

But on the far wall was a map. Carved into the stone. Showing the layout of the pocket. All the passages. All the chambers. Everything connected.

I stood in front of it and realized I'd only explored maybe a third of what was in here. There were entire sections I hadn't reached. Deeper spaces. More construction.

This pocket was even larger than I'd thought.

I took photos of the map. Drew it in my notebook. Tried to memorize the layout.

If PAS took the mug tomorrow I'd never see this again. Never finish exploring. Never understand what I'd found.

This was my last chance.

I pushed deeper. Following the map. Finding chambers I'd never reached. Spaces that took my breath away.

A chamber with a ceiling covered in bioluminescent organisms. Glowing like stars.

A chamber with perfect acoustics. My footsteps echoed musically.

A chamber filled with what looked like tools. Ancient. Corroded. But clearly designed for working in dimensional spaces.

I documented everything. Worked frantically. Trying to see as much as possible before time ran out.

Eventually I reached a chamber that wasn't on the map. Or maybe it was but I couldn't match it to the carving.

This one was different. The walls were smooth. Polished. Almost metallic. The floor was level. Perfect.

In the center was a structure. Not natural. Not stone. Something else. Dark. Reflective. Geometric.

It looked like a machine. Or an altar. Or something between.

I approached carefully. Examined it from all angles. Took photos. Drew it. Tried to understand.

There were symbols carved into its surface. Different from the ones elsewhere. More complex. More deliberate.

I touched it. The surface was cool. Smooth. It hummed faintly under my fingers.

This was it. This was the heart of the pocket. The thing that made it work. The core of whatever system the builder had created.

I'd found it. Understood it. Proven that pockets could be built. Modified. Controlled.

This was everything I'd ever wanted.

And tomorrow the FDA would take it away.

I stood there in that chamber with my hand on the humming structure and felt the full weight of what I'd lost.

Not the pocket. I'd always known I'd lose that eventually.

But Yuki. My friend. The person who'd tried to help me. Who'd believed in me despite everything.

I'd chosen the pocket over her. Over my promises. Over basic human decency.

And now I was alone in a chamber deep inside impossible space with proof of something revolutionary and nobody to share it with.

This was the cost of obsession. Of measuring your worth through discoveries instead of connections.

Of choosing things over people.

I checked my watch. I'd been inside for what felt like twelve hours. My flashlight battery had died hours ago. I was navigating by the pocket's ambient light.

Time to go back. Face reality. Figure out what came next.

I followed the map. Found my way back through the network. Chamber to passage to chamber. The route was long but clear.

When I emerged into my car I realized I'd been gone for four hours.

Twelve hours inside. Four outside. Still roughly three to one.

My phone had thirty-two missed calls. Voicemails full. Texts from numbers I didn't recognize.

I played one voicemail at random.

"Mr. Holloway, this is Agent Okonkwo again. I'm at your last known address but you're not here. I need you to contact me immediately. We have concerns about the pocket you've discovered and we need to assess it for public safety. If you don't respond by midnight tonight we'll proceed with a warrant."

I checked the time on the voicemail. Sent at two PM. I had ten hours.

Then they'd get their warrant. Then they'd start looking for me. Then this would become a federal case.

I should call her. Cooperate. Hand over the mug. Get this over with.

Instead I turned off my phone. Started my car. Drove to another parking lot.

Somewhere they wouldn't think to look. Somewhere I could have one more night with my discovery before I lost everything.

I parked behind a closed restaurant. Far corner of the lot. Away from street lights.

Pulled out my notebook. Reviewed my maps by dome light. Looked at all the symbols I'd copied. All the evidence I'd gathered.

Tomorrow I'd lose this. Tomorrow the FDA would take it and I'd never see inside again.

But tonight it was still mine. Tonight I still had proof I'd found something that mattered.

Even if I'd destroyed my life to find it.

Even if I was alone.

Even if nobody would believe me when the FDA took it away and classified everything I'd discovered.

I looked at the travel mug. One more night. One more chance to explore before it was gone.

I picked it up. Tilted it toward me.

And stopped.

Because going in again wouldn't change anything. Wouldn't make tomorrow better. Wouldn't fix what I'd broken with Yuki. Wouldn't make me less alone.

It would just be more hours disappearing into the only place I felt like I mattered.

But Yuki was right about one thing. I was already disappearing. Had been since the moment I first reached inside and felt that impossible depth.

The question wasn't whether to go back in. The question was whether I could stop.

Whether I could choose reality over the pocket. Consequences over discovery. The life I had over the life I wanted.

I set down the mug. Sat there in my car. In the dark. In the parking lot behind a closed restaurant.

Tomorrow the FDA would find me. Would take my discovery. Would classify everything I'd learned.

Tonight I had a choice. Keep exploring until they dragged me out. Or face reality.

I'd already made my choice. Three days ago. The moment I found it.

I just had to live with the consequences.

I closed my eyes. Tried to sleep. Failed.

All I could see was that chamber with the humming structure. The heart of the pocket. The proof that everything I believed was possible.

Tomorrow it would be gone. Tomorrow I'd have nothing.

But tonight I knew. Tonight I'd seen it. Tonight I'd touched something impossible and understood it.

That had to be enough. That had to matter.

Even if nobody would believe me.

Even if I'd lost everything to find it.

Even if I was completely alone.