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So the Gleest is a Sleestak now??
they say there’s a second roanoke under the first one / not tunnels like cities have / not tourist caves with helmets and gift shops
i mean the real ones / wet rock lungs breathing slow under your feet
you don’t find them on purpose
they open up behind things / a busted fence off orange / a slit in the woods past a half-dead trail / a place where the ground just gives up pretending
and inside / it’s colder than it should be / even in july
sound works different / drips echo like footsteps / your own breathing sounds like someone else is there
people go down there / not hikers / not families
kids with flashlights that barely work / someone’s older brother who swears he knows the way / someone who said they needed to get out for a minute and didn’t say from what
there’s always marks on the walls / names half scratched in / dates that don’t make sense / symbols nobody admits to drawing
and deeper in / stuff gets left behind
a hoodie / empty bottles / a single shoe / once, a shopping cart that definitely didn’t get there by accident
you stay long enough / you start thinking about how close the town is above you
cars passing / people arguing in parking lots / someone ordering fries / someone falling asleep with the tv on
all of it just… / right there
but down here it doesn’t reach
no signal / no time / just rock and water and whatever you brought in with you
some people say there are exits miles away / like you could walk under the whole valley if you knew how
nobody ever proves it
mostly / you come back the same way you went in
mud on your hands / that cave smell stuck in your clothes / a little quieter than before
and if you listen later / back in your room / windows closed / lights off
you can still hear it
drip / drip / drip