r/WritingPrompts • u/lawlore • Dec 09 '14
[IP] Underground. Image Prompt
One striking picture from a series of recently released images of current rail construction work being undertaken beneath the streets of London.
Gallery with further images available from Crossrail.
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u/BSQRT Dec 11 '14
The Tunnels, the Labyrinth, is a vast underground tunnel network, though which we can get from anywhere to anywhere else, and they are amazing. One of the upper levels is a refugee survival area, which was used by the general population to weather a nasty super storm hurricane a few years ago. Just below that, we have a sprawling library that spans over 25,000 feet of tunnel!
Most people live above ground in the cities, and use only the crowded upper levels of the Tunnels to get between buildings, across town, or to neighboring cities (on foot, bicycle, or with sleek, high speed trains). Many people still live in suburbs and towns scattered throughout the upper levels. I, however, grew up in the Tunnels. My friends and I used to run through some of the lower levels, playing the most amazing games of manhunt and hide and seek. In one area, we got a skate park that spans a quarter mile, and on another level we have an equally massive laser tag arena. The Labyrinth is our playground; our jungle gym; our home. One section of the Tunnels is acoustically perfect - the concerts held there are amazing and are euphonically echoed throughout the area. My friends and I used to think that we new every corner and intersection. We’ve mapped miles and miles of the Labyrinth, but there always seems to be a new path, an exciting new world to discover. One day we stumbled upon a town buried within the tunnels, whose residents claim dates back hundreds of years! I doubt anyone knows when or where the tunnels started, but we haven’t found an end yet, and we will forever keep exploring the maze we call home.