Beneath the Surface

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. The elevator cage rattled as it descended into the bowels of the earth, each metallic groan echoing through the narrow shaft like the protests of some dying beast. Marcus Chen gripped the safety rail with white knuckles, watching the last traces of sunlight disappear above them as they plunged deeper into the Blackrock Mining Complex. The stale air grew thicker with each passing floor, carrying the scent of damp stone and something else he couldn't quite identify—something that made his stomach turn. "First time down?" asked Jake Torrino, the grizzled shift supervisor standing beside him. Jake's weathered face bore the permanent grime that came from twenty years of underground work, and his eyes held the tired resignation of a man who had seen too much darkness. Marcus nodded, not trusting his voice. He was fresh out of engineering school, twenty-four years old and eager to prove himself in his first real job. The Blackrock Complex was one of the deepest copper mines in the world, extending nearly three miles beneath the Nevada desert. It was supposed to be his chance to gain experience in mining engineering, to work on cutting-edge extraction techniques and maybe even contribute to the new automated systems they were implementing. The elevator shuddered to a stop at Level 7, still two miles from the bottom. "This is us," Jake announced, pulling back the gate with a metallic screech. "Welcome to the real world, college boy."