Inspired by Metallica's "One" music video, From the perspective of the victim.

What is the worst fate that you can imagine? Being buried alive? Being paralyzed, unable to move? Having to watch as everything you love withers and dies before your eyes? Every one of these fates is terrible in its own way; but when you combine them all, the result is greater than the sum of the parts; a perfect storm of tragedy and fear.

That morning, I'd kissed my wife goodbye and told her I loved her, same as always. I'd boarded the trolley to the Gem mines in the eastern sector, same as always. I punched in the clock and boarded the elevator, heading deep into the bowels of the granite titans. Same as always. Something happened after that though, something terrible and tragic. The last thing I remember is the sound of the elevator doors clanging shut and the sudden lurch as we began our descent; the last sliver of daylight slipping away as we plunged to the abyss.

Here's a little one-shot story that I got the idea for from listening to Metallica's "One" and watching the corresponding music video.