[ IP ] What Lies Beneath

I'm here. 
 
 It's taken 18 hours. I've lost men. Two, good men. 
 
 George was the first to go. As we were abseiling in his rope snapped. Upon inspecting the rope we saw it had disintegrated, fumes escaped the walls seemingly at random. They are the culprit. 
 
 This is a dangerous place. 
 
 Then was Mathew, Matty as he liked to be called. We were traversing a particularly treacherous part of the route, we must'v only had around 7 inches of floor to stand on, backs faced to the wall. I had my head-mounted torch pointed downwards, looking for some reflection that would show us how far we'd toiled. No luck, the light would n't penetrate the fog below us. 
 
 Above there was commotion. Hard, mushroom-looking spore rained on us, down the outer-rim I could see a haze. I felt a jarring sensation on my helmet and suddenly -blackness. The light had died, mine was the only one left running! I heard my friend shouting out for me, asking if I was alright, if I was alive. 
 
 I frantically searched for my smaller light, which I could use as a make-shift substitute as I shouted that I was fine, I hoped. My light switched on and I heard a murmur of *'' Thank god'' *. 
 
 I aimed at the source of noise and found Ricky, my other friend. I looked back to where Matty was, just a few feet to my right. Nothing. 
 
 Panicking I looked down again, clinging to the side with cramping fingers `` Matty!'' I screamed. Echoes taunted me, my friend was lost to the depths. 
 
 Ricky was distraught, I said he should turn back, I would go on. He looked ready to resist, but relented. `` This is not your responsibility, Ricky.'' I said, comforting `` Go on, here, have my torch.'' I tapped my broken one and it flashed pathetically. `` Have this instead.'' I passed it to him. 
 
 `` Do n't you go dying on me now Joe, do n't you dare do that...'' he shuffled backwards and after a time shouted `` I'll see you at the top!'' 
 
 I had already started moving forwards again, *no time to grieve*. I smiled as the word `` top'' echoed through the cavern, wish me luck Ricky, I'll need it. 
 
 I made quick progress on my own, my light was growing weaker yet I could see substance through the fog enveloping me, land. 
 
 I made it through the fog and saw a light on a distant wall. Wish you well Ricky, I do n't plan to leave this place. 
 
 I came to an outcrop in the wall, it extended a few hundred feet into the middle of the cavern, I could see the ground from here, I could make it down there in under an hour. 
 
 On the precipice now I looked up at the bobbing light that was Ricky, so far above me. 
 
 God bless us, we did it. 
 
 I'm here. 
 
 I'd reached the bottom the Mariana trench. My how the world has changed. 
 
 **** 
 
 *^... ^do n't ^hurt ^me. * 
 
 ^^I'm ^^going ^^down ^^with ^^my ^^sinking ^^ship. 
 
 ^^^Edited ^^^because ^^^I ^^^prefer ^^^this ^^^ending.
