Tunnels 01, Tunnels

unconcealed revulsion. "I hope you don't mind," Will said, "but we brought our own."
    Imago didn't seem to mind at all. He simply resealed his canister and waited expectantly as Will unloaded the food from his backpack. Imago fell upon it with evident relish, sucking noisily on slices of honey-roasted ham, which he held delicately in his dirty fingers. As if trying to make the experience last forever, he rolled the meat noisily around in his mouth with his tongue before chewing it. And when he did finally swallow, he half closed his eyes and let out huge, blissful sighs.
    In contrast, Cal hardly touched a thing, picking unenthusiastically -- before withdrawing again to the other side of the chamber. Will didn't have much of an appetite, either, particularly after witnessing Imago's performance. He pulled out a can of Coke and had just started sipping it when he suddenly thought about the jade green pendant that Tam had given him. He found it in his jacket and took it out to examine its dull surface. It was still smeared with Tam's blood, which had congealed within the three indentations carved into one of its faces. He stared at it and ran his thumb across it lightly. He was certain he'd seen the same three-pronged symbol somewhere before. Then he remembered. It had been on the milestone in the Labyrinth.

    * * * * *

    While Imago was working his way through a bar of plain chocolate, savoring each mouthful, Cal spoke from the other side of the chamber, his voice flat and listless.
    "I want to go home. I don't care anymore."
    Imago choked, spitting out a hail of half-chewed chocolate globs. He spun his head around to face Cal, his horsetail braid whipping into the air. "And what about the Styx?"
    "I'll talk to them, I'll make them listen to me," Cal replied feebly.
    "They'll listen, all right, while they're cutting out your liver or hacking you limb from limb!" Imago rebuked him. "You little idiot, d'you think Tam gave his life just so you could chuck yours away?"
    "I... no..." Cal was blinking with fright as Imago continued to shout.
    Still holding the pendant tightly, Will pressed it to his forehead, covering his face with his hand. He just wanted everyone to shut up; he didn't need any of this. He wanted it all to stop, if only for a moment.
    "You selfish, stupid... what are you going to do, get your father or Granny Macaulay to hide you... and risk their lives, too? This is going to be bad enough as it is!" Imago was yelling.
    "I just thought--"
    "No, you didn't!" Imago cut him off. "You can never go back, d'you understand? Get that into your thick head!" Casting the rest of the chocolate bar aside, he strode to the opposite side of the chamber.
    "But I..." Cal started to say.
    "Get some sleep!" Imago growled, his face rigid with anger. He wrapped his coat tightly around him and, using his satchel as a pillow, he lay down on his side with his face to the wall.

    * * * * *

    There they remained for the better part of the next day, alternately eating and sleeping with hardly a word passing between them. After all the horror and excitement of the past twenty-four hours, Will welcomed the opportunity to recuperate, and spent much of the time in a heavy, dreamless sleep. He was eventually woken by Imago's voice, and lethargically opened one eye to see what was going on.
    "Come over here and give me a hand, will you, Cal?"
    Cal quickly jumped up and joined Imago, who was kneeling by the center of the chamber.
    "It weighs a ton." Imago grinned.
    As they slid aside the metal circle in the ground, it was patently obvious Imago could have managed by himself and that this was his way of patching things up with Cal. Will opened his other eye and flexed his arm. His shoulder was stiff, but his injuries didn't hurt nearly as much as they had.
    Cal and Imago were now lying full-length on the ground, peering down into the circular opening as Imago played his light into it. Will crawled over to see what they were looking at. There was a well a good three feet across and then a murky darkness below it.
    "I can see something shining," Cal said.
    "Yes, railway tracks," Imago replied.
    "The Miners' Train," Will realized as he saw the two parallel lines of polished iron glinting in the pitch-blackness.
    They pulled back from the hole and sat around it, waiting eagerly for Imago to speak.
    "I'm going to be blunt, because we don't have much time," he said. "You have two choices. Either we lie low up here for a while and then I get you