Tunnels 02, Deeper

less slurred and the blue hue gradually left his skin. Drake came in every day for updates on his progress, then would whisk one of the others off on reconnaissance expeditions so they could begin to learn the ropes , as he put it.
    When Chester was away on one of these outings, Will took the opportunity to have a word with his brother.
    "I know you're awake," Will said to Cal, who was lying on the bed, facing the wall. "What do you think of Drake?"
    Cal didn't respond.
    "I said, what do you think of Drake?"
    "Seems OK," Cal mumbled after a while.
    "Oh, I think he's better than that," Will said. "He told me there are others in the Deeps that would cut your throat for the clothes on your back. That's if the Limiters didn't get to you first."
    "Hmm," Cal grunted, unconvinced.
    "I just thought you should know that if you don't stop moping and get yourself back on your feet, Drake's patience might run out."
    Cal spun around to face Will, his eyes filled with a sudden fury.
    "Is that a threat? Are you threatening me? What's he going to do, send me packing?" He sat up quickly.
    "Yes, something like that," Will answered.
    "How do you know? You're just saying that."
    "No, I'm not," Will answered resolutely. He stood up and started for the door.
    "So you'd just let him dump me?" Cal was staring daggers at his brother by this time.
    "Oh, Cal," Will groaned, turning around in the doorway. "What can I do if you won't help yourself? You know that Drake's talking of moving on soon. He and Elliott don't live here permanently. And he says he's going to take us with him."
    "All of us?" Cal asked.
    "That depends. Do you think he wants to look after three of us, especially when one's a real pain?"
    Cal swung his legs over the side of the bed and stared nervously at Will.
    "Do you mean that?"
    Will nodded. "Just thought you should know," he said as he exited the room.
    Cal took Will's words to heart and, in the days that followed, was a changed person. He threw himself into an exercise regime, hobbling around on a dark wooden cane that Drake had given him. The left side of Cal's body seemed to be the problem, the arm and leg taking longer to recover than their right-side counterparts.
    On one occasion, disturbed by the constant tap-tap of the cane and the abrupt blurting snores of Chester, Will was finding it impossible to sleep. The heat and closeness weren't helping although they had all pretty much acclimatized to it by now. Eventually Will decided it was useless and got up, scratching as he felt lice on his scalp.
    "Well done, bro," he called quietly over to Cal, who gave a mumbled "Thanks" in response, continuing his circuit of the room.
    "I need some water," Will decided aloud, and headed out into the corridor toward the small storeroom where the bladders were kept. He heard something and drew to a halt. As he stood in the dim half light, Elliott loomed into sight at the far end of the hallway. She was wearing her usual dark jacket and pants and had her rifle in her hands, but hadn't yet covered her head with the shemagh.
    "Oh... hello," Will said self-consciously, dressed as he was in just his shorts. He folded his arms protectively across his chest, trying to cover up his lack of clothing.
    With an expression of sheer indifference, she looked him coldly up and down. "Trouble sleeping?" she inquired.
    "Uh... yeah."
    She did a double take at the wound on his shoulder.
    "Impressive," she said.
    Feeling even more uncomfortable under her scrutiny, he slid his hand over the injury he'd received from the Styx attack dog. The heat of the Deeps made it itch like crazy, and Will couldn't stop himself from scratching.
    "Stalker," Will said eventually.
    "Looks like it was hungry," she observed.
    At a loss for words, Will took his hand away to inspect the red patch of newly healed skin, and nodded mutely.
    "Want to come on patrol with me?" she asked, in a non-commital sort of way.
    It was about the last thing on Will's mind at that time of night, but he was intrigued because he had seen so very little of her and thrilled that she had offered. Drake spoke of her skills with such respect, telling them she had achieved a level of skills of "field craft," as he called it, that Will and Chester would have to work very hard to attain.
    "Yeah... great," he gushed. "What gear do I need?"
    "Nothing much -- I travel light," she said. "Hurry up, then!" she urged, since Will showed no sign of moving.
    He returned to the room, where Cal hardly seemed to