Tunnels 02, Deeper

his brother was quieter, even stoic about their current situation. Will used this very word to describe Cal's changed temperament when writing in his journal -- he'd learned it from his father and had thought at first that it implied weakness, a readiness to accept anything, no matter how bad. But now Will was beginning to realize he had been mistaken. A person facing a life-or-death situation needed a certain detachment to be able to think straight and not be panicked into the wrong choices.

    * * * * *

    Over the course of the ensuing weeks, they had regular instruction from Drake on such topics as finding and preparing food. This had begun with the cave oyster, which, once cooked, tasted somewhat similar to extremely rubbery squid.
    Drake would also take them on short patrols and teach them field craft. On one occasion, he woke them at what felt like an early hour, although time did not really have any meaning in the everlasting darkness. He told all three boys to get ready and took them down the tunnel below the base, in the opposite direction from the Great Plain. They knew that it wasn't going to be a very long outing because he'd instructed them each to bring only a canteen of water and some light rations, while he carried a full rucksack.
    As they went through a series of passages, the boys chatted among themselves to pass the time.
    "Stupid moronic things," Cal had piped up as Will and Chester were discussing the Coprolites. Drake happened to overhear the remark.
    "Why do you think that?" he asked quietly. Will and Chester fell silent.
    "Well," Cal replied, apparently recovering some of his old cockiness, "they're nothing more than dumb animals... grubbing around in the rocks just like worthless slugs."
    "So you really think we're better than they are?" Drake pressed him.
    "Course we are."
    Shaking his head as he continued to lead them down the tunnel, Drake wasn't going to let Cal's comment pass. "They harvest their food without fully depleting it and having to continually move on. And whenever they mine, they even refill the shafts. They put it all back, because they have respect for the earth."
    "But they're... they're only..." Cal dried up.
    "No, Cal, we're the ones who are stupid. We are the dumb animals . We use up everything... we consume and consume until all the resources are gone... and then -- surprise, surprise -- we have to pick up and start somewhere new, all over again. They are the clever ones, in harmony with their environment. You and me... our kind are the misfits, the wreckers. Wouldn't you call that moronic?"
    Now in silence, they traveled about a mile, until Will increased his step, leaving Chester and Cal behind as he caught up with Drake.
    "Something on your mind?" Drake inquired before Will was even alongside him.
    "Uh, yes," Will faltered, wondering if he should have stayed back with the others.
    "Go on."
    "Well, you said you were a Topsoiler--"
    "And you want to know more?" Drake interrupted. "You're curious."
    "Yes," Will mumbled.
    "Will, it really doesn't matter what I was back in the world. It doesn't matter what any of us were. It's here and now that counts."
    Drake didn't speak for several paces.
    "You don't know the half of it," he began, then seemed to stop himself, falling silent for several more paces. "Look, Will, the chance are that I could evade the Styx to return Topsoil, where I'd be forced to live a life much like your mother's, always checking over my shoulder as I passed the shadows. But, not meaning any disrespect to Sarah, I believe living here in the Deeps is more honest. Do you get what I'm saying?"
    "No, not really," Will admitted.
    "Well, you've seen for yourself it's no walk in the park down here. It's hard: a hand-to-mouth, dangerous existence," Drake said, then grimaced. If the White Necks don't get you, then there's a million other things that could snuff you out at the drop of a hat... infections, rockfalls, other renegades, and so on. But, I can tell you, Will, I've never felt more alive than my years here. Truly alive . So you can keep your safe, plastic Topsoil life -- it's not for me."
    Drake broke off as they came to an intersection with another tunnel. He told them to wait while he proceeded to unpack various pieces of equipment. He did this efficiently, not looking at the boys. Cal held back behind the other two, anxious that he'd annoyed the man, but Will watched with increasing excitement as he saw Drake had brought a selection of the stove guns