Tunnels 02, Deeper

souvenirs for the Styx.
    So, had he bolted down a lava tube? If he had, bad news. It would have been one of many, with the overwhelming volume of interconnecting tunnels in the network only compounding the problem. Mounting a search-and-rescue operation in so extensive an area -- it would take weeks, if not months. Totally out of the question while the threat of Limiter patrols persisted.
    Drake clenched his fists in frustration.
    No good. He couldn't form any sort of picture.
    Come on, Drake urged himself, what would the boy have done next?
    Perhaps...
    Perhaps Will hadn't entered the nearest lava tube but had kept to the plain, following the perimeter wall as it curved back -- at least this would have given him some cover from the rifle fire.
    Maybe he was being overly optimistic, but Drake was gambling on this being Will's most likely course of action. If he had kept to the perimeter, and if the Styx hadn't caught up with him, there was a slim chance he might still be alive.
    That was an awful lot of ifs ...
    Drake knew he was grasping at straws.
    Or perhaps the Limiters had already trapped the boy and, at this very moment, were torturing him to extract all the information they could. The Limiters would do their usual and wring everything out of him using their excruciating methods. Event the strongest broke, sooner or later. It was a fate ten times worse than death; if it had befallen Will...
    Cal stumbled behind him, skittering a hail of stones across the floor. Too much noise , Drake thought. It reverberated around the space, and he was just about to reprimand the boy when his chain of thought continued, almost stopping him in his tracks. Three new additions to the team, three new responsibilities... all at the same time! With Limiters popping up all over the place like malevolent jack-in-the-boxes, what the heck had he been thinking?
    He wasn't some itinerant saint saving the lost souls the Colony spat out. So what was it? A twisted delusion of grandeur? Did he imagine that the three boys would be his own private army if it came down to a pitched battle with the Limiters? No, that was ridiculous. He should have dispatched two of the boys and kept just the one -- Will -- because with his infamous mother and knowledge of Topsoil life he might have played a part in his future plans. And now Drake had lost him.
    Cal tripped again, falling to his knees with a muffled groan. Drake spun around.
    "My leg," Cal explained before Drake had a chance to say anything. "I'll be all right." Cal immediately pulled himself up and began to walk again, leaning heavily on his stick.
    Drake thought for a moment. "No, you won't. I'll have to hide you somewhere." His tone was cold and detached. "I made a mistake bringing you... I expected too much from you." His intention had been to station Chester and Cal at strategic points where they could lie in wait for Will in case he chanced by. In retrospect, he should have left Cal and only taken Chester. Or left both of them behind.
    As he struggled along, Cal was sinking deeper into turmoil. He had caught the tone in Drake's voice, and the implication bounced all other thoughts aside. He remembered Will's words, the warning that Drake didn't carry passengers, and the dread intensified in him that he really would be abandoned now.
    Drake surged ahead and, after a final sharp turn in the tunnel, they were back on the Great Plain.
    "Keep close and dim your lantern," he told Cal.

    * * * * *

    Will wondered if he was dreaming. Yet it all seemed so real. To reassure himself, he'd just stooped down to pick up a pebble, feeling its smooth, polished surface, when a faint breeze brushed his face. He stood up quickly. He could feel a wind!
    He continued down the gradient and then heard a lapping sound. Despite the warm air buffeting him, goose bumps broke out all over his body. He knew what it was. Water. There was water out there in the darkness before him.
    He move forward in baby steps until the pebbles gave way to something else -- sand, soft and sliding sand. A few steps more and his foot landed with a splash. He squatted down and tentatively felt before him. Liquid. It was lukewarm water. He shuddered. He imagined a huge, dark expanse in front of him.
    He needed water so badly. He gently cupped some of the fluid in his hands and lifted it up to his face. He sniffed and then sniffed again. It was flat and lifeless -- it had no smell to it. He held it to his lips and sipped.
    He spat it out