Tunnels 02, Deeper

prickles, every bit as dense as the bush at the other end of the causeway.
    They came to a small clearing, where Elliott told them to wait, and left to scout out the rest to the area. With the jungle on all sides it was impossible to tell where they were, and none of them gave it a second thought. They were all drained, and their clothes wrung through with sweat. As the odd insect fluttered past, Will and Chester shared a canteen of water.
    Cal had chosen a spot in the clearing as far away from Will and Chester as he could possibly manage. Sitting cross-legged and staring into space, he began to rock back and forth, muttering monotonously under his breath.
    "What's up with him?" Chester said quietly, wiping the perspiration from his brow.
    "Dunno," Will replied, taking a large swig from the canteen.
    Just then, Cal's voice became louder and they could hear snatches of his ranting: "... and the hidden shall not be hidden in the eyes of the..."
    "Do you think he's all right?" Chester asked Will, who had settled back against the rucksack and closed his eyes with a long exhalation.
    "...and it is we who shall be saved... saved... saved..." Cal was babbling.
    Will opened one eye and called crankily to his brother.
    "What'd ya say, Cal? Can't hear you, bro."
    "Didn't say anything," Cal replied defensively, sitting bolt upright with a startled expression.
    "Cal, what happened?" Chester asked the boy hesitantly. "What happened to Drake?"
    Cal crawled toward them and launched into a rambling account, backtracking as he recalled another detail and every so often stopping completely, in mid-sentence, to draw a quick breath before he went on. Then he told them about the white room with the sealed cells that he and Elliott had stumbled upon in the Bunker.
    "But this renegade -- the one who was alive -- what was wrong with him?" Will asked.
    "His eyes were all puffy and his face was covered in boils," Cal said. "He had some sort of disease."
    Will looked thoughtful. "So is that it?" he said.
    "What do you mean?" Chester butted in.
    "Drake knew the Styx were testing out something down here. Maybe it's a disease."
    With a small shrug, Cal continued, recounting how he and Elliott had escaped to the lava tubes. His voice broke.
    "Drake could have run, but he didn't, so that Elliott and I had a chance... It was like... like when Uncle Tam made a stand..."
    "He may not be dead." Elliott's voice came, silencing Cal. It was suffused with a mixture of anger and sorrow.
    Stunned by her pronouncement, they all looked at her, standing at the edge of the clearing.
    "We were careless and they had us, but the Limiters were shooting to maim, not to kill. If they'd wanted us dead, we would be." She spun around to face Will, her recriminatory glare burning into him. "But why would they want to take us alive? Enlighten me, Will."
    All eyes were on him as he shook his head.
    "Come on, why would that be?" she insisted in a low growl.
    "Rebecca," Will answered quietly.
    "Not her again!" Chester exclaimed.
    Cal started to gibber another monotonous diatribe, wringing his hands together. They could all hear what he was saying now. "And the Lord shall be the savior to those--"
    "Stop that!" Elliott turned on him. "What are you doing? Praying?" She reached out and slapped him hard across the face.
    "I... uh... no..." he babbled, his arms up around his head as he cowered, thinking she was going to strike him again.
    "Do that and I'll finish you right here. It's all a load of hogwash. I should know, I had years of the Book of Catastrophes rammed down my throat in the Colony." She grabbed him by his hair and shook his head mercilessly. "Get a grip, kid, because this is all you've got."
    "I..." Cal began with a half sob.
    "No, listen to me, wake up, will you? You've been brainwashed," she said in a low voice, yanking his hair and jerking his head from side to side. "Do you remember a time before you were born?"
    "Huh?" Cal sobbed.
    "Do you?"
    "No," he stuttered uncomprehendingly.
    "No! Why is that? Because we are no different from any animal, any insect or germule."
    "Elliott, if he wants to believe--" Chester began, unable to remain silent.
    "Keep out of it, Chester!" she snapped, not even looking at him. "We are not special , Cal. You, me, we all came from nothing, and that's exactly where we're all going one day, maybe soon, whether we like it or not." She snorted contemptuously and shoved him over onto his side. "Can't you see it's a cult? Your Book of