Tunnels 02, Deeper

to have been hermaphrodites) hadn't been so fortunate: Tucked into the hot embers at the edge of the fire, they sizzled softly.
    Will was talking to himself and grinning inanely, with the sort of absolute absorption a young child might show when examining a creepy-crawly it has caught in the garden. "Yes, really thick shell... look at the growth rings... and there's the lid," Will said, tapping the end of his pencil on a flattened circle at the widest end of the shell. He looked up to find all eyes upon him. "This is just so cool! Do you know this was the predecessor to the oyster?"
    "Drake mentioned something about that. He liked his raw," Elliott said matter-of-factly as she repositioned the Anomalocaris in the flames.
    "None of you has the faintest idea how important the discovery of these animals is," Will said, becoming frustrated all over again by their total lack of interest. "How can you even think about eating them?"
    "If you don't want yours, Will, I'll take it," Cal piped up. He turned to Chester. "What is an oyster , anyway?"

    * * * * *

    As the food cooked, Elliott brought up the bizarre corridor of sealed cells she had seen with Cal in the Bunker.
    "We knew that there was some sort of quarantine area," she mused, "but not where it was or what it was for."
    "Drake did say that, but how did you first hear about it?" Will inquired.
    "From a contact," Elliott answered, hastily looking down. Will could have sworn he saw a flicker of unease in her eyes, but he told himself it must have been due to her discovery of the sickening cells.
    "So all the people were dead," Chester stated.
    "All except for the one man," Elliott said. "He was a renegade."
    "The others were Colonists," Cal added. "You could tell from their clothes."
    "But why would the Styx go to all the trouble of bringing Colonists down here just to kill them?" Chester asked.
    "I don't know," Elliott shrugged. "They've always used the Deeps as testing grounds -- that's nothing new -- but all the signs now are that something big is about to break. Drake's idea was that the three of you might help us throw a monkey wrench into the works and mess up whatever the Blackheads are doing. Especially him over there." She made a face as she glanced at Will, who was still staring in horror at the cooking Anomalocaris . "Though I'm not too sure if Drake really thought that one through."
    Elliott removed the Anomalocaris from the flames and put it on the ground. Then she peeled back one of the segments on its underbelly with the tip of her knife and began to carve up its carcass. "It's ready," she announced.
    "Oh, great," Will said hollowly.
    Nonetheless, when the food had been divided up, Will capitulated. Putting aside his journal, he began to eat his share, reluctantly at first, but then devouring it hungrily. He even agreed with Chester that the Anomalocaris was pretty similar to lobster. The devil's toenails were a different matter altogether, and the boys grimaced as they valiantly attempted to chew them.
    "Hmmm. Interesting," Will commented as he finished his mouthful, pondering the thought that he was one of very few people alive who'd feasted on extinct animals. The image of him eating a dodo burger suddenly popped into his head, and he smiled uncomfortably.
    "Yeah, really cool barbecue," Chester laughed, stretching out his legs. "It's sort of like being back home again."
    Will nodded in response.
    The invigorating gusts of wind, the crackles of the dying fire mingling with the crash of waves, and the taste of seafood in their mouths -- all this made Chester and Will experience the deepest pangs of homesickness. These elements invoked other, carefree times back on the surface -- it could have been a vacation outing or a beach party late one summer's evening (and although Will's family rarely went on such outings -- not together, anyway -- he was still moved by the notion).
    But the more Will and Chester tried to pretend to themselves it was like home , the more they realized that it was no such thing, and that they were in a strange and dangerous place in which it was touch and go whether they made it through the next day. Trying to suppress these feelings, they made small talk, but the conversation soon petered out, and each fell to his own thoughts, eating the meal in silence.
    Elliott had taken her food with her to the water's edge, and periodically raised her rifle to scour the distant beaches.
    "Uh-oh," Cal said, and Will and Chester turned to look