Tunnels 02, Deeper

particularly narrow gap. "Got this far, haven't I?" he added.
    "OK, if you're sure."
    After a couple of minutes, Will was relieved to find that the height of the ceiling was increasing, and they were able to stand once again.
    And there was Cal, some fifty feet away, poised before the entrance to another long cavern. As Will and Chester stretched their limbs, he waved to them. Then he was off, brandishing his lantern before him. Will and Chester watched him go.
    "He's fast, I'll give him that. I reckon he's got some rabbit in him," Chester said, breathing more steadily.
    "Are you feeling better?" Will asked him, noticing the pained way Chester was rubbing his arms and how the perspiration was running down his face.
    "Sure."
    "We'd better catch up to him, then," Will said. "I don't like this smell at all. Really sickly," he added, wrinkling his nose.
    They came to the spot where Cal had been standing and looked in.
    They could feel the dryness in the air and the smell had become even more intense. It wasn't pleasant; there was an insubstantiality to it, and warning bells were beginning to ring in Will's head. He knew instinctively there was something false about it, something saccharine.
    Cal was now exploring an area of the floor that was dotted with many large, rounded boulders. On these were clusters of pipelike structures protruding upward, some reaching several feet in height. Each cluster had a few larger pipes in its center, each about five inches in diameter, and around these were groupings of smaller ones, all radiating outward.
    The pipes were slightly lighter in color than the rocks on which they stood, and from where he was standing, Will could see that the outsides of these pipes had definite rings circumscribing them every inch or so. To his eye, this suggested that the extensions secreted their casings as they grew. He also observed that they were anchored to the boulders by some sort of resinous secretion, like an organic glue.
    They were living creatures.
    Fascinated, he took a step closer.
    "Will, do you think this is safe?" Chester said, grabbing his arm to hold him back.
    Will just shrugged, and was peering back into the cavern when they both saw Cal lose his footing. He grabbed at the top of one of the tubes to steady himself, but withdrew his hand quickly. There was a sound, as if someone had snapped their fingers, but sharper. Cal recovered his balance and straightened up.
    "Ouch," he said quietly, looking at his hand with a mystified expression.
    "Cal?" Will called.
    For a heartbeat the boy stood there, his back to them, still examining his hand.
    Then he simply crumpled to the ground.
    "CAL!"
    Will and Chester exchanged frantic glances, and Will started to move forward but found Chester was still gripping his arm.
    "Let me go!" he said, trying to detach himself.
    "No!" Chester shouted at him.
    "I have to!" Will said, struggling.
    Chester released him, but Will halted after a few steps.
    "What the..." Chester gasped.
    They could hear it. More snaps, growing louder and more frequent. Muted, dry-sounding clicks, getting faster and faster until they merged into one resounding barrage. The terrified boys turned this way and that, trying to figure out where the throbbing percussive cacophony was coming from. But they couldn't tell; nothing appeared to have changed in the cavern where Cal lay.
    "We have to get him out!" Will yelled, and started forward.
    They both rushed to Cal's side. Chester eyed the columns around them with caution as Will squatted down to roll the boy over onto his back. He was limp and unresponsive, his eyes open and staring.
    At first they thought he had just been stunned, but even as they watched, livid purple lines, accenting the network of capillaries beneath his skin, spread from under each of his eyes, much as ink permeates through water. With terrifying rapidity, the bruises grew larger, until they were encroaching upon his cheeks. It looked as though he had two huge black eyes.
    "What's going on? What's wrong with him?" Will shouted, his voice hoarse with panic.
    Chester looked blank. "I don't know," he said.
    "Did he bang his head on something?" Will yelled.
    Chester examined Cal's head, running his hand over his crown and down to the nape of his neck. There was no sign of any injury. "Check his breathing," he muttered to himself, trying to recall first-aid procedures. Tilting back Cal's head, he leaned forward so his ear was over the boy's nose and mouth, and listened.