Tunnels 02, Deeper

whined.
    "Pull yourself together, Will," Chester urged, not moving his eyes from the Styx. "You know where the gum is."
    In his befuddled state, it took Will forever to undo the flap on the side pocket of Chester's rucksack. Muttering to himself, he rummaged around until he found the green packet of chewing gum. He put it in front of him as he refastened the flap.
    "Want a piece?" he asked Chester.
    "No, I do not."
    Dropping it several times as though his hands were numb, Will finally tore open the packet and pried out one of the sticks. With his fumbling fingers, he was on the verge of sliding the paper casing off the silver foil when both boys let out simultaneous gasps.
    They felt a crushing pressure on their backs as knives were thrust against their throats.
    "Don't make a sound." The voice was low and guttural, as if it wasn't accustomed to being used. It came from a point very close behind Will's head.
    Chester swallowed loudly.
    "And don't move a muscle."
    Will let the stick of gum slip from his hand.
    "I can smell that stinking stuff already, and you haven't even opened it yet."
    Will tried to speak.
    "I said shut up." The knife dug even harder into Will's neck. He felt the pressure on his back increase, and a mittened hand reached between him and Chester and began to scoop a hole in the loose gravel.
    The boys both watched from the corners of their eyes, not daring to move their heads an inch. It was almost hypnotic, a disembodied hand in a black mitten digging itself a small hole, little by little.
    Chester suddenly couldn't stop himself from shaking. Had he and Will been caught by Styx? Or if not Styx, who were they? His mind filled with panic-ridden thoughts about what might happen next. Were these people going to slit their throats and bury them here, in this hole? He couldn't take his eyes off it.
    Then the hand very deliberately took the packet of chewing gum between thumb and forefinger, and dropped it into the hole.
    "That piece, too," the man's voice ordered. Will did as he was told, throwing the unopened stick in the hole.
    Then the hand, in precise movements, scraped the gypsum gravel back into the hole, until the chewing gum was completely buried.
    "That'll help, but the smell's still strong," the man's voice came again after the interlude. "If you had opened it, the stalker nearest to us..." The voice trailed off, then resumed again. "You can see it down there... would've picked up the scent in a matter of... what do you think?"
    There was a pause during which Will wasn't sure if he was meant to be answering, and then they heard a different and slightly softer voice. This second one came from behind Chester. "They're downwind," it said, "so a couple of seconds at most."
    The man spoke again. "Then the Limiters would've slipped the dogs off their reins, and they'd have followed close behind. You'd be dead 'uns, like those poor wretches down there." He drew breath somberly. "You should watch this."
    In spite of the threat from the knives at their throats, both Will and Chester made a concerted effort to focus on what was happening below.
    The main Styx swung around and barked a command. Three men in clothes of neutral color were each escorted into the center of the crater by a pair of Styx. Will and Chester hadn't spotted them before because they had been huddled in the shadows beyond the scope of the floodlights. They were pushed beside the group of Coprolites, and their escorts returned to the Styx line.
    The head Styx barked another order and held his right hand high as a number of his men stepped forward and put their rifles to their shoulders. Then, with a staccato shout, the Styx dropped his hand, and flashes exploded from the barrels of the firing squad. Two of the three figures fell immediately. The remaining one tottered for a moment before he, too, went over, collapsing across the other downed men. As the last echoes of the shots reverberated around the crater and an eerie silence filled the place, none of the three moved. It had all happened so quickly.
    "No," Will said, not believing his eyes. "The Styx... they didn't?"
    "Yes, you have just witnessed an execution," came the man's inexpressive voice from close behind his head. "And those were our people, our friends."
    With another order, the firing squad passed their rifles to their nearest comrades. Then they each drew some glinting weapon from their sides and took several paces forward. There was a horrible inevitability to it as the