Tunnels 03, Freefall

he yelled, leaning inside the first room. Then as he inspected the next along, "Lavatories!" Several rooms along he was screaming, "Food! There's food in here!" as he vanished into it.
    Dr. Burrows jogged over to join his son.
    It was a kitchen area, with a bank of ovens and a long grill, looking like a kitchen one might find in a large restaurant. But what interested Will more than anything else was the huge number of tin cans on the shelves and in cupboards.
    Will picked out a large rectangular can -- it didn't have a label stuck on it, but the contents were printed on the outside in small blue letters. " Corned Beef ," he read. "Do you think any of this is still okay?"
    "Might be," Dr. Burrows replied, as he took the can from his son to check it for any signs of rust or leakage. "Will, have a mosey round for a tin opener, will you?"

22

    "Watch out!" Chester spluttered, gesturing frantically at the shadows behind Martha as she entered the section of the WolfCaves where he and Elliott had been waiting for her. There was a snuffling sound and Bartleby came fully into view, his head down as if he was ashamed of himself. "It's that bloody cat!"
    "It's all right," Martha said, beckoning the cat over to her. He sat by her feet, looking up at her. "I couldn't just leave him out there, at the mercy of the spiders and the wolves."
    "But he was about to go for Will. He was going to attack him," Chester said, his rifle ready in his hands. "We can't be sure of him."
    "You heard what the Rebecca twin said. It was the Styx," Elliott said casually as she bit off another mouthful of spider meat.
    "What do you mean?" Chester asked.
    "They used the Dark Light on him," Elliott replied. "He had no choice but to do what the Rebecca twin ordered him. With the Dark Light, the Styx can break the minds of the strongest men and make them their slaves, and Bartleby's only a dumb animal. Anyway, he might come in useful," she added.
    "I reckon I'm the dumb animal," Chester grumbled, as he lowered his rifle, still regarding the cat with misgiving. "We should have had Bartleby burgers back on the sub."
    Martha stroked the cat's bald pate, which was still stained with fungus juice. "No, Elliott's right -- he is a Hunter . He might yet come in handy," she said.

    * * * * *

    As his father entered there radio operator's booth, Will was lounging in one of the canvas chairs, his feet on the bench. He stuck a fork into the large can of pineapple chunks in his hand and, spearing several pieces, crammed them into his mouth. "Mmmm... rather good. This is the life, isn't it, Dad?" he said as he munched on them.
    "Don't overdo it on that fruit -- your body won't be used to it," Dr. Burrows advised him, placing an army mess tin on the bench. Reaching into his pocket he produced a few small foil-wrapped packets. Will sat up, immediately interested.
    "Brought you some crackers," Dr. Burrows said.
    "Great. And what's in this?" Will asked as he regarded the steam rising in from the mess tin.
    "Tea," Dr. Burrows said. "Try some."
    "It looks about the right color," Will observed, then took a sip. He screwed up his face. "Urgh... that's foul! It's far too sweet!"
    "That'll be the condensed milk. I loved it when I was young -- we used to have it on peaches..."
    Taking the chair next to Will, Dr. Burrows began to reminisce about some great-aunt Will had never met, at the same time flicking the switches on the various boxes on the bench. Finally, as Dr. Burrows was waxing lyrical about the steak and kidney pudding this great-aunt would make especially for him, he pushed a button on the largest device, and a dial in its center was instantly suffused with a pale yellow light. Several of the valves on the top of the unit also lit up, emitting a pinkish glow. From a small speaker mounted high up on the wall came a sudden burst of static, which gave way to a sound which seemed to ebb and flow. It wasn't that dissimilar to the sound of waves breaking on a distant beach. By now Dr. Burrows had fallen absolutely silent.
    "Thank God for that," Will muttered under his breath, relieved that his father had curtailed his incessant reminiscing.
    "Oh, I know -- this could be our savior," Dr. Burrows said, not realizing the real reason for his son's remark as he swiveled the dial in the center of the main unit. But this only had the effect of producing further bursts of static, and after several minutes he stopped, shaking his head. "I reckon some of the valves must have blown,"