Tunnels 03, Freefall

on the map, Daddy, so we can all go home," she said. "Because I do so miss my homey-womey," she added in a sickly little-girl voice.
    "You don't listen, do you? -- I think these stones might be a guide down to somewhere, rather than showing us a way back," Dr. Burrows said.
    "I don't care -- anywhere is better than here," she barked, her voice hard as steel.
    "And I also need to tie the map to something on the ground -- I need to find a landmark down here which corresponds to an icon on the map itself." He swallowed noisily. "My throat is absolutely parched. Can I have something to drink?"
    Rebecca shook her head. "Let's try to make some progress first, shall we?"
    "But I'm thirsty," he complained.
    There was a whump sound and Dr. Burrows started as a pair of dead spider-monkeys landed by his side. "Oh... my... God," he said. "What are those? Some sort of spider? Arachnids?"
    "Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey," the Rebecca twin recited. "Not that you ever found time to tell me nursery rhymes. You were always too busy hiding down in your stupid cellar with your stupid books." There had been genuine resentment in the Rebecca twin's voice and she glanced at the Limiter, almost embarrassed that she'd dropped her guard and revealed her emotions, human emotions.
    But Dr. Burrows hadn't heard what she said as he nervously regarded the twitching legs of the spiders. He edged back as blood leaked from the creatures' bodies, flowing in little crimson streams through the dust by his leg.
    "If you're thirsty, help yourself to some of that," she offered, absolutely unaffected by the sight of the grotesque creatures. Otherwise we can have some water with our evening meal," Rebecca said in a schoolmarmish voice. "But we need to press on with our homework first.

11

    "Hiya," Chester said as he emerged from the shack and saw Will was lounging in one of the chairs on the porch. "Martha chucked me out. She's giving Elliott a wash."
    "How's she doing?" Will asked him.
    Yawning, Chester stretched his arms wide. "We managed to get some more broth down her," he said, then sank into the chair beside Will. "Martha's doing everything she can to keep her strength up."
    "That's good. But she's not getting any better, is she?" Will said. Chester shifted uneasily in response. Neither of them had voiced their concerns to each other that Elliott might actually die, just as Nathaniel had. The subject was almost taboo between them.
    "No," he said finally.
    For a while neither boy said anything as they gazed down the length of the garden, so deep in thought that they barely took in the display of colors which fluxed and pulsed in the air, like a scaled-down version of the Aurora Borealis. Will cleared his throat. "Um, Chester, something's been bothering me," he said.
    There was concern in Chester's eyes. "What is it, Will?" he asked.
    Will lowered his voice and looked in the direction of the door. "Martha's out of earshot, isn't she?"
    "She's still in with Elliott," Chester confirmed. "Tell me, what's the matter?"
    "Well," Will began uncertainly. "I know Martha's been brilliant, and she's doing everything she can for Elliott, but could we be doing more?"
    Chester shrugged. "Like what?"
    "We've been here for weeks now, and we've become so reliant on Martha that we haven't even considered that there might be someone else around who could help Elliott -- really help her," Will said.
    "But Martha says--" Chester started.
    "I know what Martha says," Will cut across him. "But we don't really know her , do we? What if there are other people down here, with medicine, or someone like Imago, who could help Elliott?"
    Chester looked at him blankly. "But why on earth would Martha keep that from us?" he asked.
    "Because she's basically a lonely old woman, who all of a sudden has got a couple of stand-ins for her dead son," Will said.
    "That's harsh."
    "Yes, but it's also true," Will replied. "Don't you ever kind of get the feeling that we're prisoners here? Martha tells us there's no one else in these parts, and we shouldn't risk going outside by ourselves because of the spiders, and how it's too dangerous to take us to see the ships her son found, and that there's no way back up to the Deeps, and nothing down below..." He paused to draw breath. "I reckon she's doing everything she can to keep us right here." He tapped his index finger against the arm of his chair to emphasize the point.
    Will was watching Chester intensely, trying to