Tunnels 04, Closer

the neighbors tried to see what was going on.
    The old Styx slowly turned to look at Eliza, who bowed her head and stepped back. It wasn't done to meet a Styx's gaze, particularly one as supremely important as this man. In the Colony this was the closest thing to a royal visit. Indeed, it was rumored that the old Styx was now the most important person in their hierarchy, but nobody knew for sure.
    His black, full-length leather coat creaked as he stepped lightly across the threshold and into the hallway.
    His young assistant followed on his heels. "Your brother's home," he said abruptly.
    Eliza didn't know how to respond to this -- she wasn't sure if it was a question or an assertion. In a state of terrible indecision about what she should say, she began to mumble, but was saved by her mother, who had emerged from the kitchen and was doddering down the hallway.
    "If that's Mrs. Evans with 'er mendin', tell 'er she's a day eaerly," she shouted. "We agreed it would be tom--"
    As her rheumy eyes fell on the old Styx, she gave a croak not unlike an asthmatic frog. She too averted her eyes, clasping her hands at her waist.
    "We've come to see the Burrows woman. She's in here," the young assistant said, already making for the sitting room. Again, it was impossible to tell if he was inquiring where Mrs. Burrows was, or if he already knew, but both women believed it was probably the latter. The Styx seemed to know everything that was going on, down to the very last detail, even if they kept their distance from the Colonists.
    As the young assistant pushed the door open and then drew to the side to let the old Styx enter, Eliza stole the briefest glance at this most important of people. She noticed his pale white skin was as creased as a crumpled page, and his obsidian-black hair had traces of silver at the temples. But as the subdued light from the room fell on his face, what was so shocking was that the hollowness of his cheeks and his sunken eye sockets made him resemble an animated corpse.
    Although he was first in the room, he held back as his young assistant went over to Mrs. Burrows and lifted her limp wrist. For a moment the young assistant held it aloft in his gloved hand, then simply let it drop again. He glanced at the old Styx, who gave him a single nod in response.
    Just then the Second Officer arrived at the bottom of the stairs. Dressed in his shirtsleeves, the big man spotted the Styx outside on the pavement and also the way his mother and sister were standing mutely, with there heads bowed. Without a moment's hesitation, he strode across the hallway and into the sitting room.
    He saw the old Styx and his assistant but didn't announce himself, waiting just inside the doorway. In his job as a policeman in the Quarter, the Second Officer had daily dealings with the Styx, so he didn't show quite the same degree of awe as rank and file Colonists did when confronted by one.
    The young assistant acknowledged the presence of the Second Officer with a half look. "It was never expected that this woman would live past the first day, let alone for the weeks she has. She's going to remain in this vegetative state -- there's no prospect of any improvement."
    The Second Officer cleared his throat. "Yes, the doctor told us that, but I think she's getting a lit--"
    The young assistant continued as if he hadn't heard a word the Second Officer was saying. "Of course, it's remarkable she was able to resist the battery of Dark Lights -- many more than we've used on a subject in a long time -- but it's even more remarkable that she's somehow still alive," the young assistant said. "You've to turn her over to the Scientists," he added abruptly.
    "The Scientists?" the Second Officer repeated, taking another step into the room.
    "They're going to examine her brain. They're interested in her neural physiology and how it conferred resistance to our interrogation techniques. She will be taken away for dissection when they're ready to receive her," the young assistant said. "You've done a good job."
    The Second Officer couldn't help himself. He uttered the word 'But', nearly followed with a 'No', an act of insubordination against the Styx that would probably have landed him in his own gaol at best -- or, at worst, with Banishment to the Deeps.
    Perhaps sensing the strength of the Second Officer's feelings, the old Styx fixed him with a stare and spoke for the first time. "When you offered to care for this woman in your home, you took