Tunnels 04, Closer

retribution, didn't exactly offer him much inspiration when it came to mercy or compassion. However, like most Colonists, he knew the majority of the book by heart, and was able to scrape together a few passages which he now mumbled in the hope that they would make a difference. But try as he might, he couldn't stop himself from shedding tears as he reflected on the great injustice of Mrs. Burrows' situation.
    After a while, he began to cough and his eyes became red and inflamed. He knew this wasn't due to his anguish, and assumed that one of the chemicals used by the Scientists must be causing it. Nevertheless, he resolved to stay a little longer. And still he continued to pray.

    * * * * *

    As they arrived at the top of the stairs, Drake motioned to the left. "I'll look down here. You take the other side." He started to move off, then hesitated. "And, hey, Chester, if you happen to bump into any nerdy-looking types in red lab coats, feel free to use live ammo on them. "They'll be Scientists."
    "Really... but aren't they Colonists too?" Chester asked, giving him a quizzical glance. "And how is it that you know the layout of this building so well?"
    Despite the fact that his face was obscured by his gas mask, Chester saw Drake's eyes narrow in anger.
    "You were here," the boy realized, recalling what Drake had told him and Will in the Deeps. "The Scientists made you work for them in this place."
    Drake was silent for a moment and then nodded. "And if you find any poor sods in the rooms along the right-hand side, let me know. That's where the Styx torture Topsoilers until they agree to work on their weapons of selective destruction. One of those dingy little rooms was all I knew for a year."
    "So we'll free anyone in them before the whole place blows," Chester suggested.
    "You got it," Drake said, and headed off.
    Chester pushed through the swinging doors. He found that all the rooms Drake had referred to were unlocked. Nevertheless, he gave each of them a quick inspection to make absolutely sure they were unoccupied. Finding they were all empty except for lab equipment, he moved further down the corridor.
    That was when he heard a voice.
    For a second he deliberated whether to fetch Drake, but then decided he'd investigate it for himself.
    His dart gun at the ready, he stole toward the source of the voice. It seemed to be coming from a room near the end of the corridor. He pulled the heavy steel door open a fraction and peered in.
    He was greeted by a most peculiar sight.
    It was evidently some sort of operating theater. In the middle of the room there was a woman on an examination table. Chester's first thought was that she must be dead, but he revised this when he spotted the array of fluid-filled bags on a stand beside her. The bags were feeding tubes inserted into her arms.
    The scene brought back unwelcome memories of a visit he'd made to his sister in intensive care, following the car accident. It was the last time he'd ever seen her. So he didn't dwell on the woman, but switched his attention to the heavy-set man on an aluminum stool at her side. The man's elbows were propped on the table, and his head was cradled in his hands. He was dressed in a dark blue uniform and, for some reason, he struck Chester as being vaguely familiar.
    The man, clearly a Colonist and not a Styx, was wiping his eyes repeatedly. And, as Chester continued to spy on him, he saw the man's shoulders were shaking. Chester couldn't tell whether this was due to the nerve gas, or whether the man was actually upset and crying. He certainly seemed to be making small sobbing sounds, punctuated by the odd sniff or unintelligible grunt.
    Chester heard as the man spoke again -- he couldn't make out precisely what he was saying, but it sounded as though he was reciting something from the Bible. He seemed to be praying.
    Chester's hand tightened on his dart gun. From Drake's description, this wasn't a Scientist, so neither he nor the person on the table deserved to perish in the explosion.
    Keeping his gun trained on the man, Chester opened the door wider, then eased himself into the room. The man must have heard him, half turning to look. His face was red, and it certainly did appear as though he'd been crying.
    And, at that moment, Chester recognized exactly who he was.
    "You?" Chester gasped.
    The Second Officer was on his feet in an instant, the stool crashing to the floor behind him.
    "You!" he bellowed back at Chester. "I know that bloody