Tunnels 04, Closer

only got a third of the picture here, I haven't even seen the other two pyramids yet, have I? Who knows what might be there, and whether there's a solution to this." He inclined his head at the row of stones. "Maybe it's a code of some sort, and the key is on the other--"
    Will cut across him. "But we can't go to the other pyramids -- not now that Limiters could be in the area. Elliott said it would be--"
    Dr. Burrows turned on his son. "Don't listen to what she says. I don't believe she just happened to chance across this Limiter sign of hers in the middle of the jungle. No, this is far more important. And, it's downright crazy that we haven't made the effort to explore the remaining pyramids yet." He slammed his journal shut. "In fact, there's no time like the present. Go and pack up what we need from the camp and we'll hit the road -- right now!"
    Will hesitated. It wasn't the reaction that Dr. Burrows was after.
    "Come on -- the nearest one isn't far. The journey will be a doddle," he said.
    "Okay," Will replied. Although he didn't feel like a long hike through the jungle, he knew that it was futile to argue. He was descending the side of the pyramid when Dr. Burrows shouted after him.
    "And don't forget my compass!"
    "Yeah, yeah," Will said to himself, dragging his heels as he made his way across the clearing to their base in the tree.

    * * * * *

    "Let's get you away from here," Drake said, as he took Chester through the front door and across the drive to where the road lay.
    Drake was appalled at the boy's appearance. As he had wiped the weeks of accumulated filth from Chester's face, he'd been alarmed at how much weight he'd lost, and his eczema, which he had never seen look so red and inflamed.
    "Slowly does it," Drake coaxed him, helping him step by step. He'd take a blanket from one of the bedrooms and put it around the boy, who was leaning heavily on him for support.
    "It's cold," Chester said through chattering teeth. He was very badly shaken and shivering as Drake talked gently to him, encouraging him to keep going. But Chester didn't seem to be taking any of it in. "You know, before we came to this place, I was ill for weeks... really ill..." he said, resisting Drake's attempts to guide him toward the road by stopping for a moment to look back at the cottage. "I thought about it a lot when I was in the cupboard, and reckon she was poisoning me... with toadstools from the forest. Just so I couldn't run out on her."
    "Try not to think about it now," Drake said, managing to get Chester moving again.
    After they'd gone a little further, the boy put his head back and sniffed. "Is that the sea? I can hear the waves."
    "Yes, it's just a little further," Drake told him, as they began to mount the verge on the other side of the road.
    "So you're working with a Styx now?" Chester asked as he tried to process everything that had just happened.
    "He's a former Limiter," Drake replied. "And Elliott's father."
    "Really?" Chester mumbled, as they continued down onto a shingle bank. Although a fog was rolling in over the North Sea, the sun was nudging above the horizon and baking it off.
    "This is far enough," Drake said, and he and Chester sat down on the beach.
    The boy stared at the waves, his face impassive. "Sometimes I see things that remind me of how it used to be... of my old life, and I try to pretend nothing's changed," he said. "But it has, and I've changed too, haven't I? All these things I've been through have made me like someone else. I'm..." He put his hand to his mouth and Drake could barely hear what he was saying through his fingers. "... some sort of freak that has eaten..." Chester tailed off as he let his head sag forward onto his knees.
    "I've got her," Eddie announced, making Chester start. He hadn't heard the Styx approaching, and now saw that the thin man was sighting up on something with his rifle. "She's a long way down the beach, near the headland," Eddie added.
    "Let me see," Chester demanded, throwing off the blanket as he heaved himself to his feet. Eddie passed him the rifle and he used the telescopic sight to locate the tiny figure in the distance.
    "Yes, that's her all right... and she's moving like she's hurt," Chester said, observing the figure as it swayed from side to side in a meandering gait. He set his jaw, and his voice became hard and uncompromising. "She deserves to die. Do you think I can nail her from here?" he asked as he worked the bolt on the weapon to chamber a