Tunnels 04, Closer

him to reach them.
    "Yes, they are really creepy looking," Will said, putting the birds out of his mind as he and Elliott set off down the track again, chatting away to each other. Will realized that it wasn't only Dr. Burrows who was happy -- the weeks they'd spent in this inner world had been some of the best of his life. He glanced at Elliott. She too seemed to be totally in her element in the jungle, and content with her lot.
    In the Deeps her expression had been permanently haunted, and her pale skin -- which bore the scars from her time in that most savage of environments -- had made her appear like some lost wraith as she flitted about the place. But with the exception of the gouge in her upper arm, the scars were barely noticeable now, and her tanned face and her sleek black hair made her look radiant and transformed. There and then it struck Will how incredibly beautiful she was, and how lucky he was to have her as his friend.
    She'd been speaking to him about something, but he hadn't been listening. "It's been just brilliant today," he announced abruptly.
    "Huh?" she said, surprised at his outburst.
    "What I meant is that this has been great fun... at least if we both go on these expeditions with Dad, we get some time together, don't we?" Will was flustered as he tried to explain himself. "You know, without him interrupting us every ten minutes," he added, aware his face was coloring.
    Will turned his head away from Elliott and grimaced, thoroughly frustrated with himself. He found he wasn't able to express what he really wanted to tell her -- how he felt about her. His was the lexicon of a fifteen-year-old, and the words just weren't there. He clamped his jaw shut, lacking the confidence to say anything further to her in case his feelings weren't reciprocated. In case he was making a complete and utter fool of himself.
    But Elliott nodded in response, then beamed at him. Will felt a crashing sense of relief as she'd seemed to understand what he really wanted to say. Their eyes stayed on each other, but the moment was short-lived as Dr. Burrows interrupted them.
    "Blast it!" he yelled. "Filthy, bloody stuff!"
    Will and Elliott spun around. Dr. Burrows was hopping on one foot. He'd evidently stepped in a pile of animal dung. Will and Elliott couldn't help but laugh as he tried to clean his boot by rubbing it on the grass.
    "Was it a good specimen of a Palaeomastodon pat?" Will chuckled as he made his way to his father, who had suddenly fallen silent as he became distracted again.
    "I wonder," he began, as he took his bulging journal from under his arm and opened it, flicking through to the back pages. "Those stones... those stones..." he muttered.
    Will had no idea what he was talking about. "Which stones, Dad?" he asked.
    "I found another set of those stones that move -- you know, like the row on our pyramid."
    "You didn't say anything about them to me," Will complained.
    "I did try, but -- as ever -- you were too tied up with your friend," Dr. Burrows said, then scratched his chin as he thought. "This second series of stones is obviously more recent, and all the letters on them are different... and I'm trying to figure out if they can be combined with the first sequence to give some sort of meaning."
    "There might be even more on pyramid number three," Will pointed out. "When we get to see it, the answer might be there."
    "It might," Dr. Burrows repeated several times. He was poring over a page in his journal and, as he took a step to the side, he planted his foot in an even bigger heap of animal dung, which came halfway up his calf. Despite the squelching sound and the pungent smell, he seemed completely oblivious to this.
    "Dad! You're not coming near the base tonight," Will laughed. "Elliott will make you..." He stalled in mid-sentence as it occurred to him that she hadn't joined them yet. He sought her out, finding that she'd remained exactly where he'd left her, training her rifle on the trees further down the track. "She's seen something," he whispered, quickly hurrying over.
    She silenced him with a look as he came alongside her, and continued to scrutinize the trees with her rifle scope.
    Dr. Burrows had caught up with them by now and was peering at the undergrowth Elliott seemed to be so interested in. "more of those noisy trees watching us?" he inquired mockingly.
    "I don't understand... I've got this feeling... as though something's there," she said slowly, frowning to herself. "But I can't see