Tunnels 04, Closer

emphasizing each word, and then giving a strangled, strange laugh. "You're not my son!" She called for Mr. Rawls again, but this time she screamed his name at the top of her voice. Chester had never seen her like this before. He couldn't believe what was happening.
    There was a crash as Mr. Rawls came flying out of the sitting room, a dark stain down his white shirt where he'd spilt his coffee. This time he'd heard his wife's call for help over the television.
    "What's going on?" Mr. Rawls barked.
    "This boy's disturbed or something! He's saying he's Chester," Mrs. Rawls shouted as Mr. Rawls advanced toward him.
    "He's what?" Mr. Rawls exclaimed, throwing a glance at his wife. Still gripping the tea towel, she was twisting it anxiously between her hands.
    "He's saying he's our son," Mrs. Rawls confirmed.
    Mr. Rawls turned on Chester. He was normally a very shy man, barely even making eye contact with people he didn't know well, but he was angry now, and was staring directly at Chester. "How dare you? You... you sick person!" he fumed. "How dare you come here and say things like that? Our son is missing, and you're nothing like him."
    "But Dad..." Chester pleaded. He was cowed by his father's fury, but thrust a finger at the photograph again. "I'm me... that's me! Can't you see who I am?"
    "Get off my property right now or I'll call the police. In fact, Emily, go and call them anyway. Tell them a madman's loose in the neighborhood." As Chester's mother rushed into the kitchen, Mr. Rawls seized an umbrella from where it was propped against the wall and brandished it at him. "You lowlife!" he snarled. "After some money for drugs or something, are you?"
    "Dad, Dad," Chester was begging, holding out his hands.
    "Get out -- or, so help me -- I will use this on you!" Mr. Rawls shouted.
    But Chester didn't move.
    "Right, you asked for it!" Just as Mr. Rawls began to swing the umbrella at Chester, Drake pushed the boy aside. Catching Mr. Rawls' wrist, Drake twisted his arms and forced him down onto his knees.
    "I'll take that," he said, as he wrenched the umbrella from Mr. Rawls' grip, then spun round to Chester. The boy was staring dumbly at his father, who was still threatening blue murder, but unable to get up because Drake had him in an arm lock. "Snap out of it, Chester," Drake said. When Chester didn't react, he raised his voice. "Back to the car -- now!" he ordered.
    Eddie was suddenly there, bundling Chester away.
    Drake heaved Mr. Rawls over onto his back, then slung the umbrella down the length of the hallway. "Sorry to bother you. Wrong house," he said as he left, slamming the front door behind him.
    As they drove away at some speed, Chester was slumped against the car door. He was shaking as he mumbled, "I don't understand," over and over again.
    Drake put a hand on his shoulder and the boy flinched.
    "They've got no idea what they're doing, Chester. Your parents have been Darklit -- that's why they didn't recognize you. Isn't that right, Eddie?"
    "Yes, that's correct," the Limiter replied, without a moment's hesitation.
    "Their behavioral patterns have been modified -- rewired, if you like -- and I bet they've been conditioned to contact a Styx agent the moment you showed your face," Drake said. "They'll believe they're calling the police, but it'll be a different number. They'll have no conscious control over what they're doing. So I'm afraid the Styx have already got to them, Chester."
    "Which means we need to make ourselves scarce," Eddie said, accelerating straight through a set of red lights.

16

    Will saw the flash of lightning through his closed eyes. As the whole tree shook with an almost simultaneous crash of thunder, he and Dr. Burrows were wrenched from their sleep.
    "That was an almighty one," Dr. Burrows declared, getting up and stretching his arms.
    "Yeah, another megastorm," Will agreed. Beyond the reach of the tree branches where he expected the sky to be overshadowed by thick cloud cover, he saw with some surprise how bright it was. "But it seems to have completely blown over -- we must have slept through the worst of it."
    Despite the incredible amount of foliage in the gargantuan tree above the base, the odd raindrop was making its way through and landing on Will. He became transfixed as these drops ended their marathon journeys, splattering on the floor and leaving dark patches as the moisture seeped into the rough timber.
    "Time to get up," Dr. Burrows announced. "But first, I think some