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We'd gone about twenty feet when the water level dropped to a trickle and the ground beneath it turned to concrete. I was about to whisper "Well, that's better," when my flashlight beam flickered and went out. That was fate for you. Gives and takes, keeping the balance.
Jeremy's fingers reached back and brushed my arm, warning me that he'd stopped before I smacked into him.
CHIVALRY
"WHAT'S WRONG?" I whispered as Jeremy stopped.
"I can't see. Give me a moment."
We waited, the distant drip of water the only sound. It smelled different here--stale with an almost musky odor. Cold too. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying not to let my teeth chatter, which would only have Jeremy offering me his jacket.
"Hmmm," he said after a moment. "There must be a distant source of light. I can make out shapes, but barely, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better."
"No light at all means even you can't see, right?"
"I'm afraid so. My night vision needs something to work with. I'll move slowly. Here, give me the flashlight and your shoes, and put your hands--"
He guided them to his hips. I moved closer...just for safety, of course.
We started forward again, creeping along in the dark. We made it about fifty feet, and around the bend, when I heard a sound that made the hair on my neck rise. The chattering of tiny, needle-sharp teeth.
"Please tell me that's mice," I said. "Or underground squirrels."
"Okay."
I poked his back. "Liar."
"Don't worry. They're a ways off yet."
"Do you remember the psycho rats in Toronto? Did Elena ever tell you we were cornered by them?"
"No, she left off that part. Left off a lot of parts, I'm sure."
"Well, I had to kill some. The rats. Squashed their poor little skulls with a two-by-four and I know payback's coming. Bad karma for the rodent slayer. They can probably sense--" I stopped. "Jeremy?"
"Hmmm?"
"Something brushed my foot. Something furry."
"Don't worry. It was dead."
"Dead?"
"I smelled it, but thought it best not to mention it and hope you passed by."
"Preferably without stepping on it?"
"I'll warn you next time. It can be hard to pinpoint the exact spot, though. The best I can do is say, 'By the way, there's a rotting corpse around here somewhere.'"
"On second thought, ignorance is bliss. So where--?" I stopped as an overpowering stench filled my nose. "Oh, God, I think I smell a ripe one."
"No, that's just the nest."
"N-nest?"
"It's down a side corridor, I think. We'll be past it in a moment. They shouldn't give us any trouble."
"Right. The predator thing. Like the cat. They smell you and run."
