Pain was the first thing Harry was aware of. First the pain in his head, then the pain in his chest. He could hear someone crying. Was he crying? No, he didn't think so. But the pain made him feel like he should be. He groaned. The crying stopped.

"Mr. Kim?"

He opened his eyes, but it was dark and he could hardly see. He was lying on his stomach with the side of his face pressed into the dirt. He could taste mud on his lips and the gritty feeling of sand in his teeth. He tried to move, but something heavy was laying across his back. It was making it hard to breath. Something warm was running into his eyes.

"Are you okay, Mr. Kim?"

Harry saw a blurry form move closer to his face. "Who?" he croaked.

"It's me. Naomi Wildman." Harry's vision cleared a little and he could just make out Naomi's face in the dark. "You're stuck under this big pipe thing. I tried to get it off you, but I'm not strong enough."

Harry tentatively pushed up against the pipe and felt it give a little.

"Naomi." The pain was causing him to gasp. "I'm going to lift up the pipe. Can you… Can you find something? Something to wedge under it?"

"Yes! There's a big rock here that I can shove underneath."

"Okay, that'll work. Ready? On three. One." Harry got his arms poised underneath him. "Two." He took a couple breaths, trying to steel himself. "Three!" Harry let out a loud grunt and pushed his hands into the ground to press up and lift the pipe on his back.

"There! I got it!" cried Naomi.

Harry collapsed onto his elbows. He felt Naomi's little hands trying to pull him out from under the propped-up pipe. He slid himself out and sat up next to her. His head swam, and he had to lean against the rubble to steady himself. He tried to take deep breaths, but his efforts met with stabbing pains. He pressed his hand against his side while he breathed. His mind was trapped in a thick, swirling fog and he had the unpleasant sensation that things were spinning around him. He was vaguely aware that Naomi was speaking to him.

"Are you alright, Mr. Kim? Is there anything I can do to help?"

She was scared. He wanted to tell her that it would be okay, that everything was all right, but he couldn't get his thoughts together to do it. Instead, he leaned over and vomited.

"Mr. Kim!"

The pain in his chest was blinding and his eyes were watering. It was like being kicked in the ribs with each heave. He had to fight to stay conscious. Beside him Naomi was sobbing.

He slumped against a smooth wall beside him. The pain and nausea faded slightly, and his head began to clear. He wiped away the sweat beading on his forehead with the back of his hand and winced as he touched the cut on his temple. He took a moment to look at his surroundings. They were sitting in front of an uneven wall of rubble and debris. On either side of them were smooth walls. Ahead was impenetrable darkness.

"Naomi?" The little girl stopped crying as he spoke. "Naomi, where are we?"

"I don't know. Underground I think." Her voice hiccupped as she answered.

"Underground? How?"

"There was a quake. Don't you remember?"

"No. Wait, maybe. I think so." Harry coughed and it felt like a punch to the ribs.

"Mr. Kim, are you okay? Are you hurt bad?"

"I'm all right," he lied. He gingerly touched the cut on his forehead again. Dirt and blood covered the whole side of his face. "I think I have a concussion and at least two broken ribs, but I'll live." Probably.

Harry cast back into his confused mind. "We were at the café. Your mom left to get something."

"Yeah, and then everything started shaking. We tried to run, but then we fell. I don't know what happened after that."

"The street must run above this tunnel. We fell in when it collapsed." Harry ran his eyes over the small form squatting in the gravel in front of him. "Are you okay? Were you hurt at all?" He could barely make out her face in the darkness. He could see tear streaks on her dirt-stained cheeks, but it didn't look like there was any blood.

"I think I'm okay. My elbow really hurts, but I can move it okay." Naomi lifted her arm and bent her elbow a few times to demonstrate that it still worked.

The darkness around them pressed in on the pair, like a solid wall slowly moving in to crush them. Looking at the blackness, Harry though he could almost see it moving. Something about the image of Naomi in front of him bothered the logical part of his brain as it struggled to operate. He sat staring at Naomi until the hazy thought finally solidified. "Naomi, how is it I can see you?"

"What?"

"We're in an underground tunnel. There are no lights. It should be pitch black. I shouldn't be able to see my hand in front of my face, yet I can make you out sitting there in the darkness. How is that possible?"

"Oh, it's this." Naomi reached down beside her and held up a dimly glowing screen. It was the PADD he had been working on that morning. He must have instinctively grabbed it when they tried to run. Now it was casting its meager glow against the tunnel's darkness.

Naomi stood up with the PADD and used it to light up the tunnel surrounding them. It was narrow, about the width of Harry's arm span, but tall. Harry estimated it was about 3 meters high.

"What is this place?" asked Naomi.

"I think it might be the city's subterranean waste management system."

"The what?"

"The sewer," answered Harry. "I think we're in the sewer."

"Ewww." Naomi wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"It's okay, we're not staying." Harry tapped his comm badge. "Ensign Kim to Voyager." Nothing happened. The comm badge didn't even chirp. Harry tried again. "Ensign Kim to Voyager. Come in Voyager." Harry took off his comm badge and held it up to the glow of the PADD. An ugly crack run right down its center. The badge was dead.

Harry looked up at Naomi. Her eyes were as wide as saucers.

"It's okay. Voyager will use our bio-signs to find us. It shouldn't take them very long. We'll be out of here in a few minutes, we just have to be patient."

Naomi shifted uncomfortably. "ummmm…."

"Is something wrong?"

"Mr. Kim… you were asleep for a long time."

"How long?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but it was really long. Hours, I think."

"Hours!" His surprise caused his body to jump slightly, but even that small movement was enough to cause a searing bolt of pain to slice through his ribs. Harry was starting to feel woozy again. They had been down here for hours and Voyager hadn't found them yet. That didn't make sense. The crew were the only humans on the planet. They should have been easy to detect. What could be keeping Voyager from rescuing them? Harry rubbed his forehead. It hurt to think and it was difficult to keep his thoughts straight.

"We're underground." Harry looked towards the ceiling that was lost in darkness. "We're underground," he repeated.

"You said we're in a sewer. Don't you remember?" said Naomi in a worried voice.

Harry gave an amused snort. "I remember, don't worry. I'm just thinking out loud." Harry tented his fingers and rested the tips against his forehead. "I think the reason we haven't been found yet is because we're underground. Scans usually only look at the surface because that's where people normally are. They haven't thought to look down here yet."

"Do you think they will be able to—"

The ground jolted underneath them. Rubble and dust rained down on them. Naomi screamed as Harry threw his body over her, trying to shield her from the rocks. His heart pounded in terror as he clutched her tiny frame as tight as he could while around them rubble tumbled and slid.

He wasn't sure when the shaking stopped. He might have blacked out for a moment. It was Naomi squirming against him that brought back his awareness.

"Mr. Kim, you're squeezing too tight. I can't breathe."

Harry groaned as he pushed himself off her. "I'm sorry. Are you hurt? Did I hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine. But that was really scary. How many times is that going to happen?"

"I don't know. Aftershocks can be unpredictable." Harry lifted the PADD to look down the tunnel. There were noticeable cracks lining the walls. "We can't stay down here. The structural integrity of the wall is compromised."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that the tunnel could collapse very soon. It's too dangerous for us to wait for Voyager to find us. We're going to have to try and find a way out of here ourselves."

"But how are we going to do that?"

Harry gestured into the darkness. "This tunnel has to go somewhere. There's got to be maintenance access ports. If we can find one, we'll have a way out."

Harry handed the PADD to Naomi and started to pull himself up onto his feet. His ribs protested at the movement and a wave of dizziness hit him. He clung to the wall to keep himself from falling over. He could feel Naomi watching him and he tried to pull himself together. He took a few tentative steps and then staggered. He heard Naomi cry out as he caught himself on the wall.

"It's okay," said Harry, panting as he leaned on the wall holding his side. "We'll just have to take it slow." The glow from the PADD lit Naomi's face from below, showing her pursed lips and furrowed brow. Harry agreed with her skepticism, but their options were limited. They could either stay waiting for Voyager and have the tunnel to cave in and bury them, or he could risk further injury by struggling down the tunnel for a chance at finding a way out. Waiting hadn't yielded any results so far. Harry gestured at the PADD. "Do you think you can carry that and light the way?"

He heard her blow out a deep breath before nodding. She turned to face the darkness, holding the PADD in front of her like a feeble lantern. Harry felt her small hand slip into his. He found the gesture surprisingly comforting as together they walked into the darkness.