Their progress was slow. Debris littering the floor of the dank tunnel was making footing treacherous. Here and there were patches of mud and foul-smelling puddles that they took care to avoid. Each jarring step Harry took caused pain to shoot up his torso and he could only go for a few minutes at time before needing to stop and catch his breath.

It was during one of these breaks that Naomi broke the oppressive silence. "Do you think my Mommy is okay?"

"Sorry, what?" Harry had been trying to distract himself from the pain by estimating their distance traveled and hadn't registered what she said.

"My Mom. Do you think she okay?"

A bolt of realization struck him. Prior to now, she hadn't mentioned her mother, but she must be missing her terribly. By all rights, the little girl should have been a hysterical mess. Yet here she was, after suffering a terrifyingly violent event and sitting alone in the dark for hours, leading an injured man she hardly knew through tunnels that could collapse on them at any moment. Harry was impressed by her courage. He squeezed her hand.

"I'm sure she's fine."

"What makes you think so?"

"Well, we're okay, right? Why wouldn't she be too?"

Naomi considered his logic for moment then squeezed his hand in return. "Ready to keep going?"

No, was the answer Harry wanted to give, but instead he hauled himself to his feet and started to stagger forward. He figured that they must gone at least a kilometer down the tunnel. It surprised him that they hadn't come across a maintenance access port yet, but then, it was difficult to judge distance in the dark, and they had been moving very slowly.

The hand he had been running along the wall to guide and steady himself suddenly met with empty air and he fell sideways, barely managing to catch himself before landing on his face. The gap was another tunnel branching off.

Naomi shone the PADD into the gloom in both directions. "Which way?"

Harry hesitated. Their chances of finding a way out would be best if they were in the main tunnel, if there was such a thing. But both the tunnels looked the same. "I guess it doesn't matter. We should probably keep going straight."

Naomi struck out into the dark holding the PADD with both hands in front of her. Harry lurched behind her with one hand on the wall and other holding his ribs.

It was impossible to judge distance or pace. Even if Harry had been in top form, he would have found it difficult to estimate their progress in the darkness. Injured, he had to focus his full mental capacity, diminished as it was, on holding himself upright and watching his footing. The PADD's faint glow was barely enough to show the dim outlines of the rocks, holes, and water at their feet. The pair stumbled often, banging their shins on pipes and debris. Every now and then Naomi would sniff or hiccup. Harry knew she was crying but the effort to think up something comforting to say was too much for him. He didn't think he could keep moving much longer.

Naomi stopped short in front of him "There's something up there."

Harry looked up. It was hard to see, but somehow the blackness head of them had a different aspect to it. A few more steps forward and the mystery was solved. The tunnel ahead had collapsed and was blocked with rubble.

Harry sagged against the wall as he watched Naomi poke at the blockage. She dug at the rocks, wiggling and pushing thing. The wall was solid. She turned around and looked down at Harry where he had sunk to the ground.

"What do we do now?"

Harry sat with his arms wrapped around himself, clenching his teeth as the world spun around him. He shut his eyes and tried to breathe.

"Mr. Kim?" Naomi crouched beside him and put her hand on his arm. "Mr. Kim, are you all right?"

His heart was racing and he couldn't catch his breath. His head felt like it was going to split open. "I'm all right. I'm just tired." If he said it out loud, maybe it would make it true.

"What should we do?" she asked again.

"The intersection," he hissed out between clenched teeth. "We go back and take the other tunnel."

Naomi sighed. She didn't want to walk all the way back, but it was the only thing to do. "All right." She stood and held out the PADD, ready to head back down the tunnel. Harry reached out and caught her hand.

"Hold on. I need…I just need…give me a minute."

Naomi squatted back down. "Mr. Kim, are you sure you're okay?"

"I just need a minute," he answered, then slumped back unconscious.