Nine
They stopped.
Scott could tell by Virgil's posture that something was wrong. "What's the problem?
"We've reached a tricky bit."
"Describe it to me."
"Okay Scott. That last explosion has blown out a big chunk of the corridor. The river's flowing through the hole. The floor has subsided here by about 10 metres. The water is flowing pretty fast and rising. I can't see any way around from up here. We could possibly clamber down and try to edge our way around, but there isn't much in the way of foot and hand holds."
"Oh great."
"It gets worse."
"How?" Scott had a feeling that he didn't really want to know.
"I can see The Mole on the other side of the river."
"We're that close!"
"We're that close. If only I hadn't lost the pack! I could have rigged up a flying fox."
"Don't blame yourself. It's just not our lucky day."
Virgil groaned.
"What?" Scott asked dreading the answer.
"I can see the pack floating down the river. Out of reach of course!"
"You're kidding. Then where we were doing all that jumping around the floor must have only just been millimetres thick! The river must have been right under our feet!"
"Yeah. Lucky weren't we." Virgil said dully, feeling despondent. Then he shook the feeling off.
"So we're stuck." Scott was exclaiming. "There's one more generator that can still blow, we don't know of any exits behind us, and we can't go ahead!"
"Not necessarily. If I could climb down, I could see if there is a way around. I don't want to attempt getting you down there until I'm sure it's a viable route."
"Virgil!" Scott had come to a decision "Leave me. Go on. Save yourself!"
"Don't be daft Scott"
"I'm serious. I'm only holding you back. If it works you will have an opportunity to get The Mole and come back to save me. At least alone you've got a chance to save yourself."
"And if I do, but I can't save you? Do you think I could face our family, knowing that I'd left you to die? Do you think I could live with myself?"
"Do you think I could live with the fact that I killed us both, if you stay with me?"
Scott heard a touch of amusement in Virgil's voice. "You're not thinking clearly. You're not going to be living if we're both dead."
"You know what I mean."
The serious tone returned to Virgil's voice "And what if our roles were reversed. If I couldn't see and you were leading me. If I told you to leave me. Would you?"
A sheepish look crept over Scott's face. He knew he'd been beaten. "No."
"Case closed then. We stick together." He looked about again. "Having just said that, I'm going to have to leave you here while I scout about. Are you okay with that?"
"I'll have to be. Would I be okay sitting here?"
"You should be. You're far enough away from the subsidence. I'm going to see if it's possible to climb down and if there's exits closer to the water."
"Better let John know what we're doing."
"Okay."
John listened to the plan. "Sounds risky Virgil."
"You know me. I don't take unnecessary risks..."
"What about necessary ones?" John interrupted.
Virgil ignored him. "...If we can continue heading in this direction at least we know we can get out. Our only other option is to go through parts of the complex where we haven't been before and hope to find that ventilation shaft the scientists used."
"Okay. Leave your communicator on full mode. I want to keep track of you."
Virgil smiled but remained serious. "Okay John. I'm switching to full mode now."
John watched his monitor as the view changed to show what was visible from the tiny video camera mounted in the face of the watch. The picture panned around, tracking quickly over Scott's blue sash and then reversed its course. It moved for a bit and then stopped as Virgil hesitated at the top of the chasm. The picture swung back and focused for a moment on Scott, and John heard Virgil say, "You still okay Scott?" Scott replied in the affirmative, and then the picture started descending.
John switched his attention from the video feed and confirmed that he was receiving the location signal that the powerful transmitter in Virgil's watch was sending out. So far everything seemed to be working perfectly.
Scott sat on the hard, dusty floor. He'd misjudged how much he'd depended on Virgil's voice and touch to keep him grounded. Now with nothing else to occupy his mind, he started brooding on what life would be like if the blindness was permanent. He didn't like what he was seeing. All his adult life he'd been a pilot, and as a child it was all that he'd dreamed of doing. But if there was one thing that a pilot needed it was good vision. Life wouldn't be worth living if he wasn't able to soar like a bird...
'Come on Scott!' he chided himself. 'You can't think like that. You're probably worrying for no good reason. Think of something else. Listen for Virgil. He may need your help."
With an effort he redirected his attention to the sounds of Virgil climbing down towards the water...
***
It WAS risky, Virgil had to admit as the narrow pathway down crumbled under his feet, but the alternative was just as risky. He was pretty sure that he would be able to descend safely himself, but was beginning to have doubts that Scott would be able to negotiate the narrow ledge. Hopefully he'd be able to find another, safer route once he reached the bottom.
He stopped to evaluate the path ahead, feeling the cold air from the surface of the water against his face, and took the opportunity to check on his brother. "Are you okay Scott?" he yelled.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Scott's voice was barely able to be heard above the rushing waters.
Virgil took a firm hold of a rock that was embedded in the wall and pulled to test that it wouldn't give way. It held firm. Keeping his grip on the rock he stepped down...
The ground beneath his feet gave way. The rock unable to withstand the sudden downward force came loose and Virgil found himself descending to the waters below much quicker than he'd intended.
***
John had been updating base with Virgil's activities when he became aware that the picture in the video monitor was moving much faster than it should have been. Ignoring his father he changed channels. "Virgil! What's happening?"
All of a sudden the picture stopped moving. The video monitor was in darkness. Frantically John adjusted the brightness and contrast until he convinced himself that he was still receiving a picture from the watch. Worryingly the picture hadn't moved. "Virgil!" he shouted again. "Answer me!"
They stopped.
Scott could tell by Virgil's posture that something was wrong. "What's the problem?
"We've reached a tricky bit."
"Describe it to me."
"Okay Scott. That last explosion has blown out a big chunk of the corridor. The river's flowing through the hole. The floor has subsided here by about 10 metres. The water is flowing pretty fast and rising. I can't see any way around from up here. We could possibly clamber down and try to edge our way around, but there isn't much in the way of foot and hand holds."
"Oh great."
"It gets worse."
"How?" Scott had a feeling that he didn't really want to know.
"I can see The Mole on the other side of the river."
"We're that close!"
"We're that close. If only I hadn't lost the pack! I could have rigged up a flying fox."
"Don't blame yourself. It's just not our lucky day."
Virgil groaned.
"What?" Scott asked dreading the answer.
"I can see the pack floating down the river. Out of reach of course!"
"You're kidding. Then where we were doing all that jumping around the floor must have only just been millimetres thick! The river must have been right under our feet!"
"Yeah. Lucky weren't we." Virgil said dully, feeling despondent. Then he shook the feeling off.
"So we're stuck." Scott was exclaiming. "There's one more generator that can still blow, we don't know of any exits behind us, and we can't go ahead!"
"Not necessarily. If I could climb down, I could see if there is a way around. I don't want to attempt getting you down there until I'm sure it's a viable route."
"Virgil!" Scott had come to a decision "Leave me. Go on. Save yourself!"
"Don't be daft Scott"
"I'm serious. I'm only holding you back. If it works you will have an opportunity to get The Mole and come back to save me. At least alone you've got a chance to save yourself."
"And if I do, but I can't save you? Do you think I could face our family, knowing that I'd left you to die? Do you think I could live with myself?"
"Do you think I could live with the fact that I killed us both, if you stay with me?"
Scott heard a touch of amusement in Virgil's voice. "You're not thinking clearly. You're not going to be living if we're both dead."
"You know what I mean."
The serious tone returned to Virgil's voice "And what if our roles were reversed. If I couldn't see and you were leading me. If I told you to leave me. Would you?"
A sheepish look crept over Scott's face. He knew he'd been beaten. "No."
"Case closed then. We stick together." He looked about again. "Having just said that, I'm going to have to leave you here while I scout about. Are you okay with that?"
"I'll have to be. Would I be okay sitting here?"
"You should be. You're far enough away from the subsidence. I'm going to see if it's possible to climb down and if there's exits closer to the water."
"Better let John know what we're doing."
"Okay."
John listened to the plan. "Sounds risky Virgil."
"You know me. I don't take unnecessary risks..."
"What about necessary ones?" John interrupted.
Virgil ignored him. "...If we can continue heading in this direction at least we know we can get out. Our only other option is to go through parts of the complex where we haven't been before and hope to find that ventilation shaft the scientists used."
"Okay. Leave your communicator on full mode. I want to keep track of you."
Virgil smiled but remained serious. "Okay John. I'm switching to full mode now."
John watched his monitor as the view changed to show what was visible from the tiny video camera mounted in the face of the watch. The picture panned around, tracking quickly over Scott's blue sash and then reversed its course. It moved for a bit and then stopped as Virgil hesitated at the top of the chasm. The picture swung back and focused for a moment on Scott, and John heard Virgil say, "You still okay Scott?" Scott replied in the affirmative, and then the picture started descending.
John switched his attention from the video feed and confirmed that he was receiving the location signal that the powerful transmitter in Virgil's watch was sending out. So far everything seemed to be working perfectly.
Scott sat on the hard, dusty floor. He'd misjudged how much he'd depended on Virgil's voice and touch to keep him grounded. Now with nothing else to occupy his mind, he started brooding on what life would be like if the blindness was permanent. He didn't like what he was seeing. All his adult life he'd been a pilot, and as a child it was all that he'd dreamed of doing. But if there was one thing that a pilot needed it was good vision. Life wouldn't be worth living if he wasn't able to soar like a bird...
'Come on Scott!' he chided himself. 'You can't think like that. You're probably worrying for no good reason. Think of something else. Listen for Virgil. He may need your help."
With an effort he redirected his attention to the sounds of Virgil climbing down towards the water...
***
It WAS risky, Virgil had to admit as the narrow pathway down crumbled under his feet, but the alternative was just as risky. He was pretty sure that he would be able to descend safely himself, but was beginning to have doubts that Scott would be able to negotiate the narrow ledge. Hopefully he'd be able to find another, safer route once he reached the bottom.
He stopped to evaluate the path ahead, feeling the cold air from the surface of the water against his face, and took the opportunity to check on his brother. "Are you okay Scott?" he yelled.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Scott's voice was barely able to be heard above the rushing waters.
Virgil took a firm hold of a rock that was embedded in the wall and pulled to test that it wouldn't give way. It held firm. Keeping his grip on the rock he stepped down...
The ground beneath his feet gave way. The rock unable to withstand the sudden downward force came loose and Virgil found himself descending to the waters below much quicker than he'd intended.
***
John had been updating base with Virgil's activities when he became aware that the picture in the video monitor was moving much faster than it should have been. Ignoring his father he changed channels. "Virgil! What's happening?"
All of a sudden the picture stopped moving. The video monitor was in darkness. Frantically John adjusted the brightness and contrast until he convinced himself that he was still receiving a picture from the watch. Worryingly the picture hadn't moved. "Virgil!" he shouted again. "Answer me!"