Walt, guided by Alex, undergoes several experiences during his first day working in the mines.

Alex walked into Walt's room with a breakfast tray, and set it down on the table before unlocking the manacle enclosing Walt's ankle with a key. Walt got up, washed up in the adjoining room serving as his bathroom, and returned with an inquisitive face.

"Here's breakfast," Alex explained, "you will need it. Breakfast was primarily fruit and juice, with something that resembled oatmeal. When they were finished, Alex said, "Come, I will take care of the dishes later."

Walt had made up his mind not to cause any trouble this day. The Others were sure to be keeping a close eye on him somehow, possibly through Alex. Besides, this was going to be an opportunity to learn things, things that could be useful for a future escape attempt. He made it a point to learn all he could. Consequently, he obediently followed Alex down the corridor past his room, in the direction opposite from the entrance to the network of mine tunnels. They passed some more chambers, and at the end of the corridor eventually reached an opening into a large cavern. There were three more corridors exiting the cavern. Walt tried to maintain a sense of direction. If they had been walking mainly south, these new tunnels led east, south, and west. Near the center of the large room was a wheelbarrow filled with various tools.

"These will be your tools," Alex explained. Among them were a pickax, shovel, drill, hammer, and chisel, and a supply of water bottles. "Now come this way," she continued, and took Walt to a large stone with a small chunk of rock on it. "This is a sample of the mineral. Do you feel anything?"

"No," answered Walt.

"That is to be expected," replied Alex. "Now stand here, and let me know when you feel anything." With that, Alex strode away back in the direction whence they came. When she was fifteen meters away Walt called out,

"Hey, there's a strange humming in my head."

Alex continued for some distance, and returned. They found that the vibration in Walt's head increased in intensity until Alex was about forty meters away, and then leveled off.

"What was that all about?" asked Walt.

"As the Others told you, you have the ability to sense the mineral they need, but only when no one else is interfering, and when you have not been close to any infected person for a day. I have had plenty of exposure, but am not sick like they are. We needed to find out how far away I have to be in order for you to do your task. Now you know what it feels like to be in the presence of the mineral. You will walk the tunnels until you find some, and chip it out of the walls. You can carry the tools and ore samples back and forth in the wheelbarrow."

"Does this mineral have a name?"

Alex thought, "I don't remember the Others ever mentioning it. They might have some fancy scientific name for it. If you wish, I could ask them while you're working. Or perhaps you have a suggestion?"

"A mineral for the Others? Otherite? That's a stupid sounding name," opined Walt. But the whole situation was stupid, so maybe that was appropriate.

"All right, we'll start with the center tunnel," said Alex. With a not-too-pleased expression on his face, Walt went to the wheelbarrow, and wheeled it to the tunnel that he thought headed southward. This tunnel was about three meters wide and four meters high, and its floor and walls were surprisingly smooth. It was illuminated by a string of light bulbs along the ceiling.

"Hey, where do you get the power for these light bulbs?" asked Walt.

"The Others built a solar-powered generator. The panels are on the mountain where they can't be seen unless you're right on top of them. Solar power is quite efficient when one is near the equator."

"Any chance they could use some of that power to air condition this place?"

The attempt at humor was lost on Alex. In a serious emotionless tone she answered, "That would not be at all practical, the caves are far too big, and it is not necessary. If you are thirsty have some of the water."

Walt had been hoping Alex would show some emotion, some spirit, some reason for living beyond serving the Others. If she had been with them her whole life, they must have really influenced her mind in a negative way. Maybe some day he could do something about that.

Continuing his effort to acquire more information, Walt asked, "How did they make these walls so smooth?"

"The Others built a machine that did this. They have been here for many years, so they had plenty of time to do that. A benefit was that these tunnels are very stable. It would take a powerful bomb to cause them to collapse, and there aren't any such things down here."

"What does this machine look like? And does it do other things?"

"The Others prefer that I not discuss this with you. They are aware that your group has an idea that some sort of machine exists, but do not wish to provide any details before they are cured and leave this place."

"So you really think they'll let us go if I manage to find enough 'otherite' and they get cured?"

"The Others have always been truthful to me; I have no reason to doubt them."

Walt was pretty sure that wasn't the case, but wanted to get to know Alex better before he informed her of his opinion.

"All right, we have come far enough. I will leave you now. Find all the … otherite you can. You will figure out what method works best for you. Remember the sooner you have mined enough, the sooner you will be out of here. I will return when it is time for lunch." With that, Alex departed, leaving Walt alone in the tunnel.

As Alex left, the buzzing started again in Walt's head. It took him a few seconds to realize that more otherite was nearby. He walked up and down the corridor until he reached the place where the vibration was most intense, and then ran his hand up and down the wall to further localize the source. Then he took up the pickax, which was heavier than he had hoped, and started chopping away. He found that by placing the wheelbarrow under the ore's location it would catch most of the debris, instead of the debris showering his feet. He did some experimenting, placing his hand around the cavity in the wall to determine if any otherite remained, and by handling the pieces of rock, could tell which contained the valuable mineral. Satisfied that he had extracted all he could from this site, he proceeded farther down the corridor, but the buzzing was continuous.

"Duh, the rock containing the otherite is still in the wheelbarrow," Walt realized. Therefore he carried the ore-containing rocks back to the central cavern and set them on the floor, so that they would be out of range of his detecting ability once he was back in the tunnel. Back in the tunnel, he located two more deposits, and repeated the process. The heat and physical activity naturally made him perspire profusely, and he was grateful that he had been provided the ample supply of water. Suddenly Alex reappeared.

"It is time for lunch, let's go." She saw the collection of rocks Walt had accumulated, and added, "Looks like you have done a good job. We will take these back, and the Others will analyze them. Also, you look like you need to wash up. This way."

She led Walt to the west-leading tunnel, which turned out to be very short, and ended at an underground stream. It flowed southward, disappearing behind an iron grate.The waterwas only a couple decimeters deep, and Alex encouraged Walt to kneel in it and rinse himself off the best he could. Splashing his face felt very good under these circumstances. A towel was conveniently draped across a nearby rock.

That water was refreshingly cooler than the air, and rejuvenated Walt. "Where does that lead?" he asked.

"We believe it leads to an underground lake. It comes from the ocean, near where you first came in here. That grate will stop anyone from leaving or getting in here. Now let's go."

They returned to Walt's room. Alex disappeared somewhere with the rocks and empty water bottles, and returned with another meal on a tray. During the meal Walt described his experiences, and Alex seemed satisfied with the narration. When they were done Alex vanished again with the tray, and returned with a large supply of water bottles.

"You are expected to work eight hours a day, with an hour for lunch in the middle," she explained. "The Others will be able to tell if you are working hard enough by how much otherite you obtain. Now lets go."

So far Walt felt that he could handle this. When Alex left him this time, he did some exploring. Continuing down the south tunnel, he found several more tunnels intersecting it at right angles. There would be plenty of opportunity to find more otherite. When he had gained more trust from the Others and Alex, he would do a thorough exploration, and try to discover something that would aid in his escape or rescue. For today, he was content to prove he was reliable. He located eight more lodes of their precious mineral. One was nearly at the floor level, which proved to be quite awkward to mine. All in all, it was not a pleasant experience, but it was a whole lot better than being roughed up by those Others.

Alex showed up at dinnertime, and they pretty much repeated the process they had done at lunch. This time Walt had so many rocks that he used the wheelbarrow to transport them and the empty water bottles back to his room, leaving the tools at an intersection of mine tunnels. For dinner they had some good boar meat, and assorted vegetables. When they were done Walt started to get up, but failed at his first attempt. Alex noticed and stated, "Your muscles must be sore after using them so much in ways you are not used to. That has been anticipated. Please get ready for bed."

When Alex left this time, Walt found a new toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste on the table in his bathroom. He helped himself, realizing that of all places, this was the first time he had brushed his teeth for real in almost seven weeks. When Alex returned, Walt was sitting on his bed. "There was a toothbrush and toothpaste in there," he said pointing to the adjoining room.

"Yes, you would not be very useful to the Others if you got a bad toothache. They do not have a real dentist, so they would probably pull your tooth if necessary. They figure you would rather work in the mines than sit here suffering from a painful toothache, so please take care of your teeth. You will get other little presents like this as long as you cooperate."

Walt agreed that getting a toothache on purpose to avoid working in the mines would be a bad idea. Alex was sounding like a big sister again. "What other 'presents' might he get in the future?" he wondered.

"Okay now, lie face down," Alex instructed.

Walt almost automatically replied, "Why?" but remembered that he was going to stick to his plan of being obedient all day. Based on Alex's behavior all day, she wouldn't do anything to harm him. So Walt flopped down on his stomach on his bed. He was kind of irritated, but not too surprised, when Alex took his left wrist and snapped a manacle on it. But her next action did take him by surprise. Alex was gently rubbing his back. Almost in shock, Walt stammered, "Uh, you don't have to do that."

"Yes I do," came the reply. "The Others have ordered me to do so. They want you in the best possible physical condition for tomorrow. You won't be able to do much work if you're very sore. Just tell me what feels good."

Walt had to agree that this made sense. The logic was so simple; he gets a massage, and then can he do more work. Was this a good deal? The alternative was to do less work, but spend the next day with an aching back and shoulders. This was an easy choice. And after what he had been through the past three days, he certainly deserved this. This would make his captivity quite bearable. Wait a minute; the Others were probably messing with his mind again. They wanted him to think that this life wouldn't be so bad, and that he would give up the will to escape. But what should he do? Resisting at this point would give the show away, and he would just get into trouble. Maybe Alex too, for not convincing him to follow their orders, and he didn't want the Others to be upset at her. Certainly not after this life-restoring rubdown, which by now felt far too good to do anything that might jeopardize its continuation.

"Oh, just about my whole back, shoulders, and neck," was Walt's belated reply to Alex's query. "Everything you do feels good." Alex paid more attention to the captive's shoulders and neck, and heard some satisfied "aah's" in response. She noted that Walt had been very obedient today, but was not convinced he would remain so in the foreseeable future. She hoped that he wouldn't get the both of them in trouble. Her massage soon made Walt forget about everything else, and he drifted off to sleep in a manner much more pleasant than he imagined possible.