The second and third challenges had been easy enough. A net to climb over and a pile of boulders to navigate. Matt and Asterism had taken the lead somewhere in the third challenge and Jim was determined not to let them keep it.
The two boys approached their forth challenge. A mound of earth rose up before them, blocking off their path. Jim sighed with relief as he spotted a crawl space at the base of the mini mountain. They wouldn't have to climb up and over after all. "You want to go first, or should I?"
Sy eyed the carefully constructed tunnel warily. "Can't say I'm much of a fan of small dark spaces."
"You want to go over?" Jim did not like the idea at all but he'd do what it took to get his partner through this.
Sy reluctantly shook his head. "You go first. Just go slow so I can keep a hand on your boot if I need." He swallowed hard as he admitted, "Getting buried alive is one of my worst fears."
Jim didn't really know how to handle the confession. Awkwardly he set a hand on Sy's shoulder and gave a small squeeze. "Well, uh, good job." He cringed inwardly at the praise. Sy thankfully didn't seem to mind. He simply nodded and set his jaw with determination.
Jim dropped to his hands and knees before the tunnel. The path was barely large enough for him to crawl through. Some of the larger cadets would have to squirm their way through on their stomachs. Anyone too big to fit would be going up and over. "This isn't so bad. At least we'll have a little room for movement. You ready?"
Sy took another deep breath. "Y-yeah. Let's get this over with."
Jim started forward at what he hoped was a reasonable pace. The silence in the tunnel felt almost oppressive. His mind raced with trying to find ways to keep Sy from focusing on the dark or how the walls pressed in at them from all sides.
"So, uh, Sy?"
"Yeah?" His partner's voice was strained.
"Why do the orcus galacticus swim around the spaceport near Montressor?" Jim strained his eyes for any hint of the end of the tunnel. He was certain the mountain wasn't that long, so why couldn't he see light?
"What?" Sy's confusion outweighed his fear for a moment.
"Why do the whales swim around the port?" Jim repeated.
"Well, uh, my father said that they're a protected species, so we're not allowed to remove them..." Sy trailed off into silence. A half second later he asked, "Why?"
Jim grinned. "Because there's not a whale-road station."
"Are you telling jokes?" Sy was incredulous.
"Yup." Jim chuckled to himself. The wall brushed his right shoulder and he angled himself so he was crawling straighter. "What do you get when you cross little green men and cell-coms?"
"Tell me." Sy was sounding a little more relaxed now.
"About a thousand phone calls all at once."
"That was bad." Sy giggled softly. "Better not let Commander Lightyear hear you making racist jokes."
"I'll just tell him to Buzz off."
Sy was laughing even more now. "Jim! You're going to get us both in trouble!"
"Alright, alright," he flinched as the wall scraped up against his left shoulder. "One more then. Let's see," he fell silent as he racked his brain for a really good joke.
Sy filled in for him. "Why do all the best actors come from Wonderland?"
"I don't know, why?"
"Because they're ruled by the drama queen of hearts."
Jim snickered and rolled his eyes. "You should lose your head for that one." He could hear Sy groan behind him.
"I think I can hear someone behind us."
"Probably, most of the other groups were not far behind. I see some light, though! The tunnel has to curve, because it's sort of to the left. We're almost out now." Jim could practically feel Sy's relief radiating off him. He picked up his pace a little more despite his newly aching knees.
Jim winced as he finally crawled into the sunlight. His body protested standing up but the pain felt good all the same. Sy was only seconds behind him. The two boys stretched out before orienting themselves towards the next challenge. Jim started forward, but his partner's voice stopped him.
"Hey Jim?"
"Yeah?" Jim glanced back over his shoulder at the younger cadet.
Sy gave him a shy smile. "Thanks."
