Brandy did not respond.

As the water withdrew from around theirnecks and past their shoulders to their chests, the air became likesnow, chilling their dripping bodies until they were nearly numbwith cold. As it sank down his thighs and walking became easier,Albert pulled Brandy forward and walked behind her, trying his bestto warm her by rubbing her shoulders, knowing he was probably doinglittle to help, but trying anyway.

“Oh God,” Brandy stuttered as she steppedonto dry land, her arms wrapped around herself in a fierce hug,clutching the flashlight so tightly that her knuckles had gonewhite. “So cold.”

Albert dropped the backpack and pulled herinto his arms. Her skin was icy to the touch and he worried for herhealth. He did not know how close they were to hypothermia, andhe’d already done enough to the poor girl just by bringing her tothis twisted place.

“Freezing!”

“I know.” He looked back at the water they’djust crossed, back into the darkness that shrouded the dangersbeyond. The cold was bad, but he had a feeling it was far from theworst thing in these tunnels.

Chapter 12

“I’m sorry about your stuff.”

Brandy shook her head. “Not your fault.” Shehad dumped most of the contents of her purse onto the stone floorand was picking through them. Her cigarettes and lighter were bothruined, as was a small collection of gum, cough drops and breathmints. Much of her makeup was also among the casualties. But theworst was her cell phone, which was still on, was still glowing,but would probably be ruined long before it could dry. She shooksome of the water off it and then turned it off. There was nothingshe could do now.

“Do you have insurance on it?”

Brandy nodded. Thankfully she’d decided topay the extra couple of dollars a month for the protection planjust for such an emergency, but it was still a pain. She gatheredher belongings back into her purse, salvageable and ruined alike,and began to rub her hands over her arms and shoulders. The chillwas lessening, but it would not go away completely. The shiversremained, like unending aftershocks in the wake of a greatearthquake. She was beginning to think she might never be warmagain.

Albert closed and locked the box and put itback into his backpack. Its contents had remained dry throughouttheir frigid swim. “We should probably keep moving.” They had beensitting there for almost fifteen minutes now, warming up as well asthey could and listening for telltale splashes that would announcethe approach of their mysterious pursuer. “It’ll help us to staywarm if nothing else.”

He stood up and shouldered his backpack. Hehissed at the icy feel of its wet fabric against his naked back.Brandy stared up at him, her lovely eyes swimming over his nakedbody. She looked him up and down, actually looking at himfor the first time since he lost his clothes, and she did not carethat he saw her looking at him. Her eyes ultimately fell upon hisprivates. He was of a modest, but not unpleasing size, not bigenough to have hurt her in the sex room, thankfully, but certainlylarge enough. She saw that he was circumcised, and that he hadshriveled in the cold. She wondered what it would look like if hewere hot instead of cold, and what it would look like fully erect.In the insane lust of the sex room, she had not actually seen him.In fact, she barely remembered any details at all. It was nothingmore than a blur of insane and insatiable desire.

Albert felt uncomfortable. He watched her asshe stared at him, her expression nearly empty, as though she werestaring at some boring piece of art rather than at his personalanatomy. He wanted to turn away, to start walking up the slope andtoward the unknown that lay ahead, just to get away from thoseeyes, but he could not. He was easily as fascinated by her lookingat him as he was embarrassed by it. He wondered what she wasthinking. With all that had happened down here, he couldn’t imaginewhat she must be feeling. He could barely comprehend all the thingshe was feeling.

The truth of the matter was that she washardly thinking anything at all. Her head still hurt. Her shiveringhad only worsened the throbbing pain that she awoke with in the sexroom. More than anything she wanted to go home, to forget thishateful place and move on with her life. But at the center of allthis was Albert, and she still did not know what to think of him.Somewhere deep down, she believed—or maybe just wanted tobelieve—that he was as much a victim of that horrible room as shewas, but she still didn’t know him.

At last she shifted her eyes to his, herface still empty of any perceptible emotion, and nodded. She wasready. She stood up and slid the strap of her purse over her headand arm, still shivering.

They stood for a moment, looking at eachother with their teeth chattering and their skin covered withgooseflesh. Albert wanted to speak, but all of the words that cameto him were inadequate. He turned instead and looked into thetunnel ahead of them. Their destination waited up there somewhere,undiscovered, unknown. He was afraid of what was ahead. He wasafraid of what was behind. He was afraid to stay where they were.Yet he was intrigued. He was fascinated by what frightened him, asall people are to some small extent. All the answers lay there inthat mysterious darkness, all the answers to all his questions.Surely, they must be there. He was afraid, he was unsure, he wascold, but he needed to move on. The box. The statues. This wholeunearthly labyrinth. He wanted to know. But then again, who saidthere was a choice? There was no turning back now. There was no wayout but in.

Brandy took his hand and squeezed it.Another unspoken moment passed between them, and then they began towalk, leaving the cold pool of water and the mysteries before itbehind. They moved slowly, their muscles stiff from the cold,shivering and anxious, toward dangers much worse thanhypothermia.

Chapter 13

Albert expected to see another statuewaiting where this tunnel ended, but there was none. Instead, thetunnel made an abrupt, six-foot drop. It was almost identical tothose in the first room, from which a stone finger helped him tochoose. But this time there was only one choice. As he peered intothe darkness below, he wondered what the purpose to such a dropmight be. It seemed inconvenient, possibly even problematic, yetpointless. He remembered the two in the first room and againwondered what would have awaited them in the other tunnel.

“What’s wrong?” Brandy had seen the concernupon his face, had recognized it for the same expression he’d wornseveral times before, including when he saw the still surface ofthe water and realized that their pursuer was still behindthem.

“Nothing. Just wondering.”

“If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about youit’s that you don’t ‘just wonder.’”

Albert looked at her, impressed, buttrapped. “I don’t know. Just something odd about thisdrop-off.”

She peered down into it. Now she wasconcerned, too.

“I’ll go first. You stay back a little,okay?”

“Is it safe?”

“I don’t know. Probably. I’m a little onedge.” He bent down, planted his hand on the floor for support anddropped into the lower passage.

“Here.” Brandy knelt and held the flashlightout for him to take.

“You sure?”

She nodded.

He took the flashlight and turned back tothe tunnel ahead. It was only about five feet tall, forcing him toduck down and walk with his back hunched. He took several stepsforward and then stopped as his light fell on something that waslying on the floor, next to the wall.

Behind him, Brandy dropped down to followhim. “Wait up,” he warned.

“What’s wrong?”

Albert probed the tunnel with theflashlight, washing the walls, ceiling and floor with light, as faras it would reach, looking for something unusual, some crack orhole or crevice that might indicate some sort of trap.