What became of Carl and Cameron as well as Philbert and the rest became a mystery to Max and Mark, who had somehow managed to avoid being caught by the bugs and avoided pursuit. Unfortunately, they were now completely lost.
“Quiet,” Max whispered to Mark, as he stopped running and listened. His heart was pounding so heavily that all he could hear other than silence was the blood rushing through the veins in his ears.
Mark stood still and listened. Silence answered their silence.
“Where did everyone else go?” Mark asked.
“They must have gone down another tunnel. Damn these tunnels for being too dark to see where we are running to,” Max said with a connotation of frustration. “I think we at least lost the bugs. Hopefully so did the rest of them.”
They paused a bit longer to catch their breath.
“Well, which way should we start walking?” Mark asked.
“When you get lost, you’re supposed to maintain your current position so that those searching for you will be able to find you more easily. If we move we may miss Philbert and the rest of them,” Max responded.
“Usually I would agree with that, however there are also bugs looking for us. I’d rather keep moving and not get caught by the bugs than wait around here,” Mark responded. “We’ll probably run into them later anyway. How big can this tunnel system possibly be?”
“Ok, pick a direction,” Max said.
Mark started walking straight ahead, and down another dark tunnel. Max followed, glancing behind them every so often and listening for signs of pursuit. He heard nothing.
Chapter Eight
Max woke lying on a cold metal floor, hands bound behind him. He did not remember how he got on the ground, nor how his hands became tied behind his back. Rolling over, he saw Mark lying on the floor as well. Upon closer inspection of his surrounding environment, he realized that he was in some sort of holding cell. Carl and Cameron were also there lying on their backs, on the other side of a row of bars that divided the room into two.
He sat up, then tried to stand, only to slip and fall back down. The floors were nearly frictionless.
Looking around some more, he saw that Mark and his spacesuits they had been wearing, along with the helmets they carried and supplies, were not in sight. On the far wall was a rather heavy looking door, with only a slit at eye level letting in a bright ray of light that illuminated a path through the dark room and stopped at a bright patch on the shiny floor.
Noticing Max had woken up, Carl spoke, “They got you too?” was the question he asked.