“And then we can get high and forget our troubles,” she said dryly, pulling a small packet out of her back pocket to show him: the drug from Seti VI. “I guess they had no idea what this was, or they would have taken it too.”
“Or maybe they smelled it and decided to pass.” He managed a weak smile. His color was better now and he seemed more alert, which were promising signs, but a concussion didn’t always have visible symptoms. She’d have to watch him closely for a while. He looked around again, this time focusing much of his attention on the ceiling. “This tunnel isn’t just for transportation. It was designed to intimidate.”
“How so?”
He pointed to a section of ceiling. “See how that dips down in the center? That’s an old designer’s trick. It’s such a slight difference you don’t notice it consciously, but unconsciously you feel as if tons of rock are pressing down on you. Add a few fault lines, and the whole ceiling seems poised to collapse. Which suggests they put us in here to scare us. Structurally, it’s probably all stable.” He paused. “Probably.”
She stared at him.
“What? That doesn’t make sense to you?”
“No, it does. I’m just not used to people whose specialty is designing ominous spaces.”
He shrugged. “It pays the bills.” Using the wall to steady himself, he got to his feet, then reached up to touch the light fixture. It was too high for him to reach. “Give me a boost, will you?”
“What for?”
“If I can knock the cover loose, we might be able to break off some sharp fragments to use as tools. Or weapons. Hardly fancy, but better than nothing.”
She remained sitting. “You don’t need to do that, Micah.”
“They took our weapons away, Ru. That suggests something is going to happen where we might need them. Granted, this isn’t an ideal solution, but I don’t see any other materials to work with.” He spread his hands. “If you have a better idea, I’m all ears.”
In answer she bent her left leg in toward her, so that she could reach the bottom of her boot. A finger pressed on each side of the heel released the latch, and the sole swung open, revealing a shallow channel with a flat object wedged into it. She removed it and unfolded its origami-like outer shell to reveal a thin knife blade, then folded the shell in a different configuration to serve as its handle. She put the knife aside, reattached the sole, then moved on to her other boot. It was hard to open that one without using her injured hand, but eventually she managed, revealing a similar compartment. Inside this one was another knife, as well as two attached rings tucked into the hollowed-out heel. She took the rings out and pulled them apart, testing the thin strand that stretched between them. It glittered like a string of diamonds.
“A garrote?” he asked, incredulous. “You’re carrying a garrote?”
“Razorwire. Could be used as a garrote, I suppose. Also cuts through most common building materials. Though it does take a while to saw through metal bars. Sadly, I learned that the hard way.” She closed up her second boot, then offered him one of the knives. “The handle’s not very comfortable, but it indexes adequately and should do better than a broken shard of plastic. The blade is flexible, though, so you can slice with it, but don’t stab it into anything hard.”
He didn’t move. Just stared at her.
“Micah? You okay?”
“You . . . carry hidden knives and a razorwire garrote with you . . . all the time?”
“Of course. You never know when they might be needed.”
He stared at her for a moment longer, then whispered, “Marry me.”
She laughed. The sound drove back the darkness just a tiny bit. “For making me smile in this dismal place . . . I’ll consider it. Now . . .” She started to rise to her feet, and he moved quickly to offer her a hand. “I’m guessing,” she began, “that the core doesn’t have a lot of empty tunnels designed to intimidate people. Not enough space for that.”
“You think it’s the Oracle’s labyrinth.”
She nodded. “Seems likely.”
“But why would they leave us in here?”
“That’s the real question, isn’t it? Though not quite as pressing as ‘How the hell do we get out of here?’”
“Ivar said that people who go into the labyrinth don’t come out.”
“And he also said there were delusions involved. If that’s related to what we saw on Shenshido, and you were right about its being transmitted through the innernet, you and I should be safe.”
“Hopefully,” he said.
“Hopefully,” she agreed.
He held the origami knife up to the light, studying it from several angles. “The obvious first step is to explore the place, mapping as we go. No matter how complex a maze it may be, it can’t go on forever. Like you said, space in the core is limited. So methodical exploration should eventually bring us to an exit.”
“Except we have no water, so there is a deadline.”
“All the more reason to start immediately.” He looked over his outfit for a place to stow the knife, but seemed unsatisfied with his options. Finally he made two short slices in the front of his jacket, then slid the knife down through one and out the other. It was a good idea, and Ru’s jacket was already riddled with tears, so she did the same. The metal rings of the garrote she looped around two fingers of her left hand, wincing as she did so. “You all right?” Micah asked, concerned.
She flexed her hand to test it. It hurt like hell but seemed to be working all right. She had her wellseeker apply a mild painkiller. “Nothing I can’t deal with. You’re right, we need to get moving.”
“Our headsets can track distance and direction and assemble a map from that. Meanwhile, we’ll mark the walls as we go, for backup. That’s the first rule of dealing with a labyrinth: never trust your life to only one system.” Something about the expression on her face made him stop. “What? Is that not a good plan? Do you have a better idea?”
“It’s fine,” she said. “I was just reflecting on how glad I am that I have someone with me who is properly schooled in labyrinth management.”
“Says the woman who carries a razorwire garrote in her boot.”
She chuckled softly. “We are quite a team, aren’t we?” She looked down the tunnel. “So which direction do we try first?”
“I’d say let’s flip a cash chit, but our assailants seem to have taken all of those.” He held up the food bar in its folded wrapper. “Brand name up, we go that way.” He pointed down the corridor. “Ingredients, the other.”