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reverses, and will remain clear for a time."
"Let us gamble, then. We face a crisis of another kind if we delay too long."
The crisis of a hungry Squam? Heem drew in his body, letting the water leak through the valve. He
wanted to drain the reserve rapidly, to give the vermin less time to discover the change.
This turned out to be no gentle flow. A fierce current manifested, tearing at their bodies. Heem tried
to slow it by spreading himself again, but was unable; already the grates were being shoved sidewise,
and he had to disengage quickly or be carried away himself. He flattened himself against the wall of
the valve instead, half surrounding the Erb. Something clamped painfully on his flesh, giving him a
taste-memory of his fight with Slitherfear on the Squam's machine-floater so long ago. He hung on as
the turbulence tore at him. All their tedious labor, about to go for nothing, as they got carried down
the conduit! Because of a single error of judgment on his part. 'Don't blame yourself, Heem,' Jessica
said. 'Nobody anticipated this.'
"But I am accustomed to fluid dynamics. I should have been careful!"
'How often have you dealt with minion-year-old sewer systems? We all make mistakes, especially
when we're in a hurry. Just hang on!'
He hung on, as she put it At last the turbulence eased. The water was returning to its original level,
though not to its original taste. The sediment had been swirled up and resuspended, changing the
flavor. Heem also tasted the juices of dead vermin, carried along by the current. At least something
had been accomplished.
He discovered that one of Sickh's pincers was clamped on his flesh. That was what he had felt, in the
melee. The grip was painful-yet he knew it had been desperation, for otherwise the Squam would
have been carried away. The Erb moved up toward the side tube. Heem started to follow-and was
balked by the Squam. 'She is unconscious,' Jessica said. 'Maybe drowned. We've got to get her out of
the water, Heem!'
Heem tried. The cable was gone, and the translation unit; he could not even ask the Squam to let go-
and if she did, she would be lost, for he could not carry her. He rolled forward, jetting forcefully
through the water, heaving her body around and over him. The water made her light; he could do it.
When she was before him, he rolled over her; no way to crush her armored body! Then another heave.
This was excruciating, but he was making progress. He wrestled Sickh around the corner and up the
exit tube. At last they emerged into air.
Windflower was there, but could not see them in the dark. Her tendrils ran over them worriedly,
finding the clamped pincers. Then she knew. Her drill formed, the hard point nudging into the pincers,
and suddenly they spread. Heem was free.
The Erb picked up the Squam's body with an effort of convolution, and shook it. Water dripped out of
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its orifices. Sickh stirred, responding weakly.
'She's alive,' Jessica said, relieved. 'It would have been terrible if she'd drowned.'
Heem had to agree. He would not have believed he would ever feel that way about a Squam, but of
course he had never interacted with a lady Squam before. This one had complimented him with
obvious artifice, yet he had been swayed.
Now they were here in the vermin-passage, without cable or translator. They had to go on. Heem
hoped there would be no more problems; the present ones were almost overwhelming.
Sickh recovered enough to slither. They moved forward as rapidly as they could. Heem led the way,
knowing that the Erb could no longer see, while his own perception was unimpaired; he could
discover any hazard in time to block her off from it. The Squam could perceive well too, but was not
strong now.
The vermin were gone; the flowing water had vanquished them. The water had also cleared the floor
of the passage somewhat, facilitating travel.
The passage inclined upward. They passed the water line and moved from damp to dry pavement, but
no rats came. Heem tasted their traces; many of them had scrambled past here, but they seemed to
have been terrorized by the pursuing water. A good sign.
They came to another great empty chamber, much like the first. They hurried across it, confident that
they were approaching another termination. They found the opposite passage, followed it past an
intersecting tunnel, and came at last to-
A chamber at the end, terminating in a blank wall. Just like the one they had broken into, beginning
this nether trek.
'A barracks, for sure,' Jessica said. 'Individual sleeping quarters, and a central mess hall-two units, for
two battalions, mirror images of each other, with a common drainage system. Only problem is, how
do we get out?'
"The Erb drills us a hole," Heem replied.
'Have you been watching Windflower lately? She's been without light a long time; she's wilting on her
roots. I don't think she can do it.'
To make it worse, the rats were returning. Perhaps these were strangers who had not encountered the
rising water, so remained bold. Fortunately there were fewer of them; foraging must be worse at this
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