The walk to the collapsed section takes forever.
Del can barely put weight on his knee. Not just painful. Structurally damaged. The joint won't hold. Keeps buckling.
Leans heavy on Tam. The young man is struggling. Del weighs more than he looks. Muscle hasn't completely wasted yet.
Blood drips from Del's face. From his nose. His mouth. His knee. Leaves a trail on the stone. Dark. Thick. Spreading in the dampness.
Workers watch them go. Conversations resume. Quiet. The violence is over. Entertainment done.
They reach the entrance to the collapsed section.
Dark. Cold. Water dripping from cracks everywhere. The temperature drops immediately. Maybe ten degrees. Del's breath fogs. He can see it. Gray mist. Each breath visible.
Tam is shaking harder now. His teeth chattering. "Are there really six more down there?"
Del doesn't answer. Trying to conserve energy. Every word costs breath. Breath costs pain.
"Del?"
"Yeah," Del says finally. "There's six."
Tam nods. Doesn't look convinced but doesn't argue.
They enter.
The route is dangerous. Collapsed ceiling in three places. Rubble piled high. Gaps between stones barely wide enough for a person.
Del's knee won't bend properly. Can't crawl. Has to drag himself. His damaged ribs grinding with every movement. Creating sounds inside his chest. Wet. Wrong.
Tam helps. Pulling. Pushing. Both of them gasping.
The young man's coughing gets worse in the bad air. Wet. Rattling. He spits. Blood-tinged phlegm. Wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
They reach a narrow passage. Maybe two feet wide. Ceiling low. Jagged. Have to crawl.
Del goes first. His knee drags behind him. Useless. Leaves a smear of blood on the stone. The walls scrape his ribs. Every inch forward is white agony.
Halfway through, he stops. Can't move. Just: frozen. Pain overriding everything else.
Tam pushes from behind. "Come on. We're almost there. Just a little more."
Del forces himself forward. Inch by inch. His vision is gray. Black spots appearing and spreading.
They emerge into a larger chamber.
The sealed chambers are here. Old-world construction. Still intact somehow. Doors sealed. Symbols embossed on the metal. Faded but visible.
Del's hidden cache is against the far wall. Under rubble. Careful placement. Hidden but accessible if you know where to look.
Eight containers.
That's all that's left after the two bait containers were found.
Tam sees them. Relief floods his face. "There! Eight! More than Vence said!"
He moves toward them.
Del grabs his arm. "Wait."
"What?"
"Need to check deeper. Make sure that's all of them. Don't want to come back up and have Vence say we missed some."
Tam looks at Del. At the eight containers. Back to Del.
"You said eight total. Two up top. Six down here. That's eight. Why would there be more?"
"Just want to be sure. Check the back chambers. Deep. Make absolutely certain."
Tam hesitates.
Del's grip tightens on his arm. Despite the pain. Despite everything.
"Stay here," Del says. "Guard these. Make sure nothing happens to them. I'll check deeper. Five minutes. That's all."
"I don't think—"
"Five minutes," Del says again. Harder. "If I'm not back, come find me. But guard these. Someone could come down. Steal them while we're both back there."
It's bullshit. No one's coming down here. But it sounds plausible.
Tam looks uncertain. Then nods. "Five minutes. Then I'm coming to find you."
"Fine."
Del moves toward the back of the chamber. Where the passage continues. Darker. More collapsed. More dangerous.
Disappears into the darkness.
The moment he's out of Tam's sight, Del moves faster. Ignoring the pain. Adrenaline taking over. Survival mode.
Reaches the eight containers. Opens four of them. Quickly but precisely.
Pours water from each into two empty vessels he's hidden here days ago. Doesn't empty the containers completely. Just: takes about 40% from each.
Four containers now have roughly 60% of their original clean water. The rest is empty space.
Del takes contaminated water from a puddle nearby. Not random. Specific puddle. He's tested this water multiple times over the past week. Bacterial contamination. Mild. No artifact signature. No chemicals. Just bacteria. The kind that makes you sick but doesn't kill you outright if diluted properly.
Fills the four containers back up. 60% clean water, 40% contaminated water.
Seals them carefully. Makes sure the seals look undisturbed.
Then takes the two vessels of pure clean water he just decanted. Pours each into empty containers he's also hidden here. Two more containers. Pure clean water.
Now he has:
- Four containers: diluted, 60/40 mix
- Four containers: pure clean water from the decanting
- Two containers: pure clean water sitting upstairs with Vence
Total: ten containers.
Del arranges them carefully. The four diluted ones in back. The six pure ones in front, easily accessible.
Works fast. His hands shaking badly now. Vision blurring at the edges. But precise. Exact measurements. Ratios calculated.
Takes maybe four minutes.
Returns to Tam.
The young man looks relieved to see him. "Find anything?"
"Yeah. Two more. Buried under rubble in the back chamber. Had to dig them out."
Tam's eyes widen. "Two more? So there's ten total now?"
"Yeah. Lucky. Must've hidden some and forgotten about them. Or couldn't reach them last time I was down here."
"Vence said eight total—"
"I said eight because I miscounted. These two were buried. Couldn't see them. But they're here now. More is better, right?"
Tam nods slowly. Still uncertain. "I guess. But Vence is going to be angry you miscounted again."
"Can't help what I didn't know. Come on. Help me carry them."
They start loading up. Tam takes four containers. Strong enough. Young.
Del can barely manage three. Has to drag one. His knee won't support the weight.
They'll need multiple trips.
First trip up: seven containers total.
The climb back is worse than going down.
Del's knee completely gives out halfway up. He falls. Hard. Containers crash together. None break but the noise echoes. Loud. Metallic.
He just lies there. Can't move. Vision going dark. Coming back. Going dark again.
Tam sets down his containers. Comes back. Helps Del up.
"Stay with me," Tam says. "Just a little more. We're almost there."
Del leans on him heavily. They continue.
Just a few moments left. Just a few. A few.
They emerge from the collapsed section carrying seven containers.
The crowd is still there. Waiting. Larger now. Word has spread. Maybe fifty people.
Vence sees them. Counts the containers. "Seven."
"Three more down there," Tam says quickly. "We couldn't carry them all. Too heavy. We'll go back."
Vence's eyes narrow. Looks at Del. "I said eight total. Now it's ten?"
Del nods. Can barely keep his head up. "Miscounted. Found two more buried deeper. Didn't see them before."
"Before it was eight. Now it's ten."
"I was guessing before. Scared. Being beaten. Said what I thought you wanted to hear. These two were buried deep. Completely hidden. Tam saw. He helped dig them out."
Vence looks at Tam.
Tam swallows. Nods. "It's true. They were buried. Under rubble. We had to dig."
Not exactly true. But close enough. Tam believes it. That's what matters.
Vence studies them both. Long moment.
Garrett is watching from the crowd. Silent now. His jaw working. Grinding teeth. He doesn't believe it. But he has no proof.
"Tam," Vence says. "Go get the other three."
Tam nods. Heads back down.
Del sits. Collapses really. Can't stand anymore.
The crowd watches him. Some with pity. Some with satisfaction. Some with calculation.
Returns maybe ten minutes later. Carrying three containers. Struggling. They're heavy. But he manages.
Sets them down with the others.
Ten containers total now.
The crowd murmurs. Excited. Hungry.
Vence opens one of the new containers. Sniffs it. Tastes.
His expression changes. Subtle. Very slight.
Opens another. One of the original two from upstairs. Tastes.
Different. Noticeably different.
His eyes narrow.
Opens a third. One of the pure ones from the new batch. Tastes.
Better than the diluted ones. Not as good as the original two.
He looks at Del. "These don't all taste the same."
Del's stomach drops.