I ran back the way we had come.

Had I ever told him about my mother? No, I hadn't. I had to escape from him as soon as I could. What a creepy experience. Where had he come from? I felt like I was in the real underworld.

I returned to an underground lake that we had passed the day before. The water was still clear and calm. A smooth white rock stood in the middle of the lake, looking like a beautiful little island.

I heard echoes, maybe from a distant thump of an explosion. A small-scale rockfall might have occurred away from here. After a few minutes, the sounds stopped, and the silence came back.

I went down to the shore and drank my fill of water, and then I couldn't move. How many minutes had I been running?

After the lantern turned off, I took a little break there, wondering where I should go on my way home. I had to find another explorer besides him to help me survive.

For a while, I watched as rippling waves came up to the water's surface.

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Suddenly, blinding light beams penetrated the surface, and several dark figures emerged from the water. The lights illuminated my body, and I covered my face with my arms.

"I found you!" somebody shouted, and I was quickly knocked down by a punch.

"No, we're wrong," another voice said. "Where is she?"

"She?"

A second punch hit me. Three armed men in dark diving suits were standing around me.

"Who are you, boy?"

Immediately, I could tell they were looking for somebody else, not me. Their words had a strong regional accent. Meccanians?

"I... I've lost my way..." I decided not to say anything about the strange boy I had met.

"Did you reach such a deep area by yourself?"

"Please, lead me out of this place. I have lots of sketches and maps of the ruins in my room. I'll give them to you if you—"

One of them laughed at me. "Poor Imperial boy," a younger voice said—the one trampling my back.

The older one standing by my head scoffed and said, "We need no amateur tour guides."

With my head still on the ground, I glanced at the third man, who was crouching and pulling on a rope by the water. A flashlight shined in my face once more.

"I'm asking you again, have you seen anyone else near here?" one demanded.

"No, never. I've just strayed—"

"Unfortunately, you won't be making it back to your room. You've seen our faces."

The older man started to walk around, and then picked up the dropped lantern. "Oh, this was not made in the Empire. Who gave it to you?"

"OK, OK," said the younger one, who seemed pleased to hear it.

"Where is she? I want to try my new knife—"

"Noooo!"