The descent consumes the next three hours.
At times, it is something of an ordeal. As your explorations continue, Cormac insists on conserving the batteries of the flashlights and only using them occasionally. The rest of the time, you must feel your way through with your hands extended out in front of you.
There are times when the way ahead becomes extremely narrow, and you have to squeeze yourselves one by one through the gap, pressing your body against the soft, fleshy fruiting bodies of the fungi on the walls, feeling them burst softly, staining your clothes and skin. It is hard not to picture getting stuck at times such as this, a hundred tons of rock pressing down on you and trapping you there to slowly fossilize.
At such moments, one or another of the others will make noises about simply going back. Even Claudia is less keen than she was. But Cormac urges everyone on. He seems thrilled and excited by your surroundings, his eyes seeming to glow green in the sporadic light from your flashlights.
How are you reacting?
I share Cormac's excitement.
I am trying to repress my own feelings of unease.
I am simply staying focused on the immediate situation.
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