After lunch—precisely, a thin and slightly bitter wheat porridge—the group, led by Chadwei and Houser, was settled into the uppermost or rather the most isolated layer of the tunnel, not far from the nearest ground exit yet far from other local "residents"—Golov's violent intrusion had made them unwelcome.
Having undergone surgery, Catherine lay on her bedroll, deeply asleep, while Chadwei stood beside her muttering prayers softly, and Rolff remained in the corner, watching the scene with a complex expression. Dorothy set up the stove and boiling pot, while Great Aunt Gadama, hands on hips, directed Vonyak and Bobo in setting up the rest of the bedrolls, puffing and panting. Golov, meanwhile, rummaged through a pile of old goods or rather trash, desperately searching for a weapon.
"That's all you managed to pry from her mouth?"
By the stove, Sherryl and Thales spoke in hushed tones, the former exasperatedly questioning the boy:
"A silly nickname—'Losang II'?"
