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a faint blue glow from Garrett's rifle. As an uneasiness rippled through his stomach like a snake slithering through grass; he kept anxiously glancing back as the light dimmed, then blackened.
       "Hey, Ramon," he said as he adjusted the fit of his backpack. "What are your thoughts on Garrett bringing that damn rifle down here?"
       Ramon put his finger up like an idea had just popped into his head. "Actually, I think now it was a good idea."
       "You do?"
       "Yup. You never know when you'll need to particle pulse something. Renata could sure use a good pulsing, don't you think?"
       "Get serious," said Hunter. "And speaking of Renata, you need to lay off her. Okay?"
       "Come on. You know you love to watch that face of hers turn blazing red."
       "I said to quit riling her up. You're going to give that poor woman a heart attack. It wouldn't hurt if you showed her a little respect now and then. In fact, consider that an order."
       "Seguro," said Ramon, nodding. "No soy niño. Piensas en nada más que hacer el amor con ella. Sé."
       "So, why is Garrett acting like a cat on a prowl? Is he waiting for something to happen so he can try out his rifle?"
       "It already has," said Ramon.
       Hunter's brow rose. "It has?"
       "Junior Miss In-Security. A very nice ass-set to our group, don't you think?" He laughed.
       Hunter cringed. Sometimes holding a serious discussion with Ramon was like beating one's head with a hammer, but Hunter knew inside the jokester was an astute observer.
       "I can tell she doesn't know crap about speleology though. Seems more like management to me than security."
       Hunter smiled. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. "She is management—an Iob. Came out about a year ago. From Earth."
       "An Iob," said Ramon, sounding perturbed. "Hmm. That's a good thing to know. Thanks for the tip, amigo. And now a tip for you. Either Garrett's having flashbacks to his North African days, expecting a crazed trooper to jump out of a side passage, or he's waiting for that monster he's pulled out of his ass. Which one it is, I have no idea."
       "I wish he wouldn't have brought up that Severon crap. I think he's got some of the group spooked…like Arielle."
       "Arielle's spooked? What are you talking about?"
       "Haven't you noticed? She seems uptight."
       "Oh," said Ramon, then he shrugged. "So?"
       Realizing Ramon was going to be of no help at all in figuring out what was going on with Arielle, Hunter turned and called back to her. "Hey, Arielle! You got a moment?"
       Arielle took about twenty quick steps and moved up beside Ramon. "What's up? Did you find more of those banded rocks?"
       "No," said Hunter. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something else I've noticed. You seem a bit nervous. Is there something bothering you?"
       "What makes you think that?" She stopped hiking.
       Ramon and Hunter stopped as well.
       "Just routine observations," said Hunter.
       Arielle began twisting strands of hair around her index and middle fingers as she stared at Hunter's face in silence.
       Hunter glanced at Edison, Devon, and Trent as they walked past them, and he noticed Trent giving Arielle a curious look. Something was going through Arielle's mind—Hunter was sure of that.
       As the standoff between Arielle and Hunter continued, Ramon finally broke the silence. "Well, is someone going to say something, or are we going to stand here forever?"
       "What? Lost your way already, Ramon?" asked Renata as she came up on them. Isis and Richelle were hiking beside her.
       Isis giggled.
       "No offense, Ramon, but I'll take the lead now," said Renata. "Which is how it should have been in the first place. Right, Hunter?"
       Isis giggled again.
       "I'll tell you why I'm nervous," said Arielle abruptly. "Something's going on. Something's always going on."
       "What are you talking about?" asked