There was only darkness in the cave when Peter finally regained consciousness, even though it was midday. Tam was sitting beside him holding a light stick. The strong green glow illuminated the cave quite well. Red and Sy were still lying still on the ground as he had remembered seeing them earlier. Tam said, "Finally, you're awake. Are you okay?"
He shook his head trying to clear it a bit and replied, "I think so. How long have I been out?"
"Less than an kyloon I think."
"Are Red and Sy alive?"
"Yes. They're both breathing. Hopefully they'll wake up soon. I tried to wake them a little while ago, but didn't have any luck."
"Did you try the communicator?"
"Yeah, we're too deep down here to get a signal out."
"Great. Do we have a map of the mine?"
"No, I looked around. There's nothing down here. All the mine records must have been kept topside."
"We've got to get out of here before nightfall or our timetable is going to be all screwed up."
"Screw the timetable. I just want to see daylight before we run out of air."
"What do you mean? Isn't there an air shaft?"
"Yes, but it collapsed during the rocket attack."
"Wonderful!" Peter exclaimed. . . ."Have you done any exploring? Is there another way out of here, you think?"
"No, I didn't want to leave you alone. Plus, it would be pretty easy to get lost down here. There are dozens of shafts going every which way."
"Ahhhh," Red moaned, struggling to sit up. "What happened?"
"Thank God," Peter said. "The chopper nailed the entrance to the mine with a half dozen missiles. We're buried under tons of rock."
"Oh, Sandee! Now what are we going to do?"
"There may be another entrance to the cave. That's what we’re hoping for. We still have some air, so there must be an open shaft somewhere."
"Is Sy okay?" Red asked.
"I don't know. He's been out for over a kyloon," Peter replied.
"I've got some conscious scents in my first aid kit," Red said and then started fumbling in his backpack. A moment later he pulled out a small box and opened it. "Here they are."
Red opened a small packet, took out a small tube and broke it apart. He stuck one end in front of Sy's nose. Sy's head jerked away and his eyes opened. He sneezed and said, "What the—"
"Sy, you okay?" Red asked.
"Huh?" he replied.
"Do you know where you are?" Peter asked.
Sy looked around and said, "Well, it's not hot enough to be Hell, so I guess it must be Shaft 22?"
"Good. You still have a sense of humor. You must be okay. . . . Do you remember the explosion?"
"Vaguely. How long have we been in here?"
"I'm not sure. I'd guess it's about noon outside," Peter replied.
"Only noon. Then we have a little time to find our way out of here," Sy said optimistically.
"Right," Peter said. “But first, do you have some of that Painfree. My arm is killing me.”
“Let me look at it,” Red said and scrawled around to get a good look at the wound. “Hmm. You’ll need more than Painfree. I’ll need to clean this and then I can rub on some mending cream. It will take away the pain and heal the wound. You’ll be good as new in 27 kyloons.”
“Good. It really hurts.”
In the dim green light Red cleaned the wound, applied the mending cream, and then bandaged the arm. “Okay, all done. Let’s get going.”
"Right,” Peter replied. “The only question is: which way do we go?"
Tam replied, "Follow the air."
"How the heck do we do that?" Red asked.
Tam pulled out another light stick and cracked it against the rock wall to his left. The stick instantly began to glow. He knelt down and picked up a handful of fine dust from the floor of the shaft. He held his hand up and then let the dust drop. The fine dust fell but not straight down. A slight breeze was blowing it away from them. "There must be a opening up ahead where air is entering. Let's go."
Tam led the way and they all followed; Tam in the lead, Sy right behind him, then Red, and Peter bringing up the rear. They walked in the darkness for what seemed kyloons with no sign of an exit from the mine. At each junction, Tam dropped to his knees and tested the wind. Each time the direction they should take seemed clear, but as they walked on endlessly there was still nothing but eerie darkness.
As time wore on, Peter reminded his companions that they hadn't slept since the sun had set the previous day. They had to stop and rest or they'd eventually collapse from fatigue or lose their ability to think clearly. Reluctantly, all agreed and they stopped to rest. Peter immediately fell asleep and as his head hit his makeshift pillow, the rhutz appeared once more in his dreams.