They stepped out of the hatch coming off of Pandemonium into a sharply descending tunnel that was almost entirely dead quiet. Outside of the dry, swift air of the ventilation tunnel, this tunnel was cold and the air felt damp. Peter could smell water.
The further they walked down the sloped tunnel, the quieter it became. Even the faint rush of wind from the Pandemonium tunnel had become inaudible and the only sounds left were their own breathing and footsteps.
These tunnels were similar to the ventilation tunnels, carved out of the bedrock and not simply part of the old New York tunnel systems that the Morlocks had moved into. This far down and with it so much quieter, he could feel the weight of the city pressing down on him. All the tons of rock above his head. New York itself, its streets and its cars, all weighing upon him in the dark and the velvet silence.
Where the other tunnels had candles or sporadic bare electric bulbs lighting the way, here, there was none of that. Caliban had fiddled with his phone and used it to cast a single beam of light ahead of them, but the rest was simply dark.
Caliban walked with a somber, silent air and Peter didn't feel like breaking the silence, even though his patience was growing thin as they walked ever deeper. A small part of himself was entertaining the thought that this was where Caliban dumped the bodies of the Morlocks who didn't work out.
Caliban snorted and said quietly. "You are thinking something rude."
"Are you a telepath?"
"I do not need to be. You do not have much of a poker face."
"Fair enough." Peter replied, then added after a contemplative silence. "I feel like you're taking me to places you don't normally take new recruits to. At least not ones who are still trying to decide if they're going to join."
Caliban flashed a quick grin. "You say this like you haven't already decided."
Peter shot him a sour look. "Seriously though. Are you showing me more stuff than you would to the usual new Morlock?"
"I am." Caliban admitted.
"Why's that?"
Caliban shrugged. "You already met Masque. That is about the ugliest thing we Morlocks have. There did not seem to be any point in hiding anything else."
Peter considered that for a long moment before asking once more, "Where are we going?"
"We are here." Caliban declared, stopping at a section of tunnel that had leveled out and had the floor, walls and ceiling painted in a red band. Bolted to one wall was a tarnished brass bell, with a rope coming out from beneath it. Caliban took hold of the rope and swung it quickly back and forth, setting the peals from it bouncing all around them.
Peter watched curiously. A few seconds after the silence had descended once more, there was another bell ringing sound, but this was a deeper note. Resonant noise that carried well in the tunnels.
Caliban hefted the sack of Tree-man Fruits over his shoulder and smiled. "It is safe to come closer now."
They began to walk and the smell of water came on stronger.
"Safe to come closer to what?" Peter asked after a moment.
"The Cistern."
"The article implies something particularly important about it?"
"It is a place where our water gathers. That is important." Caliban replied primly. "We are tapped somewhat into the storm drains and to the city's water reclamation. It is all stored down here to make it useable."
Peter looked at him curiously. "Useable how?"
"As we have been doing with everything else for how we survive down below. Powers." Caliban gestured, "Nimueh has an unfortunate gift that kills anything that is too close."
"How close is too close?" Peter asked, his tone worried.
"Around a one hundred yard radius. She can make it more when she tries."
Peter stared.
Caliban waved him off. "That is what the red line is for. That is the extreme limit of her power if she is standing closest to the tunnel entrance. When we sound the bell, she retreats to the far end of the Cistern chamber and rings the bell she has there."
"I see."
"Also, if you do get too close to her, you would feel sick and weak first and there will be plenty of time to crawl away before it kills you."
That doesn't sound as reassuring as you seem to think so."
"Caliban finds it comforting. But her aura kills smaller things faster than big ones. Very small things easiest of all."
"You're having her close to the water to kill off the germs." Peter realized.
"Yes. She has a small boat there and she paddles all around the water in the morning." Caliban nodded. "Along with some filtration systems upstream of the water collection, our water here is better than what the city gets."
"How do people get to the water, though? I can't imagine they'd have to take this long route every time they needed to pick some up?"
"The Cistern is directly under a well in one of the tunnels closer to the Alley." Caliban explained. "It is high up enough that it is well outside her range, so all that comes down are buckets on a rope. Sometimes they lower the scrubbed off cups and bowls down so they can be near her too, ensuring they are very clean."
Peter frowned. "Except she's stuck down here all the time."
Caliban nodded. "Unfortunately so."
"That's not fair." Peter finally said.
"Caliban agrees. But we deal with what we are given… and we do what we can to make her more comfortable." He shook the bag of fruit. "She has a lot in there to keep her occupied. They call down to her from the well room as well, so she's not entirely on her own." He gave Peter a level look. "We are doing what we can."
Peter nodded slowly. Less agreement with what was said and more in acknowledgement.
Caliban seemed to sense his mood and added, "Also it would be a bad idea to get into a fist fight with her, since you would probably die before you got close enough to throw the first punch."
Peter snorted a laugh. "I'll try to curb my impulses."
"See that you do." Caliban replied with mock gravity.
Peter was about to laugh once more when the feeling of being stalked as prey, though faint, came upon him. He could hear another set of feet clomping along leaving confusing echoes that cut through the oppressive silence.
"Someone's coming." Peter said.
Caliban squinted into the darkness behind them, turning his phone about to light up the tunnel in the other direction. Just outside the range of the light, the bell pealed. Within a few seconds, the deeper bell that was ahead of them tolled its deeper tone and the walking noises came closer.
"It is a friend," Caliban hurriedly told Peter. "Friends."
The light revealed a white cow, speckled with brown spots wearing a woven straw hat that had a band of flowers around it.
Sitting on the cow's back, riding it easily, was Sarah, the little girl with the bony protrusions that Peter had woken up to that morning. "Good afternoon, Caliban. Good afternoon Mr. Dumas. Callisto sent me to find you."
Peter blinked in surprise, first at the cow, then at the little girl. Then he looked towards Caliban. "I thought you said there weren't any cows down here." His tone was accusatory.
"Caliban told you there was not a lot of room for cows down here," The pale man replied primly, "Which is very true."
Sarah's voice was faintly petulant as she corrected Peter, "She's not a cow. This is Mrs. Penn."
"I… beg your pardon?" Peter asked slowly.
"Mrs. Penn is a part of our community as well, Dumas." Caliban said, his voice level and absolutely giving nothing away.
Peter nodded then eyed the bovine and wondered if she was some kind of shape shifter. Or this was just some strange, random Morlock joke. There was a twinkle in its big, dark eyes. The tunnel and her hat weren't making it easy to look in those eyes, but Peter made a go of it.
Maybe she's getting a kick out of this.
Mrs. Penn sniffed, wet nose twitching a moment before she sneezed, shaking her head and spraying Peter in the face with a fine mist of snot.
Or maybe that's just a cow.
"She likes you!" Sarah declared, delighted. It was probably the happiest Peter had ever heard the odd, bony girl, so he swallowed his retort, wiped his face with his sleeve, and forced a smile.
"Anyway, why was Callisto looking for us?" Caliban interrupted Sarah's enthusiasm.
"Oh, not both of you. She just wanted Dumas," Sarah replied. "Since he took down Sunder, she says he's gotta take his place in the supply run today."
Caliban chewed on his lower lip for a second in a definitely concerned sort of way. "I see. I believe you will have to go, Dumas."
Peter eyed Caliban for a long moment. "You sure?"
Caliban nodded. "I will still be visiting with Nimueh," He gestured vaguely into the tunnel. "Sarah, I am sure, can lead you back to the Alley."
Sarah smiled and pet the top of the cow's floral hat. "Mrs. Penn knows the way. You can follow her."
"Lead the way then," Peter replied, sounding more confident than he actually felt.