Cave-In!

I'm sorry."

Bernice smiled, the expression genuine, though thin and weary. "No need. I'd be lying if I said it hadn't occurred to me. Let's go."

Five minutes later, they knew it was hopeless. The only other pressure suit was spotted by Bernice. The unfortunate miner's visor had been cracked by falling rock, and the remains were not identifiable. Bernice had to control herself sternly to keep from throwing up in her helmet. The idiots would look up in a rockfall! When she had the reflex under control, she checked his oxygen supply. Empty. The suit had tried to stay inflated, and all the precious gas had been lost to vacuum.

Lisa was sniffling in her helmet as they walked back to the injured Lawrence. Understandable, Bernice decided, and forebore to comment.

"What now?" the younger woman asked.

"We sit very quietly, use as little oxygen as we can, and wait for help. If Lawrence wakes up, he'll need more morphine. Your aid kit intact?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then we'll have enough to last. One way or another."

The two women settled down with their backs to the rocky walls of the tunnel.

There was a long silence, broken at last by Lisa. "Okay if we talk a little?" she asked.

Bernice almost answered in the negative, thinking of their oxygen supply, but a trace of pity touched her when she realized that her younger companion could not bear the silence. "Sure," she said at last. "What about?"

Strangely, Lisa did not answer for a long moment. When she did, there was a trace of wry humor in her tone. "It's funny, but I signed on with Luna Mines looking for adventure. If I'd wanted to die in a cave-in, I should have stayed in Pennsylvania."

Bernice chuckled in spite of herself. "True enough."

"Have we got a chance, Bernice?"

The older woman shrugged. "Of course. They'll find us eventually."

"But will it be in time?"

Bernice shook her head. "That I don't know. It depends on whether they think there are any survivors this deep and we don't know what happened topside when all hell broke loose. All we can do is wait."

"I guess you're right."

Bernice leaned back against the tunnel wall behind her. "'Course I'm right. Better try to sleep some. We're burning too much oh-two."

Both women were awakened a couple of hours later by a low moan. Bernice was immediately at the engineer's side. "We're here, Charlie. Lisa and me. You need some more morphine?"

"No," Lawrence whispered. "I can't feel anything below my hips."

"That's a good sign," Bernice lied. "You hang in there. They'll have us out of this in no time."

Bernice could see Lawrence shake his head inside his helmet. "Don't bullshit me, woman. How bad is it?"

Bernice sighed. "It's bad, I'm afraid. You're buried from the waist down. We won't know until they dig us out. At least we know you've still got pressure. How's your oh-two?"

"Two hours, just about."

Bernice didn't say anything. It was an hour less than she and Lisa had.

"Maybe you should give me an overdose," Lawrence said quietly. "What good's an engineer without legs? And it would be another hour apiece for you two."

"None of that, now!" Bernice snapped. "You wouldn't take none of that crap offa me, Charlie Lawrence, and you know it. We all make it, or we all check out right here. That's how it is."

"You're a bossy bitch, Bernie, you know that?"

Bernice grinned in spite of herself. "Yeah, and don't you forget it. Shut up now, and save oxygen. Let me know if you need another shot."

Bernice settled back at Charlie's acquiescent nod. Lisa's eyes were wide open, her face pale.