Helen patted Lillian on the shoulder as she passed and took the lead again. “Okay, let me get around the corner and count to one hundred again. I doubt anyone else is going to come up the tunnel, he was the replacement. They don’t send people up randomly since there’s nothing else up here. But just to be on the safe side, I don’t want you right with me.”
Damon nodded and she walked away. I couldn’t even tell she’d been shot. Nothing in her body movement even suggested she was in pain. Helen was a lot tougher than she looked.
After Damon signaled us to follow, we inched down the path again. Damon paused every hundred or so feet to listen for any new voices. He wasn’t going to let us be snuck up on unannounced again.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but gradually, I heard voices and the clatter of people working with metal and rocks. Damon slowed his steps and held up his hand for us to do the same. When the light changed and it was clear we were moving into a work space instead of the tunnel, Damon stopped completely and waited.