Net

When the group of travelers reached the next place under the stairs, it was set upon by others.

He saw the attackers just before they struck They must have come down the stairs from above. Their first task was to remove all those who resided in this place. All bodies were removed. Any blood was cleaned.

The attackers stood near the exit leading to the upper area. They feigned being the residents of this place. This prevented the strangers in red from immediately noticing that the attackers did not resemble the dead ones. Their forms were made silhouetted and featureless by the bright light surrounding them.

He did not know how long the attackers had waited. Their patience was rewarded. The strangers in red were taken by surprise and some were killed by projectiles before they realized their peril. The woman lived.

The leader of the strangers in red reacted swiftly. They took out their own weapons and fell upon the attackers. Screams echoed off the walls and ceiling. Blood flowed. He felt it was a futile act. The strangers in red were not only taken by surprise, but they were also outnumbered by the attackers. More died.

When the leader of the strangers in red was struck down, the resolve of the others who wore red mantles shattered. They tried to flee. They were killed.

Alone of all the strangers in red, the woman lived. He saw this was not by chance. The woman removed the mantle and tossed it to the bloody ground. She spoke with one of the attackers. He recognized the attacker as the one the woman had spoken to in the edifice long ago, after she had hidden the container of scarabs. They embraced. They seemed content.

Some of the attackers had died. They were taken up the stairs into the harsh light, carried by others. At the top, the others of this group beneath the stairs waited. They huddled in the scant shade provided by one of the crumbling structures. They dug holes in the packed earth and put the bodies in them. They did the same with the motionless forms of the strangers in red. The woman threw her mantle into the pit into which the leader of the strangers in red was dumped.

The dirt was replaced over them.

The group, now greatly increased in size, collected all the possessions which once belonged to the strangers in red. The lanterns and weapons were divided out. All the possessions of this place were loaded into the carts as well. Some then went to the trolleys to push them back along the tunnel. They went about the labor with more joy. The supplies looked plentiful.

They retraced their steps to the first place at the bottom of the stairs. The members of that group who had remained joined them there. They worked together to lift the carts up the steps. When the carts were on level ground once more, they took turns pushing them. The wheels on the carts forged paths through the dirt. He suspected they did not know where they planned to go. He, too, did not know where to go.

He followed behind them as they set off together in that dusty, windswept place above.