35

The earth smells terribly damp. It seems as if it has been specially mixed with water for many years to make it as nasty as possible.

— Is there a swamp above us?—Cornelius asked, sniffing the air.

— Yes, a good strong bog. What a good place to hide corpses!—Dariusz said with a strange artistic enthusiasm.—Well... that's what I did, actually...—

I think I'm about to slip.…

Dariusz turned on the flashlight and we were all blinded for a second — the light of the flashlight reflected off the metal wall.

The metal was polished like a mirror.

— How did you punch such a hole?—I asked.

— Hmm... Those who have lived on this planet for so long cannot always understand this kind of device. I was cutting the ground with a jet of molten metal and something that looked like oil...—Darek chuckled.— Something like that.—

— A plasma cutter?—Cornelius asked.— It would be better to say so, I would explain everything much more clearly.—