ached after what must have been hours of walking, and it felt good to rest. The lantern sat between them, casting their hulking
shadows on the walls.

“Maybe we should take turns sleeping,” Jambol said.

“Now?”

He took off his backpack and retrieved a bottle of water. “We haven’t slept since…”

He trailed off. Olive couldn’t remember, either. She did feel tired. Sitting next to Jambol, with the darkness settling over them and the moss like a soft blanket, her eyelids sagged like lead curtains. She shook her head and grabbed the water he offered her. They had to stay awake, to keep going. Every minute they rested was another minute Nestra and Zeph were in peril. She drank deeply to keep herself alert. She had to think of a plan. They had run out of thread, but perhaps there was another way they could mark their path. There had to be.

Jambol slumped against her, knocking the lantern over.

“Sorry…” he mumbled, sitting back up. “We’ve got to sleep, Olive. We can’t save them if we can’t think straight.”

He had a point. Still, the thought of losing any of their precious time was hard to accept. “Just a little farther, okay?” she pressed. “Until the tunnel branches again.”

Jambol hesitated, but then he dragged himself to his feet.

They walked on through the darkness for another half an hour. Sound carried better through the thicker air—Olive clearly heard her and Jambol’s soft footsteps, the drip of water from the ceiling, the occasional scuttle of a lumizard. She listened hard for any hint of Nestra or Zeph.

A rock jutted out in front of her, and she tripped, falling against Jambol.

“Seriously, Olive,” he said as he steadied her, “I think we should stop.”

“I’m okay.” She shook her head hard, trying to clear the fog of sleepiness that was rolling in.

“I’m not.” He set the lantern down. “I don’t think we should go any farther until we’ve slept at least a little.”

She exhaled. He wasn’t going to budge. If she were honest with herself, she desperately wanted a nap, too. “Okay. But only for a
few minutes.” She glanced ahead, where the moss on the cavern floor looked especially smooth and welcoming, like a fluffy green bed. Something looked different about the moss, but she was too exhausted to dwell on it. “It looks soft over here.”

She took a step onto the moss blanket.

And fell through it.