Affinity crouched at the edge of the tunnel. Two of Armbuster's rats were watching her. She twitched the hair out of her eyes. She had shaggy dishwater blond hair, streaked in shades of ash brown. It fell in her eyes. She cut it with the blade of her pocketknife when it got too long, sometimes. The rats who were watching her... they were Hotrod and Scooter. Scooter was dirty white with black patches on his back and face. Hotrod was dark brown all over, his belly a half-shade lighter. Scooter had red eyes like a lab rat. Hotrod's eyes glittered like jet. Both pairs of rat eyes were fixed on the girl, unblinking.

She had a piece of stale bread in her pocket, but she'd been planning to eat it herself. With a nearly silent sigh, she tore off a large crumb and tossed it at the rats. They both went for it, but Hotrod was faster. He almost always was. Scooter chittered as Hotrod began to eat the bread. She hoped they'd fight over it and get distracted from watching her. She turned, so she didn't see Hotrod break the bread in two, giving the smaller piece to the black and white rat.

Affinity darted down the tunnel, losing the rats in the gloom. She hoped they'd lost sight of her as well. But they probably hadn't. She squeezed her way up the access hatch and opened it as quietly as she could. She had it halfway open when she heard scurrying. Trying to scramble out, she slipped, and dropped the heavy hatch on her fingers. She stifled a scream as she slipped downward. She was silent then, and heard nothing more, so she tried again to open the hatch, her fingers throbbing with bright red pain.

Something bit her, hard, and she dropped the hatch again. This time she fell, and hitting bottom she knocked the air out of her lungs and then hit her head sharply. She went unconscious with her face down in the shallow rivulet that ran down the center of the tunnel.

The rats looked at one another. Armbuster would not be pleased if this one drowned in an inch of water. Scooter and Hotrod tugged her face to the side with effort. The brown rat stayed with the girl while the other went to make the report.

Affinity half-woke, carried draped over a human shoulder. She kicked, but feebly, stopped at a single harsh word. He lay her more gently than she'd expected on a bed of dry leaves, and covered her with a ragged blanket. She returned to a softer unconsciousness for she knew not how long. When her eyes opened finally, a day later, there was water and a plate of bread with butter next to her. Nearly fresh, too. She ate it hungrily and didn't know what to think. Escape, or stay? Why did it always have to be so hard to figure out what was the right thing to do, with this person, when everyone else had seemed so easy to figure? Nausea returned and she struggled to keep the food down - she knew she could not afford to lose it, or she'd starve. The effort exhausted her completely and she slept again.