The Church demands and deserves your truth and allegiance.

The Manuals of the Bunker, Vol. 2, Verse 4

The bishop glowered at us, still holding the shard in his hand.

Be true and honest, the Manuals said, and the Church will reward you.

"Sir, I'm sorry," I said. "It was us. But it was an accident."

"An accident..." He looked at the fragment, shaking his head. "Indeed, an accident, no doubt about that. And whose accident was it, if I may ask?" He raised his eyebrows, a faint smile pushing into his rounded cheeks. "Who are you two?"

"My name is Tim, Sir."

"And who is the girl who has appropriated la Joyeuse?" He pointed at Amy.

"Lash... what?" Amy smiled back at him.

"The sword you're holding." He gestured at her hands. "A king of old lost it, and a knight found it again, returning it to its rightful owner. Its name means 'the happy one, la Joyeuse.' It embodies obedience and loyalty at their finest, and it's at least as priceless as the Portland Vase." He held up the shard. "So, who are you?"

"I am Amy, Sir." She placed the tip of the sword on the floor between her feet, rested her hands on its hilt, and bowed to him. "And I'll guard lashwooze with my life."

The bishop's smile faltered, but then it regained its ground again. "And where do you two come from?"

"The lower cavern, Sir," I answered quickly, hoping to prevent Amy from dominating the conversation.

The man's smile broadened, digging its way deeper into the cheeks. "And your father's name is...?" He held up a hand. "No, let me guess. You're Abraham's son, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, Sir. And about that..." It was now or never. "I know he has been arrested because of the swamp that doesn't drain properly. But it's not his fault. It's one of the pumps, Sir. It has stopped pumping."

"Oh, a pump has stopped pumping?" He took a step towards me and tilted his head.

I had never been so close to the bishop. I had never seen the mole growing on his chin.

"Yes, Sir." I nodded. "The lights on it went all red. I've seen it with my own eyes."

"Oh, the lights on it? And where's that pump with the lights that you've seen with your own eyes?"

"It's..." I knew I was on dangerous ground now. Yet, there was no way but forward from here. "It's down in the tunnels below the lower cavern."

"Ah, the tunnels." He nodded. "The Engineers' tunnels, you mean?"

"There are no Engineers there. There are just some... people."

Amy huffed, but I put a hand on her arm, hoping it would stop her from commenting. I knew all about the Manuals, and they were the law here—the law we would be judged by.

"People?"

"Right. And they are not Engineers. Because I know, Sir..." I took a deep breath. This was the moment that would decide our fate. "I know that trespassing into the Engineers' realm is forbidden. But they are not Engineers. So these tunnels are not part of the realm."

"Mere humans... people, as you call them..., they are confined to the caverns. The tunnels are for the Engineers alone." The bishop scratched his mole as he studied me. "But you know the holy Verses, I see. This is good. So you will know that the Church is justice."

I nodded. "I do know. It's in Volume 1, Verse 11."

"So you also know Volume 2, Verse 4?"

I nodded once more. "Yes. The Church demands and deserves your truth and allegiance," I quoted. "And, sir, I have told you nothing but the truth."

"Good. And what about Volume 1, Verse 2?"

I felt on solid ground now. "The Engineers built the bunker to keep us safe and to shelter us. Their work is perfection."

Only after I had said the words, I saw the trap they formed.

"Exactly." He held up a finger. "So, explain to me: If the Engineers' work is perfection, and if they built the pumps, how can one of them fail?"

I searched my mind for a reply, going through the Verses, looking for something that fit. Anything.

"Because they suck?" Amy said, filling the silence.

The bishop's eyes widened. "Who... sucks?"

"The pumps?" One corner of her mouth was pulled into a half-smile.

He chuckled. "The pumps... suck? I was under the impression that they pump."

"But now, that one with the red lights, it just sucks." Her grin broadened. "In fact, all of them may be sucking now. Because they got drowned."

Her smile waned.

He frowned. "Drowned? Now, this is getting interesting. The pumps got drowned... Let's discuss this in more detail. And while we do that, would you please put the Joyeuse back on its stand and come here?" He pointed at where Amy had nabbed the weapon.

She looked at the sword, puckered her lips, and ran a finger along its hilt. But then, with a shrug, she did as ordered. After that, she stepped up to the bishop, her hands clasped behind her back.

I didn't see her face, but I imagined it to carry her most innocent smile.

"So, where are you from, again, Amy?"

"From the same cavern as he." She pointed her thumb at me. "The lower one; the one that smells. Tim has already told you that. Sir."

"And you've also seen the pump with the red lights? The one that was... drowned?"

She nodded. "Yes. But that was before it drowned."

"And why would a pump drown?" His mouth was a thin line now.

"That's an excellent question, yer bishopsy." She scratched her chin. "Lemme take a guess. Maybe it drowned because some eejit dug into a swamp, really deep like? Making a hole in its floor? So all the water flowed out through that hole and poured into the tunnels below? Water that not only drowned a sucking pump. It also drowned..." She swallowed. "It also drowned good people."

The pain in her voice made me clench my jaw.

"And who would do something so foolish?" A muscle twitched along the bishop's fleshy jaw.

"As I said, it must 'ave been an eejit. But..." She held up a hand. "One eejit would not suffice. No single person could be stupid enough to kill so many people. Innocent people, at that. There must have been one eejit to do the digging. And there must have been another eejit telling him to dig deeper."

She poked the bishop into his chest.

He inhaled, and then he slapped her across the face—hard enough to make her stumble against a cabinet next to her.

Time slowed, and my body reacted in anger before my mind set in. I stepped forward and grabbed the sword that Amy had placed on its stand. Using my momentum, and adding to it, I ran towards the bishop. Passing Amy, I raised the weapon and drove it, hilt first, towards him, right into his face.

He stepped back, a hand on his forehead, and I followed him. I planted my elbow in his stomach, and he grunted as he fell to the side, next to the bare-breasted stone woman. She wobbled, then she fell forward, right across the bishop's belly.

He yelled.

A hand patted my shoulder. "Good man," Amy said. "I didn't know ye had the punch."

I hadn't known that either.

The punch to fell a man. And not a mere man.

I had struck down the bishop.

"Shite," I said.

"Don't ye use me werds." Amy punched my arm.

I ignored her. The shite went up to our chins right now.

The bishop fumbled with the fallen stone lady. Blood covered his face, and she had lost her head in the fall.

This wasn't good.

"Let's get out of here, real quick." I grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her towards the exit.