In the end, we all must die.

So let us go in dignity.

The Manuals of the Bunker, Vol. 2, Verse 40

The guard standing next to Amy put the noose around her neck.

She raised a hand, and the man took a quick step back. But her eyes weren't on him. They were on me.

I raised my hand, too.

The guard descended from the scaffold, one step at a time. When he reached the ground, he put his hands on a lever at its side.

A hush fell over the crowd.

Amy's coppery hair glittered as she tilted her head. A sad smile adorned her lips.

I smiled back at her, sampling the salty taste of my tears.

"Wait!" Wolfe's shout echoed off the rock behind the temple.

I hadn't noticed him leaving my side. He now stood next to the bishop.

And the latter held a manual in his hands—it had to be the one from the backpack. "That's nonsense." He shook his head.

"We don't know that," Wolfe replied.

"It's fake."

"I don't know if it's a fake. But..." Wolfe pulled the manual from his superior's hand, took a step back, and turned towards the people. He used the book to gesture at Amy. "If they have to die, so do I. Because I followed them into the tunnels when they ran. I climbed the same ladder as they did, and I entered the Engineers' realm."

A babble of voices rose from the crowd.

"Stop this." The bishop glared at Wolfe. "Let's talk about it in my chambers."

The captain ignored him. "First, I went into the realm as a guard chasing trespassers. But, I admit, I was also there because I knew that the Manuals didn't tell the whole truth..." He shook his head as if dismissing an unwelcome thought.

How could he have known that back then?

"And then," he continued, "as I saw the wonders in the realm of the Engineers, curiosity drove me on. I know the Manuals forbid trespassing. The Manuals we all live by. The Manuals that are our foundation. So, when I finally returned, I kept quiet about what I had seen, afraid of the law and ashamed of breaking it."

"You'd better be," the bishop said. "This will have consequences."

Wolfe shrugged. "But ever since I returned from there, more and more questions have been haunting me. Why do the Manuals say the machines are tireless and unfailing when a pump is breaking? Why do they say the realm is the home of the Engineers when the people who live there know nothing about the machines?" He gestured at Amy.

"I know a lot about machines," Amy shouted. "And about buttons."

"This may be true, Amy," Wolfe said. "But the Engineers of the manuals are supposed to be perfect. Not people like you or me."

"You're right." Amy nodded. "The Engineers are dead. The church snuffed them. Killed them. We found one of them. She was as shriveled as dried rat shite."

"I saw her too." Wolfe turned towards the people.

"And that woman wrote a letter before she died." Amy pointed at the backpack. "It's in there. She described how some bishop called Greg or something killed one of them and hurt another one just because they had told him they can't fix the failing machines." She gestured at the ceiling. "Have ye ever noticed how the lamps stop working? And there's no one to fix them? Or the—"

"Stop this nonsense right now!" The bishop tried to push Wolfe back, but the captain stood firm, pulled the manual from the bishop's hands, and held it up for everyone to see.

"The boy and the girl we're trying to..." Wolfe hesitated, "... we're trying to kill now, they've brought us this," he said. "It's from the realm of the Engineers. It's the Manual, Volume 1. Yet its verses aren't written by a human hand like in the one we have at the temple." He opened the book, showing its contents to the crowd. "See. These are letters that no mere human could have created. It's the Engineers' script. It's the true Manual. And its verses are nothing like the ones we know."

"You there!" The bishop gestured at the two guards. "Arrest the captain!"

Wolfe held up his hand. "Wait. Let me finish. It's time to seek the truth." He looked at the bishop while he pointed at the gallows. "They say they've seen the surface. I can't say if that's true. All I saw was their shapes through a dirty window, walking out into a place of light. They locked the door behind them, and I couldn't follow. So, I don't know if they're telling the truth about the surface. But I, for one, I want to know it now. The truth. It's time. Bishop, sir, this needs to be investigated."

"Blasphemy!" The bishop flung himself at Wolfe. The captain took a step to the side. Missing his target and carried by his momentum, the bishop stumbled over the edge of the dais and landed on the ground in a heap.

Ruffled, he got up and looked at the two other guards. "I've told you to arrest this man." He pointed a shaking finger at Wolfe.

The guards just stared.

"Enough!" Wolfe turned towards his men. "Take the bishop to his quarters."

"Don't you dare!" the bishop hissed.

The guards looked back and forth between him and Wolfe.

"Now what?" Wolfe asked. "Who do you follow? The choice is yours to make."

One of the lamps hanging from the ceiling above flashed bright. Then it died.

The tall, bald guard shook his head, then he moved. He took the bishop's arm. After a moment's hesitation, his bearded companion followed.

"Don't you touch me." The bishop tried to pull himself free, without success. "I'll have you hanged, like the rest of them."

"I apologize, sir," the bald guard said and gestured towards the temple. "Please come with us."

The bishop looked around, at the people who stood motionless, at Wolfe who glowered back at him, then at me. "You're destroying the world that kept you safe."

"No sir," I said. "I'm destroying the world that kept us prisoners."

The guards pulled him away. As they passed the scaffold with the bishop muttering that things were not over and everyone was to regret this, Amy stuck out her tongue at him. Then she pulled her head from the noose and descended from the dais, her gaze on me.

Frankie took a step towards her, looking back at Wolfe as if seeking his approval. But he stopped when the captain shook his head.

"As to the verdict," Wolfe said, again facing the people. "It's suspended until we have checked out their allegations. They deserve an investigation. And we deserve the truth."

Everybody stood silent.

When Amy reached me, she put a hand on my arm. "Ye're okay?"

I placed my fingers upon hers. "Yes, thanks. And you?"

"Never better." She shrugged. "What's gonna happen now?"

"I don't know."

Most of the people were watching the muttering bishop being led off through the door of the temple.

What would they do now? This was unheard of—the captain had arrested the bishop.

The people of the lower cavern—apart from Frankie and Carp, probably—had no love for the bishop. But I didn't know the crowd up here, and they were the majority.

A burly man took a step forward, scratched his beard, and looked up at Wolfe. "And how, good captain, do you want to check them out, these people's allegations? These lies?"

"Oh, the tunnels are there, and so are the ladder and the chambers of the Engineers. I've seen them. And we'll see about the surface." He pointed at Amy and me. "They can show us the way. "

"Right now?" the man asked, squinting at the captain.

"Right now, if you want."

The man nodded. "Right now would suit me. And whoever lied to me will have to answer my anger."

A farmer joined him. "I wanna see that, too."

"And me." A woman with long, gray hair.

"Me, too." Jasmine stepped forward, looking at me.

"What kind 'a friend was she to ye?" Amy let go of my hand and put her finger on my chest. Her slitted eyes promised trouble.

"Er... we grew up together, so we were kind of close."

"Kinda close? As in..."

"Er... As in... she doesn't matter anymore."

Her scowl retreated, and I breathed more easily.

She nodded. "Okay. But ye be careful there. I'm—"

"Tim!"

I turned to see my father looking at me. He still stood next to the craner, his hands and feet bound.

"Come, Amy," I said and walked over to them.

"Hey, son." My father's smile contrasted the dark circles under his eyes.

"Hey, dad. Let me untie you." I reached for the knot of his ropes.

"That can wait. Rather, why don't you introduce me to this companion of yours." He smiled at Amy.

She blushed.

I had never seen her blushing. She looked cute that way.

"That's Amy," I said. "She's a friend... She's my friend."

"And you're from the tunnels?" the craner asked, a grin on his face.

"I know ye don't believe me," she said.

I laughed. "The craner would be the first to believe you, Amy. He was the one who sent me into the tunnels in the first place."

The craner leaned forward, mustering Amy with curiosity. "You must tell me all about the tunnels and the people there."

She shrugged. "There's not much to—"

Wolfe, approaching us, stopped her. "The people want to see the Engineers' quarters and the surface. And they want to go there now." His voice was subdued. "It's your chance to get out of this mess. It's our chance. I've seen you beyond that door with the window, but I could not open it. I hope you can."

"Sure, we can." Amy nodded, her face serious. "We know things, ye see."

"Good." He hesitated. "And about that ring..."

"Ye still can't have it." She hid her hand behind her back. "Even if ye help us and everything. It's from me mom. It's special to me."

He held up his hands. "I don't want to take it from you, don't worry. But your mom... where is she?"

"And why do ye wanna know that?"

"It's... I once knew a girl who had a ring like that."

"Where was she from?" Amy tilted her head, frowning at him.

"She said she wasn't from the caverns. I didn't believe her. I thought she was joking."

"And her name was...?"

"I..." He shook his head. "I don't know. She didn't tell me. I only met her once, almost twenty years ago. But ever since that time, I've kept looking for her."

"She must have turned yer head, then." Amy grinned at him.

"You may be right about that." He smiled back at her, looking years younger for the slight blush that had sneaked into his cheeks. "We only had one night together, but I'll never forget her. Where is she now?"

"She drowned in the flood ye people made." Her grin was gone.

His smile was gone. "I'm... sorry." He looked at his hands, then back at Amy. "What's your age, girl?"

"What?" She took a step back and gave a short laugh. "No, forget it. Ye must be dreaming." She laughed again. "I know me dad, and it's not ye. It's Boss. He was our leader. Until ye folks drowned him, too."

"Oh. I'm sorry about that—"

"Captain Wolfe!" He was interrupted by a farmer calling out his name. The man stood with some of the other people at the edge of the dais. "When will we leave to see these mysterious tunnels?"

Wolfe looked at Amy and then at me. "I've gotta go talk to them. Please wait here until I call you." With that, he headed off towards the group.

Amy's gaze followed him.

"I thought you didn't know your dad," I said. I didn't mention that she'd hardly be so pale if Boss were her dad.

She shrugged. "No, I haven't a clue who he is. But me dad wouldn't be yer bishop's captain. Nevah!"