“Well, I still can’t see a bloody thing,” said one soldier. “You?”
“Not a thing.”
“What’s happening up there?” shouted the voice from down below.
Another soldier in the room snorted, “Notice how he isn’t up here.”
“I already had,” the second replied. “You want to go further in?”
“No.”
“Me, either. I say the place is empty.”
“Me, too.” His voice grew suddenly loud. “There’s no one here!”
There was a pause from far below, then, “Are you sure?”
“Aye.”
“All right, then, get back here. There’s other buildings to be searched. Come on.”
The soldiers separated, crossing the floor just as slowly and cautiously as they had when they came in. It took forever. At last, the sounds of the footsteps changed, then began to recede as the soldiers found the stairwells and made their way down. Tho
