As the train entered the tunnel, Jem winced. She didn"t like the sensation of her eardrums filling with warm water and all sound becoming a watery echo in her head. She swallowed a couple of times then pinched her nose between her fingers and blew. The relief was momentary as her ears filled again; for the length of the tunnel, she would repeatedly hold her nose and blow.
Jem"s eardrums seemed to suck in and she closed her eyes as she held her nose yet again. The noise within the train changed as the sound of the train itself changed. It seemed to slow and lose its smooth speeding run along the tracks; it felt strangely slower and the motion less smooth. It took longer to explain than to experience and no sooner had Jem thought about it than the tunnel was left behind and the journey cont
