"He's just got a lot on his mind."
"I hope you're right," Raider muttered softly to her back as she followed Jin. "I really do."
"Which way?" Raider asked a short time later, staring at the pair of identical tunnels in front of them.
"I don't know," Jin admitted.
Kira sent him a startled look. "I thought you said you knew the way."
"I did." Jin corrected himself. "I do."
"Then—" she prodded.
"I can tell Elena is in that direction, but I don't know which tunnel will lead us there."
Raider cursed, kicking the wall as he paced away from them.
"How is that possible?" Kira asked, ignoring her friend’s outburst.
Jin's bird landed on his casing as he hesitated. "It's this place. It's affecting me."
"Your spawn?" Kira guessed.
"I've lost track of several of them. Everything keeps getting turned around."
That wasn't a good sign. Kira and Jin had never spoken of it directly, but she knew his connection with his spawn was similar to what a biological might have with their limbs. They were an extension of him. His hands and feet.
It shouldn't have been possible to lose track of them. Just like you wouldn't with your own limbs. Unless you had a spinal or neurological condition preventing those signals from getting through.
Kira nodded at the tunnels. "But you're sure she's that way."
"Yes."
Raider turned back to them. "We split up."
"No." Kira didn't even have to think about her answer. "Absolutely not."
"Jin said it himself. She doesn't have time for us to do this slow. You take one. I take the other. We get in. We investigate. Then we rendezvous back here."
"That is a stupid plan," Kira told him.
"Yeah, but it's the only one we've got." Raider considered the tunnels, indicating the one to the right. "This one is mine."
"Fifteen minutes. Then we meet back here."
Despite his distracted nod, Kira could tell he wasn't really listening, his focus on the tunnel and what waited on the other side.
"Raider." Kira waited until she had his attention. "If you find her, you wait for backup. You don't go in alone."
"Sure thing, Nixxy. Just like you would if the situation was reversed."
Kira watched him disappear into the tunnel with a feeling of resignation. "Why do I get the feeling he's not going to wait?"
"Probably because you wouldn't be able to either," Jin quipped.
With a growl, Kira headed into the tunnel on the left. "Come on, Jin. You're with me."
"Who else would I be with in a situation like this?"
