The ground roughened underfoot; the rise began. There was no apparent road. Here and there stood small blighted trees, devoid of foliage, standing like posts—They weren't trees at all! Harvey gripped Brace's arm. "Keep away from those posts," he whispered.
They continued upward slowly. Harvey heard a faint click. He stopped. "Hear that?" he whispered, "that click?"
Brace shook his head. They stood still, listening. There was no other sound. Brace took a step forward, and stopped. "I heard it," he whispered. They sank to the ground, and stretched out on their bellies, and waited tensely.
Not a sound came out of the surrounding darkness.
Far ahead, high in the sky, the windows of Baker's castle dimly glowed with a yellow light. There was still a long way to go.
Brace sat up and jerked a hand impatiently at Harvey. They got to their feet and moved forward. They were moving through trees now. Harvey followed Brace reluctantly. There was something funny. Some sound he was hearing—or wasn't hearing—
"Red!" It was the oxygen pack. The soft, bubbling murmur it always made was gone. "My oxygen is off! Yours, too! We've got to get back—fast!"
Brace's eyes flared white in the darkness. "Come on," Harvey shouted, and rushed back through the trees. Brace came lumbering after him, protesting loudly. They raced across an open space—there were the posts again—they passed them—
Click!
And now Harvey knew where the click came from. It came from inside his oxygen pack.