"James Rollins - Subterranean" - читать интересную книгу автора (Romeyn Henry)

She settled her legs on the rocky floor, her knees wobbling a bit. "Yeah, no problem."

"This is good practice. Luckily we came across this bunny slope the first day. I'm sure there's hairier
cliffs ahead of us."

She craned her head back. Villanueva was just a blur of light at the edge of the cliff above. She
suppressed a groan, leaning on a stalagmite. And this was only day one.

***

Ashley rubbed her back, lowering herself slowly onto her air mattress. She could hear Michaelson
mumbling into the radio several yards away, giving his final report of the day. The team had discovered
signs of the previous party's passageтАФdiscarded items, boot tracks in silt, scruffs on rockтАФand were
sticking close to their trail.

She let out a long sigh, stretching. A sharp jab in her lower back protested the motion. Their progress
today seemed more like a battle. Slippery mud covered most of the walkways; sharp gypsum crystals
clung to her entire body like sand on a beach, and grew more abrasive with each step; steep slopes and
sharp inclines impeded their forward movement, slowing them to a crawl.

Worst of all, though, was the heat. An omnipresent wet blanket that grew heavier as the day's journey
wore on. She took off her headband and twisted it, wringing out a stream of sweat. She now understood
how risky dehydration was in caving. She unscrewed the top of her canteen, almost empty now. Tipping
it back, she swallowed the last warm drops.

"You'll have to watch your water," Ben warned. "We can't count on finding a water hole every day." He
nodded toward the small lake pooled in the back half of the cavern, half hidden by an outcropping of
rock.

"I knew about this water hole," she said. "It's on the map."

"True, but this is the last cavern marked on the map. From here, it's to points unknown."

"I know. I'll be more conservative tomorrow. We should remind everyone in the morning. Especially
Linda. She ran out of water at lunch and has been borrowing from my canteen."

"Yours too, huh?" Ben said with a smile. "She finished the last of mine an hour ago."

"Clever girl," Ashley said. "By the way, where is she?"
"Over at the pond . . . getting a drink of water."

She shook her head. "Tomorrow we'll need to be more strict with rationing."

"Oh, just leave her be. I was just joking. She's over there doing a water analysis. Besides, she's having a
tough time of it."

"We all are."

Ben gestured toward the two SEALs, who were setting up the campstove a handful of yards away.
Light pooled around them from their lanterns. "They barely broke a sweat."