text: [Themes: slice of life, maze]
  
  > Look around
  Stretch of Tunnel - "this is where we start"
  We were in the middle of a stretch of tunnel that went north and south, with a ladder leading up to an access grate. "this is where we start" was written on the floor.
  
  > go to the south
  At this juncture we had reached a fork in the tunnels that led north, east, and south.
  
  Now that we were well and truly intruding upon these steam tunnels, where we weren't supposed to be, I asked Keri why it was so important to her for us to intrude upon these steam tunnels where we weren't supposed to be.
  
  "Well, those grates are all over campus, and I always used to stop and try to peer down into them. But there are only so many grates, and you can only see like a square foot of the tunnel from up on the sidewalk. I could tell that the tunnels were an entire separate plane of the campus, but I could barely see it, much less actually, you know, be there."
  
  I can remember this all perfectly accurately, because I have a photogenic memory.
  
  > go to the south
  We were at an intersection where the tunnels went north, east, south, and west.
  
  Keri thought about it some more and then she continued her thought from before. "And everyone at this school ends up going to the same buildings, and they all walk on the same sidewalks, until they find the shortcuts that everyone else already knew about. Maybe sometimes you notice something that someone else hasn't noticed, but as far as the spaces you occupy, everybody ends up with the same experience.
  
  "But nobody ever goes down in the steam tunnels! Because nobody ever gets the chance. But you gave us a chance, and I knew we had to take it." At this point she grabbed my arm in a very affirming if somewhat uncomfortable manner. "So, thanks."
  
  > Kiss keri
  I wanted to kiss Kerianne. I really did. And I tried to get up the nerve.
  
  > Go south
  We had ended up at a dead end. The only way back was north.
  
  Keri said, "Don't worry about it. There can't be that many tunnels." In actual fact, there were lots and lots of tunnels. Many, many, many tunnels. But I refused to become discouraged.
  
  > go north
  "
  
  "
  At this juncture we had reached a fork in the tunnels that led north, east, and south. "north was two steps f om where we starte|" was written on the floor.
  
  I suggested to Keri that maybe we should try looking for a way out, since it was starting to look to me like we had seen everything the tunnels had to offer. She sighed very deeply.
  
  > Go east
  T-intersection - "DRIEDOUT"
  At this juncture we had reached a fork in the tunnels that led north, east, and west. "DRIEDOUT" was written on the floor.
  
  It was written in marker instead of chalk, so I couldn't have written it, even if I had forgotten about it (somehow?). We looked at it silently for a moment. It was a weird moment.
  
  "So, someone's been down here before us," Keri said. Obviously the people who were supposed to be in the steam tunnels had been there, but that's not what she meant.
  
  I asked her if she was disappointed.
  
  "Kind of," she said. "I mean, I shouldn't be. It was dumb to assume we would be the first."
  
  She smiled, although it might have been a fake smile, and said, "It's kind of cool, actually. Whoever wrote this must have hoped someone else would find it, and now we did."
  
  > examine driedout
  This was the room where "DRIEDOUT" was written on the floor.
  
  > write the south and the west was three steps from where we started
  I wrote "south and west was three steps from where we started" on the floor.
  
  > Go west
  Four-way Intersection - "north was ore step from where we started"
  We were at an intersection where the tunnels went north, east, south, and west. "north was ore step from where we started" was written on the floor.
  
  > go to the east
  T-intersection - "south and west was three steps from where we started"
  At this juncture we had reached a fork in the tunnels that led north, south, and west. "south and west was three steps from where we started" was written on the floor.
  
  Keri craned her head toward the passage to the north. "I don't think we've been down that way," she said.
  
  > write south was four steps from where we started
  I wrote "south was four steps from where we started" on the floor.
  
  > go to the west
  T-intersection - "north was where we started"
  At this juncture we had reached a fork in the tunnels that led north, east, and south. "north was where we started" was written on the floor.
  
  > Go east
  Four-way Intersection - "south was four steps from whcre we
  startcd"
  We were at an intersection where the tunnels went north, east, south, and west. "south was four steps from whcre we startcd" was written on the floor.
  
  > write south was five steps from where we started
  I wrote "south was five steps from where we started" on the floor.
  
  > write west was six steps from where we started
  I wrote "west was six steps from where we started" on the floor.
  
  > Go east
  We had ended up at a dead end. The only way back was west.
  
  > go west
  Four-way Intersection - "west was six steps from where we started"
  We were at an intersection where the tunnels went north, east, south, and west. "west was six steps from where we started" was written on the floor.
  
  Keri craned her head toward the passage to the north. "I don't think we've been down that way," she said.
  
  > Go north
  We had ended up at a dead end. The only way back was south.
  
  > go south
  Four-way Intersection - "west was ix steps from where we started"
  We were at an intersection where the tunnels went north, east, south, and west. "west was ix steps from where we started" was written on the floor.
  
  > go south
  We were in the middle of a stretch of tunnel that went north and south, with a ladder leading up to an access grate.
  
  I said, "Isn't this the same place where we climbed down in the first place?" but Keri reminded me that I had written "this is where we start" on the floor there, and here there wasn't anything written on the floor at all.
  
  > Go upwards
  I looked up and realized the grate was closed. Then I climbed up the ladder and pushed on the hatch until I realized it was locked. Then I freaked out a little. Actually, to Keri, it must have seemed like I was freaking out a lot. She kinda grabbed me and said we would find another way out. Which we eventually did, and now looking back on it I can describe it all very cavalierly. But at the time, I was terrified.
  
  > Keep going
  Well, it was with great trepidation that I approached that door, but of course when I opened it nothing happened, except that a huge gust of gorgeous cool air rushed in around us, and I felt more relieved than I had ever felt about anything in my life. I felt amazing.
  
  Then we went back to Keri's apartment and she gave me a back rub, and I felt even better.
  
  [Press any key to continue...]You close the notebook.
  
  Cozy Place (on the stone bench)
  Carved into the hill among all these trees is a little place to sit: a circle of lumpy flagstones, surrounded by stone benches. There are weeds all over everything.
  
  It feels like you've ended up in the middle of nowhere, although you're aware that the sidewalk is just north of here.
  
  It's getting pretty dark. The sun must have gone down while you were reading.