"Good idea," Matt said. He stood and helped her up beside him. "Now, we need to cover our eyes or the flash will be painful."

"Got it." She held the camera out at arm's length in the direction she hoped was where they needed to go. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," he said. "Do it."

"Here we go. Three, two, one."

Even with closing her eyes and holding her left hand over them, she saw the white flash around the edges of her palm and through the skin of her lids. An instant later, the blackness returned.

"You okay?" she asked.

"No problem. Let's see what we've got."

Seneca held the back of the camera toward them and found the button to review the photo. The LCD displayed the image of a stone wall. It was overexposed with little detail other than white blotches caused from the flash being so close.

"You need to swing to the left about twenty degrees and try it again," Matt said.

"I also need to keep my feet in place when I've finished taking the picture so I can make any adjustments."

"Good idea."

"Let's try it again." She found the button that switched the function from photo review to taking pictures. Holding it extended in her right hand, she said, "Ready?"

"Ready."

Covering her eyes with her left hand, she pushed the button, and the flash went off.

"You good?" she asked.

"Fine."

"Then let's take a look."

Seneca shifted the function to review. Holding the camera between them, she watched the image appear.

"Holy shit!" Matt said.

"Oh, my God, there's someone there."

Seneca felt a cold blade of fear rip through her as she glared at the image. Standing ten or so feet in front of them was a woman. She had long hair flowing down around her shoulders and was dressed in what looked like a loose white gown, like a choir robe. Her arms were outstretched.

"Hello?" Matt called. "Anyone there?"

"Can you help us?" Seneca said. "Hello, please say something. Help us get out."

She looked at the image again. The woman seemed to be poised, calm, and serene, as if in a tranquil garden or church. She looked almost artificial like a mannequin or a painting.

Matt slipped his arm around her waist and whispered, "Stay calm. Maybe it's just graffiti-something painted on the wall."

She let out a long sigh and a tiny nervous laugh. "Of course. We're standing here like a couple of dopes yelling at a painting. I gotta tell you, that scared the shit out of me."

"It's probably like the skeleton man we saw painted on the tunnel wall coming in. Remember?"

"You're right. Now that we know there's a painting of a woman on the wall in front of us, let's take a deep breath and try it again."

"I'm ready."

"Cover your eyes. Here we go."

Holding the camera in front of her, she put her left hand over her eyes and squeezed them closed. "Three, two, one."

Like before, the soft white glow of the flash still made it through her lids. "Okay, let's see what we've got."

Pushing the function button caused the LCD screen to produce the latest image. Seneca screamed and let the camera slip from her hand as the face of the woman filled the display.

"Shit!" Matt said. "She's standing right in front of us."

WRITING ON THE WALL 2012, PARIS.

"ARE YOU THERE?" SENECA reached to try to touch the woman who had appeared in the picture, her words sounded strangely high-pitched, like a squeaky door. She felt her pulse pounding in her neck and temples. "Please say something."

"Can you help us find our way out?" Matt said. "We're lost."

His voice doesn't sound much better than mine, Seneca thought. She felt his arm still hugging her waist, reminding her of how secure she always felt in Daniel's embrace. The memory quickly passed with the gravity of the moment.

"Please speak to us," Matt said.

No response from the blackness before them.

For a good thirty seconds, they stood in silence, only the sound of their breathing filled the eternal night of the catacombs.

"Are you all right?" Matt whispered.

"Not really. I'm pretty freaked out." She felt him pull her tighter to him, and she appreciated his support, both mental and physical.

"Let's find your camera."

"Hang on." She bent until her fingertips touched the damp, sandy floor, praying the camera had not been damaged when she dropped it. It was not around her feet, so she ran her hand over the floor in front of her. Nothing.

Matt got down beside her on hands and knees. A few seconds later, he said, "Got it."

They stood, and he reached to find her hand, carefully placing the camera in her palm.

Seneca brushed off the dirt from the metal surface and located the power button. She pressed it, but there was no response. Perhaps it was on, she thought, and pushing the button had just turned it off. Pressing the button again brought the same result.

"We may have a problem here. It won't turn on."

"Probably jarred when it hit," he said. "But those cameras are pretty rugged. Try again."

She did with no success.

"How about reseating the battery and memory card?"

"Good idea. Now if I can just remember how to open the compartment on the bottom. It's hard enough when I can see what I'm doing."

Seneca worked with the tiny release on the bottom that protected the battery and memory card slots. A few seconds later she managed to open and remove both, then placed them back inside and closed the door.

"Here we go," she said.

Pushing on the power button, she sighed as the LCD display glowed slightly. The original overexposed photo of the wall appeared.

"We lucked out," Matt said. "Now advance to the picture of the woman. I want a closer look at her."

"Frankly, I don't ever want to see that woman's face again."

Seneca pressed the forward button but nothing happened. The photo of the wall remained in the LCD.

"Where's the picture of the woman with her arms outstretched?"

"Let me try going in the other direction." She pressed the reverse button. "Looks like the only picture on the card is the first one I took. The two of the woman are gone."

"Well, I know it wasn't our imaginations. The pictures were there."

"Agreed, but they're not now. I don't know what to tell you."

"Let's try it again. This time, without dropping the camera."

"I didn't do it on purpose. When it looked like she was standing right in front of me, I panicked."

"I understand. Let's just take another picture so we can get moving."

"Fine." She realized they were both getting edgy. Being trapped in the Catacombs of Paris was not something either of them had to deal with every day.

She pressed the function button preparing the camera to take another picture. "You ready?"

"Yes;" he said, "but this time, blinded or not, I'm going to keep my eyes open. I want to see firsthand what's in front of us."

She held the camera out at arm's length and covered her eyes. "Three, two, one."

Flash.

"Oh, shit!" Matt said.

"What is it?" Seneca asked as the darkness instantly enveloped them.

"That hurt big time."

"Did you see anything?"

"Yeah, a supernova. Now I know what it's like to stand about ten feet from the sun."

"Any graffiti?"

"I'm not sure. Know what could have happened-maybe you accidently zoomed in on the picture of the woman when you took the photo. That's why her face filled the frame."

Seneca suddenly felt embarrassed that she had come close to a panic attack from looking at graffiti on the tunnel wall. And the close-up of the face could easily have been her fault. "You're right. I probably pushed the zoom button by accident. Sorry."

"So let's see what you got this time."

She pressed the function button and the LCD display turned on. This time there was no woman-painted or otherwise. Just a wall that appeared to be twenty or so feet in front of them.

"You sure you're aiming in the same direction?"

"As sure as I can be. If you think you can do better, have at it."

"I wasn't criticizing, just asking."

"Sorry," Seneca said. "This place is definitely getting to me."

"Let me see the new picture again," Matt said.

She held the back of the camera toward the sound of his voice.

"There's definitely some graffiti on the wall. See the writing?"

Holding the display closer to her face, she said, "Yeah, I see it now.

"Can you make out what it says?"

"No, but I remember from the quick start instructions that I can zoom into a picture once I've taken it. Let me try."

She worked with each button causing menus to appear and the function icons to change. Then success. The image changed in the display, and the graffiti became bigger and clearer.

"Now you should be able to read it," Matt said.

"It says destroy the veil by fire." She turned to Matt, his face barely illuminated in the faint light of the display. "Any idea what that means?"

He repeated the words written on the tunnel wall as he studied the image on the LCD. "Sounds like a cataphile took one too many hits from whatever he was smoking down here."

"None of the graffiti we've seen has made any sense." She pressed the zoom-out button and examined the photo again. "Looks like there's a turn in the tunnel to the right just past the wall with the writing. Let's make our way to that point, then take another picture."

"I'll lead the way. Grab on to my jacket."

Turning at the wall with the graffiti, Seneca followed Matt along the bend in the tunnel. After a dozen slow-going steps, they stopped. She oriented herself parallel to the wall and extended her arm with the camera aimed forward.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Do it."