A shaft of light falls on a large, crumpled, dark gray, dusty mound of cloth at the center of the stage. A pole extends straight up from the center of it and ends in a dark shadow just out of sight., After a moment, movement can be seen as if something or someone is trying to get out from underneath the mound. Gam pops his head through, sneezing and coughing. He shakes the dust off his face, grabs at the pole and begins to scramble up it. A hand pokes though the mound reaching wildly in the air. The hand grabs the bottom of Gam's pants. Bet pulls his head and shoulders out of the mound.
Bet Ho, whoa, I can't hold on.
(Gam kicks his leg free, scoots up the rest of the pole and slams his head into what is obviously a ceiling in shadow at the top. He screams as the collision knocks him back down the pole. He lands with a thump on Bet's head. The two sit there for a moment, Bet's face in the other's crotch.)
Bet Something's wrong.
Gam I know.
Bet We seemed to have stopped moving...
Gam True.
Bet ... and the smell is awful.
Gam It should be... look at your nose.
Bet (crossing his eyes) I can't see it, I can't see much of anything.
Gam It's dark all around us.
Bet And very quiet.
Gam Why is that?
Bet Because we've stopped digging, ergo, we've stopped moving, ergo, there is no light and no sound.
Gam Precisely.
(He looks up for a moment and squints.)
Why is that?
Bet Why... is what?
Gam All of that... what you said.
Bet Because... that's what I said!
Gam I see.
(The two stretch their necks in an effort to get a better view. Bet pushes hard and causes Gam to wince.)
Gam (breathless) I... see.
Bet What?
Gam I... see... stars...
Bet Where?
Gam All around... my head.
Bet Oh... sorry.
(Suddenly the two are thrown into the air as another pushes himself out of the mound. Alf shakes his arms and wipes the dust off his face.)
He says...
