The sewers
Ayalis Orki - An alternate Earth reality
The sewers were stinky. The little group moved faster, holding each other’s hands. Their faces betrayed fear, with eyes wide open and muddy sweat running down their cheeks. The children were unusually quiet. They somehow understood the seriousness of the situation. This was not a game, and the attitude of the adults made that very clear. A young man was opening the way. He held a club in his right hand. He walked silently and carefully, scrutinizing the tunnel ahead. In his left hand he had a lantern. He lighted the way for the others to follow. Next was another man, a bit older that the first. The resemblance with the first man indicated they were kinship, brothers. He held two children by their hands, the girl to his right and the boy to his left. They were twins, about ten years of age. A teenage boy walked behind them. He also carried a club, more like a stick, actually. Then two older men followed, and a woman. The little group was closed by another young man who glanced backwards from time to time, worried. He was the rearguard. He stopped and listened intently. Was he hearing something?
“Hurry,” he whispered. “I think they gained on us.”
The others lengthen the pace, striding on. They reached a crossing where five tunnels met. The man leading the group choose the very left tunnel, the one that was flooded. The water reached up to their knees and made the advance difficult.
“Bart!”
The man with the children stopped and turned towards the last man, who remained at the tunnel entry.
“Yes?”
The whole group stopped. They were in a state of nervous expectancy, making guttural noises and anxious gestures. Bart left the children’s hands and pushed them ahead.
“You must go! Hurry!”
He moved beside the entry of the tunnel and whispered some words to the other man. He turned and waved his hands toward the rest of the group.
“Baxter, go on! We will be right behind you,” he muttered towards the leading man. “Get them as far away as possible!”
Baxter hesitated. He looked at his brother and then at the children. He grabbed the twins by their hands and pulled them along, away from their father. The teenage boy followed and then the others, too. Bart watched them go, with a sigh.
“Bart, I have to stay behind.” implored the other man, after the little group had disappeared from their sight. “I will draw their attention. You must save the twins!”
“I’m not leaving you, Tom,” Bart held Tom by the shoulders “You’re my best friend!”
“You must! The twins are our last hope...”
They studied each other for a moment. Muffled voices and shouts came from somewhere behind. They could hear clicking noises too, like metal hitting on metal. The Eight was on their toes, and they were armed. Bart reached out and shook his friend’s hand. They hugged.
“Thank you, Tom!”
“Go now! I will take the other tunnel and try to make some noise, to draw their attention towards me. That should give you some advance.” Tom pushed Bart away. “Go, and Blessed be!”
Bart just stood there for a moment, looking grateful at the man in front of him. Tom ran towards another tunnel. He took off his hat and threw it inside. He turned with a smile and waved goodbye, then ran out of sight. Bart left, brokenhearted. He caught up with his group sometimes later. He hoped the followers would be misled by Tom so that they will escape. The group was taking a break, in a spacious room, yet another crossing of many tunnels. The water was lower here, reaching to their ankles. There were a few higher spots where it was dry. The kids had climbed there, exhausted, trembling with cold, but mostly fear. Edwin, the oldest of the children, saw his father first and gave a surprise shriek. The three of them jumped in his arms. He hugged them in despair, looking at his brother. Baxter made a discrete sign with his head and sidestepped a few paces away. Bart let go of the children and joined his brother. They stood aside and talked in low voices.
“Where is Tom?” asked Baxter.
Bart didn’t respond. By the look on his brother’s face, Baxter understood what had happened. He looked at the passageway through which they came from and listened. No sound.
“Do you think he put them off for good?” he asked again.
Bart shook his head. He gazed hesitantly to the others then made up his mind. “We have to push on.”
“We would have crossed the entire city by now,” Baxter said. “We have to find an exit. We came across a hatch earlier but it was blocked, like all the others.”
“There must be a way out,” muttered Bart. “But these tunnels all look the same.”
“Maybe we should split and search the tunnels?” wondered Baxter.
Bart shook his head again:
“No. We have to stay together. It’s like a maze down here. We’ll get lost.”
“Aren’t we already? We have no idea where to find an exit. We can’t go like this forever.” Baxter made a nervous gesture toward the tunnel entries. “We could walk round and round forever...”
Bart considered this for a moment. The tunnel that brought them here was immersed in silence and darkness. But he couldn’t be sure that Tom succeeded. Their followers could still be on their way.
“Maybe you’re right” he decided. “Alice! Samuel! Yarni!” he shouted for the other adults, gesturing them to join the conversation. He waited until they were close and continued: “Listen, we have to split and search for a way out.” Bart stopped, waiting for the words to sink in. “Tom stayed behind to draw The Eight’s attention,” he added, answering their wordless question.
The woman, Alice, put her hands to her mouth, muffling a scream. Tom was her nephew and his possible capture by The Eight was a fearsome thought. The others also panicked. Yarni, the older one, about fifty, embraced Alice, trying to comfort her.
“He’ll be fine” he said, ”but his voice didn’t sound too confident.
Bart fixed his eyes on the children, contemplating their options. The others followed his gaze.
“You’re right! Let’s split and search for an exit” capitulated Samuel, a man in his early thirties, built like a heavy, hardworking peasant.
They all looked at each other, in silent agreement.
“Alice, you stay here with the kids. The rest of us, we should each take a tunnel and see where it leads. We’ll gather back here in half an hour,” commanded Bart. “If you come across rooms like this, with many ways out, take the center one and press on. But be careful to find your way back.”
Bart left them and walked to the children. He knelt beside them, to be at the same height and explained what was going to happen. He talked in a calm and reassuring tone, holding the little girl by her hand, smiling. The girl had streaks of tears on her cheeks but didn’t protest.
Bart took the oldest brother aside.“Edwin, I know you want to help, but you must stay here with the twins,” he patted the boy on his shoulder. “You are their protector, remember?” Edwin nodded, with a hint of pride in his looks. His eyes followed his father and the other men as each of them chose a tunnel and made their way into it.
Baxter’s way was a narrow and slippery shaft, with almost no water in it. Instead of water there was a stinking green slime, covering the floor and besmirching the walls, knee-high. He saw two or three rats as he made his way deeper inside it. But then the tunnel became darker and darker. “Damn this!” he said. He had left his lamp with Alice and the kids. At first he groped in the uncertainly of the darkness, but after a while his eyes adjusted and he became to make sense of the shapes. Here and there were little openings through which came some light. But no visible exit. After a while he came near a crossing where two tunnels met. He stayed there for a second, not knowing what path to choose. He finally advanced in the left tunnel and continued on a fast pace. There was no water in this tunnel and the smell was less bad. He went on and on and began to run as he saw something like a faded light straight ahead. Was there an exit? It was, indeed. As he approached the tunnel’s end, he became sure that his eyes did not fool him. He had undoubtedly found the escape route.
He turned and hurried back, excited. It seemed like he reached the little crossing in no time and sprinted along the slippery narrow shaft again. He felt twice, losing his club, but got back on his feet immediately. He had no time to search for his makeshift weapon. He rushed towards the room where they left Alice and the children. Near the end of the tunnel, he heard noises, then a shout. He speeded ahead, despite the growing darkness. He slipped again on the greasy surface and thumbed down. By now the noises faded away. He sat up and was at the tunnel’s end in seconds. Breathing heavily, he dashed into the spacious room only to find nobody in it – the children were gone! No sign of them or Alice. He stayed there, dismayed. He couldn’t tell for how long. He didn’t know what to do next. After some time, he heard footsteps from one of the other shafts. His brother emerged. Bart looked around the room in surprise.
“Where are the kids?” he stammered.
Baxter shrugged, but before he could formulate an answer, Bart went pale, fixating something behind him. Baxter followed his brother’s gaze and held his breath. He glimpsed at a piece of cloth, half emerging from the muddy water, right at the entrance of the tunnel through which they originally came from. Bart darted past him and knelt in the water, grabbing at the cloth. What Baxter thought to be a piece of rag, was actually Yarny’s overcoat. Baxter searched the surroundings, but it was too dark. He entered into the tunnel, hesitantly, and tripped over something after only a few footsteps. He was reluctant to look down, fearing the worse.
“Anything?” shouted Bart.
Baxter gulped and slowly, very slowly, bend his knees and felt at the obstacle with his hands. It was a body. Yarny’s. He was dead. Baxter hoisted the body on his shoulder and carried it back into the room. Bart looked at him, expressionless. Baxter could not support his gaze and averted his eyes. He put the body down and had a look at it. They saw a deep cut wound behind his kidneys. Yarny was killed by a knife and then tossed like garbage. Baxter clenched his teeth in anger. Bart rose suddenly.
“We must go. Come!” he commanded.
Baxter looked at him, irritated.
“Where?” he asked.
“We have to find them,” mumbled Bart.
Baxter tried to calm himself. Seeing Bart’s decomposed face was heartbreaking. He dared not think about the possibility that the children were captured by The Eight. Bart took him by the elbow and hurled him toward a tunnel, one of those they never searched. A moment later he stopped abruptly and Baxter bumped into him. He sat there for a moment, looking at his brother expectantly. Bart wasn’t paying attention. He stared into distance, like hypnotized, searching his mind.
“No, this way!” he exclaimed, dragging Baxter to another entry.
Baxter looked at him, perplexed.
“How can you know?”
“I just do.”
Bart was already running along the tunnel when Baxter followed him. They marched for a while, never hearing a thing, newer seeing anybody. Baxter started to doubt they will ever find the children. But his brother was very determined and didn’t slow down. They crossed one or two multiple tunnel intersections and, every time, his brother seemed to know which way to choose. And he did that without any hesitations. Baxter wanted to tell Bart that he’d found the way out. But he knew his brother will not leave without his children. There was no point in telling him until they had found the children.
They advanced rapidly, Bart leading the way. As they passed yet another tunnel crossing, a club dropped on him from the darkness. Bart dodged it and managed to seize it in his hands. Baxter heard a thump and saw a figure retreating, trembling through the water. He jumped forward and got hold of the attacker, who struggled furiously. Baxter was about to hit him when he recognized him. Thank God! It was his nephew.
“Edwin, it’s me!” Bart waved Baxter away and tried to calm his son down. The boy’s legs gave way and he collapsed into his father’s arms, sobbing.
“Where is Dorian and Dorotheea?” asked Bart.
“They’re hiding. We heard someone coming and we thought…” Edwin’s voice was strident with fear.
“It’s all right now. It’s just us.” Bart was holding his son by the shoulders “Where are they?”
Before Edwin’s response, two little figures emerged from behind. The twins looked haunted, covered in mud and tears, but they seemed unharmed. Alice came out of the hiding, too.
“We had to run” she excused herself.
“What happened?” asked Baxter.
“Yarni came back after only five minutes,” Alice shrugged. “He said the tunnel was blocked, not far away. We were waiting for you to return and then we heard voices. The Eight was still after us. We didn’t know what to do. Yarni thought he could draw them away, as Tom did, so the children and I could run. He said he’ll catch up with us but he never did.”
Baxter opened his mouth to say they have found Yarny’s dead body but met his brother’s eyes and gulped on the sentence. No point in scaring the kids, he thought. And then it came to him – the escape way! He grabbed his brother by the arm:
“Bart, we must go!” he exclaimed. “I’ve found the way out. My tunnel had an exit. I saw daylight.”
His brother looked at him, full of hope.
“What about The Eight?” trembled Alice. “And Yarni? And Samuel?”
“We haven’t met with them.” lied Bart. “Anyway, we must try, even if we have to go back. At least now we know there’s a way out – it’s our chance.”
Baxter nodded “I can find it again.”
He wanted to add something but stopped in mid-way. They all gazed in terror as they heard noises coming from one of the tunnels, getting near. Heavy strides and splashing of water. The Eight! Bart took Dorotheea in his arms and pushed Edwin ahead, toward a random tunnel.
“Baxter!” he shouted.
Awakened by his brother’s shout, Baxter grabbed Dorian and hurried on their footsteps. Alice stood there, frozen. Before she could move, a man appeared, breathing heavily. It was Samuel.
“Bart, it’s only Sam!” Alice exclaimed, happily.
The others stopped and looked back, relieved. But Samuel waved his hands in despair, signaling them to move on. He grabbed Alice as he run pass:
“Don’t stop!” he managed to say, in a hissed voice. “They are right behind me.”
They ran with all the strength they had left. Soon the noises faded away. They didn’t pause and kept going like that for at least ten minutes, until exhaustion. At last, they came to a room with no exits. This is the end, thought Baxter.
“It’s blocked! It’s blocked!” wailed Alice, her breath scant and wheezing.
“There!” exclaimed Edwin, pointing toward the opposite wall.
They looked and saw a kind of hatch, at water level. It was almost flooded but it was the only way out. Bart went in, head first, disappearing under the water. Seconds later he emerged and signaled them to come. Edwin followed him, then the twins. They reluctantly immersed themselves into the water. Alice was next and then Samuel. Baxter looked back toward the passageway. He heard loud shouts and footsteps of people running through water. He held his breath and went under, crossing through the hatch.
When he arose at the surface again, Baxter saw a room not so different from the one they just left. The water reached to his hips. There were no visible exits. We are trapped like rats in a cage! He looked around and saw Alice and the children. He could see the anxiety in their eyes. Samuel was at the opposite wall and Bart was nowhere to be seen. Moments later, Bart came from under the water, beside Samuel. He breathed in, filling his lungs with air. The others waited for his account. Bart stood up, slow and silent.
“There is a small opening...” he said, hesitantly, biting his lips.
They waited but Bart didn’t go on. Alice lost patience and asked in a brittle voice:
“And?”
Bart exhaled loudly, battling with himself. He responded, avoiding to make eye contact:
“Only the children may fit through.”
Alice clasped her hands together, as in a prayer, but kept silent. Samuel held his breath, his expression impenetrable. The children didn’t seem to comprehend the situation. Baxter glanced at his brother and made up his mind.
“They must go on.” he said. He put his entire courage in the statement, trying to convince Bart. But his brother didn’t need any convincing. He turned towards his children and smiled encouragingly. He opened his arms in a large embrace. The twins responded immediately, still not knowing what was up next. But Edwin stayed back, looking at his father both with fear and anger. He understood.
“Edwin.” Bart extended a hand and the boy joined in the hug, reluctantly, tears in his eyes.
Voices came from the other part of the flooded tunnel. After a second or two bubbles surfaced the water and a man appeared right next to Baxter. Baxter moved quickly and managed to land a blow into the man’s face. The stranger slipped back into the water, grunting. Baxter kicked him hard in the kidneys, repeatedly, and the man lost consciousness.
Bart had no time to move. The children were still clinging hard on him. Alice just stood there, frozen, right hand pressed on her mouth. Only Samuel reacted. He moved beside Baxter to land a helping hand. The voices were louder now; they could hear shouts and curses. It was no doubt – The Eight had found them! Fortunately, no other man made an appearance. The Eight was in no hurry to proceed further. Probably they were more cautions after their first man didn’t return. Samuel caught Baxter by the elbow and pointed to his right. There was a loose panel there, rusty, but still serviceable. Baxter nodded: good idea! Together they succeeded in bringing down the panel and use it as a sort of improvised door, to block the exit of the tunnel. That won’t stop The Eight for too long, Baxter thought.
“Bart!” he shouted.
Bart looked at him with maddening eyes. He hugged his children desperately. He start pushing them towards the escape way. Edwin struggled and the twins started to cry, finally understanding. Baxter sensed a thrust on the panel. Someone was trying to enter the room. He and Samuel put their entire force into pushing the panel over the opening. Alice came to her senses and helped them keeping the panel in place.
“Bart, move it!” yelled Baxter. “We can’t hold them anymore.” We have no chance! – a sense of dread filled him. He put his back to the panel and used his feet to push hard against it. He saw his brother letting the children out of his embrace.
“No, daddy, no!” cried Dorotheea, tears ran down her cheeks, while Dorian sobbed uncontrollably. They both tried to hang on their father again but he pushed them away. Bart got Edwin by his shoulders and held him firm.
“You have to get the twins out of here” he said.
“No, I won’t leave you!” the kid fought his father with all his strength.
Bart shook him violently, still holding his shoulders tight. Baxter had never seen his brother loosing temper before.
“Edwin, remember what I’ve told you.” Bart almost shouted. “Go there, right now!”
“But, dad!” the kid’s voice broke in tears.
“Edwin!” Bart’s voice was almost a whisper. He touched his oldest son’s cheek, gently now, gulping down his own tears. They embraced desperately. The twins joined in the hug, crying.
“Now!” Bart said, with firm voice. He kissed all three of his children on the forehead – a father’s blessing – then pushed them towards the exit.
Baxter didn’t see more. At that moment, there was a hard thrust from the other side and the makeshift door failed. He splashed into the water loosing balance after the panel slipped away. Alice shrieked as one of The Eight’s men pulled her by the leg. She dropped in the water heavily. Samuel jumped on the intruder and they fought blindly, throwing punches and blows. Another man appeared right after the first. Baxter stood up and kicked him in the head with all his strength. The man fell and Baxter held him in the water, face down. But more men came pouring in. Soon they were outnumbered two to one. Baxter tried to fight three men at once but was seriously beaten. Last thing he saw, before losing consciousness, was Bart joining the fight.
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