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Realizing it was useless, I swallowed the rising tears and looked for another exit. It was hard for me to walk down the stairs again, further away from the possibility of returning home through the door.
Soon, the closed wall at my back was no longer visible, swallowed up by the blackness that only gave way when I broke through it with the torch. Each step went deeper down, and thetunnel, which had been so high before, became lower and lower until I had to pull my head in while walking.
Sweat caused by fear ran down my back, and the thought of the tons of earth above me almost drove me insane. To distract myself, I did what my mother had taught me as a child when I couldn't fall asleep for fear of the monsters under my bed: sing a song. It had been years since I had sung anything. Like everything else, it had been forbidden by the Brotherhood. Therefore, it took a while until I thought of a song. At first, I just hummed the melody until I finally lost myself in the music and began singing aloud. It felt so good, and despite the oppressive feeling caused by the confinement in the tunnel, it was simply liberating.
Unexpectedly, the steps ended, and a loamy floor led me further to my destination, whatever that might be. Under my tights, I felt every little stone. In no time, they were torn, and the soles of my feet were sore. With clenched teeth, I followed the path undeterred. Fortunately, it went at least no more into the depth.
Here and there, roots emerged between the masonry, stubbornly fighting for their right to exist. The ground was uneven, and the earth had a mossy smell. Now I recognized the same rock on which Central Park was built: gneiss. Had I already reached the park below? How could that be? Was this an underground tunnel system like the one under Columbia University and St. John Cathedral?
It would not surprise me at all. This city became more and more of a mystery to me. What else was hiding under its streets? On the surface, they followed straight lines like on a chessboard and formed blocks, only to wind like snakes in tunnel paths underneath the city.
At last, the tunnel got bigger again, the air fresher, and I felt like I was fighting a slight incline. In front of me, I saw a glimmerof light. At first, it was only very faintly, almost as if it were the moonlight that fell into the vault from somewhere outside. But the closer I came, the more I recognized that it was another light source. Excitedly, I ran faster, almost tripping over the roots sticking out of the ground. Another torch!
I was amazed to discover an old wooden door next to it. A light must also be behind it because a warm yellow glow penetrated through its cracks. With a pounding heart, I listened to see if anything or anyone was behind the door. I could hear murmurs, and I was about to run away, fearing that I had stumbled upon a secret base of the Knights of the Seals followers, when I heard a woman's bell-like laughter.
Women? What were women doing here in these underground tunnels?
Before I could think further, I had opened the door and cautiously peeked around the corner from where the voices were coming.
My gaze fell on a vast hall that reminded me of a disused train station concourse. Tunnels branched off in different directions on the other side of the room. All were sparsely lit by torches, like mine, and ended somewhere in darkness.
Everywhere, I saw women and children of different ages sitting together. Some had made themselves comfortable on cots, and others were sitting on the floor around small fireplaces. Far back in these catacombs, one could hear metal pounding on metal. I discovered female shadows in a fighting stance out there.
It was as if this was a reception camp for women hiding with their children and a training camp.
I stared at what was happening before me with wide-open eyes and could not believe it. Despite their partly ragged clothes, the dirty children's faces, and the clearly too-skinny bodies, they all radiated a certain peace and contentment. Freedom shone intheir countenances. They had escaped the terror of the Knights of the Seals.
Immediately, my eyes darted through the rows. I was looking for a girl with two pigtails and big brown googly eyes, but I couldn't find her.
Suddenly, a woman’s voice came loudly to me. “Myrina! I’m glad you found us. Come on in.”
Startled that I had been discovered, I flinched and wanted to slam the door again to run back into the tunnel. But then I realized she had called me by my name. Did she know me? Was she perhaps a former classmate or fellow student?
A young woman my age came walking toward me. She smiled, and it was a warm smile. Yet her face was unfamiliar to me. Her gait showed confidence, and her every movement radiated power. She had her long blonde hair braided into a pigtail, and only single strands stood out next to her light blue eyes.
Her clothes consisted of leather pants and a shirt emblazoned with the logo of a band that was very popular before the fall of the government. Like the rest of her body, athletic legs indicated she belonged to the exercising women.
“You don’t have to be afraid. We won’t hurt you,” she tried to reassure me.
"Do we know each other?" I asked suspiciously. "How do you know my name?"
The young woman stopped not far from me and tilted her head. Almost as if she were examining me.
"I was told you were coming here," she replied, not wanting to add any explanation to what she just said.
I knew too well that in our world, keeping names and knowledge to oneself was essential. That's why I didn't even try to ask her about it. Looking around, it was clear they were alltaking a significant risk—those who had fled and those who had helped them.
"Do you know what happened to the children of West 125thStreet? Their mother was taken away two days ago,” I blurted out impetuously.
Sadness rose around the blue of her irises and made them dark as if thunderclouds were moving across the sky.
"Sit down with us. Then maybe I can answer a few questions for you," she invited me, only to turn around at the same moment and walk to a group of women who were excitedly discussing.
Undecided about what to do, I stood there momentarily, staring at her back. I was aware she was giving me a choice. With every further step I would take into that room, I would be bound by her trust to never, under any circumstances, betray her. They all had to be able to rely on that.
My soul rebelled against the golden bars of my cage. My insides just raged and screamed to join these women. Their flames ultimately drove me to the blonde woman and the group she had joined.
“What’s your name?” I asked her as I stood next to her. “It would only be fair if you told me your name since you already know mine.”
