Fools of us All - Chapter 29

We walked for a few more hours in the dim light, occasionally coming across other people, but for the most part we were left alone. I wondered about that briefly, curious to know how many people lived underground and used these tunnels. There was evidence that the number was relatively significant, and yet we had hardly seen anyone thus far.

Eventually, at Spin’s insistence, we stopped to rest again. A small depression in the wall gave us a place to settle for a bit of shut eye. The previous night had been long and the walk had been difficult…

I awoke with a start at the sound of voices coming down the tunnel. Instinctively I pushed myself back into the shadows. A group of four or five people came walking by, talking quietly to themselves. I was sure that they would see us, but if they did, they paid us no mind. Perhaps we blended in with what people expected to see down in the underground, or maybe they didn’t perceive us as a threat. Or perhaps they just did not care any longer. Whatever the case, they walked by, their voices echoing in the dimness, too indistinct to be understood. Soon they were gone.

Shaking Spin by the shoulder to wake him up, I got to my feet, stretching my stiff muscles. “This is no time to sleep,” I said, keeping my voice low like those who had passed by. “We have an archive to break into.”

Yawning, Spin rose to his feet as well, stretching and rubbing his eyes. “Do we have a plan yet?”

I headed back into the tunnel. “We have the start of a plan. If I’m right, we are nearing the religious archives. It’s my guess that one of these tunnels will lead to a secret entrance to the building. We’ll have to sneak in and then figure out a way to move around unnoticed.” We rounded a corner, and my heart sank. The tunnel, which had been running straight with the occasional side passage running across it, much like streets crossing each other in the city above, had suddenly opened into a large room that had five separate tunnels branching out from it. A quick study of the tunnels showed that they all turned in different ways. I knew approximately which way we had to go, but I wasn’t sure which tunnel to take to get there.

My heart sank to my knees. We were lost.