Into the Tunnels.

The old shelter offered ancient lights which ran on a modern generator that on the surface above.  The lights flickered as the bombs continued. Dust from the ceiling drifted down with each bomb that dropped from above. Children coughed and cried and Asa waited. How long they had been bombing he did not know. He prayed that they would stop.

It was no secret that Tri-Verse communities sent out drones to monitor the growth of the Disconnected. They must have known when the community was most vulnerable. They must have known when the children would be separated from their parents. They must have known when they could cause the most damage. Silent tears ran down Asa’s weathered and dusty cheeks. The dust and tears made mud that fell from his chin and onto Rachel’s head as she sat close to him in his lap.

She looked up at him. “Father Asa” she said gently, “Do not cry, God will give us a way.” He looked into her eyes and could barely still the swelling guilt that welled up inside of him. Would they ever forgive him if they knew he’d caused it? Just then, the lights flickered once more and then stayed on. The noises above quieted and the whining of the engines began to fade. The domed room with faint lights that had stood the test of time remained even still; these walls had been built for such an attack. He was impressed with the ancients- their foresight had saved the children.

Asa moved Rachel off his lap and stood. He motioned to the Father Reuben and they moved towards the stairway. As the children and the few adults watched they made their way up the steps to see if the door could be opened. Asa pushed up on the wooden door while the Reuben ensured the old abbot didn’t hurt himself. Anyone could see though that the door would not open; the town hall had crumbled all around it.

Reuben sat with Asa on the top step overlooking their dusty constituents below. Emergency foodstuffs were stored here for weather emergencies but it would only be enough for a few days. They spoke quietly to one another as they decided their next course of action.

“Abbot, perhaps it is time to seek out the tunnels.”

The Abbot was slow in responding but finally answered, “and what do we do Rueben? Starve in the belly of the earth with these children following us like blind mice?”

“Abbot, perhaps it is better that they starve in the belly of the earth then under the dead bodies of their families. We cannot give up yet.”

The tunnels were another testament to the ancients. They had built shelters that had dotted the landscape and connected them with tunnels. Many of the old shelters and most of the tunnels now stood below ruins of cities long abandoned by time and necessity. No one had mapped them or knew exactly where they went. They were dangerous and many of the tunnels had failed; still, one might offer an escape. It was their only hope.