The first tunnel was a dud. Luckily
they figured out it was caved in within a mile or so. They walked back slowly
and decided to call it a night. They darkness meant that they could not be positive
of the time but they knew it was long past the dinner hour and they were tired
and exhausted. Asa handed out the cardboard-like bread rations. After passing
round the water pitcher the children began to lie down. He heard a few of them
sniffling past tears, weak attempts at hiding their fear.
Rueben sat next to the old abbot
and spoke quietly. “Which Tunnel should we try next Abbot? Are there any clues
as to which one would be better than the other?”
The Abbot sighed, “I do not know
Rueben. Perhaps we should pray about it and make a decision in the morning.” Morning, thought Asa, when will ever see morning again? He laid out his cloaks, lay on his back
and stared at the old ceiling above him. His faith was shaken. Uncertainty
plagued him. Once so full of faith he could stand on sand dune and stare at the
sun and now so broken he had no direction- buried in this tomb. The night
passed slowly.
Hours passed and he heard some of
the children began to stir. He sat slowly and looked around. The few lights in
shelter were beginning to flicker. It was time to move. He looked over at the
younger priest, “Well Reuben, where does the Lord lead us?” Surprised, for the
abbot was not one to relinquish the reigns of control, the priest pointed down
one of the tunnels. “I believe I would go this way, Father.”
Asa nodded, “Let us go forward
then” and he picked up the myriad of light-torches, gathered the children in a
line and they began the treacherous journey into the depths of the earth. Asa
led, the few adults in the middle and Reuben brought up the end. No more
children would be lost; no adult would go unaccounted for. The darkness of the
tunnel was absolute without their light-torches and they could not be recharged
without sunlight. There was no way of knowing how long they’d last.
The tunnel was mostly clear of
debris. Here and there parts of rock or old tools had been left behind but
mostly the floor and walls seemed to have held up. The tunnel itself, narrow
and short at the beginning started to widen as they moved on. By mid day the
tunnel was a full six and half feel high and they could walk by twos. It was
suffocating, the air had not moved there for a long time, the torches were only
good for seeing right in front of ones feet. It was as though the darkness was
snuffing them out.
As they walked Asa prayed. He
wasn’t sure what he was praying for though and he didn’t bother to figure it
out. He could hear the children talking, some crying, some stopping to use the
restroom and the few adults were murmuring. Little Rebekah walked next to him the whole way. None of her
siblings had made it down; her mother and father too were absent. She was all
alone.
