"I couldn't get comfortable on that mattress."
"Of course. Exactly the same thing happened to me. I wasn't going to tell you now that I spent the night awake because I never stopped thinking of you. Go ahead, sit down. I recommend a cappuccino with a slice of homemade sponge cake for you. At least the server told me it was homemade."
Claudia sat down next to him, hiding how happy she was.
"I'll take your advice," she replied, "and I'll have the same thing as you."
"As soon as we finish with breakfast, we'll go back home. How does that sound?"
"Can't we take a walk over by some of the places near the wall? It's a wonderful day to enjoy the sea."
"Good idea, but I don't want it to get too late. We have a long drive ahead of us later."
"What a shame we didn't find the church," Claudia said, her tone betraying her disappointment. "I guess it's logical."
"Of course. If you think about it, it sounds pretty ridiculous to go searching for a church in the center of a city expecting that nobody has seen it for centuries."
"Yeah, it does sound absurd, although it was really nice to let ourselves be caught up in the excitement".
"We had a good time together... that's what counts."
Their subdued mood became a silence that brought their eyes together. They remained lost in their thoughts, absorbed in a seemingly endless series of emotions they weren't capable of understanding. Their hands brushed together and time split in two. In that moment, in that loop, you found the outsiders, who came and went unaware of the existence of everyone else, and the two of them, paralyzed by the desire to know one another.
*
"Where are you coming from?" the old man seated at a nearby table asked another man approaching him.
"From cleaning the tunnel," he replied.
"Which one was it this time?"
"The one that comes out underneath the castle. Lucky for me, they built them big."
"Yes, they knew how to make things right back in the old days," continued the first old man, "not the way they do today."
"Right, yeah, you're right about that. I mean you could fit my house, your house, and my cousin's house down there... come on, it's huge. OK, I have to go now. If my boss finds out I'm not working, he'll write me up."
"Don't work too hard now," the old man joked.
*
The magic of the moment that passed between Claudia and Nino was lost.
"Are you thinking the same thing I'm thinking?" Claudia asked.
"I seriously doubt it."
"I don't mean about the two of us."
"I know what you're talking about, I was just kidding," said Nino. "The truth is that wouldn't be a crazy idea at all."
"The church isn't in the plaza, it's underneath it."
"Without any building foundations in the way, no works, no complications. A space big enough to hide a building. It makes sense."
"Now we just have to find the way to get down there," Claudia added, staring intently towards the fountain.
Nino raised his hand to catch the waiter's eye.
"Excuse me, the check, please?
"Right away, sir," the server said pleasantly.
"One other thing, could you tell us where we could get a guided tour of the underground areas of the city?"
"We don't have that kind of tour here. Only the professionals go down there. It's very dark and damp, although it does have its mysterious side."
"Oh, really?" Claudia interjected. "And how would you know?"
"Ahh, okay, I'll tell you a secret because you seem like a really nice couple. You see that old building over there to your right? There's a trap door there that leads to the tunnels. My boyfriend and I go down there every once in a while, you know what I mean, right?" she concluded, with a knowing wink.
"Thanks for sharing your secret," Nino smiled. "Keep the change."
Their minds were made up when they stood up from the table. They headed over towards the old, seemingly abandoned building and began to explore inside. They were excited all over again, but failed to realize that the old man was intently following their every move, never letting them get out of sight.
"You're not going to believe this," the old man said into his cellphone, "but there are two kids searching for the entrance to the tunnels underneath the plaza. The worst part is I have the feeling they're not just looking for some place to have sex. Something else is going on, they act like they know something that they shouldn't know about. Don't waste any time and warn the others."
VII – Tunnels
When they found the stairway that led to some kind of wrecked wine cellar, they thought they had stumbled on the entrance to the tunnels. A pile of empty wooden boxes cluttered the right side of the stairs, while the left revealed the meager bags and beds belonging to a couple of homeless men. Nothing was visible in the back, only darkness. Unable to make out where the end of the wine cellar was, they turned on their cellphones and very cautiously made their way into the darkness.
"Watch where you step," Nino warned, taking Claudia's hand.
Suddenly, they noticed that the solid footing of the floor beneath them was becoming more flexible.
"That's weird, I have the feeling I'm walking on wood," exclaimed a surprised Claudia.
"You're right.”
They bent down, intending to check out the floor more closely, but a sudden creak stopped them in their tracks, terrified.
"What was that?" Nino asked.
Like the pincers of a lobster trapping its prey, Claudia's arms gripped his body so tightly they couldn't move.
"Was that the homeless guys?"
"I don't know," he replied, "but I don't think I want to stick around here in the dark without doing anything."
"Let's go back up. We should buy a couple of flashlights and then come back later."
"Good idea."
Before they could take another step, another creak sounded in the darkness.
"I do not like the sound of that at all," said Nino, very concerned.
Suddenly a series of creaks sounded all around them. The floor shook, the wood creaked, a light cloud of dust rose and their hearts raced in fear.
"The floor's giving way," shouted Claudia.
Before they even had a chance to react, they fell into a hole where all that existed was pitch black darkness.
*
An overwhelming feeling of anxiety swept over Nino a few minutes later. He couldn't see a thing. A coughing fit made him realize that a dust cloud was preventing him from breathing normally.
"It'll be better not to move much before I know where the hell I am," he said to himself.
Then he immediately thought of Claudia. A wave of fear ran through him and triggered an unbearable feeling of dread.
"Claudia!!!" he shouted desperately.
No reply. Nino decided that sitting there and waiting quietly was no longer an option. He stood up, gritting his teeth as he stoically battled the pain.
"Claudia!!!" he shouted again.
"I'm over here," she answered, coughing.
"Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm okay."
"Stay where you are, but don't stop talking to me. I'll find you that way."
"All right," she said and continued coughing.
"Try and breathe slowly and cover your mouth with your sleeve. That will keep you from swallowing more dust."
"Good idea."
Nino had already found her by the time she finished the sentence. They embraced in the dark, relieved that neither one had suffered any apparent injury.
"Where are we?" Claudia asked.
"I guess in one of the tunnels of the city. Do you have your cellphone? I lost mine when the floor collapsed."
"I don't know where mine is either."
"Let's see if I can calm down and think clearly."
Claudia affectionately patted him on the head.
"I'm sure you'll come up with something."
"If only I could find one of the cellphones..."
"Ti tiri tiri ti ti ti tiri tiri."
"But that's the ridiculous ring tone on your phone!" Claudia exclaimed.
"I see it now, don't move from here!"
The flickering light of the cellphone was just a few short steps away. He looked at the screen to see who was the hero of the moment and smiled.
"Hi, Mom."
"..."
"I'm fine, Mom, but this isn’t a great time. I can't really talk to you now, okay? My battery is almost dead. I'll call you later, all right?"
He hung up and then dialed Claudia's number right away. The ringing immediately gave away the location of the other cellphone.
"I have it now," she said.
"Excellent, now come towards me... but very carefully."
"Why didn't you tell your mother we needed help?" Claudia asked once she reached him.
"Look over there."
Taking her by the shoulder, he pointed to a spot in the darkness that resembled a door. A quick glance was enough to make them aware of the disaster they caused. The wood of the upper floor was almost completely rotted and had collapsed in one piece, creating a kind of ramp in the process. If the two of them wanted to get out that way, they would have go up that ramp very carefully. As the dust cloud slowly settled to the floor, the dim light overhead became stronger and enabled them to size up the damage surrounding them.
"You know, it's possible we're just a few meters away from what we were searching for."
"Well, then what are we waiting for?" said Claudia decisively, downplaying the ordeal they had just endured.
Fortunately, the very thick, sturdy door had been damaged by the impact and was already halfway open. They pushed against it with all their might and forced it to grudgingly give way amidst the complaints of squealing hinges and creaking of aged wood.
"Is this the church?" Nino asked.
"I hope not..."
Eight pillars aligned in a circle supported the weight of the plaza, while curved supports connected the lateral walls to the floor. It was an enormous space, although the most notable thing about it was how the empty the vast expanse was.
"There's nothing here!" Claudia exclaimed.
"Very strange, it seems to me," Nino remarked as he looked the place over.
"Why do you say that?"
"There's just too much space, don't you think?"
"Now that you mention it, it does give the impression that something really big was kept here."
"You think someone could have moved an entire building?” Nino asked uncertainly.
"If all the signs indicate they went to the trouble of hiding it down here, why on earth wouldn't they have a plan to move it?"
"Well, when you put it that way, it seems like a reasonable explanation to me, as unbelievable as that may sound.
"Unbelievable? More like completely insane, I'd say!" —Claudia shouted.
The sound of footsteps headed their way startled them.
"There are two of them," they heard a male voice say, "a guy and a girl. They didn't get this far by accident. I'm positive they came here to interfere in our affairs."
"What do you want us to do with them?" asked another man.
"There's no way I'm going let a couple of teenagers find out about our existence. Is that clear?"
"Understood," the second man answered amidst the murmur of other voices in the background.
Nino moved in front of Claudia to protect her and scanned the areas around them searching for an escape route.
"We'll go back to the abandoned house," he whispered, trying not to reveal their location, "and with a little luck we'll be able to climb up the collapsed floor.
Claudia silently agreed but just as they approached the door, they heard another group of men.
"They came in here," said one.
"Be very careful where you walk," another warned.
Nino and Claudia ended up with their backs against the wall and no idea of how to get out of the trap they were in. One group of men was coming down one of the tunnels after them and a second group was closing in from the direction where they had come in. They began to move along the edge of the wall, desperately searching for another corridor or a door to make their escape. The cold stone dug into their sides, while the noise of the cars driving around the plaza over their heads reminded them of how close they were to civilization and how difficult it would be to get there. As the menacing voices of their mysterious pursuers seemed to be coming closer, their hearts beat faster and faster, spreading fear though their entire bodies.
"Don't stop," Nino whispered.
Holding Claudia's hand, he felt his way along the wall without taking his eyes off every place where light was coming from.
"Get me out of here," mumbled Claudia, her hopes fading.
Nino bit his lips, overcome by the feeling that he had failed her. His obsession with getting mixed up in things that were none of his business had ended up not only putting his own life in danger but risked Claudia's life as well. The guilt wouldn't let him clear his mind to think straight. He wasn't sure whether to jump to the right or run to the left. They continued moving along close to the wall without any clear escape plan, not knowing which direction they should go, not certain they would be able to escape unhurt.
"Hold up a second," he whispered as his hand found an edge on the wall. "There's an opening here."
"Is it a way out?" Claudia asked.
"Or a way in, but I'd rather take my chances with whatever is inside there than to have those people corner us."
"And if they're not dangerous?"
"You may be right, although I don't really trust a bunch of guys who belong to a church of the dead.
"You're right," Claudia agreed, "let's try our luck in there."
But before they could slip inside the gap, a telephone rang:
"Ti tiri tiri ti ti ti tiri tiri".
"What great timing, it's my mother again," Nino exclaimed, turning the cellphone off immediately. But it was too late.
"Over here," yelled one of the men.
They had taken all of two steps inside when Nino and Claudia encountered a steep downward incline.
"Hang on tight so you don't fall," said Nino.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"
And the two of them descended into the hole...
VIII - Run!
Darkness! Footsteps! Terror! Noises! The Unknown!
The rats scurried off en masse to hide somewhere, or that was what they wanted to believe as the piercing squeaks pounded their temples, tormenting them. The dim light from their cellphones didn't do them much good now. Forced to make split-second decisions and run for the places they guessed, and hoped, were the most accessible at that moment, the two youths wound up getting lost inside a vast spider web of tunnels without any idea of where they were headed or where they should be going. The garbage stank, the shit sticking to their shoes increased the risk they would slip and fall and the walls were caving in all around them. They didn't have time to think over and pick what route they should take. They didn't know what the next turn would hold in store for them, or the subsequent consequences of deciding to go that way. They just ran like lost souls fleeing from the devil.
Breathing heavily, they ran through the narrow corridors laden with human waste. The small amount of light down there helped them go on but it confused them, too. The shadows projected by their own bodies made them even more anxious, forcing them to run even faster and become clumsier in the process. The constant dripping from the tubes, the sound of flowing water, the echo of their own footsteps... it all blended together in a convoluted loop inside their heads, bringing back memories of scenes from macabre movies with less than happy endings.
"I can't go on," Claudia gasped.
"We have to keep going," Nino insisted, although he was just as exhausted.
"Let's stop for a minute and think through what we're going to do. I doubt we can get any more lost than
we already are."
"All right, you could be right."
The scenario facing them when they stopped could not have been bleaker. Disoriented and thirsty, they understood full well that they were trapped.
"Why don't you try to call your mother?" Claudia inquired, convinced that was the solution to their problems.
Nino took the cellphone out of his pocket.
Goddamn it, I don't have any coverage here. Try yours."
"I don't have any bars either."
The cold crept up their bodies from their soaked legs, the physical discomfort now knotting their stomachs in tandem with the effects from their agitated nerves. Now they became conscious of the pain, too. But as the adrenaline was diluted and absorbed in their bloodstream, sanity returned and took stock of the situation.
"I don't want to die down here underground. In the shit," Claudia sobbed.
"Don't even think of repeating what you just said. You'll see how fast we find a way out of here. Bear in mind that we're very close to the sea, and that means the tunnels shouldn't be very long."
"Are you sure?"
"How can you doubt a fact like that? If you know this city better than I do."
"It is true we shouldn't be far from a way out or some place by the sea."
"Of course, which means that sooner or later we'll reach somewhere."
Now that her spirits were revived, Claudia said:
"Well, then... what are we waiting for?"
"You're right, we've already rested long enough. I suggest that we try to go in a straight line and, if we have to turn, we do it once to the right and then turn left the next time. That way we'll keep walking in that same direction."
"OK."
With their nerves calmed down, they analyzed their situation differently. The tunnels were still a horrendous, disgusting place that stank to high heaven, but their feelings of impotence mixed with fear had disappeared. They put one of the cellphones away to keep as a reserve in case they didn't find a way out before the battery went dead. They marked the exact spot they were starting from with a strip of fabric, in case they wound up going around in circles, and then continued on their way hand in hand.
"You hear that?" Nino asked, after they had been walking a while.
"Yes, I do. I hear it."
Tales from the Voynich Manuscript and the Island of Jan Mayen Page 9
