A Much Trusted Friend

A Much Trusted Friend
A cleansing rain wins mortal fame when it leaves the sky
To bless or curse the earth below we learn in the bye and bye

The tunnel smelled as it always had.  Dark, dank, and not pleasant at all.  The smell of dirt after a few feet down has a pungency to it that isn't easy to describe to those who have nothing to compare it to.  But take my word for it, it's not a smell you ever get use to.  I didn't bother lighting the lantern preferring to let Isabella learn how to let Boris guide her.  "Penelope," she spoke in the complete darkness, "how in the world did you manage to get use to this smell?"  I couldn't help but chuckle lightly.  "I didn't, it's just part of the routine."  Isabella was obviously uncomfortable being completely engulfed by the darkness we were in.  "Routine" she spoke as we walked through.  "How could anything like this become routine?"  I figured the conversation would help sooth her anxiety some.  "Well, we did it because we had to.  Not because we wanted to.  It was just another part of life. To be honest,  I thought it was the way every one lived until I was about twelve or so.  That's when I first started learning that not every one lived this way."
Isabella's voice sounded as sturdy as a rock floor one minute and as unsure as standing on ice the next.  "Well not to sound rude but I'm very glad I never had to do things like this when I was a child.  I honestly can't imagine thinking something like this is normal.  I grew up simply living; not trying to learn how to survive and your mother grew up in Bridge Port, this must have been as confusing for her as it is me."
"Well, she didn't grow up in Bridge Port.  She was born there.  She was six when she moved here to Rivertown."
"So they moved here and all of those raids started."
"Sort of, the raids started before they moved here.  The way I understood it was that's why they moved here.  The land had been here for years.  When the raids started her family moved out here to protect it from being stolen by the raiders who were filing false claims in the state's capital and destroying the original deeds of the land owners."
"How did they do that?"
"Some foreign bankers apparently.  They started a banking system after the stock market crashed, built new banks, wrote new deeds, filed them as properties owned by their bank then sent in private mercenaries to get rid of anyone who had a claim to the properties they were trying to claim.  Some of the bankers and insurance companies in Pembrook are the ones who figured it out.  Apparently the new banks had tried to claim the old banks properties and the banks themselves as being owned and financed by some foreign outfit.  Which of course they weren't but it took years for the right people to get involved and stop the whole fraudulent thing."
Isabella sighed.  "While you and your neighbors were tunneling under the ground just to live through it.  That's proposterous.  Whose idea was it to build the tunnel then?"        
"My father's family.  Well, his and a few of the other families that lived between here and Rivertown.  He said this was how he survived the war in Europe when he was a child.  His family lived in a small area between two major cities that were being bombarded with artillery shells from the Germans trying to overtake the cities there in Switzerland." 
Isabella was surprised.  "You're father's from Switzerland?" 
"Yes, he was just a boy, about nine years old or so when he came to America with his family.  They left there to escape the first war."
"I didn't know that" Isabella continued our conversation.  "I thought he was from Bridge Port."
"No, my mother's family is from Bridge Port.  My father came from Switzerland.  They had to use tunnels there to escape the war so they could get away from all the bombing and army that were marching through the place.  The way he described it sounded worse than anything you'll read or hear about from books or newspapers."
"Really?"  She asked.  I could hear the surprise in her voice. 
"Yes, his entire family had to leave their home, part of their family, their friends, most of their possessions behind just so they could survive.  Even when they thought they were in a safe place for a day or two things would go bad somehow; the tunnels would flood or collapse from the bombings above ground.   He lost his best friend, two of his brothers, and an aunt in one of the tunnels when it caved in.  They didn't even have a chance to retrieve their bodies; they had to leave them there to keep moving before the whole thing fell in on top of them.  Mr. Samuels and his family came here from Switzerland too; same area my father is from.  Much the same way my father did.  They didn't know the other's family had escaped until years later here in Rivertown."
"Mr. Samuels?  Charles and Agnus's father?"
"Yes" I replied as we moved along the walls with Boris guiding us along the tunnel with ease. 
"I had no idea."  She spoke clearly understating the facts.
"Well, it's not something people usually talk about."
"And your mother, she was born in Bridge Port you say?"
"Yes, her family has been in this country for over a hundred years.  Most of them were born in Bridge Port or around here.  When the raiders started running through here some of the locals like my mother's family and the Hunts started hiring people to help build a way to protect their families.  Mr. Samuel's family, my father's family and a few of the others who had came from Switzerland and Germany helped them develope the tunnels to help keep people safe."  The darkness was starting to get to Isabella.  "Honestly Penelope, it's black as pitch in here, how much further?" 
"When you feel the slack in the lead on Boris you'll know you're close.  Try not to think of the dark as much as you do on the lead.  I would tell you to take a deep breathe but the smell won't help" I tried to make her relax some.  I'm not sure if she relaxed or not but she did manage a slight giggle before she said, "The smell is awful." 
"If I had thought about it I would have told you to wear something over your face.  It helps with the smell but it's not so good for your oxygen intake down here.  If you have a high collared shirt or sweater it's easier than anything you would wear as a mask.  You can use it over your mouth until you get use to the smell then you should take it off so you can breathe better.  If you start to feel light headed give the leash a tug for Boris to stop and take a few breathes until you feel yourself stablize some.  Don't rush if you don't have to.  The darkness throws off your balance too so just take your time.  Like I said it takes some getting use to.  After today, you should make some time during the day with Boris to learn.  You can use a lantern after the crawl."
"The crawl?"
"Along the walls and through the crawl, what you can't see will tell you all."
"Poetry, great" Isabella huffed.   I could hear the sarcasm in her voice.
"Don't knock it till you try it.  It's a great way to keep calm and apply the directions to your memory.  My mother use to verse different things to me when I was younger to help keep me calmer."  I heard her take a deep breath then she said, "alright, I think I'm alright.  What was the verse again?  Around the crawl?"  I interrupted her, "no, along the walls and through the crawl, what you can't see will tell you all.  I should have told you from the beginning.  It makes more sense that way."
"So that's the first part?"  Her breathing was growing a bit shorter.  "What's the second part?"
"No actually the entire thing is, down the slope, catch the rope, take the sack on your back, along the walls and through the crawl what you can't see will tell you all." 
Isabella laughed lightly.  "Ah, alright, I got it.  We slid down the slope of the wall,"  I confirmed her thought.  "Yes, and then" I encouraged her to continue.  "Okay, let's see.  Down the slope catch the rope; that was at the end of the slope with the satchel on it.  Then take the sack on your back.  You took the satchel off the rope and put it on your back to pack it.  Now we're going along the walls until we get to the crawl.  What's the crawl?"  Boris stopped walking and the tension on the lead lost it's tug.  When it did Isabella made another step or two then stopped.  I stopped behind her.  "What you can't see will tell you all.  Boris, I can't see Boris."  She stated emphatically. 
"Right" I encouraged her.  "He's your lead.  He can walk these things all day and night without missing a step.  If he smells something different he'll stop and lead you away.  Trust him." 
"I will" she said, "now what's the crawl?"
"We're at it.  You're going to get down on your hands and knees to follow him.  Give the lead a light up lead with your hand, like this, just a small ripple with the rope." I demonstrated the motion.  I could hear Boris make his way through.  "Did you hear that?"  I asked Isabella.  "Yes, so I do what?"  I guided her body in the direction she should move.  "Now, just crawl through the space.  Think about your motion as you go through, you can feel the closeness around you."  She did as I instructed then I followed her through.  "Now, back to your feet" I instructed as I took her forearms to guide her to her feet.  "Are you alright?"  I asked to make sure.  "I think so, as good as I can be I guess." Isabella said to the darkness between us. 
"Now, feel the slack in the rope" I went on with my instructions, "We're going left here.  So tug the lead in the direction you want Boris to go.  This is the longest path but we need to do something on that side.  I'll show you the rest when we come back through.  Ready?" 
"As ready as I'm going to be" she said. 
"Alright" I responded then put the lead back into her hand and gave her the word when to go.  "This time, as we go, try to focus on the conditions around you.  You'll learn more and get a better understanding of how this works if you focus your attention on the motions of the path.  It's not difficult just concentrate on your body as you move along."  With that said we started again making our way down the path through to the barn.  There wasn't much conversation but she was moving much easier with every step we took.  When we finally reached the end of the path I did exactly what Oliver had instructed me to do.  Then we turned around and made our way back through to the way by whence we came.  When we finally reached the other side of the tunnel I took the satchel off of my back and lit the lantern.  As the light filled the darkness around us, both of our eyes needed a few minutes to adjust.  "There now" I let out a deep sigh "how's that?"  She wiped the small beads of sweat and dirt off of her face.  "Much better, thank you.  Is that a door?"  Her gaze was over my shoulder directly behind me.  "Yes it is.  I think you'll like this part much better than the first."  I reached into my pocket to retrieve the key then unlocked the large thick wooden door that lead to the safe room.  I held the lantern inside to show her the interior of the well fortified room.  I watched her closely for her reaction; pleased when I saw her smile with relief.  "Oh Penelope," she entered the living area that was full of furniture, pictures, books and carpets.  "Your family made this?"  She looked at me her face filled with wonder.  "Yes" I answered then closed the door.  "What do you think?"  She walked into the center of the room and looked around.  "Pretty good for an underground fortress, huh?"
"Pretty good?  It's amazing.  Look at the bookshelves."  
I slipped the collar off of Boris.   As she went to see the book shelves  I went around the room lighting the lamps in the room.  The water in the satchel was still full so I poured some in a dish for him and some in two cups for me to share with Isabella.  I offered her the water which she accepted gratefully.  "Thank you, are those bear skin rugs?"  She asked first then took a long drink from her cup.  "They've been in here since I was a kid" I answered, " I have to clean them from time to time to keep them from deteriorating but they're still in pretty good condition."  She sat her cup back on the small counter which surrounded a small sink area.  "Does the water pump work?"  She asked when she noticed it.  "Yes, I have to run it once a week so it stays fresh through the lines underneath but yes.  Everything here is exactly as you would find it in a normal house.  Only a scaled down version; there's even a bathroom over there."  I pointed across the living room to another door.  "It wasn't nearly this developed when I was small but over the years it turned into all of this."  She looked around the room admiring what she was seeing.  "You can take that off now if you want" I pointed to the lead leash around her waist line.  "We'll rest for a while before we go back."  She looked at me wearily, "can we use the lantern on the way back?"  I thought about it long enough to say, "no.  This really is the best way to learn."  She groaned lightly then faked a giggle for her own encouragement.   The rest of our time there was spent with her investigating the entire room down to the smallest detail and me answering her questions to fill in the story about how all she was seeing had came into existence.  "So your father's family, the Samuels and the Langstons' were the ones who made all of this because of what happened to them in Switzerland?"
"Yes.  Father really didn't talk about it much.  Only small portions over the years but as I got older I began to realize how much detail had went in to what they had invented;  the tunnel, the verses,  even Boris there is a part of their story."
"Boris?"  Isabella looked at the dog who was sleeping soundly on one of the rugs near the door. 
"That was the name of my father's oldest brother who died in the tunnel.  No one except him and the Samuels knew the name so it gave them a way of commemorating the lives of those they lost."  She sat quietly looking at the dog before she questioned me again.  "So the tunnel goes with the verse, and the verse is the story of your father's family escape."
"More or less, yes.  My mother and father added more to it over the years because of this tunnel and safe room and their love of reading.  But for the most part, it all originated from my grandmother and grandfather, yeah."    We had a few slices of bread with honey while we talked, I showed her where all the supplies were, made us a cup of tea, then rested on the couch.  "So if I ever end up here, stay here until someone gives me the right passage of this poetry verse" she wanted to clarify.  "Yes, it's something only the people who have used this method know anything about.  Outsiders don't have a clue."  She looked at me then to the lamp on the table.  "It's hard to imagine that something this amazing came from something so horrible." 
"I know.  I think about it everytime I go through the path.  But then the path itself leads to this room where I have so many good memories that I guess that's what it was meant to do."
She softly nodded her head in understanding.  "So there's one of these in the house somewhere behind the kitchen wall, one under the barn and this one from the closet.  And Boris is the only one besides yourself who knows the way through.  Is there anything else that I should know about" she looked around the room, "all of this." 
"A few things, yes.  Like before you leave either way, up and out the shed, which of course you only do when absolutely necessary, take that broom there" I pointed to the large whisk broom standing in the corner whose bristles were made fully of pine needles,  "and sweep the floor as you go.  If you ever come in here and see footprints, go back the way you came.  Don't stay in the room.  If the tunnel has footprints in it, stop and go back the other way.  If Boris smells anything other than our scent on the tunnel floor he won't go through.  Where he goes, you go and then stay there if there's a threat.  Someone we know will find you and him.  Like I said, this is only a small part of a very broad plan and involves more people than even I know about."  She looked at me and raised her eyebrows.  "Now how exactly am I suppose to know if there's footprints on the tunnel floor without a lantern?"  I laughed.  "I told you, Boris, he won't go through the tunnel if he smells someone unfamiliar.  And you can light the lantern to practise with but if you're in here by necessity then don't light it.  I recommend doing it without the light because it's good practise.  You learn the tunnel much quicker and it gives you an advantage if someone is in the tunnel or following you.  Don't be so quick to judge the situation.  You have time to learn and I'm with you too so it won't be as hard as you think."  Before we decided it was time to make our way back,  "try counting your steps on the way back" I told her.  "It use to help me when I first started doing this by myself." She laughed at me when I said it.  "Now you tell me" she replied as I locked the door to the safe room. 
"Well, at least I told you" I added to her jest then apologized for my lapse in instruction.  "You're right, I should've added that part in the beginning.  I'm just so use to doing this with Boris.  I'm not use to having to teach another person."
"It's alright" she accepted my apology.  "I'll work on memorizing the verse and counting my steps."         
"Well then, I guess we're done for this evening.  Ready to go?" I held the lantern up in my hand.  "Ready" she said.  "Alright," I blew the light in the lantern back out. We waited for a few minutes for our eyes to adjust to the darkness then I felt her ripple the rope to Boris and him start leading our way back to the house. 

To Forsake a Friend is to Forsake Yourself