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...