Free Separation by J.S. Frankel

heard the sound of metal being replaced and Carlo
dropped to the ground. “Leo,” he called softly, “Lead the way.”
    Obediently, the mole-man dropped to the
ground. They’d entered a sewer, lined with ancient brick. A heavy
smell of mold and age lay thick upon the air, and the smell of the
garbage floating by verged on suffocating. Harry tried to breathe
through his mouth, but still the odors filtered in.
    Leo didn’t seem overly bothered by it. He
snuffled along, pausing every now and then to cock his head to one
side, as if listening for something only he could hear. The group
walked in silence for a few minutes, turning left and then right.
The only sounds were of the rushing water and the soft echoes of
their footsteps.
    Finally, they came to a brick wall. It was a
dead end. “Where do we go from here?” Harry asked.
    “It is magic time, I think you say,” Carlo
responded and moved to the front where he tapped three bricks in
rapid succession. A grating sound resulted, and indeed, as if by
magic, the brick wall seemed to split down the middle. It parted to
reveal a hidden world. It was indeed a marvel of engineering. “I
designed this,” he whispered. “It is my training.”
    “We go inside,” Leo said. “We rest, and then
your friend, he will come.”
    Following his lead, they stepped into a dry
room, warm and comfortable, and best of all, odor free, once the
door slid closed. “This is our home, at least for now,” Carlo said.
“Welcome.”

Chapter Five: The Hunt Begins
     
     
    The cavern seemed to be large and clean, roughly
thirty feet in circumference, lit by torches. The walls had been
scrubbed smooth by hand, age, and time, and a faint smell of cedar
hung in the air. “It is from the candles,” Leo whispered. “They
have nice smell, yes?”
    They did, and inhaling deeply, Harry began to
appreciate the concept of subterranean life. Air, surprisingly
pure, flowed in from vents carved into the rock. No rancid water
flowed. In the past, he and Anastasia had been forced to flee
through the most incredibly rank sewer systems around. This place
was a distinct contrast, and he began to relax somewhat due to
being among people like him. Trust, though, remained an issue.
    Off to his left, more chambers had been
hollowed out, and a number of figures, all transgenic and all
different, passed between them. “Some of them have familia, ”
murmured Leo. “Others, how you say, are unattached?”
    “I will show you around,” Carlo said. “After
that, you will meet those whom you seek.”
    Hold up a moment... he’d used the plural.
Harry felt a surge of betrayal flow through him. “You have two
people we’re looking for here? What kind of con game is—?”
    “It is no game, I assure you. I will show
you. Follow me.”
    As they walked along the dirt path, their
feet making soft, hollow sounds, Harry began to wonder if this was
some kind of trap, but then realized this was simply a city beneath
the earth. If Carlo had wanted to attack, he would have already
done so, but he’d holstered his weapon and moved ahead, leaving
himself exposed. No, he wasn’t the problem.
    “Harry, hold onto me,” Anastasia whispered.
She staggered, but then managed to right herself.
    “What’s wrong,” he whispered back.
    “I’m dizzy and I have to throw up,” she
answered.
    Carlo must have overheard, for he stopped and
pointed off to the right. “If you need to relieve yourself, there
is a toilet there. It is simple and feeds into the ground, but it
works.”
    Anastasia immediately tore off in the
direction of his finger, and a few seconds later the sounds of
vomiting could be heard, loud enough to wake the dead, as it were.
Harry spotted some sarcophagi wedged into the walls and had the
brief image of bones rising from the stone coffins.
    However, this wasn’t the catacombs, not the
pictures he remembered from textbooks. “Where exactly are we?” he
asked Carlo, once Anastasia rejoined them.
    “This place