About fifteen minutes later, we were standing on the subway platform. I had heard it described, but that hadn't prepared me for how spooky it would be. It was dark, except for the corners our flashlights illuminated as we swung them around, and the parts we could see were dirty, with trash and dust scattered everywhere.
The trip from Duffy's to the subway station had been circuitous, and I was glad I wouldn't have to try to retrace my steps. The corridors were narrow and crudely made, the walls seemed to be stone and brick, with boards here and there. Nothing was at right angles to anything else, at least as far as I could tell in the darkness. The flashlights were mostly directed ahead of us, and on the uneven floor. Neil, Tammy and I had to duck our heads a couple of times, because the ceilings were so low.
Then we'd reached a circular hole in the floor, with a metal ladder going down into it. We couldn't fit through the hole with our knapsacks on, so we removed them and carried them as we descended.
The platform was spooky, as I said, but at least there was room to breathe.
Vicki said, "That was the exciting part. The next part will be boring, we hope. Long and boring, because I'm sure none of us wants to sleep in these tunnels. I want to get out of the city, and out of the tunnels, then we'll make some kind of camp and get some sleep."
"In the tunnel," Neil said, "we should go single file. Vicki and Katherine will be in front, and I'll bring up the rear. In between, I don't think the order matters much. Probably Tammy should be near the front, though, in case we meet anybody we need to negotiate with. We'll have to use flashlights at all times, of course, so if anybody is ahead of us, we'll be easy to spot. Vicki's hearing may help us to tell whether we're alone or not, since the tunnels aren't all straight, and we won't be able to see farther than the next turn."
As we put the knapsacks back on, I noticed that Katherine had a strange expression on her face, as if she was trying to keep from smiling. I leaned toward her and caught her eye. "What is it?" I asked quietly.
I was nervous that she was imagining the ways in which this trip might offer opportunities for mayhem and carnage, but she leaned toward me and said, "You see that spot, over there?" She pointed at one area of the dirty platform, which looked pretty much like the rest of it. "That's where Pete proposed to me."
"Very romantic setting."
She smiled and deliberately ignored my sarcasm. "Yes, it was," she said. She wriggled her shoulders, getting the weight of the knapsack distributed properly. Then she looked at Neil. "Cigarettes?" she asked him.
He nodded. "Only when we stop for breaks." He looked around. "Any other smokers?"
Tammy smiled at Katherine. "If you get uncomfortable, please let me know."
"I beg your pardon?" Neil asked.
"I can alleviate cravings," she explained.
"If you could train people to do that–"
"Sorry," she said, smiling, "I'm sui generis. Shall we go?"
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