Before the subway stations and tunnels were built, Gotham City stood above a vast salt mine that stretched beneath Old Gotham and beyond. Later, as the island and shoreline expanded and the modern city grew, a complex municipal water system was integrated underground, one that could never remain fully functional.
In the dark of a tunnel, faint light seeped through the cracks above. Many had run along the non-functional rails. A shadow ahead stumbled, but kept moving forward. Drops on the ground traced an irregular path following the figure.
Isaac stopped at a corner, breath calming down. He couldn't escape by the next station exit. Batman or the GCPD could be waiting for him. He was screwed. Fat brown rats passed before his eyes.
Next to him stood a service room door with a label 'Staff Only' written in black over a yellow background. His fingers grabbed the handle. It was closed. No gun, no thief skill, and no will to break it apart.
He continued in the tunnel. A vending machine lay on the station floor, empty of its bottles and snacks. A man covered his wife and his daughter in his arms. Isaac's throat tightened.
The next tunnel joined line H5 with J3 forming, not the expected grid, a large hidden station with five rails tracks for maintenance and diversion. An older Cargo Wagon model bearing rusty rails and broken wheels rested on the farthest track.
The humidity stuck to his skin. Rodents escaped into holes in damaged metal mesh separating the station infrastructure with a four-fifth empty reservoir on the other side. A ladder and concrete walkways came into view. Two meters lower, not dangerous.
The cheap metal bar holding the mesh folded under a kick without collapsing fully. Isaac lowered himself, hands on the subway station, as his body dropped onto the walkways. If he followed the flow of the water in the next passages, he might find a main exit, or even a river outlet. And if not, he'd have to rely on markings or maintenance panels, if any still existed, he hoped.
The concrete walkway stretched for twenty meters beside the finger-sized stream flowing into the reservoir behind. Chin pressed to the chest, the shirt covered his nose. He reached the end of the path, or its beginning. Large bars prevent any path on the right side at the T-junction.
Famished noises echoed. Another intersection and still no marking. An empty can of tuna floated on the now, palm size water flow. The wall trembled, a distant screetch of rails hiting something.
An hour or maybe less, he didn't know how long he had trailed nor the number of branches he had met. He stopped counting after twenty three. A faint arrow head on the concrete appeared when the light bulbs functioned.
Isaac smelled spoiled meat first, then he saw the marks on the walls and the floor. "Fuck." He stopped. A torso without a head, in what used to be a black suit, lay half on the concrete and half in the sewer water. Four lacerations dissected the stomach, a house of hundreds of black cockroaches.
His muscles strained. Only the water flowing lazily and the continuous insect's whisper. He waited for a full minute. He was alone.
Stepping closer, he gulped. Those were genuine leather shoes, probably a rich gang member or victim. He took a deep breath, then held it, eyes avoiding the neck part. The corpse was lighter than expected. Cockroaches either fell under his sole or flew in all directions.
A damaged screen phone, but no wallet. He pressed the start button, no response. Maybe out of battery. Anyway, thanks.
Isaac pocketed the phone after removing the SIM card. He continued in the underground maze, stomach burning, hearing chewing when nothing hid in the shadow.
The landscape had changed to a wide chamber supported by massive concrete pillars. Each one rose from the black water, its surface slick with moisture and age. Larger than a football stadium, it allowed a dozen streams to flood toward a chasm whose bottom stayed hidden.
Isaac advanced in a straight line until he noticed a dim light. Behind a pillar, arranged in three rows, lay nine bodies. Cold sweat gathered on his back.
"What the..." His whisper couldn't finish, not after seeing the girl.
One knee on the concrete, her right hand put a white cloth on the body face, while the left one held a palm-size lantern, glowing softly. A white serpentine line from the skull's forehead glided into the lantern. A whisper or a raal entered Isaac's ears.
"You shouldn't be here."
His stomach twisted. "...Is that." Words couldn't leave his mouth. On the second row, middle position, clothed like a cop, a foot flinched?
Dark blue fabric caressed the ground before hiding her body, a pair of violet eyes staring at him. He took a step back, his legs muscles fully tensed.
"Do you fear me?" She tilted her head, but didn't come any closer. "Stay away."
Isaac's pupil dilated. "I, I..." He lowered his head. "Give me some, time." His voice lingered on the last part.
A faint breeze wriggled the nine white clothes. "I'll go." She turned to the other side. Meters away, a ladder climbed to the top of a pillar.
"No. Wait." He rushed in. "Boby!" His hand touched her robe. A flash of black light appeared for a second. Fingers a bit numb, stayed in the air. A hint of sweet reached his nose, heartbeat hammered faster. "...That's?" His finger pointed toward the three rows.
Her gaze sized him up. He didn't look much different than the last time. Deeper dark circles from exhaustion and the same thin scar pulsing, but now, a bit of redness over the lips and the cheek. He had, once more been in a fight. "Indeed, foolish."
"...Them?" His eyes moved toward the rows before returning on the girl. His breathing slowed.
Her face remained neutral. She wouldn't answer even if he insisted more. What could he say? What else, did he want to tell her?
"Heum, wait a moment." Isaac took a few steps back slowly. Then he sprinted toward the pillar behind.
For an instant, her composure broke before she forced her neutral expression, even if a tick remained on the corner of her mouth.
Crouched beside the first column and second one of the top row, Isaac's fingers rolled up the corpse's sleeves. No watch, a used tissue he put back and no wallet inside this guy's pockets. Meeting Boby's frown, he forced a smile, teeth tight. "They don't need it anymore."
He sped up. In less than five minutes, he had gathered a bit less than a hundred bucks with one silver watch and a magazine for Glock 17 but no gun. Better than expected, and no strong nausea. Not seeing the face or the stench helped a lot.
He climbed the ladder and ran after the walking figure. Shame filled his cheeks. It wasn't clean. He wasn't. She probably hated how he desecrated the dead. When he reached her level, he saw no disgust. Her violet eyes glanced at him before scanning the tunnel they entered after leaving the chamber.
His shoulders relaxed. Together, they navigated the maze of narrow walkways, and water‑slicked floors. Some graffiti displayed the Dark Knight under the feet of a monster in green with large fangs. The occasional drip echoed, counting their steps.
They stopped in front of a two meters and half wall. The water fell from above. There was another level, but too high for a normal jump. No ladder, no holes for climbing, nothing to hold on or to step onto.
Isaac jumped, his fingers one centimeter away from the edge. He looked at Boby. How did she expect to take this path in that sense? Another jump, the distance to the top increased. His legs were sore.
He put his back against the wall, in a sitting position, ready for Boby to climb on his shoulder.
She shook her head. "Isaac, I won't be able to lift you after."
His arm raised for her to stay in place. He walked ten meters aways from the wall. Stretching his wrists, arms and legs for thirty seconds before running but not at full speed to control the moment he jumped against the wall and with the impact's force and momentum rebound in a vertical line. His hands straightened, the palm above the edge, gravity took action.
His torso slammed against the concrete, but half his forearm and hands clawed the next level. As he lifted himself, a small force stabilized his footing. At the top of the wall he inhaled with his mouth. With a thumb up he greeted Boby. She seemed to be smiling.
Putting most of his body on the ground, he lowered one arm for Boby's reach. She jumped higher than he expected, lighter too. Scraped forearms seized her arms as his fingers gripped her clothes. The sweet fragrance calmed and soothed his muscles.
They had climbed the wall to continue on another tunnel. His sleeve touched her robe as they walked into a cooler air. After taking a direction according to a damaged marking on the ground, a loose metal grate clattered slightly above them.
Isaac looked up and smiled. Boby responded with a small nod. Step by step, they ascended. The sound of dripping water faded, replaced by the faint roar of the city above. A streak of pale streetlight slipped through a narrow grate. They emerged into the open air. Iron teeth above and at the bottom were left on the opening 'door' toward the river.
They could finally leave this passage.
Brick warehouses lined the riverbank. Further inland, crooked buildings rose through the mist, warped by years of neglect. A large panel missing some letters 'Bo..ry Best B.t' on the closest warehouse marked their position.
That's why he couldn't find Boby most of the time. She wasn't in the New or Old Gotham but also in the Bowery, guessed Isaac. Her dark blue cloak sticking to her form couldn't hide the rectangular object on her belt. Violet eyes scanning the streets.
She was ready to go.
He cleared his throat. "Want to grab some... W maxi burger after?"
Her face softened. "...Maybe, another time." Her hands slowly advanced. No shiver nor recoil met her finger touching his ribs. His chest rose lower. She rested her hand for another second.
"You have to let me go, Isaac." She put the hood up and faded into the city's darkness.
Isaac waited until her figure took a corner on the sixth warehouse before walking toward the main street. His stomach grumbled. On the new silver watch, twenty one hour and a quarter. The manifestation started around two in the afternoon, so he had spent around seven hours in the underground.
He shook his head. His sense of direction was way worse than expected. Parallel paths from the subway when he was in the water network should have been easy to follow and exit, if not for the many closed paths and multiple branches.
Following his nose, he finally found a Wayne Family Burger shop. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed Boby wasn't there. She hadn't followed him in secret. She was gone.
Even at this hour, five people waited for their order before him. At his turn, he spent fifteen dollars for a special limited double maxi menu for one maxi large and one extra large double burger with large french fries, two XL sodas and one pack of six chicken nuggets and one apple pie.
One menu for him and one of Emma, when he would be home. With the menus in craft paper bags, he waited at a bus station to return home, making two more bus changes. The bus radio carried a discussion between three guests and the organizer about today's riot at the Superman supporters' gathering, stopped before the march could begin.
Was Superman a menace or a savior?
At home, what he met wasn't only one pair of disappointment, but a second one.