The boys crouched down and peered through the crack. They saw the large back of the gendarme, but no sign of Moses. The officer took a few steps backward, just in front of the door. Jacob shoved it with all his might. The wooden door knocked into the gendarme, throwing him off balance, and the two boys shot into the room. Moses was there—wearing almost nothing but the belt marks on his back. When the gendarme made to stand, Joseph pummeled and kicked him to give Jacob and Moses a moment to escape. But as they ran, the gendarme grabbed Joseph’s leg. The boy fought with all his strength and planted his foot in the man’s eyes. The officer collapsed, and the three boys took off running into the darkness of the basement.
Minutes later, hoping they were a safe distance away from the gendarme, they paused to catch their breath and turned on the flashlight.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Jacob said, his voice unsteady. “The gendarmes will register us and then send us somewhere else.”
Moses stood looking at him, speechless. His pants were bunched up and twisted, his shirt was on inside out, and his face was blotched with screaming red. Jacob reached for and held his sobbing brother.
“The worst is over,” Jacob soothed him, stroking his hair. “We’re together again. That’s all that matters.”
“I . . . I was so scared. He was . . . He was crazy. I thought he was going to . . . to kill . . .” Moses stammered and gasped for breath.
“Shh, shh. It’s okay now,” Jacob said in his calmest voice. Moses’s breathing evened, the rising of his chest echoing the fall of his brother’s in a soothing rhythm. They had been still for several minutes, and all three boys felt a little cold. The past few hours had left them drenched in sweat, and in the stillness it turned into a chill.
“Do you think these tunnels have an exit to the outside?” Joseph wondered aloud.
Jacob turned the flashlight onto their friend. He seemed even paler than when they first met him, and his shirt was damp with sweat. Jacob had only seen Joseph a few times before, and only ever in the synagogue—but since they had found each other here in the velodrome, he had started to become another kind of brother.
Jacob grabbed the Star of David his aunt had tacked onto his shirt and yanked it off. He threw it onto the basement floor and stomped on it. The other two boys followed his example. They entered near hysterics trampling the symbol of their shame and oppression.
“That is the last time I’ll ever wear it.” The absoluteness in Jacob’s voice cut through the energy of the younger boys. Then he turned the flashlight into the darkness, which could not be chased away but could be split open by the light. As hope could destroy doubt, the ray of the flashlight would be enough to guide them to freedom.
They walked down several tunnels and started to hear the noises of toilets being flushed. “People are waking up,” Joseph observed. Then they heard the rush of water through the pipes.
“Water will lead to the sewers,” Jacob said. “If we follow it, we might find an exit.” The boys quickened their pace. When they were unsure where to go next, they stood still, listening to discern the direction of the flowing water. They heard voices in the distance but tried to ignore them, focusing on the water that might lead them out.
Jacob spotted some pricks of light in the ceiling of the tunnel and some metal rungs in the wall. “It looks like a sewer drain,” he said. The boys looked around them before deciding to climb the ladder.
“What happens if we’re coming up too close to the velodrome and a gendarme sees us?” Joseph asked.
“We’ll just have to run. They’ll be able to see us since it’s daytime, but we can try to get lost in a crowd,” Jacob answered.
“But our clothes are disgusting. We’ll stand out. Plus, you can see where the star used to be,” Joseph countered, touching his chest.
“Well, we’ll head for empty streets. First, let’s try to find my aunt at her apartment. Then we’ll go to your family’s house so you can get cleaned up. After that, we’ll go with you to find them like we promised.”
Joseph studied his friend’s face, as much as the darkness would allow.