Suddenly there was a loud clattering noise ahead. Saul caught me in his arms and pulled me back away from the opening. We heard the barking of German shepherds on the riverbank, followed by voices giving them stern commands to search. I froze. Had the Germans detected us? Saul pulled me into a crevice in the tunnel wall, pressing me so tightly to him I could feel his heart beating through our clothes. We did not move, barely breathed.

A few minutes later, the barking subsided. Still, Saul continued to hold me close. A wave of warmth shot through me. I liked him, I realized more fully than I had before, in a way I had never felt before about a boy. For a second, feeling his heartbeat against mine, I wondered if he might feel the same. Even as I thought this, I was more certain than ever that it was impossible. He could not possibly be drawn to me like this, amidst all of the dirt and filth and fear. I could not help but feel, though, that something had changed between us, with the flood and now this, bringing us closer. He released me and we started back to the chamber in silence.

“So you see,” he said when we were well away from the opening, “there is no way out but the river, and we cannot possibly...”

I raised my hand, silencing him. I heard an echo ahead, coming from a small tunnel off to the right that I had not noticed before. “This way.” I motioned for him to follow me. It led to a deep chamber, more of a concrete basin really, the bottom a good six feet down. The basin was empty now, but I could tell from the dampness it was a reservoir that would fill when the water in the pipes overflowed. On the far wall, there was a high opening to another pipe. “Come on,” I said, scampering down into the basin.

“Sadie, wait. What are you doing? You’ll never get back up.”

But I continued across the basin, not listening. “I have to try.”

“Of course you do.” There was a note of fondness in his voice as he followed me.

“I need you to boost me to that pipe on the far wall to see if there is a place for us to hide or escape.” He looked at me as if I was out of my mind and I thought that he would protest, but he followed me across the basin. “Help me,” I said. But he hesitated. Then reluctantly, he put his hands on my waist just enough to lift me to the high pipe on the far side. He pulled away quickly, but the warmth where his hands had been lingered.

I peered down the pipe. There was a narrow crawl space and a tunnel leading upward. At the end of it I could make out daylight. I could not make out any buildings or people here, just open sky and a bit of the castle looming over the river. “There’s another path outside,” I said breathlessly. “It’s a steep climb, but perhaps we could make it if we had to.” Though still dangerously visible, the opening here would not be as crowded with people as the one by the market where I met Ella.