Lucilla--NaNoWriMo2014

Chapter Twenty-Five

Mark and Lucilla recovered their bicycles and belongings and were soon on their way north toward Rome.

Once again, they were riding on the Appian Way, the road begun some four hundred years before Lucilla was born.

"Oh, Mark, how I've longed for this moment all these months to travel this familiar road again. It has changed so little." She stopped at the roadside to read a tomb inscription. "Here's Scipio. He was centuries dead when I played here as a girl. But it's as if Scipio and I are old friends."

They say that the captive slaves from Sparticus' rebellion lined both sides of this road into Rome. They were on crosses just like your Jesus." Lucilla's demeanor changed. "Who is this Jesus, the crucified carpenter? How could a craftsman have such influence on people's hearts?" Lucilla was sincere.

"Lucy, you and I have done foolish things in our lives. Some things against ourselves and against others. Sometimes we think if we could forget about what we have done, those things would go away. We dare not present ourselves to a righteous God. Our deeds are too selfish. We are not good enough to go before God. Jesus was. You sacrificed in your time to please your gods. Jesus' death was an atoning sacrifice for all of."

"For my poisoning the man who raped me?"

"Even murder like yours."

"Oh, so human kind receive this grace?"

"They have but to ask."

Later as they reached Rome's outskirts, Mark stopped and had Lucilla read a name over a church.

"Quo Vadis?" Lucilla looked at Mark. "We both know it means 'where are you going?' "

It was on this spot that Peter saw a vision of Jesus and asked that question.

"Did Jesus answer?"

"He said 'I go to Rome to be crucified anew.' "

"What did Peter do?"

"Lucy, although Peter had escaped arrest by the Romans, he returned to give himself up for certain death."

"Why?"

"Peter faced the fear of death with courage. He believed he would survive death and be raised from death like Jesus. There were Christians who needed courage to face death. Would they have held to their beliefs if he had run away for fear?"

"How did he die?"

"They put him upside down on a cross on Vatican Hill."

"Oh, so Vatican Hill is made sacred by his blood?"

Yes, you do understand?"

"Peter unselfishly gave his life for a greater cause."

As they approached the church, a German staff car approached with a siren that altered high and low pitches as came to a halt. SS men emerged and began to follow them.

Mark nudged Lucilla to the other side church, where a sign over a cave entrance was marked Catacombe.

"Hurry," Mark said.

"Mark, I can't. Romans don't go into the place of the dead."

"If those SS men are after us, we will join the dead if they catch us."

Mark and Lucilla ran headlong into the catacombs. Mark clasped his hand to Lucilla's mouth for a moment. By that she understood the consequences of allowing her fear to overtake her. She follows Mark into a remote niche where there were two empty spaces. Both Mark and Lucilla lay in an unused burial chamber.

Now and then the SS, who did not have flashlights, would peer into the area where Mark and Lucilla lay and move on. They lay there until well after they were long gone.

Then Mark took Lucilla lower into the catacombs. At last they came to an open area with small white columns and an altar. Over on one side was a cave wall with a shaggy headed man with a sheep on his shoulders.

"In your time Christians took refuge, knowing Romans would never enter. Over a thousand years ago there was perhaps a less ornate altar than you see now. Here they worshipped God for another hundred years after your time. Here we are, hiding from Germans."

"Oh, Mark, I am so sorry that Christiana could not enjoy the freedom to worship, that my people tried to exterminate the church." Lucilla paused. "But did Christians persecute Roman religions?"

"No, Lucy, people stopped believing in them."

In time the lights in the catacombs went out.

"Oh, Mark, what do we do now?

"Don't panic, we may be here for a while but no one can find us either.  These catacombs are checked regularly by the church staff.  At least by morning someone will be here."

Mark took Lucilla in his arms.  "Forgive me for ignoring your fears, Lucy.  I always want you to feel safe."

Hours passed, and someone was approaching them with a flashlight.

Mark and Lucilla drew back into the shadows in fear that the German SS were back to search for them.  The lights drew brighter as they descended the narrow stairs and reached the floor level,  Mark and Lucilla remained still as the searchers came ever closer. Mark looked around for some kind of weapon when they heard a voice behind the blinding flashlight.

"Who is there, please?"

Mark whispered to Lucilla, "Germans do not ask 'please.' "  Let us accept our fate.

When the flashlight found them, Mark and Lucilla emerged with their hands up.

"You think that I have a gun?"

There stood the priest of the Church of the Quo Vadis.

"Fortunately for you the Germans mistook you for another couple before getting lost in the darkness.  I would hve come sooner, but I was generous enough to help them out of here."  The priest smiled. "May I say something before we proceed, Sejnore?"

"Yes, please."

"Hail, Mary!"

"Full of Grace,"  Mark said back.

A few minutes later they were sitting in the priest's office, when they were met by two men in worn suites, white shirts, but without ties.  Each wore a beret.

"You are Marcus Aurelius Costello?  This is your companion Lucilla?"

"Yes," Mark answered.  "Are you who I think that you are?"

"Yes, we are from the Italian Resistance.  We are ready to escort you to our safe house.  We have receive most of your post cards.  We have a radio with a multiple antennas in order to confuse German Radio Direction Finders.  The transmitters rotate signals so that they cannot get a fix on the transmissions."

"Boy, are we glad to see you!"

"We are now taking you to our safe house where you can rest, have a good meal, and then transmit any relevant information."

The underground resistance secured their bicycles in another vehicle. The ride through Rome was through dark streets.

"While you were gone today, Italy surrendered to the Allied Forces.  General Kesselring has moved fast to piece together what forces he can in order to defend against the coming invasion."

In a few minutes Mark had broadcast the sights he thought best for staging a successful invasion.  They were Salerno and Anzio up the coast north of Naples.  He warned that those beaches could be defended with minimal German forces because of the ease by which they could command the higher ground around those beaches.

He warned General Mark Clark not to send a ground commander who was too cautious and would not seize the advantage once they surprised the Germans.

Before they crawled in bed for a good-night sleep, Lucilla turned to Mark.  "Oh, how I look forward to seeing my Rome once again.  I could see little but an arch here and there.  Columns with lentles here and there."

"To me, Lucy, Rome is beautiful, whether ancient or modern, and I love it."

Mark took her in his arms.