Initiates (The Book of Adam 3)

by Scott Gelowitz

  “Have any of you seen Trevor,” she whispered as Gurpreet started speaking again.

  “As I was saying, before we begin I have to give you some bad news. At the beginning of this year, you were all informed that the Sentinel League is a very exclusive organization, and even though you’ve been invited to join, this training will reveal to us if you are the right fit for the Sentinel League. You will notice that there are thirty-five less of you today than there were on the first day. Those individuals will not be back. They are the ones who didn’t make the cut so far.”

  The realization hit the group while Gurpreet spoke. Trevor wasn’t just missing. He wasn’t coming back.

  Kassie took a few moments to realize what Gurpreet had said. “Trevor,” she said with a shaky voice. It echoed through the silent room.

  Gurpreet avoided looking in her direction and continued.

  “This is the toughest part of the job for your instructors and upper management, because all of those that aren’t back today are still wonderful people, but because of reasons we cannot share with you, they will not be back this year. We thank them for all of the effort they have invested, but we must carry on and understand that what has been done is for the greater good.”

  Kassie sobbed as Gurpreet spoke, and it gave Adam a lump in his throat.

  “By the end of this month you will be done with your regular classes and we will begin moving you into your specialty area or areas. This is where you are going to have the most fun. Most of the learning is free learning, letting you explore your abilities and skills with guidance from your instructors. It is the part of the year where we see students shine. Anyway, from here on out things will only get better for those of you that remain. With that, I will hand you back over to Horton.”

  Horton stepped forward again. “I know how you feel right now, but please understand that we’ve done this for many many years, and it works out absolutely fine for everyone involved, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. You are all free to go for the rest of the evening, but classes resume tomorrow morning at the regular time. Goodnight.”

  Slowly people got to their feet and sauntered out of the door. It seemed that everyone there knew someone that didn’t return. Kassie sat at the table crying into her hands. Jimmy looked stunned, as did the rest of the table.

  Horton and Gurpreet approached the table and Horton spoke. “Adam, could you come with us?”

  Adam rose to follow.

  Jimmy spoke. “Where is Trevor?” he asked in a quiet, stunned voice.

  Horton and Gurpreet gave each other a look. “We can’t tell you until the training is over,” said Gurpreet.

  “Why?” was all that Kassie was able to say between sobs.

  Gurpreet sighed. “We will tell you at the end of the year. Until then, we just ask that you keep working and trying your best. Trevor is fine, there is nothing physically wrong with him.”

  “But we’ll never see him again,” said Jimmy, still in a daze.

  “That is still under discussion,” said Gurpreet, “but that’s all I’ll tell you for now. Adam,” he waved for Adam to follow.

  Adam looked at his friends and then did as Gurpreet asked, following them toward the Arrival chamber.

  “This is the toughest part of the year and it’s a hundred times worse because it had to be Trevor,” said Gurpreet.

  “Happens every year,” replied Horton. “They’ll get through it. Life ain’t all sunshine and margarita's on the beach.”

  Gurpreet chuckled.

  “Can I ask where we’re going?” asked Adam.

  “Mechanical lab,” replied Horton. “We’re going to have a talk.”

  Adam knew what it was about, and he hoped that Horton wasn’t angry. Gurpreet must have been convinced that Adam might be on to something.

  They walked the rest of the way in silence, and when they reached the door, Horton held his hand against it until it opened and they stepped inside.

  “We’ve had a discussion about your suspicions,” began Horton, “and Gurpreet thinks we should at least let you look outside to see what you think. If he’s that willing to authorize it, I will let you take a look. You’re not going to go very far, just enough to take a look around. We’ll tie a rope around you so you don’t slide away. Once you come back in, we’ll discuss next steps if any.”

  Adam couldn’t believe his luck. “Thanks!” he exclaimed as he looked from one face to the other.

  “Don’t thank us yet,” said Gurpreet. “Let’s go take a look at it first.

  Horton picked up a rope and handed it to Adam, then picked up a shovel.

  “You’re going to have to clear a bunch of snow just to get out there,” he said.

  Adam nodded and followed as Horton made a beeline to the far back corner of the Lab. After twisting around hoists, cranes, engines and stacks of steel, Horton disappeared into the wall. At least, it looked like he disappeared into the wall. Once Adam made it to the right spot he could see the opening Horton had walked through.

  “Come on,” said Horton, urging Adam along, and soon he stopped at a large metal door.

  “We can open this door either way,” said Horton. “I’m going to open it inward because there will be lots of snow on the other side.”

  “What about the alarm?” asked Adam.

  “Augustus knows it’s us and he’s going to ignore it,” said Gurpreet.

  Horton braced himself and pulled the door open quickly. To their surprise, it was almost clear.

  “Well I’ll be,” said Horton.

  “Let’s tie this on you now,” said Gurpreet and he wrapped the rope around Adam’s waist.

  “To be clear, we don’t want you going down, just stay on the flat part and look around once you’ve cleared the snow away,” said Gurpreet. He tied the other end of the rope to a large rock just inside the door.

  Adam nodded, took the shovel from Horton and began shoveling.

  “To be young and full of energy again,” said Horton and Gurpreet nodded his full agreement.

  Adam shoveled and shoveled until he had cleared the small landing on the other side of the door. It was a natural flat spot on the side of the mountain, and when he looked at the door, it was built to hide completely when closed. Thankfully, it was a nice day outside and between the sunshine and shoveling, only Adam’s hands and ears got cold.

  When he was finished, he stood still to take a good look around. Straight ahead, the landing dropped off into a steep grade going down to the river below. It was just as Horton had said and even snow wasn’t able to hang on very well because of how steep it was. His gaze followed the path through the few trees that grew on that side of the mountain until he reached the edge of the river. The river flowed away into the trees and disappeared.

  After staring at it for quite a while, Adam was convinced that Ed had figured out a way to get down to the river and then back up again. Somewhere down beside the river would be a great place to hide the Heartstone.

  He took a moment to look back up the mountain but couldn’t see very far due to the large cliff that rose above the doorway, so he walked back inside.

  “Well, what do you think?” asked Gurpreet.

  Adam thought for a moment. “If it were me and I knew that I needed to find a safe place to hide the Heartstone, beside that river would fit the description pretty well. It’s at Area 51, supposedly one of the safest places in the League, and it’s in a location that isn’t easy to get to, far away from other civilization. I’d like to go down there and hike upstream a little way to see what’s there.”

  Gurpreet and Horton looked at each other.

  “I told you he’d want to,” said Horton in an accusing tone.

  “You know I’m in the same position as you, Horton. I’ve been told to help him in any way I can,” replied Gurpreet.

  “So you’re going to let me try?” asked Adam, his excitement building.

  “You aren’t going alone,” said Gurpreet. “Since Linus isn’t
here we are going to send Val with you. He’s excellent at survival in the wilderness.”

  “Why are we standing around here?” said Adam. Let’s go get him.”

  “First we need to get you some winter gear and then come up with a plan,” said Gurpreet holding up a hand. “It’s getting too late to send you down there today, so we’ll send you tomorrow morning.”

  “Do I get to miss the first day of classes?” asked Adam.

  “We’ll bring the others here and call it a field trip,” Horton chuckled.

  Gurpreet grinned.

  “Let’s go get you suited up for tomorrow,” said Horton, “and Gurpreet and I will talk to Val to come up with a plan this evening.”

  ***

  When Adam finally made it back to the dorms, it was full of people but quiet and sombre. It seemed that everyone knew someone who got cut from the League and they were all in mourning.

  Derek, Kevin, Jimmy, and Mark were sitting around a small table and playing cards when he arrived.

  “Where have you been?” asked Mark.

  “Out on an adventure,” said Adam, and he emphasized the word ‘out’.

  Kevin stared at him through squinted eyes and when Adam nodded, Kevin’s eyes opened as wide as they could.

  “We need to go somewhere and talk,” said Kevin, and the others picked up on it, although Jimmy rose only half-hearted.

  “Let’s go find someplace private,” said Adam, and he led the way out.

  People seemed to be moping around everywhere, all downhearted at the recent news, and even their usually private hallway opposite from the pool was full of people.

  Derek had an idea. “Follow me.”

  They followed him back to the Arrival chamber and up the stairs to the Astronomy classroom. Dreena was there when they arrived, but before they could turn to leave, Derek asked, “Do you mind if we go in the Astrodome for a while?”

  Dreena replied, “Go ahead. Sometimes people like to look at the stars as they think. I won’t disturb you.”

  They followed Derek into the Astrodome and closed the door. Derek gave the room a spin to hide the door.

  “There,” he said. “Now we won’t be disturbed.”

  “Ok, spill it,” said Kevin. “Did you get to go outside?”

  “Yep,” said Adam.

  “Whoa, back it up a minute,” said Mark. “You wanna tell us what’s going on?”

  Adam began to tell them everything that happened since Boxing Day.

  “So why are they letting you go down there and look for the Heartstone?” asked Derek.

  “They think that Adam is the key to finding it, since he’s so much like his dad,” said Kevin.

  “If they find it and move it far away, it will protect the people in Grayson,” Adam continued.

  They could just see Derek nod in the dim light. “That’s a good idea,” he said. “I’m not supposed to tell you guys this, but one of the things Dad admitted is that he knows Larix was planning on returning to Grayson with an army if Karl failed. They think that it’s gonna take him a long time to build an army, though, based on what they found out from the others they’ve captured.”

  “First he thought I had it, now if he finds out I’m possibly the key to finding it again – I am in big trouble and so is the rest of Grayson,” said Adam.

  “So you get to go try and find it tomorrow?” asked Mark.

  “Yep. You guys get to come to the Mechanical lab as a sort of class trip,” said Adam.

  “Yesssss,” said Mark. “One more day with no classes.”

  The others laughed.

  “I should have failed a couple of grades. You guys have way too much fun,” said Derek with a chuckle.

  “Lets get out of here and go do something fun anyway,” said Mark.

  They all agreed, but Jimmy still seemed sad about Trevor.

  “Gurpreet did say that they haven’t made any decisions what they are going to do with Trevor. To me that means they haven’t wiped his memory and transferred him anywhere, so there’s still hope,” said Adam.

  Jimmy put on a weak smile and said, “Thanks for trying,” and followed the rest out of the Astrodome.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Adam barely slept the night. He was so excited about searching for the Heartstone that it consumed all of his thoughts. When he did sleep, it was light and dream-filled. He dreamed that he had found the Heartstone and held it in the air like he had just won a medal.

  He was dressed and ready before the phone rang to wake him, and was nearly bouncing while waiting for the others to go down to breakfast. The others were bleary eyed and tired, and Adam’s state of alertness annoyed them, so they teased him as much as they could.

  After gathering all of the supplies he had been given for the trip, the group helped him carry everything. They walked to the Mechanical lab to wait for Horton, Val and Gurpreet as they had been instructed on the phone that morning.

  It was the first time that Horton had ever been on time that year, and understandably so with Gurpreet and Val escorting him along.

  “You stayed here last night?” asked Mark.

  “I didn’t intend to, but your mother said it was ok so they put me up,” said Gurpreet.

  Horton slid past and opened the door.

  Val patted Adam on the back. “You ready for an adventure?” he asked.

  “Absolutely,” said Adam.

  “Mr. Chipper has been bouncing off the walls since we first saw him this morning,” said Jimmy. A night of sleep had returned his sarcasm back to near normal levels.

  “Come on in,” said Horton, and the rest followed his lead.

  “Put your stuff down there,” said Horton, and Adam set his things down. His friends placed the items they carried for him together on the pile.

  Horton nodded at Gurpreet.

  “Last night we had a discussion and looked at some topographical maps of the area. We came to the conclusion that the safest thing for you to do is to go down to the river, travel up it about a mile and then you will return a different way. We figure that if your dad had rigged up a method of getting back up the mountain easily it doesn’t matter because it is still too dangerous. You can cut around the base of the mountain and make it up to the lowest exit we have. It is about a seven mile hike uphill most of the way, so you’ll be pretty tired when you get back. Any questions?”

  “Do we have to wait for him?” asked Mark.

  Gurpreet rolled his eyes and shook his head.

  “Any good questions?”

  Adam shook his head.

  “Alright then. Let’s get going,” said Val. He had already put on everything he was going to be bringing along.

  Adam put on the winter gear, safety harness and a backpack full of supplies.

  “We’ve got enough supplies to last us four days if anything goes wrong. Even a small tent to keep us out of the elements,” said Val.

  They walked to the back of the lab, and when they approached to the door, Adam noticed two thicker black ropes tied to one of the solid pieces of equipment and leading out.

  “We are going to rappel down the side of this mountain,” said Val, excitement in his voice.

  “I’ve never done that before,” said Adam.

  “It’s super easy,” said Val. “Don’t worry about it. You’re going to love it.”

  Soon, Adam was rappelling down the side of the mountain after Val. He was right, it was really easy. In no time at all, they were at the bottom.

  “See, I told you,” said Val with a large grin on his face.

  “After you,” he said to Adam as soon as they had unhooked from the lines.

  Adam began to walk up the river, his eyes wide open to see what he could see. To his surprise there wasn’t much snow next to the river, and they made time easily. A few times he stopped and dug around a little, but nothing caught his eye as a location where Ed might have hidden the stone.

  After a half an hour of walking with no luck, the river suddenl
y fell off a cliff and became a sixty foot waterfall into a dark gorge. There was no possible way that Ed could have gone down there.

  Adam sat down, disappointed. He had been sure that Ed would have hidden the stone somewhere nearby.

  “No hunches?” asked Val.

  Adam shook his head.

  “Well, don’t get frustrated. It was worth a try,” said Val, handing a steaming thermos to Adam.

  He took a sip and tasted really good coffee, which in turn made him laugh at the memory of Kevin’s coffee.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Val, and Adam recounted the story to him.

  Val chuckled at the end. “I appreciate that you like my coffee,” he said, “but we should get going. It’s a long hike back.”

  Adam agreed and told Val to lead the way. He watched everything closely as they made their way back, and once in a while he stopped to check a possible spot, but none ever felt right. Soon, they turned away from the river and started the long hike uphill.

  Once they had gone up from the river a little, Adam could just see the rock cliff that was above the emergency exit. That cliff would have been nearly impossible to climb too, since it was straight up.

  The walk was filled with disappointment, at least in Adam’s mind. He had been absolutely sure that his dad would have hidden the Heartstone down the river somewhere. It just felt like it made sense.

  Every half an hour or so, Val would stop and make Adam catch his breath. They would eat or drink something to keep their strength up, and once Adam would confirm that he was doing ok, they continued on. Seven miles wasn’t all that far of a distance on the flatland in Grayson, but going uphill the way they were going was an incredible amount of exercise, even for Val who was in fantastic shape.

  I’ve got to lay off the extra helpings, thought Adam as he remembered that he had put on weight during the first half of the training.

  A few hours later, Val pointed up the hill and gave Adam some binoculars. Adam saw the open door, and it motivated him to continue.

  When they reached the doorway, no one was waiting for them. There were no Lumiens to light the way, even though Adam had found a Lumiens panel. Val turned on a flashlight and closed the door tight behind them.