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After a disappointing lunch, Allie was on her way to her next class when she heard her name being called.
Allie turned. “Yes, Mrs. Taylor?”
Mrs. Taylor’s face crinkled with worry lines. “Come with me, Allie. We are in danger of being discovered.” She walked quickly down the hall toward her classroom and Allie followed her.
Mrs. Taylor went past her class, into the lab room that adjoined it. Allie remembered the last time she had been here with Mrs. Taylor and the spelling ants. In the back of the room was a large walk-in closet. Allie followed her teacher into the closet without asking questions.
The closet was not very large and to look at it no one would suspect deception. Mrs. Taylor went to the far right wall and pressed a secret button which revealed a panel with numbered buttons inside. She entered a code, causing the panel to lift. Then she turned around and walked past Allie to the other side and slid a hidden door that had unlatched. This revealed a small cramped elevator, which both females entered. Once inside, it began to move down. Allie kept silent trying to remember everything she had seen, especially the code that was used to open the door.
The elevator opened to a white tiled room with the crest on the far wall. “We are unable to stop the hunters from coming down here. Rather than fight, we are abandoning this facility and moving. With a little luck and time, this will become one of the many folktales the humans spread among themselves.” They walked out of the elevator, then the room, and down a long hallway. “I need you to help the others get the children to safety. Sara will lead the way; you stay in the rear with the children between you.
“There is something you haven’t been told. Allie, Sara’s mother was killed last night by the hunters while she was in one of the tunnels. They are now searching for our other entryways – and they’ve found one. They will be here shortly, so we have to move quickly. Are you ready?”
“Yes, Elder, I’m ready. Is Sara all right?”
“She will survive. We will meet them up ahead. Say nothing of her trouble; grieve later after the children are safe.”
Mrs. Taylor led her down a hall and Allie kept silent, thinking of her mission and her friend’s sorrow.
Bethany was in her office in the main facility’s complex. She stood looking at a map on a monitor’s screen of their underground bunker. The map showed an architectural view with the different rooms, hallways, spaces, and the tunnels that led to the surface.
Lisa came in, Sara at her side. “Are you ready for the children?” Bethany said after greeting them.
“Yes, my Queen, we have begun the first stage,” Lisa answered, head bowed.
Bethany beckoned them closer and pointed to the map. “Ignore the west and main complexes and focus your attention here on the eastern complex.” The eastern complex was the entrance that Sara used when she took the children by railcar with Allie to the woods for their exercises. “You will travel in groups of threes with the children. Lisa, you lead this group; the western complex will be headed by Melanie. I want you to stay high and outrun the hunters. Use the T5 Complex for injuries.”
Pointing at the maps, she traced out a route. “I want you to start here and go to the trees and come down here by the shed and go back underground. It is a five-mile journey and once free of the hunters you will be able to slow down and keep closer together. Stop and check the children after you have cleared the hunters to make sure none have been left behind and then continue. Once there, you are to remain. No one is to return unless you have orders. The others will be waiting for you and will assist you once you arrive. Do not lose any of the children.”
“We will honor you with their safety,” said Lisa. She held a fondness for Bethany and she sensed the trouble that would lie ahead for their leader.
Sara committed the map to memory, then went down the hall to get the children ready. Even after all the time she had spent there, she did not know all there was to know about the underground hideaway.
Mrs. Taylor brought Allie into the room where Lisa and Sara were. She smiled at them and went down the hall without a word.
Allie said, “Hey, Sara; hey, Lisa.”
Lisa motioned Allie to her. “Hey, Allie, come on, we need your help, but there is a slight change in our plans. Did Stella explain what we are doing?”
Allie had a momentary brain freeze; who was Stella? With so much information coming at her, it seemed as though her brain had switched off for protection – and then she remembered: Stella Taylor. She had only heard her called that once before and that was by Melanie. Was it a privilege they had that she didn’t?
Coming back to her senses, Allie answered, “Yes, the hunters are coming and we need to get the children out of here.” She stood beside Sara. She wanted to say something but didn’t know what, so she placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder. Sara looked at her and Allie smiled. Sara smiled back in appreciation and went back to finishing the job at hand.
They each packed a bag and Lisa gave them baby carriers that locked onto the front of the packs they would carry. They changed into T-shirts emblazoned with multiple crests, then strapped on their backpacks and carried the baby carriers with them.
The women ran down the hall to the nursery and went inside. Inside they saw three babies in their incubators. Lisa began her work. “Allie, you have never done this before, so watch me.” She opened the drawer below the incubator and pulled out a short black shirt. This was a mini straitjacket for the babies. “Put the baby in the shirt; her arms will go into the holders on the side. Just latch them up and she will not be able to move; her arms will stay at her side for the trip. Let her face stay outward like this, and pull the straps over her shoulders and crisscross them. When you have her in the carrier I will fasten it to your backpack and you will be ready. You got it?”
“Yes,” said Allie and she immediately went to work following Lisa’s instructions. In no time she and the others had their backpacks on and raced down the hall to the tunnels.
They exited by way of a small shed to stand in the woods near tracks. Instead of taking the railcar, they ran across the field to the trees. Sara followed Lisa and Allie followed Sara. They climbed the trees and leaped from treetop to treetop. In the middle of their journey, Lisa stopped. The others caught up and stopped to look at what she was watching. Down below were hunters by one of the sheds. They were trying to open it by hitting it with a sledgehammer. Lisa took off again and they followed.
The five mile journey took them very little time to complete. Allie even managed to take time to appreciate the scenery as they went. Climbing down from the last tree, they walked toward a moss covered shed at the edge of the woods. Lisa opened a panel and put in the code. The door opened; inside were three Cavers to greet them. They took their carriers and backpacks, the babies and the supplies, and thanked them for bringing the children to safety. Another Caver came out and whispered to Lisa, who had a worried look on her face.
Lisa turned to Sara. “One of the toddlers was injured. I am staying here. You are in charge. Melanie needs help with the toddlers; everyone else has gone to safety. Be careful and watch out for the hunters; they have broken in already so there is little time left. Sara, show Allie how to hide and be safe.”
Sara and Allie hugged Lisa and wished her well – then they were off and running back the way they came through the trees. Pausing partway along, Sara stared down at the shed they had seen earlier – but there were no hunters there now. She assumed that is how they got in and she leaped faster and faster to the entry point to help the others. Allie followed and entered the underground bunker behind her.
They walked in silence from the entry point of the eastern complex down a long hallway to the main complex. Bethany was in the office at the control station, monitoring the cameras when they arrived to give her the news.
“We have taken the babies to safety and are going to the west complex to help Melanie. Lisa stayed behind to help one of the injured children,” s
aid Sara.
Bethany worked the camera controls while she listened. “There is danger in the western tunnels. Be careful of the hunters.”
Sara turned, but Allie looked confused. “Bethany, when will you leave?”
Bethany stopped working and looked hard at the girl. Sara grabbed Allie’s arm to lead her out – but Bethany began to speak, and she stopped.
“I have work to finish to keep us safe. We will emerge in due time. Go and help Melanie with the toddlers.” She turned to Sara and spoke directly with her. “At the bell, you will need to clear the hallways and the tunnels or you will be trapped. You will have ten minutes at that point. Good luck. I have been honored by your service.” And without saying another word, she turned back to her work.
“Serving has been an honor.” Sara took Allie by the arm and led her out and she closed the door. “Come on.”
The two girls ran down the hallway, into another tunnel and finally another room. They passed quickly through this, then another two. They rounded a corner and met a friend. Allie had not expected to see Brad. He stood before her and she froze as he spoke to Sara who then took off without her. For a moment time stood still, then crept forward to drain life from her. The weird feeling grew by leaps and bounds as she racked her brain trying to figure out what it was. She was getting weaker and weaker, that she knew for certain, but why? Was it Brad? Was it some strange hold he had over her? Was he draining her merely by being in her presence? Then, she remembered to breathed. Life flooded back to her and she felt stupid.
“Allie, are you alright?”
“I’m okay.” Somehow she found enough air to utter the words. They sounded strange as if not from her. She hoped he had not notice. She gulped then turned her head to hide her shame.
“You are going to protect the children, aren’t you?”
She nodded and felt the tension in his hand upon her shoulder. Did he not believe her?
“I love the children, Brad. It’s not me. And these people . . . they are not my people. I would never hurt you. I would never hurt Lila or Nadia. You have to believe me. Nothing could make me do that. Not ever!” she grabbed his hand and searched his eyes. “Please believe me.”
Brad smiled. He opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, a boom sounded and debris fell from the ceiling. Allie fell into his chest. She longed to be in his arms and held tight as another boom sounded. She listened to his heartbeat and drew closer to the magical rhythm. She looked up into his face to search him, unsure of what to say. Brad smiled and this time he leaned down and kissed her softly.
“I trust you, Allie. Be safe. I have to go. Take care of the children.”
“I will.”
As Allie stood watching him leave, she touched her lips, concentrating on the kiss.
“Girl! Come on!”
They ran around another corner and through another room. Finally they arrived in another control room.
Sara activated the camera system and each monitor came on. Sara scanned the monitors one by one. On the last one she saw three men. Cavers and vampires sprang forward to fight the hunters in a hallway not far from them.
“They’re here.”
Chapter 28
Cavers: A Vampire Tale Page 40