“The front hatch!” I yell.
The Elder, without hesitation, shouts back, “Get up here now, now, now!”
I scamper up the rope ladder, losing my footing just once, and hurry to pull up the hatch door behind me as I lift myself through the ceiling.
“Close it quick!” the Elder commands. “We have to run.” He isn’t the fastest at his age, but he hustles through the corridor around the corner to where we find ourselves in a gigantic warehouse filled with cars, trucks, and even tanks.”
“The tank!” shouts Wiley, his voice cackling through the biggest grin any of us has shown in days.
“You fool!” the Elder cuts off his thoughts immediately. “You think we can simply drive around the valley in a tank without causing suspicion? That truck over there! It’s camouflaged and might have some supplies that we need.”
Wiley’s shoulders sink.
“Glad that’s settled and all, but how do we get it out of here?” I ask.
“See that door over there?” the Elder says, pointing to a sliding slab of metal. “Rafe…I need you to hack into the system and open it up.”
“Can do,” Rafe replies. “But why is there no one here? Why is this place empty. It feels like a trap.”
“It’s not a trap,” the Elder stops him before his thoughts carried him any further. “There’s a reason why the safe house was built where it was and why I brought us here in the first place. This is where they keep excess stock when they don’t need it. The State has plenty right now, but that’s because they’re building for something bigger. They know a revolt could happen at any point in time. Ariel is fragile. We need to break the system.”
“Got it,” Rafe shouts before running back to the truck we begin to pile into. “We have thirty seconds before it closes back up.”
“Perfect,” the Elder shouts. “Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
Rafe barely makes it to a seat in the back before the Elder streaks out of the garage and makes his way out of the facility. The roads are empty and the skies are gray. Fields of dying weeds lie on either side of us as we race toward the nearest gate out of the village.
“We have to get out of here before word gets out on the radio,” Rafe reminds us. “Won’t be long before they notice a missing vehicle if they find out how we escaped.”
“Doesn’t matter,” the Elder says as he checks for anyone following them. “We’ve got one of us on the inside.”
“What do you mean one of us?” I ask as we pull up to the gate.
The guard stops us abruptly and shouts for us to show identification.
The Elder shows his face and shouts, “no time!”
The guard does a double-take, pivots, and slams his hand on the button to raise the gate.
We’re free. But it won’t last for long if we can’t get to where we’re going safely.
“Forty-five minute drive to where we’re headed,” the Elder says, his voice calming down as he adjusts his seat for a more comfortable ride. There are a hundred of these trucks on the road at any given point in time. They’ll think we’re headed to the capital, but we’re taking a backroad to a place just outside the prison.”
I sit back and consider falling asleep, though I know I should stay vigilant. It’s a bumpy ride, the winding roads mostly made of rock and dirt, and the forest trees providing cover while we pass a set of smaller villages near the southern border of the region. I can tell we’re taking the long way to avoid officers of the State, but I’m so hungry. I desperately want to get to the safe house and scour for more rations.
“Look what we have here,” says Wiley, who has been digging through a compartment to his side.
“What’s that?” the Elder asks earnestly.
“Enough explosives to blow up half the prison if we wanted to,” he says with a big grin.
“That would be great,” I tell him, “if we wanted to kill all the prisoners. But this is a rescue mission.”
“I said if,” Wiley reminds me, throwing his hands up in the air. “But I can get us into anything that my brother’s hacking skills can’t.”
“And we’re going to need every bit of skill the two of you can manage,” the Elder tells them. “We’re going to need everyone to be sharp and clever and…”
“And what?” I ask, remembering that I’m none of those things.
“And I think we’re being followed,” the Elder says quietly. “Hold on tight. I’m going to try to lose them.”
We pick up speed faster than I thought the truck could handle. It hasn’t been a busy day on the road, but the Elder is now weaving in and out of the few cars in our way and there’s another truck like ours keeping pace with every turn.
“Wiley!” the Elder shouts. “Do something!”
“I’m on it!” Wiley cackles. “Hold this, brother.”
Rafe grabs a box full of explosives as Wiley wraps a wire around it, lights it, and chucks it out the window. I plug my ears just in time as the road behind us explodes with dirt and chunks of pavement.
“Woooooo!” Wiley laughs hysterically.
But the Elder tells him to be quiet and hold on as he swerves the truck suddenly onto a dirt road that I never would have even noticed on such a trip if I hadn’t suddenly found myself on it.
“This isn’t quite what I had in mind when I woke up this morning!” the Elder shouts as we fly through a dusty trail and approach a darkened tunnel. “But I don’t think they’re going to find us now.”
The Elder flips the truck lights on and slows the truck speed down to a pace where we can breathe easy. But there’s no sign of life and no end of the tunnel in sight.
“Where are we?” I ask.
“It doesn’t matter where we are,” the Elder says. “It matters where we’re going. This tunnel, long ignored by the State, will lead us straight to the last safe house anyone ever wants to visit.”
“Then why are we going there?” Maia asks.
“Because it lies directly beneath the prison,” the Elder explains. “Don’t expect to see proper light until the time comes. I pray the generators are still working and someone left us enough food to sustain us until we’re ready.”
“Ready for what?” I ask.
“Do you think we’re just going to waltz into Justice Hall and ask them for our friends back?” the Elder asks, shaking his head. “No. This is the most prestigious, if you want to call it that, or at least the most secure prison facility the State has in operation. This underground opening is the one way in without anyone noticing and it’s the one small chance we have of breaking them free.”
“How small of a chance?” Wiley asks. “What are we doing here if we’re just walking into a losing fight?”
“Small,” the Elder repeats. “But what chance do we have of surviving out there in any other way? We not only have to free the prisoners, but we also must convince the world we’re not the enemy. We have to show them that the State is falling apart and display how we can help them restore this nation to greatness.”
“How on earth are we going to do that?” I press him. “We’re nothing but a miserable group of nobodies with no power and limited skills. You think a couple of hacks and some fireworks are going to keep the prison guards at bay for long? What do you have up your sleeve that we don’t know about?”
“You never listen, do you?” the Elder shouts as he slides the truck around a corner. “What have I been telling you over and over again? The Faithful used to have influence in the State. We used to have a name for ourselves that the people considered worthy of attention.”
“And how does that help us now?” I demanded.
“Because I am called the Elder for a reason, you fool!” he defended himself. “Who do you think had access to the President? Why do you think he hates the Faithful so much now? Huh? It was me! This is…this…it’s all my fault.”
“Your fault?” Maia prodded him. “How could you-”
The Elder slowed the truck to a halt and flar
ed his nostrils as he looked back at us.
“Everything that’s happened to you, your family, your friends, it’s all because of me,” he said with an intense glare I had never seen before, not from him, not from anyone. “I was the President’s most trusted counselor in Ariel. He came to me for everything, whether for national defense, domestic affairs, or which flavor of ice cream he should try. He sought my wisdom, he trusted me, confided in me, and then turned on me when I found out…”
“When you found out what?” I dared to ask him.
“I found out something about President Shah he didn’t want the world to know,” the Elder tells us.
“What was it?” I ask him.
The Elder shakes his head. “Something he didn’t want to get out,” he says. “Something personal. Something I told him was wrong, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”
“But why would he take it out on us?” Maia asks.
“It drove him mad,” the Elder says without a doubt in his mind. “It’s a strange thing, the human heart and its desires. It wants what it cannot have, though often a man might find a way to take it anyway, then decide for himself that it is right despite the counsel of his heart warring within him.”
“Would you spit it out?” I ask, becoming frustrated with his half-answers.
“I suppose there’s no harm now,” he grumbles. “I discovered the President in an inappropriate relationship. I did not seek out this information, nor would I have had any business putting forth the information into the world, but when I confronted him on the matter he was afraid I was blackmailing him. He knew very well my beliefs and values and how they affected my response to his actions, but he had grown paranoid.”
“So he took his grievance with you out on the Faithful?” I ask as I put all the information together while the words came out of my mouth.
“Now you’re starting to get it,” the Elder nods. “The President became enraged and illogical. It wasn’t long before he distrusted any word I gave him, even if it were so simple a child could have given him such counsel, and so he thrust me out of my position.”
“But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there?” Maia realizes. “You weren’t just out of a job, you were the first of us thrown into prison for our beliefs as you said. What did you do to get put in the abomination above us?”
“I did the worst thing a man can do to a politician,” the Elder says, his voice now getting sadder and softer. “I was interviewed for a radio station the day after I was fired from my position. The woman interviewing me asked why I was fired and I told the truth.”
“Hang on,” says Wiley. “Why wouldn’t we have heard about all this?”
“Because it was a radio station owned by the State,” the Elder shakes his head. “It wasn’t a live interview, it was meant to be broadcast over the following weekend. Word spread quickly, from the show producers to the president. Bribes were paid, voices were silenced, and I was tossed in jail as a traitor. Finally, they did the same to everyone I ever cared about and many I never even knew.”
“So it was you all along?” I asked as the Elder reaches for the pack by his side. “You turned the State against us?”
“Now you know the truth of the Elder,” he says. “A wise man turned into a fool. I’d like to find redemption. I need your help.”
“We’re not here just to help you find forgiveness for your mistakes,” I tell him. “We’re here because there are people up there in Justice Hall who need our help. My father, if he’s still alive, is one of them. They’re going to bring him back to the gallows as soon as they can.”
“I meant I need your help with the door up there,” says the Elder. “It gets jammed and a few extra hands on the lever will make it easier. Don’t think for a second I believe this mission is all about me. I’m just an old man, mostly forgotten by the Faithful who remain.”
“You’re not forgotten,” Maia says as she helps Felicity out of the truck. “Your name is whispered throughout the prison. The Elder did this. The Elder did that. I never knew of any of your mistakes. I don’t know if you were right to do what you did or not. I’m no politician. But I do know you can begin to make up for it if we can get these people free.”
Wiley, Rafe, and I help the Elder take hold of a giant metal wheel which takes all our combined efforts to nudge loose and spin the rusted door out of its position.
“No room for the truck,” I shake my head.
“We would want to walk anyway,” the Elder says. “There are some things in these halls we wouldn’t want to shake loose with reckless driving.”
“Like what?” I ask as he leads us through a darkened corridor. “And can we get some light?”
The Elder, who I can now hardly see, manages to feel his way around the walls until he can flick on a switch. It takes a minute or two to warm up, but the generator does its job and lights up the hallways.
“Will they notice all this electricity suddenly being used?” Rafe asks as the Elder ushers us from hallway to hallway.
“The State has bigger issues to worry about right now than the electric bill,” the Elder scoffs. “That earthquake that let you all escape affected the capital and most of the surrounding region. They’re going to be focused on getting the roads in order, the stadium resettled, and the people back to work.”
“How much time do you think we have before they have things up and running?” I ask.
The Elder shakes his head. “Not much time at all. It’ll take months before things can be back to the way they were, but people adapt, they work through difficulties, and the president will want to make a show of their strength and stability before too long. But we do have something going for us.”
“What’s that?” Maia asks as the Elder checks a door handle only to find it has been locked.
“You’ll see in a minute,” he answers. “Wiley, I need your assistance.”
“I’m on it,” Wiley answers. “But you might want to go around the corner if you like your body parts where they are.”
No one thinks he’s bluffing. We walk quickly around the corner while he snatches a small device from his pack, quickly plasters it to the door, and smacks a red button in the center.
Wiley runs around the corner like a rabbit scurrying to safety as the door is blasted open. Smoke, dust, and bits of wood fill the hallway. We wait for it to settle down, then the Elder runs through the smoke to reach for a fire extinguisher to put out the small flames left by the explosion. When the air clears, we understand what he meant by having something going for us.
“Welcome to the control room,” says the Elder, still covering his mouth to protect his lungs. “It has…”
“Everything!” Rafe chortles. “Radio, satellite, high definition screens on every wall. This must connect to every major…”
“Don’t get too excited,” says the Elder. “Remember this place was deserted for a reason, not on accident. Nothing’s going to be connected as it sits. I need you to do whatever you can to get us into the State’s systems, especially the prison control tower.”
“I’ll get on it,” Rafe tells him. “But I haven’t eaten in a while. Do you think this place has any rations?”
“It will,” says the Elder. “But we might have to search high and low for them.”
“There was some stuff in that truck we brought,” says Felicity.
“There was?” I nearly scream. “Why didn’t you say something? We’re all starving.”
Felicity shrinks and doesn’t want to answer.
“Lay off,” says Maia. “Flick was scared like the rest of you. We’ll go get the supplies and bring it back while you guys clear up this mess. I don’t want to be breathing in fumes for the rest of the time we’re down here.”
“You’re right,” I say. “I’m sorry, Felicity, I just got excited.”
“It’s okay,” she says, shrugging her shoulders.
“C’mon,” says Maia.
Wiley helps me locate a janitor’s closet in the hal
lway and we begin to clean the rubble from his handiwork. The Elder begins to show Rafe around the systems and where he thinks things might have been disconnected.
I’m doing what I can, but I don’t feel like I’m much use to the team. This is too important. I have to find my worth. My father is somewhere up above in a cell waiting for the day when he will be hung from a rope. He could have been free from this. He could have escaped instead of focusing on telling me to run. He should have been the one helping out this team. I’m just another guy.
Maia and Felicity hand out rations and we gather around a circular desk that must have had a much more important function than a dinner table when it was first in use.
“You said you need us,” I remind the Elder. “Well, we’re all here, and we have nowhere else to go. I don’t mean to speak for anyone else, but I believe we are all in on this mission. At some point, however, we are going to need to know the rest of your plan if we are going to execute it. So - what is it?”
The Elder, who had just put a cracker to his mouth, set it back down and focused our attention on his eyes.
“This isn’t going to be easy,” the Elder grimaces. “Every single one of you will be putting your lives in danger to accomplish our goal. I don’t know if any of us will make it out alive. Still, this is the showdown we have been waiting for and I am going to need everyone here to do their part just the way I show you. I am going to train each of you to do exactly as needed to free the Faithful, corrupt President Shah’s grip on the State of Ariel, and bring the nation to an age of enlightenment.”
“When do we start?” asks Maia.
“After we have something to eat,” the Elder says, finally cracking a smile. “We’re all going to need our strength to get us to past the finish line.”
“I don’t know what I have to offer this group,” I admit. “But I’ll give every ounce left of me to free the Faithful, to save my father.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
The Plan
The Treasure Map Page 14