“What about my dad?” asked Adam.
Don frowned at the question. “He was Number 2. Gurpreet took over when he…” Don didn’t finish his sentence.
“So George was right! I just thought he was completely crazy,” said Mark.
“Actually,” said Don, “George was a high ranking member of the League in his day.”
The boys were surprised by the news.
“How can that be? He obviously doesn’t remember anything,” said Mark.
“Well, he had an accident and lost some of his memory. Because of that, he became suspicious of everyone. We keep him here to watch him; make sure he doesn’t get himself into trouble. That’s why he’s your neighbor, Mark. He was put there so your dad could watch him back when your dad was Number 3.”
“But George left because he thinks we’re all going to disappear next,” said Mark.
Don smiled and nodded, “He’s been ‘directed’ to another site of the Sentinel League. He’s fine.”
Thoughts raced through Adam’s head. It was difficult to decide what to ask next, especially with all the information he was hearing.
“It seems pretty strange to have these tunnels under the town,” said Adam.
“Well, they aren’t here to bootleg alcohol like the ones in Moose Jaw, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Don answered.
Actually, Adam hadn’t been thinking that at all, but it would have been a great cover story.
“So, why are they here?” Adam pushed for some answers.
“The tunnels were built in order to help hide a secret and let us do things without being seen. They are constructed to confuse and are easy to get lost in. They are also difficult to get into in the first place, which is why Ben was so rough with you. The door you came through hasn’t been used since the rail line was taken out. We were sure it was locked, but we never check it from the other side.” Don looked at Ben, as if to say Ben needed to add that to his list of duties.
“What are you hiding down there?” asked Mark.
Don laughed, “Sorry, but I’m not going to tell you that.”
“Does everyone in town that’s over 16 know about the Sentinel League?” asked Adam.
“No. Over the years, due to births and marriages, we have a number of people who live here that have no idea. Usually, you inherit the honor from your parents, but the Senior League members ultimately decide who gets invited to join. We’ve had a few people who never quite measured up.”
“Jeff Wyndum. There’s no way he knows about this,” stated Jimmy. “He’d have told everyone he ever met about it.”
Don’s smile weakened. “Yes, sadly, Jeff has been left out. It’s a shame, because his father was part of us and was a really great man. We don’t know what happened with Jeff. He had lots of potential.”
Adam tried to ask the next question, but was too slow.
“How is the ceiling glowing? I’ve never seen anything like that before,” said Kevin, pointing up. Adam was glad Kevin referenced the ceiling above them, not the one in the tunnel.
“Ahh, yes. I’m so used to them that I forget that they are unique. Well, they are basically living organisms that give off light.”
“Bio-luminescence?” asked Adam.
“Why, yes. Exactly.”
“But that’s only in the beginning phases of scientific research,” Adam stated.
Don looked impressed. “You’re right, Adam. In the rest of the world, yes - but not here. Here, we’ve been using it since the tunnels were constructed at the beginning of the 1900’s.”
Adam was shocked by the news. One of his favorite things was to sit in the school library and read different magazines featuring cutting edge science. He knew that, as far as was being reported, that kind of bio-technology was years away.
Don continued, “I see you’re surprised, but don’t think into it too much. It works great in the tunnels. The organisms live off the carbon dioxide and water in the air, and release oxygen into the tunnels. Part of what we protect here is information, such as this bio-luminescence.”
“Why wouldn’t you release that kind of technology to the world? It could do a lot of good,” said Adam.
Don thought for a moment before he responded. “I know that’s what you think. It seems perfectly logical that releasing technology like that would do no harm. The problem is you can’t think about how the general population would benefit; you have to think about those who would try to harness it as a weapon. What if, instead of releasing oxygen, you modified it to do the opposite – consume oxygen and release carbon dioxide? Or something worse? You could harm a lot of people.”
Adam and the boys nodded in understanding.
Don continued. “It’s been proven in history, time and again, that most technological leaps are first used to gain power over others before becoming part of society. Some things are better off not being in the hands of the general public until they are ready.”
Adam thought about that for a moment. “Do you mean that the Sentinel League releases knowledge when they think people can use it properly?” he asked.
“No. I’ve probably said too much already. It is a continuous philosophical debate in the League, and I’m not the best qualified to answer that question. Let’s just say that there are people strongly on both sides. Being able to see both sides of the debate comes with time and it’s a good example of why we wait to induct new members.”
Adam nodded his head and another question popped up.
“Are Langenburg and Waldron connected to Grayson somehow?” asked Adam
Adam’s question caught Don off guard. He paused to compose himself and responded, “Langenburg and Waldron are both sites of the Sentinel League. When we came to this country at the beginning of the last century, we found sites that we could use for various activities. Those two sites were set up for different reasons.”
“So, that means we’re in danger as well,” said Adam
Don looked Adam straight in the eyes. “Yes.” He paused for a couple of seconds, “The good news is that Grayson is a special site, and we have a few strategic advantages that the others did not. Of course, I can’t tell you about any of those right now.”
“What happened to all the people?” asked Adam.
“We aren’t sure. We haven’t been able to get any of our people into the sites yet to investigate.”
“You must have an idea what’s happening there,” stated Jimmy.
“We do.”
“But you’re not going to tell us,” stated Jimmy again.
“Right.”
“You think the people are safe?”
“We don’t know.”
“Who is doing this?”
“Well, I can give you a partial answer for that. You see, there is a group of people out there who are searching for something that the Sentinel League is protecting. They’ve been looking for a long time.”
“What is it?” asked Mark
“I can’t tell you,” said Don. “Only Number 1 can authorize that.”
“Why only Number 1?” asked Mark.
“The fewer people who know about something, the easier it is to keep secret.”
“Are you going to tell us any more about it?” asked Mark.
“No,” said Don.
Adam was curious about the secret. Did his dad know what it was?
“You’ve heard enough from me for now. Let’s move on to our current problem - what to do with you?” Don pointed at each of the boys, one at a time. “As I said earlier, we’ve had a plan in place for a long time to deal with this exact situation.”
Adam was nervous, as were the others. They weren’t 16 yet, so they wondered what the Sentinel League would do to them.
“You know what I would do with them,” said Ben with an eerie look on his face.
Don looked at Ben as though he were considering whatever Ben was thinking. After a pause he continued, “Well, here is what we’ve decided. You aren’t old enough to be full members of t
he League, so we’re going to make you all ‘Junior Initiates’. That means you will be watched carefully for the next few years until you can become full initiates. How does that sound?”
Adam went from nervous to excited in a flash. Becoming a member of a secret organization was better than anything he could think of. He was sure his friends felt the same way. Besides, anything would be better than being handed over to Ben.
“Can we talk to our parents about the League?” asked Kevin.
Don paused to think. “Yes, but absolutely no one else. If you do, Ben will be allowed to implement his plan.”
Ben grunted what Adam thought was a happy grunt, although his face didn’t change. Adam didn’t want to know what Ben’s plan was, but thought Jimmy wasn’t far off about Ben and torture devices.
“…and maybe Adam shouldn’t say too much to his mother yet,” Don continued.
Adam was surprised. He assumed that she knew about the League, being married to the former Number 2.
“Why not?” Adam asked.
“Well, your mom has been out-of-sorts with the League ever since your dad died. She blames the League for…things that happened. We’ve offered her help - but you know her, she’s pretty stubborn sometimes.”
Suddenly, Adam recalled what he overheard in the tunnels, although his mother wasn’t any older than Don. “She’s not Number 1, is she?”
Don laughed, “No. Why would you think that? She wants absolutely nothing to do with the League.”
Adam shrugged, happy with the answer. He was a little angry with his mother, though. The League could have helped her, maybe gotten her a better job, but instead she made Adam go without a lot of things.
“She knows you will find out in a few years anyway, but she may not be too thrilled that you are part of the first ever ‘Junior’ members here in Grayson.”
“I won’t say anything to her,” Adam said shaking his head. Even if I did, she never listens anyway, he thought.
“Good. So I take it that you’re all interested in becoming members?”
All four heads nodded in agreement.
“Well then, I guess we have to make an oath,” said Don.
“You’re really going to do this?” Ben asked, sounding upset at the thought.
Don nodded.
“We’ll make it simple. Just repeat after me, ‘I solemnly swear that I will give my life in service to the Sentinel League’.”
Life? thought Adam.
They repeated the oath. Ben grunted.
“Ok then. When you turn 16 there’s a more lengthy and involved oath.”
"So when do we get keys to the tunnels?" asked Jimmy.
Don laughed, "In about ten years if you work hard! Not everyone in the League has keys, and very few have access to everything."
Jimmy looked disappointed.
"For now, you'll be part of the surface division of the League. You'll do odd jobs and we'll see how it goes from there."
"Will we learn more about the League?" asked Kevin.
"Definitely. You'll get to understand the ranks, responsibilities and history. Some of it is pretty exciting. A lot of it is pretty boring, except when the old timers get together and talk about how they passed the time on watch," he laughed again, "like the time Ben and Gurpreet were on patrol and thought they heard..."
"Ahem," Ben interrupted, "not an appropriate story for these young boys." Ben shook his head back and forth slowly.
Don thought for a second. "Yeah, you're probably right Ben. Anyway, there are lots of stories you'll hear. Some are almost true," Don grinned at Ben, who returned nothing but a cold stare.
"What sort of things will we have to do?" asked Mark.
"Well, considering that you are technically lower than the newest initiates, it's not going to be anything glamorous."
Mark groaned at the idea of more manual labor.
"I have some ideas, but I'll have to discuss them with other Senior members. We'll start you off tomorrow morning, just after lunch. How does that sound?"
"Where should we meet?" asked Kevin.
"Let’s meet at Town Hall. I'll make sure it's open before you get there."
All agreed in one way or another, Mark with a nod of his head, Kevin with an enthusiastic 'yes sir', Adam and Jimmy with a simple 'ok'."
"If Ben will be kind enough to lead us out, we can continue this tomorrow." Don motioned for Ben to lead.
Adam wanted to ask more questions, like who was Ellie and how were the door locks made, but he knew those questions would reveal that they had been in the tunnels already. He hoped they would learn some of those answers in the near future.
Ben led them through the door and up the stairs. At the top, there was a small landing before another door. Ben hid the fact that he used a familiar pin to unlock it, and they all stepped into a room on the other side.
When they were all through the doorway, Ben closed the door behind them and they saw it wasn't a door at all. It was a workbench, and the room they were in was the tool shed behind Ben's house. It contained an assortment of hand tools, power tools, and gardening equipment.
Mark was shocked. "No way! I was in here when I did all that work for you," he directed his words at Ben, "and I never would have believed if you told me there was a secret staircase off the back of this shed."
Adam had a thought pop into his head. "Why would you get Mark to cut your grass and not some initiate to the League?"
Ben looked at Adam and answered in the way only he would. "Because there were no initiates last year."
That surprised Adam, as there were a few 16 to 18 year olds in Grayson he could think of.
"What about this year?" he asked.
"There's a couple."
"Who?" Adam continued
Ben looked at Don, who gave him an agreeing nod.
"His brother and his sister." Ben pointed at Kevin and Jimmy.
They all realized why Trevor and Kassie had become so close so quickly.
"But Trevor is closer to 19 and Kassie is barely 16. Why wasn't he an initiate before?" asked Jimmy.
"Because he was a dip...," started Ben until Don cut him off.
"He wasn't ready yet. That's all. It seems that boys usually do take a little longer to get to that point than girls. All of you have been watched as well, waiting for the right time to induct you."
"What about Dave?" asked Kevin, referring to their classmate and friend who was also Don's son.
"He will be inducted in time, hopefully, but not for a couple of years."
"I'm sure I don't need to escort you home, right?" said Ben, ending the conversation.
They all nodded.
"Then go." He pointed to the shed door.
They didn't waste any time leaving the shed, walking down Ben's driveway. They walked across the street to the front of Mark’s house and stopped.
"I am dreading this," said Mark, looking at his house.
"I'm sure it'll be fine," said Adam. "Just don't slip up so they find out we have the key to the tunnels."
"When do we get the bikes?" asked Jimmy.
Adam had forgotten about the bikes at the monitoring station.
"We better get them in the morning. This whole evening tired me out," said Kevin.
"You think you're tired! Try getting choked out by one of those freaky hoods," said Mark.
"That was your own fault. He told you it would choke if you struggled," Kevin shot back at him.
"I'm too tired to argue now. See you tomorrow,” said Mark.
"Meet us at 11 behind the gas station," Adam called out as he walked away. Mark gave him a thumbs-up and disappeared into the house.
"Sure is a happy little guy," said Kevin.
Jimmy and Adam chuckled as the three walked home.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sunday morning came way too soon for Adam. He rolled out of bed at 8:43 am, which was unusually late for him. 7 am was his usual wake-up time, regardless of when he fell asleep. Last night he had fa
llen into bed around 10 pm, so he had slept almost 11 hours. Lucky for him, being Sunday, his mom wouldn't be up for a while.
He made his way downstairs with the usual amount of stealth and proceeded to make breakfast. He fried an egg and put it on a piece of toast, ate and chased it down with a big glass of water. That would hold him until lunch when he would try to eat a larger meal, as he assumed there would be a lot of labor later.
He left the dirty dishes in the sink so the noise wouldn't wake his mother. She would make sure he cleaned them up later anyway, frowning over how he had left them. He was used to the guilt trip so it didn't bother him much.
Adam left the house by 9:30 and headed for the peacefulness of his garage. He hadn't stashed the pin there the previous night only because he was tired. He slept in his clothes with the pin secure in his pocket. In the silence of the garage, Adam’s mind drifted through images of the previous night and some of the conversation with Don. He had mentioned that not all members had keys to the tunnels, and not all of the keys opened all of the doors. That seemed strange. Then again, it also felt strange to think of him as Don and not Mr. Chen.
He shook his head to clear the sleep. Even Kevin's coffee might be good right now, he thought, until he remembered the aftertaste. It gave him a shudder that cleared his mind a little. It had only been the previous morning, but it felt like a week ago. The sugar and caffeine rush, followed by the adrenaline and excitement, must have been what made him sleep so long.
He wasn't tired enough to go back to sleep; just in a haze. His brain didn't seem like it was working much at all. It was lazily going through scenes from the past couple of days, almost in disbelief that some of them even happened, when the whole information session with Don came back into focus again. There was so much that Don either didn't know or was holding back, and Adam wanted more answers. It wasn't a general curiosity, though. He felt like he needed answers to understand a part of himself.
Who was Number 1? What were they hiding? Was it hidden in Grayson right now?
He needed to find answers so he could at least prepare for whatever was coming. He needed to be able to protect his friends. But how?
Town Secrets (The Book of Adam 1) Page 12