Kevin didn't look any happier. "Just promise me you'll never speak about this to anyone."
Adam chuckled. "Hey, I'm not exactly jumping up and down at the thought of riding a flowery girl’s bike through the countryside with you, but at least there are no unicorns or streamers on it! I'm definitely not going to be telling this story as part of my 'How I spent my summer vacation’ essay when school starts."
Kevin’s face broke into a slight smile, happier that Adam seemed uncomfortable too.
Adam squeezed the tires to check the inflation. Years of checking tires that way had made him a pretty good judge of pressure with only his fingers. He was surprised that they were inflated properly. Even the chain looked like it still had the factory grease on it.
"I'm driving," said Kevin.
Adam nodded. "We can trade off once in a while." He was nervous about being a passenger, as he had always driven and never had been a passenger on a bike.
Adam sat on the bike at the back of the seat, and Kevin sat on the front. It was uncomfortable already as there was nothing for Adam to hold on to. He put his hands on Kevin's sides and said, "Ready."
Kevin shook his head, kicked off and began pedaling. Adam was uncomfortable because he felt so little control on the back of the bike. Having nowhere to rest his feet made every bump vibrate from his butt all the way to his teeth. He couldn't wait for Kevin to tire out so he could have a turn at driving, but he knew Kevin was a workhorse who wouldn't tire easily.
On they rolled down the road, listening to the crunch of the wheels on gravel. Adam was lost in thought as they drove, wondering where he would find the entrance when they arrived. He knew the Heartstone would be underground, but how to get to it was a complete mystery.
Kevin slowed down and finally stopped. "Sorry, I can't do any more. Your turn."
Adam stepped off the bike and Kevin slid backwards. Adam had just noticed that it was now lighter out, as they were out of the shade from the haze surrounding Grayson. The summer sun would be up for a while yet.
Adam stepped back on again. "Ready?" he asked.
Kevin's hands grabbed Adam’s sides. "Mark and Jimmy better not ever hear about this. We'd never hear the end," Kevin said.
"If it were them instead of us we wouldn't ever let them live it down, so you know I’ll never say a word," replied Adam.
He kicked off and started pedaling. Kevin was surprised by the start and grabbed tight onto Adam's waist.
"Whoa there, you don't need to hang on that tight," said Adam.
Kevin relaxed his grip as they reached a steady pace. Adam struggled to keep the same speed as Kevin had maintained. Even though he rode his bike every day that the weather allowed, he felt the extra weight in his legs right away. He didn't know how he could make it very far, but kept pedaling. Thankfully for Adam, the road was flat and straight, unlike the hill Kevin powered up to get out of Elianora's valley. After a while, Adam found a pace a little slower than Kevin's, but he was able to maintain it without much trouble.
The exercise and repetition of the pedals got his mind working overtime. Adam thought about everything he had learned in the recent past, but his mind kept returning to the pebble in his pocket. It was a key, he was sure, but didn't know how.
Adam's pace slowed as he began to get tired, and soon he had stopped. They had made it most of the way to their destination in a short time.
"We're almost there, but I need a rest," said Adam.
"I know what you mean," said Kevin. "It's not that easy to be a passenger on this thing either. When I'm older and have back problems I'll know why."
They stood and stretched for a few moments.
"What if they get there before us?" asked Kevin.
Adam thought for a moment, "They won’t. Without the key there’s no use coming out here, so we should have plenty of time to get the Heartstone and get away. I think they’ll waste a lot of time just searching for me. Hopefully that gives Jimmy and Mark time to wake up Gurpreet and Don. They’ll have some plans for defending the town…I hope…”
"There's a lot more luck in that plan than I care for," said Kevin, "but I can't think of anything better. Let's get moving." Kevin pointed to the seat and waited for Adam to get on.
Soon, they neared their destination. The equipment for the weather monitoring station was housed in a giant ball situated in the middle of an empty field. In the distance, it looked like a golf ball on a tee, ready for some giant to strike at any moment.
Adam watched the ball grow steadily as they approached, wondering how much luck they would need to get through what was ahead.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kevin managed to pedal the rest of the way to the giant ball without taking another break. He stopped in the parking lot and they hopped off the bike, glad to be finished riding.
The thirty foot white ball sitting on top of a rickety looking stand dominated the area. Even though supporting cables were strung from it to the ground, it looked like it would blow over in the next big wind, like a dandelion that has gone to seed. On one side of the ball sat a small shed. It probably held the lawnmower that was used around the site and maybe some other maintenance tools, Adam thought. On the other side of the ball tower was a small office. The office was nothing more than a small square building with a door on the front between two windows. The yard was gravelled like the road and smelled like dust.
"Do you think they hid it in the ball?" asked Kevin.
"No. Elianora said they put it underground," said Adam, "so I'm betting there's a Sentinel League door around here somewhere. Besides, that thing is way too obvious.”
Kevin nodded. "Maybe the pebble opens the secret door," he said.
"Could be," Adam replied. "Let's look around and see what we can find.
They checked the office building first, but nothing stood out indicating the Sentinel League or a secret entrance. They started at the back and searched their way to the front, ending up at the only door.
The door was locked with a regular lock, so they looked in the window. It was almost empty except for a desk and chair. On the desk was a stack of paper, a stapler and a coffee mug filled with pens. Nothing unusual. There were no other doors that could be seen.
“I don’t think it’s in here,” said Adam.
Kevin nodded. “To the shed.”
The shed on the other side of the supporting structure was a small steel one with a single door and no windows. The door was unlocked, so they looked inside. A large riding lawnmower sat in the middle, surrounded by shelves packed full of tools and parts. One shelf held some chemicals and oil jugs while another held pulleys and drive belts. Every other shelf was jam packed with various items.
After looking around for a minute, Adam moved the lawnmower to make sure it wasn’t hiding a trapdoor. It wasn’t, so he pushed it back in place and stepped outside, certain there was no secret entrance in the shed.
“Are you sure this is where she hid it?” asked Kevin.
Adam thought for a moment. “This is where she pointed when Larix asked where the Heartstone was hidden. I guess we need to try the obvious.”
“Yep. Maybe being too obvious makes it easier to hide,” said Kevin.
“There’s only one way to find out. Let’s go up,” Adam said as he pointed at the ball, far off the ground.
“How about I keep watch down here and you go up. Let me know if you find anything,” said Kevin.
Adam chuckled and walked to middle of the structure holding the ball in the air. A plaque was attached to the center column. ‘Radome’ was written on it in big bold letters.
That’s what Elianora said – Radome! he thought.
Next to the plaque was a ladder attached to the center column. It was used to access the interior of the Radome through a hatch above. Adam climbed to the top and pushed up on the hatch, but it was locked, probably with the same type of lock as the attic hatch in Town Hall, he guessed. He searched his pocket, found the pin and opened the hatch exactly
as he suspected.
He climbed into the Radome and looked around. It was empty. No radar equipment or electronics of any kind were left inside, not even a forgotten wire. At the top of the dome were a few clear panels that let in enough light to see, even though the sun was beginning to fade.
All around the inside of the Radome were small hatches, 4 feet from the floor. Adam opened the nearest one and looked out. He had a perfect view of the rocky field on the west side of the site, and as he brought his focus closer he saw that he was overlooking the shed.
On the opposite side, he looked out a hatch that was already open. He saw the field to the east with its scrub brush trees in the rocky field. Slowly, he brought his gaze closer and closer, seeing nothing much more than the office building.
The Radome had to be Elianora’s lookout, he thought, which meant he was in the right spot - but where was the entrance?
“Is the door in there?” Kevin called from below.
“I don’t think so,” said Adam.
He returned to looking out one of the hatches, but he looked just outside the Radome where the supporting wires attached to the frame. He noticed a middle wire that wasn’t anchored at the outer edge of the structure. It ran to a point underneath that he couldn’t see because of the curve of the Radome and the position of the hatch. He followed the wire down toward the ground and it disappeared on the far side of the office.
“Hey Kev,” Adam called down, “you see the wire that comes up here from the office?”
“Yeah,”
“Does it attach to the office or the ground?”
Through the hatch, Adam watched Kevin walk to the other side of the office.
“It looks like it attaches to the ground, but it really attaches to the office if you look close enough,” Kevin called back to Adam.
Adam climbed down the ladder again, pausing to look at the point where that particular cable made contact with the structure. It threaded into a large steel box and disappeared. Normally a person would assume the wire was attached inside the box, but now that Adam was looking closer, that supporting wire looked out of place, not having another one to balance it out on the other side.
As Adam made his way to the side of the office building, he saw the wire anchored to the ground and leading up to the top of the office.
“Look up there where they meet,” said Kevin.
Adam could clearly see a separation between the cable coming down from the Radome and the cable coming up from the ground. He started getting excited and began searching around the side of the office until he found a hole in the cement foundation about the size and shape of a small brick. He stuck his hand in the hole and felt around.
“What is it?” asked Kevin.
Adam pulled his hand from the hole and took out the bag carrying the pebble. He held the pebble in his hand and stuck it in the hole, pulling it upward. Nothing happened.
He pulled his hand out and looked at the pebble when another thought stuck him. He put the key pebble in his pocket, instead of the bag he had taken it from, and searched the gravel around the foundation of the office, picking up a small stone similar in size and shape to the key pebble. He put the piece of gravel into the bag, then back in his pocket as well.
Kevin smiled as he understood what Adam was doing.
“Just a little insurance,” said Adam.
Next, he took the pin from his pocket.
“Watch this. I have a feeling it’s gonna be cool,” said Adam smiling.
With the pin face up in his right hand, he reached into the hole and held it to the top edge. A mechanism operated for a moment and was silent again. Adam pulled up hard and the entire building hinged toward the Radome. Underneath the office foundation was a wide set of stairs leading down into darkness.
Kevin’s eyes were wide in wonder. “That’s…That’s…” he stuttered.
“I told you it would be cool,” said Adam, proud of himself for finding the entrance. He had guessed that the wire coming down from the Radome was most likely hooked up to a large weight in the center column of the structure, balancing out the weight of the office building.
Kevin stood still for a moment, looking down into the darkness and Adam could see a thought hit him. Kevin walked to the front of the building and looked in the lower window. “Come see this!” he called to Adam.
Adam walked over and looked through the window. Nothing in the office had moved, not a paper or a pen, let alone the desk or chair.
“It’s all fake,” exclaimed Kevin.
Adam smiled for a second, but soon his thoughts were back on target.
“We can look at the cool stuff later, I hope. We need to find the Heartstone fast and get out of here.”
Kevin agreed. “After you,” he said, ushering Adam toward the staircase, more than happy to be going second once more.
Adam led the way to the stairs and took a few steps down. He kept his hand on the wall, thinking he would probably find a touch location to fire up some Lumiens nearby. After feeling all over the wall for a while, he gave up and hoped there would be a panel lower down.
Down the stairs he went, at least 100 steps, when he finally hit the bottom. He hadn’t taken his hand off the wall the whole way, but still hadn’t found a panel.
“I made it to the bottom. Just wait there and I’ll see if I can find a Lumiens panel somewhere.
In the darkness, he ran his fingers over the entire wall starting at the stairs and moving forward. Eventually, he came to a point where his feet felt an edge. It was probably more stairs, he thought. Deciding not to go down any further without some light, Adam made his way back to the stairs he had already come down and then followed them across to the other wall. He searched in the same way with no success.
“I can’t find a way to turn on the lights. What should we do? Keep going down or check the shed for a flashlight?” Adam asked.
Kevin hesitated for a moment. “Let’s try the shed. Maybe they didn’t put Lumiens in here for a reason.” His voice was far up the stairs.
Adam thought about it for a moment and agreed with Kevin’s suspicion. Larix had referred to the fact that Elianora most likely had traps around the Heartstone, so they were better off having a light than not.
“Let’s make it fast. We wasted a lot of time already,” said Adam. He heard Kevin turn and run up the stairs and realized that Kevin wasn’t even halfway down.
Adam trudged up the stairs, glancing up once in a while to see the dimming light at the entrance. He kept a steady pace until he was near the top. Since Kevin had been at the top for a while, Adam hoped he had already found a flashlight in the shed.
Near the top, Adam’s pulse dulled his sense of hearing, but between a couple of heartbeats he clearly heard, “Adam, come out.”
It was his mother’s voice.
Without wondering why she was there, he ran up the stairs and turned in the direction of her voice, only to see her, Elianora and Kevin held by Larix’s men.
A man Adam didn’t recognize stood beside Mary. In a smooth British accent, he said, “Hello Adam. Please come out of there … and hand over the Keystone.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Larix didn’t look at all like Adam had expected. He was slim in build, average in height, and wasn’t as scrawny as the picture Adam had in his mind. Larix’s hair was long and blonde, but the most interesting thing about him was his face. Even Adam had to agree – Larix was handsome.
Adam took the last few steps up the stairs and turned to face the group. Elianora and Mary were clearly under the influence of the sleeping gas, and now it looked like Kevin was also. His eyes were glassy and he swayed back and forth just like all the others. Adam was sure that at any moment he would hear a gunshot and he too would be in dreamland. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
“You certainly are a resourceful young fellow,” said Larix with a laugh. “You made it difficult for us to find you.”
“Not difficult enough,” said Adam.
Larix smiled. “My dear friend here tells me you have the Keystone,” he gestured to Elianora. “You are probably wondering how it works. I can help you with that, if you let me.” He reached out a hand toward Adam, sounding sincere.
Adam felt the influence of Larix, but it didn’t sway him.
“Why should I?” he asked. “You’re just going to make me a zombie like them and put me in the tunnels to die with everyone else.”
Larix was still smiling. Adam saw the evil in his eyes, but his voice was so smooth and relaxing.
“Well, if I was going to do that, it would be done already, no?”
Adam thought about it, and Larix wasn’t lying. He could have shot Adam full of chemical as soon as he poked his head out of the stairwell.
“Why didn’t you then?”
“According to my friend, I need you.”
Adam was confused. “What could you possibly need me for?” he asked.
“Bring me the Keystone and I’ll tell you.”
Adam pulled the bag out of his pocket. He opened the mouth of the bag and drew out the piece of gravel he had placed inside earlier.
“Is this what you want?” asked Adam.
Larix made a lazy gesture that Adam should bring it to him.
“Too bad,” said Adam. He turned and threw the pebble as hard as he could toward the rocky field, where it would be nearly impossible to find.
Larix immediately punched Mary across the face. She fell to the ground whimpering, still in her dreamy state.
“No!” cried Adam.
Larix smiled, but it was a cruel smile. Somehow he managed to look kindly an instant later.
“Now, let’s try this again. Bring me the Keystone from your pocket.”
Adam couldn’t believe what he heard. Larix knew that the pebble Adam had thrown wasn’t really the Keystone, but he still punched Mary in the face without a moment of hesitation.
There was nothing else Adam could do, so he pulled the Keystone from his pocket and handed it to Larix.
“Ahh, an Impression Stone. Rare and unique. There are only a handful that have ever been found. You’ve outdone yourself this time Elianora,” said Larix.
Town Secrets (The Book of Adam 1) Page 21