by Katrina Cope
They moved together quickly, with the dogs heeling beside them. “Any ideas who might do this to such a nice person?”
Robert shook his head.
Jayden’s forehead creased in a frown. “The only person who I know would do something like this is…” He paused while looking deep in thought.
“Who?” Aaron asked, too eager to wait.
“Nah!” Jayden shook his head, disagreeing with himself. “Can’t be him.”
“Who?” Robert pushed for the answer.
“Never mind. Hey, there’s Eva.” He ran slowly into the distance, where a lone figure was coming toward them with something white in her hand. Aaron immediately picked up his pace to join him, while Robert sped up his walk as much as possible.
Eva held up the white item. “Her lab coat is the best I could find without breaking into her room.”
“That should be fine.” Jayden grabbed it off Eva and without thinking sniffed the coat. A sweet smell of a musky perfume filled his nostrils.
“It’s for the dogs to smell, you idiot!” Eva rolled her eyes.
“Oh, of course it is. I knew that.” His face flushed with embarrassment, and he shook his head, disbelieving that he’d actually sniffed the jacket. He held the jacket out for Barney to give it a good smell then handed it to Robert for him to let Bessie smell it. Without waiting, Jayden commanded Barney, “Seek it!” Instantly, the Saint Bernard took off, sniffing the ground as he headed toward the external workshop. Even though they had already checked there, Aaron and Jayden didn’t stop him from going in that direction and let him carry out his work unchallenged. They turned around to see what Bessie, Robert, and Eva were doing, only to find that Bessie was not far behind Barney, following Professor Anna’s scent.
When they were a few feet away from the external workshop, Barney suddenly turned to the right. They were glad to see that he was starting to head in the direction where Scarlet had confirmed that Professor Anna was tied up.
Jayden asked Aaron, “Do you think we’ll be looking for a small mountain we have overlooked in the past?”
Aaron shrugged. “So far, every building I have known about here has been above ground. I have run all over the occupied part of this mountain several times, but I don’t remember a small mountain in the direction Scarlet has led us. I think we should just keep a lookout, let the dogs do their work, and follow her scent.” Aaron searched back and forth across the landscape ahead of them.
Bessie had pulled Robert and Eva closer to Barney. “Wasn’t this about where Scarlet said the place was on the map?” Eva asked just loudly enough for Jayden and Aaron to hear. A few large trees surrounded the area.
Aaron’s brow creased more deeply. “I think so.”
There wasn’t a mountain in sight, and the dogs continued sniffing. Panic rippled through the group.
“Are you sure it was Professor Anna’s lab coat?” Robert asked Eva.
Before she could answer, Jayden nodded. “It was definitely hers. Her perfume scent was all through it.”
Barney pulled Aaron to a large tree and was scratching and sniffing around the base and trunk. Bessie joined him and seemed to be having a good time sniffing irrelevant smells.
“What are you sniffing at, Barney?” Aaron was annoyed about the time they were wasting. He grabbed the professor’s coat off Eva and shoved it in front of the dog’s nose again. Barney sniffed the coat as expected and then stood firm where he was and smelled the ground again. He flung up his head excitedly and looked at Aaron and Jayden. His floppy dark-brown ears swung around as he gave off a couple of barks. Then he put his head down again and continued sniffing around the tree. Bessie was displaying similar behavior.
They searched the area for any indication of past human presence. A few leaves and twigs were disturbed where the dogs were sniffing, although the dogs could have done this. Jayden knelt to examine a spot Barney was paying particular attention to. There, shining in amongst the dirt, was a small silver-and-diamond ring. “Good boy!” he said, giving Barney an affectionate rub on his head. He picked it up and held it out for the others to see.
“That’s Professor Anna’s,” Eva confirmed without a moment’s hesitation. She took it from in between Jayden’s fingers and examined it more closely. “Yes, it is her wedding ring.” She placed it on her finger so that they wouldn’t drop it.
“But it is so small,” Robert said.
“Yes, but her fingers are tiny. Haven’t you noticed?” Eva said.
He shook his head.
Excited to have found some evidence, Jayden continued searching the area on the ground. The other three students also started exploring the ground more intensely. Barney had moved slightly forward and was digging his nose in the ground again.
“What have you got this time, boy?” Jayden pulled him back a little to have a look. He was astounded to see a crack in the ground. He continued to brush away any natural debris and longish grass, tracing the crack. Quite unexpectedly, he discovered that it formed a square a few feet wide.
“It must be a trapdoor of some kind,” Robert said, helping Jayden brush away the grass. They were careful not to stand directly in the middle of the square. “What a strange place to have an underground room.”
“I wonder if Avando knows about this?” Aaron’s brow creased in worry.
“You would think that he must know. It’s his school, and he had it built,” Jayden said.
“But why would he need a hidden room underground?” Eva looked concerned. “Especially when the dogs are sniffing out Professor Anna’s scent around it.”
“How do we even open it?” Jayden had been digging around the outside, looking for a lever to trigger the opening of the door.
Since the dogs had appeared to have found the correct scent, Aaron tied them to a nearby tree. He then began searching a tree farther away. “This branch looks a little odd.” His hand rested on a branch, which was much lower than the other branches on that tree.
“Pull down on it,” Eva said.
Taking her advice, he placed his weight down on the branch. Within moments the square grassy plate on the ground before them sank and slid to the side, revealing a small staircase. The three students crouched around the hole and glanced up at Aaron in unison with worried looks on their faces.
“After you.” Eva indicated down the stairs while looking at Aaron.
“Gee, thanks. You’re all heart,” he replied sarcastically. “And I always thought it was ladies first.”
“You are the mini fighting prodigy,” Robert said as Aaron prepared himself mentally to enter the unknown hole. “Besides, we will be right behind you.”
Aaron started descending the stairs. Jayden followed directly behind him. His heart rate rose, and it pumped harder, causing his hearing to be affected by the drumming in his ears from his pulsing blood. As they went down farther, it became hard to see inside the dimly lit room after coming from the bright light outside. When their eyes started to adjust to the light levels, they saw shelves laden with long-life food along the sides. There were canned fruit and vegetables and bagged items including baking flour, sugar, and many other ingredients. It was like a well-organized pantry. It made sense for the school to have one, but the location so far away from the main building was impractical.
Below that, there was an attached room with a dim light shining in it. As quietly as they could, they finished descending the stairs and headed to the room. Aaron’s eyes were peeled on every dark shadow, checking for anyone who might be hiding there.
Pale marble tile lined the floor and walls of the underground room, just as it did in the rest of the Sanctum. In the corner was a little stainless-steel sink just big enough for washing hands and maybe a few dishes.
Edging forward, Aaron and Jayden made it to the doorway of the room. In one corner, a mattress covered in unmade sheets and blankets lay on the floor. Aaron let his eyes wander from the corner to search the rest of the room.
In the corner against the w
all on the opposite side of the bed sat the bruised and battered Professor Anna, with her feet, hands and mouth still tied. Her eyes were shut, and she appeared to be unconscious. Aaron remained motionless, stunned by the sight. Eventually, he managed to pull his eyes away to finish surveying the room for the person responsible for Professor Anna’s demise.
Before he could complete his full assessment of the room, Eva stuck her head in between the two boys to have a look, ignoring everything else when she saw the professor. She ran in immediately to comfort her and attempt to make her comfortable.
In another corner of the room, not far from the professor, there sat a little bar fridge. Eva moved quickly over and opened it, checking the small freezer section for ice cubes. She grabbed a dirty cloth that sat on the floor not far from the fridge and placed several ice cubes inside the fabric. She wrapped it up to prevent them from falling out and crouched down next to the professor, putting the cold padding first against the facial wounds around her temples.
Professor Anna let out a small moan. She muttered something unintelligible, and Eva placed her ear closer to her mouth to try to work out what she was saying.
“Did you get that?” Aaron asked.
Eva shook her head as she glanced at him.
A loud thump sounded from the first room. Aaron’s heartbeat increased, thumping so loudly in his ears that it was even harder to hear. The three students looked at each other, panic evident on their faces.
“Where’s Robert?” Eva whispered while still glancing at the door.
Aaron shrugged as he made his way cautiously back toward the first room.
“Not the children,” muttered Professor Anna, followed by more garbled noises. Jayden and Eva looked at each other questioningly. Aaron had his full focus on the next room. “Mitchell”—she tossed her head back and forth—“no…”—her feet kicked out—“not what he wanted.” She thrashed around some more.
A knowing look passed among the students. They all knew that Mitchell was her late son and they weren’t aware of any Mitchells currently at the Sanctum, but then again, they didn’t know everyone.
Aaron reached the opening that led to the next room. “Robert?” he called. Every muscle in his body tensed as only silence answered him. “Robert, where did you go?” The silence was thick. He took another step forward, scrutinizing every corner and shadow. Quiet continued to be his companion. Jayden watched as Aaron instinctively brought his hands up in the defensive fighting form. “Robert?” Edginess laced his usually calm voice. He took another step forward. Jayden prepared to follow him as a backup when Aaron’s shoulders slumped as he looked ahead. Protruding from a shadow were Robert’s shoes and parts of his legs. Dread filled Aaron’s body. Someone must have been down there with them.
The dogs started barking, and there was a movement near the opening. The door was closing. Shock filled his body. It was trapping them. No one knew that they were there, and Scarlet couldn’t tell anyone.
Panic seized them as they looked at one another.
Jayden searched the opening. “There must be another way to open this door from the inside. We just need to find it. There must also be air vents that channel into the rooms.” He moved toward Robert to check on him.
Aaron bent down to have a closer look, and even in the dim light, he was sure he saw a large egg on Robert’s head from a hard knock. He felt Robert’s pulse and steady breathing, and he was confident that Robert would be fine after a while, hopefully without a concussion. He left him to rest where he lay.
Eva came to investigate. “Is everyone okay?”
“We’ve been trapped inside, and we’ve found Robert,” Jayden said. “He is knocked out cold though. How’s Professor Anna doing?”
“She is much the same.” She sounded disheartened.
“We’ll get her out shortly and to Doctor Rachel,” Aaron said, but his troubled face told a different story. He began searching the room for an exit lever or switch.
“Hey, I found the light switch,” Jayden called excitedly as brightness filled the room.
“Awesome, man!” Aaron sounded a little more positive now he had light to help with the search for the way out.
Just then, they heard a hissing noise throughout the room.
“What’s that?” Jayden asked the other two, anxiety filling his voice.
“No idea, but I have a bad feeling about this.” Aaron searched the ceiling for the source of the sound. “I can’t see anything, but is anyone else smelling bitter almonds?”
“We’re being gassed!” Eva screeched.
- Chapter Twenty -
Not Such A Magnificent View
Eva ducked down and grabbed a cloth that was sitting on the floor near her. “Quick, cover your faces, and let’s find the way out. Pronto!”
Trepidation hit Jayden with a blow. His hopes were knocked to the floor. He didn’t want to die, especially that way. Unable to find a cloth of any kind, he grabbed the bottom of his shirt, folded it over a few times, and covered the lower half of his face, making sure the thickest part was over his nostrils. Aaron copied Jayden as they continued their frantic search for a way out. Eva joined them.
The room was still clear. The hissing sound, the slight bitter-almond smell, and a slight feeling of heaviness were the only signs of the gas. Jayden found it terrifying that someone would use gas to kill unsuspecting people.
He was worried about Robert’s and Professor Anna’s exposure to the chemical and regretted that they did not have the time to cover their faces as well. After a few moments, he started to get lightheaded and nauseous. He realized that even with their faces covered, they were far from safe. His eyesight began to cloud, as the rims of his eyes seemed to be caving in on his sight. Breathing was becoming harder. He gasped, trying to obtain fresh air without success.
He heard a yell, pulling him out of his semiconsciousness. “I found it!” It was Aaron’s voice. A moment later, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him. His legs tripped over the steps as he felt himself being dragged upward. Finally engulfed by light and a slight breeze, he pulled his shirt back away from his face and breathed as deeply as his lungs would allow. His organs screamed for the fresh air.
Slowly, consciousness returned, and he noticed a slight tap on his cheek. “You all right, man?” He was glad to hear Aaron’s friendly voice.
Prying his eyes open, he nodded slowly.
“Good, ’cause we need you to help Eva and me get Robert and Professor Anna out.”
Shocked back into reality, Jayden sat bolt upright. He felt a shooting pain through his head, still felt weak, and didn’t know how much he would be able to lift—but they needed to get the others out.
He took a quick look around and saw the dogs still tied to the nearby tree and pipes that had been attached to an air pressure pump lying on the ground.
“I pulled out the gas pipes and turned the pump off, so the air will hopefully be clearing by now. Cover up just in case,” Aaron warned him as they were about to descend.
Jayden did as instructed, and they progressed downstairs and into the back room. Eva had bundled Professor Anna in bedsheets that acted as a stretcher, and they worked as a team to pull her out of the underground, doing their best not to knock her against anything hard.
Jayden felt surprisingly strong, given his condition. He noted that adrenaline could turn the weakest person strong in an instant.
Once they reached the top, they laid Professor Anna a couple of feet away from the entrance. Eva quickly untied the sheet from her face, allowing her to breathe the fresh mountain air freely and hopefully clear out any gas she had breathed in.
They then went quickly downstairs and wrapped Robert’s large form in the blankets. Though they used it as a stretcher again, they needed to drag him up the stairs. Eva threw in a pillow at his head, hoping it would prevent some of the impact of his head banging all the way up the stairs.
Exhausted and puffing profusely, they collapsed on the ground once they had
managed to get Robert out of the underground. With the thoughtfulness of a mother, Eva wearily pulled the blanket away from Robert’s face so that he could breathe the fresh air as soon as possible. Jayden hoped they weren’t too late rescuing him from the gas.
Jayden didn’t know what happened next. Everything went black, and he felt his body slump to the ground. Eventually, he was woken by the dogs barking profusely. He didn’t know how long he was out, and at first, he thought it was only a dream, but it became so menacing that he needed to open his eyes to see what was going on.
Before his eyes were opened completely, he felt the sudden onslaught of nausea. He turned his throbbing head to the side and felt himself relieving the sick feeling from his stomach onto the ground beside him. He thought he would have felt a little more recovered, but his head hurt horribly.
A pestering, overconfident laugh rang in his ears. It sounded familiar yet surreal. His head was filled with dizziness and confusion, making it hard for him to recognize the owner. He forced his eyes open through the headache and was taken aback by the figure he saw before him.
Standing tall and straight, a thin, lanky man with a balding head towered over the top of Jayden. His longish dark-brown hair flapped lightly around his face, pushed by the mountain breeze. Resting on his large protruding nose were oversized glasses, giving his pointy face an imbalanced look. He flashed Jayden an overfriendly, mocking smile. His sizeable teeth accentuated his ill-proportioned face. His beady brown eyes pierced through his glasses, menacing Jayden with their cruelty.
He rubbed his eyes with a fist, thinking he must be imagining things, but when he reopened them, his heart filled with disappointment. The man he imagined in front of him was indeed there.
“Professor Showden?” Jayden said his name in astonishment, still questioning his sight. Perhaps he had been knocked on the head too hard.
The man waved his long, lean hands in front of Jayden’s face in a mock push away. “Oh, my dear boy!” His tone was pompous, overconfident, and patronizing. “It hasn’t been that long since you have seen your favorite professor.” He leaned down, placing his face closer to Jayden’s. “Have you forgotten me already? You know, the one you, your annoying little friends, and my skank of a wife had sent away and hindered from completing his mission for the greater good.” He placed a finger on his mouth thoughtfully as mock casualness seeped from his words. His eyes bored through Jayden’s heart like daggers.