The Dark Planet

  Samuel. "I imagine that's a lot of work."

  The two followed Gossamer until they reached the opening and

  realized this was the end of their journey. Where there had

  been orange and red light before, there was a new, more

  brilliant white creeping out from behind many of the rocks.

  "What do you think we'll find?" asked Samuel.

  Isabel shrugged. "Whatever it is has captured Gossamer's

  attention. He should be back by now."

  Samuel and Isabel walked through the opening, where they

  found the dried fig sitting on the ground. Samuel bent down and

  picked it up, handing it to Isabel.

  "That's odd," he said as he watched her examine it and put it

  back in her pouch. "He didn't seem to have any trouble finding

  the last one."

  "Let's keep going," she said. "He's fast, but he can't be that

  much farther ahead of us."

  As they curved downward their way drifted from side to side in a

  long zigzag. It brightened as they went, and all of the new,

  whiter light came from the ceiling, which had taken on a sharp,

  glassy appearance far above. When they finally came to the

  end of the passageway they found Gossamer standing at the

  opening, looking out.

  Samuel and Isabel walked up next to Gossamer, who also

  seemed to be mesmerized by the unexpected view. They now

  realized that they must have reached the bottom of Atherton. A

  gaping hole opened to reveal the Dark Planet way off in the

  distance.

  "Do you think Edgar is stil there?" asked Samuel.

  "I do," said Isabel, feeling something inside that told her he

  wasn't home yet.

  "Gossamer seems... I don't know, different," said Samuel. The

  dragon regarded this new surrounding with a sense of

  understanding, as if a distant memory had filled his mind.

  "Maybe he knows something," said Isabel.

  "What's this?" asked Samuel. He was the first to see a massive

  wall rising to their right. There were thousands of moving

  shadows shining through it, like large fish dancing in an

  underground sea.

  "Those look like..." started Samuel, and Isabel finished his

  sentence: "Cleaners."

  "I think that's the bottom of the lake in the middle of Atherton,"

  said Samuel. "Or some hidden chamber of water we can't see

  from up top. There are thousands of Cleaners behind there."

  The shadows moved fluidly and seemed to touch the

  translucent wall and move away again, over and over, as the

  Cleaners danced and swayed.

  The wall was covered with thousands upon thousands of

  gigantic egg-shaped impressions. Within each wide impression

  were millions of sharp spears of light.

  "They're filled with crystals," said Samuel. "I've read about them

  before. It's like glass, only it isn't. It grows."

  They moved closer still and both seemed to realize at once that

  this wall was more dangerous than it had appeared at first. At

  closer look, the crystals were like spikes, hard and deadly and

  filling the wall.

  Isabel's eyes followed the wall up and over her head. The

  ceiling was covered with white spikes, too. If she hadn't known

  what she was looking for she might have mistaken it for a

  ceiling that was merely glistening. But seeing the wal up close,

  she knew better.

  "I'm not sure we should stay here," she said. It would only take

  one to fall from the ceiling to pierce her right through.

  "I think you're right," said Samuel, looking back and wondering

  how quickly they could escape.

  "Gossamer," said Isabel, looking back and seeing he was still

  gazing out at the Dark Planet. He turned to her and looked sad.

  "Something's wrong with him."

  "You're right, he does look different," Samuel agreed. "Let's get

  him out of here. That might improve his mood."

  "Come on, Gossamer. Time to go," Isabel coaxed.

  He followed at first, though it was with some reluctance--but

  when they came to the way out, he made a strange noise.

  "What is it?" said Isabel.

  Gossamer edged forward and brushed her aside.

  "He wants to go first," said Samuel. "Better let him."

  As Isabel stepped aside she noticed a kind of sadness in

  Gossamer's expression, but also anticipation for something the

  children could not understand. "What is it, Gossamer? What's

  wrong?"

  But he didn't answer. Instead, he drew in a breath and blew fire

  all along the ceiling. Then he lay down before the opening as if

  guarding it from their entry.

  A few seconds later the ceiling began to rain down all through

  the passageway in pure white shards that shattered like glass

  when they hit the ground. The fragments were about a foot long,

  four or five inches across at the base, and sharp as needles at

  the tips.

  "He's trapped us," said Samuel in disbelief.

  Isabel couldn't believe Gossamer had betrayed them. She

  wouldn't believe it.

  "Let us through, Gossamer," she said, sure the beast would

  stand, unfurl its wings, and cover them as they went. But

  Gossamer only drew a breath and set his enormous head on

  the ground to rest.

  "Maybe we misjudged him," said Samuel. "Who knows what

  he's really thinking?"

  But Isabel was unmoved. "He blocked the way for a reason.

  He's waiting for something to happen."

  Gossamer lifted his head, craned his neck away from them, and

  blew fire on the ceiling of the passageway again. The shower of

  white needles looked as if it might go on forever.

  "So what do we do?" asked Samuel.

  "We do the only thing we can do." Isabel went to Gossamer as

  he laid his head back down. She touched his nose gently and

  wondered what he was thinking behind those dark eyes, so

  much like her own.

  "We wait with him."

  CHAPTER 24THE YARDS

  No one on the green team could be a hundred percent certain

  who would come into Dr. Harding's unlocked laboratory next.

  Maybe Commander Judix had sent Red Eye or Socket to

  search the station and it would be one of them who stumbled in.

  The green team was hiding by the door to the yards when the

  door to the lab slipped quietly open.

  Everyone waited, barely breathing.

  "Anybody home?" said a soft voice they all knew.

  "Hope!"

  Everyone said her name at once and ran through the laboratory

  as Hope entered and pushed the door gently shut with her

  shoulder.

  "You came!" said Aggie. "I knew you'd help us!"

  Teagan, Landon, Aggie, Vasher, and Edgar all gathered around

  the tall slender caretaker of the Silo and beamed. She wanted

  to hold each one of them, but her hands were already occupied

  with the item they'd asked for.

  "This thing is really heavy," said Hope. "I hope you're not going

  far."

  "We're not sure how far we're going," said Vasher.

  "But we think we're getting close," said Aggie. She didn't want

  Hope to try and stop them or worry too much.

  Hope set the powder block down with a thud on one of
the

  many tables strewn with junk. If a person hadn't known it was

  from the Silo they'd probably think it belonged here. It fit right in

  with all the other puzzling objects.

  "I can't stay here for long. Commander Judix will be looking for

  me. It's going to look awfully suspicious if I'm not there."

  "You don't have to go back to the Silo, you can come with us,"

  said Landon, expectation rising in his voice. He liked the idea of

  having Hope along to keep him safe. "We're going to find

  Gossamer."

  "I can't go with you, Landon."

  "Why, sure you can!"

  Hope turned her gaze on Edgar and spoke volumes without

  saying a single word.

  Who are you? Please tell me you're not deceiving these kids.

  Edgar was blunt, not because he wanted to be, but because he

  had to be. Time was running out.

  "Dr. Harding created me a long time ago. Probably right here in

  this laboratory where no one could see. I was his biggest

  secret. He's gone, Hope--I mean he's dead. But he sent me

  back here, I think to finish what he started."

  The words stunned Hope, but looking at the boy, it all added up.

  It was why he was so different, and it was just the sort of thing

  Dr. Harding would do.

  "He never said anything about you. He must not have trusted

  me as much as I thought."

  "Actually, that's not true," said Edgar. He held out the piece of

  paper they'd been using all along and pointed to a set of words.

  The old woman whispered them aloud.

  "'Hope you can trust.'"

  Her eyes filled with tears and she began to wonder about

  something Edgar had said. Could it really be true?

  "You said Dr. Harding sent you back. Back from where?"

  "From Atherton, of course!" said Landon. "He came in this thing

  called the Raven. The Raven needs a powder block for some

  reason, at least that's what we think --"

  "Landon, please," said Vasher. Sometimes the rapid-fire sound

  of Landon's voice made Vasher tremble.

  "We really need to go," he said. "Every second we stay here

  makes it more likely we'll get caught."

  Hope knelt down and put one hand on Aggie's shoulder and

  another on Landon's. All of the green team was pulled in close.

  "I've been asked to leave the Silo before. I couldn't go then for

  the same reason I can't go now."

  "All those kids," said Landon, suddenly realizing why Hope had

  to stay. "You can't leave them alone with Red Eye and Socket.

  You're all they've got."

  Hope smiled at the youngest boy and worried for his safety. But

  she knew the truth of the matter. The Silo wasn't safe, and

  eventually Captain Grammel's ship wouldn't be safe, either. In

  fact, nothing about the Dark Planet was safe. She was only a

  stopgap for these kids on the way to something far worse.

  Wasn't it worth it to let them at least try?

  "You seem to have a plan," she said, trying to put on a good

  face and encourage them. "If you get sent back to the Silo I'll be

  there to make certain they don't punish you too badly. But if by

  some miracle you get off the Dark Planet, don't come back here

  unless you're sure it's safe."

  "We really have to go," said Edgar. The whole group was

  feeling a huge weight of anxiety as the minutes slipped passed.

  Hope looked at each member of the green team as she went for

  the door.

  "I'll be waiting at the Silo if you get in trouble."

  When the door shut behind her there was a frenzy of activity.

  Edgar grabbed the powder block and cradled it in both hands.

  Aggie and Teagan had the map out again, scanning it to be

  sure where they were going. Vasher and Landon were already

  racing across the lab, past the statue of the ravens and the

  model of Gossamer until they arrived at the door to the yards.

  Vasher turned all seven of the locks on the old door. Each snap

  calmed him, as if he'd been overfilled with energy and the

  twisting motion had let out a bit of steam.

  The door was thick and wooden, but it was tightly sealed on

  every side. When it opened they were all immediately aware

  that they were now exposed to something from the outside. It

  smelled of smog and filth that stung their nostrils. Beyond the

  door lay a staircase that went down a few steps and turned hard

  under the laboratory to places they could not see. A row of ten

  or twelve masks and goggles hung along the inside wall.

  "Should we put these on?" asked Edgar. The air outside

  seemed thicker and more poisonous here at the water than it

  had in the forsaken wood.

  "I think that would be a really good idea," said Aggie, pulling on

  a filter mask and goggles and helping Edgar with his. Edgar let

  everyone go down the stairs before him and was just about to

  close the door behind them when he pulled his goggles up on

  his forehead and took one last look out the window.

  Captain Grammel had made it down the jetty and fired the great

  boilers on his ship. Clouds of black smoke billowed from wide

  pipes as the boat moved off without leaving a load of fuel for

  Station Seven.

  "Stay low along the rail," said Vasher. His voice sounded

  muffled from inside the mask.

  Edgar's lungs still burned even with the mask on, and the haze

  seemed to envelop them in a deadly fog.

  The map led them outside into the smog, along the wall where

  there was a hard right turn. The line of companions sped up, but

  as they neared the turn they piled up in a jumble and froze in

  their footsteps. A noise, big and monstrous, erupted from

  somewhere they couldn't see. The haze grew thinner as it rose,

  but down where they were standing they could only guess at

  what the sound was.

  "That's real y close," said Teagan, her voice shaking behind the

  mask. They all knew about Cleaners and Spikers, the most

  terrifying things on the Dark Planet--they'd heard them at night

  through the walls of the Silo. "They must have moved right up to

  the edge of the forsaken wood."

  Edgar could tell there was a fight on and he remembered the

  screaming monsters he'd seen not so long before.

  "Cleaners," he whispered, barely audible outside his mask. The

  powder block was getting really heavy and he was afraid he

  might drop it. He wished they could just keep moving.

  "And Spikers, too," said Landon. "They're fighting close to

  Station Seven."

  "Do you know what that means?" asked Vasher, glancing

  around nervously in his goggles. "It means we're losing power. I

  heard Red Eye and Socket talking when we were low on fuel

  once before. There are two lines of electrical defense, like lines

  they can't cross over. Back then--this was five or six hundred

  days ago--the outer line went down for a few hours."

  "Because Grammel was late with the fuel," said Aggie, stunned

  at the idea of monsters so close. "I remember that."

  "I saw the ship leave, right before we came outside," said

  Edgar, wondering if it had been the man they spoke of.

  Thi
s seemed to calm everyone a little, and Vasher said: "Then

  they've got the fuel and they're just setting up is all."

  The air around them filled with a crackling and snapping sound

  mixed with the cries of creatures at war with one another.

  "One's hit the inner line!" said Vasher, wishing for all the world

  to be inside where it was safer.

  "Let's keep going," said Aggie breathlessly. "We can't do

  anything about the lines, and these masks aren't filtering out

  every thing." Her arm itched as if the smog was eating through

  her skin, then she took the lead and went around the corner.

  They walked a few more steps and bumped into a gate, which

  squeaked open. They'd arrived at the entrance to the yards.

  It was smaller than they'd thought it would be, surrounded by

  ten-foot walls of concrete block on all sides. No one spoke, but

  they all would have agreed the yards was a sad and haunted

  little place. There were broken benches and boxes of dirt, a

  chipped stone pathway and blocks that had fallen from the

  walls scattered about. A low fog of filthy air hung over a slide

  that had been tipped on its side and lay next to a rusted merrygo-round.

  Landon edged over to the merry-go-round and pushed on one

  of the metal bars made for children to hold on to. It turned,

  squeaking as it went, and stopped the moment he let go.

  "This is the place where he played," said Landon, his voice soft

  and full of awe. "When he was just a boy, like me. This is where

  he had all his best ideas, don't you think?"

  He looked back at the others hopefully but no one answered

  him. All they heard was the sound of beasts getting closer as

  they frantically searched the map for what to do next.

  "I can't carry this thing much longer," said Edgar, struggling to

  hold the powder block. Vasher held out his shaking hands.

  "Don't drop it. I think it needs to stay in one piece."

  Edgar placed the heavy powder block into Vasher's trembling

  hands.

  "There should be a statue in here somewhere," said Edgar,

  shaking out his tired arms. "It might be newer than some of this

  old stuff, because he would have put it here himself long after

  the yards had stopped being used. He must have come back

  here. I've seen this trick of his before."

  Aggie looked at him, but Edgar wouldn't go into any detail. He

  was thinking of Mead's Head in the Highlands and how it was

  used to unlock the way into Mead's Hollow.

  "I found it!" said Teagan. She had moved off to one of the