CHAPTER 7
Cain, Saam, and I sat off to the side and I told them the story that the professor had told me. We speculated on what we thought the general’s reaction to the disappearance of the professor would be. I told Cain how I had laid a single person trail to the point he and the warrior had made a trail leading south.
Cain said, "The warrior and I made it all the way to the coast. He slipped and fell to his death."
"Well, maybe they will look for the professor there instead of here. The professor and I stuck to the roadway as long as possible to minimize leaving a trail. We could have several days before the trackers were searching this area," I said.
The next morning, Cain and I questioned the professor who said his name was Byron. After looking at my map, Byron pointed to an area about 10 kilometers east of our current location and said, "The entrance should be about here."
Within about a half hour, we were all on our way to the place Byron referred to as the airbase. With Sari, Nate and Byron on the wagon and Saam, Cain, and myself on horseback, we were able to cover the distance in a few hours.
We came upon a woven wire fence whose type was unknown to Cain or me.
"This is it!" shouted Byron.
"Now we just need to follow it until we come to the gate."
About 15 minutes later, we came to a large damaged area where the fence had been pulled over.
"This must be the point the general's men used to gain entrance," Byron said.
We entered the area that had been surrounded by the fence. After we had ridden on another five or six minutes we came upon a hard material lying on the ground. Embedded in the hard surface were two large metal plates. Byron said this was the concrete bunker entrance. Cain and I prepared to try and lift one of the metal plates.
Byron said, "Stop. Each one of those doors weighs more than two horses. Besides, they are locked from the inside."
"Is there any other way to gain entrance?" Cain asked.
"No. There are air pipes and vents but they are too small to allow passage. There aren’t any other passages to the outside. There is a signal point at the far side of the compound. I will try that, it is a simple code key but it is monitored," Byron said.
Cain and Byron set off for the signal point while Saam, Sari, Nate and I stayed by the entrance. In less than an hour the two of them returned. Byron was beaming and said that he had signaled the occupants of the settlement and they had agreed to allow him entrance.
He also said that he could bring us inside to meet with the committee and see if we would be allowed refuge. Byron said we would have to give up our weapons before entering. Cain said that he would prefer to stay outside armed, to entering weaponless. After some discussion, Saam decided to stay outside with Cain. Sari and Nate decided to accompany Byron and me into the settlement.
We heard a loud screeching and creaking sound and the two metal plates started to swing outward from the center. In less than a minute, the plates were standing upright on their edges exposing a stairway leading down into the ground.
Five flights of stairs later we came to a corridor that led off into the distance. Above us I could hear the squealing of the metal panels closing. The light was coming from panels in the ceiling. As we moved down the corridor Byron said we were going to the meeting room.
We arrived at a door set into the wall to our right. Byron opened the door and we filed inside. Seated at a large table were eight men in black robes. The robed men motioned for us to sit down. Everyone except for Byron sat in a chair on the opposite side of the table from the robed men.
Byron told his story of being captured by the generals' men and the inadvertent exposure of his ability to make gunpowder. He also told of other things he had designed and made or shown the generals men how to make.
Byron introduced us by name to the committee. Byron also said that two of our members had chosen to stay "topside." Byron then told the story of his liberation by me. He also told them of our destruction of the gunpowder plant and the subsequent liberation of the slave labor.
When Byron was finished, one of the committee members asked, "Who was the leader of our band?"
I explained that I was the leader of the wander, but consulted with Cain on most areas. I added that Saam, Sari, and Nate were hirelings, not slaves. Everyone in our party was free people.
"Then for expedience we will direct questions to you. You may defer to the others as you see fit," the robed man said.
"The first question I would like to ask is why you aided Byron?"
"Neither Cain nor I was pleased to learn of the generals army acquiring gunpowder," I said.
"After talking to Byron, I became aware of the fact that he was a prisoner. A slave the same as the workers. We could destroy the gunpowder plant but the slaves need not be killed as well," I told him.
"Was killing Byron and the workers your original plan?" he asked.
"If they were hirelings or the generals' men, I would have destroyed them with the plant," I said.
"Are you all trained warriors?" one of the other robed men asked.
"Cain and I are experienced trained warriors and Saam is training to be a warrior. Sari is training to be a healer. And Nate was a slave at the gunpowder plant, but is a farmer by trade," I said.
The robed men stood up as a group and said we would be shown to our sleeping quarters. They said they would talk to Byron and would have more questions for me in the morning.
We were escorted to a large circular room where we were shown bathing facilities and shown how to operate the showers. We were provided with clean white tunics that were similar to the ones the committee had worn under their robes. We were told our clothing would be returned once they were cleaned and sanitized.
We bathed as instructed, then dressed in our clean tunics. Food was provided after we were all dressed. A meal of vegetables and a tasteless paste was brought to us. The room we were assigned was not locked and when I opened the door I didn’t see any guards posted. About an hour after our meal there was a knock at the door.
Byron and another man and woman entered and Byron said they could show us around the facility. The woman asked Sari if she would like to see the Medical unit. Byron quickly explained the Medical unit was where the healers worked. Sari readily agreed and looked to me for permission to leave. I nodded my assent. I would have preferred that we all stayed together but had to trust no harm would come to her.
The second man asked if Nate would like to review the hydroponics facilities. Nate gave me a confused look but agreed after I indicated he should accompany the man.
Byron told me that he and I could go on a general tour taking in the settlements various sections. He said that he had arranged for Sari and Nate to be shown areas that would be of interest to them.
The settlement was made up of multiple levels extending deeper into the ground. Each level was a room of about 40 by 40 paces. Each level was linked by a small box that was raised or lowered as desired by the occupant. Byron said this box was called an elevator. A stairway also linked each level. Looking down the stairwell I could see they extended far down into the ground.
Byron said that some of the levels were divided up into as many as four separate rooms. He told me the central core area contained the common working and living quarters. Every fourth level was a tunnel leading to areas Byron said contained the farm areas, storage areas, common areas, and workshops.
Byron said the facility could support a maximum population of about two hundred and fifty people.