She opened her mouth
to ask a question but Mrs. Kane put a finger to her lips and shook her head. Aria raised her eyebrows and Mrs. Kane gestured down the dark hallway. Guess we have more distance to cover. Aria
nodded and Mrs. Kane took off, Harry right on her heels.
Aria, on the other hand, walked a bit slower, trying to get a feel for the place they were currently in. A light that was so dim that it might as well have not
been there lit up what appeared to be a rough concrete passageway. The telltale sheen of metal in the passageways they usually travelled through was absent here. It went on
into what looked like a black hole. Apparently there was no light further down the passage or it wasn’t bright enough to be visible. Running a hand over the wall she was taken aback by how rough the surface was. It felt nothing like the smooth metal outside, but more like a rock that someone had attacked with a chisel. It was a rather puzzling contrast.
The hallway continued
for a sizable distance. Her legs were groaning after a while, a hard day’s work
earlier not being of any help. A few feet in front of her she could only see
the silhouettes of Harry and her mother. She was tempted to ask how much further they had to go, but with her mother still not speaking a word, she didn't know whether it was safe to talk quite yet.
Eventually, Mrs. Kane finally came to a stop in front of a dead end. In the dim light, Aria could see Mrs. Kane counting a pattern as she traced her fingers along
the rough-hewn concrete of the wall in front of them. After a few sweeps back and forth she
seemed to have found the correct spot. She pressed tightly and there was a
muffled hum of machinery as the wall swung inward like a giant door. It was hard to fathom how a door that large could open quite so smoothly and with such little noise, but the noise level was practically identical to a sliding glass door.
Aria had to close her eyes as the light spilling out
onto the passageway was nearly blinding after the darkness of the passageway. Thank the gods that at least this room is lit
properly. Mrs. Kane stepped into the room and gestured for the
two of them to follow her. Harry didn’t hesitate. He was through the door
before you could say ‘Secret’. Aria took a moment to compose herself. There was
a good chance that this could be the either the best day of her life or the
worst day of her life. She really hoped it was the former.
Taking a deep breath,
Aria stepped through the door and followed her mother as they emerged from a
short hallway out onto a small circular room. There was a small table at the center of
the room which looked to be covered in several sheets of what looked like
paper. Where on Earth did they find those ancient relics from? They
can’t actually be using those to write can they? A man was standing
behind it and gesturing to the three of them, smiling from ear to ear.
The rest of the room
was mostly bare. The walls were the same rough concrete as the outside. There were a few plastic chairs scattered about. They looked identical to the ones in the eating hall, only much more beat up and nearly falling apart. Something that looked vaguely like a large metal spider sat on the sturdiest looking chair of the lot.
Aria recognized the man currently gesturing to them. It was Mr. Haber. Two more familiar faces, Mr. Summers and Ms. Johnson,
were already seated at the table. Three empty chairs were arranged on
the free side of the table.
“Grab one of those
and take a seat,” said Mrs. Kane making her way towards the chairs. Harry and Aria exchanged a look.
Points: 34
Reviews: 178
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