The underground

Chapter 3

I follow The Liberal out of the ice cream place without saying anything.

"What is going on here?" Dane whispers to me.

"Well..... I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you that." I whisper back.

"Why wouldn't you be allowed to tell me? And what does that guy mean by 'escaping'?.......... You're not from Greenville are you?"

"No. I'm not from Greenville. I don't even know what that is! I don't know where I am or basically anything about this world up here!" I answer him.

"Wait wait wait wait wait. World? Why do you think this is a different world? Are you from Mars or something?" Dane questions me.

"Something like that..." I drift off as we reach this old looking house.

"Well, this is it." The Liberal tells us. He knocks on the door in a fancy pattern and we can hear footsteps from within.

The door opens a crack and a face peers out. "Jackson!" The voice from within exclaims when it spots The Liberal.

"She has escaped. We need the information, Ulysses." The Lib, er, Jackson tells the man, who I believe goes by Ulysses. He opens the door and we follow Jackson in.

I look around the place I have entered. I have never seen anything like it! It was amazing to witness. I'm so glad I've left. I trace my fingertips along a square of something on the wall with a picture of people I've never seen before in it. This world is so different.

"Journey." The sound of my name brings me back to the task at hand. I look up to the owner of the voice. "My how've you grown my dear."

The man smiles at me then continues. "I was very good friends with your parents when you were born. I escaped shortly after that just like you. Your parents always knew from the beginning that you would escape. They knew you would be different. So, they left you alone. Pretended not to worry bout you so that they wouldn't get attached for the day you finally left. They were good people, Journey. Very good people. Don't blame them for not getting involved in your life. They just knew you would leave."

All of this is so new to me. "You escaped just like me?" I asked Ulysses.

"Yes, dear. I couldn't STAND the life being cramped down there. Especially since I knew what it was like up here. The Underground was a horrid place." He laughs and I laugh along.

"Wait! The Underground? Like hell? Can someone explain a few things to me please?" Dane's voice comes through.

"And who do you have here?" Ulysses asks.

"I found this boy with Journey, sir. I figured I better bring him along too."

"You figured right, Jackson. So, Dane. You live here?"

"Yes. I do."

"Have you ever heard of 'The Underground'?" Ulysses asks Dane.

"No sir. I have never heard of that before."

Ulysses takes quite a while I may say, to explain where I came from to Dane, why I escaped, things like that. Dane looked dumbfounded. I bet learning there's a secret world under your own world really takes a person by surprise.

"Wait." Dane turns to me. "Is that why you didn't know what a car was?"

"I'm not sure what a car is but I'm guessing it's that metal thing that almost hit me today."

"This is all insane." Dane replies. He's taking all of this surprisingly well.

"Dane." Ulysses says. "I need you to do a very important thing for Journey for me."

Dane looks at me and smiles, "Anything for her sir."

Ulysses smiles. "I need you to take care of her. Journey, you'll stay with me and I will take the told of your father. Not replacing him of course. You will
Not be in here often, for you will be spending most of your time with Dane here." Dane smiles too big may I add. "Dane, you must show her everything. Journey is clueless about mostly everything here. You need to introduce her to new things. Make her some friends. And NEVER let her out of your sight. And most importantly, she CAN NOT get hurt. You understand?"

Dane looks at me then to Ulysses then back at me again. "Nothing will EVER happen under my watch sir."

"I'll hold you to that young mane." Ulysses says while grinning. He whispers something to Jackson and they look at us and smile. Something weird is going on with them. But I have a whole new world to explore so I don't mind.