Winter's Edge

Chapter 19 - Departure

Abby

IAN loaded his backpack into the van and climbed in, sitting beside me in the dimly-lit van. Joseph shut the door, and before long, we were on our way out of Winter's Edge through a long network of tunnels.

About a half hour later, the air had grown stale, so I opened the vent beside me.

Lena and Reilly sat one row back, Jesse beside them, and Murph and Kat were in the front row with a wall blocking our view of the driver and passenger. Artie rode shotgun in the front. Blacked-out windows prevented us from seeing outside, from seeing the path in and out of the city.

I leaned over to Ian. "We're almost to the city gate. From there, it's less than a half hour to the safehouse."

As if on cue, the persistent knock of the diesel motor slowed, then fell to an idle as the whine of the turbo died down.

A click sounded. The weight of the van shifted on the passenger side. Joseph had exited the vehicle.

Ian frowned. "Are we getting out?"

"No," I said. "We're not allowed. Only a few people are allowed to see the gate. They're the only ones who know how to open it."

"There are multiple gates inside the gate," Murph said from up ahead.

"Why multiple gates?" Ian seemed to go deeper with his questions, always wanting to know the inner workings of things. I liked that about him.

The sound of moving gears and scraping stone filled the tunnel. Joseph had just activated the gate's lift mechanism.

Reilly spoke up. "Some of the gates are metal, some are stone. It's designed so that Asa can move certain components in the metal gates allowing her to lift all of the gates. It's our failsafe just in case the lift mechanism malfunctions."

"If Asa can move the gates," Ian said, "can't the Hunters bring a Telekinetic in here and do the same thing?"

"Do we really look that stupid, dimwit?" Kat sounded humorously condescending. "Asa has to move the internals into position before the gears can move the doors at all. No Telekinetic has the power to bend or break those gears. If the Hunters ever find this place, it'll take them forever to figure out a way to get through the gates."

The van's suspension sank slightly, and a door shut on the passenger side. We continued through the tunnel, and the smell soon became tainted with sewage. Everyone acted as if it were normal. Everyone except Ian.

He sniffed, then cringed. "What is that smell?"

"Sewers," I said. "There are endless miles of storm drains and sewers around Denver. Some parts are big enough for us to get through. We won't be in them long."

"Why do I suddenly feel like a teenage mutant ninja turtle right now?" he said.

I frowned at him, but Murph laughed, clearly getting the reference.

Soon, the dissipating smell signaled our exit from the sewers. The smooth ride on the concrete was exchanged for the bounciness of a dirt road until we hit the highway.

Moments later, our blackout windows went clear.

Ian grimaced for a second. "How'd the windows do that?"

"The glass has millions of nanoparticles that let light through when electricity is run through them," I said, "and block light completely when there's no electrical charge."

"That's awesome." Ian touched the glass curiously. "Isn't that dangerous in a car?"

Kat let out a pfff! "It's not like the front windshield's done that way, Einstein."

Ian snorted a laugh, finally getting used to Kat's goading.

The Denver lights shined in the distance as we entered the city limits. The metallic clatter of the chain-link gate sounded a bit later as we arrived at the warehouse complex.

"Is this it?" Ian said.

"Almost." I squeezed Ian's leg that rested against mine. "Our warehouse is at the back corner"

After a short drive, the sound of an opening warehouse door resonated outside and the van pulled in. Everyone unbuckled their seat belts just before Joseph opened the side door to let us out.

I climbed out and stretched. Ian followed suit.

I slung a backpack over my shoulder and motioned for Ian to come along.

The inside of the warehouse was mostly empty. Its rusted, gray metal panels and filth-clouded windows made it fit in with the other buildings in the complex. One corner was taken up by what one would expect to be a large, two-story office area made of more haggard, gray sheets of metal, devoid of windows.

"Welcome to our vacation home," I said.

"What, that?" Ian gestured toward the office-looking structure.

"Yeah, that's what we call this safehouse. Isn't it great?"

"You're joking, right?" he said. "We'll be eaten by giant rats while we sleep."

"Oh, it's not so bad," I said. "You get used to it after a few runs."

"Don't listen to her." Kat's voice dropped an octave. "You never get used to it."

Ian sighed.

"Oh, come on, Kat. It's not that bad."

"So you really don't mind staying here?" Ian said.

"I'd live here if I could." I smiled. "Let me show you the inside."

"Yay!" he said with mock enthusiasm. The look on his face was priceless.

I dragged him to the door, excited, and turned my key in the lock.

As the door opened, I saw yet another priceless look on his face. A look of you-got-me-again mixed with admiration.

A beautiful living area lay before us with leather couches and a big-screen TV.

He shook his head with a snort. "Well played." He gawked at the television. "What size TV is that?"

"It's an eighty-inch, but the theater screen dwarfs it."

"What theater screen?"

We moved into the living room, bags in hand.

"The one in the theater room." I walked to a black-curtained entrance beside the living room and pulled them apart to reveal our massive screen with rows of leather seats before it and a wet bar in the back.

"Oh, wow. I'm home."

"You like it?"

"Yes would be an understatement. I've never been in a house this size."

"This is just the first floor." Kat climbed the stairs next to the kitchen.

"There's another floor?" Ian's eyes grew larger.

"Of course," I said. "It's got a huge game room, another kitchen...it's like another house stacked on top of this one." I motioned toward the stairs with a nod. "Come on. I'll show you your room."

After we all unpacked and settled in, Ian and I played pool with Murph and Reilly upstairs, while everyone else played cards downstairs.

Eventually, we moved to the second-floor living room and unwound for the night. Ian and I fell asleep on the couch watching an old episode of Firefly.

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QUESTION: Do you think their way of hiding their safehouse is clever or stupid?