CHAPTER 6
When Cain and the warrior left, I took care of concealing the dead warriors' body. After I was finished, I worked my way back to the compound. I circled around until I was as close as I could get to the large wooden building. It was indeed unlike any I had previously seen. I would learn much later that this building was made of milled lumber. Mill cut lumber produces boards and beams that give buildings a distinct smooth look and provide detail and fit that is very different from crude log buildings.
This must be the building the warrior had told me about. While waiting for nightfall, I spent my time studying and identifying lookouts and learning the routines of the guards. As the shadows deepened, I scaled the stone wall and made my way toward the shadow cloaked side of the stone building.
Once there, I entered by way of a side doorway. I looked around the room that I had entered. It wasn’t a room at all, but appeared to be a hallway. Off to my right the hallway continued to the left. The hallway then opened into a large room with a stairway leading upward.
I inched toward the large room on the right. The large room appeared to be the entry chamber to the building. Double doors on one side were probably the entry doors to the building. The stairs led up to the second level of the building.
The chamber was empty and no guard was posted here. I moved off down the hall to the left. I listened at the first door I came to. After several minutes I hadn't heard any sounds so I tried the door. I eased the door open a crack, nothing. I opened the door wider. Light from the hall flooded the room. There was a writing table but nothing of interest to me.
Repeating this process on the next two rooms I then located a storage room and a workshop.
When I listened at the door at the far end of the hall, I was able to hear sounds I took to be coming from a kitchen. The cooks were talking about the general’s supper. A voice asked if he should take the professor his supper now. "Yes, take it up now," someone said.
I quickly backtracked until I came to the storage room door. I opened the door of the room and quietly entered. I then eased the door shut. I heard footsteps in the hallway. As they began to fade, I eased the door open again and exited the room closing the door behind me.
I saw someone carrying a tray and mount the stairs and start up them. Watching from the end of the hallway I saw him reach the upper landing and walk forward.
I counted his steps 1, 2, 3 …9, 10 then the steps stopped. I heard a latch being slid and a door being opened. I could hear something being said but couldn’t make out the words.
I moved back to the room with a reading table and entered it closing the door again. I heard the steps return back to the door leading to the kitchen. When he closed the door to the kitchen I re-entered the hallway.
I quietly slipped up the steps and moved down the upstairs hall. When I reached a door about 10 steps from the landing, I listened at the door. The only sound I could detect was that of a slight scrape and clatter from someone eating. I slid the latch back and eased the door open a crack.
Inside the room with his back to me was a short salt and peppered haired man sitting at a small table eating. I stepped across the room and placed one hand around him pinning his arms to his sides and the other hand was placed across his mouth.
"I only want to talk, I will not hurt you. But you must not turn around or I will kill you," I said.
He nodded his head that he understood. I slid my hand from his mouth then I eased my grip and released his arms.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" he asked.
"Never mind who I am. I want to know about you. Where do you come from, and why are you helping the general by building weapons?" I asked him.
"I help him so he will let me live. I was living happily enough at the old Airbase until the day the raiders came and attacked us," he said.
"Airbase, what is an Airbase?" I asked.
"It is a ruined compound left over from the ancient times," he said.
"Are there others there that know how to make things?" I inquired.
"If they are still alive, they are locked down and can’t be reached," he said.
"I want you to stop helping these people," I said.
"If I stop, they torture me, and say they will kill me. I’m sorry, but I’m not brave enough or strong enough to put up with the pain. And I certainly don’t wish to die," he said.
"Then if I take you back to your Airbase will you stop? If they are in lockdown as you call it. I don’t understand the term, but if you mean 'hiding' will they take you back if I leave you there?" I asked.
"If they know I'm there and alone they will let me back inside," he said.
"What if I take you to a safe place where they don’t know what you have been making? Can you live a simple life without volunteering to make ancient weapons?" I asked him.
"Yes, I would be happy to stop. We at the Airbase have lived happily for hundreds of years without making war on our neighbors. Weapons are not something I do by choice. If you can indeed get me back there, I will try and signal them to let me inside," the professor said.
"I will leave now but I will return tomorrow and lead you out of here," I told him. "Can’t you take me out now?" the professor whined.
"No, not now, but I will return tomorrow at this time," I said.
I exited the professors' room and retraced my path back to the hallway door without incident. Once outside, I climbed the wall and started back to the tree where I was to meet up with Cain.
Just before dawn I heard Cain returning. Cain was alone. I didn’t ask about the warrior.
"I located the professor," I told him.
I then went on to recount the information I had gathered from the professor. I also explained I had agreed to return him to his own settlement. Unrolling my map, I showed Cain the general location of the Professors home settlement.
"When you go back to camp pick up Saam, Sari and Nate. We can meet here," I pointed to a large lake well off the marked path.
"Are you up for this, or do you think we should just kill the professor and push into the city for exploration?" I asked.
"You know I don’t want anyone to bring guns back into use. So, I say we do whatever we can to get the professor and his knowledge out of the generals hands," said Cain.
"I will go back into the compound and liberate or kill the professor," I said.
We agreed to meet three days from now at the arranged point by the lake.
Cain left and I moved to a different location closer to the wall near the stone building. I found a spot of concealment and curled up to catch some sleep.
Later that morning around noon, I awakened and watched as the day to day routine of the settlement took place.
Outside of a long log building with a high roof line, I could see some men turning a spindle whose axel shaft rose up near the top of the gabled end of the log structure. A peg gear system connected the vertical axel to a horizontal shaft and increased the speed of the wooden shaft that entered the log structure near the top of the gable.
There inside the structure were what appeared to be wide leather belts running from the overhead shaft to various pieces of equipment. "That must be more work of the professor," I thought. It was not as complex as the ancient devices but still it was mystifying to me.
As the day wore on, I watched the activity inside the log work shop. The men at the machines worked all day long. I couldn’t tell what they were working on. I ate some jerky and drank from my water skin.
The day had passed slowly but finally the shadows started to lengthen. I slipped over the wall once more and made my way to the door I had used the previous night.
I listened. Hearing nothing, I opened the door and entered the hallway again. I went to the door of the room with the table and entered. I sat down at the table and waited for the food to be delivered to the professor. After a few minutes I heard a door open and footsteps in the hallway.
As they passed, I opened the door a crack.
I could see a man carrying a tray of food upstairs. I closed the door and waited. Within a few minutes I heard the footsteps and the kitchen door open and close again. I pushed the door open and made my way upstairs. At the professors' door, I slid the latch back and opened the door. The professor was sitting at his table wolfing down his supper.
"No need to let it go to waste. My name is Byron, you are?" He asked, stuffing the last bit into his mouth
"My name is Remy. I hope you’re not too full to move fast Professor Byron." I said.
"Is there anything you want to take with you?" I asked.
"In my lab downstairs I have a few things I need to collect." he said.
I grabbed a blanket from the bed and nodded to him. Ok, let’s go then. I eased the door open and we exited the room. I slid the latch back into place.
We walked back to the top of the stairs then down the stairs to the workshop room I had found last night.
"Here!" he said.
I opened the door and we entered. The professor went to the work table at the rear of the room. He grabbed some short sticks of wood and three large bundles of paper. Some loose papers, and a couple of machine devices I didn’t recognize. I had him pile everything into the blanket. I then rolled the blanket and tied the ends with a couple leather thongs I found on the work table. I tied the two ends of the blanket together and placed it across my back.
"Ok, let’s go. I want to be well away from here by dawn," I said.
Outside, I climbed up and checked the far side of the wall. It was clear so I climbed back and helped the professor over the wall.
We made our way around the perimeter wall and moving parallel to the roadway we moved away from the compound. I was careful to leave no tracks of my own. Only the professors' tracks would be found. We had just returned to the roadway when I spotted the tree where Cain and I had the encounter with the warriors.
We continued on down the roadway. Hopefully, the trackers would find Cain’s track and they would follow the false trail he had laid for them.
The professor and I continued down the roadway stopping once an hour for him to rest. I was unable to push him too fast because of his age and physical condition.
We eventually found the point where the road intersected the north to south roadway. I recalled from my map that we needed to travel north northeast so I stuck to the roadway in order to leave no trail to be followed for as long as possible.
We traveled North on the roadway for about three hours. Then I caught sight of a creek flowing from an easterly direction. We walked in the creek for about an hour before climbing out into a dry creek bed entering from the north. We walked the dry creek for two hours more. It was beginning to get light, so I unrolled my map and looked for land marks to locate our position.
Finally, I spotted a tall tree on a mountain that appeared to have been struck by lightning. Now I had a reference point and was able to determine approximately where we were. I estimated we were still about six hours from the agreed upon meeting point. We were only making about half the speed Cain’s party would be making.
I looked over and could see that the professor was exhausted. He was sitting with his head down. I decided that we should rest for a few hours. We would still meet at the prearranged place, just later than I had planned.
I untied the blanket, piled the contents by the tree and covered the professor with the blanket. I moved to a lookout position and allowed the professor to sleep for a few hours.
I shook the professor awake. Then we walked down to the creek bed and finding a small trickle of water we were able to wash our faces. I gave him some jerky and a long drink of water. I repackaged the professor’s possessions in the blanket and swung it onto my back again, and we set off in the general direction of the lake meeting point.
Late on the third day of our parting, I spotted a signal flash from the point on the lake where I had arranged to meet up with the rest of the party. Using the polished metal plates, I carried for this purpose, I returned the signal.
The Professor and I joined Cain and the others after two more hours of walking. The professor was still exhausted. Sari scolded me for making him walk so far and fast. She treated him with compresses and balms for his sore muscles and blisters.