Atherton #3: The Dark Planet (No. 3) (22 page)

which way.

"Curse Maximus Harding!" he screamed. "I hate him for ever

existing!"

He was humiliated and angry as he went for the door, but he

glanced back before vanishing out into the passageway.

"Sleep tight,
Edgar,
" said Red Eye. "It's the only night you're

going to get in my Silo."

With a great rumble Red Eye departed, and then every boy in

the room immediately sat up in the soft light. All but Vasher. He

rolled in a ball and refused to show his face.

"Everyone back to sleep," said Hope. She was their protector,

their healer, and a soft voice to calm them down. "Enjoy your

rest, my little angels."

They settled back in and Hope sat across from Edgar on

Landon's bed. Hope didn't speak a word to him until he

whispered a question. He'd been thinking about the red light

he'd seen and what Hope had said about it.

"Dr. Harding gave you that?" asked Edgar.

"He did. The good doctor and I were close when he was your

age," said Hope. "You talk as if you knew him."

"Oh, no, I didn't mean that--I've heard of him."

"So you know he used to live here? He didn't like it when

people were mean."

"Why did he leave?" asked Edgar.

"He was very bright. They thought he could help."

"Help with what?"

Hope sighed deeply. "It's a long, complicated story with a not

very happy ending. Let's save it for another time."

She patted her pocket softly.

"He made Red2O, this little device in my pocket, and he

showed me how to use it. He knew how rough things could get

around here." She glanced over her shoulder. "It's the only one,

but Red Eye's just dumb enough to believe I've got a hundred of

them and a plan. Keep it secret!"

Edgar smiled. "He sounds like a good man--Dr. Harding, I

mean, not Red Eye."

Hope laughed softly and nodded. "I'm sorry you won't be

staying with us very long," she said, looking at Edgar as he

rubbed his shins. "But I guess you're happy to go after a day

like today. How much worse can it be somewhere else, right?"

"Right," said Edgar. He wanted to tell her about Atherton, the

Raven, Dr. Kincaid, and every thing else, but for some reason

he held back. What if she turned out to be tricking him? He'd

been unable to trust any of the other adults he'd met on the Dark

Planet, and he was more afraid than ever that he'd never get

back home.

"Do you know where Dr. Harding slept when he lived here?"

Hope glanced over her shoulder and pointed to Vasher's bed.

"Right there. B five. B for boys' barracks and five for the fifth bed

in the line of twelve. He slept there every night of his stay. A lot

of empty bunks here now. I guess that's probably a good thing."

Edgar's head was reeling. L-I-F-T-B-5. It was the combination of

number and letters from the tablet he'd found. Some thing was

hidden beneath Dr. Harding's old bed! If only he could get

Vasher out of it long enough to find out what it was.

Edgar had one more line of questioning for Hope before letting

her slip away.

"What's the passageway of lies? Where does it lead?" If Edgar

was going there, he wanted to know as much as he could

before they took him.

Hope had been asked this question more times than she could

count. She'd been sending kids off to sea for years and never

told one of them where they were going, because to be fair, she

really didn't have a lot to go on. She knew it was outside, and

that was all she needed to know. Outside was a black lung, a

hacking cough, a death certificate. She'd only ever said to be

prepared for some things that might be a little hard, but that it

would be an adventure.

Hope's life had long been about giving children a few years of

hope, to take the edge off a bad place, to love them and care for

them but never to scare them. And so she told the lie once

more, hoping it would be the last time and knowing deep in her

broken heart that she'd be saying it again before long.

"I can't tell you where the passageway of lies leads. No one

knows for sure, I guess, least of all me. But it will be an

adventure--that much I know--and you won't have to deal with

Red Eye or Socket anymore."

"When am I leaving?" asked Edgar.

"The rumor is tomorrow night," said Hope, putting her warm

hand over his. She felt for his pinky and found it missing, and

this surprised her.

"Looks like you've been beaten up a little, after all," she said,

gazing at the near perfect creature who had landed in the sad

world of the Silo. She could already imagine this strong, healthy

boy out in the open air turning pale and broken. "You best get

some rest. And don't you keep him up all night talking, Landon."

She let go of Edgar's hand and glanced down at Landon, who

appeared to be sleeping.

"Don't let him fool you," said Hope. "He's a little chatterbox."

Hope leaned over each boy whether they were sleeping or not

and checked their covers. When she came back and touched

Edgar on the cheek his heart skipped a beat.
Why can't you be

my mother?
he thought as she disappeared out the door.

Not three seconds went by and Landon was already talking

again.

"Got a surprise for you," he said.

There was a spark of light in the room and an old candle was lit.

Landon wouldn't look directly at it, but Edgar had always liked

the light from a candle and couldn't stop staring at it.

"That's great, Landon. But shouldn't you be getting some sleep

like Hope said?"

"I got an even better surprise. You ready?"

Edgar was looking at the candlelight, thinking about how he

might use it to help look under Vasher's bed.

"I'm ready," said Edgar. He was really starting to like this young

busybody. He had great energy for such a gloomy place.

Landon jumped out of bed and reached up next to the metal

wall. A series of thick pipes ran every which way, and he

tapped on one of them four times. A few seconds later there

was a distant echo as someone tapped back, and Landon

jumped out of bed.

"Come on, we have to go."

"Wait. Landon, there's something I need you to do for me."

"Anything! But we need to hurry. They'll wonder where we are."

Edgar was terribly curious about where they were going and

who they would meet, but time was so desperately precious. He

might not get another chance.

"This is going to sound strange, but I need to look under

Vasher's bed."

Landon blinked rapidly in the candlelight. It was a small, soft

light, but it still made his eyes sting at the edges.

"Vasher's not so bad. And he takes care of me. He's just scared,

that's all."

"I know, Landon. I like him, it's just, well, this is going to sound

really strange, but I think something is hidden there that will

help us. I'm not going to hurt him or take anything from him.

Really I'm not."

Landon didn't see the harm in lifting the bed and looking

underneath, so he shrugged and got up. Edgar followed, and

when they arrived at the foot of the bunk, he lifted it ever so

slowly, just two inches above the floor. Vasher stirred but did

not wake. Landon peeked underneath but found nothing.

"Try the posts," whispered Edgar.

Landon felt the bottoms of the metal pilings that held the bed.

He shook his head, not finding anything, but Edgar wasn't

satisfied. He held the bed with one hand, which was difficult

because it was heavy, and he made a spinning motion with his

other hand.

Landon took the hint and began trying to turn the bottom of one

of the metal legs. Nothing. He moved around Edgar and tried

the second leg, and this time the bottom part began to turn. He

looked up, smiling excitedly at Edgar, set the candle down on

its fat bottom, and began spinning faster with both hands. Soon

the leg was off and he pulled it free. He dug out a rolled-up

piece of paper and held it up in victory, then put the leg back

where it had been.

When Edgar set the end of the bed down it made a small sound

and Vasher sat up in bed.

"I'm not eating that! I don't care if it's all there is. I won't eat it!"

It was the gibberish of a dream. "It's okay, Vash, lie down," said

Landon softly. "No one's going to make you eat anything you

don't want to."

"That's more like it!" said Vasher, lying back down and closing

his eyes.

When Edgar and Landon were back at their beds Landon

handed Edgar the folded-up piece of paper.

"He talks in his sleep like that. Sometimes he walks around,

too. That's a little scarier."

"Thank you, Landon," said Edgar earnestly, sure this new clue

would reveal something important.

"Do you have to look at it right now? They'll be waiting for us."

"Who'll be waiting?"

"You'll see," said Landon.

Edgar looked at the folded paper. He could hardly wait to open

it, but he was also curious about who Landon wanted him to

meet and where.

"Where are we going?" asked Edgar. And then Edgar heard

Landon whisper just the kind of words he loved to hear.

"Stay close and I'll show you the way. We're getting out of

here."

CHAPTER 18THE VINE ROOM

Landon pulled Edgar down the center row of beds and stopped

short when he reached Vasher's bunk.

"Vash," said Landon, shaking Vasher's foot. "Wake up. We're

going."

Vasher mumbled and rolled over. "Go on without me," came his

exhausted voice out of the darkness. "I'm too tired."

The sound of grumbling came from a bunk nearby and Landon

pulled Edgar farther along.

"He sleeps like the dead lately," whispered Landon. "That

happens to boys when they go over 4000. I've seen it before."

They came to the slick metal wall and Landon blew out the

candle, setting it carefully in the corner to be picked up on their

return trip. The world was suddenly very dark.

"Something tells me you're a good climber, so you shouldn't

have any trouble with this. Just feel for my feet and stay close

behind. It isn't very far."

Edgar nodded, then realized Landon couldn't see him and said:

"Got it."

He could feel Landon moving above him and followed, gripping

a series of round pipes before reaching the girders that snaked

along the ceiling. The metal girders were very good for

climbing, with wide gaps to pass through and crawl on top of

like a spider.

"Be careful with this next part," said Landon. "We'll be going

down."

Soon there came a T in the passage. The space was so small

Edgar had to guide his feet back first, bending his knees then

curving his body to get all the way flat at the bottom.

"This way," Landon called from a surprising distance down the

corridor. Soft light crept into the duct as Edgar scrambled to

catch up. And there was something else--roots or vines that

crawled all along the sides of the passage like they were trying

to take over the place. Edgar saw shadows dancing in front of

him as Landon moved like a cat in the cramped space.

"Almost there!" Landon's voice echoed through the narrow

passageway. "One more turn and you've got it."

The snakelike roots had turned lush and green, and the tunnel

leading down was loaded with leaves shot through with pale

light from below. Edgar had been crawling headfirst in the

downward stretches and wished he hadn't this last time,

because he could see as he passed through the thickest of the

leaves that this passage would end in open air and hanging

vines.

Landon's head popped into view as a silhouette against the dim

light below.

"Just let go," said Landon. "You can catch a vine on the way

out."

Edgar wasn't sure about this idea, and instead reached the

opening and poked his head out into the vine room. The vines

hung close together and they were full with green and yellow

leaves. It was like a jungle held captive from the outside world.

Landon had slid down and hung well below the entrance now.

"Getting back to our beds will be some work, but it's worth it," he

said. He was hanging from one of the long vines, swaying softly

back and forth.

Edgar heard something coming toward them, but he couldn't

see what it was. Without warning someone slammed into

Landon, sending him flying off to another vine and grabbing

hold with a shout.

"Hey! We just got here! You could have waited long enough to

--"

Landon couldn't finish what he was saying because someone

else flew in from the other direction on a different vine and

slammed into Landon again. This time he held on but only

barely, flopping wildly through the air.

"Help me, Edgar! They're attacking!"

"What's happening?" yelled Edgar. He couldn't tell what was

going on for sure, only that his friend was being clobbered.

Edgar dropped out of the hole in the ceiling and grabbed a vine.

He felt natural curls and loops in the vine that he could easily