Valerie, Oliver, and Shadow rested for about an hour before Valerie stood up, brushing dirt off of her silvers.
"Well," she said. "The faster we get that key, the faster we can free Peter." Oliver, who had been petting a sleeping Shadow, also stood up.
"Fort Titanium is higher up than I expected."
"And the faster we climb the mountain, the closer it'll appear," Valerie replied, already heading towards the beginning of what would be a long and arduous journey. Oliver shrugged and followed her, careful to avoid the sharp rocks. Shadow's ears perked up and he trotted over, rubbing his cheeks against Valerie's legs and purring.
Valerie gripped onto a the edge of a fairly big rock and heaved herself upward, Oliver following. Shadow simply leaped gracefully from rock to rock. He had no time for exhausting work.
"So," Oliver began. "Not as steep as you thought, eh?"
"Well, in my defense," Valerie retorted, heaving herself up once again. "It looked steep from where we were, and it still is. Just not steep enough to stop us from climbing it." Oliver chuckled good-naturedly and continued to climb.
Not a cloud was in sight, revealing a clear blue sky. Normally Valerie would've enjoyed this type of weather, but the sun beating down on the group only added to their overall exhaustion. Valerie climbed rock, after rock. It was becoming harder and harder to complete the task each time, however Oliver seemed to climb almost tirelessly, and Valerie figured it was the benefits of being an engineer and carpenter. Shadow had gone ahead, and she had lost sight of him a while ago. She only hoped that he had gone to the summit and was waiting, and that he hadn't gotten himself into trouble.
Of course, Shadow being Shadow, he had gotten into trouble.
***
Shadow leaped from rock-to rock effortlessly, his paws barely brushing against them before he was almost flying through the air again. His friends were climbing a little too slow for his liking, and he figured he'd go on ahead for a while, and then stop, rest, and wait for them to catch up. He leapt and leapt and he was almost halfway up the tall mountain before he finally stopped to rest, curling up in a small patch of grass.
He had only been sleeping for a few minutes when a loud beeping woke him. He stretched out his arms and paws, then opened his eyes to see the metallic, glowing, blue-eyed gaze of a metallic bird only a foot away from his face. He yowled in surprise and leaped behind him, his back arched, prepared to fight.
The metallic bird simply tilted its head, as if it was confused. It opened its beak and let out another sharp beep.
Shadow, back still arched, padded slowly towards it. He wasn't sure if it was trying to befriend him or obliterate him. He hoped it was the former. And then the bird charged, sharp talons prepared to slice into him.
Shadow's quick hearing informed him of the attack seconds before the bird charged, and Shadow leaped hastily sideways, barely out of reach of the bird's sharpened, metallic talons. The Bird's talons scraped against the rock, and it swiveled around, one again aiming, as it seemed to Shadow, to stab him. Shadow leaped on top of it, raking his claws down across its back. The bird was unfazed, and Shadow's claws barely even left a mark.
The standoff remained like this for a few minutes before the bird flew away, as if it was retreating. Shadow, panting, laid back down and started cleaning his paws, unaware of the bird's surprise attack from behind. The bird swooped in an picked up shadow, its claws digging uncomfortably into his fur. It rose slowly into the air, carrying Shadow with it. As it flew through the clear blue sky it had only one objective programmed in its mind.
To bring its findings to the guards of Fort Titanium.
***
Thomas sat at a desk in the library, doing his weekly Guard research. It was Thursday and Valerie hadn't met him there yet, but he wasn't too worried; only slightly concerned. He told himself she'd probably had something come up so she couldn't make the walk to the library today. Yes, she was fine. She'd likely be here next week.
He had visited his parents the day before. They seemed very worried, and also very relieved when Thomas had told them that Valerie was still alive and well, hiding in a secret underground base.
"Very spy movie-like," his dad had commented.
Thomas read for about half an hour before he finally closed the last page of the last chapter in the Tech Gun book, The History of Law Enforcement Technology: Volume I. He picked up the book and walked to the back-right corner of the room and returned it to its place on the shelves. He was searching for the book's sequel: The History of Law Enforcement Technology: Volume II when he stumbled and leaned on a small, tattered, brown paperback book to support himself. The wall opened to reveal a dark hidden passageway, toggled by the book Thomas had leaned on.
Thomas stood there for a moment, surprised. He then examined the lever book. It was old and tattered and had no title; there'd be no reason for anyone to check it out of the library.
The perfect hidden switch. Thomas quickly glanced around him to make sure no one was watching and then hastily sped into the passageway. There was a lever on the inside and he pulled it, then watched the wall-door close behind him. He was excited now-- what could be in this passage? Who had built it? Would it lead to treasure? Secrets?
The passage was dimly lit with evenly placed blue lights. Thomas walked down, marveling at how clean the whole place was, almost as if-- as if it had been used very recently. Thomas' stomach flipped. Would the other user of the passage still be inside? How would be explain himself to him/her if he just wandered in? "Oh, hi, I'm just here. In your secret passageway." He walked more carefully now, ready to run back at a moment's notice. Eventually he reached the end of the hallway. It opened up to a small circular room completely made of wood-- a strange thing for Thomas to see, considering how almost every wall in every room was made of silver these days.
A desk was placed in the exact center of the circular room, right next to a fireplace which still contained a few sparking embers. A single book laid on top of the desk. Luckily for Thomas, no one was here. He walked slowly up to the book, and then smiled and almost laughed when he saw the books title.
The Paul Nightman Files: A History of One of The Most Notorious Criminals Known To The U.S. Paul Nightman: America's Archenemy. It was a wordy title, but Thomas had found the jackpot-- a book full of the information he and Valerie wanted to know.
YOU ARE READING
Visionary
Science Fiction[CURRENTLY ON HOLD] January 1st every year is the Ability Ceremony. As soon as kids reach the age of thirteen, they are scanned and their Ability is observed by the President of the United States. However, there is only one ability which is potentia...
