The Travelers, part 13

Falcon's hoarse voice cut through the gloom.
"We will?"
"Yes," Rita snapped.  "Think about it, Falcon.  The Headmaster promised us great rewards if we went over to his side, but I haven't seen any rewards yet.  We were nothing but the Headmaster's puppets.  We were always being ordered around and yelled at, and I never got any thanks, and I don't think you did, either.  And now we've been thrown in here like traitors.  I'm through with the Headmaster. I'm through with the Emperor's cause.  Aren't you?"
Falcon stared at the ground.  All the hard lines on his face suddenly relaxed, and he looked tired and sad.  Thoren patted him awkwardly on the shoulder. 
"I know you can do this, Falcon," Thoren said.  "You're braver than you think.  Will you help us?"
Falcon looked around at all of them. 
"Yes." He said finally, very quietly.
"Good." Thoren said.  "Now, did you two ever find out where the weapons are hidden while you were working for the Headmaster?"
Rita nodded.  "I've been in there.  There's a hidden entrance.  But you have to go through the Headmaster's Chamber first.  The Eastern Door leads to a passage, and the hidden door is in the passage.  But the Chamber is heavily guarded, and we're locked in here."
"The Headmaster leaves the Chamber every night," Frank said, suddenly.
They all turned to him.
"I know because I hear him calling to his bodyguards.  He tells them to bring their torches and they go out of the Chamber. I hear the door shut behind them every night."
"So there aren't any guards in the Chamber when he leaves?" Thoren asked.
"There are only the three bodyguards," Falcon said.  "I've seen them in the Chamber."
"When does the Headmaster come back?" Thoren asked Frank.
"By my guess only a few hours later," Frank said.  "But that would be enough time for us to get through the Chamber."
"If we knew how to get out of here." Rita said.
Falcon had been quiet ever since his remark about the bodyguards.  He seemed to be thinking very deeply.
Now, he said, "There should be a way to unlock the door from the inside.  I've seen some of the designs for the self-locking doors.  They're made so that there is a way of unlocking them even from the inside.  It's a safety feature in case of treason--the Headmaster and those closest to him, who also know how to unlock the doors--will be able to escape if there's a rebellion and they get locked up."
"So, how do you unlock the door?  A password...or a secret control panel or something?" Taylor asked. 
"That's what I don't know." Falcon said, "I never got to a very high ranking, in the Headmaster's mind, so I was never told the secret about how to unlock the doors."
"Well," Thoren said, his voice full of doubt, "I suppose we can search around and see if we can find anything.  We have a couple of hours before the Headmaster leaves anyway."
They spread out, and Thoren began to inspect the front of the cave, while Rita went to the back, and Falcon headed over to the right hand wall.  Taylor and Frank went to the left hand wall.  They felt around the wall and floor, and they squinted through the darkness, wondering if there were any visible markings that might lead them to a clue.
"What happened after you disappeared?" Taylor whispered.
Frank sighed.  "After they captured me, I tried to yell.  They told me to be quiet or they would kill me.  While we were running I tripped in a hole and twisted my ankle.  After that they half-dragged me.  It seemed like such a long time I was dragged.  Then, really early the next morning, I think, they pulled me into a hole in the ground and we were in all these winding passageways.  Once we got to the Headmaster's chamber they left me there, and the Headmaster asked me all of these questions."
"What kind of questions?" Taylor asked.
"Just...questions about my family, and stuff.  He asked me about you.  Then he started asking all of these things about the earth, and the animals and plants, and he asked about us."
"Us?" Taylor asked, confused.
"Us.  You know.  Humans."
"Oh.  Yeah.  Right."
"I guess now I know why." Frank said, shuddering.
They were silent for a few moments.
"Frank--" Taylor began, wanting to apologize for their fight, but she was interrupted by a sharp cry from Rita.
"Thoren, everyone," she muttered, "get over here.  I think I may know how to get us out of here."
The Travelers, Copyright 2012, by Katy Allie. All rights reserved.