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Chapter 9- Not The Last Time

"Fine fine. Bye guys!" Cedric replied, waving at us.

"Bye!" A chorus of voices.

I looked at the GPS again, which finally loaded the fastest route to Vancouver.

"Eighteen hours to Nanaimo." I announced, mimicking an airplane steward.

Mairi gave me a thumbs up and Jason nodded.

"Stay safe. Call me sometime when it's safe." Cedric said to Irene as he kissed her forehead. She smiled and closed the window.

Then we were off, leaving a waving Cedric in his driveway. For a long time, we were on the straightest highway ever. The music was the only sound in the car. Around two o'clock we stopped for gas at a small station in the middle of nowhere.

"Who's driving next?" Irene asked us.

"Definitely not me." I replied, stretching my arms above my head.

For most of the drive I could only see piles upon piles of snow. Surprisingly, it wasn't just us driving on the tiring highway. People were going home after the holiday, cars beeping and buzzing past. We were standing by the gas pump again, which reminded me of our way to Saskatoon.

"I'll drive." Mairi said, shoving her wallet into her pocket while juggling her cranberry juice.

Nate, who was walking beside her, threw me a cherry coke.

"Thank you my good man." I replied.

Jason walked out of the little convenience store and regrouped with us.

"Where's Tara?" I asked him. I hadn't seen her since the night before.

"Oh. She's in the bathroom." He replied.

I shook my head. All he told me was that there was a change of plans. We were headed for Vancouver base, which actually turned out to be in Nanaimo. Once the car was gassed up, everyone packed into the car and we headed onto the road again.

Hours went by. Mairi switched with Nate, and Nate eventually switched with Tara. I slept for quite a while too, dreaming of a boat swishing around in the sea until a big meteor crushed it and made it sink deep into the ocean. Turns out that it was actually Nate who threw a bag of food at my head.

"What the hell?" I said, rubbing my forehead.

"We're in Calgary now, look!" Nate exclaimed.

Outside was a beautiful frosted city already covered by the dark blanket of the night sky.

"You're driving next, since you got to sleep the most." Jason said, pointing his finger at me.

"It's the never ending road trip." I sighed.

*Eleven and a half hours later*

I stepped on the brake when we reached Nanaimo and turned on the car lights to wake everybody up.

"The bright light..." Nate hissed, covering his groggy face.

"We're here?" Tara asked, looking out the window to see falling snow.

The ground stretched out ahead of us, reminding me of some obsolete landscape. There were only a few abandoned buildings around and it was getting dark. There was no point in finding a good place to park; either way, the van would look conspicuous in the open space. That, or it would be blanketed with a thick layer of snow.

"It's showtime." Jason muttered as he pulled a black jacket out of his backpack and put it on.

The others followed him by layering up on the sweatshirts and jackets that they had brought. I was unfortunately left with only one grey sweatshirt, but it would have to do. I looked over to see Tara pulling on a pink sweater.

"Nice to know that we have our own pink highlighter at night! Who needs a flashlight when you've got the brilliance of a neon sweater?" I joked, pulling my hood on.

"Shut up. A girl has got to have some color in her wardrobe." Tara replied, jumping out of the car.

We piled out and slung our bags over our shoulders. Supplies would be necessary if we were going to be trekking to the next base. Once I left the warmth of the car a cold blast of wind and snow pelted my face. The GPS signaled that the base was in close proximity. Good.

"This way." I said, motioning for the others to follow. Jason walked beside me.

"So once we get there, what are we doing?" Nate asked, his breath becoming a wisp of fog in the air.

"We have to be quiet--not bust in like we did last time--and find our sources." Jason replied.

"Sources being..?" Mairi inquired.

"That Von Kleist dude." Nate answered for him.

"Right... I'm totally looking forward to talking to another mean brute who, may I add, is also the leader of the Desert Eagles." Tara said.

The rest of the trek was spent in silence before we finally reached what looked like grey concrete rising from the ground. The opening of the mound looked like a mouth that was swallowing the billowing cold air. I hesitantly stopped to observe our surroundings. There were no guards in sight, and there was also no light.

"This must be the entrance. Should we see if there is another way in?" Irene asked.

I nodded and looked at Jason, who returned the gesture. "Michael, Irene, and I should go. The rest of you guys need to stay on the lookout." Jason said.

"Got it," Nate replied, "Be careful."

The light mood that was present yesterday had faded along with the comfort of daylight. Now it was replaced with uncertainty about what we were going to be facing in the next few hours, or even days.

Our trio split from the rest of the group and we were off to tread in the cold snow once more. I evaded a stray log that was poking from under the layer of snow and walked briskly around the concrete mound.

"I can barely see, it's getting so dark now." Irene said, pulling out her phone.

"Phone flashlight?" I asked.

"Yep."

A few feet ahead of us lit up from the light and we were able to see the area better.

We kept walking and searching, but with no luck. Jason sighed and shook his head.

"We won't find anything." He said, starting to turn back.

I turned around and followed him. He was right. There was only empty land and no guarantee that we would actually find a second entrance.

Suddenly Irene's faraway voice trailed through the air.

"You were saying?"

I looked back to see her standing triumphantly over a metal trap door.

Jason and I exchanged looks and laughed. "How, of all chances, did you find that?" I asked.

"I stepped on something hard and after sweeping all these snow off, this is what I found." Irene answered proudly with a grin.

I was just happy that she had miraculously discovered a hidden entrance.

"Well, let's go get the others." I said with a happy shrug, turning back.

"I'll stay here so you can find it." Irene replied. Her foot remained planted on the trap door.

"Alright," Jason said, smacking my arm, "let's go."