No Adults Allowed

Thirteen

Erik stepped forwards into the nursery, looking left and right, occasionally stopping to prod at a surface, or to pick up an object and examine it more closely. He walked in a clockwise direction, from pod to pod, his six year old shoulders slouching as if the weight of the world was on his back. He paused, went down on both knees and took something from the worn mat. Turning, he held up what looked to be a wooden caterpillar, each block of the creature's body made from a different colour. "I used to play with this," he said. His eyes were sad, his voice halting and hesitant.

There was a silence, made all the more total by the lack of animal noises or the rustling of leaves.

"Damn," Ramin said, at last.

"What does this mean?" Rufus asked.

Eva ran a hand through her hair. "It means we know where all the little ones came from, when they appeared a few years back."

"But what does it mean?"

Robin moved carefully towards Erik, stepping around the scattered toys as if they were fragile and precious. Erik was still sat on the mat, wiggling the caterpillar back and forth, seemingly lost somewhere in his own past. "There's something here," Robin called to the others, spying something on one of the long seats. It was a black, slender object, about the size of his palm and the thickness of his hand. It looked decidedly out of place compared to the bright and cheery toys. Picking it up, he turned it over and discovered a button on one side.

"Let's see if anyone else can press buttons, right, Erik?" He clicked the button in.

There was a hiss and crackle from the opposite side of the room, surprising him sufficiently such that he dropped the object.

"What did you do?" called Tilda.

Eva was already moving towards the sound. "Whatever it was, do it again," she said.

"Careful," Rufus said, holding out a cautionary hand, "it might be a snake, or something."

"It's not a snake, Rufus."

Retrieving the device, Robin depressed the button again, holding it this time. There was the hiss and crackle again, coming from one of the other seating areas, on the other side of the plinth. "It's something over there," he said, and was startled to hear his own voice repeated back to him from the other side of the room. He released the button and held the object at arm's length, eyeing it suspiciously.

"Here!" shouted Eva, picking up what seemed to be an identical device. She clicked in the button and the device in Robin's hand hissed and crackled. He looked at it as if it might bite. "Hello?" Eva spoke at the device, and her voice echoed from the one Robin was holding.

"That's cool," said Erik. "Can I try?" Robin gladly handed it over and Erik proceeded to shout multiple "HELLOS!" into it, followed by a series of silly noises.

The others were now exploring the room, prodding at the different seating pods, turning over old, dust-covered cushions to see what else could be unearthed. "Got something," Ramin said, holding up another black object, this time cylindrical and about the length of half his forearm, with what appeared to be a glass panel in one end. He fiddled with it for a few moments, then the glass end erupted with light, casting a strong, visible beam onto the wall even in the already well-lit nursery.

Erik chucked the talking device back at Robin and scampered around to try the torch. Robin couldn't help but get the sense that their discoveries were very convenient. He glanced up at the flaming branch he still wielded on one hand and sighed.

"How is this stuff working?" Rufus asked, taking the talking device from Robin.

"There must be a local generator powering them, like the Temple back home," Eva said.

Robin had never seriously considered the notion of there being other Temples. If they did encounter other people and settlements, he'd rather expected them to be primitive. He'd imagined occasionally bringing their knowledge of the Temple to those less fortunate, lost in the world. The nursery undermined every one of his expectations, even in its abandoned, dusty, decrepit state.

"You should all see this," Tilda said, having made it to the far end of the room.

Eva was the first to run to her. "Another bit of tech?"

"Nope." Tilda gestured towards a table in front of her.

"Wow," Eva said.

Robin and Rufus moved around the seats and made their way to where the others had already gathered. Robin leaned over Tilda's shoulder to get a better look.

Upon the table were scattered several papers, of varying sizes. The smaller ones had remarkably lifelike illustrations of what appeared to be huge, towering settlements, comprised of habitats the like of which Robin had never seen or imagined.

The largest paper, spread out over half the desk, displayed what was clearly a map.

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