PAGE 3 A Big Change

After lunch, the entire 'house' was quiet because all the children had slept, except for one. Inside a room, but now all the adults are sitting. Margret, Hoilsten's mother, asked, "Tell Felix. What happened?"

"You know… for a long time, I have been teaching Jake some extra stuff other than what we had decided."

"What, Why ?" Rosey asked with a little shock.

"You see Jake knows a lot and thinks a lot. He also don't like doing jobs. Sorry but I cant let go a waste of potential."

"What kind of stuff?" Jenny asked before anyone could ask.

"Nothing advanced but some basics of anatomy, chemistry, physics, and...geology..."

"Geology? you openly said to him that we live underground!" Margret said it angrily.

"I am sorry, but he is too smart to waste his potential. He even found out the earth is not a sphere but a geoid on his own!" Felix said with surprise.

"You don't know what you have done-"

"Enough! He hadn't completed yet" Andrew, Hoilsten's father, broke the conversation.

Felix sighed, "Then, the more I teach him, the more he asks for doubts about stuff I don't remember.So…you know the I have to go to…"

"So, you showed him the library!?" Janny asked.

"No!...but I am pretty sure he is aware of that place as I go and come there for reference, and now..."

"Now, what?" Rosey asked.

"books weren't in the order." Felix came to the main point.

"Do you know which two books werent in order?" Andrew asked.

Felix answered, "All of them."

Inside the fitness room, which is away from the adult's room, Hoilsten is with Jake " I know, it is time to dig!" Hoilsten said with smug and excitement on his face with a shovel in his hand.

Jake sighed and said, "No. Also, don't shout."

"Why?"

"My father knows that we know about the books."

"How did that happen?"

"I did not do anything, at least not me." Jake looked at the doorway, "You come out already. I can't believe we let someone follow us."

"What?" Hoilsten was shocked.

"It wasn't easy, you know." some voice came out in the doorway.

"At least you care to let me escape from father, Katina," Jake said annoyingly.

Hoilsten felt guilty at that time when she sees Katina.

Katina and Thotrin came inside the room.

"I am sorry. Hoilsten was changed lately and... I just tried to follow you..and made a mess without even knowing."

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"How long have you guys been following us?" asked while he is thinking of a coverup story.

"It is not like we follow Hoilsten every day, just once in a while, for the past few months."

Thotrin looked at Katina but did not say anything.

"What did you saw?" Jake asked.

"I-"

'not again-'

"No."Hoilsten interrupts the interrogation, "Jake please we can tell truth! It is not like this is bad. Now, we can work together, right?" Hoilsten looked at Jake seriously.

Jake did not talk for a while

"Yes, at least they have the right to know." Jake agrees.

"Good, So please tell us what is happening." Katina said.

"First, Tell me what you know." Jake asked.

"I really dont know anything really, I follwed him once in a while he was always meeting you in a empty room. It is wierd that it was you he does that. So I followed you and.."

"The place." Katina continued, "Recently I have seen you going at late night to near the adult room and you just disappear...So there was room inside the adult room, the library

But you were cautious. So I couldn't see much. So, yesterday, I went to that side when you finished, and there I found a big keyhole on the wall behind a shelf. I did not find a key, so I looked inside.

There was something inside. I put my hand inside, and I heard something like blocks falling inside, I was afraid and arranged those blocks in a standing manner."

'Good thing she did not read anything' Jake was a bit relaxed.

"Hmm, it is not a keyhole. You have to take things by putting your hand in it and keep the 'books' inside it in the order given in Braille at the corner of the books," Jake answered with fingers on his chin.

"Oh!" Hoilsten trying to comprehend what is the conversation is.

"Yeah, I was dumb." Katina admitted, "But what is inside those?"

Jake took a deep breath "First you have to know what happend orelse you wont believe."

"I will tell first" Hoilsten volunteered

"You know I got sick five months ago." Hoilsten looked at Katina. "During that time I was dizzy when all adults were talking. I could only hear some words. It all felt like a dream, but I know it is not. It was just some words like

''' We should go above. '''It is our only chance.''' '''No, they will kill you...''' ''' ...contact him,'''

That is all I could hear."

"After that," Jake continued, "some times have passed. Hoilsten was getting better, and so was his temperature. I was beside him, he woke up, and he spilled out all the things he said now. to me at that time. I tried to convince him that it was a dream, but Hoilsten firmly believed it was true. So it made me wonder about that.

My father had been teaching me personally, so I proposed the theory above to my father, but he ignored it. I did not leave him. I kept on asking. Then he showed me books about how the above is incompatible with humans, but all felt like rubbish. So I started asking about the errors in them.

Suddenly he went into an outburst and never taught me again. But I had another way."

"but why did they go all that write an entire fake history? I mean. They could have said it is dangerous outside, and we won't go above." Katina told.

"Really?" Jake asked, "The first time you knew of the new room, the library, you went into it. Isn't it obvious that we are all sick of being in the same place? It is scary to know I might die here without knowing about the outside world because some danger outside."

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Inside the adult's room, "I had enough of it. Nothing is wrong with children knowing about the outside," Jenny said, "So what if there are demons outside? Huh, It is better than dying here without knowing outside."

"Jenny, you do remember what happened!" Andrew asked.

"Yes, George died, but it did not make sense to cage a bunch of children just because we are traumatized."

"It is not like we will be here forever," Rosey said.

"We can't live here forever!" Jenny agreed, " we have been lucky to find a sealed cave, and for the past 20 YEARS of digging, we found nothing but some plants and water resources."

There was a moment of silence.

Then Felix said, "So, are we going to tell the children?"

"No, first we have to verify our contact or at least see if he is alive," Andrew said.

All the adults agreed to it.

Felix leaned his back on the wall and relaxed 'Finally...Didn't expect my son to be this reckless, but I did it, George. Your final wish."

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"Yeah," Katina could resonate with it.

"that is why I want to know the truth, the danger"

Jake answered. " The books dosent contain anything about the danger in detail. So, we planned to steal the books and demand the truth. But, because of certain someone letting it out loose. We can't." Jake looked at Katina.

"So I will think of something later. For now, disperse."

Katina, Hoilsten, and Thotrin were going in the same direction.

"Katina, why do you call me here?" Thotrin finally opened his mouth.

"Because you are always alone without him." Katina replied worriedly

"It is not like that!" Thotrin tried to denied.

"Guys," Hoilsten interrupted Thotrin, "I am sorry for ditching you guys. But it is be all over. You guys came to know about it and after some time adults also will, we will be honest family once again. We will always be together!"

Hoilsten got some relived. Katina blushed.

Hoilsten wrapped his arm around Thotrin and Katina " It is a promise."

They all went into the hall. It was chaos, with children crying and running. Then Mandla came to them and said, "Hoilsten, adults are missing!"

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