Disclaimer: I do not own CL, I don't even own the computer I typing this on! All I own is the kids names and 'S&S inc'.
I would like to thank Bob Frisco for his help proof-reading this chapter.
Return of Their Past
By natdrat00
Chapter Three
Exploring France
"Uagh! How could he give a test the end of the first week?" Mike grumbled as he left Mr. Hertz's class.
They say his mother did the same." Angela added. "Besides it wasn't that bad."
"For a genius maybe, but what about us normal folk?" Mike said as he put his hand on Koji's shoulder.
"The normal folk think it was easy too, I don't know where you fit in though." Koji said quickly.
Mike shot Koji a glare, than smiled, "All I know is its Saturday and there are no more classes until Monday" Mike said happily "now let's go to lunch."
"Hey guys" Crissy yelled at them as they came into the crowded lunch room, her and Jessica already being seated.
"Ooh, spaghetti and meatballs, my favorite." Mike said as he grabbed his tray and headed for the table.
"Mike, everything is you favorite." Jessica said as they sat down. "Remember last year at Atlanta? He gets hungry, starts looking though the infield tailgaters, and comes across some people eating chit lens. Mike has a plate and says that they are good. Do you guy know what chit lens are?" she asks as they shake their heads, "They're pig intestines."
"Hey, it was smoked really well." Mike says trying to defend himself, as the others look both sickened and amused.
" Hey guys, so how was your first week?" Joseph asks as he walks up and sits down.
"Terrible, Mr. Hertz gave a test on atomic bonds already." Mike states. "And what's with school on Saturday anyways?"
"What do you mean?" Angela asks "a lot of schools do it."
"Not in America. Most, if not all, schools are out both Saturday and Sunday." Jessica answers.
" America sounds good. We should go there sometime." Koji says.
"My dad runs S&S inc. That could be arranged for next weekend" Jessica tells them.
"I still don't have anything planed for this weekend." Mike states "What are you all doing?"
"I don't know, nothing really." Joseph states.
"I got nothing." Koji follows.
"Well…" Crissy says quietly.
"Well, what?" Mike asked.
"Well, I was lost the other day when I wound up in the boiler room." she continues, "There was this door that opened to a passage way. We could go see where it goes."
"I'm in." Angela says.
"Me too." adds Koji.
"Let me get some stuff first, just to be safe." Jessica chimes in.
"Well, okay." Joseph says, looking at Jessica "if you have some medical supplies."
"Great, now we just have to wait for Mike to finish eating." Crissy says "We might as well get comfortable."
Half an hour later in the boiler room… "It's over here." Crissy calls out, the group following. "it doesn't look like it was put in when they build the place." she says as she opens the door, revealing a roughly dug tunnel, most of the lights burned out.
They look in. "Yes I see what you mean." Joseph says "so who's first, because it's not me." he states looking at the gang. They push him in first.
"Lead the way Joseph, we've got your back." Angela laughs, as Jessica hands him a flashlight from her bag.
Getting to the end, they hop over a low pipe and look around. "We're in the sewers." Mike states.
"Nice observation Captain obvious" Koji says quickly.
"Hey, look down there, I see something." Angela points toward a ladder some fifteen meters down the sewer.
As they approach it, Jessica says, "Those look like old skateboards, real old skateboards" she notes the severe rot they display.
"There was once something important down here." Koji adds "Wonder where it goes." he says as he climbs the ladder and looks out the manhole cover. "It's the park at the school, near the track." he states.
"Okay, remember that. Now lets continue" Jessica says. After following the sewers for about three-quarters of a kilometer they come up to a grate with a ladder near by. Though the grate they see only a river and the under side of a bridge going to an island.
"Well looks like there is only one way to go now." Angela states looking up the ladder. "Go ahead Joseph."
"No, No, No, Ladies first." Joseph replies.
"Age before beauty." Angela says to Joseph.
"I'll go, I'm both older and a beautiful lady." Jessica says ending the argument. After climbing up the ladder she slides open a door. "Looks like an abandoned building, a factory maybe." she says climbing out. "Come on, it's clear."
They get to the top and cross the bridge. "Tell me again why we are going into this dangerous looking building ?" Joseph asks.
"Because this is where the sewers brought us." Crissy answered.
"And somebody was going back and forth from the school to here enough to need quick transport." Angela adds.
Entering the factory, they arrive on an old balcony with collapsed stairs being the only way down. "Looks like we're repelling." Jessica says, pointing to some cables. She leaps out, grabs one and slides down.
"What? NO!" Joseph responds to this.
"You afraid of heights?" Crissy asks.
"No, I'm not afraid of falling either." Joseph responds. "I'm just afraid of sudden stops."
"Than stay." Koji said as he grabbed one of the cables and slide down, followed by the others.
"Why me?" Joseph asks doing the same.
"Where to now?" Crissy asks.
"Over there, I wonder where that elevator goes?" Mike asked.
"Probably nowhere, the power to the rest of the building is off." Koji stated.
"But look." Crissy said, pointing to the elevator, "The light is on."
The gang looked. Sure enough the light in the elevator was on. "Must run off a backup or emergency circuit." Joseph stated.
"If there's power to the light, there may bee power to the motors." Angela said.
"No! We don't know where it goes, or if it's even safe." Joseph states worriedly.
"Oh come on Joseph, your just like dad." Angela said teasing him.
"I'm not sure about this either." Jessica said "We should test it with something first, but what?" She trails off.
"I'll test it." Mike said in a serious tone.
The others look at him. "It's been nice knowing you." Koji said "Can I have you stereo?"
"I want your skateboard." Crissy added.
"Are you sure?" Angela asked.
"This is crazy." Joseph said as Mike got in.
"I agree, But I still want to know where it goes." Jessica said.
"Wish me luck, and I give all my stuff to charity, so ha!" Mike said as he pushed the down button. The door closed and the elevator went down. A few minutes pass and it comes back up. "There's three floors, but they all had these funny doors with some kind of lock." says Mike. "The elevator is fine." He says reassuringly.
The group boards the elevator and goes down to the first basement floor. "So can you open it?" Mike asked.
"I think so." Joseph replied.
"Let me see." Angela said as she took a look. "I might be able to bypass it on the ground side, but I don't know how the hot circuit works."
"I think I got it, here's the right power wire." Joseph sad pointing at a red and green wire.
"Okay, then I just need to put it here." Angela said plucking the wire from its slot and touching it to another. There was a small spark but she wasn't hurt. Then the mighty door began moving. As it slid open, the gang could see a large arrangement of monitors.
"So, how good are ya 'll with computers?" Mike asked.
Joseph and Angela grinned. "We're good with them." Angela spoke up.
"Let's see here." Joseph said, taking a seat in the chair. "No response, It isn't powered up" he explained "Where's that switch, there has to be a switch."
"Um Joseph" Angela said pointing to a large bundle of wires "This is just a terminal. The main computer must be below." She said.
"Oh okay." Joseph said as he was getting out of the chair. "Hey, what's this?" he asked as he felt a book in a small cubby hole under the chair. "Looks like a manual or something." he said examining it.
"Great. Look though it and see if you can figure out what this place is." Angela told him. "Now lets find the main computer."
"Okay then let's go deeper into the unknown" Mike said in a sinister tone, as they got in the elevator again.
They went to the second basement level and hot wired the door again. As it opened they just stood there in awe. "Those aren't computers." Crissy spoke up.
"They look like stasis pods." Koji said.
"They're not stasis pods. There are no feeding tubes." Jessica said matter of fictively. "There's a sensor ring on the bottom like some kind of primitive matter transporter." She rambles on.
The group looked at her funny. "Matter transporters?" Joseph asked.
"What did you say you parents do again?" Koji asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say." Jessica stated realizing she let her tongue slip.
"One day you will to tell us the truth." Crissy said hoping not to offend her friend. "Until than let's go too the last floor." she said as they got onto the elevator once again and proceeded to the last level.
Hot-wiring the door yet again, they walked into a dark room. Slowly a big cylinder rose from the ground. An even bigger cylinder followed the first cylinder. As it stopped, rising water sheeted down the sides. They stood there in amazement before Angela approached it.
"Angela wait." Joseph ran up to her.
"I'm just looking." she said, and then as if sensing their presence, a panel slid open revealing a switch.
"What? How did it know?" Joseph asked rhetorically as the gang approached.
"Should we flip-it?" Crissy asked the group.
"NO!" Joseph said quickly.
"I'm with Joseph on this on." Jessica said.
"Come on, it'll only be for a few minutes while we look through the computer up stairs."
Angela said "Let's take a vote whether or not to turn it in. Who says turn it on?" She, Crissy, and Mike raised their hands. "Okay who's against it?" Joseph, Jessica, and Koji raised their hands. "It's a tie, flip a coin?" Angela said.
"Sounds good to me." Jessica said pulling a golden U.S. dollar. "Mike call it in the air." she instructed as she flipped it.
"Tails." Mike shouted as the coin began to descend.
As it hit the ground, Jessica looked at it. "Tails." she said "So Mike what do we do?"
"Turn it on, but just for a little bit." he said as he reached for the switch. He stopped and glanced at Joseph.
"Go ahead, the coin has spoken." Joseph replied.
Then as Mike flipped the switch, the giant super-computer began to hum and produce a golden glow.
In a hotel room in New York, Aelita was fixing her hair for a meeting that afternoon. When she suddenly grabbed her head and the sink as she began to fall back.
"AELITA!" Jeremy screamed as he saw her fall to the ground motionless.
What a cliffy. Next chap will take awhile, sorry. And does anyone know the door code? And as always Please Review.