"We currently don't have a place to lay low." I chimed

     "Yea," Dr. Thomas started, "you do!"

     "No! I can't go back home!" I responded with anger coming out of my voice. "You even said that!"

     Dr. Thomas stared at me for a second in the rearview mirror. "You have a new home now."

     "What do you mean?" First, he says we can't go home, now he is trying to tell us what our new home is.

     "You're living at the base now." Dr. Thomas started, "It's the least I can do.

     "No," my mom started as she turned to face him," you don't have to do that. You already helped so much. I mean, you got us away from everyone, and out of the public's eye. That was more than generous enough."

     "We're here." Dr. Thomas stated as he pulled up to a store in a vacant parking lot of a grocery store."

     "And, what exactly is here?" I asked.

     "An entrance is in the store, so I own it." Responds Dr. Thomas.

     "Ok, well let's get going, and quickly, before anyone notices," chimes my dad.

     "Yea, follow me." Dr. Thomas said as he was getting out of the car. My dad got out from next to me, my mom got out from the front, and I quickly followed. We sped through the doors, into the store, through a multitude of aisles of food, all the way to the back.

     After all the rushing around, we go into the back room where the employees would normally stay. We all gather in, and he locks the door behind us. My family and I stay back as he pushes his desk out of the way and against the door to reveal a rug. To my surprise, he didn't need any help pushing the desk. He begins to roll up the rug, and it brings out a circular metal lid to the open. Why would there be a lid on the floor? Can't there be an alternative method of getting in? He pulls open the lid with such ease, you wouldn't have guessed it was heavy. He is, definitely, much stronger than he looks.

     "Come on." Dr. Thomas singles as he waved his hand over to the hole.

My dad went first, I followed, then my mom, then Dr. Thomas. As we climb down this long ladder Dr. Thomas shut the door above us. We aren't going into a dark abyss down a ladder, there are lights in the wall every five feet or so to make sure we can see where we are going, and so we don't fall.

     After a couple of more minutes my muscles begin to yearn for oxygen. My lungs call on to the oxygen in the air, inflating and contracting, begging with every breath. A light sweat forms on my palms, making the cool metal a little slippery. 

     Out of no where my dad yells in frustration, "Come on, we must be getting close by now!"

     "We are," started Dr. Thomas, "just a couple more lights!"

     "Why is it down so far?" I questioned.

     "It's because the store is on a hill, so this is the longest entrance!" Replied Dr. Thomas.

     "Why couldn't we go to another entrance?"

     "This one was the closest."

     "Do all these entrances go to the same place?" My mom chimed.

     "No, not all, but most do," responded Dr. Thomas. How big is this place? I wouldn't imagine all the entrances to be close to each other. How many people does this place need to hold?

     We continue traveling till the fifth light, then one by one we hop down onto the ground. It's a small pitch black area except for the two bottom lights for the ladder. There is a metal door dimly lit, with no handle.

     "How are we suppose to get in if there is no handle?" I ask.

     "Mrs. Duncan, I suggest you look away," said Dr. Thomas, ignoring my question. 

     In response, Dr. Thomas flicks a switch towards the bottom of the wall, and a tiny box full of green and blue lights turn on about eye level. The lights reveal a keypad, and where Dr. Thomas presses in a code. Each key he hits gives off a quiet beep. Once he enters the long code, he proceeds to put his eye in front of a panel of green light. A bright green laser, then shoots into his eye, and he continues to stare directly into it. After a couple of seconds of him staring immensely into this beam of light, a robotic voice verbalizes, "Welcome back Blake Thomas."