The Secret Part 2

Part 5
Extermination

The car that would be taking Mr. Sherman to the airport pulled up to the gate at last. Ms. Briggs was smiling and rubbing her hands together as Mr. Clarkson loaded the trunk of the car with suitcases. She had been put into charge by Mr. Sherman and was looking extremely happy about it. I had a uneasy feeling why. It was going to be payback for me getting in the way of the other servant's work. Ms. Frank was already sweating profusely, waiting for the attack.
"It is time for me to go. Don't worry I'll be back before you even know I've gone. Be good and stay out of trouble. Most of all have fun and take care." He said as he patted me on the head. He climbed into the back of the car and it sped away. Ms. Briggs laughed and curled a hand around my shoulder.
"Oh yes we will have tons of fun together Sora." I somehow doubted the definition of fun wasn't going to be the same ever again. Whatever she had planned would be the exact opposite of fun.

Crucial was more like it. I thought as I scrubbed the hallway on my hands and knees. I had been here more then two hours and already my back was aching from haunching over the scent of cleaning fluid. It was strong and was killing my nostrils. Ms. Briggs had given me a cleaner's outfit with a bucket and scrubber. I must've done half the house by now. I squeezed the water out of the scrubber and laid it next to the bucket. I pulled off the robe and hid it along with the supplies into one of the rooms.
It was time to start my other job. Like Mr. Sherman had said, I needed to keep a lookout. I decided to start with the study room. I walked over and listened to make sure no one was coming down the hallway before opening it and entering. It hadn't been locked so it must be ok to go in.
The room was ordinary which shocked me because I had been expecting a hidden elegant room behind. There was a large desk neatly organized with a single lamp. A bookshelf was in the corner and a picture of a dark castle hung on the wall. The window behind the desk showed the tangled mass of the backyard. So far there was nothing strange about the room.
I glanced at the desk and was about to leave when something caught my gaze. It was an old article clipping. The heading read "Disappearance at Woodshire". I sat down in the chair and read what I could of it. It was so faded I could just make out the words. The date was October 31, 1987. Halloween. The article read:

Disappearance at Woodshire
At midnight, police got a frantic call around midnight from Mitch Hugh, an investigating detective, at the Woodshire estate. They arrived immediately after recieving the call and discovered nothing. The owner of Woodshire, Mr. Sherman, was holding a party at the time and had said he hadn't noticed the detective was missing. Guards that were patrolling the area hadn't seen anyone coming or leaving the house on the past hour. It was uncertain whether any of the guests had recognized him because he had been undercover. A search and rescue squad was called and all the guests were questioned. After four hours the search ended finding nothing to lead them to finding the missing detective. It was said that he had been at Woodshire for almost a week looking for a pattern on a murder case. "I only hope that he can be found as soon as possible and when he is maybe he will stay out of other's business. Some cases shouldn't be solved I believe." Mr. Sherman quoted after the search.

There was a movement in front of me and I jumped back from the desk. Standing in the doorway was an enraged Ms. Briggs. She was holding the scrubber and bucket of soap that I had put into one of the rooms in her hands.
"Why you little brat! Sneaking off into Mr. Sherman's study when no one's around to watch you. Well don't think you'll be getting away with it this time. You'll serve your punishment."
I had thought about what she said fun would be like and I couldn't imagine anything for punishment. But I wasn't about to find out. I grabbed the article and shoved it into my jean's pocket and ran towards the door. She saw my motive to knock her out of the way and instinctively dropped the bucket of soap. But that was what I had wanted her to do. I flopped down on my belly and slid across the floor right between her legs. As soon as I was through I picked myself up and ran for the stairs. I felt the scrubber hit my neck as I ran and her screams echoing throughout the house.
I reached the stairs only to find them blocked by Mr. Clarkson. He looked startled to see it was just me. Then he reached out as if to grab me but instead pushed something on the wall I hadn't seen before. It must have been hidden because it activated some sort of trap. The stairs were moving away from the second floor and there was no way down or around Mr. Clarkson. I turned to go the other way but Ms. Briggs had caught up and was blocking my way once again. What were these people going to do and where was Mr. Wimbley and Ms. Frank when I needed them?
"So yeh at it again are yeh? Think yeh can escape this time do yeh? Well yeh'd be quite mistaken on that!"
I looked down over the banister. The drop was too long. I'd surely break my leg if I jumped. Maybe if I got near enough to the button I could push it and the stairs would reconnect. I thought about my odds of getting past Mr.Clarkson again. I made up my mind.
"Ok I give up. You've got me this time. There's something I want to know first. Why're you so determined to keep me away from Mr. Sherman?"
The entire time I had been staying at Woodshire the servants had been keeping me out of sight of him. Most of my time was spent outside on long walks around the estate. Though I hadn't come across the tower I had seen on my first night there I figured it must be concealed from me since I had already found it once.
"We were ordered to Sora." A voice floated up from below. All of us looked down to see Mr. Mobley standing at the head of the stairs. He was holding a device that looked like a remote.
"Don't you tell her anything Mobley!" Mr. Clarkson growled.
"Why not? It's not as if she'll be going anywhere.
"And neither will the two of you." Another voice answered farther below. It was Mr. Wimbley and Ms. Frank was right behind him.
"What're you talking about? Just push the button!" Ms. Briggs yelled at him.
I had no clue what they were going to do to me or what would happen once Mr. Mobley did push that button.
"Oh alright." He pushed one of the many on the remote.
The floor beneath me separated into three parts.
"What are you doing?"
Then he pushed two more and Mr. Clarkson and Ms. Briggs both tumbled back into the wall and rolled down a chute. The wall closed and everything was silent. I stared in disbelief and was more confused now then I had been from the beginning. The stairs connected back to the floor and I took a wobbled step down.
Mr. Mobley only grinned at my startled expression. I stared at him, not knowing quite what to do. I didn't know whether to thank him or kick him back down the stairs and find my way out of here.
"Im sorry Sora that you had to witness that. They really are pests and had to be exterminated."
"Why?" It was the only thing I could ask.
"Let's have some tea first and then we'll talk about it." Mr. Wimbley helped me into the living room and we all sat down on the sofas. Ms. Frank poured the tea and then came silence.
"Your probably wondering where those two went. They won't be back til tonight at least. They've gone into the basement and it'll take them some time to get out."
"What're you going to do with me?"
They all looked at each other and smiled.
"Absolutely nothing. What did you think we'd do to you?"
I was thrown off by that.
"Throw me in some dungeon, manipulate me some more, or kill me. I dont know." I shrugged. Ms. Frank hugged me and laughed.
"We'd never do that to you Sora. We may seem a little cold hearted but nothing compared to Ms. Briggs and Mr. Clarkson."
"What about Mr. Sherman?"
"That's a different matter. Im sure he's already been alerted that we haven't killed you yet. That was the plan but we couldn't do it. Not again."
"So he did have Mitch Hugh killed."
"You've read the article. He wanted you to play along and then whenever you found out the truth he'd have you killed. Ms. Briggs and Mr. Clarkson wanted it sooner. They wanted to get rid of you now so that we could go ahead with the next step. I know none of this makes any sense to you right now and I'll explain it all when the time comes but we need to get you out of here and quick."
"Why's that?"
"Because I just remembered Mr. Clarkson knows the way through the basement and if so then they'll be here even sooner."
Part 6
Plan B

Nothing made sense anymore to me. The whole evening seemed like something out of a movie. I went upstairs with Ms. Frank to pack my things. Mr. Wimbley wanted me out of there as soon as I could before anything else happened. The plan was this: Have Mr. Mobley drive me to the nearest train station with Ms. Frank to send me somewhere in the city so no one would find me, then wait in a hotel for Mr. Wimbley to arrive. She had disagreed with the plan and thought that we should all leave together. She didnt want to leave Mr. Wimbley alone with those two lurking around. He assured her he would be fine and that it was the best way to make sure I'd be safe.
I packed quickly, not wanting to run into anyone on the way out. I zipped the suitcase shut and walked back down. Mr. Mobley took my things and put them in the trunk of the car. I stopped as I was about to get in with Ms. Frank. It was all too easy. The whole thing was like a setup. There was no way Mr. Sherman would let us get away this easily without a trap. He wouldn't have thought not once that I would try to escape from the two caretakers.
"We cant leave." I finally said.
"What do you mean? Of course we can. Mr. Sherman expects your dead by now and that we've gone onto the next step. He wouldn't suspect a thing." Mr. Mobley waited for me to get in.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that Mobley." Ms. Briggs snarled from around the corner of the house. She had stayed hidden behind the overgrown vines on the wall. Standing next to her was Mr. Clarkson holding a rifle at us.
Then out of nowhere we were surrounded by guards holding machine guns. There was no where to go. No escape. I counted about fifteen guards and knew there had to be more. Before I understood what had taken place gun fire flew just inches above my head and I pushed myself down. I did the only thing I could. I started crawling to an open area in front of me. I was getting out of here dead or alive. Soon as I was out of reach of the firing I stood up and began running.
I was heading towards the house but I knew they would find me in there. Instead I ran for the backyard. The grass was so tall it would be hard to spot me. Guns going off and shouting was all I could hear behind me. I just hoped Ms. Frank, Mr. Wimbley, and Mr. Mobley were all ok. Even though they never told me anything, they still hadn't killed me.
The shrubs that I was crawling through had sharp thorns and they caught on my clothes raking against my skin. I could feel the scratches they left behind and they stung. I had to get out of here. I slowed down and looked around for a way out. To my left was a large opening but what I saw took my breath away. It was the tower I had seen from my first night here but this time it was guarded by dozens of soldiers. I heard a voice giving out orders and recognized it immediately. It was Mr. Sherman. I crouched as low to the ground and crept forward to the edge of the grass to listen better.
"They have disobeyed my orders and will pay. But for now my attention is on whether or not we can still finish Project MD on time. Mr. Nelson what do you think?" He turned to a short man standing next to him. The man looked like a scientist wearing a long white coat and large spectacles perched on his nose.
"Well, sir, it can be done but we have to hurry and hope for no more interruptions. If we do then this will be the very first virus weapon used outside the military."
"Then we had better get a move on. Oh and to make sure we have no interruptions capture Sora. It would be a tragedy for her not to see her parent's last work for me."
My parents worked for him? There was no way they'd work for such a monster. My mom and dad couldn't have had anything to do with this.
"Now spread out and find her!" The guards went in groups in different directions. They all still carried their machine guns but I knew they wouldn't shoot me because Mr. Sherman wanted me alive for now. But that didn't mean I'd come quietly. I needed to get help before I get caught. If I didn't then I might as well be dead.
I began crawling again. It was the only thing I could do was to keep moving.

I was beginning to think giving up sounded like a good idea after crawling on the hard ground for an hour. Thats when I saw it. A few yards away was a cabin. If the door wasn't locked I could rest inside. I looked around me and then got up and pressed myself against the wood. I peeked around the corner to make sure no one was guarding it. No one was there so I slowly opened the door and waited for someone to burst out but when that didn't happen I walked inside. I was surprised by what I saw. Ms. Frank and Mr. Mobley were tied together.
I quickly closed the door behind me and knelt beside them.
"What happened?" I asked when I had removed the tape off their mouths.
"That stupid Wimbley shot one of the guards and all hell broke loose. We were tied up and brought here. I don't know what they're planning but it doesn't look good." Mr. Mobley was saying as I untied them.
"Oh I hope he's alright." Ms. Frank looked pale.
"Im sure he is. But right now we have to get out of here. I overheard Mr. Sherman talking about something called Project MD. It's supposed to be a virus weapon."
Mr. Mobley nodded and stood up.
"Thats right. There going to use a deadly virus called MD hence the name Project MD. It works like no other. You could almost call it a nuclear bomb in a test tube. It'll kill anything it touches and anyone who breathes in the harmful gases. In the next couple hours there will be over a million vials sent to hospitals, doctors, and pharmacies world wide where patients think they'll be getting treatment will die."
"That cant happen! That would be like..."
"Mass destruction."
"Well yeah."
"Your correct and thats exactly what its called. Project MD or Mass Destruction has already been tested and was successful on all occasions."
"It was tested more then once?"
"You already know three of the victims. The detective and your parents. Im sorry Sora. We were never allowed to tell you."
"Mr. Sherman said my parents worked for him. Is it true?" I looked up at him. I wanted the truth of my parents' death and didnt want to be treated like a child anymore.
"Yes, but they did not know what they were helping Mr. Sherman with until it was too late."
"But you all knew. Why didnt you tell someone?"
"Its not as easy as that. No one would believe us or I should say want to. No one wants to think that medicine all over the world is going to be polluted. We were going to stop him but then you came along and that changed things quite a bit. Since we had to watch you we weren't allowed anywhere near the lab so we never knew what was going on."
Oh great now this is my fault. I knew this place was full of creeps but I didnt think murders too.
"So what are we going to do?"
"We should find Wimbley then get to the lab and try and stop this."
I turned to find Ms. Frank crying bitterly in the corner.
"Ms. Frank it'll be ok. We cant just sit here and cry about it."
"No it's not that. It's...it's almost the 23rd. My wedding is then. I always wanted to get married and now I may never if they find out..." She broke down crying again.
"Married? To who?"
"Why you? I knew it! You sneaking around at night and always with him. I should have known!" Mr. Mobley pointed his shaking finger at her.
"I think I missed something here."
"Its Wimbley of course. Ever since he came here she's been all over him!"
I looked at Ms. Frank. She looked more startled then when I had walked in.
"Find out what though?"
She took a deep breath and explained.
"He's a spy. When that detective disappeared and was never found after so many years they sent him to work here. His cover was to be a cook but he isn't much of one. He still manages to burn noodles. We kept our relationship secret because it wasn't allowed. If we both got fired his mission would be a failure and I would become broke."
"We should get going before they find us."
"I couldn't have said it better myself. Let's go."
We edged out the door with Mr. Mobley leading the way. The sky was turning darker with every passing minute as we headed back into the tall grass.
Part 7
Mr. Sherman's Last Mistake

It was late when we reached the area when they were holding Mr. Wimbley captive. Mr. Mobley knew where it was because he had seen Mr. Sherman come here with others. It was called the Intimidating Room which was mostly used to get the people he caught snooping around his premises to talk. The doors were steel and we needed a code to get inside. Luckily enough we had the password and were inside in no time.
The room was small and cage-like. There were bars on the windows and they were so filthy you couldn't see in or out of them. In a dingy back corner we could just make out the slumping figure of Mr. Wimbley it was so dark inside. Mr. Mobley motioned us to stay where we were standing. He took a few steps toward him and put his hand on the figure's shoulder. Mr. Mobley jerked away as Mr. Wimbley looked at him. He looked more like a ragged doll than the handsome man I had seen just a few hours before.
Mr. Mobley bent down next to him and took his hand. He whispered something to him and Mr. Wimbley looked at me and Ms. Frank for the first time.
"No. You must leave me here and protect yourselves. I am in no shape to keep up." he rasped.
"We have to destroy Mr. Sherman's lab, if we dont then he'll poison everyone in the world and you're mission will have been for nothing. We just cant do it without you!" I almost yelled at him.
"Forget the mission. It is already a failure. You have to get out of here. I will never forgive myself if you dont." he barely whispered.
I knew then that there was no use in trying to convince him. So it was up to me. I had to do this or else the world would be in danger of this deadly virus. I stood staring around at them for a minute longer and then walked back out.
"Where are you going?!" I heard Mr. Mobley yell as I started running. I knew what I had to do. I had to get to the tower before it was too late.

The tower looked exactly as I'd remembered it the first night. Dark, gloomy, and adandoned. I had to feel for the door through the dark. I had to push hard to get it to open and when it finally did it creaked loudly. I waited for someone to appear and when no one did I walked inside closing the door behind me. There was only a winding staircase that led up to the top. I began climbing, feeling each stair with my foot to be sure it was there.
When I reached the top I saw what I had come for. A small control switch was sitting next to the window pane. It had the word 'Detonate' in big red letters scribbled under the switch. I knew what would happen if I pulled it down. It would shut down Mr. Sherman's entire lab and destroy his plan of mass destruction. How did I figure this out? Easy. On the night that I had found this tower Mr. Clarkson had stopped me from entering it. I knew that Mr. Sherman's lab was underground because that's where Ms. Briggs and Mr. Clarkson had ended up when we were fighting on the staircase. It also had to be the same chamber that was used to torment my parents and the detective that had found out what Mr. Sherman was doing. The only reason he could be protecting this tower was that something was inside that he wanted no one else to know about. Now I understood why. All of his hard work would be ruined if I pulled that lever.
"So you found it after all didnt you Sora?" I heard a small laugh behind me. I spun around and came face to face with the evil mastermind himself. He was smirking at me and only standing a few feet away. I couldn't believe I hadn't heard the door reopen downstairs.
"Move away from it and I might just not kill you."
"Not a chance. Your plan will never work."
"Oh and why is that?"
I thought fast trying to stall for some time. Then it came to me.
"You made a mistake Mr. Sherman. You may have alot of traps to get rid of the people who turned on you and your project but you let your guard down on me. You thought you would have to take me in to keep your secret safe but what you didnt know is that Im not the type of kid who does what they're told. I snuck out of your house on the first night and I came to this tower. It serves no real purpose but it must have been important to keep me out since Mr. Clarkson tried to kill me once I'd found it. I also read the article clipping on your desk about the detective that went missing here. He didnt go missing at all. He fell into one of your traps on the stairs and into your underground chamber. You killed him mercilessly and soon after that my parents.
This week you didnt go on any business trip, you went to your lab to set off your Project MD. But then you realized some of your staff wasnt doing their jobs in disposing of me so you had to try finishing them off before we escaped. Mr. Wimbley caused a distraction so I could get away from your guards and find out how much longer he had before it was too late to destory your virus. I overheard your conversation with Mr. Nelson about when it would be ready and your command to find me. I found Mr. Mobley and Ms. Frank tied together in the shed and we went to go rescue Mr. Wimbley but I knew he wouldnt make it so I came back here to finish it myself."
He had stood there emotionless as I explained what had taken place in the past few weeks. Now a wide smile came across his face and he chuckled loudly.
"Do you honestly think I would allow you to just run around my place without knowing everywhere you had been? I've been keeping an eye on you and I know exactly every nook and crany you've been in. There is a tracking device I had programmed into your shoes. Though I do thank you for your little story we really must get on with this. I shall explain my motives of course because I can see you are now confused.
Why didnt I just stop you if I knew where you were at any given time? Well I like to play games Sora and I must say this has been a very interesting one indeed. It is true that I killed that detective and your parents to keep my project safe. This tower is the less likely of places for there to be a destruction switch if someone were to find my lab. I did not want to kill you so soon because I wanted someone to see the power of my invention. There are so many imbeciles in this world that I wanted to come up with something to take them out. It took me my entire life to come up with this virus and I will not have it be destroyed because of a little girl. Your life ends now!" He pulled a pistol from his coat pocket and aimed it at my head.
I waited for everything to end. He would kill me and his project would survive. It would kill millions of innocent people and no one would ever know how close I had come to saving them. There was a loud bang and I opened my eyes to see Mr. Sherman lying on the floor dead and Mr. Mobley standing in the doorway holding another gun. I was never quite so happy to see him.
"Sora are you ok?" I ran over to him and hugged him tightly. It was finally over. Mr. Sherman was dead and everyone was ok. Then I looked back in shock. I had forgotten to pull the lever! But I didnt have to. As Mr. Sherman had been shot he had pitched forward and pulled it down himself. I smiled and let Mr. Mobley walk me out of the tower.
When we got outside the whole grounds were flooded with police officers. One of them came over to us and wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and spoke with Mr. Mobley. He led me to one of the waiting cruisers and closed the door as he talked to Mr. mobley some more. Probably getting the necessary information like they always do at a murder scene I thought to myself as I stared out the window. A couple yards away there was an ambulance and I could see Mr. Wimbley on the stretcher talking to Ms. Frank and one of the medical members.
There was a knock on the window that startled me. Mr. Mobley opened the door and sat next to me.
"Well everything is being taken care of. Mr. Wimbley and Ms. Frank are going to the hospital, Im going to the police station to file the report, and you're going to a secure shelter for the time."
"What will happen to me there?" I asked.
"I dont really know. You might be asked a few questions but at least you'll be out of here."
"How did you know I was up in the tower?"
"I followed you after you left and stayed hidden between a crack when I heard someone else. I overheard your conversation and when I knew he was going to shoot I got there first. You didnt think I'd let you go out there alone did you?"
"No I guess not. Thanks though. If you hadnt been there I dont know what would have happened."
"Sure thing. Well I better get going. I have to go and show the cops all my registrations for all the illegal cars." He laughed and got out.
"Wait. Will I see any of you again?" I had spent so much time with them it would seem strange if we couldnt see each other again.
"I dont know. We'll have to wait and see after the evaluate us all to make sure we weren't a part of this." Then he was gone and I was alone again.
The officer returned soon after and we drove out of Woodshire. I looked back one last time at the mansion I had lived in for the past few weeks and felt a wave of relief flow over me as I knew I would never return there. I would never forget the things that had happened nor my group of unusual friends I had aquired in my time there. I would see them again sometime and I would start a new life.