CHAPTER IV

Aidan is lying still on the bed. His hands are crossed over his stomach. His eyes are staring at the dark ceiling of the room and his ears are listening to the sounds from outside the room. Silence. Aidan raises his right hand and holds it close to his eyes, trying to stare at the watch needles. The short needle stays at eleven, the long needle starts moving to twelve. Slowly, Aidan gets up and sits on the edge of the bed, once again listening for the sound in his house. Silence. After making sure everything is safe, he tiptoes, takes his backpack, and opens the door of the room.

Aidan looks over the stairs, scanning the situation below. There are no signs of life there. Aidan comes down the stairs very carefully and stops at the door of the room beside the stairs. He presses his ear to the door. There are regular breathing sounds from inside. Tiptoeing, Aidan heads for the kitchen to slip out through the kitchen door. After re-locking the kitchen door from the outside, he pockets the key and walks toward the bush behind the house. He hid his bicycle there.

In a few minutes, Aidan is riding his bicycle along the night road. To his left and right, some houses are already dark. Aidan continues to pedal the bike quickly. When he arrives at the crossroads that border the Central Mountain Side and the Mountain Upper Side, he stops paddling and waits for Josh to arrive.

Josh comes with a backpack bigger than Aidan's. Since Aidan keeps this activity a secret from his mother, the task of preparing weapons is carried out by Josh. Without slowing down, Josh passes Aidan. With a head motion, he signals Aidan to directly follow him. Immediately Aidan pedals his bicycle following Josh. They cycles to the Retirement Home. Arriving there, the two teenagers stop at a hundred meters from the gate, near the wall border between the housing complex and the forest. They put their bikes in the bushes, as possible as they can, to prevent the bikes being seen from the road.

Josh opens his backpack and takes a jerry can full of vinegar for Aidan. "Vinegar," he says, reaching into his backpack again and pulling out a dagger, handing it out by the handle. "Uncle Zac had soaked it in vinegar all night," he continues then takes another jerry can and dagger.

"This vinegar will melt the gulls tragically," Josh continues. "Gulls like to nest in dark places hidden from humans. Uncle Zac and I have studied this forest, over there." Josh points into the darkness. "There is a small cliff over there. Underneath, there are spaces like caves. We will look for a rather large cave where the gulls can nest."

Aidan obeys. He is new to this Yeger world. On the other hand, Uncle Zac, the man who takes care of Josh since he was a kid, is an old yeger. Josh is closer to the yeger world than he is. Aidan follows Josh, moving slowly through the trees. The only light is from Josh's flashlight. They walk through the forest for about fifteen minutes then stop at the edge of a cliff. Josh leads Aidan in walking along the cliff, looking for a way to get down. In the dark, they follow the path under the cliff. Josh shines the flashlight forward. He stops several times to measure the spaces that are lined up then stops in front of a rather large one.

Through head motion, Josh asks Aidan to come inside. They duck as they enter the cave door, but inside they can stand upright even though the ceiling is only an inch taller than Josh's head.

"They must have hidden the stolen goods here," Josh says, sweeping his eyes around the cave.