All three dropped down into the safe house and found that it was much smaller than the one from before and left all three of them packed closely together standing shoulder to shoulder.

Two cabinets stood at the other end of the room roughly six feet away.

Arthur and Tom both moved forward and began sifting through the cabinets. Tom found only empty cans of food until he reached into the back of the lowest shelf and pulled out two large cans of chicken.

Arthur found only empty cans of liquid kerosene and a stove along with clothing.

Tom asked the others, "What are we doing for water because I really don't want to get giardia ever again."

Arthur shuddered and responded, "That was terrible. Nothing but bloody liquid for like two weeks. I thought you were going to die from blood loss."

Tom laughed and said, "Definitely the last time I drink from a stream anywhere near where people live."

Arthur returned to searching and smiled when he pulled out some chlorine tablets from the top shelf.

He walked over to Vincent and Tom and said, "I didn't find any water but I found some purification tablets and I think I saw some bottles in the cabinet."

Tom seemed relieved before stating, "Now all we need to do is find a way to open these cans since I didn't find any can openers."

Arthur joining in saying, "I didn't see one in my cabinet so I don't think there is one.”

Vincent spoke up saying, "That won’t be a problem," before grabbing the cans and climbing up the ladder.

Arthur and Tom quickly scrambled up after him to see how Vincent would open the cans.

When they made it to the top and began looking around, they did not see Vincent at all.

The only thing they noticed was a can sitting slightly under a large rock with half of the can sticking out the side.

Both were confused by the spectacle before they heard a screech from above and glimpsed a shadow strike the can from the heavens above.

Their eyes eventually registered the form of a peregrine falcon standing with one talon sticking through the lid of the can.

Tom laughed and said, "I don't think they do that in the wild."

The bird shifted its weight more onto the can before pulling its claw back and creating a gap in the lid.

The bird then repeated his method of opening a can for the second lid.

Vincent then shifted back into a human shape and picked up both now opened cans before walking back to the ladder.

Noticing the surprised looks on both Tom and Arthur's faces, he said, "With training, you will both be able to exceed your natural limitations.”

“For example, the average bird of prey can only lift around one-third of its body weight, and the bodyweight of my shifted form is three pounds.”

“My limits were tested at around double my body weight which is astronomically higher."

"Will we be able to do that?!" Tom asked.

From previous experience, both Tom and Arthur knew their weight limit when flying was around what Vincent described, and being able to carry more weight when flying would make traveling drastically easier.

"With training, you will both be able to exceed your limitations as well. For now, focus on eating. We should return to the skies as quickly as possible."

The two other members of the group followed Vincent's advice and scarfed down the canned food in under five minutes. Following a quick bathroom break and clean-up of the rest site, the group was back in the sky.

The envoy continued flying for the rest of the day. Only short stops were made and no more food was discovered except at the final stop.

After visiting three more rest stops, Arthur finally began to feel when another one was close.

If asked, he would have described the feeling as pressure or similar to the heat of a campfire on your skin.

This confused him as he had no idea how he identified the location of the stops accurately when he had no way of seeing them or previous knowledge.

These thoughts plagued his consciousness for the entire trip.

Around the group, the air was becoming colder, and the coniferous trees in the forests below became denser.

They directly passed few cities, however, they each could see lights in the distance.

As the sun dropped, so did the temperature, and by the end of the journey, both Arthur and Tom were feeling slightly cold while Vincent showed no signs of weariness.

After flying over the discussed time by two hours, both boys were near their limit.

Eventually, the group came upon a log cabin made of roughly hewn logs and a wood roof.

The trees of the forest had been cut back in a five-foot radius around the building with almost no lighting on the exterior besides a small torch providing a soft glow near the entrance.

Vincent dropped from the sky, and both Arthur and Tom tailed him.

When they reached the ground, the group began shifting back which gave Arthur and Tom a better look at their destination.

They were disappointed and slightly annoyed by what they saw.

All that distance for a tiny little log cabin that was probably smaller than the first bunker they had visited.

Vincent finished first and approached the door which gave off a small click as we approached.

Vincent looked back and said, "follow me in when you are finished" before pulling the door open and entering quickly.

Arthur and Tom fully shifted less than a minute later and wearily approached the door.

Like before, a click sounded as they approached the door, and Arthur grabbed the handle.

He pulled back, and to his surprise, the door did not budge.

He tried again with more force and the door still did not move.

Tom sighed and said, "Not funny. I'm way too tired to deal with this." Tom pushed Arthur out of the way and grabbed the handle and pulled.

"What the heck," he said before grumbling and yelling, "This isn't funny Vincent let us in!"

He then put his foot on the door frame and pulled with all his strength. To his surprise, he felt the door move slightly.

"Arthur help me open this thing."

Both grabbed onto the handle and pulled as hard as they could which caused the door to open around half an inch.

Attempting once again but with their legs to push on the walls caused the door to open two inches.

Tom contemplated sticking his foot into the door to save their progress and try a different angle but realized it might cost him the limb.

They both let go of the door and tried to think of a way to open the door.

“I’ll go look for something to jam it open,” Arthur said before moving into the forest.

He returned with a large branch, and they both opened the door once again just enough to slide the stick inside.

With Arthur supporting the weight, Tom quickly pushed the stick into the door before Arthur ran out of energy.

With the stick firmly in the door, Arthur pulled the handle while Tom used his legs to further the gap created by the stick.

This created enough of a gap for Arthur to squeeze through the door while Tom was left supporting the weight on his legs.

On the inside, Arthur pushed the door open just enough for Tom to roll inside. The opened door slammed shut on the stick, which shattered on impact.

Panting on the ground, both boys did not notice Vincent standing to the side with a slight grin.

He pressed a small button on one of the walls, which caused a shift in the floor that lifted a grate and revealed a stairway that led deep into the ground.

When they finally picked themselves up, Vincent said, "This is where you’ll be learning for the next few years” and gestured down the stairs which appeared to be well lit but curved in a spiral

“It is still summer so you both are the first ones to arrive.”

“You have the entire campus to yourselves for around a week and a half before the other students arrive.”

“In that time you are free to roam around but try not to break anything or get in the way of the staff as they need to prepare the buildings for the coming year.”

“If you have any questions look for me or any other staff member. Your schedules will be sent in around a week and you will be provided with books and a room."

Still panting, Arthur asked, "Why is the door so difficult to open?" Vincent responded, "It used to be a trial that one needed to pass in order to gain entrance, however now it is just a memento from the way things were long ago.”

“It also serves the purpose of keeping out what doesn’t belong. The building does not draw attention as this is a discreet area of the world that is mostly dominated by many miles of trees. As well as the fact that this land is private property however the door serves to keep out any unwanted visitors.”

“I’m pretty certain you could just lock it if you wanted to keep people outside,” Tom responded.

“Who said anything about keeping just people away?”

Arthur and Tom looked blankly at Vincent who abruptly turned and walked down the hallway.

Both quickly scrambled after him with Arthur asking, “what do you mean just people” what else is there that could get in?”

“I’m sure you’ll find out soon” Vincent responded with a slight grin before beginning to walk down the stairs.

The boys looked at each other and then back to the stairs before following him into the depths.