Gavin and Harriet poured through the open gate, and the three students, led by the light of Harriet's flashlight, made their way to the stone table in the far corner. The floor of the cavern was roughly-hewn from solid rock, as if Thumbledown sat atop a massive boulder and they had simply drilled into the stone.
There was an eerie stillness to the dead air in the chamber, and Gavin's breath was labored and heavy. Looking around, it was hard to make out anything not directly in the circle of the light, but in the dimness, he was able to notice a few things they'd missed before. On the opposite wall were a series of niches that went back into darkness. Debris littered that side of the room, planks and stones, and rusted iron tools.
And then there was the graveyard.
"Harriet, wait. Flash your light over here," whispered Gavin.
"Where? I can't see you?" she answered.
"Just... hold on..." He reached over and placed his hand over hers, then directed the flashlight into the corner opposite the stone table they were approaching. All three gasped at the sight of two headstones sticking out of a small patch of earth. It looked as though someone had taken a pickaxe to the stone floor and had somehow found a patch of actual ground beneath.
They all stood for a moment, transfixed. Gavin took a step forward, then stopped.
"What is it?" asked Jupiter.
"I... it's silly but... I want to know who they are. See if their names are carved onto the headstones."
Harriet joined Gavin and shined her light on the gravestones. Gavin hurried forward and kneeled down, tracing his finger along the stone while he read.
"Agnes Moneham," he read. "Beloved teacher and mentor. Wow. She died over 50 years ago!"
"What about the other one?" asked Jupiter.
Harriet focused her light on the second gravestone and Gavin read aloud. "Ulysses Fogbottom. Vengeance is just." He stood up and turned around. "Also around 50 years ago."
"Vengeance is just?" quoted Harriet. "That doesn't sound nice. It sounds mean and spiteful."
"Maybe it's some sort of joke?" offered Jupiter.
Gavin, who was doing the math, shook his head. "These are recent enough to have been made after Lord Thumbledown created the school. Or, I guess, moved the school here."
"So you think they have something to do with the school?"
"It's a good bet," answered Harriet.
The three friends contemplated the solemn discovery a moment more, before Harriet moved her light and shined it on the table. "Back to work?" she suggested.
Not having any idea how the unexpected graves fit into their plot, or even if they did at all, the students drew up to the table. It was made of a large slab of stone balanced on four oval-shaped boulders. Slightly uneven, it nevertheless was covered in paper. Harriet lifted her arm high to shine down on as much of the table as she could while Gavin and Jupiter went through the loose pages scattered across the stone.
"What does any of this mean?" asked Jupiter, frustrated. "I've got lists, and dates, and lists of dates, and here's a map but I have no idea what it's a map of." She thumped her finger down on a crudely-drawn map.
"Is that the school?" asked Harriet.
Jupiter peered at the map again, turning it left and right to look at it from different angles. Finally, she shrugged. "I have no idea. Could be. Could be somebody's house. Could be an entire city. Who can tell?"
"This is interesting," said Gavin, pulling one page out from under another. "Names."
"Oh?" Jupiter set her work down and turned her attention to Gavin's find. "Anybody we know?"
Gavin ran his finger down the page, shaking his head, then stopped. "Here's one. Ryanne Junker."
"That's the girl that makes the portals, right?" asked Jupiter.
"How many names are on the list?" asked Harriet.
Gavin counted quickly. "Eleven. And the weird thing is they're scrawled in different handwriting. Like they weren't jotted down all at the same time, but over a period of time." He read through the names again, but didn't recognise anyone other than Ryanne.
"I feel like that's important," said Jupiter.
Gavin nodded (needlessly, since his head was in the dark and nobody could see him nod) and set the page back down. "I'd say we should take it, but I also think it would be missed. We don't want anyone to know we were here."
"Are there any blank pages we could use to copy them down?" asked Harriet.
"Even if there were, does anybody have a pencil or pen?" asked Jupiter.
"No to both questions," answered Gavin.
"Give it here," said Harriet. "I've got a pretty good memory."
Gavin picked up the page and handed it to Harriet. He and Jupiter stood silently while she mumbled the names over and over to herself, trying to commit them all to memory.
Suddenly, Gavin heard something that sounded like faint footsteps. He reached over and quickly covered the flashlight.
"Hey!" exclaimed Harriet.
"Shh!" insisted Gavin. They all froze, listening, and heard the footsteps again.
"Someone's coming!" whispered Jupiter fiercely.
"Quick! Behind the table! Shut off the light!" Gavin whispered back. Harriet clicked the flashlight off and the three of them felt their way around the table, then ducked down, hoping they were out of sight.
Gavin's body tensed. Who would be down here, he wondered. But then, he'd seen Phantom down here a moment ago, so it could be anybody. For all they knew, this was a popular spot for midnight hangouts for the students of Lord Thumbledown's. Who knew what superheroes in training did with their off time?
The footsteps seemed to come closer. They were odd, more of a scuttle than proper walking. Whoever it was, they had to be close.
"There's no light," whispered Jupiter.
"Because Harriet turned the flashlight off," responded Gavin as quietly as possible.
"Duh. But whoever is coming isn't bringing any light, either," snapped Jupiter.
It was true, even as the footsteps grew louder, no light appeared in the corridor outside. Gavin wondered how that could be, until he realized it was probably somebody's superpower. The ability to see in the dark would be a very useful and obviously Thumbledown-worthy talent.
He squeezed himself in even more, fear welling up inside him. If their newcomer could see in the dark, then would they see the three of them hiding back here? Were they perfectly hidden behind the table? It was difficult to tell in the darkness.
"They're getting closer!" warned Harriet. Gavin could feel her shaking beside him. He wanted to reach out and calm her, but he knew he was shaking just as much as she was. If they were discovered down here, he couldn't think of any excuse that wouldn't get them all into huge trouble, if not outright expelled.
The room was so still, Gavin could hear his heart pounding in his chest. The footsteps were now quite loud and echoing off the stone of the room in every direction. Did that mean the person was in the room? But wouldn't they have heard the interloper open the gate? What was going on?
Suddenly, the sound skirted around the table, causing Harriet to jerk back and into Gavin. He went rigid, ready to run or, if necessary, try to fight. If nothing else, he could let himself get punched in the face to give the girls time to escape.
Seconds passed with the only sound the three friends' labored breathing. Finally, Gavin could stand it no more. He reached over and took the flashlight from Harriet. She held on for a moment, but didn't make any noise and let go. Gavin swallowed down his nerve, aimed the flashlight directly in front of them, and flicked it on.
Everyone screamed.
A large rat, easily the size of a loaf of bread stood staring at them. At their screams, it hissed madly, showing its teeth. Jupiter reacted instantly and kicked out, bashing the rat in the nose and causing it to squeak in pain and run off to the other side of the room. Gavin followed it with the light and they saw the creature slip inside a hole in the far wall near the graveyard.
Then they stopped screaming.
"Yipes, that was huge!" exclaimed Harriet.
"Are rats poisonous?" asked Jupiter. "Did it bite anyone?"
Luckily, it hadn't bitten anyone. Gavin, Harriet, and Jupiter rose to their feet, the euphoria of relief washing over them.
"I'm not ashamed to say I was scared out of my wits!" admitted Harriet.
"Me, too," agreed Gavin.
"Can we get out of here?" asked Jupiter.
They all agreed it was time to depart. Just as they walked back around the table, however, Gavin spotted something.
"Harriet, hold on. Shine your light over here."
When she did so, Gavin pulled another sheet out from under the pile. It, too, bore a list of names, but there was one very significant difference with this list.
"Vocal Viper, Blaze, Chameleon, Nightshift, Shine, Phantom." He looked up and into the light. "These aren't people's regular names. They're their Superhero names."
"I thought Thumbledown students couldn't have a name until they graduated. It's one of Symphonius's rules." stated Harriet.
"Doesn't mean they can't prepare," said Jupiter.
"But why keep it a secret?" asked Gavin. "Unless..."
"Unless they'd really get in trouble?" suggested Harriet.
Gavin shook his head. "Unless they're not the names of superheroes. They're the names of supervillains."