Shadows Read Online Free Page B

Mayor Johns look like a fool if he
wants. He can just keep on walking and try to make the top of the
ridge, or he can submit to the will of the Order and clean. I hope
he sticks it to her and makes a break for the hill and gets to see
what lies beyond. ”
    A helmet came into view at
the bottom of the screen. No one spoke. Almost two hundred people
stood there watching the wall-screen, transfixed by the sight
before them. There was no crying, no sobbing. The crowd stood there
like mannequins, like statues made from rock.
    Xavier walked forward into
view. From the rear, his helmet reflected the sun. Brooding clouds
rolled across the yellow sky. He knelt down, his gloved hand
grabbing at the ground. He picked up a clump of dust, watching as
it ran between his fingers.
    Suddenly, he seemed to
remember his purpose. He turned and faced toward camera. The black
visor on his helmet swayed with the motion of his shoulders. He was
looking for something.
    “ He ’ s trying to figure out where the camera
is, ” Charlie whispered.
    Xavier broke into a
strident run. His boots looked heavy, as though they were weights
around his ankles. His shoulders and arms fought to move more
quickly than his suit would allow. He seemed excited, which
surprised Susan. Xavier crossed at an angle from their perspective
from within the cafeteria, kicking up dust with his
boots.
    “ Go for the
ridge, ” Charlie said. Susan squeezed his arm, wanting
him to be quiet. He had no idea how loud even a soft voice was in
the silent cafeteria.
    Xavier worked his way
around and up a ladder. He stepped out of sight and then back in
front of the camera. His helmet filled the screen. The thin black
strip that marked his visor looked impossibly dark. There was no
indication of a face within.
    A gloved hand waved briefly
before pulling out each of the items from the labelled pockets: a
small patch of steel wool, some cleaning fluid in a squeeze bottle,
a rag and a second squeeze bottle full of polish.
    “ Everyone
cleans, ” Mayor Johns said. Her voice was surprisingly
loud in the quiet hall. The speakers gave her voice a commanding
boom, chilling Susan to her core.
    Xavier finished cleaning
and stood there for a moment. He turned around, with his back to
the screen, blocking their view.
    “ I guess
he ’ s seen that all his life, ” Charlie
whispered. “ All his life
he ’ s only ever seen through a digital lens, and now he
sees the world for what it is. The ridge, man, go for the
ridge. ”
    Xavier seemed to be in no
rush. He turned and stepped out of sight. A few minutes later Susan
saw him walking aimlessly across in front of the camera, meandering
up the slope.
    “ He could
have made it, ” Charlie added. Susan wished he would
shut up. The people around them were staring at them whenever he
spoke, making her nervous.
    Xavier looked up at the
clouds, he looked around at the hillside and back at the camera.
After a few seconds, he began to stagger as though he were
drunk.
    “ Here it
comes, ” Charlie said.
    Xavier turned his back on
the camera. He fell to his knees and raised his hands to the sky.
For a moment, he was motionless. Then he collapsed. It was as
though someone had deflated a rubber bladder. His body lay in a
crumpled heap, shaking for a few minutes before finally falling
still. Slowly, the crowd dispersed, leaving Charlie and Susan alone
in the vast hall, looking at the screen. They were both in
tears.

Chapter 03: Gold

    “ I forbid
you! ” Helena cried. “ Do you hear me? You
are not going out to see that boy. ”
    “ That
boy, ” Susan yelled in defiance, “ Is my choice,
my love! ”
    “ There are
plenty of boys in the silo, ” Helena pleaded,
trying to appeal to her daughter ’ s reason. “ What about the Jones boys? Or one of your porters? Why not
show some interest in them. That way you need never be apart. You
could take assignments together, travel the silo like the
McIntyres, with a small apartment in the Up Top and the