There Once Were Stars Read Online Free

There Once Were Stars
Book: There Once Were Stars Read Online Free
Author: Melanie McFarlane
Tags: Science-Fiction, adventure, Action, Survival, Young Adult, teen, Exploration, discovery
Pages:
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card. “ Natalia Greyes ?” I nod in agreement. “Like the scientists Greyes ?” Her eyes bulge. I’ve seen that look before.
    “Yes,” I murmur. Everyone knows who my parents were; their project was imperative to our survival. Had they succeeded, there would have been no laws on life expectancy or reproduction and people would be living free, outside.
    “A shame about what happened,” Mrs. Watson says, shaking her head. I can’t do anything but nod. “Anyway, our job here is not complicated, but it is timed. Keep on top of things, and you’ll be fine. I am giving you floors two, three, and four.”
    “The Director’s office?” I ask, surprised. In all the one hundred upper floors of the Axis, every kid learns the Director’s office is located on the second floor. Who wouldn’t want to know where the most powerful person in the dome worked?
    “No, not the Director’s office,” she says, her face hardening. “I handle that personally. But the Delegate’s offices and other rooms on those floors are fine to enter.”
    I take my assigned cart and ride the elevator up to Floor 4, where I meet up with three other workers. They’re focused on the monotonous work of polishing, washing, and sweeping; there’s no time for chitchat. One of the workers points to the office across from her, so I park my cart in front of the door labelled Minister of Agriculture, and mimic her actions, wiping the glass on the wall. It is tedious work.
    “No, no.” A dark-haired woman on my team tsks at me as she looks over my shoulder. “You need to polish in a circular motion.” She grabs the rag from my hand and starts to vigorously wipe the glass. I watch her intently, the others not fazed by the interruption.
    “I’m sorry,” I say as she hands the rag back to me.
    She doesn’t reply. This job wasn’t my first pick. It’s going to be a long two weeks until my next assignment.
    My coworker continuously corrects my work, hovering over my shoulder like Grandmother would. Every sharp-tongued direction makes me wince, but I keep my mouth shut as we move down to Floor 3, which is a large boardroom. By the time we finish there, she nods in approval, labelling me the window washer, and finally returns to her own cart.
    Floor 2 is similar to Floor 4, in that the hallways are lined with offices. I make my way toward the end of the hall, focusing on office door windows. As I reach the end of the corridor, I pause in front of the one door I’m not allowed to enter. Director is etched in gold across its glass. No one told me not to clean the outside of the office.
    I spray the glass and reach up to polish it with my cloth, but as I press against the window, the door opens. I freeze. Did I do that? No, the last person to use it must have been careless. I reach out to click the door shut, but voices come from the office, and a chill sends goosebumps down my arms when I hear the words “—clearing in the Outer Forest.”
    “We need to send a Horticultural team in tonight, sir,” a man’s voice comes through the opening. “My team reports that the Outsider was looking at something in the dome. Apparently, there’s a clearing there.”
    “What do we care about a clearing, Samson?” the Director’s voice demands. I recognize it from the announcements that come across the monitors throughout each day.
    “Well, for one,” the man whom the Director called Samson speaks up again, “in the clearing there is an old rotting tree.” The Director grunts in disapproval and Samson’s voice speeds up. “It was obviously overlooked during cleanup because it is at the outermost ring and faces the exterior of the dome.”
    “I don’t like excuses, Samson,” the Director grumbles. “We need all the space we have for healthy trees, to ensure oxygen levels stay premium. An oversight by Horticultural is a detriment to all. What else is there?”
    “There’s evidence someone has been in the clearing, sir.”
    My heart slams against my
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