There Once Were Stars Read Online Free Page A

ribs, and a searing pain rips across my chest. Grandmother’s warnings flash through my head like a flashback on fast forward.
    “Someone was in the Outer Forest? Betker, your department’s job is to uphold the law. Are you telling me someone has been sneaking around the Outer Forest and you had no idea?”
    Another voice speaks up, dry with an edge of irritation. “Apparently so, sir,” Betker replies.
    “Does the Outsider know this person?” the Director asks.
    “He is not talking yet,” Betker says, regaining confidence in his voice. “But my men have their ways. We’ll get information out of him.”
    “I don’t like it. Someone hiding in the Outer Forest, and then a stranger found on the outside. It smells awfully like conspiracy to me. Why else would an Outsider risk coming so close to the dome? It’s those damn rebels, I know it!”
    “He had nothing on him to identify where he came from, sir,” Betker says.
    “He is secured, correct?”
    “Yes,” Betker says. “Locked up tight on B2.”
    “Below the generator!” the Director cries out.
    “It’s not a concern, sir. He only carried a few personal things on him: a photo, a key, and some food. We, of course, confiscated the food.”
    “I decide what’s of concern around here.” I jump as a fist bangs on the desk inside. “I want him moved. Get him off B2 and up to the higher floors where he can be monitored better. Let’s find out what he’s up to and who his contacts are.”
    “Yes, sir, right away.”
    “I want this situation rectified,” the Director demands. “And find me the person who was in the Outer Forest.”
    I grab my bucket and move to another window. A tall man with red hair exits the Director’s office, pausing when he notices the door was not closed. I keep my focus on the glass in front of me and hold my breath until he proceeds past me, making his way down the hallway to the elevator.
    The Director and the other gentleman never appear, and soon my group finishes Floor 2. I can’t wait to get out of this building and back to the clearing. I have to beat the Order and destroy any evidence of my being there.
    When we get to B1, the carts are parked and the others hustle out of the office as quickly as they can. I hold back to ask Mrs. Watson one question that is eating at me.
    “What else is down here?” I recall Samson mentioning the Outsider was on B2.
    “What do you mean?”
    “In the elevator I saw buttons for B1, and B2,” I explain. “I never thought about what was underneath the Axis before. I’m curious. They didn’t teach us about that at the Learning Institute.”
    “No,” Mrs. Watson agrees. “It definitely would not be discussed there. You see, sometimes we pretend terrible things don’t exist. ”
    My eyes widen at her vague reference. She notices and corrects herself. “Ah, don’t mind me, Natalia. I’m an old woman spouting off random thoughts. You, too, may be the same way when you are nearing the end of your usefulness in the dome. What was it you asked? Oh yes, under the Axis. Well, on B1 is us of course. The other side of this hallway is the generator. It’s what keeps the Axis powered. Without that, everything shuts down, the computers, the banners, even the air purification system.”
    “And what about B2?” I ask.
    “I’m not aware of a B2,” she states uncomfortably.
    I laugh a little. “There’s a button for it in the elevator.”
    “Of course there is, but listen to me, Natalia,” she says in a hushed voice. “You do not want to know about B2. You do not want to visit B2. And you certainly do not ever talk about B2. Understand me? Unspeakable sounds come from down there, horrible things that would haunt your innocent, young, dreams. Just forget about it and pretend it doesn’t exist.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” I say, moving toward the door. Panic swells in my chest, sending a painful shudder across my skin.
    “Good night, Natalia,” she calls out after me.
    I wait for the