Shadows (4 page)

Xavier was
wrestling with his bound arms. Sheriff Cann struggled with his bad
leg. One of the deputies ran in, grabbing Xavier by the upper arm
and forcing him into the airlock. All the while, Xavier
screamed,
“
I won
’
t clean. I swear, I
will not clean.
”

Mayor Johns spoke over the
top of Xavier, looking to wrest control of the murmuring
crowd.

“
He poisons
minds. His words are like the outside air, caustic and bitter. Mark
my words, this is what happens when an individual dares to think
they
’
re more important than the whole of society. No one is
more important than the silo. The silo is all that matters. The
silo is our mother, our father, our past and our
future.
”

Charlie nudged Susan,
directing her gaze back to the great stairwell. A squad of IT
security guards had come up from below.

“
They must
have been waiting in the wings,
”
he
whispered.
“
Forget the mayor,
forget the sheriff, that
’
s where the real
power lies. Control information and you control
everything.
”

Susan was shocked. The
security guards had their nightsticks out, holding them by their
sides as they spread around the edges of the room. For the most
part, they were ignored. All eyes were on the mayor and the
sheriff, who by this time had pushed Xavier into the open
airlock.

“
If things go
bad,
”
Charlie whispered,
“
stay close.
We
’
ll take refuge in the storage rooms behind the
kitchen.
”

Susan felt her heart
racing.

Mayor Johns
continued, saying,
“
No one wants this. I
don
’
t want this, but we must have order. Without order,
the silo would tear itself apart.
”

“
See,
”
Charlie whispered.
“
He
’
s smiling.
”

Susan
didn
’
t ask who he meant. She instinctively knew who Charlie
was talking about. Hammond was trying to suppress a grin as he
leaned against the wall beside the mayor's office. He whispered
something to Barney, unable to hold back his glee. He was enjoying
this. Normally, Susan wasn
’
t one to subscribed
to scuttlebutt and conspiracy theories, but the unrest before her
was choreographed, she was sure of it. Hammond was pulling the
strings, giving the crowd Mayor Johns as an object to hate, while
having Sheriff Cann carry out his dirty work. Hammond was directing
traffic. He sent Barney off as a runner, carrying a message to
others within the IT team spread around the edges of the crowd.
Murmurs rose, anger swelled as the crowd focused its dissent on the
wrong people.

“
Everyone
cleans,
”
the Mayor continued, talking over the
crowd.
“
No one wants to, but every one does, and why?
Why clean when you
’
re sent to your
death? Because cleaning is all there is when your life is coming to
an end. Once you're outside, cleaning is the only purpose you have.
To clean is to give. To clean is to seek repentance. To clean is to
ask for forgiveness, to admit to one
’
s mistakes and offer
recompense to those that gave you life. Cleaning is making peace
with the silo.
”

Charlie
whispered to Susan, saying,
“
I
don
’
t know if Xavier will clean, but I
wouldn
’
t.
”

As if in
reply to his seditious comments, the Mayor boldly repeated,
“
Everyone cleans.
”

The sheriff walked out of
the airlock with his deputy. Behind him, a suit technician stepped
out and pushed on the thick steel door. The airlock hatch shut with
a thud; steel clanging against steel. The crowd fell silent as the
sheriff spun the locking wheel.

“
This is what
I came up here to see,
”
Charlie said, but he
wasn
’
t looking at the airlock. He was looking back at the
grand staircase, watching as the IT security team slipped quietly
back down the stairs.

Susan could barely
breathe.

“
And there
goes Hammond,
”
Charlie added, his voice barely a
whisper. Hammond and Barney were making their way around the
outside of the crowd, heading for the stairs.
“
Their role
in all this has come to an end.
”

“
I ...
I,
”
Susan began.

“
I know,
right?
”
Charlie said.
“
You think you know
how this place works, then you see something like this! Scary
stuff, huh?
”

A yellow flashing light
pulsated above the airlock. Pipes clattered as gas purged the lock.
All eyes were on the wall screen.

“
It
’
ll take a few minutes,
”
Charlie
explained, pulling Susan close.
“
The airlock will
open and a rush of gas will keep contaminants out.
Xavier
’
s then got about thirty seconds to get the hell
out of there before they turn on the burners. If he stays,
he
’
ll be fried to a crisp.
”

Charlie paused, as though
he were mentally keeping time with events.

“
Once
he
’
s outside, there
’
s a concrete ramp
leading up to the surface. The slope is pretty steep, and
there
’
s no steps. He
’
ll be able to see
beyond the fog by now. Once he
’
s on the surface,
the choice is his. He can make 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 Down
Deep.
”

“
Mom, you
cannot dictate love. The heart reaches out like the plants reach
for the grow-lights.
”

“
I
won
’
t allow it,
”
Helena said,
settling her hands on her hips. Susan
’
s father was quiet.
He sat in an armchair in the corner of the room, repairing the lid
on an old tin box. Susan looked to him for support, but he kept his
eyes on his fingers, working to slip a metal pin into a worn
hinge.

She turned
back to her mother, saying,
“
You can no more
stand between us than you can climb the hill.
”

“
You were up
there, weren
’
t
you?
”
Helena asked, her voice dropping.
“
You
watched the cleaning.
”

Susan
didn
’
t respond. She sulked, with her arms wrapped around
her waist.

“
I told you
not to go,
”
Helena said. Her voice was soft,
carrying her concern in a stark contrast to their argument a few
seconds before.
“
Sue, the Pritchard
family are bad seeds. The grandfather, the father, they both
cleaned. What does that tell you?
”

“
Charlie's
different.
”

“
Is
he?
”
Helena asked.
“
How do you know?
Madness runs in these families. We
’
ve seen this before.
He wants too much, he asks too much. He
’
s not content.
To live in the silo, you need to be satisfied.
Don
’
t push, don
’
t fight. Keep your
head down and do your job.
”

Susan
understood what her mother was saying, but she only vaguely grasped
why. Susan was an only child, something her parents never spoke
about, but she knew what that meant socially.
She
’
d had the taunts at school, the petty teasing of kids
asserting their place in that microcosm of the silo. The lottery
was supposed to be open to all, but if you crossed the line, your
ticket privileges could be revoked. Susan wasn
’
t sure
what her parents had done, but they had paid for it for decades,
with their one child as a solemn reminder of the cost of defiance.
Each time the lottery came around, her mother would be tearful.
Susan had seen this, but had not understood why.