Ascent: (Book 1) The Ladder (3 page)

Chapter Five

            The Junction is constantly busy with kids going to and from their work places. Scraggle walks through them, appearing to be aimless as the kids dodge around and try to avoid interacting with the crazy old man. But his motions are more calculated than anyone believes. He cuts a straight line toward the Mud Hall and stops any of the kids he can get his hands on. He gets hold of a girl no older than twelve. He looks deep into her eyes hoping to catch some glimmer of knowledge, some sign of hope. But her expression is like that of so many others that pass them by
,
an expression of
a
cceptance and a slight annoyance.

             The kids have been doing this for so long that, except for a small handful, they simply seem to have no interest in changing their surroundings or their roles. And Scraggle’s actions around them only hamper their ability to continue on with those roles.

             He releases the girl and she weaves around him to get back to her labor.

            Scraggle watches as the others come and go. Some pass near enough for him to grab, others do their best to avoid him. He keeps looking at them. Looking for that one sign that indicates the Dreamer.

            While trying to observe as many as he can, his gaze turns to the Ladder and those nearest to it. Anyone taking their time around or paying close attention to the Ladder or the Guard has the potential to be the Dreamer. Those who are close enough to the Ladder want to get as far away from the Guard as they can. His reputation for doling out punishment for no reason at all is known throughout the Mines.

            Scraggle’s investigation stops short when he happens upon the Boss. “Hello Boss. I’m so glad I’ve run into you.”

            “I hope you’re not interfering or interrupting these kids’ work again, old man,” the Boss tells him.

            “I would never think to halt production of the Mines. Not until we’re all free from this place. Tell me, have you heard tales of any dreams?”

            “What dreams?”

            “Dreams of the Surface. Dreams of ascending the Ladder to breathe the clean air above. We are in the time of the Dreamer.”

            “I don’t have time for this nonsense. You badger me and interrupt progress with words of nonexistent prophecy. I don’t know what made you go off the rails but I assure you, continue your babble and I will make you disappear in the Ban until your death. That will be your only way out. Do I make myself clear?”

            Scraggle merely lowers his head in acknowledgment as the Boss shoves past him.

            “The Dreamer is the way out.” Scraggle mumbles under his breath as he re-focuses on his self appointed investigation toward the Mud Hall.

            Of all of the tunnels and halls, the Mud Hall is the cleanest, second only to the sterile space of the Doctor’s office. Despite its name, it’s the only area of the Mines that has almost no dirt or dust hanging in the air. The walls of the work area are in a constant state of being muddy and wet. The water spray from the packs keeps any stray dirt from hanging in the air. Eye goggles are almost unnecessary. Most of the kids don’t even bother with masks since they get the mud rinsed off of them fairly quick.

            The sound of spray hoses releasing streams of water and the water hitting the walls, some of them dislodging clumps of mud that splash into the puddles of water, fills the hall.

            The only walkway between the different sized cut-outs is a steel grated path. It would be coated with mud if the mud didn’t pass through the holes in the platform. Still, some of the kids walk along it cautiously since, while uncommon, the possibility of slipping still exists. And the mud waders won’t protect shins from banging painfully against the metal walk way.

            Joe, Lauren and Marvin, like the other teams of three, are the only ones that work in their cut-out. The ceiling is high enough that they cannot reach it without something tall to stand on. At best, Joe would have to throw his shovel at the ceiling but that just runs the risk of someone getting hurt. Mostly him.

             Joe digs into the walls, knocking down clumps of mud and some rock. When nothing of interest turns up, he turns his attention to the puddles on the floor while Lauren hoses the walls, knocking down even more clumps of mud and adding them to the piles on the ground. Marvin crouches down in the puddles, sifting through the mud looking for precious stones and minerals. Joe buries his shovel into a puddle and down in the mud below. He brings up a pile of it and drops it into his bucket.

            “Heads up,” Lauren calls out while she takes aim at the ceiling and sprays it down. The ceilings of most of the cut-outs usually remain damp since the walls and the floor are the main focus of the Mud Slingers. Every now and then Lauren likes to spray the ceiling above Joe, trying to get clumps of mud to fall on his hard hat. It’s rare that anything falls. The ceiling hardly ever gets that water soaked.

            “Knock it off,” Joe hollers.

            Lauren stops spraying over Joe’s head. She huffs. “So moody today. Look, I made you an air prism.”

            On the surface, an air prism has another name. Up there, they are called rainbows. When the water sprays group together to hang in the air, the light could hit it just right to create a stack of colors. It was always a moment enjoyed by those in the Mud Hall. They are the only ones who ever get to see one and they are always eager to take the time to marvel that such colors could exist for them.

Joe’s mind is somewhere else, though. His thoughts are stuck on the Ladder. He takes a moment to look at the air prism before getting right back to work.

            “Do you need to see the Doctor, Joe? You love air prisms.” Lauren’s voice is filled with genuine concern.

            “Do you have the sick, Joe?” Marvin asks.

Lauren lets out a loud, fake laugh. She looks around at anyone who might be close enough to hear. The Sick isn’t something that anyone mentions out loud unless there is a real sign of it. Marvin is still too young to know all about the sick.

“Marvin, you can’t mention that unless someone really has it,” Lauren tells him. “If there’s no bad cough then there’s no Sick, remember?”

            “But what’s wrong with Joe?” Marvin asks.

            “Yeah, what is eating you?” Lauren reiterates.

            Joe drives his shovel in the ground and rests his arm on it. “Just tired of this.”

            “Are you kidding?” Lauren laughs. This time it’s real. “This is the best job in the Mines.”

            “You like carrying five gallons of water on your back?” Joe asks Lauren as though he knows the answer.

Lauren answers by staring silently at him. She knows he’s right. “Well, it’s the cleanest job here. We could be Rockers. The last thing I want is to be pushing a metal cart full of stones up hill. Besides, the water pack gets lighter with every spray. And I get to stay clean. Like my own personal shower.” She sticks her tongue out at Joe.

            He laughs at her teasing. As tiring as the work is, Joe has to admit, it is cleaner in the Mud Hall than it is in his own bunk. “Just hit the wall, Hoser.”

            Lauren continues her spray at the wall. The stream hits a clump of dirt and knocks it into the water. It lands with a more solid thunk and Lauren asks. “What is that?”

            Joe and Marvin look at the newly uncovered white spot in the wall.

            “Hit it again,” Joe tells her.

             Lauren sprays it, revealing more of the stone. It is both solid looking and clear. Joe steps to the wall and places his shovel on the edge of the rock. He pulls at it, trying to dislodge it from the wall.

            “What is it?” Marvin asks.

            Joe tries hitting it with his shovel. It doesn’t budge. “Spray it again.”

Lauren twists the front nozzle on the hose to narrow the stream as thin as it will go. Narrowing the stream increases the pressure and makes the water spray out of the hose with more force. This way, they can cut through the mud and even some smaller rock with a drilling effect.

Lauren sprays at the edges of the stone. The water clears away mud and reveals a larger rock attached to the stone.

            Joe stabs his shovel into the mud next to the rock and tries to pry it out. “Help me with it.”

            Lauren unclamps the straps of the water pack and takes it off. “Don’t mess with it, Marvin,” She warns the young Sifter.

            She grabs part of the shovel handle and she and Joe push up, trying to dislodge the rock. It starts to give. They push at it even harder, forcing the rock down through the muddy wall and into the puddle of water below it.

            Joe leans down to roll it over and expose the stone. He scoops up water and hand rinses it. Marvin and Lauren both join Joe crouched down at the rock.

            “Don’t think I’ve seen one like this before,” Lauren whispers.

            “Marvin, shine the light on it.”

            Marvin turns on his hard hat light and lowers his head enough to illuminate the stone. It reflects the light in a blinding way. All three of them
have to shield their eyes.

            Joe peers at the stone through squinted eyes and slightly parted fingers. “It looks like the buildings.”

            “That’s enough Marvin,” Lauren tells him.

            Marvin turns off his light.

            “What buildings?” she asks Joe.

            Joe looks around, making sure that no one is listening. “I had a dream last night. That I was on the surface. And there were these buildings. Like a city. And there was this bright light in the sky. And it reflected off the buildings just like on this stone.”

            “You had a dream about a stone city?” Lauren asks, confused.

            “No…I don’t know what it was made of but it was on the surface. There was grass and trees and clear water running through the grass. Just like in the pages we have.”

            Each kid, once they reach a certain age, is given a set of pages. A small collection of images from the Surface. They show how things look up above. Some of these show beaches. Some show woods and parks. Others show cities. Every kid has a different idea of what the Surface looks like, based on their pages.

            “You’ve been staring at your pages too long,” Lauren says.

            “I haven’t looked at them in forever. This was different. Almost like something I remember. Like I’ve been there before—”

            A splashing sound startles the three of them as Scraggle hops into the puddles in their cut-out.

            “You’ve seen it. You’ve seen the Surface.” Scraggle points a finger at Joe.

            Lauren grabs Marvin to get out of the way.

            “You’ve seen the shining spires.”

            “Me? I’ve never seen the Surface,” Joe tells him.

            “Not with your own eyes. But in your dreams,” Scraggle explains. “I heard you. Heard your dream. It’s you. You are the Dreamer. The one to lead us up the Ladder and to freedom. It is your fate.”

            “I’m pretty sure our fate is to sling mud, Scraggle.” Lauren tells him. “Get out of here before the Boss tries to give us strikes for the Ban.”

            “I don’t want to go to the Ban, Joe.” Marvin looks at Joe whose eyes rest on Scraggle.

            “Lead us, Dreamer. Lead us to the Surface,” Scraggle pleads with Joe.