Shadows (10 page)

“
Oh, so much
bigger than the silo,
”
Charlie replied.
“
They're
bigger than the entire Earth, millions of times bigger. Some of
them are planets like Saturn, others are massive furnaces like our
Sun, but they make the Sun look small. They're so far away, the
sizes and distances are mind-blowing. And there's so many of them,
far more than we can see with our eyes.
”

“
Really?
”
she said, biting into the bread
roll.

“
Yes. The
numbers are stupidly large. I've never seen so many zeros in all my
life. There's millions upon millions upon millions of them and
they're millions of times larger than anything we've ever
known.
”

Susan sighed. There was
only one lone star visible now as the clouds closed in, swirling
through the dark sky.

“
Each star
has its own planets, just like Earth,
”
he
continued.
“
Sometimes, I sit
here wondering who's staring back, wondering if someone is out
there looking at our sun and seeing just another ordinary,
unassuming star floating among billions. I know it sounds silly,
but I wonder if they wonder if there's any life down here. Sad
thing is, if they could see our dead world, they'd never see us
living in a hole in the ground.
”

Suddenly, Charlie become
animated. He couldn't sit still.

“
Oh, I can't
believe I forgot! Oh, woe is me, how could I
forget?
”

“
Forget
what?
”
Susan asked, finishing up the food on her plate
in a matter of minutes. Her mother would have scolded for inhaling
her food, but she was starving. She could have eaten another plate
full of meat and barely felt it touch the sides of her throat on
the way down.

Charlie jumped to his feet,
he was so excited he had to move. Susan smiled, more to herself
than for him. This is what she loved about Charlie, his raw love
for life was intoxicating.

“
You'll never
guess what I saw,
”
he calling out as he ran off between
the tables of the cafeteria with his arms outstretched on either
side of him. As he turned he banked his arms, raising one arm and
lowering the other and swooping to the side.

“
What are you
doing, you crazy man?
”

“
I'm
flying.
”

By now, Charlie was out in
the open area, running from one side of the floor to another,
gracefully swinging his arms as he leaned into one corner and out
again.

“
I'm flying,
Sue. I'm flying.
”

“
What is
wrong with you?
”
she asked, laughing, unable to
suppress the smile reaching form ear to ear. She walked out from
among the tables toward him as he swooped and soared with his arms
outstretched.

“
I'm flying
above the earth. I'm an eagle. I'm a dove.
”

She knew an explanation
would be forthcoming, for now it was enough to enjoy his contagious
enthusiasm.

He ran up to her panting
for breath and came to a stop, resting his hands on his
knees.

“
You may be a
bird, but you're not fit.
”

He laughed.

“
I saw
them,
”
Charlie said.

“
What?
Birds?
”

“
No, not a
bird, a flying machine.
”

Susan was quiet.

“
Before
dawn,
”
he said, still struggling to catch his
breath.
“
I should have slept in, but, you know me. I was
up here and I saw it.
”

“
Saw
what?
”

“
Some kind of
plane, just like in the books.
”

“
That's
impossible,
”
she replied.

“
I thought so
too, but I saw it.
”

“
Are you sure
about this?
”
she asked.

“
I snuck back
down into IT earlier this evening and double checked. It's called a
drone. It's a fixed wing aircraft with a propeller, and I saw it
out there.
”

He was pointing high on the
wall screen, above the hillside.

“
It must have
just taken off from below that rise. It was low, gaining height.
Heading that way.
”

Charlie pointed with
reference to the silo not the screen. He was pointing in the
direction of the sheriff's office.

“
In the early
light, it looked magnificent. Within less than a minute, I lost
sight of it and it became nothing more than a speck in the sky, but
I saw it. You know what this means?
”

Susan was silent. She
wasn't sure she wanted to know what it meant.

“
It means
we're not alone. That this isn't the only silo.
”

“
That's
blasphemy,
”
she replied under her
breath.

“
I know, but
it's true. There are others out there. They must be just over that
hill, hidden from sight. And they're technically more advanced than
us. They have flying machines!
”

Susan was stunned. She sat
on the edge of one of the tables.

“
Why?
”
was the only word passed from her
lips. That one word encompassed so many questions. Why weren't they
told about the past? Why weren't they told about the others? Why
was someone launching aircraft? Whoever it was, they had to be
looking for something. Were they looking for an end to the madness?
Looking beyond the poisonous wasteland?

“
Don't you
see,
”
Charlie said.
“
This changes
everything. We're no longer alone!
”

Susan was shivering,
partially because her body had cooled and the sweat that had once
regulated her temperature now caused a chill to run through her,
and partially because of what she was hearing.

“
You can't
tell anyone,
”
she said.

“
Me? Who the
hell would believe me?
”
he replied.

“
I
would.
”

Chapter 06: Uplift

Lisa was true to her word.
The next day she lobbied for a cushy route between IT and the Mids.
There were lots of short hauls of only one or two levels at a time.
The pay wasn't good, but a few chits were better than nothing and
they'd already turned almost a week's profit on their run Down
Deep. Susan was thankful for the easy pace. She didn't want to
admit it to Lisa, but she was still sore from the day
before.

“
How was your
date?
”

“
Oh,
”
Susan replied, unsure quite how to
respond. As far as dates went, the evening wasn't romantic, and yet
the glow in her face must have spoke of the excitement she felt at
the dawning awareness both her and Charlie had of their world. In
just a few days, the silo had gone from being static to something
filled with potential, and the realization that there were others
out there was intoxicating. Susan almost let that slip, but she
knew the concept wouldn't go down well. It raised too many
questions, even in her mind, like why would they be kept in the
dark by those that know better? Trying to convince others of all
she'd seen, well, all Charlie had seen, would have made the two of
them appear crazy and she knew it.

She lied,
pulling her
‘
kerchief out of her
pocket and wrapping it around her neck, signaling she was on the
job.

“
Candles ...
flowers ... a foot rub.
”

“
Oh, he knows
how to treat a porter,
”
Lisa replied.
“
I bet that
felt good after the run Down Deep.
”

“
Yep.
”

“
What's his
name? What does he do?
”
Lisa asked.

Susan couldn't
lie.

“
His name's
Charlie, from the dirt farms on six.
”

“
Charlie
Pritchard!
”
Lisa cried.
“
Are you
serious?
”

“
Yes,
”
Susan replied, feeling like she was
confessing to a murder.

“
Didn't his
father?
”

“
Yes.
”

Lisa was silent for a
second or two. Susan could see she was trying to pick her words
with care.

“
Well, it's
nice to know he has a romantic streak. You can tell a lot about a
man by how he treats a woman.
”

“
Yes,
”
Susan replied, feeling relieved by
Lisa's comment.
“
You certainly
can.
”
Lisa must have been thinking about the fictional foot
rub, but Susan was thinking about his care in getting her something
to eat and his trust in sharing with her about the hidden
room.

“
Well, good
for you girl.
”

Susan appreciated Lisa's
discretion. She was old enough to be her mother and could have
easily lectured her just as her mother had, but she didn't. She had
to have known about both Charlie's father and his grandfather. Like
so many others, Lisa had to have preconceived notions about
Charlie, but Susan could see Lisa trusted her judgement, and she
appreciated that.

“
And it's a
serious relationship?
”
Lisa asked.
“
You think it
could go somewhere?
”

“
I hope
so.
”

Lisa smiled,
rubbing her hand affectionately through Susan's hair.
“
Well, I hope so too. You're a good kid, Susan. I hope you
go far.
”

Kid, there it was again.
Susan wondered if she'd ever outgrow that label. Truth be told, she
figured she'd probably outgrow that term long before she realized
she had, and then she'd wish for those younger days of innocence
all over again.

The day dragged. Susan
thought the day would never end. As much as she enjoyed porting,
short runs tended to be over so quickly that they made the day seem
longer. She desperately wanted to catch up with Charlie again. Was
it love sickness? No, she figured it was just the desire for
continuity, to keep talking and exploring this brave, new world of
theirs.

No one else knew it, but
for them the silo had been transformed. Once, the silo had been all
encompassing. The silo was alpha and omega, the start and end of
all life, and yet overnight their silo had become one among many.
If there was one other silo, why not a third, a forth, a fifth? And
whereas their silo suppressed knowledge, these other silos embraced
technology. If they used flying machines, what other marvels had
they resurrected from the pages of those books? Had they undergone
a quiet revolution such as the one Charlie was trying to coax into
being within their own silo? Could it work? Could the two of them
slowly embrace change and get others to follow along? Susan felt
giddy thinking about the possibilities.

She had dinner with her
parents, but only because it was her father's birthday. They
exchanged pleasantries. Susan kissed her father on the cheek as she
gave him a gift, a new toolbox. Nothing was really new within the
silo, recycled was probably a better term, but she'd also traded
for a pair of tin snips and rivet punch, knowing he'd put them to
good use. Their conversation around the dinner table had been
trivial, full of pleasantries but no depth. No one dared broach the
conversation from a couple of days ago, with both sides hoping
enough had been said already.

As dinner came to a close
it was clear nothing had changed. Susan excused herself after
cleaning up the dishes. She slipped out the door
quietly.

“
Be
careful,
”
her mother called after her, not daring to ask
where she was going.

Susan whispered in
reply.

“
I
will.
”

She hurried up to the
cafeteria, her feet seemingly carrying her on autonomously, barely
touching the stairs as she climbed in the half-light. Somewhere
around level three, she passed the Mayor and Hammond on the stairs.
They were polite, bidding her a pleasant evening, and she felt rude
overtaking them. She was polite in reply, but felt an irrational
sense of deference to them, as though she should slow her ascent
and follow along patiently behind them. She knew it was silly, but
she still found herself slowing as she passed them.