Ascent: (Book 1) The Ladder Read Online Free PDF Page A

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