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

puddles but most just walk out with dirt and mud clinging to their hands.
                Once on the steel walk way, the kids stomp their feet to knock off clumps of mud sticking to their mud waders. The mud drops to the walkway and passes through the grating.
                “Time for the Eatery,” Marvin says with joy in his voice. As if the threat of the Ban was nothing more than a distant memory.
                “Let’s go.” Lauren takes Marvin’s hand to help him out of the cut-out.
                “Come on, Joe,” Marvin calls back.
                “Lead us, Dreamer,” Scraggle continues to press.
                Joe takes his eyes off Scraggle and looks at the stone in the rock. He picks up his shovel and slams it into the stone, chipping off a decent chunk of it. The piece falls into the puddle. Joe kneels down to fish it out of the water. Finding it and giving it one last look, he stands and puts it in his pocket before walking past Scraggle.
                “No one can climb the Ladder out of here,” Joe says but his tone betrays his real thoughts. That Scraggle might be right.
                “But it is your fate. It is our fate.” Scraggle’s voice trails off as Joe leaves him behind to join the rest of the kids walking out of the Mud Hall.
                At the entrance to the Mud Hall sits another large metal box. The Boss stands next to it watching each group empty their buckets into it. With each dumping of minerals and stones, the Boss steps on a lever and the contents dumped inside of it disappear when the bottom opens up and swallows them.
                Joe, Lauren and Marvin are next. Joe raises their bucket and dumps out the minerals and stones from their section. The Boss steps on the lever while the three of them make their way past the box.
                “Lauren,” the Boss calls out before the next group can go.
    Lauren growls, quietly through gritted teeth. She turns around to see the Boss’s hand out and open.
    “Hand it over.”
    Lauren pulls out a small green gem from her pocket and hands it over to the Boss.
                “Lauren,” Marvin calls out, surprised that she did such a thing.
                Joe quiets him.
                “I don’t see why we can’t keep some of them. Like there aren’t enough in the box.” Lauren tries to reason as she turns and starts to walk away.
                The Boss smacks her on the back of the head. “You’ve already got three strikes. One more and you’re in the Ban. You got that?”
                “Yes, sir,” Lauren begrudgingly answers before they all walk away to the Eatery.
                As the three of them pass through the Junction, Joe glances at the Ladder, his hand in his pocket, gripping the stone from the Mud Hall. Joe has never taken anything that belongs in the box before. There’s no reason for anyone to suspect him of starting now. Lauren, however, is a multi-time offender. The Boss is usually watching her very closely.
                The Eatery is the most cramped section of the Mines. It is lined with wooden benches and tables. All of the kids pile into it for their meal. The food is already on the tables waiting for them. By the time they all sit down, it is room temperature at best. The kids are forced to sit shoulder to shoulder as the Doctor struggles to walk between the rows to look for bruises or cuts, anything that might require her attention. The Boss and the Guard stand at the entrance to make sure all of the kids leave at the same time when done. Since everyone is in the Eatery, there’s little reason to guard the Ladder. Like all of the work areas, there is only one way in and one way out.
                Everyone eats in silence. There are only two times in the Mines that silence is ordered. One, in the Bunks when it’s