Greenhaus Part 1: A Storm Brews Read Online Free PDF Page B

met a quick and violent end after her mom died of the Sickness and her father, and the rest of their camp, was taken by the Rangers.
    The last thing she wanted was to be reassigned from her spotter position into gardening or gathering or even worse, placed as a spotter on the fortress wall. Elder Stone must have noticed the change in Ella’s disposition because she adjusted her speaking tone, composing her thoughts with a deep breath that made the short, barrel shaped woman temporarily fill with air like a balloon, “We have a plan Ella, you have to trust us. Elders Cloud, Skye, and Fire left camp three days ago, promising to return with an army double in size. Nobody is afraid to die, in fact, in order for the plan to be successful, most of us will perish. But for now, you must stand down and return to minicamp and get some rest. That is an order.”
    Ella stewed beneath the surface, but she knew spotters from any minicamp would gladly take her position in the hills, so she followed the orders of Elder Stone and left them to their planning. The hike to the Stone minicamp would have taken the better part of two hours even at a brisk pace, but she had no designs on making that her destination, despite the direct order from Elder Stone. Ella was tired and sorely needed the rest, but had no desire to be around other people. Due to the power down, she could not return to her bunker or spy from the hills. She had a different plan in mind. Her top priority was getting even.
    So Ella followed the order to stand down. She left the fortress as commanded. But she wasn ’t headed back to the Stone minicamp as directed, she was off to explore. To find some peace and quiet, some solitude so she could plot how to go about getting that revenge she so strongly felt to be her birthright.

CHAPTER 3 (Jacob Niles)
     
     
    After swallowing the last bit of his rations, Jacob placed his things in a pile near his workstation cub by hole. After slipping on his protective gloves, called 2nd Hands, he placed the protective face and neck guard on his head. A small filter in the back cleansed his air, while the lower portion of the mask draped down to his shoulders, creating a tight seal. He finished gearing up by tightening and then buckling his utility belt.
    The 2nd Hands were bright yellow and form fitting like Jacob ’s Nu-Skin. When pulled tight, they stretched up his forearm, stopping just shy of his elbow. No matter how many times he put them on, they were always uncomfortable and constricting, requiring adjustments. He pulled them tighter, pushing his hands deep into them, wiggling his fingers. He opened and closed his fists several times until his 2nd Hands fit just right, then rolled the ends of them down almost to his wrist.
    After belting his rivet gun and torch, Jacob clipped into his harness. Jacob signaled to the foreman he was ready to go up, the rest of his equipment awaiting him on the beams. He took one last look out into the nothingness, where he thought he saw the slightest bit of movement. He focused his eyes on the distant hills, looking specifically at the ridge line for movement of some sort, but he saw nothing. Just some trash blowing you paranoid fool, the voice in his head announced.
    The beginning of his ascent jostled him out of his trance, jerking him upward toward the sky. The unfinished steel frame of the dome waited to be completed. The rest of today and many more days ahead would be spent welding and riveting the rest of the skeleton of the massive dome. As the pulley brought him to his perch nine stories above, he stared out the window at the hills, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever he saw, hoping, and praying to Mother Earth that it was nothing.
    According to official protocol, Jacob should have reported anything unusual he spotted, so the Rangers could investigate, but he was sure it was scrap metal from a far away Outsider camp blowing in the wind. With the regularly scheduled, twice weekly powe r down