Legacy (The Biodome Chronicles) Read Online Free PDF Page B

trespass.
    Having reached the bottom of the stairs, Leaf darted to a nearby birch tree. He motioned for Oaklee to follow, but she dithered over his request while staring at the white, peeling bark, eerily glowing from the soft illumination of the uppermost biodome panes. Since her sleep was disturbed, her imagination had been visited by visions of the departed, as if her father and mother were guiding their steps. The leaves crunched beneath Oaklee’s bare feet, and she cringed with each step, her resentment building as she approached her brother. She cast a panicked expression toward Leaf and placed flattened hands on her stomach as she breathed heavy from the paranoia of being seen and spooked by the various hauntings.
    “Do not fret, Willow,” Leaf said in a quiet voice.
    She inclined her head and gave her brother a look of patient perseverance for using her given name. Leaf dragged his fingers through his brown curly hair and closed his eyes while his head fell back a few beats, the tension in his jaw returning.
    He straightened and then whispered in a tight voice, “I brought you shoes,” handing over the leather slippers.
    She snatched them from his hands and turned her back, willing her mind to relax. Fingers caressed the soft leather made from goat hides, calming her thoughts, and she glanced over her shoulder at Leaf who offered a kind smile of encouragement. With a slow, labored breath, she placed one foot into a shoe and then the other as Leaf did the same, quickly lacing the leather strings. Leaf took her hand when she stood and led her with gentle, swift movements through the brush and deciduous forest, avoiding the main trail.
    Morbid curiosity tugged on the sleeves of her mind, and Oaklee shifted her attention to the right. The rich earth of The Rows was freshly turned with compost in preparation for where her father would be laid to rest on the morrow. Tears threatened to form as a fresh pain gripped her heart.
    Seeding would begin two days hence for the Third Ceremony following death. She had spent the evening prior with Leaf and Laurel, deciding what would be grown in the three rows that would represent their father’s body, soul and spirit. All three agreed upon purple kale as a choice, their father’s favorite. He loved the vibrant purple and blue colors, a reminder of their mother who was a woman full of life and surprises he often shared. Therefore, it would be sown in the row representing the soul who had finally reunited with his mate. Were her mother’s ashes still a part of the soil?
    Consumed by such inconsolable thoughts, Oaklee did not immediately notice that they approached the path leading to the rainforest biome. She tightened her hold on Leaf’s hand and emotionally prepared to leave the main biodome for the ancillary enclosure with vastly different ecological controls. Leaf had conveniently left this portion out of his request, knowing she did not have a fondness for the jungle.
    After running through the South Cave, a narrow stone tunnel connecting the domes, Leaf opened a hewn wooden door and pulled Oaklee behind nearby banana plants. The large leaves dripped with condensation, and Oaklee scrunched up her face as the water hit her forehead. As irritating as the droplets became, she was nonetheless grateful to be sheltered from any eyes that may have spotted their forms creeping along the path . The temperature and humidity in the tropics biome was oppressive, and Oaklee wished she could remove her cloak to find relief. Remaining concealed was paramount, however, and she willed herself to think of something other than the choking heat and thick moist air.
    Leaf gained her attention, then lifted a finger to his lips, moving his head to the left with two sharp nods. With swift movements, he became a shadow among the tropical plants until she could no longer see him. Every muscle stiffened, and her breathing labored against the sweltering air. She had lost him, his movements