There Once Were Stars Read Online Free PDF Page A

radiation sickness?”
    “He was wearing protection.”
    “No, he wasn’t. I was in the lobby when they brought him in.
    “You don’t know everything, plus, who cares? We have more important things to worry about. Like right now, this tree.”
    “But what if it’s safe outside?”
    “Then they’ll let us know after they talk to him.”
    The saw starts up again. I creep around the perimeter of the clearing until I reach the bushes that rest against the edge of the dome. I crouch down, until I’m lying on my stomach, and then drag myself along the ground, concealed amongst the bushes.
    Ahead I can see something shine in the dirt. I scoot faster, my sounds masked by the saw. When I’m almost within arm’s reach, the shape of the locket is visible. How could I have been so stupid? I start to reach out of the bushes when two Order members burst into the clearing. The saw abruptly stops, leaving echoes of its vibrations ringing through the air.
    “How are things going?” An Order member close to my age points to the tree.
    “Almost done,” the woman replies. “Are you here to help us haul out the pieces?”
    “Leave them for the morning,” the other Order member says, waving his hand dismissively as he turns in my direction. He’s older than his partner, but it’s not until he turns around and I see his face that my chest tightens and panic courses through my veins; he’s the one who peered through the glass when the Outsider was captured.
    “Did the Outsider really look inside here?” the other horticulturalist asks.
    “Right over here,” the older Order member says walking toward me as he puffs out his chest. “After I apprehended him, I noticed something wasn’t right with the glass on the dome out there. As I got closer I noticed his handprint; and on the other side was that rotten, old tree. You scientists sure missed this one,” He grunts. “All this wasted space could be creating more oxygen.”
    “We’ve got a job to get back to,” the woman says, irritation at the edge of her words.
    “Hold on!” the younger member exclaims. “Well, what do we have here?”
    Is it my locket? Or worse, have they spotted me? I freeze, tucked under the bushes, too afraid to breathe. If they catch me, that’s it. Everything Grandmother said will come true, only worse because they will think I’m the one conspiring with the Outsider.
    “I’ll be,” the older member says, slapping his partner on the back. “Get my kit out of my pack for me, rookie.”
    “What did you two find?” the male horticulturalist asks.
    “Another handprint,” the younger member says as he leans down and rummages through his bag. He’s low enough that if he were to turn his head, he’d see me staring back at him. I don’t even dare blink, straining to control every ounce of my body. He grabs a box from the bag and stands up, while I slowly let out an exhale.
    “I think we may have found our person of interest,” the older member says. He steps toward the bushes, one foot landing on my locket and the other close to my head. So close, I could reach out and grab him. After a few minutes he exclaims, “Got it! This might be our first chance at catching those rebels. Great job, rookie.”
    “Really?” I can’t see the face of the younger member, but I can hear the pride in his voice. I’m not as congratulatory. I know that once they run those prints, I’m screwed.
    You two get back to work now, and don’t speak a word of this, got it?”
    “Yes, sir.” The sarcasm drips from the woman’s voice.
    The sound of the Order members crunching through the woods adds to my panic. How long will it take them to run that print? I know there’s a record of my prints in the database, from when I started at the Learning Institute. Everyone’s are taken on registration day.
    “Do you really think a rebel was in this clearing?” the male horticulturalist asks.
    “If they were, they better be careful.”
    The rev of the saw fills