A Crack in the Sky Read Free

light. He climbed down from the generator and walked around, scanning the ground for charred material, any shards of metal or broken glass or melted plastic, any evidence at all that something had exploded overhead.
    He found nothing.
    Disappointed, he abandoned the spyglass and stared back at the sky from the top of the generator with his naked eyes. He’d been so sure the burst of sparks was real. So where was the debris? Was it possible the cleaning droids could have so quickly discovered the mess and cleared it away? Or had Dr. Toffler been right after all, that it was just a digital image he’d mistaken as genuine? No. Eli could tell the difference. He’d arrived after the cleaning droids, that was all, which meant now he had to go home empty-handed, unable to prove what he was sure he’d seen.
    He blew out a long breath. All he could do now was climb over the wall again and head back home. When he turned to retrieve the spyglass, though, to his surprise it wasn’t where he’d left it. He’d dropped it in the grass by the hedge—he was sure of it—and yet there was nothing there anymore. It wasgone! He looked around in a panic. That spyglass was special. It had belonged to Father when he was a boy. How could he have lost it in such a small space?
    Out of the corner of his eye he saw something move. The hedge shook, and a dark shape shifted inside it. Somebody was in there, and suddenly Eli was sure that, whoever it was, they had taken the spyglass. He stepped forward.
    “Hey, what are you doing in there?” he demanded. “Give it back!”
    The leaves shook again, but otherwise there was no answer. He crouched and parted the plastic branches. Peering inside, he saw something disappear into the ground—at least, that’s what it looked like. The earth seemed to move, and then there was nothing.
    “Who are you? What department do you work for?”
    But the shadow was gone. Eli crawled under the leaves, inching forward. Groping around with his hands, he discovered something near the base of the wall. It was a hinged flap, stiff and round. It had been left open, but when he touched it, Eli realized its upper side matched the texture of the ground, as if it were meant to blend in when it was closed.
    It was a hidden door. A secret entrance to a hole in the ground.
    He peered into it. The opening was just wide enough for one person to fit through. There was a ladder, but it was too dark to see the bottom. He knew he shouldn’t go down there. The company had firm rules about restricted areas, but what was he supposed to do? A thief had taken the spyglass and he had to get it back!
    He climbed in.
    The ladder went down quite a distance before Eli touched the floor. The heat was stifling. There was a damp smell too, and the sound of water dripping. He decided that whomever he was following must be an employee from the Department of Plumbing. Through the dim light, he could just make out that the ceiling ahead was lined with giant pipes and that thick cables ran along the walls.
    He stood still, listening for footsteps.
    “Hello …?”
    No answer, just the hiss and grind of machinery. There was only one direction to go in, though, and that was forward. Within a few steps the passage narrowed, and he had to crouch to fit under the pipes. It was so hot he could barely breathe.
    He crept forward, groping his way through the shadows. It was spooky down here. Far above, he could see the grates in the sidewalk, unreachable through the tangle of pipes, and the shoes of pedestrians moving along on the street. As far as he could tell, he was heading toward the eastern perimeter. Would this tunnel go all the way to the edge of the dome? What was it for? And where
was
that thieving employee?
    “Hey!” he called. “Who’s there? Can anybody hear me?”
    Nothing.
    Farther in, the pipes sank so low that he had to drop to his hands and knees and crawl. Water trickled onto his head and splashed in little puddles on the floor. He