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

him. With more and more coughing, he realizes that going up the Ladder has become more dangerous than he originally thought and he longs for the familiarity and safety of the Mines.
                The decision made, he unhooks his arm from the rung and nearly loses his balance. With difficulty, he steadies himself. He wants down as quickly as possible but definitely not that fast.
                With slow but sure steps down, the teenager goes back through the smog cloud, trying his best to hold his breath. If a moderate amount in his lungs makes him feel like this then more can only make it worse.
                He lowers himself through the cloud and is tempted to look up at what could have been but thinks better of it and keeps his attention on each rung that he passes. Focusing on one point helps with the dizziness.
                As the cough worsens, it’s a relief to see the tunnel lights become more frequent and in greater numbers.
                 It becomes more obvious that he is closer to the bottom as the tunnel brightens and the sound of voices becomes louder. Some of them are yelling for him to go back while others urge him to hurry down. He knows he is back at the mouth of the tunnel as the brightest of the lights flood his vision. His foot enters the Junction, followed by the rest of him. He finally looks down and sees the Ladder is surrounded by other kids, all yelling. The noise echoes in his ears, amplified by the vertigo, almost making him lose his grip. But he is able to recompose himself. He takes one more step down when a strong hand grabs his ankle and yanks him off the Ladder.
                The teenager hits the ground and panics as the air is forced out of his lungs. It’s painful but grants a temporary halt to the coughing. The Guard reaches down, grabs the teenager’s shirt and yanks him off the ground. The teen tries to catch his breath but success only serves to bring back the cough.
                “See? You all come back. And what did it get you? You got the Sick. I should put you in the Ban with it. Let you think about your choices.” The Guard sneers at the coughing teenager.                  The teen’s legs wobble as they try to find solid ground behind the vertigo but the Guard won’t let him find his balance.
                “Let me through,” a voice urges from behind the Guard. The Doctor pushes her way through the mob of kids. “What is wrong with you? He needs to be quarantined immediately. Before we’re all infected.” She grabs hold of the sick teenager and works hard to pry the Guard’s hands off of him.
                The kids surrounding them quickly raise their hands to cover their mouths. Some of the bigger kids cover the mouths of the younger ones. It is a rare thing that the Sick is caught too late. Most of the time the Doctor gets to it fast enough to save the rest of the Mine. Further infection is rare but it has happened before.
                “If we had machines doing the mining, this wouldn’t be a problem,” the Guard calls out as the Doctor helps the teenager through the crowd of kids to her office.
     
     
                Joe looks at Lauren with his shirt covering his nose and mouth. Lauren kneels on the ground with her own hand covering her mouth and another covering Marvin’s.
                “That could have been you,” she scolds.
                “Don’t get the Sick, Joe,” Marvin seconds with genuine concern in his voice.
                Joe knows that they’re right. Of course they’re right. It’s the one rule of the Mines. No one goes up the Ladder. Certainly not without something bad happening. Still, he looks back at it and tries to figure out how to make the climb work, but also wondering if it is even a good idea to try. After all, no one has ever made it to the top. As far as any of them