The Ivory Tower Read Free

watching the people wait for the third bell.
    “None of that really
matters anyway. In a couple weeks we’ll be too busy with the factory to worry
about boredom and rules.”
    “Has your mom told you
anything about the factory yet?”
    Christine shook her
head, and frowned. “No, it’s like she pretends that part of the day doesn’t
exist. She never mentions it, and I don’t bring it up. I’m sure it’s just
tedious. I mean, how much is there to talk about with sewing? A stitch here, a
stitch there. I’m sure they’ve all run out of things to talk about anymore.”
    “Well, we’ll liven up that
group then when we start. But before we do that,” she said, with the side of
her mouth turning up mischievously, “what do you say we skip out and take
advantage of the sunshine? Do you think we can find it again, the tower?”
    “Let it go, Simone.” Her
voice hardened. “We can’t go back there.”
    “What aren’t you
telling me? There’s obviously more to the story. What did your parents tell
you?” Her stomach knotted.
    Leaning forward,
Christine looked around before dropping her voice to a whisper. “Ok. My mom
told me a little more once she calmed down. All she would say was that the
tower brought death and disaster for all who went there. It’s bad stuff,
Simone. Everyone that’s gone near it has come back contaminated, scarred, or
dead.”
    They locked eyes, and a
new shiver ran through her.
    “Even your mother,”
Christine’s voice quivered. “About twelve years ago, there was a shortage to
the rations, and work was getting tough. A group went out, searching for extra
food, animals to hunt- anything to lessen the burden in camp. Instead, they
found the tower. There were a lucky few that the guards found in time, but even
they didn’t escape unscathed. Something horrible happened to all of them. Some
died, some came back scarred, but everyone came back a different person.”
    “Whoa, why I haven’t I
heard about this?”
    Christine looked at her.
“You were only three. It’s not the sort of thing someone would tell you. And
even now, no one wants to talk about it. A lot don’t even remember it, or just
pretend it didn’t happen.”
    “How do you even know
that it’s true, then?”
    Christine raised her
eyebrows, and gave her a knowing look. “Have you ever looked closely at Mr.
Booker, or James, the oldest farm boy? Look at their hands next time we line up.
They are all marked, melted from contaminates. They were on that expedition,
and even though they came back, they came back changed. Something out there is
bad, something associated with that tower, and the outside. Everyone that
survived refuses to leave the center of camp. It just goes to show what we have
been told. The world out there is still bad, and the camp is here to protect us
from it.”
    Simone packed the rest
of her rations into the steel container at her hip. “I know you’re right. You
always are. It’s just that when I saw the tower, something inside me changed. When
I saw it, I don’t know,” she sighed. “It just made me feel.”
    “Made you feel what?”
    Simone gave her a sad
smile and shrugged. “It just made me feel.”
    Both jerked at the
sound of the third bell.
    Simone hazarded a wink.
“What should we do today then?”
    “I’m sorry, I have to
go to class today,” Christine said regretfully, jumping off the post. “I’ll see
you tomorrow.”
    Simone watched her go,
feeling the emptiness resonate as the third bell went silent.
     
    ***
     
    Plagued by nightmares
and visions of the tower, morning did not come fast enough. Simone stared at
the window, watching the slow transition of the stars fading to gray before the
morning sun rose. As soon as the light breached the window, she ran out the
door, leaving the other kids still sleeping in their beds.
    Wrapping her arms
inside the sleeves of her shirt, she walked toward the center of camp, feeling
her teeth chatter. Looking to the sky, she realized