A Hole in Time

The Dome - Chapter 10 - More cameras

I stumble my way through greetings and breakfast, anxious to get to the field with Liam. I have so much to tell him and I hope he has noticed a few things too. I checked the c***k in my ceiling before I came down to breakfast and it is still growing. The lights in the house seem to be growing dimmer as well. Like I heard the man say, It is almost like the energy is being sucked out. 

I start to bite my lip in deep thought. Some of my history books show all the different things Outside the Dome that could kill you. I remember that one was a leech. Liam and I love that creature, merely because we think that is what our uniforms are like. Leeches, but energy leeches. So, if the energy is being sucked out of the shield, it stands to reason that there should be a leech on the power generator. If that leech could be found, the drain could be stopped. I file this thought away in my mind to write in the books later.

I am so distracted by my thoughts that I almost bump into the line of girls at school. I laugh inwardly. I did not think about walking to school. I did not even think about lining up. It is normal and It is what I do every day. I can understand how everyone else just follows what they are supposed to do. It is as if their brains have been turned off. They only do what the Hierarchy tell them to do. This thought makes me frown and my frown continues to deepen as the day goes along. First I notice that every girl in my group arranges her desk the same way. Pencil in the right hand, paper turned slightly, eraser at the top and pencil case to the left. I look down at my desk and I can see that I have picked the pencil up in my left hand. My handwriting is neater than ever, so I decide to keep writing with my left hand. 

The next thing that deepens my frown is mathematics. I can understand that mathematics has to be done a certain way or it is wrong. However, it is bordering on ridiculous that each girl writes each number at the exact same time. I sit in the back corner of the room, so I can see every other girl at once. I am shocked to see every one of them tip their head, write the number, and look up at the board for the next number. It is like sitting in a room with a group of mirrors.

Other little things deepen my frown, like the fact that we have to walk in our line from room to room, the teachers say the same things that they did last year, and all the cameras and microphones that I can see around. I also see multiple cracks in the ceilings and walls. When I walk in my line from room to room, I stare down at the floor. What I see there would almost make me laugh if it did not scare me so badly. There are two worn paths in the floor, one on each side of the passageway, and the middle is both a different colour and higher. School children have been walking these paths for 15 generations, and it has worn the ground down. Why does not anyone walk in the middle of the passageway?

The first break I get from my frowning is our daily time on the playground. It is not really a playground, that is just a name I found in one of my history books and it seems to fit. The Hierarchy call it the obstacle course and it is meant to make us strong. I do not see how running around and over things and crawling through tunnels is meant to make us strong, but I do enjoy being out of the building. After our time on the obstacle course, Scarlett and I sit and wait for John and Liam. Scarlett sits on the seats provided nearby while I climb onto the bar like I normally do. 

I sit comfortably on the bar, getting into the position I normally occupy, watching the door for Liam's appearance. I can feel something moving off to the side and I look at it. It is another camera, but this one is not hidden in any way. It is not looking at me, It is looking straight up at the shield. It looks like a new installation. Of course, I remember. Duncan reported that there was a leak in the shield over the school. They must have installed the camera in hopes to video the leak. I look up, but all I see is the projected blue sky that is part of the energy shield. Maybe the leak only appears at night when the energy shield is not being taxed. But that does not really make sense. Why would not the leak appear when the shield is working at maximum? That would be the time that it would be easiest for something to fall through.

I am still looking at the sky when I feel a tap at my feet. I look down and smile at Liam. I was too caught up the wondering about the shield to watch for Liam to come out. I climb down the side of the bar, bow respectfully to my brother, grab my bag and walk away with Liam. I look at the buildings as we walk along, noticing every c***k, every camera, and every microphone. The more I look for them, the easier they are to find. I cannot wait to get to the field and write all the things I have found into one of the books Liam's ancestor brought into the Dome.