A Hole in Time

The Hole - Chapter 18 - Healers gathering

John and Scarlett agree that they have to be decoys, seemingly obedient to instructions, but collecting information for us at the same time. They look at the clock on my wall and gasp. Our parents will be home soon. They collect themselves and go back downstairs to the dining room. Liam has to go to his house soon, or the cameras will see him leaving my house. The cameras will come back on for two hours from when the Healers leave the centre to when they should be home. This is to help in the tracking of Healers and it will be the same in each area of the Dome. Liam pulls me into his arms and holds me tight. We both know, but do not say, that we could be caught at any moment. 

I am reluctant to let go of Liam, but I know that time is not on our side. I say good bye to Liam and he walks out. I am starting to long for the day when we figure out how to get out of here. Then Liam and I can show the world how we feel about each other and not have to stand arms-length apart in public. I know there are better things to do, but I sit at my desk and think about what life will be like on the Outside. I want to find a place that is like our field, with trees and flowers, a river and a small pond, and far away from any other buildings. Then Liam and I could build a house, grow flowers, grow our own food, all using the gardening book, and we could live in peace. 

I am still locked in my day-dream when John touches my shoulder. "Grace, It is almost time for dinner. Scarlett has gone home. I was wondering if you could explain a little bit more for me." I smile up at my brother. It is almost funny. Liam and Scarlett are twins and John and I are twins, but that is not the way we look. John and Scarlett both have blond hair, green eyes, and dimples on their cheekbones. Liam and I have black hair, blue eyes, and we do not have dimples. John's hair is short, like our fathers. Scarlett always wears her hair in a ponytail. She has never cut her hair, so it is longer than her arms. Liam wears his hair a little bit longer, so that it touches his shoulders. I have not let my hair out in ages. It always stays up, close to my head, braided around my head like a crown. All the other girls wear ponytails like Scarlett. 

I snap myself out of this sidetrack. Comparing all the differences between my twin and myself is not going to help me tell John what he wants to know. I tell John to sit down, motioning to my bed, then I pull the book out of my backpack. "This is one of the books that I was given. It is a collection of all different information that we might need.  Have a look and ask me whatever you want." I pass it to John and he starts reading at the first page. I turn my attention to my notes of the equation in the schematic book. Liam has that book because I wanted him to look at the words. 

The equation looks easy enough to solve, so I pull out a fresh sheet of paper. I sharpen my pencil and start to solve the equation. Numbers flow, each one separate but connected to another. I find myself caught up in a flood of numbers, each part of the equation pulling me deeper and deeper in, begging me to find the answer. Then, when I find the answer, it stumps me. There were two equations, so there are two answers. I sit there, scratching my head, unable to solve the biggest mystery. What do the answers mean?

John clears his throat and I turn around. He has finished the book. Did I take that long on the equations? He turns to a page and asks me what it means. I look closer and am shocked to see that it is the answer to the mystery of the equations that I just solved. It is a map of the Dome, like an old paper map that we saw pictures of in our history books. There are numbers down the left side and across the top. I scramble over to my book shelf and pull off one of my history books. It shows how to read one of the old maps. I turn to put the book on my desk and I see the time. John and I are almost late for dinner.

I take the book from John and put it inside the history book. I will not have time to look at them later tonight, because tonight is a special night, so I shove them into my backpack, along with the sheets of paper with the equations. I did not notice John leave the room, but he comes back, dressed in his good clothes. He reminds me that I need to change, then leaves the room again. How does he walk that quietly? I shake all un-needed thoughts from my head and hurry to my wardrobe. 

I reach for my good clothes, pull out the hanger and place it on the hook Outside my wardrobe. I quickly change clothes, exchanging gray pants for gray pants and a gray shirt for a gray shirt. Unlike our school uniform, our good clothes are looser. My pants are loosely gathered at the waist, allowing for breathing and movement, and they hang from there. The fabric is softer that the harsh woollen pants I wear every other day. It is almost as soft as the grass in the field. My shirt is not as loose as my school shirt. It is fitted from under the bust, just meeting the pants. The sleeves are long and loose, not fitted anywhere. The neckline is not rounded, but cut into a v shape. It makes me feel pretty. 

I walk downstairs, bow to my parents and my brother, and take my place at the end of our family. Tonight is special. We will not eat in our houses. Tonight, all Healers will meet outside the Healers centre. Tomorrow is Birth day. Everyone in the Dome has the same birthday, so the night before, all Healers gather outside the Healers centre to celebrate those turning 18 tomorrow. Those who turn 18 report to the Hierarchy building first thing in the morning. They will sign their marriage agreement and be issued a house. They will then have one week to get to know each other and then they must go to work. So, tonight is about parents saying goodbye to their children. 

I watch all the parents speak about their child, but every speech sounds the same. Fathers are proud of their daughter or son, mothers cry because they are losing a child, sons are happy to be stepping out from their parents house and daughters are weeping. It is all the same, so none of it seems real. Is the computer actually letting these people say these things or is it all just programmed? It that why it is all the same? I watch the families at the other tables, each crying at the same time, all except John, Scarlett, Liam and I. This answer my question. The computer is controlling even this. No emotion is allowed that the computer has not decreed.