A Hole in Time

The List - Chapter 24 - 1725

Liam goes searching for the next step. "Of course, that makes sense. The man practically gave me the answer in the next step. Here, listen to this."

"Now you know where to go

But how do you get there?

Find that which will show

Watch it change as you stare.

It always runs, but stays in one place.

How long will you stare at its face?

The second number will point the way.

Look and follow what I say."

"It is talking about the clock on the top of the Hierarchy building." I stare at the map. The Hierarchy building is the perfect place to keep the computer. But now, how to we find which room? "Okay, It is the Hierarchy building, and the clock. Is the room behind the clock or something?" "Gracie, think about it. The last two lines. 'The second number will point the way.'" I stand up and start to pace the floor. "What do you mean, the second number? Like the 2 on a clock? Is the room hanging in the middle of the air?"

John laughs. "No, Grace, your second number. The 1725. That will point the way. Think of it as a time. 17:25. All digital clocks use the 24 hour time, but the clock on the Hierarchy building is not a digital clock. When it gets to 17:25, the hands on the clock will point the way." I walk over and through my arms around John. "I knew my brother was smart for a reason. Okay, so do we have to wait for 17:25, or can we go now?"

The clock on my desk says that It is almost 4pm or 16:00. "If we leave now, the cameras are not on. We could make it to the Hierarchy building and hide out while everyone leaves to go home." Liam and John agree with me, but Scarlett speaks up. "Just one question. Did not you say that John and I can be tracked? If we all go to the Hierarchy building, they will find us."

I had forgotten about that. John and Scarlett are still microchipped and until we figure out how to destroy the computer, they will stay microchipped. They can still be tracked, which is why we had asked them to be decoys. We need to be able to move freely, so we cannot take John and Scarlett with us. Liam and I look to each other, neither of us wanting to be the one who has to tell them to stay behind.

We stare at each other for so long, that John is the one who finally speaks up. "Listen, It is safer for all of us if Scarlett and I stay here. We have been here all afternoon. The computer will not think anything strange. Scarlett is here every afternoon. We will just behave like today is a normal school day. We will go downstairs and sit at the dining room table. When it is time for our parents to arrive home, we will bow respectfully like we do every day and then Scarlett will go home. I will see her to the door, bow, and we will continue like we are told to."

I smile at my brother. It is interesting to hear what they do every day. Liam and I escape to the field, but John and Scarlett stay here, in this house, every day. We all stand up and embrace each other. There is quite a possibility that Liam and I will get caught. We are going into the Hierarchy building, into Hierarchy territory, and we do not know what to expect. We might be walking straight into a trap. We do not know. But we must try. The lives of every person here in the Dome and every person on the Outside depends on us. We have to destroy that computer.

We all walk downstairs, trying to be as robotic as possible. We reach the dining room, bow to each other, just in case the cameras are turned on, then John and Scarlett sit at the table. I look from Liam to John and Scarlett, and I am encouraged by the knowledge that John and Scarlett will sit there like normal, and they will cover for the fact that Liam and I are going into Hierarchy territory to destroy the computer that should be tracking us.

With a final look over our shoulder, and checking that we have all the books and papers that we need, we step out of the front door. Careful not to let cameras see us, even if they are turned off, Liam and I creep down the street, hand in hand, towards the centre of the Dome.