Everett: Revised edition

Chapter 8 Part 1

*Please remember to vote, comment, or share with your fellow readers

The lair was dark and held many hollows like a catacomb. The rooms were cramped, but within these cramped rooms were walls of torches and within the walls were carved bookshelves. The lair held books that I'd never read before. There was something called the Bible, ancient texts of poetry, and someone's guide to the galaxy. It would be something if humans could make it to the stars.

At every meeting I saw different faces. What had this school done to turn so many people against the Community? So many of those new faces were teachers that seemed so unwavering on adhering to the Community Rule. That same seriousness came through in the meetings. The children were serious too. They were not the same weak and feeble students with their heads bowed, but solemn and proud crusaders of change.

These same students and teachers spoke openly about their ideas on the Community and how it could be run differently, but more importantly, how the government could be overturned to do so. The Shadow Council contemplated the options and there were a few that were highly considered. Each idea was thought out and erased by burning in the fire. Each plan could be added on to as long as someone from the previous meeting was there to recite it back to the Council.

I had taken a book off of the shelf and was mindlessly flipping through the pages. I felt anxious for the meeting to start but out of place not knowing anyone at the meeting, and Greg had wandered off into the semi crowded room. Pockets of students and teachers met in groups around the tight room. I looked up and looked around somehow hoping to recognize someone...anyone.

I looked back down to the browned pages of the text I was holding. This one just had the number 1-9-8-4 in gold embossed letters on a red cover. Was it supposed to be a year? I wonder what happened that year that it had a whole book devoted to it?

I did a final passthrough of the pages without even skimming the words. The pages created a fan that wafted air up to my face. Then I gently closed the book and replaced it on the bookshelf. Despite the low ceiling of the lair, the shelves seemed to tower over my head and felt imposing.

I moved away from the bookshelf in hopes that I would find Greg in the crowd. The candles on the walls were melting and I was sure the meeting would start shortly. The three larger chairs were set in a prominent spot off-centered in the middle of the room. A small podium stood before the chairs and a candle was glowing atop it. A book lay on the top of the podium along with a pencil. The closeness and movement of the bodies in the crowd moved me like the tides through the room until I was near the podium. The notebook sat casually in its place waiting for the meeting to start too. People who were not the leaders leaned on the large chairs near me. The warm light of the candle invited my eye to visit the little leather cover. The brown cover glowed with the candlelight in an inviting orange. I reached out and opened the book out of curiosity to see what may have been left inside. A few scribbles were left here and there, but ultimately the vast number of pages were blank.

As I looked at the empty pages, I came across one more with something scrolled on it. Then, the light glowing from the candle began to dance and a shadow eclipsed the glow. Standing in front of me was a man.

"Are you finding anything interesting?"

My mouth fell open and locked. It was the security guard from the video room. The guard looked up and beyond my shoulder. "Looks like they're about to get started". He closed the notebook as I had my hand still lightly on it then he moved off to the side to watch from the front row.

The Shadow Council leaders were taking their seats and the Council members swirled and settled into a circle around the chairs. I moved to the edge of the circle, working my way back a few layers. I settled in to where I felt comfortable surrounded and obscured by students of my age. Looking over the shoulders of many students, I saw the seated leaders, two men and one woman, waiting for everyone to settle in and quiet down.

The man in the center chair stood. The other two looked at him intently as the weight of what he was about to say weighed on them before descending on the students.

"We need a graduate". 

*Anything you love about the story so far? Any changes you'd like to see?