The 13th Continuum (Book 1: The Continuum Trilogy)

Chapter 5: The Sentencing

As Myra departed the Souk with her pockets brimming with candy, the lights dimmed throughout the entire colony, and the tone sounded twice this time. This was the Second Warning.

Right away, the crowd of Factum at the Souk began to disperse. Soon the Hockers would start breaking down their stalls and preparing for the close of the market.

"Hurry up. We're late," Paige said, always the official task- master of their group. "Rickard, that means you."

Rickard was loitering by a booth that sold spicy crab rolls. He stuffed the rest of a ginger cookie in his mouth. "Just trying . . . to maximize my free time," he mumbled between chews.

"You won't have any free time if you get marked tardy again," Paige said. "Mr. Richardson has it out for you."

"Lynch, you heard her," Kaleb said. "Your dad will kill you if you get another one."

That settled it—they hurried away from the Souk.

As they passed the Infirmary, Myra spotted an orange flag hoisted over the door and a long line snaking out the front. Though the doctors worked tirelessly, there were never enough appointments to go around. Plenus always got seen first, followed by Factum, and then Hockers if there were any spots left. Often they never got seen at all.

Paige's mother, the Head Doctor, was busy triaging a patient in the line. The elderly man looked like he was having trouble breathing.

"Another health warning?" Myra asked.

Paige followed her gaze to the flag. "Oh, right, I heard my mom talking about it this morning. There was another allergen release from the Aquafarm. The Synod issued a warning, but it's nothing serious, just some excess pollen from the new batch of crops or something."

"Guess that explains the long line," Myra said. Paige nodded. "And the orange color."

Orange signified some kind of air contamination, blue was for water contamination, and yellow meant the flu. The flag that they all feared the most was red. That meant that there was another Pox outbreak. The last one occurred almost thirty years ago and killed over a hundred people, including Maude's husband and children.

They neared the Church. Since they'd left the Souk, the crowd gathered in front of it had grown larger. A priest was speaking from the top of the steps, which wound up to the entrance in a tight spiral. The centerpiece of the Church was the Oracle itself—a conch shell gilded in precious metals. When held to one's ear, the Holy Sea could be heard rushing and roaring through it and delivering sacred messages.

Myra knew she should keep going—the Final Warning would be flashing shortly. But curiosity got the better of her. She signaled her friends, and they pushed through the crowd to get a better view.

"People of the One True Colony under the Holy Sea," Padre Flavius spoke to the crowd in his deep baritone.

Now that Myra was closer, she could tell that this was no ordinary sermon. A group of Patrollers lurked behind the priests in their black uniforms. She spotted Jasper, the apprentice from the corridor, and Head Patroller Lynch, Rick- ard's father.

"The Oracle teaches us that the Holy Sea provides every- thing we need," Padre Flavius said. He had a black beard, waxed to a fine point, beady eyes set a little too close together, and thin lips that he liked to purse whenever he disapproved of something, which seemed to happen quite often. The other priests flanked the Head Priest in their matching crimson robes. "The water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat."

The crowd voiced their support. "Amen!"

"But through his sins, mankind brought the Great Doom upon himself. A mighty scourge rose up and devoured the Earth, turning it into ash and fire. But the Holy Sea saved the Chosen People. She delivered them into her sacred waters. She cleansed them of sin and gave them a Safe Harbor."