The Blue Tower

Chapter 8

MAX HOLDS THE envelope like it's a crab trying to pinch him. Most of the other kids in the underwater room have cleared out. It's eerily quiet for a moment, as a sea turtle glides by a few feet away.

"Go on," Helena says. "Read it."

"It's just a few words." Max turns the note around so we can all see the odd symbols on it. "Can anyone else understand it?"

No one else speaks up. I rack my brain for how this is possible. The writing must be a different language, but we all use the same language to talk with each other.

"How can you read it?" I ask.

Max glares at me. "Newbie wants my story. Didn't you hear Helena? We aren't supposed to share that stuff from the Sieve. No chance I'm telling you."

"I don't really care." It comes out harsher than I'd meant it. "I just want to know how you can read it. Is it a different language?"

"Newbie's feeling lost." Max laughs.

I start to feel angry again. He seems to have forgotten that I blew him out of his desk. My hand raises off the table.

"That's enough, both of you," Hank says firmly, and my hand lowers. He looks to me. "It is a different language. When Abram lets you look in the Sieve, you'll begin to learn from your past. Don't get too excited though. You probably won't like what you see." He turns to Max. "Can you read the note now?"

"It's instructions," Max says, studying the note again. "It reads: Cipher will lead you into the Scouring in two days. Your objective is to return safely to the Blue Tower with Emma."

Helena snatches the note away from Max. "The Scouring already? Who's Emma?"

Max's arms fall to his sides, like he's glad he doesn't have to hold the paper anymore. "It says Yellow after her name," he says. "That's all."

"How do we get ready for the Scouring?" I ask.

"Besides what you heard in class," Kiyo says, "about the fight between the towers, and trying to capture people from the other colors, none of us really know." She glances around the table. "None of us have been out of the tower yet, right?"

No one volunteers.

"It's the main reason we're here," says a girl with long red hair and a sad face. She had introduced herself as Mabel. "Abram told me we have to survive the Scouring to move on."

"Move on to where?" Max asks, still eyeing the note in Helena's hands. "This has to be a stupid game."

"Don't say that," Kiyo says softly.

"Why not?" Max stands, fists planted on the table. "We have no reason to trust Abram, or anybody else here."

Kiyo doesn't answer.

The red haired girl, Mabel, speaks up. "None of us remember anything before Abram let us see in the Sieve. He welcomed us, brought us in. Why shouldn't we trust him?"

"Seriously?" Max scoffs. "Abram probably kidnapped us, wiped our memories, and uses the Sieve to control us. He gave us this stupid assignment." Max points at me. "He's the one who put this wind-blower in charge of our group, even though he's the newbie. None of it makes sense. I'm not trusting anyone."

Helena places her hand on Max's arm, like a mother calming a petulant child. "But what about the Scouring?" she asks. "I don't think we have a choice. If Abram makes us go there, what else are we supposed to do?"

Max steps back from the table. "I say we fend for ourselves."

Hank stands up, facing Max. "The note says we follow Cipher. We all heard Sarai. We have to stay together."

"Suit yourself," Max says. "I'm leaving."

"But you can't—" Hank begins.

"Why not?" Max snaps. "You can't stop me."

Hank looks to me, as if seeking support. Despite his size, there's something timid about his soft face and sandy hair. I think he's right. Why not trust Abram? For good or bad, it seems like he's the only one who can show me the Sieve and my memories. Maybe he's the only one who can help us get out of here.

I nod at Hank.

"Idiots." Max turns to go. "Good luck out there."

Hank grabs Max's shoulder. "No. Sarai said to stay together."

Max jerks away. "Let me go."

Hank grabs for him again, and Max swings. The punch lands square in Hank's face, but he hardly budges. He rears back his fist and goes at Max with a roundhouse.

Max ducks, then throws another punch. This time Hank staggers back, trips over a chair and goes down hard. I hear the heavy thud of his head on the glass floor.

Mabel and Kiyo rush to him. He's not moving. They shout for help.

Max flees the room. Helena follows after him.

I watch in a daze as two white-robed boys hurry in with a cart and take Hank away. The way they move, and how fast they came, makes me think this is not unusual. A fragment of a memory comes to me about people getting hurt. A word flashes in my mind: hospital. The word feels overwhelmingly familiar, but it's like a hollow jar with the meaning sucked out of it. The gap in my mind makes me dizzy, forcing me to my knees. My hands press on the clear glass as I stare into the water's dark depths below.