A Hole in Time

The Dome - Chapter 6 - Hierarchy Justice

The last thing I did before I went to bed last night was put marks on the ceiling where the c***k stopped. This morning, I again woke before the sun and the c***k was even longer. Our house was starting to fall apart. How can my family feel safe in a building that is falling apart? I can hear the same noises Outside and I go to the window. There is more snow today than there was yesterday. Things are getting worse. I hear the same man, I think his name was Duncan, giving another report. 

"Sir, there were three leaks today. The same two as yesterday and a new one opened over the Healers Centre. Is there anything that can be done to patch the holes?" I can hear the man sigh. "No, Duncan, there is nothing to be done. How can we patch energy? It is not like someone can climb up there and nail a piece of wood over the hole." I put a hand over my mouth to stop the giggles. That is a really funny mental image. Duncan agrees with me. "Yes, sir, that is true. Has there been any progress tracking the power leech?" The man starts to pace like he did yesterday. "No, nothing comes up. It is almost as if the computers have been re-wired to direct the energy elsewhere, but still tell the meters that the energy is going to the grid. It is very puzzling." 

They start to walk away, so I do not hear any more of their conversation. I want to check something regarding my family, so I creep out of my room and into my brothers room. I am shocked speechless by the sight. I have to have been right. Something mechanical has come out of the bed head and is clamped onto John's head. There is a light in his left temple and it is pulsing. I slowly creep out of the room and go to check on my parents. I walk into the room and look at their two beds. The same mechanical thing is attached to their heads and the same pulsing light is emitted from their temples. They are laying on their backs, arms by their sides, just like people in a coma at the Healers centre. 

I back out of their room and creep back to mine. I am not sure what to do with this information. I tip-toe over to my window, looking for Liam, and I discover that he is not in bed. My heart beats in my chest as my brain races. Has he been arrested? Has he been killed? What has happened to him? I can feel a scream building in my gut, rising to erupt, when I see movement in his doorway. I can see him tip-toe over to his window, and wave at me. He has a shocked look on his face and he taps his left temple. I nod and point towards both John's room and my parents room. Liam stands up tall and pulls his arms in by his sides and I nod furiously. At least It is not just my family that are incapacitated like this. 

Liam points to the sky then puts his hands together under his cheek. This, I know, is him warning me that the sun will be rising soon and the Hierarchy think we are still asleep. I nod and wave. He waves too, and closes his curtains. I turn to my wardrobe and pull out another drab set of gray school clothes. I think about how we are all dressed in the same clothes, learning the same things, doing the same things and  being the same people. This is what the Hierarchy wants, complete control over every single one of us. In the Dome, everyone is the same, so Liam and I are in danger. As I pull on my drab clothes, fear hits me. Unless I can prove to the Hierarchy that I am the same as everyone else and not draw any attention to myself, Liam and I could be arrested and sent Outside the Dome. Our families would not be exempt either. 

In the past, there have been people who disobeyed the Hierarchy, and we learnt about them in history. One that springs to mind is the man who was stealing extra food. He and his family were dragged into the square and publicly declared to be traitors, thieves, and no longer protected citizens of the Dome. The crowd followed them to the edge of the Dome where the heads of Hierarchy, Unionists and Healers opened the exit and shoved them Outside. All three leaders need to be in agreement and all three keys are needed to open the exit. I remember watching the video recording of the justice. I will never forget the cries of the two children, the pleas for mercy from the mother and the shouts of injustice from the father, the guilty man. 

I have always known that the Hierarchy's justice is swift and final, but it never seemed to bother me. Only now that I might be the victim of that hand of justice does it seem to be overbearing and unforgiving. I firmly agree with the man from that video recording, the Hierarchy is too powerful and unjust. 

The weight of my uniform bears down on me. I can feel every fibre of the shirt dig into my skin like a lash. I stare into the glass of my mirror, and watch my reflection as the sun rises. I stare into the eyes of my reflection and I wonder who it is that is staring back. Who am I? Am I a Healers child? Am I a Dome citizen? Who would I be without the Hierarchy? I am so caught up in these thoughts that I almost miss my cue for morning greetings.

This is another thing that the Hierarchy instigated at the third generation. Children apparently needed to learn to respect their parents, so now we bow to them every morning before breakfast, when we leave for school, every afternoon when we get home and every night as we head for bed. I do not see how this is supposed to make me respect my parents, but I do it all the same. I go through the motions and every time I catch my breath, I can feel eyes watching me from every angle.