Silo 49: Deep Dark by Ann Christy Read Free Book Online Page A

but the dreamy smile remained on his face for a moment longer. He drew her away from the pen and back toward their patiently waiting guide and less patiently waiting daughter. He whispered in her ear, "I miss that, but I don't miss knowing what will happen to them."
    They exchanged a look and Marina snuck one more glance back at the kid, pressed against the pen with eyes unwavering upon her, trying to compel her to return and provide additional scritches. If she hadn’t been required elsewhere, the gaze would have worked and she felt her heart give the same little tug she got from the presence of any baby. The kid gave a more excited little bleat, turned and romped toward a group of squealing children arriving at the other end of the pen.
    Sarah said nothing as she led them through the various pens and larger livestock areas and toward the ramp at the back. A large section of the back of the farm was walled off for delivery pens to provide the greatest level of security for mothers and their offspring. As they passed into those quiet areas the noise from the main farms faded. The veterinary areas were also here and they too were walled off to prevent any animal that might get loose from wandering about inside.
    They made their way up the ramp, past rooms cut from the thick concrete that made up the many yards between levels, and into the Animal Farm Support area tucked into this small section of Level 89. It could be accessed only from the ramp, probably to the relief of all those who had to live and work on 89, and made up just the smallest portion of the level.
    The quietest offices for the support staff were tucked tightly together on one side of the ramp and above it, with a safety railing preventing a fall onto the lower portions of the ramp. A tight left at the top of the ramp led down an identical hallway where large bays for any animal requiring extended treatment under supervision were housed.
    Sarah motioned for them to take the right walkway. She still had not spoken and Marina wasn't sure if the girl had even raised her head during the entire walk. She was about to thank her, perhaps put her a bit more at ease, when one of the office doors slid open and the round face of Mother Patrick poked out.
    "I'll be stuffed! You finally made it. Where's my grandbaby?" she called out in a strong , musical voice.
    Sela stepped around her father with a big grin on her face and walked directly into the arms of her Grandma. As they hugged and Mother Patrick rocked her grand-daughter back and forth, words of love passed between them. Marina felt her own eyes prick with tears. She remembered the particular joy that came from seeing her Ba-Ma and she was glad her own daughter still had that as an almost grown woman.
    Mother Patrick saved some surprisingly strong hugs for her son and daughter-in-law, but eventually led them into her office and waved for them to sit. She only then seemed to notice that her couch was covered by a couple of blankets and a crushed pillow left over from having been used as a bed.
    She chattered about how well they looked and gave them no chance to answer as she swept the items up into her arms and tossed them onto her desk. When she did so, the battered metal top went from littered to completely buried, the books and papers now covered by a messy pile of fabric. 
    She twisted the knob on a single burner stove perched on a table and checked the teapot water level with a clatter of the metal lid. Marina's count now stood at five questions they had been asked but not yet answered and her smile widened. The pleasant chaos that was Joseph's mother always did that to her.
    The older woman, who Marina could never quite bring herself to describe as actually old, grabbed her desk chair with surprising agility, gave it a twirl so that it faced the couch then plopped down into it. It was all one smooth economical movement and Marina almost envied her that kind of physical ability. Her hair was twisted in the same