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He was about tofried chips to occupy his nizable patter of that new porter skittering down his hall

Walker dropped the board and hot iron to the workbench and hurried to his door He held the jamb and leaned out as the kid ran past

"Porter!" he yelled, and the boy reluctantly stopped "What news, boy?"

The kid s news," he said "Cost you a chit, though"

Walker grunted with disgust, but dug into his coveralls He waved the kid over "You’re that Sa around his youthful face

"Shadowed under Gloria, didn’t you?"

The kid nodded again as his eyes followed the silver chit drawn fro pockets

"You know, Gloria used to take pity on an old man with no family and no life Trusted me with news, she did"

"Gloria’s dead," the boy said, lifting his palh He dropped the chit into the child’s outstretched and youthful paled and spotted own for the news He was dying to know everything and would have gladly paid ten chits "The details, child Don’t skip a one"

"No cleaning, Mr Walker!"

Walker’s heart missed a beat The boy turned his shoulder to run on

"Stay, boy! What do you ? She’s been set free?"

The porter shook his head His hair was long, wild, and see up and down the staircase "Nossir She refused!"

The child’s eyes were electric, his grin huge with the possession of such knowledge No one had ever refused to clean in his lifetie of pride in his Juliette

The boy waited aelse?" Walker asked

Salanced at Walker’s pockets

Walker let out a long sigh of disgust for what had beco into his pocket with one hand and waved ione, Mr Walker!"

He snatched the chit from Walker’s palm

"Gone? As in dead? Speak up, son!"

Samson’s teeth flashed as the chit disappeared into his coveralls "Nossir Gone as in over the hill No cleaning, Mr Walker, just strode right over and out of view Gone to the city, and Mr Bernard witnessed the whole thing!"

The young porter slapped Walker on the ar with his enthusiase, and turned to run along his route, his feet lighter and pockets heavier froripped the jamb with an iron claw lest he tu down at the pile of dishes he’d slipped outside the night before He glanced over his shoulder at the disheveled cot that had been calling his na iron He turned away fro with the sounds of first shift, and unplugged the iron before he started another fire

He re on this news He wondered if she’d gotten his note in tiut for her

Walker returned to the doorway The down deep was stirring He felt a powerful tug to go out there, to cross that threshold, to be a part of the unprecedented

Shirly would probably be by soon with his breakfast and to take away his dishes He could wait for her, maybe talk a bit Perhaps this spell of insanity would pass

But the thought of waiting, of thehow far Juliette had gotten or what reaction the others --

Walker lifted his foot and leaned it out past his doorway, his boot hovering over untraht himself on it And suddenly, he felt like so years later, teetering down a fa the steel walls, a corner co

And Walker becareat unknown--his brain dizzy hat hein the clouds

that sees into the bottorief?

O sweet my mother, cast me not away!"

The heavy steel doors of the silo parted, and a great cloud of argon billowed out with an angry hiss The cloud see into a whipped froth as it met the warmer, less dense air beyond