Ascent: (Book 1) The Ladder by Anthony Thackston Page A

different from anything Joe has seen before. It is rectangular and chair-shaped, covered in cloth along the top, back and sides of it.
                “Please. Sit. I assure you it is more comfortable than that dreadful Vocal Hall, or your Bunks for that matter.”
                Joe climbs out of the tunnel and steps onto the stone floor. He slowly approaches the seat.
                “Who did teach you manners, child?” Scraggle says in a calm but scolding way.
                “What?” Joe replies, not understanding.
                Scraggle points to the hatch door in the floor through which Joe climbed. Joe walks to the other side of it and pushes it closed. It falls to the floor with a clang, closing far more easily than it opened. Aside from being made of different materials, the door is the only part of the floor that is not even with the rest of the floor. It rises almost half a foot up. A large metal handle sticks out of its surface.
                Scraggle waves Joe to take seat. Joe sits down on the bench and he sinks into it. He quickly rises for fear of being sucked below.
                Scraggle chuckles. “It’s quite safe. It’s called a sofa. Or a couch. Really, either will do. If you would like a good night’s rest, a bed is better but you could do very well to lay down on a sofa.”
                “What’s a bed?” Joe sits back down on the couch and lets himself sink into it.
                Scraggle turns to Joe. “You poor children. Your bunk is a bed. Not an appropriate one but a bed nonetheless.”
                “Why would anyone want to sleep on that?” Joe asks, extremely confused.
                “Well most aren’t like yours. Most beds are like that sofa. How does that feel by the way?” Scraggle asks as if he knows the answer.
                Joe darts up from the sofa. “Give me the Remedy.”
                Scraggle chuckles again. “Remedy. There is no remedy.”
                “You said you injected me with—”
                “Vaccine, boy. I injected you with a vaccine.” Scraggle interrupts him as he turns around and admires his clothing. “What do you think? I am very pleased they left these here after so many years. It feels good to wear proper attire again. To feel civilized.”
                “What is vaccine?” Joe demands.
                Scraggle takes a moment to observe Joe’s mood. “Vaccine is what is given when one does not wish to get sick. Think of it as Remedy before the Sick infects you. The fog you passed through? That is where the Sick comes from. It is a toxic gas. You passed through it harmlessly because of the vaccine. Otherwise you would have never made it this far up the Ladder.”
                “So I don’t have the Sick?”
                “Better, my boy. You can no longer get the Sick.” Scraggle smiles. “Now, as to why you are here—”
                “Where is the Surface?” Joe asks as if suddenly remembering everything.
                “Yes. A fair question. If I may?” Scraggle asks.
                Joe stares at him silently.
                “We are on the second level of what is known, on the Surface, as the Column. A scientific facility of my own design…”
                Joe pays no attention as he walks to the black wall. He touches its surface and a light blinks. The blinking is accompanied by a whirring sound and more metal grinding against metal emanates from one side of the room. Scraggle and Joe watch as a door rises into the ceiling to reveal a hallway lit up by more tube lights.
                “I cannot tell you the joy I feel to know that it works,” Scraggle mutters to himself.
                Joe slowly approaches the hallway. He looks left and right at cut-outs made