Chapter 21: The Vote

"Get up," Veda said.

Nobody moved.

An old man near the front bowed his head, and a woman held up her baby.

"Please," Veda said. "Get up. All of you."

Her voice cracked on it.

She knew this scene.

She had stood at the top of another stair, seven years from now, and let them kneel until her knees hurt from watching.

She had loved it.

That was the worst part, and she made herself say it.

"I liked this last time," she said, loudly, to the whole dome. "I liked it too much. That's how it starts."

"You saved us," someone called.

"You saved yourselves. You pulled that chain. I couldn't climb the ladder."

A ripple of uneasy laughter ran through the crowd.

One by one, they stood.

Veda took the ring of pharmacy keys from the lifeguard's hand.

He had found it on the gantry, hooked on Damon's belt.

The nine vials were still on their shelf, with the drain cover bolted shut.

The whole threat had been a bluff.

She turned the ring in her fingers and felt how heavy it was.

Then she walked to Lois and held it out.

"No," Lois said.

"You count everything."

"I count potatoes."

"You count them so everyone gets some," said Veda. "That's the whole job."

Lois looked at the keys for a long time.

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