Elevation 1: The Thousand Steps. Helen Brain

the soldier says.

      Major Zungu pulls me to my feet. “Get up,” he snarls. “She’s all yours, Captain Atherton. Enjoy.” He leers as he shoves me towards the strange soldier who is out of breath from running so fast.

      Jaco and Shameema look terrified as Captain Atherton marches me past them. They’re thinking the same as I am – the High Priest has chosen a special kind of death for me. Probably something more agonising. Something more suitable to a female born with the curse of the red hair.

      CAPTAIN ATHERTON TAKES me back to the stairwell. We keep climbing upwards and I become exhausted. If they’re going to kill me, I wish they’d just do it, instead of wearing me out bit by bit. But the circle of sky is getting bigger, the natural light is creeping into the stairwell and I focus on the beautiful clear blue, the single puffy cloud. At least I got to see the sky, I think wryly.

      There’s a black speck in the sky. It’s a bird like we’ve seen a hundred times in the old kinetika movies they show us on Friday nights. I blink. Did I really see that? I can’t have. Nothing can live on the surface of the earth. The only living animals are the goats, pigs, hens and rabbits that give us food and clothing in the colony. And even they are getting weaker each year.

      At last we reach the top. Above me is a huge, transparent roof. And above that is the sky. I’ve never seen a colour so intense, and I stare at it. Captain Atherton bashes on a door, and it’s opened from outside.

      It takes my eyes a moment to adjust to the flood of light that blinds me. When I open them at last I see a huge window that fills one wall of the room. I rush over and peer out. Is it true … is everything destroyed?

      Table Island lies below me. The sky sweeps down and meets the brilliant blue-green ocean. The slopes of the mountain aren’t blackened and burnt. Instead there are bushes, scrubby plants scattered between the rocks. I can even see a few dashes of yellow and pink. Flowers. I’ve seen flowers at last.

      The world is bigger, more wonderful, more overwhelming than I ever imagined. My eyes fill with tears. I’m so busy gathering every detail that I don’t notice a second door opening.

      “You’re a lucky girl,” a voice says behind me. A strange man stands there, wearing a bright-blue robe. He’s middle aged, well fed, and smiling broadly.

      Who is he? Is he the executioner?

      “Please,” I beg. “Before you kill me, just give me a few more minutes to see the world above.”

      He takes both my hands in his.

      “My dear Ebba,” he says. “We found you in the nick of time. You’re not being sacrificed, you’re being elevated. You’re the missing Den Eeden heiress. I’m here to take you home.”

      CHAPTER 3

      Home?” My jaw drops. “I’m not going to die?”

      The man chuckles. “Of course not. I’m Fergis Frye, the Den Eeden family lawyer. You’re the heiress who disappeared as a baby, and I’m so delighted to find you. We looked for you high and low, and here you were all along, under our noses.”

      I stare at him, uncomprehending. I’m an heiress? I’m part of a family? I’ve got a family.

      “This way,” he says, opening the door. “I’m taking you home to Greenhaven.”

      We step out into the fresh air and I gasp. Everything is so intense – the noise, the wind and sun, the smell of clean air after sixteen years of being below. I stand on the doorstep looking down at the mountainside that falls away beneath my feet, and I’m terrified. It’s so open. So big.

      “Come on, dear, don’t be afraid,” he says. “Just follow me.”

      I take a deep breath and follow him down the long concrete staircase that cuts into the side of the mountain. I don’t want to look at the drop to the bottom. I’m in a cold sweat of fear. The wind pummels me so hard I’m afraid I might be blown off. I grip the handrail and concentrate on putting down one foot after the other for flight after flight of stairs. I’m reeling from the morning’s events. It can’t be true. This must be one of the High Priest’s jokes.

      Finally we reach the bottom. I take a deep breath and dare to look around. We’re on a road, and a shiny red buggy drawn by two horses waits. I know what they are because Ma Goodson used to show us kinetika movies before the equipment wore out. She wanted us to hear and see and smell the old world. She told us that horses were all dead. Everyone – all the mentors, the guards, the worship team – they all told us that everything had been destroyed. Why did they lie?

      The coachman jumps down and bows to me. “Good morning, miss,” he says, opening the door.

      I’m flummoxed. What am I supposed to do? “Good morning,” I say, and bow back.

      Mr Frye laughs. “We don’t bow to the servants, dear,” he chuckles. “Don’t worry, you’ll learn our ways soon enough. I’m so glad we’ve got you out of the colony, back in your rightful place as a citizen. After you,” he says, gesturing to the open door.

      Where are they taking me? I pull back, look up at the mountain. I’ve spent my life inside it, locked in the grey stone tunnels and galleries, scuttling around in the semi-dark with the other two thousand. Jasmine, Fez and Letti are still in there, probably crying their eyes out, thinking I’m dead. If only I could send them a message to tell them I’m okay.

      But Mr Frye is in a hurry. He’s still chuckling over my bowing, and I go red. “Come now,” he says, holding out his hand. I don’t exactly have a choice. I climb inside and sit down opposite him, and the driver closes the door. The horses whinny and snort, and off we go, jolting down a steep road that winds down the mountainside.

      “I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone,” Mr Frye says, still beaming. As we drive away I can finally tear my eyes away from the strange new world around me and look at him properly. He’s wearing a blue robe and pants with embroidery around the neck and hems. His grey hair is pulled up into a knot on the top of his head. I’ve never seen anyone like him. He’s so plump and polished.

      “They’re going to be so excited when they know you’ve been found,” he says. “I couldn’t believe it when the High Priest sent a message to say I had to come quickly. It’s only been a few months since your great-aunt died, and we didn’t know what to do. We’d sent all the staff away, except for the garden boy and the woman who cleans the house. And then you turn up, in the colony. You can’t imagine how thrilled the High Priest is. We all are. It’s so exciting.”

      “Is my family alive?” I ask. “My mother?”

      He leans over and takes my hand. “I’m sorry. You’re the very last Den Eeden. Your mother, Ali, died many years ago when you were a newborn baby.”

      “And my father?”

      “Ahem.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m afraid we never knew who your father was.”

      “So I’m alone?” I’m alone without any family, without my sabenzis? My heart sinks. I’ll never know who I am now.

      He squeezes my hand. “You’re not alone, Ebba. You’re a citizen now. You’re one of us.”

      “A citizen?”

      “The people who live on Table Island. It’s where you belong.”

      I don’t want to be with people I don’t know. I want to be with the people I love, and if my family are all dead, then I want to live there with Jasmine and the twins. But they’re inside the colony, still believing that the world above ground is so damaged, it’s not safe for humans.

      I grip the seat and peer out over the side of the cliff. The land is dry, the plants struggling,