Life Designed (Life Plan Series Book 1), Eliza Taye [great novels .TXT] 📗

answer. As he responded to every inquiry, he led the students throughout the entire facility, using the crops to help explain as he went.

Although she knew she wanted to be a lawyer, Opal couldn’t help being fascinated by how their food was grown and maintained. Dazed, she walked through the facility gazing at what all the plants that ended up on her dinner plate appeared as in their growing state. She was so distracted by the wonders of the Cultivating Grounds that she forgot that Garrett should have returned to the group a while ago.

Chapter 3

 

Garrett leaned forward to peer around the corner of the bathroom shed. The class had already started walking farther and farther away down the rows of plants. Leaning backward to glance the other way, he saw the coast was clear and sprinted out from behind the shed. Walking briskly, he hurried to the edge of the large domed building. At the edges were the fruit-bearing trees. Each one was tall and wide enough to allow him to hide as he dashed from one to the other.

The more he thought about his Life Plan and the intense emphasis the entire society placed upon them, the more he began to question the system. How did Life Plans start? How was it that every approved Life Plan went exactly as designed without fail? Instead of stressing over-designing the perfect Life Plan, Garrett decided he’d rather discover how they worked.

There was something oddly interesting about the cultivating dome. How was it possible for plants to grow so perfectly that they never failed to yield a good crop? There had to be some sort of clue, and he was certain it lay somewhere within the dome. From where he stood near the entrance, he spotted a door at the rear of the dome. It appeared to be a mile away, but he didn’t care. Based on how passionate the tour guide was, the tour wouldn’t be ending anytime soon. He’d have plenty of time.

Before leaping behind the next tree, Garrett checked the surroundings for any of the white-uniformed cultivators and scientists that ran the place. With his navy blue top and brown pants, he plainly stood out from them. In an instant, they’d recognize that he didn’t belong.

It seemed like forever, but he finally made it to the door without being spotted. Featureless and made entirely of white, the domed ceiling extended down without an obvious seam to reveal where the door may open. Running his hands over the silky-smooth surface, Garrett failed to find a way inside.

Footsteps echoed behind him. Garrett ducked and found a place to hide behind the bathroom shed closest to the door. Inching to the corner of the shed, Garrett flattened his body against the sturdy wall and peered out from his peripheral vision. A man dressed in white from top to bottom with a white cap covering most of his blond hair placed his palm flat against the wall. A tiny beep sounded, and a portion of the wall slid away to allow him inside. Without pause, the man walked in, but the door didn’t immediately close.

Seeing his chance, Garrett sprinted towards the door just when a puff sounded, and the door began to close. A foot from closing, Garrett turned sideways and scooted inside with barely an inch to spare.

Releasing the breath he was holding, he thanked his lucky stars for his lanky frame and turned around to examine his surroundings. Rounded walls indicated that he was in a tunnel of some sort. Screens covered the curved walls from about three feet from the ground to a foot from the domed ceiling. On each screen was a different species of plant. Garrett noticed a number at the bottom right corner of each screen. Every few seconds the image rotated, but it was always the same species.

Turning from the screens, he followed the short tunnel, the door at the end automatically opening as he drew near. Frightened for a moment of being discovered before he could uncover anything, Garrett flattened himself against the wall of screens. Noticing that there was no one else in the next room, he stepped down the stairs and entered it.

Surrounding him on all sides were bookshelves rising from floor to ceiling. Each shelf was filled to the brim with thick volume after volume. Picking one at random, he read the title, “Branian Plant Species: Their Care and Uses.” Shrugging, he returned the book to the shelf where he’d found it.

After walking around the room for a while, he found yet another door hidden in the back. This door had a handle, but like the entire inside and outside structure, it too, was pure white. Standing behind the door, Garrett opened it a crack and peered inside. He observed several people walking around carrying various seedlings and examining videos of different plants that appeared to be sick. Everyone inside was busy and hard at work at whatever they were doing.

Opening the door a little wider, Garrett snuck inside to find himself crouching on a staircase in full view of everyone working down below. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but he knew something suspicious had to be going on. Visually scanning the entire area, there wasn’t much he could glean from what he could see on the surface.

Just as he considered checking somewhere else, Garrett noticed a man entering numbers into the large database in the center of the room. Gradually, Garrett began to make his way down the stairs.

“What are you doing here?” asked a gruff voice, as a bulky hand firmly turned Garrett around.

Garrett found himself staring into the crystal blue eyes of a tall, middle-aged man. Swallowing hard, Garrett remained silent.

“Are you one of the students from the Choosing Class touring the place?”

Garrett still refused to speak. The man’s stern gaze and bald head were