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the last spiral below Level 92, Marina got her first whiff of the Animal Farms. Or at least she smelled what got transported from the farm to the composting stations or dirt farms. Her nose wrinkled against the smell automatically and Sela laughed at the look on her face. Joseph’s mother worked in Animal Farm Support so it wasn’t a new smell or an unfamiliar place to Marina. Despite previous exposure, there was no question that the thick smell of animal droppings was a shock after an absence.
    Joseph's mother, now called Mother Patrick by most people, still worked at the Animal Farms though she worked less as she grew older. Mostly she provided the skilled guidance that only someone with very long experience could give rather than hard physical work. She liked to tell people that she worked in the life side of the business of life and death, bringing new life into the world and caring for injuries and illnesses so the cycle could continue.
    Marina thought it was all very poetic but knew she would never be able to handle knowing that the other side of that business meant death for those same animals. She liked eating her occasional meal of meat too much to think about the specifics of how it got to her meal tray.
    As she trailed her family past the landing on Level 90, Marina felt a tug at her sleeve and turned to see a girl trying to wave her back down. She didn’t speak and barely raised her eyes, but there was no mistaking that she wanted Marina to return to the landing. Joseph and Sela kept moving up the stairs, but he turned when Marina hollered for him to wait. Both he and Sela climbed back down, creating a tangle in the traffic.
    They were forced to dodge when two lift workers replacing the normal lift bucket with a sealed canvas bag of dung almost dropped the bag from the hook. The family eventually unsnarled themselves but the girl seemed even more flustered by the chaos and still hadn’t spoken.
    Their respective professions had taught Marina and her husband a great deal about patience but Sela was still young and lacked the nuances. She sighed loudly and asked, somewhat rudely, "What? We're never going to get to Grandma's if we keep stopping!"
    Marina was embarrassed at her daughter’s lack of manners but she knew it was the constant pauses so people could speak to her father that had been trying her patience. For the moment, she settled for sending a stern look her daughter’s way that clearly conveyed they would be speaking of this later. It worked and Sela dropped her gaze and took the nasty look off her face.
    The girl blushed at the harsh words, two vivid red spots spreading quickly from her cheeks and down her slender neck to disappear into the neck of her baggy coveralls. She was slightly built and her posture made her seem even smaller.
    Very gently, taking all the edges out of her voice, Marina asked, "Did you need me or the deputy?" She gestured toward her husband at the last word.
    The girl's eyes flicked briefly toward Joseph and then back toward Marina before she replied, "Mother Patrick sent me to wait for you. She's back there." She pointed toward the entrance to the Animal Farms without turning and again very quickly glanced at the two adults before her eyes slid down and away from them.
    "What's your name, young lady?" Marina asked. She kept her voice friendly and as quiet as she could make it and still be heard over the sound of feet on the metal stairs. A quick glance at the patch on the girl's green coveralls showed the familiar stylized profile of a chicken and a rabbit with an egg between them. Below it, the simple dark circle patch that indicated the wearer was a shadow was roughly sewn to the pocket.
    "Sarah," came her almost inaudible reply.
    "And you're a s hadow at the Farm?"
    Sarah nodded without making eye contact and said, "I'll take you to her. Will you follow me?"
    "Of course. Lead the way, Sarah."
    The girl's blush deepened further at the use of her name but she turned and