Eye of the Sh*t Storm

by Jackson Ford

  “Good luck,” the woman says.

  “And don’t, don’t, by the way, pretend like you’re so noble. Wiping out thousands, just to protect a few individuals?”

  “Your point?”

  “My p—? Jesus Lord, honey, if I have to explain, you’re way off the edge of the map.”

  “If there were another way to do it, I would.” The woman’s calmness digs at Reggie like an itch.

  “Whatever you say.”

  “I don’t really mind if you believe it or not. Protecting myself, and those like me… it’s the only thing that matters.” Her voice hardens, just a little. “If the public knew what we were, we’d be dead. All of us. I’m simply making the first move. And if a few people die, well…”

  “You do realise that you’re not making it out of this?” Reggie coughs suddenly, sharp and ugly, her diaphragm hitching. “The… hhhrm… the boy. Leo? He doesn’t want to follow you, does he? He wasn’t even supposed to be here – that’s what you said, right?” She laughs, a mad sound that feels like it comes from somewhere far deeper than the cough did. “This is a kid who can turn a whole building into a live wire. He’ll fry you the second he sees you.”

  It’s a long moment before the woman replies. “You may not believe this, but I hope you don’t have to die today. It’d be such a waste.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m well aware of what Leo can do. But I do know him, and I don’t think he’d be willing to get you killed.”

  “Please. He can hit you with a lightning bolt faster than you can pull the trigger.”

  “Who said anything about pulling a trigger?”

  The woman steps into view then, looming over Reggie. Against the still-bright sky, her face is a dark silhouette.

  She’s holding something in her hand, and Reggie has to let her eyes adjust before she gets a good look at it. When she does, she stops breathing.

  It looks like the plastic remote control for the Scalextric race car set she had when she was a kid – like a pistol without the barrel, an oversized trigger protruding from it. It’s a remote detonator. Reggie’s seen plenty like it before. The woman’s finger rests lightly on the trigger.

  Reggie has gone cold again – and it has nothing to do with the woman’s ability.

  The woman taps the bottom of the detonator. There’s a small box bolted onto the body, one no bigger than a thumb. Like the dot at the bottom of an exclamation point.

  “Accelerometer,” the woman says. “Thirty dollars off Amazon, and a couple of hours to wire up correctly. If it detects sudden movement – if I drop the unit – it activates. Sends the same signal as if I pull the trigger.” She shrugs. “I don’t really know what would happen if I was electrocuted, so I hedged my bets.”

  The woman nudges the object she placed underneath Reggie’s shoulders.

  Another cough bursts out of Reggie again, painful and frail. She can’t look away from the woman’s eyes. She expects them to display madness, insanity, but what she sees scares her even worse.

  Determination.

  Clear, defiant purpose.

  “They’ll be here soon,” the woman says, letting the bomb trigger drop to her side. She looks towards the distant basketball court. “Let me know if I can make you more comfortable.”

  FORTY-SIX

  Teagan

  Something’s wrong.

  I’m not talking about Reggie’s kidnapping. Or the flood. Or the number of people tonight who want us dead. All of that is seriously messed up, but that’s not what I mean.

  I’m talking about the homeless camp under the freeway.

  We’re hustling our way through the maze of scaffolding, alongside the river channel. The camp isn’t empty, far from it – despite the dozens of groups we passed on the way, there are still plenty of people here.

  They are packing up their stuff: clothes hurriedly being shoved into bags, shopping carts filling up, people darting back and forth under the shadow of the freeways. But I expected everyone to have cleared out already, because what the fuck else do you do when there’s a huge flash flood inbound?

  “Annie?” I say.

  “What?” she snaps. She’s already irritated, mostly because every single person we passed has tried to tell us about the flash flood.

  “Can we stop for a sec?”

  “Kind of on the clock here, Teags,” Nic says, stepping over a steel scaffolding pole, turning to help Leo.

  “Yeah, I know, I just need a second.”

  We have to keep moving. There’s not a lot of time to fuck around here. But it’s like a cut on the roof of your mouth, one you can’t stop tonguing.

  So despite our little situation, I take a look around me.

  A real good look.

  A woman strides across our path, a mane of scraggly red hair framing a panicked face. She wears a grey tank top over a long, flowing skirt, edged in mud, and she’s shouting: “Casey! Has anyone seen Casey?”

  Two men to my left, one of them sitting propped up against part of the scaffolding, the other bent over him. The sitting man is passed out, a thin slick of drool on his chin, his hands splayed on the concrete, twitching in a way that reminds me of Leo. His pal shakes him, yelling at him to get up, that he can’t carry him. Since he has a crutch under one arm, that’s probably true.

  A dog zips past, barking hysterically. It vanishes into the network of scaffolding, only to reappear a second later. Its eyes are wild, panicked.

  A man at the entrance to the sewer tunnel, where Annie and I went to use the bathroom. He’s hanging out, yelling directions at a friend. “—torches or anything? The lights went out and—”

  Another man, down on his knees, desperately trying to get two crutches underneath him. His dirty jeans are cut off at the right knee, and the leg below is a mess of crusty bandages. As I watch, he almost gets himself upright, loses it, comes crashing back down.

  A panicked group of people over to our right, milling around one of the makeshift platforms lashed to the bamboo scaffolding. There are people on the platform, but the ramp they rigged to get up there has collapsed. Next to them, a short distance away, some insane jackass is playing a guitar, staring blankly into the flames of a cookfire, like everything is just dandy.

  People. Everywhere: people. And not just a few. Hundreds.

  They aren’t leaving. Not nearly fast enough.

  Maybe it’s because I came in here with Grant and Alvin and Lucille, but I had this idea that there were people in charge at this place.

  Alvin sounded so sure about this place having some sort of order. Like it was a coherent community that would look after itself no matter what. But that’s not true. It’s not even close to true.

  “Teagan.” Annie is furious now. “What the hell are you doing?”

  I slowly look back at her. “Annie… these people…”

  “What about ’em? We—”

  She’s interrupted by a tug at her sleeve. It’s a little girl, ten or eleven, with neat braids hanging down her back. She’s wearing an old red hoodie over jeans and a pair of light-up sneakers. Only one of them is working, blinking a frantic red.

  “Have you seen my mom?” the girl babbles.

  “Uh…” Annie just stares at her.

  “Her name’s Shonda. She looks like me but with long hair. Have you seen her?” She looks around, craning to see behind us, as if we’re purposefully trying to hide her mother. “She went to get some water, and then everybody started running, and I went to the water place but she wasn’t there.”

  “We haven’t seen her,” Nic says, sounding dazed.

  “Maybe the Zigzag Man got her.” Leo claps a hand to his mouth, like he knows he’s said something he shouldn’t.

  The girl’s eyes meet mine, just for a second. Before I can say anything, she bolts, yelling out for her mom, zipping between scaffolding.

  Is it possible to have an awkward silence in the middle of a panicked crowd? Why yes. Yes, it is.

  “Ca
n we find her, find her mom?” Leo asks.

  “I don’t think we have time,” Annie says, more gently than I would have expected.

  I take a deep breath. “Actually…”

  “Actually… what?” says Nic.

  “Well…” I spread my hands. “Look, it won’t take long. I can echolocate, remember?”

  Leo screws up his face. “What?”

  “The thing I do where I can sense objects with my PK.” I look up at Nic and Annie. “If the kid’s mom is wearing jewellery or whatever, maybe I can find her.”

  “Stop.” Annie holds up a finger. “Don’t you dare.”

  “Don’t I dare? You’re seriously suggesting we just leave that little girl to—?”

  “Yes.” But she can’t stop herself glancing at the little girl, who is just visible off to our right, her back to us, still yelling for her mom. “We have to move, or we’re not going to get out of here before the flood—”

  Fuck this. Before any of them can stop me, I dart away, heading for the girl. “It’ll only take a second,” I yell over my shoulder.

  “Teagan!” Nic yells. “Wait!”

  The girl zips off before I can get there. I have to sprint after her, nearly tripping over the scaffolding a couple of times, almost knocking people over. But eventually, I catch her, swinging myself in front of her with my hands up. She goggles at me, like she’s never seen me before.

  “Your mom,” I say. “Shana?”

  “Shonda.”

  “Right. Does she have any jewellery on? Like a necklace or a bracelet?”

  Someone bumps me from behind, nearly spilling me right into the girl. Annie and Nic are just making their way over to me, Leo in tow. They look somewhere between pissed off and really pissed off.

  I speak quickly. “Kid. Jewellery.”

  The girl gapes at me. “You can’t rob my mom!”

  “What? No, I—”

  “She’s trying to rob my mom!” The girl yells this out, jabbing a trembling finger at me. Fortunately, the place is in such a panic that nobody pays any attention. Behind the girl, Annie is staring at me in absolute wonder.

  “No!” I wave my hands, bringing the girl’s attention back to me. “I’m not, I promise, I—”

  “Then why do you want her jewellery?”

  “I…” Shit. “Look, it doesn’t have to be jewellery. It can be anything. Keys, or a cellphone, or…”

  A cellphone? Brilliant, Teagan. Let’s try and track this kid’s mom by finding objects also owned by probably every other person here.

  The little girl tilts her head. “Are you a crazy person?”

  “I promise I’m not. But I think I can find your mom.”

  “How?”

  For a moment, the words defeat me. “Please, hon. Just tell me if she has anything on her.”

  Seconds tick by. Seconds we don’t have. God, this was a stupid idea, this was—

  “Um… she’s got this, like, bracelet she wears,” the girl says. “It’s not real gold or anything…”

  I almost gasp with relief. “Does it have links? Is it a solid piece of metal?”

  Now the kid looks even more confused. “I dunno? It’s got this thing hanging from it. Like a little charm.”

  “What kind of charm?”

  “It’s in the shape of a frog,” she stammers.

  I’m not at what you call peak performance here. But my little echolocation trick doesn’t take much energy – I’m not lifting anything, I’m just sensing it. So even before the little girl has finished speaking, I send my PK out in a wide circle, as far as it will go. Sampling the pieces of jewellery I find, each one lit up in my mind like a glittering star in an inky black sky. Necklaces, chains, rings. Zeroing in on the bracelets. Metal ones, plastic ones, links, bronze, gold, until—

  “Wait here,” I tell the girl.

  “Who are—?”

  “Wait here. Do not move.”

  Annie makes a grab for me, but I duck underneath her arm, zipping away into the crowd. Telling myself that this won’t take long, that they can’t possibly be angry at me for this.

  I keep my mind locked on the bracelet, my PK wrapped around the tiny little frog charm hanging off it, swinging wildly as its owner moves back and forth. Someone has put a makeshift bridge over the channel of water, a big sheet of reinforced steel, and I bolt across it, ducking under yet more scaffolding. Where are you?

  I’m so focused on my PK that when I finally locate the bracelet, it takes me a second to spot the owner.

  I grabbed her arm. “Shonda, right? I’ve seen your daughter.”

  She does indeed look like her kid, just with longer hair. She’s in a full panic, but the word daughter is like a signal flare, locking her attention in.

  “You have?” she says. She has a Southern accent, reminding me of Reggie – something I could do without right now. “Where is she?”

  I point back in the direction I came from, describing the spot where the kid was standing. Hoping she hasn’t moved, because if she has, I don’t know what I’m going to do.

  Before I’ve even finished talking, Shonda is moving. She turns back, awkwardly, confusion fighting the need to be with her daughter. “How did—?”

  “Never mind. Just go. Get your daughter and get the hell out of here.”

  I watch her go, stuck in my own mind for a second. Which means I get one hell of a shock when Annie and Nic appear in front of me, both of them speaking at the same time.

  “OK.” Nic has his hands up. “This isn’t the best time to—”

  Annie talks over him. “—don’t have time to mess around with your damn—”

  “—this wasn’t what I meant, and I really don’t think this is the moment for—”

  “—always do this, always getting in the way, why can’t you listen just once—?”

  “Hey!” I yell.

  Amazingly, it works. It startles them both into silence. I really didn’t expect it to, but I’ll take what I can get. Behind them, Leo gapes at me. He doesn’t look angry. If anything he looks impressed.

  I turn back to Annie and Nic. “How long before the flood gets here?”

  Annie pinches the bridge of her nose. “Teagan—”

  “Annie. How long?”

  She glares at me, but the gears are turning. “Half hour. Maybe less.”

  “OK,” I say. “Hear me out—”

  “Dios mio.” Annie shakes her head, An expression of total exasperation on her face. “You are unbelievable, man.”

  “I just think that—”

  “What about Reggie? You’re just gonna leave her hanging while you help out kids you don’t even know? Is that it?”

  “Of course not!”

  “Then what is it? Because if I remember correctly, you agreed to come with us. We don’t have time for you to start having second thoughts, so you stow that shit, right now, or I swear I will rip your damn arms off.”

  “What the hell is your problem?” I roar at her. “Do you not see what this place is—?”

  Nic shoves himself between us. I hadn’t actually realised it, but we had gotten right up in each other’s faces. And not in a good way. The kind of getting-up-in-your-face that results in somebody getting knocked the fuck out.

  “You know what?” Annie jabs a finger in my face. “We don’t need this. You wanna be a selfish prick, you go right ahead. Come, don’t come, I don’t care. But we’re leaving.” And with that, she turns and stalks away, following the line of the channel.

  Selfish prick? Does she not see what I just did?

  “The girl and her mom found each other,” Leo says, popping up behind Nic. I didn’t even see him leave to go check on them. We should keep a closer eye on him.

  The thought makes me woozy, the world swimming in front of me. Annie has stopped about fifty feet away, her back to us, shoulders trembling with rage.

  “Are we done here?” Nic says. He doesn’t sound irritated or angry any more – just exhausted.

  “I
—”

  “All right then.” He turns to go, only to stop and look back when he realises I’m not following.

  For a few seconds, we just stare at each other. People mill around us, shouting for their loved ones, yelling instructions, gathering their possessions.

  The corners of Nic’s mouth twitch. “When I said you should use your ability to help people, this wasn’t really what I had in mind.”

  “Nic…”

  “We need you, Teags. Reggie needs you.”

  “I think…” I swallow. “I think these people might need me too.”

  “Just—”

  “Look around you.” I hold my hands out, like I’m telling him to come at me. “Let’s be generous. Let’s say we really do have thirty minutes now. Do you really think that this place is going to be empty by the time it’s underwater?”

  “That’s not on you. None of this is on you.”

  “Look, I get it. The bridge wasn’t totally my fault. But that doesn’t mean I get to just walk away from everything. I can’t.”

  I’m sweating now, despite the chill air. “Before, when I didn’t want to go help people in San Bernadino… there were already people helping out. Here, there’s nobody else. Nobody’s coming. No cops, no fire department. The government isn’t sending people. The city doesn’t give a shit. If I don’t get involved, what do you think is gonna happen?”

  Leo comes and stands next to Nic, his face knotted, as if thinking hard.

  Nic laces his fingers behind his head. “They’re not just gonna listen to you out of the blue.”

  “They don’t have to.” I lick my lips, thinking back to how I found Shonda. “I can help people find each other. If they’re trapped, I can get them out. Hell, maybe I can create an exit.” I look towards the underside of the freeway, where it meets the top edge of the storm drain. It’s a sheer wall of concrete, but…

  “I don’t wanna hear this,” Nic says. “I don’t wanna hear this shit, Teags. Just think for a second.”

  A frustrated, angry howl bursts out of me. I’m not expecting it, even as it starts to happen. It’s so loud and so sudden that both Nic and Leo take a step back