…
At the same time, up the slope of New Mountain, Callista heard something crash and break in her father’s office. She had been nearly asleep when the sound rang out across the house.
She hurried to her father’s office and found him on his hands and knees, picking up pieces of a broken mirror. He had apparently thrown one of his community service awards straight through the glass. He looked surprised and embarrassed when he saw his daughter standing there.
“I’m not sure what happened,” he said with his voice cracking. His complexion was bright red and his hair was damp with sweat. “I must have knocked the mirror somehow.”
She heard slurring in his voice and noticed a half-empty bottle of whiskey on his desk. Callista had only very rarely seen her father drink and this was the first time she had seen him by himself with a bottle.
“Dad, tell me what’s going on. I know there’s something bothering you.”
He leaned back into his desk chair. Then he looked at her face for what seemed like an awkward eternity. “Everything is OK, baby girl. I promise.”
Callista noticed something strange and perhaps even more alarming than the whiskey bottle on his desk. An illustration, something like a colorful blueprint, was unfolded on the desk. The odd parchment appeared alive, with moving lines and flashing colors like a television screen.
She realized, although the technology appeared magical, the document was simply an atlas or survey of some kind.
She had never seen a map like it. The topography, ocean and Bastion seemed barely present, like unimportant background features. Whoever the mapmaker was had focused on the homes and people, showing some with shades of red and blue. There were three spots of bright white on the map.
Callista’s father noticed that the map was out, quickly folded it up, and tucked it under some papers on his desk.
“What is that, Dad?” She asked. “It looks really strange. It’s like the paper lights up. What do all those colors mean?”
“Oh, just a map of the yttrium in the area, you know, minerals and mining, honey.”
“I thought we told each other everything.”
“We do, honey. We do,” he said. There was a melancholy in his face, the same look he gave her when he told her that her mother was gone. “It’s just that…” He hesitated. “It’s just that sometimes there are things in life that are bigger than we are. Sometimes we can’t do the right thing. Sometimes we just have to survive.”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind. I don’t know what I’m saying.”
“If you’re not going to talk to me,” Callista told him, “then I’m going to bed.”
Her father’s face seemed bent into a dozen different emotions. He wrinkled up his mouth, turning his gaze to his office window. Then he took a sip of whiskey.
All he said to her before she left was, “I’m sorry, Callie. I’m so sorry.”
As soon as she got upstairs, she told Strix, “I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t know why he’s acting like this.”
Strix’s eyes glowed a soft, pleasant green. He told Callista, “We’re sorry you’re going through this, Callista.”
“Oh great. You’re sorry too. Everybody is sorry and nobody will tell me what’s happening!”
“Your confusion and frustration are understandable,” said Strix. “We’re afraid we cannot provide you with any answers at this point. However, we may know of a way to make you feel better.”
“What do you mean?”
“We suggest you bring us along for a little walk. It’s quite a lovely evening and we know of someone who would very much like to see you.”
…
Morgan walked five blocks that night with Strix tucked into a messenger bag. He knew where the men he needed to meet hung out at night. His father, Killian, wasn’t the only one in Azurton who didn’t like to face the morning without their anxiety pills.
Salty mist tumbled from the Bastion and settled on the streets. The neighborhood smelled like the inside of a horseshoe crab. The inertial dampeners on the Bastion creaked and shook as the wall fought to remain stable against the waves.
“Thank you for bringing me with you,” Strix told Morgan. The sound of the owl’s voice barely cut over the hissing and rumbling ocean.
“Don’t mention it,” said Morgan. “I hate doing this, but there’s no other way.”
“You hope this medication will calm your father down and keep your brother safe.”
Morgan stopped in the middle of a step. His mind hadn’t quite put the elements of his reasoning together until just then. “I guess so,” he said.
The men selling the contraband anxiety pills always worked the same corner in the neighborhood. Morgan’s father wasn’t the only one whose appetite exceeded his ration. At any hour of the night, ignoring any storm conditions, at least a couple of men were always there, ready with supply.
Morgan approached and presented the three men there a knowing head nod. “Some storm out there,” he said to them.
One of the men, a burly brute with a dark beard connected to a carpet of red chest hair, nodded back. He said, “Hell yeah it is. It’s enough to make any man anxious.”
“Doesn’t it bother you guys,” Morgan started to ask, “being out here at night during the storm?”
The men all laughed. “The ocean is in our bloodline,” said the one with the red sideburns and chest hair pouring out of his jacket. “We like being out here. It’s like being out on a boat, like in the olden days of our ancestors.”
“I’ll take a dozen,” Morgan told them. He held out a wad of small bills.
The man counted it in front of him, saying, “Sure, boy. We never mind helping you out.” He reached deep into his front pocket and pulled out two small plastic bags, tied with rubber bands. “Here you go, my little man,” he said, tossing Morgan the pills. “It was good seeing you again.”
Morgan walked away, until the men’s voices and laughter were once again washed out by the scream and hiss on the other side of the Bastion.
Strix spoke up from inside his messenger bag, saying, “We’re sorry you’re suffering this burden, Morgan. This isn’t proper for a child.”
“I’m not a child and I’m not burdened.”
“Brian is safe tonight,” said Strix. “Your father has had his fill for the night and fallen asleep.”
“How do you know that?”
“We’re sorry for changing the subject,” said Strix, “but I thought you may be interested in something happening at a different location.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
“Callista,” said Strix.
“What about her?”
“I take it you’re interested then?”
“Fine. I’m interested.”
“Well,” Strix went on, “She is not far from this location and she is experiencing emotional upheaval.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means she is quite upset. Perhaps you should speak with her.”
Morgan stopped walking and excitement welled up in his abdomen. “I don’t know,” he said. “I need to get these pills to my dad.”
“The four pills he swallowed earlier have taken action,” said Strix. “Your father is asleep. We assure you your brother will be safe tonight. You have until morning. Perhaps you should take a cable car. She’s just up the hill. We have a feeling she will be waiting for you.”
…
When the cable car let Morgan out, the station was empty and the tumult of the ocean was quiet in the distance. The top sliver of moon hovered in reddish haze over the top of the Bastion. To Morgan, the Bastion seemed so stunning from far away, like a futuristic metropolis, a wall of city all its own.
Strix told him to take the walking path from the station and proceed five blocks to the small wooded park in Callista’s neighborhood. He found her lightly swaying in one of the park swings. Her Strix was sitting on her lap.
“Fancy meeting you he
re,” Morgan said to her as soon as she saw him. “A nice park with actual trees. We don’t have anything like this in my neighborhood.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said.
Morgan sat on the swing next to her, taking out his Strix and putting it on his lap. As soon as the two owls were next to each other, their eyes and feathers took on an undulating glow, shifting across all the colors from red to blue.
“Do you think they’re talking to each other?” Callista asked him.
“Who knows?” answered Morgan. “I still can’t figure out why I was chosen for this. It doesn’t make any sense. I look at you,” he went on, “and I understand what Strix can learn from someone like you, but I’m just a brute from a brute family.”
“A brute, huh?” She smiled. “Maybe there is something to be learned from a brute.”
“Seriously though, what could we have in common?”
“I don’t know what it is,” she said, meeting his eyes. “But I feel it somehow. Don’t you?”
Morgan considered the question. “I guess I do,” he said. “I do feel it.”
“I don’t trust my father anymore,” she said as though each word was a prick from a needle.
“Good,” said Morgan. “You shouldn’t. Parents are just people and people can be pretty shitty.”
“He’s not like regular parents. He’s never been. Something is wrong.” She was starting to cry, saying, “He’s all I have.”
Morgan felt befuddled by the sight of her crying. He didn’t know the proper way to react. He had no friends who were girls, no mother and no sister. Getting up from the swing, he put his Strix down on the grass and stood in front of her.
The only thing he could think to do was lower himself to his knees and wrap his arms around her shoulders. At first, she was surprised and her body tensed up. Then she let herself collapse into his body, folding her arms around his neck.
He felt her breath and warm tears on the nape of his neck. They both stayed in the embrace as the surf crashed in the distance. Morgan felt her inhale a gulp of breath and pat her wet lips below his chin. As though their sets of lips were opposing poles of magnets, they wandered on a collision course until they found each other.
…
Chapter 16
Lucas and the Ray
At school the following day, most of the students were talking about what happened to Nox Jaborosa.
The rumors included a version that he had been put into a mental hospital after taking off all his clothes and repeatedly slamming his head into the school sidewalk. One student in Morgan’s gym class told him that Nox had become blind and could no longer speak.
When he found Lucas sitting by himself in the cafeteria during lunch, Morgan sat down with a look of exhilaration brimming in his face over the night before.
“You look happy,” Lucas told him.
“I had some kind of night, probably the best night of my life.”
Later that day, they passed by Nox’s friends, who were standing by the lockers, but there was no sign of Nox himself. The group of boys looked confused, perhaps afraid. Their expressions were blank and blood drew out of their faces when they saw Lucas and Morgan in the hall. Morgan looked right at them and they just turned away, as though Strix was there with eyes flashing.
“I guess Strix made them think twice,” said Morgan. “Let’s see them try to screw around with us now.”
“What do you think happened to Nox? Do you think he’s dead?”
“Nah, there would be people cheering in the hallways and rainbows in the sky.”
Morgan was friendly with a few linebackers on the school football team and they ran into a group of them in the hallway. One boy, with broad shoulders and a buzzed haircut, asked Morgan about what had happened with Nox.
“Hey Battle,” the boy started to ask, “I heard you and Lucas Mucus used some kind of toy to lobotomize Nox.”
“It’s true,” Morgan told him. “We performed brain surgery right in front of the school. We were tired of his shit. And my friend’s name is just Lucas.”
“Thanks,” Lucas told him as they walked away. “I don’t need you to stand up for me though.”
“I wasn’t,” said Morgan. “I’m just really tired of hearing people call you that.”
…
Morgan took the cable car and met Callista that evening as well. The fog was so thick that the lights of the Bastion were swallowed by the haze. Even the ocean noise seemed to disappear in the sea smoke. Callista’s house seemed like part of a cloud city.
She met Morgan outside, bringing both her Strix and a large quilt to put on the grass for an evening picnic. Eventually, they found a spot just at the edge of the woods. The location was private and gave them their own view of the Bastion.
They sprawled out on the quilt after Morgan unfolded it. She rested her head on his lap and he ran his fingers through the length of her hair. Morgan had a difficult time taking his eyes off her face while her mind seemed somewhere else. She closed her eyes and he wondered what she was thinking.
“Do you know why Lucas is so strange?” She asked him.
The question took him by surprise. He hadn’t expected Lucas’s name to come up. He told her, “Beats me. The kid’s an enigma.”
“It’s like he’s on a mission from God or something,” She said. “Like he knows and accepts what happens even before it happens. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so unafraid.”
“I don’t think I have either,” Morgan admitted. “I sometimes like to think of myself as fearless but I know it isn’t the truth. I know how I feel inside.”
“It’s like he’s at war with something.”
“I think he is. With just about everybody and everything.”
“Does he have…Has he ever had…a girlfriend or anything?”
Morgan chuckled, saying, “He doesn’t get asked out a lot, no.”
“He doesn’t even seem like the sort that would be interested,” She said. Callista asked the owls, “Strix, what happened to Lucas’s father? How did he die?”
“Myocardial infarction brought on by Storm Madness,” said Strix. “You both may know it as a heart attack.” The owl added, “However, the story is not without some mystery.”
“What do you mean ‘mystery?’”
“One of the medical examiners found his death peculiar and recommended there be an investigation for foul play.”
“Did they find anything?” Callista asked.
“There was no trace of anything out of the ordinary in terms of forensics,” said Strix. “His death was eventually determined to be the result of chronic Storm Madness. He had been in decline for some time, in and out of hospitals, before the madness shut down his heart.”
“Storm Madness, just like my mom?” Callista asked.
“It was a much worse case than what is typically observed. He developed a violent fear of water and complete loss of mental faculties. It was quite traumatic for Lucas,” Strix went on. “The heart attack seemed a peaceful end.”
Morgan interrupted. He said, “You know, I remember when that happened, when his father died. I didn’t know him but I heard it around at school. I just remember the way Lucas looked. He didn’t cry once. He didn’t even speak. He just sat by himself all day, not even looking at anyone. I remember even the bullies knew enough to stay away from him then. Then one morning,” Morgan went on, “the splash alarm siren went off while we were all in the cafeteria. We all saw something land outside and realized it was a big manta ray. The trees had broken the fall but the thing was hurt and squirming for air. Next thing we know, Lucas is out the door with the alarms still going off. Even in his condition, he climbed the tree, picked up the manta ray with his bare hands brought it all the way to one of the Lorrance ports. The teachers were all yelling at him but they were too scared to go outside to stop him. I’m pretty sure he saved the thing too. It was pretty badass I have to say. He’d made up his mind. He just wasn’t gonna let the thing die.�
�
…
When Morgan got home that night, his father was half awake in the living room, watching the war on TV through blurred, drunken eyes. He could somehow tell where Morgan had been. Perhaps it had been the trace of smile left on the boy’s face.
“Is she pregnant yet?” His father asked him with a smirk. “You don’t have to say anything. I know we don’t always get along but I can read that look on your face.”
Morgan sat down on the easy chair next to the couch. Even though his father wasn’t his favorite confidant, he had a strong urge to talk about Callista to someone.
“Come on,” said Killian, “you can talk to me about it. I know we’re different but we have a few things in common.”
“She lives up the hill,” Morgan told him. “She’s rich. But she doesn’t fit in with the rest of them. She’s different.”
“Ahh, rich girl,” said Killian. “Interesting. What makes you think she’s so different?”
“For one thing,” Morgan told him. “She seems to hate the other rich kids at her school and doesn’t hang out with them. Seems much more interested in learning stuff. She’s really smart.”
“What would a smart girl want with you? You’re not exactly Blaise Lorrance.”
“You know, I’m not an idiot,” said Morgan. “Some people seem to think I’m worth paying attention to. As a matter of fact, Blaise Lorrance is one of those people.”
“I just want you to be careful,” said Killian, sounding concerned, almost tender. “You have no idea how nasty the world and people can be.”
“I think I do.”
“The hell you do. Remember rich people are taught to throw people away. This girl of yours, she’s not interested in you. She’s only interested in getting something from another rich guy, probably her father in this case. They just use people like us.”
“She’s not like that.”
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