The Place Inside the Storm

by Bradley W Wright

  “Why were you in the sewer last night?” I asked, finally.

  Loki stared ahead, continuing to walk as he answered. “I was scavenging some parts. There’s an old control room they don’t use anymore. Lots of circuit boards.”

  “But how did you happen to find us?”

  “Saw you in the tunnel. Heard you first, actually. I followed you. I thought the rats might come out. I waited when you went to sleep. Wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  I nodded, trying to think of some way to keep the conversation going. “Is your n--name really Loki?” I asked, stammering, immediately feeling like it was a stupid or possibly offensive question.

  He glanced over at me, and I looked away from his face, embarrassed. He had a nice face. He was serious and didn’t smile much but I was sure people would say the same thing about me.

  “It’s the name Aeon gave me. I don’t know my real name. Or the name I was given when I was born anyway.”

  “Oh, right. Sorry.” I was correct. It was a stupid question. I hoped he wasn’t offended. “It’s the name of a Norse god. We learned about him at school. Mythology,” I said, feeling dumb.

  “I’ve never been to school. I don’t think I have anyway. I don’t remember much of anything from before I came to live with Aeon.”

  “Nothing?”

  “Just a few flashes. A hospital room. Someone’s face. Way back, I remember sitting on some stairs. Wood stairs. In the sun. I was warm.”

  I nodded and kept walking, hurrying to keep up. Loki didn’t seem used to walking with other people either. He walked fast but still with the limp I had noticed before. It felt good to stretch my legs. I had never really walked like that--striding forward, each step as long as I could make it.

  The upper levels of the garage were pretty much the same as the one Loki and Aeon lived on. There were rows and rows of makeshift shelters. Some were elaborate, with vast collections of junk. Others looked newer--tucked in between older structures wherever space had been left.

  There were lights on now so it wasn’t as dark as it had been when we arrived the previous night. Aeon had told me they were on a timer. They turned on during the day, powered by solar panels on the top level. There were porta potties on every level and a bath house on the third floor where people could take showers. Loki and Aeon were lucky to have their own bathroom, but they still had to ration water.

  They were only allowed a certain amount per day so showers had to be quick. I had taken a very short shower before we left and was feeling cleaner but still a little bewildered. I was taking it all in, trying to process the difference between how my family lived and how the people here lived. I was starting to understand that my life, as unhappy as I felt, was privileged. Still, I would rather live in a place like this, I thought, than have a mind control device in my brain. Remembering that, I peeked over at Loki. He really did have something in his brain.

  “What’s school like?” he asked, turning his face toward me for an instant.

  “Well...” I hesitated. “I don’t really like it. It’s a lot of sitting still and paying attention while teachers talk. You don’t have any school at all?”

  “We have a daycare for little kids. After that, we apprentice with someone. Aeon teaches me about electronics. He went to college. He was an engineer a long time ago. We have a neighbor, Madeleine, who teaches me math and writing. She used to be a teacher at a school.”

  I nodded, not sure how to respond. “That sounds good,” I said at last. “A lot of what I learn in school seems pretty useless.”

  We reverted to silence after that and kept walking. At the next turn, I saw daylight ahead. We were on our way to something Loki and Aeon called The Market. I wasn’t sure what to expect. We had discussed Xel’s plan to hop a freight train, and Aeon had agreed it was probably our best chance. Either that or stow away on one of the autotrucks that traveled in caravans on the interstates. Aeon and Xel had come up with a list of things we would need. My purchases from the surplus store were a good start, but we would need more food, a tarp, sleeping bags, and a variety of smaller items.

  The ramps kept going up, but Loki turned and led the way to a wide opening that had once been the place where cars entered and exited the garage. There were two men stationed at the entrance. Loki waved to them. There was a tall chain link gate that could be pulled across to close off the entrance but it was wide open.

  “Are they guards?” I asked.

  “Yes. We all take turns. We have a sort of council of volunteers who manage the community. They assign tasks. I maintain the lights. Aeon used to but he can’t get up and down the ladders very well anymore.”

  “What are they guarding against?”

  “Homeless people. Wild dogs. There are packs of dogs out here. Dangerous. Like the rats last night. They don’t usually come around during the day, though.”

  We had seen a few people inside, many of whom had greeted Loki by name. At the gate, we met a group of men and women, all wearing corp overalls, heading off to work it seemed, and let them pass out before us.

  “How do they get to work from here?” I asked.

  “The train.” Loki pointed. “There’s a stop a couple of blocks that way.”

  We had emerged from the garage onto a desolate looking street lined with utility poles and stunted trees. Weeds grew up through the cracked pavement. Across the street was a five-story building stretching the full length of the block that looked like it might have been offices at one time. All the windows were either broken or boarded up. I turned and looked up. The garage also stretched up another five stories above ground. Each floor was painted a different color and there was a bright mural showing scenes of children playing, people working in a garden, men and women dancing. The sign for the garage was painted over and incorporated into the mural but I could still make out the letters: Quik Park.

  Loki saw me looking at it. “That’s by Carlos. He paints murals all around the garage. We should walk the upper levels when we get back. It’s nicer up there with the sunlight. The garden is nice, too, up top.”

  “Okay,” I answered, and Loki gestured to the left.

  “Market’s that way.”

  “Where are we?” I asked as we started down the sidewalk. “I lost any sense of distance or direction while we were underground.”

  “Near the old airport. LAX.”

  We walked for a couple of blocks, passing by more derelict buildings. We came to one though that looked like it was in better repair. Most of the windows were intact, and there were solar panels on the roof. Two children were standing on a fire escape and waved to us as we passed. I waved back.

  “That’s the Gray Rabbit Community. It’s like ours.”

  “Gray rabbit. Why do they call it that?”

  “I don’t know. We just call ours the garage, or some old timers like Aeon still call it the Quik Park.” He gestured with his head. “That’s the market.”

  We were walking alongside a patch of rubble now that looked like the remains of another building. Up ahead was a big open area enclosed with chain link fence. A familiar feeling came over me, looking out over that flat expanse. It was something I had felt often since moving to LA. The sensation was precarious, like I was on a grid of concrete just flowing out in all directions with no end. If I stood still or closed my eyes, the grid would start to tip and I would feel like I was floating into the air. Too much space. Too much distance.

  We kept walking, approaching the fence, and the feeling lessened. I saw a weathered sign that said Lot C. Beyond the fence, as far as I could see, there were rows of tables piled with merchandise, sunshades on poles stretched above them, and people wandering up and down the rows. We entered through a gate and stopped for a moment, surveying the market.

  “It used to be a parking lot for the airport,” Loki said. “Now we have market here twice a week. People come from all over to sell stuff. They go to markets in other places the rest of the week. Let’s go this way. Outdoor surv
ival stuff and surplus is at the far end.”

  We started walking along the edge of the market, moving slowly. I saw people selling clothing, housewares, plates, cups, pot and pans, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, toys, games, packaged food, fresh fruits and vegetables. It went on and on. All of the stuff that wasn’t food was old and used, maybe salvaged from empty buildings or abandoned homes. There were food carts too parked all along the edges of the fence--tacos, instanoodles, broiled skewers of vat meat, dumplings, rice bowls.

  The smells of all the foods mixing together was intoxicating. It was getting near lunch time, and the sun was beating down hot on the top of my head. We stopped at a food cart, and Loki bought two agua frescas which we sipped as we walked. The crowd was diverse. I saw people dressed in all kinds of ethnic costumes, people in patched and worn clothes like Loki’s, people in vintage suits, corp workers in their overalls, young people in sportswear. Finally, we came to a section where outdoor survival gear was laid out on tarps. It was all similar to what I had seen at the surplus store. Loki methodically went through the merchandise and finally selected a couple of sleeping bags, a backpack, and some other equipment. He bargained with the men who sat on folding chairs and payed with a credit chip Aeon had given him. We also picked up more instafood in the form of military rations. When we had everything on the list tucked into our backpacks we wandered back over to the food carts and bought a couple of rice bowls with kimchi. We found a patch of shade and sat side by side with our backs against the fence, eating.

  “Is it true that your grandmother is a doctor?” Loki asked.

  “Yes. She’s an Obstetrician.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A doctor who treats pregnant women and helps them give birth. She knows other doctors though. Some of them are surgeons.”

  “It’s true. What Aeon said about my trouble.” Loki halted for a moment then went on. “It’s getting worse. Slowly. It takes me longer to recover now. When I have a seizure.”

  “I think we can find someone to help if we can get to PacNW. My grandmother lives in a place called Eugene. Used to be Oregon.

  “I want to go, but I don’t want to leave Aeon. He’s my only family.”

  “I understand,” I said, feeling the grid stretching out again, limitless miles of concrete, my own emptiness surging up inside of me. “I left my family too. I had to. They wanted to put one of those things in my head too.”

  ***

  Back at the garage, we skipped the tour of the upper levels because I was anxious to get back to Xel, and Loki was feeling tired still from the previous night. We made our way down the ramps in silence, Loki nodding and waving to the few people we saw out. When we entered Aeon’s and Loki’s nest, I saw Xel up on one of the workbenches with Aeon bent over him.

  “What’s going on? Is he damaged? What are you doing?” I called out, alarmed.

  “It’s okay, Tara,” Xel said, lifting his head and looking over at me. “Aeon is just fitting me with some surplus equipment.”

  Aeon had one of Xel’s paws in his hands, but I couldn’t see what he was doing.

  A moment later, he straightened up and took a step back. “Done. Now you can really fight rats.”

  “What did you do?” I asked, curious.

  Xel held up a paw. “Feel,” he said.

  I took his paw and felt it with my fingers. Each of his toes now ended with a sharp steel claw.

  “Carbon steel,” Aeon said from behind me. “Front and back. I took them off an old T-Eighty-Nine skeleton I had in the back.”

  “Amazing,” I said, feeling the claws on his other paw. “Xel, you’re ready for anything now.”

  “I will at least be able to protect you more effectively,” he answered with a slow blink.

  “You’re already an expert at that,” I said, hugging him. “But I’m glad you got your claws. I always felt like you should have them.”

  ***

  Aeon fixed a big dinner that night with Loki’s help. We had sausages, carrots, brussel sprouts, and potatoes from the garden up top, all roasted with spices and seasonings. Aeon said the sausage was insect protein, but it tasted good. I hadn’t had a real dinner in so long I had forgotten what it was like. It was somber, though. Nobody did much talking. Aeon and Loki circled around the kitchen like gears in a machine, preparing the meal. I could tell they were used to cooking together. They were a good team. We were planning on leaving the next morning though, and they were careful with each other. It seemed like they were both processing it in their own solitary way, unfamiliar or unpracticed in expressing their love to each other. Watching them reminded me of the way my parents interacted. Probably the way I interacted with them too. We were all hard edged, closed off, solitary. It was weird to see it from the outside.

  After dinner, we washed the dishes and put them away. With the last glass placed on the shelf above the sink, Aeon turned to us.

  “Long day,” he said. “You two should get to bed. Start of a tough journey tomorrow. I’m off to bed too. I’ll wake you early.”

  Loki stood, looking down at his feet, nodding.

  “See you in the morning.” Aeon shuffled off.

  “Going to bed too. See you in the morning,” Loki said to me.

  “Okay,” I answered. He started to turn away and on impulse I spoke. “Are you okay?” I asked. “I know this is hard.”

  “It’ll be all right,” he said, voice low. “I’ll come back. I owe him that.”

  Chapter 9

  Setting Out

  I woke up to the feeling of Xel prodding me in the side with a paw and sat up, trying to figure out where I was.

  “Tara. It’s time to get up.”

  I rubbed my eyes and looked around. The room was mostly dark with only one light on in the kitchen turned down to a honey-colored glow. I lay still for a few minutes, almost falling back to sleep but soon Aeon came in, wearing the tattered robe and pajamas I had seen him in the night we met.

  He turned up the lights in the kitchen and glanced over. “Ah good. You’re awake. I’m just going to put on some water to boil then wake up Loki. We can have some breakfast before you set out.”

  Aeon and Loki had an old gas stove in the corner converted to run on propane. Aeon lit a burner, put the kettle on, then crossed the room, and went out through the doorway into the workshop. I looked down at Xel who was crouching on the floor next to the couch.

  “Are we really doing this, Xel?” I asked.

  He looked back at me. “It seems like the best plan. We were fortunate to meet Loki and Aeon. We would not be well prepared without their help. Aeon has loaded detailed maps of the sewers and subway tunnels into my memory.”

  “I hope we make it. We are going to make it, aren’t we?”

  “I hope so. At least I think I hope so.” Xel seemed to be pondering something. “Previously, I knew the definition of the word hope. Now I think I might feel the actual feeling. A sort of striving or yearning toward an uncertain goal. I picture the desired outcome and feel an internal stretching toward it.”

  “Yes,” I answered. “That sounds like hope.”

  Half an hour later we were all sitting down to a breakfast of eggs with leftover potatoes and sausage from the night before. The breakfast was delicious but I had a hard time enjoying it. Trepidation about the journey we were embarking on was roiling my stomach. It was different when Xel and I had run away. It was just the two of us, and we were reacting to everything in the moment. Now there would be three of us. I didn’t know how we would even make it two miles let alone nine hundred. The security forces were looking for me. Who knew what they would do with Loki. It seemed like a long shot. My only alternative was returning home though and facing my parents--maybe being forced into having a device in my head.

  Loki and Aeon were acting gruff with each other. Watching them, I felt like an interloper who had come to break up their happy home. In fact, I was offering them a possible cure for Loki’s sickness, and they were offer
ing me much needed help and support. It was a good deal for everybody. Emotion always got in the way and made people act in irrational ways, though. It definitely happened to me sometimes, and I could see it with them.

  “So, your plan is to take the Central Outfall to the East Central Interceptor and from there to the subway tunnels downtown? Then hop a freight train?” Aeon was asking Xel as much as anybody else.

  “I have considered all possible routes and this seems best,” Xel answered. “Staying below ground is the best option, I think. There will be much less possibility of detection by the authorities.”

  “Loki hasn’t been that far in the sewers. We don’t know what you’ll find. Some weird people wandering around down there.”

  “I guess we’ll find out,” Loki said.

  “Yes, you will,” Aeon answered, giving him a hard look.

  Finally, breakfast was over. It was six a.m., and we had our backpacks ready to go by the door. We wanted to get away before other inhabitants of the garage started to stir. The less people who saw us leaving, the better. I shouldered my backpack. Loki was puttering around, fiddling with the straps and ties on his pack. Aeon was standing nearby, seeming smaller and more frail. Thanking people was not natural for me. I somehow almost always forgot to do it. My mother was constantly reminding me. Maybe it was part of my general trouble with theory of mind, as Dr. Gutierrez had called it. That meant trying to understand what other people were thinking and feeling. I felt the impulse right then though so I stepped forward.

  “Aeon, I want to thank you for taking us in and letting us stay here for the last couple of days. We really appreciate it.”

  “It was my pleasure. If you can get Loki the help he needs, you will be repaying me a hundred times over.”

  “I hope we can,” I said. “We’ll just step outside now and let you and Loki say goodbye. Come on, Xel.” With that, I turned but Aeon spoke again and I turned back.