“Wait. Before you go. I have a present for you.” He reached into the cargo pocket of his pants and pulled out something I had seen only a few times before--a paper book. “You mentioned that you like science fiction,” he said, holding it out to me. “Maybe you can read this in whatever moments you have.”
I took it from him, marveling at it. The library at my old school had a glass case full of old books but I had never held one in my hands.
“Thank you,” I said again. “I will.”
Head down then I went out with Xel on my heels. I closed the door behind me and stood with my back to it, peering out into the dark garage. Xel sat at my feet, leaning against my leg. Off and on since I made the decision to run, I had experienced moments of clarity when the absurdity of what I was doing seemed overwhelming. Just then, in the dark, with my back against the door, I felt it strongly. My pulse began to race, and I felt the itchy sensation of sweat breaking out on my forehead and under my arms. I crouched down and took deep breaths, letting my head hang.
“Are you okay, Tara?” Xel asked.
I nodded yes and continued to take deep breaths. Calmed down, the panic attack averted, I stood back up, a little shaky. A moment later, the door opened and Loki stepped out.
“Let’s go,” he said, averting his face and striding forward.
I stood there for a few moments, my brain saying go but my body not responding. Then, suddenly, I came unstuck and took a step, another. Xel and I followed Loki into the darkness. He turned his lantern on to a barely perceptible glow and held it out for us to follow. He was walking even faster than usual though, and I couldn’t keep up in the dark.
“Loki,” I whispered, “Slow down. I can’t go that fast.”
He stopped and waited for me to catch up. “Sorry,” he whispered back then turned and kept walking but at a slower pace.
We came to the door we had passed through on the night Loki saved us from the rats. Loki opened it, stood aside as Xel and I walked through, then closed it softly. Without looking back, he started down the stairs, turning the lantern up now so that it cast a brighter glow on the damp, water stained and graffitied walls. At the bottom, we retraced our steps down the long corridor and emerged into the sewer. Black water flowed slowly below us, the lantern light glinting off its surface. I was glad I couldn’t see it more clearly. I dug out my respie, holding my breath. Loki had brought along an old respie too.
“You lead the way, Xel,” I said.
His eyes flashed at me in the dark and he bowed his head in a nod. “This is the Central Outfall Sewer. We will have to walk along the open sewer for approximately sixteen kilometers. It’s a full day of walking. We should try to get to the East Central Interceptor by evening so we can get away from the raw sewage. This way.” Xel turned left and began walking. Loki followed, and I brought up the rear.
We walked for all of that day along the narrow path underground with the dark water sliding along beside us. I saw rats occasionally but only in ones and twos. They ignored us, scuttling along on their own business. I saw lots of cockroaches too. The first couple of times I jumped, letting out a gasp. After that, I just took them for part of the landscape and ignored the peripheral glints of lantern light on their shiny bodies as they scurried across the walls. Sometimes I would see things float by in the water too--mysterious, dark shapes, nothing I could easily recognize.
The walls themselves and the floor below us shifted from concrete to brick and back again as we passed through older and newer sections of the sewer. In some old sections yellow stalactites hung down from the ceiling, built up by years of water seeping down through the cracks in the brick and depositing minerals. In some places, near where ladders ran up to manholes high above, we saw graffiti and empty spray paint cans. We didn’t see any other people though. It was quiet and monotonous. By mid-day, my legs and feet ached. We stopped periodically to drink water or a quick liquid nutrient pack but neither of us wanted to keep our respies off for long. The air was rancid and moist. It was all I could do to suck down a few quick sips of water or nutrients without becoming nauseated.
I kept my hoodie on despite the warmth, not wanting too much of my skin exposed to the air. Xel set the pace, staying in the lead. He walked slower probably than Loki would have liked, but I was glad. Xel was looking out for me. I wasn’t in great shape and the exertions of the last few days had made my body sore and tired. Sometimes Xel would stop, sniffing the air for a few moments before continuing. I made a mental note to ask him whether he could separate out the stench of the sewage enough to really smell anything else. I knew he must be able to but I couldn’t imagine it.
As the day wore on and we continued walking in silence, I started to feel more and more how strange it was to be traveling with someone who was an almost-total stranger. In our short time together, Xel and I had formed a bond. Xel’s programming was written with exactly this purpose in mind. In military situations, special operations soldiers would be assigned a companion like Xel when they were sent on solitary missions. They would become a team, learning from each other, able to anticipate each other’s movements and reactions. Loki was quiet and reticent and so was I.
We had begun to get to know each other a little, but we were still strangers. I didn’t really know how to become someone’s friend. I had only done it once in my life and all the effort had been Rosie’s. I still didn’t know why Rosie had chosen me that first day in fourth grade when she had walked up to me on the playground and asked if I wanted to help her dig. We spent that recess digging holes around the roots of a tree, lining them with grass, and gathering stones and nuts to decorate them with. We had been friends ever since. Now, on the run, in the sewers below Los Angeles, our group of three felt off balance, without enough shared experiences and knowledge to be comfortable together. I was used to being uncomfortable around other people. This felt different, though. We were on this journey together. It was awkward.
I knew Loki must be feeling a lot of emotion too, bottling it up. There was no chance to talk though, with our respies on, traveling through that weird, quiet underworld. Getting to know each other would have to wait.
Finally, in the afternoon, we came to the place Xel had been leading us to. There was a smaller tunnel that branched off at an angle, leading upward at a slight grade. It had no walkway so we had to climb down, careful to avoid the sewage flowing by, and walk carefully along the curved, dry bottom. After only a few minutes of walking, we emerged into a larger tunnel again that was much like the one Xel and I had originally found, with the same sort of catwalk.
“This is the East Central Interceptor,” Xel said. “We made it. I suggest continuing a bit farther then stopping for the night. I can see that you are both tired.”
Xel was right, I was dead tired, but I wanted to get away from the stench of the sewage so I agreed. Loki had to help me up to the catwalk. He scrambled up first then reached a hand down for me. When our fingers touched, I felt a shiver run through me at the contact. Touching other people was a little weird for me. He didn’t seem to notice, though. His hand was strong and callused. He pulled me up, and I was able to get a leg over the edge of the catwalk, a hand on the rail. My sore muscles protested, but I pulled myself up from there.
We marched along for another twenty minutes before we came to an alcove like the one Xel and I had stopped in before. We all looked at each other and came to a mutual, wordless decision to stop there. I dropped to the floor, back to the wall, hugging my knees with my arms. For a minute, I just sat there, overjoyed to be done walking. Xel lay down, curled up next to me. After a while, I realized I could probably take my respie off. I lifted it over my head and sniffed the air. It was dank but not nauseating. Loki, sitting across from me with his back to the other wall of the alcove, also took his respie off, breathed deeply, and exhaled.
“That was a walk,” he said
“Yeah. I’m exhausted,” I replied.
“Hungry?” he asked and I nodded yes.
He opened his backpack and got out two instafood meal packs, two forks. There was a water tap just like in the other alcove where Xel and I had stopped so I refilled both of our water bottles and passed Loki’s back to him. We sat and ate in silence then. Despite my aversion to instafood, I ate every morsel. I even ran my finger around the inside of the biodegradable container to get the last few crumbs. I wasn’t used to physical exertion and the hunger that came along with it. I had never been athletic or even active. I preferred to sit and read a book. My parents were the same way. I hadn’t ever thought about it, but maybe I was that way because they were. Maybe I had never been shown any other way to be. I was sore and tired but it felt kind of good actually. It felt rewarding to have done something difficult and then to rest.
After we finished our food, we sat for a while in silence, just resting. The lantern was on the ground between us, creating a comforting circle of light in the dark. I was beginning to feel sleepy, my eyes drooping, when Loki stretched, stood, and began to dig in his pack.
“We should put up the tent,” he said. “We don’t want to get caught out if the rats show up again.”
I stood too and helped as best I could. Working together, it didn’t take long. The tent just fit between the back wall of the alcove and the railing of the catwalk. It was made of an extremely light and tough carbon nano fabric that would keep out any unwanted visitors. We put our backpacks inside, crawled in, and laid out our sleeping bags. The tent was big enough for us to lay side by side, propped up on our packs with the lantern between us. We left the tent door unzipped and Xel stationed himself there, sitting with his back to us, guarding. Loki was digging in his pack again. I looked over and saw him take out a small bamboo flute.
“Do you mind if I play?” he asked, eyes on the roof of the tent.
“No. I mean yes, please--go ahead,” I stammered.
He lifted the flute and took a deep breath. The first note was low and long, dying out to silence at the end. Another long note, higher, trembling followed, then a slow arpeggio first up, then down. His playing went on like that, slow and meditative. I closed my eyes and listened, forgetting for a little while where we were and why we were there. He must have played for twenty minutes. The last note was like the first, dying out so slowly it was hard to tell when it ended. I opened my eyes and looked over at him. Xel had turned and his face was lifted, eyes closed.
“I think, perhaps, that was beautiful music,” Xel said softly. “I am unsure. The experience of beauty is new to me.”
“Yes, it was,” I said. “Very beautiful. What kind of instrument is that?”
Loki held it up. “Shakuhachi,” he said. “A meditation flute. Aeon gave it to me before we left. It’s his own flute. He taught me to play. It helps me relax sometimes when I feel an episode coming. Are you going to read the book? The one Aeon gave you?”
“Yes,” I said. I had almost forgotten about it. “Do you want me to read it aloud?”
He nodded, still looking up at the ceiling of the tent. I found it in my pack, settled myself, and opened the book carefully. It was old and the pages were yellowed and brittle. I had never read a paper book, but I knew how they were supposed to work. Printed text on paper was a lot different than the words that hung in front of my vision when I read books on my specs. Slowly, I turned the pages until I came to chapter one, then cleared my throat and began.
“‘Two pieces of yesterday were in Captain Davidson’s mind when he woke...’”
***
I woke disoriented the next morning but recovered quickly. My body was a different story though. I tried to sit up and every muscle complained at the movement. Still, I pushed myself up and turned the lantern on low. Xel was seated in the tent opening. Loki was still asleep.
“Good morning, Tara.”
“Morning, Xel. What time is it?”
“Six forty-three,” he said.
I nodded, yawned, rubbed my eyes. “How far do we have to go today?”
“Approximately the same distance as yesterday. We should try to be up and moving by eight at the latest.”
“Okay,” I said, laying back. “I’m just going to rest a little bit longer.”
When I woke again, Loki was up, stuffing his rolled sleeping bag into his pack.
I sat up. “What time is it now?”
“Seven thirty-four,” Xel answered.
“We should get going pretty soon,” Loki said.
“Okay. I’m up,” I answered.
I turned and dug a breakfast packet out of my pack, dumped the powder into my water bottle, and drank it down in a few gulps. I needed to pee so I put my boots on and walked a ways down the tunnel. By the time I got back, the tent was broken down and packed away. I stretched for a minute, trying to remember the warm-up exercises we had run through in gym class at PVCSTEM. I was sure I looked stupid but I felt a little better by the time I was done. I heaved my pack up onto my back and adjusted the straps.
“Ready,” I said.
Loki nodded and gestured to Xel to lead us.
We spent the morning walking at a fairly slow pace. I had broken down and told Xel and Loki how sore I was from the previous day, explaining that I didn’t get much exercise, especially since my family moved. Back in PacNW, I at least walked half a mile each way to school and back, rode bikes with Rosie, ran around during gym class. The walking was less unpleasant. We didn’t have to wear respies, and there was no raw sewage. Around midday, we stopped for a break. Shortly after we got going again though, Xel stopped abruptly, turning his ears and sniffing.
“What is it?” I whispered.
“Something ahead,” he answered. “I thought I heard a voice, a child crying. A sound of metal on metal. I smell food cooking.”
Loki and I looked at each other.
“Could be a camp,” he said. “I’ve heard of people living in the sewers, if they don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“What do we do?”
“Go on ahead, I guess. If it is a camp, we just walk by, hope they leave us alone. I have this--” He pulled out a small device from his pocket and held it up. “--in case anybody tries to stop us.”
“What is it?”
“A taser. Shocks people. It won’t hurt them, just immobilize them for a little while.”
“Okay,” I said, feeling nervous.
“Just keep walking. Don’t look at anything. Try to seem calm.”
I nodded, and we all turned and began walking again. Xel stayed close to my side and Loki walked a little bit in front. The tunnel curved to the right ahead. As we rounded the turn, I saw light and smelled smoke. We continued walking and the patch of light grew closer. I began to make out shapes. There were several temporary shelters like the ones in the garage but much less elaborate--just sheets of plastic. A woman was seated in the middle of the spillway on a plastic box, tending a small grill. Smoke rose from the grill and floated down the tunnel in our direction. A large man stood a few paces behind the woman. He was looking our way. As we approached a young child came out of one of the shelters followed by an older boy who must have been fifteen or sixteen years old. They all watched us as we moved closer, looking up toward the catwalk.
As we drew even with them, the child ran to the woman and wrapped its arms around her, looking back at us through an unkempt mop of brown hair. The teenager and the man both stared at us, mouths open. I took one glance back as we passed and saw the man looking over at the boy.
He said something--a surprising sound in the that silent place. I didn’t understand the language. It sounded like grunting. They both stepped forward still watching us then began to walk then to jog toward us.
“Run,” Xel said. “I will bring up the rear.”
Loki and I began running along the catwalk. The lantern bounced in Loki’s grasp, casting crazy dancing shadows on the walls. Xel loped along behind. I couldn’t go very quickly on the catwalk with the backpack. My muscles ached with the effort, my pulse beat fast with fear, and perspir
ation slid down my forehead. I kept running, feet clanking on the metal below. Loki glanced back.
“Faster,” he said. “They’re catching up.”
I heard the man yelling in the darkness behind us. He sounded angry. I tried to run faster, but I could feel that they were gaining.
Suddenly, Xel let out a fearsome hiss. I turned just in time to see the man jump up, grasp the struts, and try to raise himself to the catwalk. Xel was there, though, with claws flashing in the lantern light. Bloody tracks were drawn across the man’s arm and face. I saw his mouth open in surprise and pain, his gums toothless, as he fell back.
The boy was also climbing up. Loki stepped forward, and I saw a flash as the taser arced, and the boy fell back too.
“Forward. Another twenty meters. Doorway on the left,” Xel said.
We all started running. I heard the man and the boy yelling again, back on our trail. Loki was in the lead. Just as Xel had said, there was an alcove ahead and a door. Loki pulled his keychain out of his pocket and slid a key into the lock.
“Master key,” he said as he turned it and pushed the door open.
I slipped through followed by Xel and then Loki who slammed the steel door closed. A moment later there came a loud bang as the man threw his shoulder against the door.
“Let’s go,” Xel said. “It is improbable that he will succeed in breaking down the door, but we should move away just in case.”
I looked around, panting, trying to get my breath back. We were in a narrow tunnel with an arched roof.
“Lead the way,” Loki answered.
Xel turned and led us along the tunnel at a quick trot. My lungs burned and I had a stitch in my side but I kept up. The sound of the man banging against the door followed us down the corridor, growing softer as we continued. After twenty minutes, we came to a wider area where there was a short flight of steps leading up and another tunnel branching off the right.
The Place Inside the Storm Page 9