Running Dry (20 page)

              A voice from behind the circle bellows out loud and clear, "Hey, you snakes, what are ya up to?"

              "Ouch!" one of them says as I see something bounce off of the side of his head.  He backs off me a bit and the rest of them turn to see what's being thrown at them.

              I consider bolting right then and there, take full advantage of the distraction while I have the chance, but I see as they break the circle, the shoe lady, the one who was talking to LeRoy earlier.  She's standing in the middle of the street with her cart and she's lobbing weapons at the men--her cartload of mismatched shoes.

              "Get going now," she hollers at them, holding a big boot in her right hand pulled back in the hurling position. 

              "Okay, okay.  Take it easy now, Gerty," Beer Belly says, but he raises his hands in surrender and keeps backing away slowly.  Gerty strains her eyes a bit and slowly starts toward me, pushing her cart as if it’s a walker, the black boot still in hand.

              Her snarly face comes into view.  "I know you," she says, getting close to me.  "I seen you talking to LeRoy earlier."

              "Yeah, um.  Thank you so much," I say, hoping she hasn't changed her mind about helping me now that she's recognized me.  The men have mostly wandered off but a few are still gawking from a distance.  It's obvious Gerty holds some power with this gang of water stealers.

              "He told me you been good to him, so..." she still sounds skeptical, but she puts the boot back into her little rolling cart.  She lowers her voice and this time it sounds slightly empathetic. "Let me walk you outta here.  It's not a good idea to be roaming alone like this at night." 

              "I appreciate it."

              "Why you getting your pretty little self messed up with crazies?" she asks, looking sideways at me as we walk.

              "I didn't mean to.  I was out for a run and sat down to have something to drink.  They must have seen the water and the next thing I knew..."

              She's skeptical, I can tell.  "What about LeRoy?  What you doing hanging out with him?"  Do I hear jealousy in her croaky voice?

              "I just see him on my walk to work.  I've gotten to know him a little.  That's all.  Are you two close?" I ask as I walk slowly alongside of Gerty, who is going at a snail's pace, pushing her cart.  I'd rather run, but she seems confident we're safe.

              She turns and looks directly at me. "He's a crazy old coot, you know that right?"

              "I guess so.  I mean, I don't know him that well."

              "He's a good man though."  Her lips turn up a little and even though it's dark, I swear I can see a little glint in her eyes.  I wonder how well they know each other, but I don't press it.  Gerty seems like the quiet, deadly type.  I'm just happy I'm not the target of her shoe bombs. 

When we get close to the street my building is on, I thank Gerty several more times and tell her I'm okay to go the rest of the way alone.  She nods.  When I get across the street, I turn back to look at her, but she's somehow already gone, melted into the night.  That's when I start to run.  Once inside my apartment, I close the door and lock it.  Lowering myself against it, I begin to sob uncontrollably.

Zane

I'm not sure what to expect heading toward the meeting with the council.  Instead of one of the usual meeting spots, I meet Frankie down below and we go together to the location.  This exit is different from others.  This manhole cover has an access panel on the inside.  Frankie's been given the access code to exit at the very end of this tunnel line.  When we climb up and hop out, I notice right away something is different; we are standing inside a building. 

"Where are we?" I question.

"An abandoned grain elevator," she replies.  Even if those words meant anything to me, I'm guessing they still wouldn't answer my real question.

"I mean, which side are we on?"

"We are outside both city limits, way to the East.  No Man's Land, they call it."

Frankie grabs a lamp that is sitting on the ground and lights it.  We start climbing up a steep set of stairs.

"No Man's Land?"

"Ironically, there are a fair amount of men who live in No Man's Land," she says.

"I had no idea…"

"Me neither.  Not before I joined.  It's not something the government wants us to know about."

"How do people survive outside the cities?"

"I don't know.  I know there's no electrical grid, no government, no nothing really."

"Where do they get food and water?" I ask.

"Not sure.  They are a bit of a mystery.  I've never actually been here before either.  The

council only gathers for big things."

When we reach the top, Frankie shoves a set of doors open and the wind hits my face.  We are topside, and the stars and moon, along with a handful of lamps dotting the rooftop, create enough light for us to see several people sitting along the ledge running the perimeter of the tall building.  I recognize the members of our regular meeting and they all nod to us as we sit in the last few empty spots on the ledge next to them. 

Soon enough an older man stands in the middle of the space.  He raises his arm to get everyone's attention.  The soft murmurs stop immediately and he begins, "Thank you for coming, everyone.  We are gathered today to decide on a plan of action.  Who would like to come forward to present the case?"

Pete stands and clears his throat.  "Sir.  Thank you for seeing us.  We are interested in running a sanding operation.  I've written up the detailed plans and given them to Allen to preview."  He nods in the direction of a man holding a stack of papers.  He stands up and I look at him.  Before he even speaks, I know.  I would know him anywhere.  Sure, he is older, but that's him.  I brace myself on the ledge, making sure I don't topple over backwards as he begins to address the group.

"The plans look good, Benjamin.  I'm going to go ahead and offer my approval and advise the rest of the council members to vote yes as well."  He passes the papers to the man standing to his left.  We wait for several minutes while each member reads and votes on the plans.  I hear almost none of it.  My eyes are focused on the man I haven't seen in at least a dozen years.  I wouldn't have even needed to hear his name to know it was him though.  His face is etched into my brain, right where my childhood memory bank stored it.  Those are his eyes, his same lips and nose.

I'm not sure why I would have expected him to look different, save for the fact that in my mind he appears as a crazy bum whose face is covered in dirty facial hair.  When I was younger I would always look at the homeless people wandering about and try to see if his face was underneath all of the filth, but it never was.  If I ever saw a drunk stumble out of a bar at closing time, I would assume it must be him, but on closer inspection, it wasn't.  When I got older I wondered why I never saw him, while I was skating around the city, while Bekka and I were out exploring the abandoned parts of town.  Why didn't I ever run into him?  Now I know why.  

The vote is over, the plan gets approved and everyone gets up to mingle about, but I stay glued to my seat.  My hands are shaking uncontrollably and my chest is tight.  

Frankie stands and looks at me, "What's wrong?"

"I, uh.  I'm not feeling well."  This is true.  Very, very true.  I don't know what to do.  Should I march right up to him?  What would I say?  I need time to think.  When I was young I had a rehearsed speech at the ready,  but I gave that up a long time ago.  I'm not ready now, but I don't know if I'll have another chance to talk to him.  Do I even want to?

The choice isn't one I have to ponder for long because from the corner of my eye, I see him walking toward me.

"Hello, Zane."

"Hi."

Frankie stares.

"This is my friend, Frankie," I say, because it's the polite thing to do and because I'm at a loss for words, attempting to recall my speech from when I was fourteen.

"Nice to meet you, Frankie," he says warmly.

They shake hands.

"She was Zander's girlfriend," I blurt out.

"You knew Zander?" Frankie asks him.  She is really looking at him now.

"Well.  He was my son."

"Your son?  You're Zander’s father?" Frankie says.  "Then that makes you.."  She looks at me questioningly.  I shake my head.

"I'll leave you two alone," she says awkwardly, her eyes still fixed on my dad intently.

"Thanks," Dad says as she wanders toward where Pete and the others are huddled together talking.

When she's gone, I say, "So you know about Zander?  You used the past tense."

"Yes."  He looks down.  There is a strained silence, but I refuse to say anything again.  I want to know what he has to say first. 

"Zane, it's really good to see you."

"Is it?"

"How's your mother?"

At the mention of her, I feel rage begin to bubble up in me.  "I don't think you have a right to ask about her," I say defensively. 

"Okay," he says calmly, "Fair enough." 

"Listen," he says, finally, "This isn't the place or time to talk, but I'd like to see you again.  What do you say?"

"I suppose," I agree, but only because I would like to hear his explanation.  He owes it to me.

"Okay," he smiles and I realize he was nervous about how I would respond.  "I'll get word to you about when and where then."

              "Fine," I say.  The idea that my father isn't a drunk homeless person, but actually has means to get word to me about something, is not only shocking but also crushing.  It tells me he's been capable of seeing me all these years but hasn't.  I feel like punching him, maybe pushing him off the ledge of this high building.  I want to scream.  Instead, I just turn and forcefully shove my way out the heavy doors and head back down into the tunnels.  He doesn't deserve an ounce of my emotion.  I save it for the darkness and sewer rats.

Chapter 27

Bekka

I meet Bones at a club where his favorite band, The Thunder Bolts, is playing.  I arrive a little late because the idea of standing awkwardly in a club waiting for him seems too desperate.  When I first enter, it's dark and I'm not sure where to begin looking for him.  I start slowly weaving around the people and tables.  After I've made my way to the other side of the room, I decide to stand against the wall and wait for him to find me while I watch the band set up and test their instruments.  Seeing the band reminds me of the few times Evy drug me to clubs with her to see shows.  I miss her, but can't stop the jealousy from seething out, even now.  I wonder how she's doing as a runner.   

              "Tyler?  Hi."  Bones is in front of me.  He's wearing a black t-shirt with the band's name on it and his hair is messy, but like he tried to style it that way.  His smile is wide and his teeth are perfectly straight and white.

              "Hi."

              "You can call me Bones.  My real name is Jesse though."

              "Bones.  That makes me think of someone scary or mean.  You don't look scary," I say.

              "Nah.  It's cause I'm so tall and skinny.  Always have been.  People say they can practically see my bones."

              I laugh.  "Oh!  That makes more sense."

              He stands against the wall next to me and his feet tap the floor while we stand there for a while, uncomfortably.  "You want to grab some seats?" he asks finally.

              "Sure."  We find a small empty table off to the side of the stage and sit across from each other. 

              "Uh...You want a drink?" he asks.

              I flashback to the party with Alex.  "No thanks." 

              "Cool," he says, looking around.  He continues, even after we sit, to nervously tap his foot on the floor.  We both just kind of watch people in the crowd around us and he waves to a few people at another table. I realize he may be more nervous than I am and I start to feel bad and relax a little at the revelation.  "So, what do you do?" I ask.

              "Not much.  Hang out, I guess," he says shrugging his shoulders.

              "No, I mean for a job."

              "Oh, right," he smiles.  "I don't have one."

              "Really?"

              "Yeah.  I mean, I did.  But, it sucked.  Looking for something else.  I guess.  I'm not super into the whole working thing."  He looks down at his hands.  Then he says, "Frankie told me you work at the factory with her?"

              "Yeah."

              "How's that?"

              "It's okay, I guess," I say.  "You thinking about applying?"

              "Hell no!  I actually worked there once.  That place is awful."

              "You did?  What happened?"