Crash III: There's No Place Like Home (3 page)

***

The pair walked in silence. Michael held back far enough so she couldn’t shout at him again. Anyone could have made the mistake of dropping litter. She didn’t need to go so nuts on him
.
 

Morning had well and truly settled in and only the slightest trace of night still hung in the air as a slight haze. It used to be exciting to stay awake all night. Now, Michael hated everything about it—from the tiredness he felt in his bones to the headaches that came from not having enough rest.

When Lola stopped in front of him, Michael hesitantly walked up beside her.

Lola kept her attention on the sky. “Another good thing about sleeping during the day and traveling at night is it’s warmer during the day. If we’re going to be lying around doing nothing, now’s the time to be doing it.”

“And the night keeps us hidden,” Michael said. “We can live in the shadows like Batman.”

“What the fuck?”

Michael shook his head and looked down. “Never mind.”

“Anyway,” Lola said, “it’s getting light. We need to get off the streets. Where do you want to sleep?”

Despite the choice of shops, Michael only focused on one—a video game store. “There.”

Lola looked at the shop and then back to Michael. “You do realize that games don’t work anymore, right?”

“That’s my point.”

Continuing to glare at him, Lola remained silent.
 

“There’s nothing worth stealing in there. It’ll be one of the safest buildings to hide in.”

The slightest smile cracked Lola’s stern face. “Wow, that’s actually a good idea!”

As backhanded as the compliment was, Michael took it with a smile.

“You know, you’re not a pretty face, Michael.”

“Wait,” Michael said. “Don’t you mean, ‘Not
just
a pretty face’?”

The grin fell from Lola’s face and she shook her head, her tone dry. “Nope.”

***

The crunch of broken glass popped beneath Michael’s feet as he walked through the open doorway of the video game store with Lola at his side. He looked around with his mouth hanging open. “Wow. It feels so strange to be in here with no workers around. I know that games don’t work anymore, but I sure as hell wish they did. Imagine being able to have all these games for free
.
”

Lola rolled her eyes and shook her head.
 

Heat flushed Michael’s cheeks. What a stupid and childish thing to say. Computer games and an unlimited supply of sweets clearly didn’t dominate her dreams like they did his.
 

As they made their way to the rear of the shop, they took slow and deliberate steps. The stillness lifted the hairs on the back of Michael’s neck, and he shook. “I’ve got a bad feeling, Lola.”

“Jesus, kid, do you ever shut up?”

Michael opened his mouth to reply but stopped when he heard the voices of men outside the shop. Although he heard them, when he glanced over his shoulder, he couldn’t see them yet. He looked at Lola, who jabbed an urgent finger toward the back of the shop. They had to move now.

The pair ran on tiptoes down the aisle to the counter at the end. A section of the countertop had been lifted and gave them access to the door in the back wall.
 

As the men’s voices grew louder, Lola opened the door and slipped inside with Michael close on her heels.
 

Breathing heavily, Michael watched Lola bite her bottom lip while slowly pushing the door closed. Tension lifted her shoulders as she held the handle down. Her face twisted when she let the handle up and the springs inside it creaked and groaned. She only relaxed when it finally clicked home.

Lola then turned on Michael and spoke in hushed tones. “I thought you said it was safe in here.”

Before Michael could reply, a loud crash echoed through the shop.

Michael looked at Lola. “What are we going to do?”

There was another loud crash.

Lola scanned the storeroom as if looking for somewhere to hide.
 

Another crash outside, this time closer; Michael heard his own pulse pounding in his ears. “
Lola
, what are we gonna do?”

The tiny storeroom had a small desk covered in old paperwork and boxes of old consoles littered the floor. When Lola still didn’t offer any ideas, Michael pointed to a pile of PlayStation boxes in the corner. “Over there.”

From outside the storeroom, the rattle of a shelf collapsing was followed by a rush of video game boxes sliding to the floor.
 

“Quick, Lola.” Michael grabbed her cold hand and led her to the corner. After he pulled some boxes away, he pointed at the den he’d made. “Get in that hole.”

Lola frowned at him but still didn’t move. Her chest rose and fell with her rapid breaths.
 

Putting a gentle hand on her shoulder, Michael coaxed her down and pushed her into the space he’d cleared. He then blocked her in by putting the boxes back.

Several loud whacks pierced the air. Each one made Michael flinch. It sounded like baseball bats against the counter on the other side of the door.

After sliding the last box into place, Michael ran across the storeroom and opened the door to a small cupboard. Half filled with packs of paper, Michael slipped in anyway and pulled the door closed. As he sat in the cramped darkness, his pulse thumped and he listened to the sounds outside.

A second or two later, the hinges to the storeroom door creaked, and the sound of heavy boots stepped inside. Nausea ran through Michael in a hot wave.

Michael shook as he listened to the two men walk across the room. The cupboard reeked of dust, so he pinched his nose; if he sneezed now…

Boxes clattered and Michael jumped. Although he held his breath to listen, he didn’t hear Lola.
 

The crack of a bat and the sound of splintering wood signaled the demise of the desk. Heavy footsteps walked across the room and stopped outside the cupboard.
 

Michael couldn’t control his shaking body.

“Come on, Trev,” one of the men said. “I fucking hated video games when they worked. Now, they’re even more fucking useless. This place is boring the fuck out of me. Let’s get out of here.”

The other one, the one just inches away from Michael on the other side of the cupboard door, replied, “To catch kids, we need to think like kids. That means checking every fucking toy store, video game store, and old sweet shop in the area.”

Why had Michael suggested this place as somewhere to hide? Could he have made a worse choice? So much for gaining Lola’s trust
.

“Well, there ain’t any here, so let’s fucking go.”

Trev grumbled to himself for a moment.
 

Despite his closeness, Michael couldn’t hear what he said.
 

He then spoke louder. “Maybe we should torch the place just to give them one less place to hide.”

The smell of smoke returned to Michael’s senses along with the image of his dad being killed in the driveway as he watched from a burning house.
 

“Is torching the place really worth the hassle, Trev?”

After a long pause, Trev offered a petulant reply. “Whatever… let’s get the fuck out of here.”

The hinges on the storeroom door creaked again, the door clicked shut, and when he heard the crashes and bangs of the men as they left the shop, Michael heaved a heavy sigh. He leaned against the back wall of the cupboard and waited. Those men needed to be long gone before he risked stepping out.

***

Michael had sat on the stacked paper for so long, his back ached. Surely the men had left for good. Pins and needles tingled through Michael’s cramped legs. If he didn’t move soon, he’d fall out of the cupboard anyway. Michael stretched out and pushed the cupboard door open.

The hinges released a yawning creak as the door swung out into the room. When he stepped out, his legs nearly gave way beneath him. Aches sat deep in his lower back, so Michael leaned forward to try to ease the pain.
 

He then walked over to the pile of PlayStation boxes. When he pulled several away, he found Lola curled in the fetal position. She didn’t move, so he prodded her with his foot. “Lola.”

Lifting her head, Lola looked at him, her eyes puffy and bloodshot. She'd either been sleeping or crying.

“It’s okay; they’re gone now.”

Lola rubbed her face, rolled out of her space, and stood up. “See what I mean?” she said. “Nowhere is safe.”

“I’ll find somewhere safe. Somewhere I can go to bed at night and know I’m going to be able to sleep without being scared. I’ll find somewhere where the men won’t get at me.”

Lola frowned. “What men?”

The sounds of the warehouse filled his mind again. The cries of the older boys rang the loudest. They were the hardest to listen to. They were strong, tough lads, and the warehouse had reduced them to nothing but babies. It had reduced them all to babies. Michael stared at the floor. “It doesn’t matter.”

When Lola dropped a heavy hand on his shoulder, Michael looked up at her.
 

“I’ve been a bit on edge,” she said, “and I’ve been taking it out on you. That isn’t fair. I’m scared, but that’s not your fault.”

Nodding, Michael let her continue.
 

“Also, I froze when I needed to make a decision. You saved us back there.”

Pride swelled in Michael’s chest, and he pushed the sadness back down.

“That was the first and last time it will happen. I won’t freeze like that again. If for no other reason than I don’t like apologizing.”

Michael laughed. “That was an apology?”

Lola pointed at him and smiled despite herself. “Don’t push it, Nearly Eleven!”

The Darkness

“I’m going to check again, okay?”

They’d left the video game store as soon as they’d come out of hiding and had moved to the storeroom of a shop down the road. It was pitch black and the temperature had dropped so drastically that Michael couldn’t stop himself from shaking.
 

“Okay?” Lola asked again.

With his jaw locked tight, the cold gripping onto him, Michael stammered, “Y-yeah, t-that’s f-f-fine. S-sorry. J-just c-c-c-cold.”

The bright glare of Lola’s lighter hurt Michael’s eyes, and he had to blink several times to clear the flashing patches from his vision. He hugged himself for warmth as he watched her walk over to the door. The flickering flame brought the shadows to life. They’d been in here too long. The men from the video game store could burst in at any moment, and they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. The sooner it got dark, the better.
 

When Lola got close to the door, she cut her lighter and Michael held his breath. Every time she opened the door to check outside, they risked being caught. The men could be waiting, ready to throw a sack over her head and take her to the warehouse.

Before she opened the door, Michael called out, “Lola.”

Silence.
 

“Lola.”

“What?”

“What if there’s someone out there?”

“You’ve said that every fucking time. If there’s someone out there, they’ve probably already heard you. Shut the fuck up, yeah?”

The slow creak of the door handle stretched through the silence and called out to anyone in the area.
 

As she pulled the door open a crack, the light from outside flooded in. They didn’t need to know anything else. It was still light out, so they couldn’t leave yet… but she didn’t close the door.

Michael sat tense as he watched Lola peer through the gap.

It seemed like an age passed before she pulled her head back inside.

She closed the door, sparked her lighter again, and walked back toward him. The flame turned her face into a Halloween mask of deep shadows.

The unfolded cardboard boxes on the floor offered very little padding and no warmth, but Lola still chose to sit down on them anyway. She turned her lighter off and plunged the room into darkness again. “I’d say we still have a few hours left.”

Michael sighed. “All I want to do is get out of here. I’m scared.”

“I know you are. Don’t worry; it won’t be long now.”

“It’s a good thing that we moved to a different shop. It was stupid of me to suggest a video game store as a good place to hide.”

The dry rasp of the cardboard rubbed together as Lola shifted around on top of it. “The thought made sense; there was nothing worth stealing there. Although it’s not technically stealing now, is it?”

Michael stared into the darkness in Lola’s direction. “What do you mean?”

“Well, if there’s no punishment, is there any crime?”

“Huh?”

“If a loaf of bread disappears from a shop and nobody sees it taken, is it stolen?”

“What
are you talking about?”

Lola laughed. “Don’t worry.”

The girl made no sense.
 

In the silence that followed, visions of the warehouse returned to Michael’s thoughts, tormenting him as they always did. It felt like he’d never get to a point where he could shut them out.

Lola’s voice pulled him out of the dark pool inside of him. “Michael.”

“Yeah.”

“You talked earlier of getting somewhere where the men can’t find you.”

He heard the screams of the other boys. “Y…yeah.”

“What men are you talking about?”

Michael rocked where he sat and shook his head. The surrounding darkness fed the grim memories. The boys who returned from a visit to Julius came back different. Something had changed. They weren’t boys anymore. Michael pulled his knees to his chest and continued to rock. “Can you please light your lighter, Lola?”

“But it’ll waste the fluid.”

“Please, Lola?”

She did as he asked and stared at Michael for a moment. She then moved over next to him and put an arm around his hunched shoulders. Pulling him close, she rocked with him. “There, there. You don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Michael leaned into her, and they rocked together.

Hanging Out

The flashing light woke Michael, and a surge of adrenalin pulled his stomach tight. The light, no more than a blur, cleared quickly and his pulse settled when he saw Lola. The damp smell of the storeroom filled his sinuses as he watched her light her lighter again before she got to her feet and headed for the door.