Empty Streets (16 page)

"I just…I don't want to think about it too much. Jinx it." Bodhi blushed as he shrugged.

He moved to her side of the map, crouching next to her so they could both see it. "See this spot? This is an important one. There is a path here that leads this way, west, to the lake. You have to be careful as you move west, though, the lake is really guarded for some reason. There are people there all the time." He stopped talking and stared into space. "But it is worth it, sometimes, to see the lake, especially if the moon is out. The lake stretches on and on like glass in the moonlight…" His voice tapered off and she could tell he was in his own world, remembering the smell of the water and the sound of the waves.

He shook his head, and started talking about the map again. Eri stopped listening, instead watching the smoothness of his jaw as he talked, the perfect evenness of his white teeth, the small dimple in his chin. His hair was short, but thick and defined as it curled slightly at the edges. It was darker than hers, with a different texture, one that made her want to touch it. Forgetting what they were doing, she reached out and touched his hair, thinking about how natural it was to touch someone, to talk with someone, to share space and energy with another human being, but how their current existence robbed them of this simplicity.

He stopped talking and looked at her as she touched his hair, watching her watch him. His neck tingled where she had touched his hair, drawing her finger across his skin, straightening one of the curling pieces. A peculiar electricity gathered, a tension he hadn't felt between the two of them before, a pressure that was strong. She brought her eyes to his, staring at him for a long moment, absorbing the energy. She could finally breathe for the first time in four days.

"I love you," she said. The kerosene lamp, lit barely enough to illuminate the map, flickered briefly, shadowing his face as she spoke.

Still crouching next to her, he turned and put a hand on her back, leaning her backwards until she lay next to him. With his other hand, he pushed the map away, focusing on her face. Drawing himself up on his elbows next to her, he leaned down and kissed her, softly at first, and then with a pressing urgency that she understood. Neither of them was guaranteed another minute together, another minute of this freedom they had stolen.

Eri pulled Bodhi's shirt up slightly, running her fingers along his lower back, feeling the smooth movement of his muscles. He tensed at her touch, turning slightly to pull her onto her side. Her shirt lifted slightly, his hands moving lightly along her back and stomach, exploring the shape of her torso and hips, pulling her towards him. She felt heat from his skin to hers, and its unfamiliarity made her shiver. She pressed into him, wanting to be as close to him as possible, until he stopped kissing her, out of breath. He rolled onto his back, holding her tightly to his chest.

"I'd do anything to know I could be with you forever," he said. She could hear his voice hitch, a betrayal to his general air of confidence.

"We will find a way. Other people do it all the time," she whispered, her head on his chest, lost in the hard beating of his heart.

"Nothing like this comes without a price," he murmured. "You make me happier than I think people are allowed to be here."

She lifted her head and looked at him. His eyes were shut, his body growing more relaxed. She lay next to him until she could hear the evenness of his sleeping breath, and then she slowly sat up to study the map in the limited light. It seems that fear and greed so easily change the world, she thought. Could it be so hard to change it with love?

A real education

Eri tried to slow her breathing by listening to her heart pound in her ears. The full moon reflected off of every ex-posed surface, a spotlight from the heavens. She hid, like a rabbit in a hole.

In the last week, she had mastered a ropeless, silent descent from her window, and had found a way to slither along the building crouched so low to the ground she couldn't be seen above the grass. She could snake through the streets and alleys, moving gracefully from one patch of crumbling concrete to another. Alone, she sprinted smoothly, feeling the cool wind in her hair and on the tips of her ears and nose; exhilarated, she would feel the muscles in her legs burn with joy. Her body was awake.

She peered through a crack, straining her eyes to see a car parked in the distance. A street cleaner had been frequenting this area lately, stopping at one of the apartments briefly before stopping to sit in the street and stare for thirty minutes. Eri had learned his routine, leaving her house closer to eleven-thirty than midnight in order to avoid detection. Tonight, he had come a few minutes early, and she had barely made it across the street into a crevice between two buildings before he arrived.

The heat seeker worked like a camera, with a lens that projected forward from the vehicle. It had a slightly wider periphery than the windshield. The street cleaner didn't need to tell the seeker to look for heat; it always did. She knew if she went in front of the car, or even too close to the front, it would pick her up and sound an alarm. Unfortunately, it was parked in such a way that she was trapped until he left.

She closed her eyes, imagining the map she had been amending since Bodhi had first given it to her a week ago. She had starred locations she thought would be useful or interesting to explore and she had noted the way the rain water ran when it rained for covering tracks. She had circled areas to avoid if the moon was full. She wished for clouds.

Eri saw movement out of the corner of her eye and jerked back, pressing her body between the buildings in such a way as to put concrete between her and the car. After several moments, she peered around the corner at the car again. A tall, blonde man had gotten out of the car and was leaning against the driver's side door, smoking a cigarette. She squinted in his direction, trying to make out what he looked like. His tall, strong frame sauntered to the back of the car. He rummaged in the trunk carelessly before slamming the trunk shut. Eri jerked at the sound. He took a long drag of the cigarette, pushing his hair back from his face.

That movement, a mannerism done out of habit, triggered Eri's memory. As she stared, her heart beat harder. Could Zander be out here? A street cleaner?

The man finished his cigarette and hummed a haunting tune that made Eri shiver. His eyes panned the street around him. She heard him mutter to himself, almost positive she heard her name. A low chuckle echoed through the street before she heard a car door slam shut. She fought back the urge to throw up from fear, squirming back farther and farther until her body was stuck in a small damp angle between two buildings. The only way the heat seeker could see her is if he pulled the car straight in front of the crevice. She saw lights sweep the crevice slowly and held her breath. Then she heard the crunch of tires on gravel as the car drove away.

She had learned to move through the streets quickly. She must now learn to do it with less arrogance. She was not invincible, and based on her physical response to the street cleaner, her gut was plenty aware of her vulnerability.

When she finally reached Ben's house, she was more exhausted than usual. She had felt the week to be very successful, as she had found her way to each designated location alone and without incident. They had spent each night talking through Bodhi's thoughts regarding different people in positions of power, both politically and economically, to determine what the greatest force was that maintained the status quo. He also had quite a list of people that he suspected were disenchanted with the limited options of their social structures, names he had documented from their cohort over the years. He also had a list he had gotten from Zare and Ben of people they would consider "allies."

"But we aren't really talking about war, we are just talking about awareness and change…Do we need allies?" Eri had asked.

"Eri, I am not sure what people have warred about if not awareness or change." Bodhi had looked at her questioningly. She hadn't had an answer.

Now, sneaking into the vent, she found herself still uncertain if the information they had covered this week warranted an all-out war or just a campaign to fight for rights or options. Maybe the real issue wasn't the haves and have-nots, but those who knew stuff and those who didn't. Or those who cared and those who were happy with the status quo. She just wasn't sure.

She burst through the other end of the vent and barely had time to get up on her feet before Bodhi appeared out of a dark corner and tackled her with a ferocious hug.

"Jeez, it hasn't been that long since you saw me!" Eri laughed as they fell off balance and toppled onto a couch.

He pushed her away and glared at her. "You're late. So late. I was worried. So worried." Bodhi's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. Eri hid a smile.

"Easy, Bode, I'm here now." She proceeded to tell him about the Zander look alike. "Could he be a street cleaner? Is that possible?"

Bodhi's eyebrows were furrowed as he listened. "I thought street cleaners were kind of like ex-cons that were on probation or something. I wonder if some people take the job out of interest…could someone our age even get a job? Maybe if his parents have pull."

"Well," she said, "he can't hurt us here. If he is watching my building, I will have to be more careful."

"Yeah…I wonder…" Bodhi trailed off.

"What?" Eri asked, watching as he thought through something.

"Nothing. Hey, it's your birthday. Did you know?" Bodhi sat up straight, looking down at her as she leaned back against the couch.

"I was aware." She reached out and grabbed his shirt, pulling him toward her. "And there are only a few things that I want. One would be this." She kissed him, and as he tried to pull away to say something, she persisted. He gave in, kissing her and smiling while he did it.

"Tell me, Bodhi. How exactly do you manage to not just want to make out all the time?" Eri sighed as he laughed.

"Trust me, I do want to make out with you all the time. I think I am just trying to pace myself…I plan on making out with you for the rest of my life. But tonight, I have other plans." He kissed her again, opening his eyes to look at her closely after the kiss, kissing her nose and cheeks until she smiled back at him.

"So, first, this." He held out a small package, brown paper wrapped with twine.

"What is this?" she asked, confused.

"A present. You…get presents right?" Bodhi said with uncertainty.

"Yes. Or I did. I think, based on this year, I might not get them anymore."

Her parents hadn't even said happy birthday to her. She unwrapped the gift, startled at Bodhi's unexpected gesture and resourcefulness. The paper unfolded easily, and a silver circle soon sat in the middle of her palm. It was too dim in the room to see it well. She leaned down and picked up a few matches off the floor before leaning over to light the kerosene lamp. He didn't say anything, but watched her face as she picked up the silver circle and held it up in the light. It was a little smaller than her palm, a cool metal against her skin, with a blue face that reminded her of water. It had letters and a wavering arrow that moved as she twirled the circle.

"It's a compass," she breathed out. It was beautiful. She turned it over and on the back it said one word: conscience. "What does it mean?"

Bodhi shrugged. "I found it a couple years ago. Ben helped me clean it up and fix it. It wasn't due north exactly, but it is now." Bodhi looked hopeful.

"I love it. I love it more than you can imagine." She held it up and watched it shine in the light. "It is perfect for this, for us. For me." She smiled at him.

He looked relieved. "There is this, too." He handed her a smooth silver chain. "The compass is light enough to wear around your neck if you need to. I know you can't really wear it inconspicuously around the house, but if you need to travel with it, there is a loop on the top you can thread this through."

"You technically bought me useful jewelry. Nice job." She grinned at him. She had always gotten presents for her birthday that she needed, not things that she actually wanted. She wasn't sure how to respond.

"Okay, one more thing." Bodhi looked more excited than she did. She shook her head at him.

"Really? This is more than enough! And don't we need to get going… somewhere?"

"No, you will want this, trust me." He held out a small, white package.

She took it, a sweet smell accompanying the package. This present was papery and soft. She opened it delicately, the smell growing stronger as she unwrapped.

"Is it…Is this…?" She looked up, trying not to cry.

"Wait, why are you going to cry?" Bodhi asked, alarmed.

"This is the best. Birthday. Ever." She sniffed one time, her head full of the sweetness she held in her had. "Where did you get it?"

"From Ben. I might have divulged I was madly in love with someone who might be as crazy as me, and I wanted to give you the best present ever. He gave me this and told me to trust him. Was he right?" Bodhi waited while Eri pulled herself together.

She nodded. "Share it with me. Or I won't eat it." She ran her fingertip along the edges of a perfect chocolate chip cookie, its top rippling with chunks of chocolate, the dough browned slightly on the raised areas. She wouldn't have been able to imagine a more perfectly baked creation.

He nodded. "Okay. I've never had one before."

"Me either. I didn't know they were even made anymore."

"Oh, they are made and shipped by the hundreds. Not to your part of town, and not to my house because my parents see them as a frivolous cost." Bodhi shrugged his shoulders, clearly unsure what all the fuss was about. It was, after all, just a cookie.

Eri broke it in two, watching several moist, buttery crumbs fall to the floor. She wasn't sure what the etiquette was regarding cookie crumbs, but decided she was not against going back for them later.

She handed Bodhi his half and they both bit into the soft dough. They chewed in silence. Eri took small bites, wanting to make her half last as long as she could.