Dark Blue Monstropolis

The only light that allowed her to see that she was being led deeper and deeper underground came from Easy’s eyes. She was able see the outline of his body walking just slightly ahead of her through the black. Every now and then he would break the monotony with a quick “watch your step” or “not much farther now.” With the exception of these interjections, the only thing she could hear were their feet hitting the pavement and the sound of her breathing.

After they walked for about thirty minutes, she saw another source of light appear just under the curve of the tunnel’s ceiling. It seemed that the small group of nomads had made their home at the exact spot where the tunnel settled in to its deepest point. As she got closer to the small camp, she could see that just to the other side, the tunnel started making its way presumably back to the outside world again.

There was no guard posted. They simply walked right into what seemed to be some type of common area. There was a wide circle of tiny lean-tos that seemed to be composed of whatever the builders could get their hands on. There was a large multi-colored tent made from a kind of material that was almost translucent. There was one word printed on this material, and it stood out in large letters which made it look as though they were trying to race right off the fabric.

GOODYEAR, it said. There was another that looked like the floor of a small wooded area that had been taken up and thrown over a small frame to make their shelter. Yet another looked like a quilt that had been haphazardly sewn together from the same material as the blue jeans she was currently wearing.

Each tent glowed with its own dim light from within. As they passed by several of these tents on their way to the “town common” (that’s already how she thought of it), she could hear several of the inhabitants inside breathing. Ginger and Easy made no attempt to communicate with each other, even as they walked close enough to rip the coverings off their homes. Ginger could not be sure where the idea came from, but she knew somehow that the serene
quality of this place could change very quickly had she chosen to do anything of the sort. And an impulse like that–she wouldn’t get the chance to repeat it.

She and Easy stopped in the very center of the common. He made no attempt to speak or even look at her. From behind, he looked like a man waiting for a bus, or his turn in line for something. He simply stood there. He faced in the same direction in which he had been walking.

She was about to speak when a hand touched her right shoulder. Instinctively, she spun around and prepared herself for a fight. She stopped herself just before she broke the arm connected to that hand. What stopped her was the face. It was the kindly wrinkled face of someone’s grandmother. Probably several people’s grandmother. She wore a robe that simply rejected all light attempting to land on it. Ginger had never seen something so entirely
black. Still, her face floated just above the blackness and did so with a kind, understanding smile firmly in place.

“There’s no need for apology. I understand that I startled you. I assure you I meant not to.”

The sound was coming from the face, but there was something very wrong about it. She could see the lips moving, but it sounded like the voice of a much younger woman. It was not the voice of a world-weary woman who had seen too many days. The voice sounded fresh and calm and even elegant.

“I’m sorry,” answered Ginger. What else could she say?

“What happened not is past not. Therefore, we won’t worry with it, if that’s alright with you.”

She made motion as though to reply, but Easy beat her to the punch. He had silently turned and positioned himself just behind her left shoulder. How could she not have heard this? If she could have bottled and sold the adrenaline she was pumping right now, she would have been a billionaire several times over. How could she not have heard another possible threat behind her?

“She’s hurt.”

The old woman acknowledged Easy without ever looking at him. Her eyes never left Ginger’s face.

“I can see that, Easy. She was obviously surprised.” He said nothing in return. Ginger realized after the fact that Easy had overstepped some kind of invisible boundary with his short statement.

“I’m not badly hurt. Nothing a little time won’t heal,” said Ginger.

“Perhaps we can help Her out a bit, eh?” the old woman replied.

“Who do you mean?”

“Time. I think She could use a little help so She can help you.”

The old woman closed her eyes and her hands appeared from within the folds of her robe, palms up. Cupped in her hands was a small amount of a rough powder.

“What’s tha–?” She was interrupted by the old woman blowing a bit of the dust directly into her face. Instinctively, she tried to close off her windpipes, but it was too late. The slightest little bit had gotten inside.

She braced herself for a coughing fit, but it never came. Instead, she could instantly feel a warm heat over all of the wounds received from her rough landing at the mouth of the tunnel.

For a brief second, she felt as if she would swoon and fall, but she was steadied. Not by Easy or some other outside force, but from within. She opened her eyes.

The old woman was still there. Though her hands had disappeared into the black again.

“What the hell was that?”

“Ancient Chinese secret, as my grandmother used to say.” Ginger had no idea how old this woman’s grandmother might be, but if she were still around, it would come as no surprise to her at this very moment. “Why don’t you come and sit down. You are in need of much explanation, I see.”

Ginger neither agreed nor disagreed. She simply followed.

They were inside the tent that looked like it was made out of blue jeans. There was a short table in the center of the tent and many unmatched cushions all around it. On the center of the table was something that looked like a baby’s rattle: it had a bulb at the top, with a long stem hanging down below and a small loop at the bottom of the stem. It was somehow balanced on that hoop. It should have been laying on its side.

Behind the old woman was a pallet of cushions that seemed to make up the place where she slept, but Ginger could barely tell where the seats for the table ended and the bed began. There was another short table with a pitcher and glass, and yet another with a basin sitting on top.

The three of them were currently sitting around the table on the cushions with their legs folded. Out in the tunnel, Easy had seemed very confident and sure of himself. Now that they were in the camp and around the table, he was almost submissive.

The old woman began. “What can I tell you, dear?”

“I’m not sure what I need to know,” Ginger replied. “I was simply trying to leave town.”

“And you were heading west?”

“Yes.”

“You know about what lies to the west?”

“Yes,” Ginger said, and then felt she needed to explain. “I just made a snap decision to go one way or another. I figured I wouldn’t get very far to the east.”

“Indeed.” There was a brief pause, then the old woman said, “Even armed with the knowledge of what lies down the western roads, you still decided to follow them?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmmm. Now, what could possibly have sent you west with such haste knowing what you know?”

“I think I might be in trouble.”

The old woman raised an eyebrow. “Think?”

“Yeah. I…um…traded for something I shouldn’t have.”

“Yes, but how else were you to get enough rest?”

“I know, and Jake said he had…” She stopped in mid-sentence. The old woman knew about the drugs. “How could you possibly…”

The old woman smiled. “Know? Dear, there is very little that I can’t see even in the darkness of this tunnel. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. My name is Margaret. I’m the elder of our underground community. You are Ginger.”

It was an odd sensation to have yourself introduced to a complete stranger…by that stranger.

“How did you know my name?”

The old woman’s smiled broadened. “My dear, you’re not such a mystery. It’s on your pack.” Ginger blushed. With all the magic that she had seen thus far, she was expecting Margaret to tell her how many intimate relationships she had had and what type of drink she liked best. The old woman smiled.

“Ginger, you are running from something. There is something that made you grab your few belongings and leave town today. Let me first ask this: What kind of trouble?”

“I’m not sure exactly. You were right, I traded with this guy named Jake for some stuff that he said would help me sleep. The very night I had used the stuff, his place was raided. I was afraid that they would connect me to him, so I left. I’m not really sure where I’m going. I know that I have to get somewhere that I can still work my music.”

“Ah!” Margaret said, nodding. “A musician, are we?”

“Well, I’m a pirate of sorts. I scrounge around and find tunes to make music with. I guess oka…Damn!” She slapped a fist down on her left leg.

“You’ve just realized you have forgotten something?”

Something huge, lady, she thought. “I didn’t get my cassette decks.”

“Ah.” This ancient relic seemed to know what cassette decks were. Hell, for all Ginger knew, she probably owned one of the very first ones.

“I was so worried about getting picked up by the Eye and getting my ass out of town, I completely forgot to get them. How could I have been so stupid?”

“Not to worry, child. You have been through a great deal.”

“Yeah, but now I don’t have anything I can do but to go back to straight dumping.”

“Perhaps this will help?” Ginger looked up at Easy’s voice and saw he was holding her cassette decks.

Ginger just stared at him for a second. She tried to stand, but it was a bit too much to take. She wavered and fainted.

Her eyes fluttered slowly open. It took her a second to remember exactly where she was. Luckily there was still enough light for her to see, but just barely. In the dim light, she could just make out that she was still in Margaret’s tent. Her pack and case were sitting on the ground nearby. Just beside her case were her very own custom-modified cassette decks.

The power source was even connected properly and that was something that only she knew how to do. Upon closer examination, she realized that her latest acquisition was still locked into its place in the player. Her homemade direct box was still attached as well. She picked it up and turned it over to the “fat cassette” side. There was a cartridge sticking out of the rectangular hole. This cartridge was an extremely rare find of hers because the label was still somewhat legible. She could not see it in this light, but she knew beyond doubt that this cartridge bore two words: “Jerry Reed”. She wasn’t sure who those words were referring to, but she knew they were there and that if she pressed the play button, she would hear a tune about a man and the shaft to a goldmine he used to own.

There was a small coughing sound from the opening in the tent. It was Easy. She smiled at how appropriate his name seemed at this very moment.

“I hope I didn’t startle you. I knew that there was something you needed, so I got it.”

“Yeah, but how the hell did you know what it was, much less where to look for it? And, how the hell did you get it, I had it locked away!”

He looked at her and then at the ground just in front of his feet. “That’s going to take some time.”

Ginger sat at the table and listened while Easy told his story and the story of his people.

It seems that his people had made their exodus from the city about the same time as the Serious Shit Went Down. They managed to get out just in time. They retreated to the tunnel with every intention of going straight through and emerging on the other side just like she had intended, but they found the other side blocked by rubble. So, they made their way back to the lowest point in the tunnel and began to settle in for their time to emerge from the tunnel back into the city. Perhaps a dozen generations had past since that time.

They had made the tunnel their home, but without being able to get out for supplies, they knew that their days were incredibly numbered, so a group of the men made their way to the far opening in the tunnel and began to work on clearing the opening. Several of them died in the process. Part of the rubble collapsed with such a force that some of the smaller pieces were shot almost as far back as their camp.

They succeeded in getting the opening cleared, so an expedition was organized to go and find food and supplies on the other side.

They never returned.

They had headed west and never returned.

Time passed, and their people had been living in total darkness living on whatever they could catch in the depths of the darkness. Until one day, one young boy discovered that he could simply “Leap” over great distances. Legend has it that he took one step and was at the eastern mouth of the tunnel. He was in such a panic about this that he tried to step back and stepped all the way to the western side. No one ever saw him pass through the camp.

Their community had begun to adapt to their surroundings and, somehow, evolve into those adaptations.

Another person learned that they could create an artificial light. Ironically enough, when he discovered he could do this, he created a light so bright that he instantly blinded himself and his wife. However, his children and his children’s children could do the same thing. It simply became a dominant trait in his line. And when created, this light appeared outside of the body.

Easy explained that he was the first of his people who could emit light from his eyes and still see through it. He also had the ability to Leap. (“That’s how I got your belongings.”)

Over the generations, they had also changed their primary mode of communication. Among themselves, they used a kind of telepathy to communicate, but they still hung on to the old verbal ways for use when bartering for supplies on the outside.

Easy stopped for a moment. He took a deep breath before continuing.

“In all of our generations, not one person has ever Leapt or set foot back in the city until today. Outsiders come here, but we have never gone back outside. When I went back for your belongings, I became the first of our line to do so since time out of mind.”

There was a very heavy silence between them. She could tell that even with all of their evolution down here, they had still not gotten over their fear of the city; even though not one of them could remember exactly what happened that led them down here in the first place.

“Why did you do it?”

“I did it for you.”

“But you don’t even know me. You could have gotten yourself killed or caught. How did you avoid the Eye?”

“I simply Leapt into your locked storage room, took your things and Leapt back. As far as I know, no one has ever Leapt that far, either.”

“How could you have known where that was?”

“I read your mind.”

For the first time in her life, she felt as though someone genuinely cared for her and wanted her to be safe. She could see the look of absolute love in his eyes and it scared her to death.

This was too much for her. Ginger leapt to her feet. She wasn’t sure what she felt for Easy and her lack of understanding of those emotions was more than she could handle. She was thankful that he managed to retrieve her most prized possession in the world, but she was pissed off at him for how he went about getting it. She knew he was becoming obsessed with her, but she didn’t want him to get hurt. After all, she had to be leaving now, thank you very much.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you,” he said.

“You didn’t hurt me, but you can’t just go around reading people’s minds and…” she struggled for the word “…’Leap’ off and go get stuff for them.”

“But you needed…”

“I would have gone back on my own.”

He stood up and turned his back to her. In the same amount of time it took for her to blink her eyes, he was facing her again.

“You would have been caught.”

She was still dealing with the whole instantaneous about face trick. She reeled as she spoke. “What?”

He helped sit her back down at the table. “You would have been caught. There are armed sentries standing outside your storage facility, waiting for you. I could sense them when I Leapt back there.”

She felt a chill run down her spine. Not only had he returned her most prized possession, he had no doubt saved her life in the process. She simply sat with her mouth dropped open.

Then she blinked.

Words would not fill this moment. She stood up, turned to face him and put her arms around him. She could feel the tears finding their way down her cheeks, but she was powerless to stop them.

Had she ever had someone love her in her life? She couldn’t remember. Sure, she had had plenty of relationships with men in her life, most of them physical in nature, and she had had her share of friends that seemed to enter and exit her life through a revolving door, but had any of them really loved her? The more she thought about it, she wasn’t sure of the definition of the word love until this very moment being held in the arms of a stranger.

She let go.

A flood of emotion came forward with a force she had never felt. It caught her by surprise so that she had not had time to take a breath to prepare.

She wept. Ginger wept.

And Easy held her and let her do so.

“I have to leave, you know.”

Why was this so difficult for her? She didn’t know any of these people, but she felt as if she owed her life to this man. She owed her decks, yes, and those were singularly important but…why these feelings and why were they this strong?

“I know.”

And why did he have to be so understanding about it? She was sure that if he were to beg her to stay, it would be much easier for her to leave. Instead, he just sat there staring at the little patch of floor just in front of his feet.

“I…probably will never come back, you know.”

“I know.”

She gently put her hand under his chin and lifted his face to meet hers. She smiled.

“Can’t you say anything else?”

He didn’t reply. He just looked into her eyes. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him gently on the lips.

“I never said ‘thank you’,” she whispered.

“You just did,” he replied.

She turned to gather her belongings and found that they had already been organized for her. She smiled and picked up her pack. It was decidedly lighter than it had previously been.

“Now that you are out of the city, you should probably put this on.” Easy was holding her pistol belt.

She nodded and took it from his outstretched hands. She placed it around her waist and positioned it low on her hip. She took the pistol from out of the holster, removed the magazine and saw that it was empty. She went into her pack for her ammunition and began loading the four 15-round magazines. When she had finished this ritual, she worked the slide on the pistol, placed a round in the chamber and pressed the lever that let the slide slam back home. She then placed one of the magazines in the grip and drove it home with a slap of her fist.

“9mm, right?” Easy asked.

“Yup.”

He smiled. She wasn’t sure what that smile was really about, but she figured it ultimately didn’t matter. She had to be moving on.

She went to pick up her pack and it was once again heavy. She shot a quick glance over to Easy.

“I thought you could use some more ammunition. I got you about five hundred rounds or so. I hope that’s all right.”

She opened her pack to see all of the boxes of ammunition sitting neatly at the bottom. She closed the flap and adjusted the straps for use on both shoulders. This added weight would be better carried across both shoulders on the journey she was about to take.

She smiled at Easy, gave him another quick kiss on the cheek and turned toward the opening of the tent. Her case was already locked again and the cassette decks were safely inside. She grabbed her case and turned to leave.

“We’ll see each other again,” he said.

She smiled. “With you, I have no doubt that that’s absolutely true.” And, with that, she made her way further west.

“You love her don’t you?” Margaret asked.

“Yes,” Easy replied.

“Why aren’t you going with her?”

“It’s not time yet.” He never took his eyes from the western edge of the tunnel, down which Ginger had vanished at least an hour before.

Margaret looked at him. She turned her gaze back to the tunnel and nodded. “Perhaps you’re right.”

With that, she made her way back to her tent, leaving Easy at his vigil.