“Sheer will,” DNA muttered.
The place might as well have still been on fire, the smoky smell was so concentrated. And it was cool in here, giving it an even greater feeling of entering the bowels of something dead. Above, there were holes in the vast stainless steel sheeted ceiling, blackened by soot, as if something had tried to cut its way in.
“Being in here is better than being out there, where all they have to do is burn us down,” he said. “This place is already burned.”
“They can more than burn us. Plus, they’ll know we’re in here.”
He nodded.
“We’re caught,” I said.
“Hmm,” he said, as we kept walking. He looked up at the aisles which were so burned you couldn’t tell what had been stacked on them. “We should try and get some rest while we can,” DNA said after a few moments. We were only nearing the middle of the place; that’s how enormous it was. The sound of the fire blazing outside was loud enough to hear through the walls, but it sounded distant. There was no sound of anyone or thing trying to enter or land on top of the building, at least not that we heard. I was tired and Baba Sola’s marijuana had left me ravenous, so I had no aversion to some rest. Plus, it was only a matter of time, so best to get our energy up.
“I’m going to chance something,” he said. He brought out the anti-aejej. “There’s a way we can get some true rest. But there’s a price to pay.”
“What is it?” I asked, going to Carpe Diem, who’d already sat down and gone to sleep right there beside one of the aisles. GPS was sitting, too, but he looked ready to jump up and flee at the slightest command.
“My anti-aejej has surveillance capabilities. It can detect movement and an electronic or digital signal for a mile radius. So that would include the roof, but leaving it on, even for a few hours, will deplete the battery.”
“Meaning, if we have to go into the Red Eye again, all we’ll have are our masks?”
“The anti-aejej will have some energy, but yes, not much.”
“It doesn’t use solar to recharge?”
“How much sun is around here?” he snapped.
I frowned, pinching my chin. “What about wind? Can it recharge using that?”
He kissed his teeth, more deeply irritated. “Do I look like I can afford that kind of anti-aejej?”
We stared into each other’s eyes, and I looked away when I felt the tears come and my heart begin to race. I looked at my hands and made two fists. My left shoulder wouldn’t allow me to raise my left arm all the way, but I could still make two fists. “Sorry. So . . .” I cleared my throat and shut my eyes. “Well, we probably won’t make it past them to the Red Eye anyway, so . . .” I sighed.
DNA switched on the anti-aejej’s surveillance app. As we’d both suspected, nothing was trying to get in, hover above or dig beneath the burned warehouse. I wondered if they’d even left the fields of grass to keep burning. We settled in for some rest.
I was sad, scared, tired, and more than a bit angry. Everything smelled like smoke from both inside the building and outside in the fields. The winds made the place creak with every gust. Yet and still, I ate well. It had felt like only a few minutes, but according to DNA’s anti-aejej and mobile phone, Baba Sola had kept us for nearly a day in his tent. How quickly they’d have found and disposed of both DNA and me if it weren’t for his shenanigans. That said, a blend of the marijuana and not eating for so long made the day and half old leftovers the tastiest things on earth. The dates had started to dry, but they were sweet and wonderfully chewy. The fried chicken had grains of sand on it and had lost its crispness, but it just seemed like the perfect food for the moment. The water was warm, but so nourishing I’d had to sneak off twice to relieve myself.
After we ate, DNA retreated some feet away, spread another blanket, removed his shirt and lay down. I sat where we’d eaten and once I was sure he was asleep, I took off my skirt. Freeing my legs felt great. Wearing only my panties and top, I wrapped my skirt over my shoulders. I stared at the black wall, nothing in particular going through my mind for once. It was nice. As I stared, the blackness of the charred ceiling seemed to blend with the darkness of the space. Both of the steer were fast asleep, and I knew I should have been sleeping, too. But it was so cold in this dead place and the wizard’s weed was still in my system, making everything too clear.
My chest tightened as I thought of my father. Sitting on the porch drinking his beer and reading headlines on his phone. Wondering about me. My mother sitting with her cat on her lap, a cat that looked more like a lion cub than a house cat, a cat who would only sit on her lap. Staring into space while she wondered about me. And my brother would be playing his talking drum, maybe hoping I’d hear them. I sniffled, longing for home in Lagos for the first time since I’d gone wild. It was like a burning stone deep in my gut, a pain I couldn’t reach. I sighed loudly, imagining that I exhaled smoke, despite my skin feeling so cold. I looked over at DNA.
They were coming for us, so I went to him. He’d never have come to me. He’d curled himself tightly on the blanket he’d pulled from his bundle and pressed himself to the black wall. Not to enjoy its coolness but to get away from me. From everything. I’d breached one strange border the day before yesterday when I killed those men who’d tried to kill me, breaching another was not hard.
I touched his bare shoulder with my fingers. He didn’t flinch away. I moved closer. He gathered me in his arms and pulled the blanket over us both. I let him touch those parts of me that were still soft, still flesh, still human and I sighed, smiling.
“I can see why you bother those men,” he whispered, running a hand over my torso, again.
I frowned, pulling away. He pulled me back to him. I could have pinned him to the floor with one hand. I didn’t.
“You’re a woman despite so much of you being machine,” he said. “I’m not a fool; I know you’re very strong.” He paused, his hand working its way down my belly. He brought his other hand forward, grasped the metal of my left thigh. He spread my legs. “I’m just not afraid of it.”
I stared at him, surprised by his words. For the first time in my numerous dealings with men, I let a man take me without me saying a word.
* * *