Walking the Bowl by Chris Lockhart

Author:Chris Lockhart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Published: 2021-11-29T18:02:53+00:00

7

It was a short but torturous ride in the trunk of the taxi. A spare tire and large subwoofer made the tiny space seem even smaller and more oppressive. The speaker’s muddy, thumping vibrations rattled the car and pounded Moonga’s body with heavy shock waves. But at least it drowned out the other boy’s screams. The entire rear corner where Moonga lay was crimped in—probably due to some previous fender bender—and there was a decent-sized hole where the taillight used to be. He thrust his hand out in a feeble attempt to signal for help but also to block the exhaust fumes from leaking in, which were making him light-headed. He kicked at the other boy and told him to keep his mouth shut, but his own words sounded like distant things, slow and leaden.

When the car came to a halt, the K-town boy flung open the trunk and hauled the two boys out. Quickly scanning his surroundings, Moonga saw that they were in an industrial part of town. Hulking warehouses and abandoned brick factories surrounded them on all sides. Everything had an aura of decay. Windows that were not boarded up were completely shattered and gaped a dismal, cloying blackness. A large conical tower dominated the skyline. Its cream-colored exterior seemed to glow phosphorescent in the moonlit night. Somewhere nearby, he could hear the low rumble and intermittent hissing noises of an idling train.

The K-Town boy and a second kid herded them across a weed-strewn lot toward a chain link fence, which they followed until they came to a section that was partially concealed by a stack of metal drums. The second boy curled back part of the fence and held it open as everyone crawled through. Then they stepped across a dirt track to the nearest building and clambered onto a loading dock, where the K-Town boy produced a key and unlocked a large sliding door. He shoved Moonga and the other boy inside.

The building’s interior was cavernous. They slowly felt their way through the expanse, the sound of their footsteps reverberating off the rafters high above them, until they came to a hatch door in the middle of floor. The K-Town boy lifted the door and they climbed down a rickety wooden ladder to a subterranean level. Now the darkness was complete, as if a cloth had been cast over space itself. The K-Town boy produced a flashlight and turned it on, illuminating a narrow tunnel. As they resumed walking, Moonga stretched out both arms and felt the cold, brick walls on either side. Secondary passages branched off from the main tunnel now and then. They followed one until it gave way to an open but much rougher earthen space. It had the appearance of a shallow cave, crudely dug, as if by hand.

The dirt floor was littered with a random collection of items: blankets, food wrappers, bottles, ragged clothing and dirty underwear, torn pieces of cardboard, plastic bowls and utensils—the usual detritus of a space that was well lived in.

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