Life and other Disasters
15. The basement

Ava and David walked to the stairs that lead to the basement of the tower. Everything was made from massive stone and their footsteps echoed through the building. Except for the man behind the desk, they didn’t see anyone, but they did hear some noises now and then. It was as if monks from the middle ages were whispering behind their backs, but when they looked behind, there was no one to be seen.

Ava and David were in the middle of the building, there were no candles, torches, or light bulbs and still, they could see everything clearly. It seemed as if they were the sources of light here, illuminating the environment.

The couple didn’t hold hands, but they made sure to stay close to each other while they descended the stairs. The stairs didn’t feel steep, but when Ava turned around once again to see if there was anyone behind them, she could barely see where they had entered the stairwell.

It took them a while to reach the basement. Its ceiling was high, the air was musty. There were so many hallways they could follow, and it felt like they had arrived in a maze. Luckily the conservator had written down where they had to go. The hallways were some kind of logical pattern. At least that’s what David thought. Ava thought that it was logical for some mentally disordered person as she couldn’t see the pattern behind it at all.

“What did you write on the other card?” Ava asked. “The one the man couldn’t help you with?”

“Oh, it was nothing,” David responded, but by the way he was dismissing her question, she knew it was a big deal to him.

“Did you try to trick your way out of this place? Did you ask if you could have your life back?” she said, as she was curious and she couldn’t stand not knowing what David had asked for. It would be a clever move and she fell a pang of jealousy that she hadn’t thought about that earlier.

“I guess you can say that,” David laughed half-heartedly. “I think we have to turn left here.”

“Okay, what are we looking for now?” she asked, disappointed she couldn’t pry his secret out of him.

“My motorcycle,” David said.

“Oh,” Ava said, looking around, but all she could see were giant archive files, filling the walls of the hallway. “I think we’re not in the right place yet.”

David laughed. “Nah, I don’t think they keep it in one of those lockers and we’re not there yet, this is hallway B. We have to go to section C, plot 10.” David waved the paper where the directions were scribbled upon.

They walked around, looked around, were amazed by how big it all was. The dimensions of the place were hard to guess. Every time they thought they would see a wall, they found another hallway. David made sure they marked where they went, so they could replace the way back to the stairs.

Ava heard a soft whirring sound. Amazed she looked around, wondering if there was some kind of insect buzzing around.

“Look out!” she yelled when she looked back and without thinking, she pushed David against the wall, pressing herself against him.

A cart passed them by with a high velocity. It was a small train, carrying goods to wherever they were going to be stored.

When it was gone, Ava and David still stood there, pressed against the wall. Ava was breathless, it had been an instinct, but now she felt his warmth, she knew she had been avoiding getting close to him.

“And here you are, saving me once again.” David chuckled.

“You can let me go now,” he said after a couple of seconds,” I think the very dangerous cart has gone.”

“Oh,” Ava felt a color flush her face. She didn’t get close to him on purpose, it just happened at the moment. It was no use hitting on him, they were both dying, and this was just some drug-induced hallucination, wasn’t it? But at this very moment, it all felt real, the flush on her face, the warmth of David’s body beneath his clothes, the echo in the building.

Ava let go, she took a step back. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“For what? Saving my life? Again? I wouldn’t worry about that,” David said and he was already walking away. “Maybe keep an eye out for these things, we might run in on one again.”

They continued the search. Slowly their surroundings changed, closets changed in size and shape. David pointed out they had reached section C. A small sign was indicating that this was section C.

“Now we have to replace plot ten,” David said. He was singing the number, over and over again, “ten, ten, ten”.

And finally, they found number ten. It was a big closet. David tested the door and it was open.

David opened the door slowly. In the storage stood a motorcycle, all shiny and ready to ride. David smiled when he saw it, touched it as if it could break if he pushed too hard. He stroked the steering wheel and slowly checked every side of it.

“It is whole again,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Ava said.

“Last time I saw it, it was in shatters,” David said, still touching it as if it is the most precious thing in the world. “My mother hated me for buying it, she said it would be the death of me. I bet she wishes now that she wasn’t right.”

“You’re not dead,” Ava said. “you’re still here and if you’re here, you’re not dead.”

David ignored her remark. His hands went to something silvery, shiny. “Look, the keys. Are you ready?”

“For what? Ava said, looking around, afraid that there is another cart running into her again.

“For a ride, of course,” David answered and he rolled the motor out of the closet. It looked as if no one ever used it.

“You mean, in here?” Ava asked. She couldn’t imagine the engine running through these hallways.

“For a start,” David said, a mischievous grin on his face. “Let’s see if there’s some gas left in the tank.”

He swung his leg over the machine, keeping it in balance. Then he turned the key around and the machine produced a mighty roar. David’s grin grew wider, to a satisfied smile. “I just love that sound,” he said and twisted the handlebar once again.

An alarm started to ring.

“That is our sign to leave. Jump up,” David said, indicating with a small nudge of his head where Ava could sit.

Ava climbed up on the engine, not as elegant as she wanted to, but she managed it anyway.

David grinned. “Hold on tight, girl, here we go.”

Ava could barely say, hold on where, before David spurted away. There was no other place than to hold on to him, so she put her arms around his torso, which felt strange, especially after what just happened in the hallway.

They speeded past the unending line of closets and file cabinets and David managed to avoid collisions with the carts that were driving through the hallways. Ava thought she saw people running after them, but she didn’t dare to look back too often. She had problems keeping her balance on the back off the motorcycle and she just kept on holding tight on to David.

She didn’t know how he had found it, but he was driving up a ramp, bringing them back to the ground floor.

“How did you know this was here?” she yelled in his ear to talk to him over the roaring of the engine.

“I didn’t, I just hoped there was one. If they have motorcycles here, they must have other things like cars as well, so there must be an entrance for those machines. Here we go again!” David warned her and he sped through the big hall, straight to the door.

They didn’t see the man at the desk, who watched them go, a smile on his face.

Ava pushed herself against David, afraid to lose her balance and fall of the motorcycle. For the first time she took in his smell and she had never felt more alive, feeling the wind blow through her hair, hear the whistling of the wind. She closed her eyes to drink in the moment, so she would never forget.

David sped through the mist, putting on the light of the motorcycle, chasing all the monsters away. The strange land appeared and disappeared in the beam of light of the machine. David laughed loudly. “To feel this one more time...”

His words sounded strange and Ava wanted to contradict him, but she was too tired to yell once more over the sound of the engine. She just snuggled against David’s back, feeling safe and hoped the ride would never end.