The window drape was a thick rag of blanket clearly meant to block light from getting out as well as in. I pulled it close and tucked the edges tight. I tested the flashlights, then the lamp. None worked. Too much to hope for. But the blue glow picked out two sets of L-shaped metal hooks, one above the other on either side of the door. Leaning in the corner were two metal rods or pipes. Okay, got it. I dropped them into the hooks, neatly barring the door from the inside.

A quiet settled into the room, distancing the noise upstairs. It was like a good night’s sleep. My breath eased, my heart rate slowed. The moment the rods locked into their brackets, I began to feel safe, the kind of safe I felt only at Unca Joe. Maybe safer.

This could be my private den.

A secret hideout, where no one could toss my bunk behind my back. If I found stuff I really wanted, I could stash it here. This room had gone untouched because no one bothered with this kind of building in this part of town, having long ago salvaged every useful scrap from the car wrecks. I could have my freedom and Unca Joe.

“Mine,” I whispered to the room, taking possession.

As if to seal the deal, the demon car screeched down two levels of ramp, roared past my door and out onto the avenue. It sped back uptown, trailing catcalls, gunshots, and a lingering drumbeat.

I perched on the edge of the couch-bed, testing my welcome.

The engine clamor died into distance, leaving the underscoring of wind at the latched window, knocking to come in. A slow patter of rain. Already? The forecasts had been way off this time, or I should’ve paid more attention to the updates. But I’d figured to be home too quick for it to matter. Another reason I’d been so out of sorts—my internal weather radar had been beeping away and I didn’t listen.

I unbarred the door. The street was slick, water already running in the gutters. Well past time to head home. But I couldn’t just walk away from this amazing windfall. Had to secure it somehow. The only lock was an old manual kind. A good thing, with the power down, but where were the keys? A guy this tidy must have kept an extra set at home.