The Sands of Borrowed Time (20 page)

Surprise Catch

Tawny peeked through the key hole of the wooden door.  She could see that the night’s snowfall had been heavy, and it was melting fast in the rising Sun’s heat as its large, red orb glanced above the horizon.  Here it would stay for most of the short day, trekking westwards across the southern escarpment.  She breathed in the fresh, cool air, causing her to cough a little.  She yawned, quickly dressing as she shivered.  She opened the door to let in the Sunlight.

“Oh leave it out,” Dawlis complained, covering her eyes with her arm.

“It’s past Sunrise,” Tawny replied, the pupils of her eyes constricting as she looked out into the bright, morning sky, her mottled, brown irises radiant with life.  She combed her long, blonde hair and walked outside barefoot into the snow.  She could hear it squish under her feet, its coldness melting away and running between her toes, causing her to shudder.  Dawlis quickly dressed and followed, her mousey hair still tangled across her shoulders from the long night.

“Ooh, ooh, ooh,” she huffed as she ran after Tawny.  “Maybe we should make some shoes from deerskin or something.  You know, just for the morning, before it all melts.”  Dawlis looked over her shoulder to her sister, shocked at how dark her eyes had become from lack of sleep.  Her sister, a perpetual worrier, was hardly suited to the rough life she thought, but she would have to hack it, she had no choice.

“The Sun will warm up those toes of yours soon enough,” Tawny said and smiled.

The snow was melting fast, forming small networks of rivulets that trickled down the hill and into the forest below, the Sun sparkling off its surface.  Dawlis looked south and scanned the horizon, watching dust rise, forming a dark brown fog that the Sun glided across elegantly.

“Do you think the dust storms will ever come north,” Dawlis asked, “all the way to us?”

“Who knows.  They never have, though, have they, but they look thicker and darker lately,” Tawny replied, watching the rising sandy clouds curl in on themselves as they advanced north.

“Those creepy horns at night, you still think it’s
the Others
?”

“Yes, has to be them,” Tawny said, rubbing her sister’s shoulder.

“But why all of a sudden?” Dawlis replied, “And all night long.”

“I think they’re trying to hold the storms back.”

“How?”

“Through ritual and magic.”

“But the sound is so haunting and scary like they’re announcing that something terrible is going to happen.”

“I guess that’s the point, but more to scare back the storms, the spirits that drive them.”

“Well, it’s sure driving me mad.” 

Tawny didn’t want to mention it.  She guessed her sister had worked it out also anyway.  The storms would force people north, and they may have to put up with some unwanted visitors.

“Those horns, they're not for the storms or any spirits, they're for people, flesh and blood like us,” Dawlis said with worry in her eyes.  “They want to scare the people north, ahead of the storms.”

“It’s a distinct possibility,” her sister replied.

“How many do you think will come?

“Depends on how many will make it, I guess.”  She gazed at the developing sandstorms to the south.  “There must be a lot of desperate people down there, searching for food and water.  Come, let’s make the most of the light,” Tawny said, quickly changing the subject, running down to the forest, beckoning her sister to follow.

The snow had almost melted by the time they had reached the forest, making the warming air humid.  The leaves and grass smelt fresh as they walked under its extensive canopy, the Sun blinking through from above as they walked among the trees.

“I think they have learnt to avoid those traps,” Dawlis said.  “They have seen it so many times before, heard the cries of pain.”

“It’s true, we haven’t caught anything for a while,” Tawny said, looking disappointed that the trap at her feet was empty yet again.  “Maybe we can come up with a new way to trap animals? she continued.  Dawlis raised her eyebrows and quickly turned as she heard a rustle in the trees behind them.

“Maybe we have spoken too soon?” she said quietly with anticipation.

“I hope so!  I’m getting fed up of those berries,” Tawny added with a whisper.

“The mushrooms are getting a bit tasteless as well,” Dawlis said with a smile.   They both looked high into the trees at the wriggling net above them, before looking at each other excitedly.  Tawny cut the rope holding the net up with one forceful swing of her knife, and the trap came hurtling down with a thump.

“Fuck!” came a voice from inside.  Tawny could see a leg wriggling through the mesh as if in desperation, kicking this way and that.  The sisters looked at each other startled as a boy struggled to free himself from the tangled web.

“Hello?” Tawny said.  The boy continued to struggle huffing and puffing.

“For fucks sake!” he yelled, rolling up into a sitting position, looking startled when he noticed the girls.

“Hello,” Tawny repeated a bit louder.  “What are you doing in our net?”

“How the fuck should I know!  One minute I was down here, and then I’m flying through the fucking air,” the boy said, brushing off leaves from his body.  Tawny could see his deeply tanned arms and face, his clothes covered in sand, his body emaciated.

“Looks like the first one from the south has arrived,” Tawny said dejectedly, the boy looking at them with confusion.

“Should we cut him free,” Dawlis asked Tawny worriedly.

“Course you should cut me fucking free!” the boy pleaded angrily, frantically trying to break the net open with his hands.  Tawny put a hand over her mouth in amazement, her eyes wide like saucers as she caught sight of an object lying in the grass.

“What is it?” Dawlis asked curiously.

“Look!” Tawny exclaimed, running over to the black metallic object that was lying on the ground, half hidden in the grass.

“A gun!”  It had a bayonet running along its underside, its sharp pointed tip just ahead of the barrel.

“Wow!” Dawlis exclaimed. “It’s just like what granddad had.”

“Yes, it is!  So much so!”  Tawny added, before turning again to the trap and its prisoner.  “Is this yours, boy?”  The boy stopped struggling, looking up at the girls with his tired, brown eyes as he breathed exhaustedly. 

“What?” he asked as he looked at the gun in Tawny’s hand.  “That is mine.  Yes, mine!  Dropped it when I was dragged into this fucking net!”

“It fires?” Tawny asked, pointing the gun at the boy.

“Of course it fucking fires!” he replied sharply. “It’s loud, though, you don’t want to rouse anyone else.”

“There are others?” Dawlis asked anxiously.

“I would have thought so,” the boy replied.  “Every fucking soul on the planet is coming up here, that’s for sure,” he stated, looking Dawlis boldly in the eyes.   The girls looked at each other without saying a word.  The boy could sense they were stressed, adding, “Look, get me out of this net and I will tell you about any others, what you need to know.”  Tawny and Dawlis look at each other, both nodding.

“Ok, we keep the gun on you, though,” Tawny replied as Dawlis cut open the bind at the top of the trap, opening the net.

“Fine, fucking fine,” the boy said, waving his hands, “but there’s no need, really.”  The boy stood up and walked free of the net as it fell down beside him, brushing the rest of the leaves and dust from his clothes and hair.  “It’s a good gun, but it’s not for hunting.  The noise from the shot would frighten everything away,” the boy said, looking at the pointed tip of the bayonet.  There was a moment of silence as all three looked at each other before the boy began again.  “More a battle gun, you know, used in war, when the hunted are running towards you, hunting you also.”  Tawny started curling her lips as she looked at the boy as he continued talking.  “The recoil.  You need to be careful about the recoil when you shoot.  It’s a bit snappy you see.  Can take you unaware, if you’re not used to it.  Can really hurt your shoulders.”  He paused, smiled, and looked at Tawny then Dawlis before promptly saying.  “Jeff. My name is Jeffrey, but everyone calls me Jeff.  You can call me either.  Up to you?” he continued with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Ok Jeff, I’m Tawny, and this is my sister Dawlis.

“How cool is that!  Sisters, and you don’t even look alike.  I would have said friends, but now you mention it, the hair, no wait the eyes, not the colour, but the shape.  Yes, the shape, definitely sisters.  Sisters can have different coloured hair anyway, there’s plenty I know of.  Some dye it and who’s to tell then if a girl is a sister to another or not.  Not that I’m saying that either of you have dyed hair.  But the eyes, you can’t hide the eyes for sure.”  Tawny started to giggle, followed soon by Dawlis.

“I’m ten, but maybe a bit older.  It’s hard to keep track down south without the seasons, and that’s the last birthday I had, not that we could have had any more with the troubles.  I am short for my age you know, so people assume I’m younger, rather than older.  So ten I guess, let’s say ten.  You’re older of course?”  The girls continued to giggle.

“A bit older,” Tawny said as she looked at the little blond boy before her, his pale blue eyes bulging from his thin face, his clothes hanging off his emaciated body. 

“Do you have any food?  I’m so hungry.  The food down south is not so good.  We’ll there isn’t any, and the berries here are a bit bitter.  I can’t keep them down.  They make my guts ache so bad like there're waves of cramp running through my tummy.  I throw them up, and the funny thing is, if you can laugh at such a thing, they look the same as before I ate them.”

“We have some meat,” Tawny interrupted.

“You’re so pale,” Dawlis added.

“Meat, you have meat? Not from dead people.  No, I guess not.  You don’t look the type to eat the dead.  Not like back home, the bandits like their meat, like their dead.  Plenty to go around if there’s any left on them.”

“Stop!  Stop Jeff, you’re not making any sense!”  Tawny said.

“Your rambling, come,” Dawlis said with a wave of her arm, “It’s a mixture of rabbit and deer, you’ll be glad to hear.”

“Meat, I think I could eat some rabbit, deer, whatever.  It’s been so long.”

“What you doing up here on your little own anyway?” Tawny asked with a perplexed look.

“There were three of us.  The other two, I don’t know, one didn’t wake, but her eyes were open, her pupils were white, staring straight up at the Sun.  The other, the other gave up, too tired she said to go on.”  He looked to the ground, sadness and guilt filling his face. 

There was a long pause as they walked back up to the hut, through the wet grass before he spoke again.

“You think I’m bad for leaving them?  She said to go.  She wished me happiness.  The look on her face, she was so tired, so tired as she pushed me away.  I had to go, her face scared me, like a living ghost, it scared the hell out of me.”  He pointed at their feet.

“No shoes,” he continued, shaking his head, “but they’re coming, right behind us.  They’re not boyfriend material, not boyfriend material at all.”

“Who’s coming, Jeff?”  Dawlis asked with a worried look. “You’re scaring us!”

“The bandits of course, and everyone else.  They’re all coming north.  The chaos of the south is coming here.  Many are coming!”

“Many, how many?” Tawny asked.

“All of them.  They're coming up through the storms.  There is no hope back south.  There is nothing but sand.  Those that stay will be buried in it, if not already.”

Tawny went inside the hut and grabbed a bucket of salted meat and a jug of water.

“Here eat,” she said.

The girls watched as Jeff eagerly ate the meat.

“Slow Jeff, chew it, or you will choke,” Tawny said.  Jeff tried to chew as he piled more meat into his mouth than he could consume, coughing some back up.”

“Slow Jeff, slow it down,” Tawny remarked as she poured him a glass of water.

“Here, drink,” she said.  He grabbed the glass, his hands shaking, pouring it down his throat, his mouth still full of meat, spilling it all over his face.  Dawlis shook her head and smiled at Tawny. 

“Some appetite you have there for such a small boy,” Dawlis laughed.

He stared across at the horizon as if in a daze from exhaustion.

“The Sun is so big and red,” Jeff remarked, taking a breath from his meal.

“Yes, it is,” Tawny said.  “It barely gets over the horizon, and only for a few hours a day.  There are no seasons, the same as you say down south, not like before the heavens split when there were summers and winters. 

“We have a nice, long night,” Dawlis added. “Some of us need it more than others.”  She smiled as Jeff finished his meal and water.

“Wow, everyone is going to love this place!” Jeff suddenly exclaimed, trying to get his breath back.  “Not trying to frighten you, but they will, they sure will!”

Grand Theft Auto

“Surely, one day, we’ll all wake up blind,” Hayley said as they struggled back to their ship through the raging storm.  The day had been unproductive in their search for food and water, and all three were becoming doubtful about their future.  Daniel had decided to stay put with his SUV, convinced he would eventually fix it, fearing the land ship not suitable for the trip north. 

Maybe he’s right,
Kyla thought despondently. 
See you later,
he had said, as if it were that simple.

“May as well be, can’t see sod all anyway,” Demelza tittered miserably as she held her hand out to shield her eyes from the sandy air, feeling the power of the bracing wind.

“I think I already am,” Kyla said tiredly.

“Shit!  Look!” she suddenly exclaimed, pointing towards their ship.

“What?  I thought you said you were blind?” Hayley said, startled by the outburst. 

“Stop! Stop!  Get down!” Kyla insisted.  “Quick, down behind this dune,” pulling on their blouses in the direction of cover.  They ran behind the dune, all three eagerly peeking over the top, looking hard through the swirling dust and sand, eager to see what Kyla had.

“I see something too,” Hayley exclaimed.

“Where, where?” Demelza asked, frantically scouring the desert.

“There, just there, it must be parked in front of the ship,” Kyla said, “A car.”

“No, a buggy,” Demelza said.  “I see a buggy.”

“What the fuck are they doing by our ship,” Hayley asked, beginning to panic.

“Has to be them; Cain and Carla,” Kyla said apologetically.  “They have come in search of me; to take me back.”

“Really!  No!  It would be too quick,” Demelza said with astonishment.

“Cain would go to the four corners of the Earth in the blink of an eye, for me, sadly enough,” Kyla replied as pulsing gusts of wind whistled across the plains.  They dispersed violently in front of them, turning the muddy air into streaming bands of sand, allowing glimpses of their ship.

“Did you see them?” Kyla exclaimed.  “Fuck!”

“Yes, two people; a man and woman!” Demelza whispered loudly as she stared at a silhouette of a man leaning against the deck rails.  There was a woman also, her skirt and hair flapping in the wind, standing right behind him.  

“Yes, and standing proudly on the deck of our fucking ship!  Hayley finally said with horror, grabbing Kyla’s hand for comfort.

“Has to be them, a man and a woman, Cain and Carla,” Kyla said again, regretfully.

“Shit!  Now, what?” Demelza asked, shaking her head.

“Let’s wait?” Hayley said.

“Wait?” Kyla asked.

“To see if they will leave,” Hayley replied.

“Or stay,” Kyla added, looking across worriedly at Hayley and Demelza.  “There’s plenty of homely supplies for them.” 

They all focused hard through the streaming bands of sand, watching and waiting as the two figures appeared to be in a heated discussion, the man gesticulating wildly with his hands as the female looked on, her arms folded across her chest. 

“Definitely them,” Kyla said.  “I can tell by the way they interact.”

“Not the happiest couple I have ever seen,” Hayley said.

“Looks like he’s about to lamp her one,” Demelza added.

Kyla laughed, “He would certainly like to, but Carla has sharp claws!”  She clenched her fists like a cat about to pounce while Hayley and Demelza watched and giggled.

“Hiss,” they all said in unison, staring wildly at each other.

“Even if they leave, they would still look for me, and the ship.  If we went back, the ship would be no match for the buggy.  They would find me one way or another,” Kyla said anxiously, her brows frowning.

“Why don’t we just take the buggy?  Remember what Daniel had said,” Hayley suggested, giving Kyla a hug. “It's going to be faster and more fun. We'll be up north in days.  We just bide our time and wait for the right moment.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Demelza said, slowly and deliberately, giving Kyla a gentle pat on the head.

“Too risky,” Kyla said.  “How we going to take it?”

“Kyla, you must know how this buggy works?”  Hayley asked.

“We should take it now, under the cover of the storm, before the Sun starts to set,” Demelza added, smiling at Kyla.

“Me?” Kyla asked, pointing her two hands at herself as she worriedly searched the faces of Hayley and Demelza.  The girls both nodded keenly, also pointing at her with begging smiles.  “Shit, shit,” she continued, falling to her knees, looking back away from Demelza and Hayley, too weak to look at their pleading faces.

“Ok, this is my mess,” she said with trepidation, “I’ll go,” her face breaking out in nervy spasms.  She did the sign of the cross over her chest, remembering it was what her mum did before she did something adventurous.

She looked across to the buggy and ship, feeling a strange calm and focus wash over her as she crawled over the dune, the hot sands scraping her thighs and knees.  The air was thick again; the ship and buggy barely visible.  She got to her feet and started a fast walk, crouched downwards through the wailing, sandy air.  Hayley and Demelza looked on from behind the dune, holding on tightly to each other’s hands.  She disappeared from view as the sands lashed down thicker than ever.  Kyla crouched down further, catching her breath in the suffocating air, her heart pounding in her chest.  She crawled onwards, too petrified to stand.

Where are they?  Maybe they have gone into the living quarters
? she thought as she struggled to see through her gritty eyes.

“Hope she’s alright,” Hayley said, looking worriedly at Demelza.

“Yes, let’s hope so.  Maybe we should call her back?”  Demelza asked, squeezing her grip on Hayley.

“No, it’s too late.  She's too far gone.  Let us pray in our minds for her,” Demelza added.  They both did the sign of the cross over their hearts as Kyla had done so.  Then Hayley blew out a kiss into the desert, out in Kyla’s direction.

“The buggy, I see the buggy,” Kyla whispered to herself as she saw its dark frame, now protecting her from being seen from the ship.  She quickened her pace, getting to her feet again as her confidence grew, knowing she was out of plain sight.  She was nearly there, catching a glimpse of Cain as she got ever closer, his back turned towards her as he argued with Carla.  She could hear his deep voice drifting through the streaming air.

“I can’t bear this,” Hayley said, looking across at Demelza’s guilty face, “why did we just let her go like that?”  Kyla looked at Carla’s face, shocked at the deep lines around her eyes and mouth. 

How tired you look, my Queen
, she thought,
how defeated.  The sands of time are surely running low for you.” 
She was nearly there as she crawled ever forward, wanting to cough, to clear her throat of the dust and sand.  She stopped, covering her mouth, the itch too great as she buried her face deep into the sand, holding her head down tightly with her hands to muffle the sound, coughing and spitting phlegm into the ground and back over her face.
  Fuck,
she thought, looking up to see if they had heard her, but there was no reaction from neither Cain or Carla.  She crawled further forwards, slowly but surely, keeping an eye on them as they gesticulated frantically at each other.  Then Carla looked out across the desert, towards the buggy.

“Shit!  No!” she whimpered, convinced that Carla had seen her.  She lay as low as possible, feeling her heart beat in her chest, thundering into the hot, dry sands below.  She looked up again, immediately paralysed with fear, a chill spreading through her body as her eyes meet Carla’s icy blue eyes, head on.

Fuck!  No!
she thought, wanting to cry as Carla followed her movements, narrowing her eyes as she crawled into the buggy.  Carla continued to argue with Cain as Kyla slid into the driver’s seat, slowly but surely.  Carla smiled, then winked at Kyla, saying nothing.  Kyla tried to engage the engine, her hands shaking violently from adrenaline, her blood pounding through her head with pulses of pain.  Cain suddenly looked over his shoulder as the engine exploded into life, a burst of sound that vibrated through its frame and into Kyla’s body.  Cain looked stunned, his hands clenched tightly on the ship's rails as he watched in vain as a trail of sand spewed high into the air, the buggy speeding away until it was invisible from his sight. 

Oh my God, oh my God
, Kyla thought as she drove quickly back towards the dune, back towards Demelza and Hayley.  The throbbing in her head got louder until the sound of the howling wind dissolved in its presence, everything appearing silently as if in slow motion, her guts turning over with fear. 
Like a rabbit bolting from the big bad wolf,
she thought.

“Hear that!” Hayley exclaimed.

“Look!” Demelza said excitedly, pointing towards the buggy that was quickly advancing through the haze towards them.

“Has to be her, has to,” Hayley said, holding the palm of her hands tightly in Demelza’s with a smile of anticipation.

Why did she not react
? Kyla thought. 
Why did Carla not say anything, but I guess I already know, have always known why, even before today.
  Kyla sped frantically over the dunes, stopping hard as Hayley and Demelza suddenly came into view, the buggies tyres skidding across the sand as it came to rest, pushing sand over the girl’s feet.  Hayley and Demelza clapped their hands with joy as they saw Kyla’s wet and sandy face, her smiling eyes peering at them through the vibrating frame of the buggy like sparkling jewels.

“Quick!” she shouted, waving her hands as she pumped the throttle, making sure the engine didn’t stall.  “Jump in!”  Hayley jumped into the passenger seat and dragged Demelza with her until she was safely on her lap.  Kyla dipped the clutch, engaged the gears, flooring the accelerator as hard as she could, sending the buggy blindly forward through the dense, sandy air, its body sliding as its tyres tried to grip the sand, the growl of its engine loud and deafening above the howling wind.  She made one last nervous glance across her shoulder, but she knew deep down they were safe.

“This is turning into a beautiful day!” Kyla shouted triumphantly as she quickly went up through the gears until they were nudging 60 mph, the wind gushing through their dishevelled hair.  Torrents of sand lashed into their excited faces as the buggy danced elegantly across the undulating desert, the girls enjoying the lively ride. 

Hayley smiled, shouting ecstatically, “Only the good die young!”  She waved a fist in the air, her other hand holding on tightly to Demelza’s blouse.  “So we must be so, so bad, huh!” kissing Demelza hard on the cheek.  All three laughed, eating away the nervous tension that had been building up to critical levels in them all.

“Well done, Kyla!” Hayley shouted over the din of the engine.

“Thanks to Carla!” Kyla shouted back.

“Really!  Why?” Hayley asked, surprised.

“She saw, she smiled, and she winked goodbye!

“Really?” Hayley said again, looking intrigued.

“She never wanted me around in the first place, so now, I guess, I’m out of her dirty, blonde hair forever!”

“And Cain? Demelza asked.

Kyla put her fingers to her lips as if to say Ssssshh, “Cain never even saw me!”

“But what was that, with Carla?” Hayley tried to clarify.  “You said she saw you.”

“Yes, she saw me plain and clear, but like I said, it’s not in her interest to tell Cain it was me,” Kyla replied.  “She even appeared glad to see me go!  And with the buggy!”

There was a brief silence as all three gathered their breaths, the exhilaration getting too much before Kyla spoke with a scornful look in her eyes, “I guess we won’t be seeing Cain for a while, or his miserable Queen.”  Hayley and Demelza smiled gleefully in agreement as the buggy disappeared into the haze of the raging storm.