The Sands of Borrowed Time (8 page)

Salvage

“Tonight is perfect, with no moon and no supernova to expose our little operation,” Leon said as he looked up into the black, starry night.  “We will be like thieves of old, moving stealthy through the darkness.” He turned his attention to the waves breaking around the red hull of the stranded ship, wondering what treasures it held.  Rhoswen and Riana looked at each other nervously. 

“This is going to be fucking fun,” Riana finally whispered.

“Looks deep, dark, and fucking cold,” Rhoswen replied, looking ominously at the sea.

“You mean it looks downright suicidal,” Riana added.

“Difficult girls, maybe,” Leon broke in, “but you’ll see, it will be worth it when we break into those containers.”

“How the fuck are we meant to get onboard?  It looks the height of three houses,” Rhoswen continued to protest.  Leon ignored their pleas, and summoned them to follow, unhinging the boat trailer, pulling it along the beach to the sea front.  They pushed the boat out into the sea, and all jumped aboard.  Leon threw in some ropes and hooks.  Riana pulled the engine cord.

“Sounds like a sick lawnmower,” she said with scornful concern.  Leon and the rest laughed.

“It’s unlucky you know,” she replied.

“What the fuck you on about now?” Leon asked.

“This boat hasn’t been blessed.”

“Well, I’m right out of champagne. I’ll get Warren to piss on it, if it makes you happy,” he beamed back with his wide, wild eyes.

“Maybe there will be some in those containers,” Rhoswen chipped in.

“What, piss?” Leon laughed.

“You know what she meant,” Riana said annoyed.

“Anyway, I guess that’s why we’re here, girls.  To get merry about what's onboard.” Warren said as they arrived at the side of the ship’s red hull.

“The fucking Crow!” Leon cried out, glancing up to the bow where its name was written.  He threw up a rope and hooked it onto the side of the galley.  Once Leon and Warren were up onto the deck, they pulled the girls up.  The deck was leaning at a steep angle, due to the listing ship, the ship now beached good into the sandbanks below.  Rhoswen watched as the dark, rolling waves blended into the night sky, only distinguishable by their white crests. 

“Let’s hope she remains steady,” she said broodingly.

Warren laughed, “You girls worry too much!”

“The crowbar please,” Leon said, looking at Riana.

“Here,” she replied as she handed it to him.

“Keep a lookout along the beach, girls.”

Leon and Warren ran off towards the containers.  They glanced up at them, towering over their heads, looking like they were ready to topple into the sea at any moment.

“Here goes,” Leon said with conviction, “all or nothing,” as he prised opened one of the bottom containers.  Both Leon and the container’s door groaned as they battled it out.  The door eventually gave way as Leon stumbled backwards. 

“Fuck,” he said, “that was a tough little bastard.”  Warren eagerly grabbed the door and pulled it with all his weight, Leon adding his muscle until the door opened fully.  Both excitedly stuck their heads into the dark interior that awaited them.

“Can’t see jack shit,” Leon said.  Warren shouted across to the girls to bring the torch. 

“What’s in it?” Riana asked as she ran across to them.

“That’s why we need the fucking torch,” Warren replied with a huge grin.

“Here,” Riana replied, looking embarrassed as she handed him the torch.

“Let me see,” Rhoswen gasped as she walked over to the container.  Leon shone the light into the dark interior, all eyes following the beam with wide-eyed anticipation.

“That’s interesting!” Rhoswen said, smiling sarcastically.

“Sure was worth the wait,” Riana added, “glad I came.”

“You little birdies don’t know when to stop twittering,” Leon interrupted.  “So fucking what, it's empty.  There are hundreds more to check!”  Rhoswen rolled her eyes, Warren catching her.

“Are we boring you, my dear?”

“I’ve had better nights out,” she replied. 

Riana giggled as Leon swiftly turned his head towards them, shouting out, “Shut up!  Everyone, please!”  He turned his attention along the beachfront, before leaning over the rails, carefully surveying the sea.

“Spotted a little fish, has he,” Rhoswen whispered to the others.

Leon looked back over to them saying, “You guys hear anything?”

“Just the beating of my exhilarated heart,” Rhoswen replied, putting her hand over her heart, smiling sweetly.  Warren put his fingers to his lips, staring at Rhoswen annoyed.  There was a long silence as everyone looked around, listening, not knowing what to hear or expect?

              Warren shook his head, “I hear nowt.”

“Me too, nothing,” Rhoswen added as Riana shook her head.

“Swear I heard something,” Leon added, “down by the beach.”

“Maybe it’s the captain,” Rhoswen said, teasingly. “He’s had his fill at the bar, and he’s ready to leave port.” 

Leon smiled, then walked away from the container, ushering them to follow, “Come, let’s explore.  Let’s see what awaits us in the other containers.  “It’s going to be a long night ladies,” he said with a grin.

“Fantastic, I love staying out late,” Rhoswen replied, not looking too happy.

They all followed Leon along the deck, its wooden surface slippery from sea spray.  There were many containers, but most were out of reach, stacked up so high, towering up into the black of the night sky.  They continued onwards to the back of the ship where some of the containers had been stacked on the deck. 

Leon looked behind him, “Fuck me, you’re a quiet lot all of a sudden.  Lost your tongues, have we?  I thought for a moment I was by myself.”

“Sorry if we spoilt your night, then,” Rhoswen replied as Riana just about contained her laughter.

“Here, how about this one?” Leon said, tapping a rusty container on the side.  They all nodded. 

“Let's do it,” Warren said.

“Looks already open to me,” Riana said, noticing that the door was ajar.

“You think someone has been already,” Rhoswen added.  Warren shined the torch inside as he opened the door, its rusty creak piercing to their ears.

“Wow!” Rhoswen shouted out.

“What’s in there?” Leon quickly asked.  Rhoswen slowly opened the door wider as they all tried to peer inside.

“Pure emptiness!” Rhoswen answered. “We’re not having much luck, are we.”

“You little tease,” Warren said through clenched teeth.

“A girl has to have a little excitement in her life,” Rhoswen said, ending with a sarcastic smile.  Leon quickly turned his head, looking back up the deck of the ship.

“You hear that? he said. “Sounds like footsteps.  I’m certain this time,” he continued as he looked at their blank faces.  Warren quietly walked to the corner of the container and peered his head around the corner, looking straight up the gangway.  He could hear them now, coming their way, footsteps and chatter getting clearer above the waves booming against the hull of the ship.  He didn’t wait to catch sight of them for fear of being seen himself.  He held his finger to his mouth and rushed back to them.

“We need to go,” he whispered, “they’re coming our way.”  Just as the rest were about to ask Warren who they were, they were startled by the footsteps quickly coming up the gangway.  There was no time. 

“Quick!” Leon said, opening the door of the container before ushering them to follow him inside.  They frantically obeyed, Leon closing the door quickly behind them, enveloping them in pure darkness as they listened to the footsteps and chatter yards away on the other side of the door.

“You think they’ve seen us?” Riana whispered.  There was no reply from anyone.  No-one could see each other, but all could hear the others breathing and the thumping of their own hearts in their chests.  The door slowly opened with a creak as a sliver of light from a torch entered the container.

“Quick, behind the door,” Leon whispered.  They all hid behind the door as it slowly opened.  A guy peered through, his face looking eerie in the shadow of his torch.  Its beam searched into the corners of the container, revealing dark, shadowy emptiness.

“They’re not in here,” a man’s voice said.

“Well, I saw them come in,” another replied as both men walked further in. Leon and Warren quickly punched both men in their faces with curled fists, quickly ushering the girls out of the door, immediately following them out when they were done.  They slammed the door shut behind them.

“The rope, quick; tie it around the handle,” Leon said.  Rhoswen quickly responded, trapping the men in the container as she secured the door’s lever as tight as possible to its corrugated frame.  Warren tested it with a strong tug, nodding with approval when it barely budged.

“Fuck me!” Leon said.  “Where did those little fuckers come from?”

“I think they were already on board,” Riana said.

“Maybe there’s more,” Rhoswen added.  Leon and Warren looked at each other as thumps came from behind the door.

“Shut the fuck up!” Leon shouted with his face up close to the door.  “Thank you,” he continued as the thumps stopped.

              “Let’s go!” Riana insisted.  Leon nodded, ushering them back to the boat.

“We just leave them in there?” Rhoswen asked.

“I’m sure their friends will find them,” Riana said.  Warren laughed, “Come on, quickly does it before their friends find us!

Woman in the Haze

Large plumes of sand were rising into the air as the wind swept across the arid plains.  Soon the Sun would be hidden behind a yellow haze, it's harsh rays struggling to break through.  Airell looked across the valley as his daughters Serena and Vevila played in the background.  He had heard the sound of bandits last night, their motorbikes rumbling through the dead valley.  He remembered them shouting and singing, accompanied by drumming as if they were letting loose at a wild party.  He looked again, this time through his telescope, a small marine scope that his grandfather had given to him as a gift when he was a child.  It's thick brass casing, warm from the Sun.  He could see the remnants of fires, their dark masses still smouldering a little black smoke.  However, the bandits had gone; their motorbike tracks already erased by the blowing sand.  Vevila ran over and hugged her dad’s leg, pulling him off balance slightly. 

She giggled as she spoke, “Can I have a look, Daddy? What’s out there?” 

“Nothing, Vevila, just dust and bones,” her dad replied heavily. 

“Dust and bones, dust and bones,” she repeated, her bright smile and blue eyes peeking through her blonde hair as it fluttered across her face in the wind. 

Serena ran over to Vevila, shouting, “Dust and bones, dust and bones, just dust and bones,” giggling also.  Airell put the telescope back in the car. 

“Come on, my little dears, party over.  We need to get some gas, and get those dirty little faces washed.”  Serena looked at Vevila, poking her tongue out at her, and then laughing, her bright green eyes radiant against her dark olive skin and black hair.  Vevila laughed back, poking gently at Serena’s nose.  They both jumped into the back of the car as it spun off down into the valley, spewing sand up against its already dust covered doors, it’s worn, spluttering engine blowing out blue smoke behind them.  They were heading towards the far end of the plains, towards the East where the desert broke into high, rocky mountains.  There was a rig there in the gorge, away from sight that Airell had been using for gasoline supplies.  He had watched one night from the hills as bandits forced the rig off the road, its trailer of gasoline breaking free and slipping into the wide crevice.  The driver had managed to fight them off, the bandits eventually fleeing, having no choice but to leave his trailer stuck between the rocks.  There it had been, ever since, covered by months of blowing sand, hidden from view.  Airell always travelled with the girls during the mid-afternoon, when the dusty haze was thick, providing cover from bandits.  He had done well to survive so far with his two daughters, Serena now six and Vevila five.  Their mum had died from a haemorrhage during Vevila’s birth; so now, it was just the three of them.

“Us against the World!” they would often chant. 

The girls were singing cheerfully in the back of the car as it headed out into the murky air towards the gorge.  Airell had rigged up an old iPod to the car speakers. 

“Beautiful sunshine!  Where is the sunshine!  My big, smiley sunshine!” the girls wailed out laughing.

“Nothing like a bit of sing-song to lift the mood,” he said and smiled.  He cackled along with them, all three now laughing hysterically as Serena and Vevila clapped wildly at each other’s hands.  Airell turned the music down a bit as he saw the approaching gorge. 

“Remember, girls, hold your guns close to your bods and shoot first or be dead.” 

“Be quick or be dead!” the girls chanted, motioning their fingers at each other as if firing guns, tilting their heads with sly grins. As they left the car, the wind had sprung up more violently than usual, and it was difficult to see a few feet ahead as the sand swirled and blasted into their faces.  The girls wore goggles to protect their precious young eyes and all three held hands in a chain as they descended the steep rocky slopes into the gorge.  The wind began to ease as they continued down, its shelter a welcome break from the stinging sand.  When they reached the rig, Airell dug through a few feet of sand to reach the hose inlet and siphoned off the gasoline into a can.  They then walked further down the gorge to the bottom.  Here there were streams still flowing with water, rich in minerals, protected from the burning Sun.  The streams came from underground the plains, but with each week, less flowed to Airell’s dismay.  The Earth was drying up.  Time was short here, Airell thought.  The girls bathed and drank merrily as their dad watched them with concern, knowing their future was not secure. 

They had not known the World before,
he thought. 
How happy they look amongst this mess. 
Above, they could hear the sand whistling by, and through the gorge opening a few dusty swirls reached their heads and onto their fresh skin as they made their way back up to the road.

When they eventually got back to the car with their supplies, bright electrical discharges were racing through the sandy air, sending rolls of thunder across the plains, a sign that the Sun had reached its most blazing zenith and was about to start its descent. 

“Quick, get in,” Airell motioned to his girls. “We need to get back to our little hill before the Sun sets. Otherwise, there will be no blowing sand to cover our tracks, and the boogie man will get us,” he continued, pulling a funny face.”  The girls giggled as they jumped in through the back door.

“I’ll blow his fucking brains out,” yelled Vevila with a peculiar grin, Serena pointing her gun through the window as if in agreement as the car spun its way through the storm. 

“No swearing girls, please; it’s unladylike,” their dad chuckled.  Vevila wiggled her body in response as if to mock the fact of being a lady.  Being a lady wasn’t her thing, she thought. 

The discharges continued to light up the dark and dusty air with purple and blue flashes, the thunder unheard above the roar of the car’s engine as it started to weave its way through the shallow sand of the plains.  Dust was lashing against the windscreen, the wipers straining under the weight of it all. 

Airell yelled, “Fuck!”  He hit the brakes hard, swerving to avoid a figure walking ahead.  The girls looked at each other in shock and then peered behind them, Serena quickly turning and pointing the gun at the person in terror.  Behind them was a poorly dressed woman, walking in a daze as if she had not seen them or the car. 

“There’s a woman, Dad, look,” Serena said with astonishment, still pointing through the rear window at her with her gun. 

“Yes, yes,” he replied, seeing her again, this time in the rear view mirror.  He spun the car so that it was side on to the approaching woman. 

“Girls, come, cover me.  If she goes for anything, shoot!”  He got out of the car, gun at rest by his side and walked to the woman.  She seemed startled when he got up close as if she wasn’t expecting anybody. 

“No, no!” she said hysterically looking at the gun, her golden eyes full of fear.  She was thin and dishevelled, recently congealed scars covering her face.  Her arms were trembling, and her body was shaking. 

“What’s the story lady?” Airell asked.  The woman started to sob and then burst into tears, crying uncontrollably, getting down on her knees, looking at the ground through the swirling sand.  Airell just looked on emphatically, waiting for her to respond in her own time. 

Finally, she looked up and between gasps said, “It’s no good anymore, people are mad, everything is lost.” 

“She’s certainly mad,” Serena whispered, Vevila agreeing with a nervous giggle.  The woman was about to speak some more when there were gunshot sounds in the distance, beyond the sight of the driving sand. 

“Quick!  Get in the car!” Airell commanded to the lady.  She stumbled to the car, finding herself too weak to open the door.  Serena responded by reaching forward and pushing it open for her.  She slumped onto the front seat, Serena pulling the door close behind her as the car sped off towards the hill. 

“Dad, she smells bad,” Vevila said, pinching her nostrils closed, not caring if the woman could hear or see her.  The woman didn’t seem to mind as an embarrassed silence filled the car. 

Finally, the woman spoke her name sheepishly, “Ailsa, my name is Ailsa.”

“Airell,” their dad said, nodding approval at her. “Welcome to the gang, Ailsa, we’re a little mad too, especially Vevila and Serena in the back.” 

“You’re bad, Dad, the girls yelled together, pointing stabbing fingers at him!”  Ailsa’s tears gave way to laughter as she turned to look at the two, their stern faces relaxing to smiles until they were all laughing together.

“And what a nice little gang you are.  Makes a pleasant change,” Ailsa eventually said as the laughter died.  Airell and his two girls nodded.

“So, why out there, all alone?” Airell asked.  “You were lucky that no one else came across you first.  It’s not too friendly around here.”

“It's not too friendly anywhere,” she replied.  “I was on a cargo ship, just steaming up the west coast from down south.  I hitched a ride, hoping to get away from the storms down there.  Then all hell broke loose.”

“Really?  How? Airell asked, his daughters looking keen for her to continue, leaning over the seats with excitement.

“The captain, he found something, something he didn’t like.”

“Go on.”

“Well, that’s the difficult bit.  What, I don’t know!”

“But if the captain didn’t like it?”

“He beached the ship into a cove, down the way and deserted.”

“How bizarre, how odd?”

“He fled ashore.  Some men chased him, but they came back empty-handed.”

“Too much rum!” Vevila shouted.

“Perhaps it was,” Ailsa said with a laugh.

“But it wasn’t, was it?” her dad interrupted, seeing the concern and seriousness in Ailsa’s face.

Ailsa shook her head, “There was a row one night, and I heard the captain say,
“What have they done!  Have they lost their minds!”

“What did they do?” Serena asked. Ailsa shrugged her shoulders, the girls looking spooked.

“Whatever happened, the story lies on that ship, beached in the cove.”  Airell rubbed his hand down his cheek, deep in thought.

“And here I am, a deserter myself.” 

“Yay!” the girls cheered, clapping with admiration.

“That was about a year ago,” Ailsa continued.  “They say he is still out there, making his way, a deep scar now down his face.  A bungled capture attempt, apparently.”

“What?” Airell said, creasing his face in astonishment. “What does he know, that's so important, that someone wants him so badly?”

“That's what everyone wants to know,” Ailsa replied.

“And I should be honest with you up front, it gets worse.”

“Worse?” Vevila asked.

Ailsa nodded nervously, “Everyone that was on that ship; we’re all disappearing, one by one, like we're being hunted down.  I just had a close call as you can see.”

“They think you know about, all of you know about, what he had found out,” Airell said.

Ailsa kept nodding, “Yes!”

“Wow, this is big, Ailsa,” Airell said.  “Now I understand why you were so distraught when we found you.  Looks like you had a lucky escape, just now.”

Ailsa started to cry again, “Sorry, maybe I should go!  I’m a danger to you all.”

“No!” the girls shouted in unison.

“No,” Airell added.

“I remember one more thing that he had said,” Ailsa continued, sobbing.  “It was very strange.  He said it when he left the ship, climbing down to the boat looking wild and angry.  It was very peculiar. 

“It's all been staged you dumb fools!”
he shouted, shaking his head in turmoil.
 
Airell looked at Ailsa in horror, finding the tone in her voice disturbing as she cried, Vevila and Serena watching on in stunned silence.  They all sat quietly for a while, staring out into the murky air.

“Let's go home,” Airell finally said softly, “and get some of those shrooms cooked up nice and warm.”  He floored the accelerator and weaved back up to their hill, his mind fretting over what their new friend had just told them.

It's all been staged!