Dust: Before and After

by S. E. Smith

  “We just arrived this afternoon,” he admitted, frowning at the chains hanging from her arms. “Why do they keep you chained up?”

  Josie tilted her head and smiled at Dust. “Because they are afraid of me,” she replied with a bitter laugh.

  “Should they be?” He asked curiously.

  Dust studied Josie’s face for a moment before he looked around the pillar. Stepping to the side, he saw an old mattress on the ground and some blankets. There were some other small items, a bowl of water, a towel, some additional clothing, but not much else. His gaze swept the back wall. A makeshift toilet was up against the wall. He started to turn back to look at Josie when he caught a line of dark streaks along the other side of the wall and ceiling. They looked like burn marks.

  “Not at first, but they should be terrified now,” she retorted as she followed his gaze.

  “Fire?” He murmured in a puzzled voice.

  “I shouldn’t have wasted my energy,” Josie replied with a shrug.

  Dust turned to look at Josie again as he pieced together what she was saying without really telling him. His gut feeling that this wasn’t a good place to be was growing. Now, it looked like they would have someone else tagging along with them. There was no way he could leave Josie imprisoned here, especially if her only offense was being different like him.

  “You said there were others. Were they like you… and me?” Dust asked.

  Josie gave Dust a grim, sad smile and wearily sank down onto the mattress. She pulled the chain up next to her and leaned her head back against the concrete beam. He stepped closer and squatted down so he could see her face. She blinked several times before she closed her eyes.

  “Yes,” she said in a husky voice. “There were five of us. We didn’t know what had happened. Dad… Beau… killed Ethan first. He said it was the work of the devil and that we’d turn into beasts, like some of the animals we saw in the first weeks after the impact. Tim, Karen, and Mr. Beckman were the next three they hunted down.” She opened her eyes and looked at Dust. “He wanted to kill me, but he couldn’t. I’m his flesh and blood. But even that won’t save me if I try to leave again. He’ll hunt me down and kill me just like he did the others.”

  “How can he tell?” Dust asked, staring back at the dark marks.

  “If you are like us, you need more food than normal. He’ll watch you. That’s one reason they count everything. They don’t eat much either,” she whispered, groaning and falling to the side on the bed. “I’m always so hungry.”

  Dust watched as she curled up into a ball. Her arms were protectively wrapped around her waist. Making a decision, he rose to his feet.

  “Listen, my friends and I are getting out of here. You can come with us,” he said, looking down at Josie as she rolled onto her back.

  “I can’t dissolve like you,” she whispered. “I’m too weak to do anything.”

  “I’ll get you some food,” Dust promised. “We have some in our car. I’ll bring it down to you. But, you’ve got to promise not to do anything until we are ready to go. I won’t endanger Sammy and Todd.”

  Josie slowly sat up and pushed her hair back from her face. He could see the hope and fear in her eyes. She bit her lip before she nodded.

  “Are they like us? What can they do?” She asked in a husky voice.

  Dust shook his head. “They aren’t like us, but I swore I’d protect them. Sammy saved my life. I won’t do anything that will put her or her little brother in danger,” he informed her with a look of warning.

  Josie finally nodded. “You get me out of here, and I’ll help you,” she promised in a soft voice.

  “I’ll be back,” Dust whispered, stepping back and fading. “I promise.”

  He was almost to the outer wall when he heard Josie call out his name. He turned, but didn’t reform. He knew she could sense him.

  “You’d better come back, Dust,” Josie whispered. “Please… Don’t leave me here to die.”

  Dust swallowed and turned away. He had a lot more exploring to do before the night was out and still needed to get up to the car for some food before returning to Sammy to let her know what he found out. Passing through the wall, Dust felt a growing sense of urgency. There was something else out there. He could feel it. Even tucked deep in the ground, he could feel the threat getting closer.

  Hunted, he thought as he moved up the stairwell. I feel like I’m being hunted.

  Chapter 13

  A Strange Feeling:

  It didn’t take Dust long to check out each level. There were times when he reformed to conserve his energy. He found the room where the weapons were stored. A grin curved his lips when he saw the array of bows mounted on the wall and the various types of arrows. Sammy would be in heaven if she could get her hands on half of the supply.

  After that, he moved to the food storage area. It was packed with all types of canned and packaged items. He didn’t spend long in that room. It was too tempting to grab some of the food and eat it. Instead, he worked his way up to the first door. He faded through it and continued up the stairs.

  He paused when he saw a light in the front section and heard some voices. It was Randolph and Howard. Wishing he still had one of the candy bars that Sammy had given him for an extra kick, he faded and moved closer.

  “What do you think of the new kids?” Howard asked.

  Dust watched as Howard placed a card down on the table. Randolph didn’t say anything at first. His gaze swept around the small room, pausing on the guns propped up next to each man. Randolph picked up the card Howard had discarded before he responded.

  “The younger boy doesn’t bother me none, it’s the older one I don’t trust. There is something about him,” Randolph muttered.

  “What about the girl? She’s kind of pretty, don’t you think?” Howard asked with a grin. “It’s nice to have a young one here; well, besides you-know-who.”

  “I want the girl. She’s going to be mine. I already told Beau I was claiming her,” Randolph stated in a blunt tone.

  Howard groaned and shook his head. “You can’t just call dibs on her. That’s not fair to the rest of us,” he complained with a frown.

  “Well, I am,” Randolph replied, setting down several cards. “Straight flush.”

  Howard grimaced and looked down at his cards. Dust moved to the other side of the doorway when Randolph frowned and glanced his way. A sense of panic swept through him when Randolph laid his cards down on the table and reached for the rifle next to him. Had he partially reformed and Randolph caught a glimpse of him as he moved across the doorway?

  “What is it?” Howard asked, looking up at Randolph with a scowl. “You feeling weird things again, Rand?”

  “Shut up, Howard,” Randolph growled, shooting a nasty look at the other man. “I thought I saw something.”

  “There ain’t nothing there,” Howard grumbled. “Beau doesn’t come to relieve us for at least another four hours and the new kids can’t get through the door without us knowing.”

  “I’m going to check anyway,” Randolph snapped.

  “You just don’t have any more good cards, probably,” Howard mumbled under his breath.

  “I’ll be back in a minute and don’t look at my cards,” Randolph warned. “I’ll know if you did.”

  “Sure, sure,” Howard replied with a shrug. “You go chase some shadows and I’ll wait here. If you don’t come back or you see anything, give a holler and I’ll come in guns blazing.”

  Randolph snorted. “You’d be worse than anything out there. With my luck, you’d shoot me by mistake,” he retorted, stepping out of the room.

  “I’m still a better shot than Alex,” Howard called out.

  Dust pressed back against the wall as Randolph walked by him. He held his breath when Randolph paused for a moment and swept his hand out. A shiver ran through Dust’s body when he felt Randolph’s hand passing through him.

  “I’m feeling ghosts now,” Randolph muttered under his breath befor
e he turned and climbed the steps to the top where the cars were parked.

  Dust followed him, taking care to stay far enough behind so that Randolph couldn’t touch him again. The strain of being faded for so long was pulling at him, but he needed to see what was going on before he went topside. Randolph doubled checked to make sure the door was locked before he shrugged and turned to retrace his steps. Dust pressed his body as close as he could to the wall as Randolph walked past him, this time not hesitating when he did.

  Swallowing, Dust climbed up the stairs and passed through the upper doorway. He made sure the large storage area was empty before he reformed. Pulling the car keys out of his pocket, he unlocked the door to their car and climbed inside.

  A sigh of pleasure burst through him as he opened a can of apricots and devoured it. Three cans of fruit, four bags of chips, and two candy bars later, he could feel the power buzzing inside him. Turning back around, he reached into another bag that held several boxes of energy bars. He ripped two of them open and stuffed as many of the bars into his pockets as he could for Josie.

  Dust climbed out of the car and quietly closed the door again and locked it. He started to turn when the feeling that had shaken him earlier, hit him again. Turning back toward the entrance to the large curved hanger that doubled as a garage, he stared at the thick, metal doors.

  For a moment, he could almost see the dark shadow and glowing red eyes of the devil dog from the town. A frown creased his brow as he tried to focus on where the feeling was coming from. It was still faint, but it ran down his spine like fingernails on a chalkboard. It was coming.

  Stumbling backwards, Dust shook his head when the feeling faded again. He had never felt anything like this before. It was almost like when Josie had known he was there even though she couldn’t see him. Glancing at the doors once more, Dust felt the urge, more than ever, to get Sammy, Todd, and now Josie, as far away from here as possible.

  *.*.*

  Dust passed through the door once again. He didn’t pause to listen to Randolph and Howard this time, but continued down the spiraling maze deeper and deeper into the silo until he reached the very bottom where Josie was being held.

  He passed through the door with a growing urgency to get back to his room. He would have followed that urge if it wasn’t for the fact he knew that Josie was in desperate need of something to eat. He solidified into his corporal body as soon as he passed through the door.

  “Dust!” Josie whispered, rising up from her pallet on the floor. “I didn’t imagine you, you are real!”

  “Yes, I’m real,” Dust replied, reaching into his pockets and pulling out the energy bars. “I can’t stay, but I wanted to give you these. Hide what you don’t eat, including the wrappers. We need to get out of here. There’s something going on. I’m not sure what it is, but I can feel it.”

  “Me, too,” Josie said, tearing open one of the energy bars and biting into it with a soft groan before she looked up at him. “Thank you.”

  Dust’s gaze softened at the genuine look of appreciation in Josie’s eyes. It was hard to believe that he was not alone any more. It was even harder to believe that there were others similar to him.

  “Try to ration them,” he suggested with a nod of his head as he dropped a small pile of twenty of the vitamin-packed bars onto the mattress. “I’ll come for you when we are ready to go.”

  Josie nodded. “Dust, I don’t like the feeling I’m getting. Whatever is causing it is dangerous.”

  Dust stared back at Josie for a moment before he jerked his head in agreement. He could feel the danger. Turning, he faded and quickly ran up the stairwell to the third level. His gaze widened when he saw Beau opening the door to his room. Randolph was standing outside of it. They were talking too low for him to hear, but he knew it was about him when Beau glanced at the room he and Todd had been given.

  He rushed across, moving in the parallel direction when both men started toward his room. He passed through the door and reformed. Moving as quietly as he could, he pulled his shirt off and tossed it on the floor before scrambling onto his cot and pulling the covers over his lower half.

  “Dust?” Todd murmured in a sleepy voice.

  “Shush, Todd. Pretend you’re asleep,” Dust ordered in a soft whisper. “We’ve got company.”

  Todd blinked a couple of times before he nodded and rolled over so his back was to the door. Dust watched as Todd closed his eyes again and slowly breathed in and out. He closed his own eyes as the sound of the lock being turned echoed unusually loud in the room before the door opened.

  “They’re both in here,” Beau said, flashing a light over both beds.

  Randolph’s muttered curse almost pulled a smile from Dust. Rolling onto his side, he released a soft snore for good measure. A few seconds later, the door closed again and he heard the lock click back into place.

  Cracking his eyelids, he stared down at Todd. A huge grin curved the boy’s lips as he stared silently up at Dust. Unable to keep his own amusement hidden, Dust grinned back. Now, to get some rest so he could figure out the best way to get everyone out without getting killed.

  *.*.*

  The Alpha laid on the ground outside of the huge metal dome two days later. Her stomach was full and she could feel the power coursing through her. Her gaze swept over the remaining nine devil dogs as she brushed her tongue over her teeth.

  Attack, her Beta’s thoughts whispered through her mind.

  Turning her attention to the large male, her gaze swept over him and she felt her body respond to his stare. Her heat was coming. She forced the feeling down, instead focusing on his statement.

  Not yet, she responded, gazing back at the half buried structure. When darkness falls, we will attack.

  She was satisfied when he bowed his head to her. If he had questioned her or snarled in disfavor, she would have to consider promoting another one of the pack to his position. She would not tolerate any of them thinking they should challenge her decisions.

  Pleased with his behavior, she released a small snarl and a command as she rose to her feet. Perhaps she should not resist the heat building inside her, she thought as she moved her tail to the side. She nipped at the Beta as he came around behind her. Bracing herself, she allowed him to mount her. Her mind cleared and she let her body relax under the weight of the male.

  Tonight, she thought as the male above her grunted with need. Tonight I will feast on a different flesh. One that will give me more power.

  *.*.*

  Dust paused as he scrubbed the floor in the kitchen. He looked around the room with a frown. He had felt a shift in the air. Bowing his head again, he focused on the floor in front of him. He was slowly running the mop back and forth over the concrete when Beau walked into the room.

  “I’m assigning you another task,” Beau stated.

  Dust looked up and nodded. The last two days, he, Todd, and Sammy had seldom been in the same room together. In fact, breakfast and dinner were the only two times he had been permitted to see them. The rest of the day they had each been assigned chores in different areas of the complex.

  “What do you need me to do?” Dust finally asked when Beau didn’t continue.

  “We are moving more of the boxes of supplies in the hanger down to the missile storage. I’ll need you to help Randolph, Alex, and Howard with that,” Beau said.

  “Okay,” Dust replied and turned to place the mop into the bucket of dirty water.

  “I also want you to empty out the car you came in. All the supplies will be added to what we have,” Beau added.

  Dust’s mouth tightened for a moment, but something told him to hold his tongue. He decided he would focus on the first task at hand before resisting the second. It was hard to plan an escape if he couldn’t talk to Sammy. She had slipped him a note last night at dinner to warn him that Maria had moved into her room with her. What was even more disturbing was that he had come back last night to discover that Todd had been moved out of his room and int
o Howard’s.

  “Why did you move Todd?” Dust asked.

  Beau raised an eyebrow at Dust’s sudden question. “Because I thought it best,” the older man responded.

  “Why?” Dust asked, releasing the handle of the mop and stepping closer to Beau. “He should be with either me or Sammy, not Howard. I don’t want him there.”

  Beau stiffened and looked Dust in the eye. “Listen, boy,” he began as his eyes narrowed in warning. “I make the decisions here. I don’t give a damn about what you want or don’t want. The boy stays with Howard.”

  Dust shook his head. “And if I don’t agree with your decisions?” He asked in a quiet voice. “I promised to protect him and Sammy. I can’t do that if they aren’t near me.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that any more,” Beau responded in a hard tone. “If you don’t agree, get over it. I told you when you came, I make the rules and my rules are law here. Howard will watch over Todd. And the girl….”

  Dust felt a sense of panic when he heard Beau’s voice fade. A vision of Sammy swept into his mind at the same time as Randolph’s words from the other night suddenly resonated through him.

  “I want the girl,” repeated itself over and over until Dust had to shake his head to break it.

  “What about Sammy?” Dust asked in a husky voice.

  Beau glanced at Dust before he looked away. “She’s not your problem any longer. Randolph will be overseeing her from now on,” Beau explained. “If you are finished here, report upstairs to Alex.”

  Dust watched Beau turn away and walk out of the room. His fingers curled and he could feel the sparks of power tingling in his palms. Drawing in several deep, steadying breaths, he slowly relaxed. Tonight they would escape. Josie was stronger than she had been. She still needed more food, but they didn’t have much choice. He wouldn’t let Beau isolate him from Todd and Sammy and he sure as hell wouldn’t let Randolph oversee Sammy in any way, shape, or form.

  Turning, he rummaged through the drawers in the kitchen until he found a piece of paper and a pencil. He wrote the word ‘TONIGHT’ in capital letters on two sections and ripped it apart. He would give them to Sammy and Todd at dinner, if not sooner. Replacing the pencil, he shoved the notes into his pocket before dumping the pail of dirty water down the drain and replacing it in the storage area.