Dust: Before and After

by S. E. Smith

  The She Devil tilted her head, as if considering Sammy’s words. A slow, menacing smile curled her lips, revealing the gleaming white, sharp teeth hidden inside. Sammy stumbled backwards when the creature’s face suddenly began to twist.

  “I think that can be arranged,” the She Devil hissed before returning to her original form.

  “Get Sammy out of here,” Dust yelled to Randolph.

  Sammy lost her grip on the arrow she had threaded when Randolph suddenly twisted and grabbed her arm. She stumbled when he pulled her back toward the gym. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that Dust had materialized where she was standing just seconds earlier. He was locked in battle with the She Devil.

  Chapter 25

  Hostage:

  Dust strained to hold the She Devil far enough away to keep her snapping jaws from sinking into his flesh. He jerked backwards, fading when she spread her wings and began to lift off the ground. He rolled across the packed gravel and dirt parking lot several feet before he solidified again.

  His gaze focused on the female as she rose into the air. Almost immediately, Beau and Raymond began firing at her. A low hissing scream escaped her and she twisted in midair.

  Dust followed her gaze. Turning, he took off in the direction of Raymond. He faded, passing through the low concrete wall with the faint words Springfield High School on it. Reforming, he opened his arms and tackled Raymond, knocking the older man to the side just as the She Devil struck the concrete.

  The concrete exploded outward. Chunks of the flying debris rained down over the two of them. Dazed, Dust shook his head and stared down at Raymond. The other man blinked up at Dust before grunting. Dust glanced over his shoulder. The creature had turned back toward Beau’s hiding place.

  “Are you okay?” Dust asked in an urgent tone.

  “Ye… Yes. Go… Stop her!” Raymond muttered.

  Dust pushed up off the ground and turned back to follow the She Devil. He glanced wildly around, trying to sense her movements. He gazed toward Josie. Her hands were glowing and she was turning in a tight circle, looking up at the sky.

  “Josie, look out!” Randolph shouted.

  Dust watched in horror as Josie’s feet were knocked out from under her. Josie rolled to the side, a line of flames shooting out from her hands. Anger swept through Dust when the She Devil briefly appeared. She wrapped her long tail around Josie’s ankles and lifted her off the ground.

  “Josie!” Beau yelled, aiming his rifle at the creature.

  “Shoot it!” Josie screamed, twisting so she could try to hit the creature with a ball of fire.

  Dust ran toward Josie, focusing as he did. Small granules of sand began swirling and joining until he felt them wrap around his upper body. Long, gray wings formed and he felt his feet lift off the ground.

  The She Devil saw him coming and released Josie. The report of Beau’s rifle mixed with Josie’s terrified scream. Adrenaline, fueled by anger and fear, pulsed through Dust, and he shot forward, catching Josie a mere foot before she hit the ground.

  “I’ve got this,” Josie said breathlessly, clinging to Dust’s shoulders. “Let me go.”

  Dust swept up far enough to drop Josie lightly on her feet. Fury blazed in her eyes and he could see her body beginning to shimmer. Soaring upward, he twisted in time to see the She Devil turn on Beau and Raymond. Both men were firing at the creature as fast as they could. The bullets flashed through her when she faded, but he could already see that she was beginning to tire.

  “She’s running out of energy, Josie,” Dust shouted.

  “I’ll show her some energy,” Josie growled, her whole body shimmering with intense blue flames. “Let’s see how you like to play with fire.”

  Dust saw Raymond and Beau fall back when Josie’s hands shot outward, long whips of brilliant blue flame greedily sped toward the She Devil. The creature turned in the air just as the wall of flames hit her. Her black wings rose up to ward off the incinerating fire Josie was directing at her. Without her wings to support her body in flight, the She Devil fell from the sky. The impact shook the ground with enough force to knock Raymond and Beau off their feet.

  Dust slowly lowered himself back to the ground and watched as Josie stalked closer, glowing brighter than he had ever seen. He knew she was using too much energy, but was powerless to tell her to stop. She wouldn’t have listened anyway, if he had. She was directing every ounce of her fury at the creature.

  The black wings slowly turned a radiant red under the onslaught of the flames. Dust was amazed that the creature hadn’t disintegrated into a pile of ash. He stood watching as Josie stopped just a few feet from the creature, her gaze and hands locked on it.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Beau and Raymond stagger unsteadily to their feet. Beau glanced at Josie with an expression of awe on his face. Dust started to warn him to stay back when his attention was jerked back to the creature.

  A sense of warning struck him a brief second before the She Devil exploded upward. The powerful burst of air from her wings sent a shock wave rippling outward. The impact of it lifted them off their feet, throwing them several yards before they hit the hard surface with a sickening thump. Dust grunted as the breath was momentarily knocked out of him.

  He lay on the ground, his ears ringing. With a shake of his head to clear the noise, he pushed up with one hand. Horror gripped him when he saw the She Devil land a couple of feet from where Josie lay helpless, stunned and drained from her assault against the She Devil. His mouth opened in denial when the creature raised her right hand and focused. Five long claws extended outward, growing until they were several inches long.

  “No!” Dust mouthed at the same time as he heard Beau’s fierce cry.

  As if in slow motion, he watched as the She Devil bent to drive the sharp blades of her nails through Josie’s chest. The choked cry froze on his lips when he saw Beau fall over Josie at the last second. Beau’s ravaged face twisted in shock and disbelief. His arms trembled as he looked down between him and his daughter.

  Dust’s gaze followed the movement. He could see the tips of the She Devil’s claws protruding through the front of Beau’s shirt. It was only when the creature pulled back and rose into the air again that Beau’s right arm collapsed and he fell to the side.

  “NO!” Randolph’s harsh cry echoed over the sound of the growing storm. “Dad!”

  Dust pushed up off the ground and stumbled over to where Josie and Beau were lying. He watched as Josie rolled and sat up. Her gaze was locked on her father. Dust caught her when she almost fell over trying to get to her knees.

  He supported her when she swayed again. “You saved me,” Josie whispered in a dazed, confused voice that suddenly sounded very, very young.

  Beau was struggling to draw in a breath. Dust could see the bubbles of blood pool up when the man tried to breathe. He knew that the nails had gone through both of Beau’s lungs.

  “You…,” Beau gasped, his eyes growing dim. “Proud… you.”

  “Daddy,” Josie whispered, reaching out to touch his cheek.

  “Love… You… Jo…,” Beau hissed, his voice fading with the last of his oxygen and strength.

  “Dad!” Randolph cried out, falling to his knees on the other side of Beau. “Dad, don’t. Help him! You have to help him.” Dust looked down at Randolph. The other man’s eyes were glazed with grief. “Please, you have to help him.”

  “He’s gone, son,” Raymond said, laying his hand on Randolph’s shoulder.

  Dust felt Josie’s shoulders begin to shake and a low anguished sob escaped her. He helped her to her feet and turned her toward him. All he could do was hold her.

  “Randolph,” Dust murmured. “Where is the She Devil?”

  Randolph looked up at Dust and shook his head. “I… I don’t know. It was as if a wall was suddenly erected around her,” he whispered, his gaze returning to his dad. “One minute she was there, then suddenly she was gone.”

  *.*.*

  Fury
poured through her as she swept up into the churning night sky. The fact that they were waiting for her had been obvious. How the humans had known of her approach, she didn’t know.

  She had wanted to kill the one that made fire. Her body throbbed and burned from the combination of assaults. A shuddered escaped her as her body ejected the small pieces of metal from it. Her wings stung and pain coursed through her as new tissue healed over the damaged skin. Her strength was quickly draining away from her and she desperately needed food to restore it, but that would have to wait.

  Fading, she circled around and disappeared through the wall of the building. She reformed, landing on the cold concrete in a long room. Lifting her nose, she sniffed the air. Three separate scents swept through her.

  Her gaze swept over the dark area. A low fire burned in the center of a group of rocks. Stepping on silent feet, she shifted into her human-like form. Bending, she picked up one of the blankets off a padded cushion and wrapped it around her body just as one of the human’s that she scented glanced around the corner where they were hiding. A startled cry escaped the older woman and she froze in uncertainty.

  “Who are you?” The woman demanded in confusion. “Where did you come from?”

  The She Devil tilted her head and took a step closer. “Where is the one called Sammy?” She asked in a husky voice.

  “Sammy?” The woman said, taking a step closer. “She’s with Dust and the others. I thought I heard shouting. I thought they were fighting the She Devil.”

  “They… were,” the She Devil whispered, stopping in front of the woman.

  “Who are you?” The woman asked again, this time unable to keep the tremor out of her voice.

  The She Devil flashed her sharp teeth. “The She Devil,” she replied. She reached out and grabbed the woman’s hand holding the weapon in her right hand and the woman’s neck with her left. “Where is the smaller male who travels with the one called Sammy?”

  “Never!” The woman started to choke out.

  “Martha?” Another voice called out from the darkness.

  Turning her gaze toward the back, she caught a glimpse of another human female and the male that she was seeking. A soft snarl escaped her when she saw the human raise the weapon in her hand. Her eyes narrowed and she tossed the old woman she was holding to the side, ignoring the woman when her head hit the wall and she collapsed to the floor.

  “Martha! Stop! I don’t know who you are, but stay back!” The young human female warned, her hand shaking as the She Devil walked toward her.

  “Step aside human and I will not kill you. I need you to give the one named Dust a message for me,” the She Devil hissed.

  “N… No, stay back… back,” the woman whispered.

  “Denise, it’s her. Look at her eyes. It’s the She Devil. Shoot her,” the boy warned in a voice filled with fear. “Shoot her!”

  “You are smart, young one,” The She Devil chuckled, walking toward them. “Unfortunately, the hot lead from your weapons cannot kill me. You, female, tell Dust to bring me the one called Sammy and I may let the boy child live.”

  “No!” Denise cried as her finger squeezed the trigger.

  The She Devil knew that time was running out. In the distance, she could hear the others. She was too low on energy to battle again. A low, feral snarl escaped her and she shifted. Charging toward the female, she twisted in mid-flight. The hot lead from the girl’s weapon flashed by her. Her arm swept out, throwing the woman to the side even as her other arm wrapped around the terrified boy.

  “Let me go!” He cried, straining to break free. “Sammy! Dust!”

  “Not yet, young one,” The She Devil responded in a cold voice. “This time, I will be the one to set the trap.”

  She burst out through the double doors in the back of the room, snapping the thick chain wrapped around the door handles like it was a piece of string. Unfolding her wings, she tucked the struggling body of the boy against her and launched upward.

  Long fragmented lines of lightning crisscrossed the sky. The wind was picking up as the storm grew closer. It was both a blessing and a curse. It would give her the time she needed to gather her strength for the upcoming battle that was imminent, but it would also drain even more of her energy as she flew back to her temporary lair.

  “Sammy!” The boy cried pitifully against her chest.

  “Soon, human. Soon, she and Dust will come for you and when they do, this world will see a new species, unlike anything they have seen before,” The She Devil replied with satisfaction. “Soon.”

  *.*.*

  Sammy’s gaze remained glued to the scene unfolding outside the window. She watched the fight between the She Devil and her friends. Her hand rose and she pressed her fist tightly to her mouth to smother her cry of fear when she saw the She Devil lift Josie up by her ankles.

  A part of her wanted to argue with Randolph when he insisted that they find shelter back inside the gym. She hadn’t wanted to go, but she knew that if she stayed outside it would make it more difficult for Dust, Josie, and the two men to focus on killing the creature. She knew deep down that if she had stayed, they would have been focusing on trying to keep her safe instead.

  Even so, she and Randolph couldn’t completely desert the others. They had sought refuge in the ticket booth. They watched the fight outside through the narrow window.

  “I can’t believe that she looks human,” Randolph muttered. “How the hell is that possible?”

  “I don’t know how she did it,” Sammy whispered, staring in horror at the fight. “Look at Josie. I’ve never seen her glow so bright before.”

  “Holy crud!” Randolph choked out in disbelief. “They are both a lot more powerful than we thought.”

  “Yes, they are… What’s going on? Oh, no!” Sammy cried a moment before both of them were thrown back against the far wall when a blast of heated air hit them.

  The thick glass of the ticket booth cracked, leaving a spider web of jagged lines splintering outward. Sammy groaned and touched the back of her head where it had connected with the wall. Randolph was pushing up off the floor. He had landed under the small counter a few feet from her.

  “What happened?” He muttered, shaking his head.

  Sammy shook her head and winced. “I don’t know,” she replied.

  They both rose on shaky feet and made their way over to the fragmented window. Horror gripped them both when they saw the distorted image of the She Devil standing over Josie’s still figure.

  “No!” They both cried out at the same time.

  As if in slow motion, they saw the She Devil bend forward, her long nails extended. Just before she drove them downward, Beau appeared. Randolph’s choked denial resonated through the small room and his body jerked in time with his father as the She Devil drove her nails through Beau’s body.

  “Dad!” Randolph mumbled in disbelief, pulling back and turning toward the door.

  “Randolph, no!” Sammy yelled, trying to stop him.

  Sammy followed, pausing at the entrance to the gym. She watched as Randolph ran across the front parking area. Her gaze moved to the She Devil as she rose into the air. Her fingers curled and she wished she had her bow. It was still in the ticket booth.

  Turning, Sammy returned to the small room. She hurried over to where she had dropped her bow and quiver of arrows. Grief and anger filled her. As much as she hated what Beau and Randolph had done, the death of another human was just a re-enforcement that they were living in a different world than before the comet.

  Brushing her hair away from her face, she started to turn toward the front of the gym when the sound of gunfire from the locker room drew her attention. Her eyes widened in fear and she turned in the direction of the noise. The sound of a soft snarl sent a shaft of terror through her.

  “Please, no!” Sammy whispered, taking off at a run through the gym. “Please, oh, please, no!”

  Sammy burst through the doorway of the locker room. Her gaze swept wildly ar
ound the area before locking on where Denise was helping Martha sit up. Sammy started forward, her gaze searching.

  “Where’s Todd?” She demanded in a hoarse voice. “Denise, where is my brother?”

  Denise looked up at Sammy with dazed eyes. She shook her head. Martha raised a shaky hand to her bleeding temple.

  “She took him,” Denise whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “She said to tell Dust to bring you to her and she might let Todd live. I’m sorry, Sammy. I tried to stop her, but she was too fast. She looked… She looked human, too.”

  Sammy stumbled back a step before she turned. They had to go after the She Devil. They had to stop her before she hurt Todd. A gut-wrenching terror filled Sammy. She needed Dust’s help.

  *.*.*

  Dust stared down at Beau’s still, blood-covered body. Despair threatened to choke him. For a moment, he thought of all the things he might have done to prevent this from happening. The She Devil had taken him by surprise. When she had transformed into a shape that was more human, he found himself having doubts about whether he should destroy her. It was one thing to kill a deranged animal, but to kill something that looked like a human…. Deep down, guilt rose up. He should have done more to protect the others. He should have confronted the She Devil on his own.

  “Dust!” Sammy cried out, emerging from the gym.

  Dust turned, his arms still supporting Josie’s trembling form. Sammy was running toward him. Fear, horror, and despair was reflected in her eyes. His gaze moved to where Martha and Denise emerged from the gym. Denise was holding Martha around the waist. The older woman had blood running from her temple.

  “Where’s Todd?” Dust asked, turning his gaze back to Sammy. “Sammy, where’s Todd?”

  “She took him,” Sammy sobbed, wiping her arm across her face. “The She Devil took him.”