Sandstorm Box Set

by T. W. Piperbrook

  “Unfortunately, true,” Kai agreed.

  “As much as that angers me, I can’t imagine leaving these people behind right now—especially Samel. We have to take care of our injured and make sure they are protected, before we can leave.”

  Kai nodded.

  Too many obstacles.

  Neena blinked her tired eyes. A night of anxiety and missed sleep was already taking its toll. Thoughts clouded in her mind, taunting her with a lack of answers.

  After a while of thinking and walking, she asked, “How far do we have left to travel?”

  “Only a half a klick, I think,” Kai said. “Once we settle everyone down, we’ll figure out our next steps. It’s all I can think to do.”

  **

  For a while longer, they followed the caves, traveling deeper into the formation’s bowels. Neena recognized a few tunnels from when she, Kai, and Darius had fled. Others were new and decidedly ominous. They followed the faded marks—some that were easy to spot, others that required keen observation—without pause. Once they walked single-file, squeezing through a passage that was barely wide enough to admit one person.

  They didn’t stop, or rest.

  After journeying for some undeterminable length of time, they came upon the large chamber that Kai had decided on. Neena scanned it from wall to wall. The tunnel was wide enough that they could fit most of them in a large area, while keeping in view of each other. Long, crooked rocks hung from the ceiling, which stood at the height of a few people standing on top of one another.

  But too many crevices worried Neena.

  High in some of them, she heard the flap of bat’s wings, as they reacted to the intruders. A few, skulking rats skittered away, not used to seeing humans. Neena shuddered.

  She felt the same way she had when they’d first entered the caves. They were new, and that made them feel more dangerous.

  “I don’t like this,” she said to Kai, unslinging her bag and setting it down.

  “I don’t, either,” Kai admitted. “But we have water here.” He pointed at the small spring, which was located near one of the walls. “Hopefully, our stay here will be temporary.”

  After situating Samel in a spot near the middle of the room, Neena walked to the sides of the cave, shining her torch around. Some parts of the wall were as black as the darkest sky; others were reddish, or brown. In a few places, Neena saw cracks on which they’d have to keep an eye. Thankfully, this section of tunnel had only two ends to guard, with no nearby branching tunnels. In that way, it was similar to the Right Cave.

  When she was done with her walk-through, she returned to Samel and Kai, helping Samel unfold his bedroll.

  “Amos is tending the people who suffered from the smoke,” Kai reported.

  Neena looked over toward the center of the chamber, where Amos shuffled around tiredly.

  Noticing her gaze, Kai said, “He’s exhausted, like we all are. A night of fleeing, standing on the cliffs, and traveling has depleted everyone’s strength. Regardless of what happens afterwards, we need rest.”

  Neena couldn’t imagine sleeping, after what had transpired. And she couldn’t stop thinking about Raj. Still, she felt her eyes closing, and her muscles aching. She looked nearby, where Samel laid down on his bedroll, unsettled.

  Instinctively, Neena’s eyes went over to the guards.

  “They’ll let us know if they see anything,” Kai said, urging her to her bedroll. “Let’s sleep. If we don’t, we’ll be no good to anyone.”

  Neena reluctantly agreed.

  Chapter 36: Neena

  Neena lay in her bedroll, fitfully turning. This chamber was decidedly bumpier than the Right Cave. Every so often, she reached underneath her, removing a rock, or smoothing out her bedroll. Whenever sleep gently tugged at her, her mind resisted, luring her back.

  For a long while, she tried to turn off her tumbling thoughts, until something made her abandon them.

  A voice, hissing her name.

  She looked up to find Adriana crouched near her.

  Studying the girl’s grimy face under the light of several hanging torches, Neena whispered, “Is everything okay?”

  Adriana bit her lip.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Adriana looked sheepishly over to where Kai and Samel quietly slept. “Can we talk?”

  Neena rose from her bedding, motioning Adriana over to the cave wall, where they could whisper. Adriana followed guiltily.

  “What’s going on?” Neena asked.

  Adriana fumbled for words. “I was just thinking about the fire. Every time I close my eyes, I imagine the thick smoke.”

  “That was a brave thing you did, alerting us to it,” Neena complemented. “We would’ve suffered greater tragedies, if you hadn’t been so alert.”

  “Thanks,” Adriana said, averting her eyes. “I can’t forget about those women, wafting the fire in our direction. The image of what the guard told me won’t leave my mind.”

  “I understand,” Neena said, and she did.

  “Too many children are sleeping restlessly.” Adriana looked over at Samel, who slept clutching a fist-sized rock that Neena had seen him take from Raj’s bedroll, before they left. She was worried about him. Hell, she was worried about all of them. Sensing that Adriana had something else on her mind, she said, “You look as if you have something else to tell me.”

  Adriana hesitated, glancing back at her sleeping parents. “Yes.”

  Whether it was the guilty look on Adriana’s face, or her wavering tone, Neena could tell it was something private. “Whatever it is, I will not repeat it, if you don’t want me to.”

  Leaning closer, ensuring that no one else heard, Adriana asked, “You promise you won’t tell my folks?”

  Neena watched her. “I swear.”

  “I wasn’t going to the bathroom when I saw the fire. I was looking for Raj.”

  Neena felt a jab of emotion.

  Adriana looked at her boots in shame. “I snuck past the guard, thinking I might head down to Red Rock and find him. It was a foolish idea. I don’t even know if he’s alive…but I can’t stop thinking about him. I feel guilty that he left.”

  Neena watched her a long moment, fighting off tears. She reached over, squeezing Adriana’s arm.

  “You had nothing to do with it.”

  “But I did…” Adriana’s voice trailed off.

  “What do you mean?”

  After some coaxing, Adriana relayed the story she’d obviously come to tell. Surprise hit Neena as she heard about Adriana’s trip with Raj to see the weapon, their run-in with Bryan, and Raj’s distant behavior. “I had no idea about his plans. If I had known he would march down with Bryan, I would’ve stopped him.”

  Tears welled up in Adriana’s eyes. Reaching over, Neena pulled her into a hug. “It’s not your fault, Adriana. There’s nothing you could’ve done.”

  Adriana resisted the hug. “Maybe if I had told you, we could’ve figured out Raj’s plan and stopped him together.”

  For a moment, Neena considered that possibility. But obviously, they couldn’t change anything now. Thinking about what Kai had said earlier, she said, “Raj was going to make his own choices. There was nothing we could’ve done to stop him. I’m convinced of that.”

  “Do you really believe it?” Adriana asked.

  “I do.” Neena paused. “When I was talking to Kai earlier, he said some things that made sense. Everybody makes mistakes. I just hope we can help Raj, before it’s too late.”

  “You’re not mad at me?”

  “No,” Neena said. She hugged her again, holding her longer. “As soon as we settle in here, we’ll figure out a plan to get Raj back. I promise.”

  Adriana nodded. “I’m worried about Sherry, too.”

  “We all are,” Neena admitted. “We might have to tackle that issue first, before we get Raj. But we’ll figure it all out when we wake up. I swear.”

  Adriana closed her eyes hard, reopening them. Watching the pain in
her face, Neena fought the lump in her throat.

  “Just promise me you won’t do anything foolish like that again. Okay?”

  “I promise,” Adriana said.

  “Now get some rest, and I’ll do the same.”

  Adriana scooted back to her bedroll near her parents, while Neena returned to her sleeping area.

  Neither noticed the two women who secretly watched them through a crevice in the cave.

  Chapter 37: Raj

  Raj woke and rubbed his eyes, looking up at the hard, domed ceiling. All around the Comm Building, people groaned, rousing from another difficult night’s sleep. They were achy, and they were tired. Their stomachs were empty. Of course, no one had expected to be in the same place for so long.

  They’d hoped for their hovels.

  Looking over at the braced doors, Raj wished he could see the sun, the silhouette of the twin moons, or the cliffs, towering high above them. He couldn’t tell the time of day in here.

  In any case, he was glad to be awake.

  Looking over to the round table, he noticed a group of Watchers talking and collecting their bags.

  His intentions from the night before came hurtling back.

  He needed to find Louie.

  He scanned the enormous main room. Luck was with him—the door to the large man’s quarters was closed. He could position himself in such a way that he could have a quick discussion, before the man became otherwise engaged.

  Wiping the last of his sleep from his eyes, Raj rose to his feet, weaving around blankets, bags, and sleeping people, headed for Louie’s quarters. A few people watched him with disdain, but he ignored them.

  If his plan worked, they wouldn’t look at him that way for long.

  Raj had just reached Louie’s quarters when the door swung open, revealing the large, lumbering man. Louie’s face was creased with tiredness. His clothes were rumpled. He winced and adjusted his cast, surprised to find Raj standing in front of him.

  “What are you doing here?” he grunted.

  Raj swallowed his apprehension. This was his moment.

  Waving a skinny arm at the gathering men, who flanked the Comm Building table, Raj said, “I was hoping I could go to the colony with you.”

  Louie looked at him. He looked at the men. “You want to go on the scavenging trip?”

  Putting on his bravest face, Raj said, “Yes.”

  He waited for the rejection he knew was coming. He had an argument prepared. Louie looked Raj up and down, scowling at his appearance, as if he might’ve stepped on some rat dung. Or maybe he’d stained his clothes. Nope. Raj’s clothes were clean. To his surprise, Louie laughed.

  “What is it?” Raj asked, after an awkward pause.

  “You want to go out with the men?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Your place is here, among the others,” Louie said, gesturing toward a group of scraggly women.

  “I can be of much greater help out there than in here,” Raj insisted. “I can get into crevices no one can reach, like I did when I found the weapon.”

  “We need people who can lift up heavy stone, not horn blowers who run the wrong way.”

  Raj forced away tears. “I’m quiet. You know that I am.”

  “Our best men are going, not our weakest.”

  “And I can be one of them. I swear.” Raj swallowed the lump in his throat and stared up at Louie. “I can be just as brave as all the others.”

  He searched for the kindness he’d seen in Louie’s face, back in the chambers when they’d tested the weapon, but the large man looked away, uncomfortable. A voice distracted them both.

  “Louie!”

  The big man turned, seemingly grateful for the interruption. Bryan came their way, giving orders to a few passing men.

  “What’s the problem?” he asked in a stern voice as he approached.

  “No problem, sir,” Louie said. He waved a dismissive hand. “The boy was just asking me a question.”

  “What?” Bryan inquired.

  Feeling the pressure to answer, Raj said, “I want to go on the scavenging trip.” All at once, his arguments crawled back in his throat. His mouth felt dry and pasty. He forced himself through it. He couldn’t give up. Not now.

  Putting on an earnest face, Raj regained his courage. “I’m small. I can reach things that others can’t. I won’t get in anyone’s way, but if you need me to crawl in after something, I’ll retrieve it. I’ll find rations no one else will. If you let me go on the scavenging trip, neither of you will regret it.”

  With his case made, he waited. Louie barely looked at him, but to his surprise, Bryan seemed like he was considering. Raj capitalized on the silence for a final plea.

  “Let me make up for what happened in the desert. I swear that I won’t fail you again.”

  Bryan glanced over at the men in the center of the room. He looked back at Raj. For a long moment, he scratched his chin, wading through some thoughts. Instead of responding to Raj, he spoke to Louie.

  “Keep the boy close. Don’t let him wander. If you find you have no use for him, send him back here, and he’ll clean our dung buckets.”

  “Yes, sir,” Louie said.

  Chapter 38: Raj

  Raj adjusted the empty bag on his back. Pride filled his belly. Two-dozen men walked around him, holding spears, following Louie’s and Ed’s directions as they walked away from the Comm Building. Raj’s gaze wandered around the wide, dusty path that circled the enormous structure, and to the closest hovels and alleys, which sat at a large buffer.

  In the weeks without the stomping boots of the colonists, the sand had taken over, piling in every corner, blurring the lines between paths and alleys. It dusted the tops of the intact buildings, coating the wreckage of the fallen hovels. It wormed its way into every crevice, covering most of the things they hoped to find.

  Still, they couldn’t fail.

  Nearly two hundred hungry mouths counted on them.

  Raj was nervous and scared, but he was excited, too. Once again, he was useful.

  He had another chance to prove himself, and he wouldn’t toss it away.

  The men split into two groups—Ed and his followers traipsed down the main path, heading in the direction of the river, leaving Raj, Louie, and the others to search for rations.

  Together with Louie, Raj’s group curved around Comm Building on the wide path, heading north, passing the jutting annex and getting to where the path straightened. While they walked, Raj’s eyes wandered up to the cliffs. Squinting, he made out the openings for the three caves. He saw nobody at the mouth of the Left and Center Caves, nor did he spot the Right Cavers, as he’d secretly hoped.

  He did see smoke drifting from the Right Cave entrance, though.

  They must be cooking breakfast.

  Not for the first time, he pictured his family inside, eating their rations. No one had come after him yet. A pang of sadness temporarily overrode Raj’s pride.

  He quickly pushed it away.

  Movement drew his attention back to the group. For a moment, he feared it was the monster, coming to snag them, but it was six men breaking off down one of the alleys, contending with debris and scattered belongings. Louie beckoned Raj and the others left, toward another alley.

  Raj followed them on quiet feet.

  A few birds flapped their wings overhead, scaring them, but they meant the monster couldn’t be close.

  Sticking near Louie, Raj followed the large man into the first hovel in the alley, while the others broke off. To both of their surprise, they found a few pouches of dried meat, untouched. That finding inspired them to continue. They scanned the next hovels, locating a few spears, passing them to the other men.

  After a while of scavenging, they fell into a rhythm: Louie pointed out things, and Raj grabbed them, filling their packs. Once they completed their alley, they returned to the main path, where a few Watchers rummaged through a collapsed hovel.

  The broken stones were piled as high
as a man. It took a moment for Raj to determine the men’s goal: in the center of the rubble, beneath a crevice, protruded several pieces of fabric.

  Raj looked at Louie, and back at The Watchers.

  Catching the glimmer in Raj’s eyes, Louie nodded.

  This was his chance.

  The men stepped back, allowing Raj to crawl into the small space. Despite his fear, he kept on, uncovering blankets and cookware, handing them to the men so they could appraise them. Buried deeper were a pouch of meat and another spear. Raj tugged them free and brought them out, handing them to the grateful group.

  Pride surged through Raj, as he got to his feet and dusted himself off. The men nodded at him, respect in their eyes.

  For the first time in days, Louie looked pleased.

  **

  Raj, Louie, and the rest of their group headed back down the path, carrying their bountiful loot. Every so often, they looked over their shoulders at the desert, listening, but the monster didn’t come.

  They met Ed and his men at the center of the colony. It seemed the second group had had equal luck. A few patted the flasks at their sides, or motioned to full bags. In another man’s arms, Raj saw a handful of Green Crops.

  Success.

  They were approaching the end of the straight path, coming to the spot where it curved around the Comm Building annex, when Raj saw something else: an object, poking from the sand.

  With Louie’s approval, he headed toward it, keeping his footsteps even. Raj bent, brushing off two ends of a long, skinny object.

  A sharp tip graced one end.

  The rest of it was long and smooth.

  Pulling back, he avoided a dangerous prick from the creature’s quill.

  For a long moment, he and Louie studied their incredible discovery. Raj had never seen anything so strange, or so fascinating. The piece of the beast looked as if it was made of some combination of muscle and bone. One side was definitely sharp, but the other side—where it had broken off—was jagged. Leaning down, Raj imagined it protruding off the side of the incredible beast.