The Sands of Borrowed Time

by Jeffry Winters

  “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!

  Caught in the Crossfire

  Demelza felt the morning Sun sear across her eyelids as she lay under her frayed, woollen blanket on the deck. She sat up and watched it rise, feeling its power as it began to warm her soft skin, its heat stirring up the air as it blew through her messy, blonde hair. The rising dust shielded her from its dazzling might as she felt its glowing orb pulsate on her dark green eyes. She often wondered if the Sun was the beating heart of the galaxy, sending out waves of nourishment to the heavens. It felt that the Sun and her heart were in harmony, beating together as if connected through space and time. As the Sun’s rays intensified, she turned to watch the radiometers as they began to spin, silently, like whirling ghosts it seemed. Her iPod needed charging, so she hooked it up to one, feeling it vibrate as it confirmed the connection. Above her she could hear the sails begin to flap, quietly at first, until they billowed out, causing their masts to groan with the strain. The wheels started to move, and soon they were rolling westwards across the desert as they had done for many months before, in search of water, always on the move, never knowing where they were going. Demelza went into the cabin and poked her sister gently in the tummy with her foot. She was still fast asleep, curled up in her blanket on the wooden floor. Hayley grunted, revealing her broken teeth, her dark brown eyes peering through half-opened eyelids. She stared sleepily upwards at Demelza as if not wanting to move from the comfort of her blanket.

  “We’re moving!” Demelza said with urgency in her voice. “You need to get at the helm as we need to cover as much ground as possible today. You know we are short of water.” Hayley stood up, still wrapped in her blanket, saying nothing, brushing her dishevelled brown hair back as it fell over her face.

  “I’m sure the nights are getting shorter, you know,” Hayley finally mumbled as if making an excuse for her late awakening. She stumbled to the door in haste, tossing her blanket aside. She got to the helm and took the wheel, the land ship gaining speed as she adjusted their position to take full advantage of the wind. The ride was always rough, the ship having solid rubber wheels and no suspension. Every crack and bump rattled through the wooden frame and into their bodies as it sped across the prairie. Demelza sat down next to Hayley as she steered the ship, looking through a telescope ahead for rough terrain and bandits. Often, they sailed through the plains for days on end, seeing nothing and nobody; just yellow, dusty skies and parched, brown soils. The sails were full above them, the wheels bouncing over the cracked ground.

  “Something ahead in the haze!” Demelza shouted, wanting her sister to hear her over the boisterous rattling of the ship.

  “What?” Hayley yelled back unconcerned, her sister often raising the alarm only for dead trees or rocks to turn up.

  “There’s something moving.”

  “Really?” />
  “I can see a trail of dust behind it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Course I’m sure!”

  “What, then?”

  “I don’t know; don’t you see it?”

  “No, you’re the one with the scope!”

  “Straight ahead, about a mile away.”

  “Just haze?”

  “No, there’s a trail of dust moving across our path.”

  “Perhaps it’s the wind blowing around a rock,” Hayley said with a cynical frown.

  “Ha-ha! No! There’s something moving,” Demelza replied.

  “Shit, look at that!” Hayley exclaimed, pointing her finger to the sky as streams of smoke screamed through the air from several rockets above them.

  “Huh,” Demelza grunted, looking up confused as the trails wailed to a climax of explosions, scattering black smoke just below the orange clouds.

  “What are they?”

  “How would I know, warning shots perhaps?”

  “Doesn’t look good.”

  “Why?”

  “That something you saw, looks like it’s somebody.”

  “More like, somebodies.”

  “You think they're friendly?”

  “Let’s assume no.”

  “Okay?”

  “Just to be on the safe side.”

  “What’s the plan, then?”

  “Plan?”

  “Yes, plan?”

  “Avoid capture.”

  “You think they want to capture us?”

  “Or kill us.”

  “Kill us?”

  “Doesn’t look like a social visit.”

  “No?”

  “You think they have guns?” Hayley’s question was answered as another rocket shrieked close by, just above their sails.

  “Shit, shit, shit! They mean business!” Demelza cried as she watched the sails shake in its wake.

  “Get the guns!” Hayley cried.

  “We have guns?”

  “Yes! Under the ship.”

  “Under the ship?” Hayley let go of the wheel, and ran to the bow, climbing under the deck as the ship rumbled on regardless across the plains. Demelza followed in panic as she heard the crack of gunfire in the distance. Hayley clambered beneath the ship, reaching up to where the guns were, frantically untying the rope that bound them.

  “Here,” Hayley said, throwing a gun up to her sister.

  “What the fuck do I do with that?”

  “You aim at those approaching vehicles, and fire,” Hayley replied, pointing at the trigger as she swung herself back onto the deck before running back to take control of the wheel.

  “Okay,” Demelza said, her arms shaking as she contemplated putting into practice her brief training. “Looks like they’ve come for the taking!”

  “You think so?”

  “Just by their sheer numbers.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe? There’s two of us, and about fucking forty of them.”

  “Shit!”

  “Armed to the teeth.”

  The convoy of vehicles stopped just ahead of them, rocking gently as their V8 engines idled ominously.

  “Don’t fire, unless they shoot first,” Demelza suggested.

  “Not a good plan.”

  “Why?”

  “I guess it would be difficult to fire back.”

  “What?”

  “We’d be on the floor, holding our brains in.”

  “Maybe we should fire first then?”

  “Same result, but we’d be holding our guts in as well.”

  “Fuck, this isn’t good!”

  There was another explosion, both girls looking up to see another trail of smoke above them. The vehicles before them suddenly screamed into life again, turning quickly west, sand spraying up into the air as their tyres tried to find grip.

  “Do you still want me to shoot?” Demelza asked.

  “No. Wait. They’re leaving!" Hayley took the scope and looked around frantically, surveying the prairie, noticing that another group of vehicles was speeding in from the west. She slowed the ship to a stop as she saw missiles stream low across the prairie at the fleeing vehicles.

  “Looks like the bandits have been rumbled,” Hayley said with a smile, Demelza looking relieved that she didn’t have to fire any guns.

  “This sounds like it’s going to turn nasty,” Hayley said as she veered the ship east towards the cover of the escarpment.

  “Best we stay out of their way,” Demelza said as if agreeing to Hayley’s detour.

  “Indeed,” Hayley replied. “It’s a shame, though.”

  “Why?”

  “You, missing out on all the fun. Your first bandit will have to wait another day.” Demelza smiled and then they both started to giggle, relieved that they had luckily come away unscathed and alive.

  Under the Rainbow

  Isla drove the buggy swiftly along the dry riverbed, screaming with delight every time it shuddered over the rocky breaks, her stomach heaving strangely as it did so.

  “What do you think, Dagger?” she said to her dog that was barking wildly with excitement as it sat between her legs. His paws hung onto the steering wheel as he looked back and up, yelping at Isla, warning her of the cliff edge that was rushing towards them. Behind was Summer on her V-Rod, its tighter suspension keeping it firmly on the ground. They drove up the banking with one last rush before they both skidded to a stop, just at the edge of the cliff. They all looked down into the barren riverbed and out over its rocky edge, once where water had flowed over before cascading down onto the plains below.

  “How cool was that!” Isla screamed out excitedly, Dagger sitting up alert with his tongue hanging out. He panted with relief as he leapt from the buggy and surveyed the vast plains before him. He appeared desperate to find a way down to explore, shuffling this way and that, only whining with frustration as he found none.

  “Awesome!” Summer added, looking down over the cliff. “Wow! Is this the waterfall you were talking about, Isla?” she asked.

  “Was a waterfall,” she answered. “Dad said that when the Sun shone on the fine mist produced by the falling water, you could see a multicoloured arc.

  “Really?” Summer said with interest.

  “Yes! They called it a rainbow,” Isla continued.

  “How fucking cool would that be!” Summer exclaimed as she pictured it in her mind. Dagger ran along the cliff edge, still seeking for a way down, knocking stones over the edge and watching them fall with a curiosity only a dog could understand. Beyond the cliff was the dead prairies that spanned north and eastwards. They assumed nothing lived there. All that the arid soil appeared to offer were lifeless, withered trees, and the skeletal remains of dead animals, their bones bleached pure white by the blazing Sun. It was a dire warning to anybody who wished to cross its bleak lands, its veins of rivers bled dry by the scorching midday wind.

  Isla came here often to look out over the prairie with her binoculars. She wasn’t convinced it was entirely dead, and she felt her dad knew something he either couldn’t, or wouldn’t tell them. A difference she thought important. Often, there were hints of movements, like dust trails or tracks etched into the ground. Sometimes, if she listened long and hard enough, there were distant rumbles that tantalised her imagination. Once, she thought she heard the sound of a car engine. She had told Summer about the things she had seen and heard. Summer was intrigued to see the plains for herself, so they both agreed to come together, to see if they could find anything down there of interest. Their dad was reluctant to let them go, knowing they were at an age where their curiosities were far greater than their sensibilities. What could he do, apart from warn them of the dangers of the world that was left to them? Soon they would be all grown up, and he just dust blowing in the wind. They would have to learn the ways of the World, some way or other. The truth, though, would be difficult for them to comprehend.

  “Here you go,” Isla said, handing Summer her binocular
s. “Hope there are no zombies down there,” she said jokingly. Dagger ran back, and Isla patted him on the head as he panted excitedly. “Isn’t that what we're supposed to find? Isla joked back.

  “See anything?” Isla asked, not expecting too much.

  “Maybe, but it's really weird.”

  “What do you mean?” Isla replied, sounding a bit worried.

  “I think it’s flying like it's hovering above the ground.”

  “Wait! Let me see,” Isla insisted. She took the scope and surveyed the prairie.

  “It’s moving along, just above the road, coming north towards us,” Summer explained. “It seems to be gaining height.” Isla scanned the length of the highway until she came across a large, white orb.

  “I see it!” she said excitedly. “I think there’s a man in a sort of crate below it. It looks like he’s controlling some kind of engine, feeding it flames. It’s rising higher and higher,” Isla explained until she lost sight of it in the sandy sky. Dagger barked as if he sensed their excitement, looking eagerly through the haze and wondering what they were looking at. “There! Look!” I see it again!” Isla exclaimed, pointing her finger through the haze. They both watched as a burst of flames slowly came towards them.

  “Yes, I see it. It's like a dragon,” Summer said, the thrust of its flames getting louder.

  “Look!” Isla insisted. “There is a carriage beneath the flames.

  “Yes, guys in there too,” Summer added. Things were beginning to happen fast as they both hid down among the rocks, Isla grabbing Dagger by his collar. It rose further up the cliff side until it could be seen clearly before them. The flames underneath it roared in bursts, sending vortexes of shimmering hot air into its large canopy. It was white and oval, made from a material like cotton, Isla thought. There was a shell underneath that was guided by propellers, almost silent in comparison to the chugging flames. They could see men looking down from the carriage, one with binoculars. They were looking down at the riverbed, pointing towards their vehicles. Isla and Summer put their hands on their guns; surely they would be seen, if not already. Dagger started to whine like he was scared, Isla giving him a reassuring pat on the side. However, it was not enough as he broke through with sporadic yelps, his chest breathing heavily. There was gunfire as a man leant over the carriage. These were no warning shots, the bullets skimming off the top of the banking directly above their heads.