The Sands of Borrowed Time

by Jeffry Winters

  “But this is America.”

  “I think America ceased to be when that star exploded its guts across the Earth if you excuse my choice of words.” The man nodded in agreement, but his face creased with the realisation. Dagger crouched down, beginning to look fed up.

  “There is no America, countries, borders or governments anymore,” she continued.

  “Then what is there?” David asked, his eyes lighting up with curiosity. He stared hard at her, goading for a reply.

  “Nothing,” Isla replied, looking out across the desert. “You have to make it up as you go along.”

  “Improvise?” he asked.

  “Yes; every day, every minute is different. You take it as it comes and do your best with it,” Isla continued. “There’s no one to box us in anymore.” The man nodded in agreement and lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply as if in contemplation as to what was just said. Dagger crinkled his nose and barked.

  Stranded and Beaten

  The trees were swaying and straining all around her as the wind screamed through their leaves with terror. She found it difficult to breathe as the swirling gusts licked the life unapologetically from her lungs. Gasping, she peered upwards at the gesticulating branches that pointed down at her, mocking her struggle. Ravens cawed incessantly as they looked groundward at her in pity with their black and beady eyes. She felt powerless. There was nothing she could do.

  Kyla leant up and gasped. She rubbed her weary eyes as she struggled to see through the swirling grit and dust. The air was stifling, and she felt like she was slowly suffocating. She soon realised it had only been a harmless dream but had now awoken into a very real nightmare. They were in the grip of a powerful sandstorm. The buggy was up to its chassis, deep in sand, the tips of the wheels poking out either side.

  The driver’s seat was empty, “Hayley! Hayley!” she cried out anxiously, looking around disorientated, covering her eyes as the sand began to scratch her face as it howled over her. She looked behind to see Demelza still asleep on the back seat, oblivious to the lashings of sand that were pouring down upon them. “Demelza! Wake up you lazy bitch! Wake up!” she shouted as she leant over her seat and tugged at her shoulders. Demelza stirred onto her back and opened her eyes, immediately shielding them from the onslaught of sand with her hands. She rolled back onto her stomach.

  “What lousy, fucking weather,” she murmured sleepily.

  “Where’s Hayley?” Kyla asked hastily.

  “How should I know. Shouldn’t she be driving?” Demelza replied almost incoherently as she yawned.

  “She’s gone,” Kyla panted through the blasting sand as she frantically looked around her, “fucking disappeared,” her voice trailing off, knowing that Demelza probably couldn’t hear her anyway. She could barely see an arm’s length in front of her as she jumped out of the buggy. She stumbled along the sand to the bonnet, holding on to its side. The main headlights were broken, all smashed in.

  Had we hit something and crashed? she asked herself. The sand-ladened air wailed and billowed up her blouse, scraping painfully at her already raw skin. She held her hand over her mouth as she gasped for air, coughing up the particles that she had breathed in. She tried hard to look outwards into the desert, but all she could make out were glimpses of sand scurrying across the dunes and flickers of lightning.

  “Hayley! Hayley!” she shouted again between painful, dry coughs as she staggered forward against the wind. She looked behind, barely able to see the buggy and thought better not to lose sight of it. Maybe she got lost? We crashed, or broke down, and she left to get or check something. Then the storm came and guzzled her up, she thought worriedly as she made her way back to the buggy. Maybe someone has taken her under the cover of the storm; scavengers, scum, and beggars, passing coincidently at the opportune moment! Her heart sank as more morbid thoughts raced into her mind, one after another. No! No! Hayley is smarter than that. She’s nearby. I can feel her. She’ll be back. She’ll have to come back. We’re a team, and without all the right players the game is lost. She looked around again, full circle this time. There was nothing but sand slowly consuming everything in its path. She jumped as a hand touched her shoulder, “Hayley? she asked hopefully as she turned, only for her heart to sink. It was Demelza.

  “Why the look of disappointment?” Demelza asked, staring at her with concern.

  “Hayley, she's vanished!”

  “Vanished? No. Can't be. Not Hayley?”

  Kyla held up her hands, “Then where is she?” Demelza looked around frantically, beginning to sense the seriousness of her absence.

  “Shit, no!” Demelza spurted out. “Hayley, where are you? You're beginning to freak us out!”

  “Freak you out? What's the problem girls?” a voice shouted up as a couple of hands grabbed their ankles. They turned to look down, seeing Hayley drag herself from under the bonnet covered in sand.

  “The carb is fucked, choked with sand, which means we're fucked,” Hayley said as she pulled herself up by grabbing the rails of the bonnet. She shook off the sand from her skirt. “If this buggy goes nowhere, then we're going nowhere,” she continued as she futilely brushed off the sand from her hair with her hands.

  “Looks like the buggy and ourselves are going nowhere, with or without the carburettor,” Kyla said, looking at the sand drifting up over the wheels. “It's stuck for sure. Soon to be lost and forgotten in the sands of time.” All three looked despondently at the buggy, then at each other.

  “Don’t look at me,” Demelza said worriedly, “sand and buggies are not my area of expertise.”

  “Let's hope it will pass,” Kyla cried out. “Let's wait till night and pray we can dig ourselves out of here by the morning.” Demelza didn’t look too hopeful as Hayley nodded despondently. They quickly covered the buggy with a parachute canopy that Cain had kept from his army days which they had stuffed into the boot. He would proudly tell her of his HALO dives; high altitude, low opening parachute jumps into the desert.

  “To win, you must outsmart the enemy and get into their territory, deep behind enemy lines without them ever knowing you’re there. Then you have the element of surprise to your advantage,” he told her more than once. He would tell stories around the campfire at night of how they would drop into the assailant’s turf from planes flying at the edge of space, opening their parachutes at the last moment. “Timing is critical; pull the cord too early and you will drift in the breeze until they blow your bollocks out of the air. Too late, and you’re going to break your back on the hard desert floor; if you’re lucky.” Cain was made for this scenario. He was a wild card, cherishing every moment of madness that he could get, Kyla thought. He could work the fear and adrenaline to his benefit. He was perfect for the post-apocalyptic world. A chance for the misfits of Evolution to show what they had. A flash of lightening split through the yellow clouds, a crack of thunder soon following, but there was no rain. Not Carla, though, she was a home girl, but she knew how to pull someone’s strings. She was a taker. Her only talent knowing how to slip her fingers into a person’s purse; taking the right amount, at the right time, from the right person.

  “You’re looking a little windswept there,” Kyla said to Hayley as she fought to get the sand out of her tangled hair, frantically running her fingers through it, swearing when they got caught in knots.

  “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a day without sand,” she replied. “Imagine how good that would be!”

  “Yes!” Demelza agreed.

  “Washing it off and watching it swirl down the plug hole,” Kyla said, “never to return.”

  There was a bump from behind, the buggy swaying a little on its suspension. All three girls looked at each other, feeling as if time had stopped. They looked towards the back, uncertain what was lurking there through the thick cotton of the parachute. Kyla put her finger to her mouth, pursing her lips tightly. She crawled onto the back seat and slowly lifted up the canvas. Nothing, just swirling sand in the darkness of the day. She
shook her head, everyone looking perplexed. She peeked again.

  If anybody wanted us, they would have throttled us through the parachute without any introductions by now, Kyla thought as she released her hand from the chute, letting it fall back down. Just as she turned, there was a smack, a pulse of pain ripping through her cheekbone, followed by the parachute being violently pulled this way and that.

  Demelza screamed, “Fuck off you cunt!” which was answered with a hard kick, straight in her face, her lip splitting and spraying the seat with blood. Hayley struggled to keep the parachute down over them as somebody struggled above her. She wrestled through the canvas as she got punched again and again. Kyla swung from under it and looked out, seeing a man kicking and punching with savage insanity into a screaming Hayley below. Kyla picked up the end of the chute, rolling it out towards the man who was blissfully unaware of her presence in the depths of his savagery. Hayley felt a hand hold firm over her mouth as he continued to punch her with his other fist.

  “He’s too strong. Somebody help me,” she tried to wheeze through her lips, gasping for air as her face and head throbbed with pain at the constant battering. Kyla pounced, bringing the chute down on top of him, pulling the strings quickly around his body, cocooning the struggling man in the cloth as Hayley and Demelza restrained the man as best as they could. Round and round the cord went until finally the man was contained, his legs and arms struggling futilely as his muffled growls and cries filtered through to them. Kyla looked around in a panic for others as she became aware again of sand raining into her face.

  “Anybody else out there?” Hayley asked as she tried to feel her face.

  Kyla took a deep breath, “Probably.”

  “Probably?” Demelza asked, staring down with wild eyes, intrigued by the amount of her own blood that was stained fast into the fabric of the seat.

  “Looks clear for now, but Jesus that guy was insane. He laid right into us,” Kyla replied, almost in tears.

  “Sounded like he ran straight into the buggy,” Hayley added, feeling her cheekbones for cracks.

  “Probably running blind through the sand, desperate to escape the storm,” Kyla added.

  “Blind from the sand more like,’ Demelza said anxiously, “that stuff is beginning to grind my eyeballs away.”

  Demelza pointed to the man, “What shall we do with him?” she asked almost silently, accenting the movements of her bruised lips.

  “Him?” Kyla replied. Demelza creased, holding her finger to her lips “Ssssshh,” she whispered.

  “Oh fuck him! The guy deserves to die a horrible death, and needs to know about it,” Hayley shouted out, pointing at her own bruised face. “I mean look at that, does any man in possession of a full deck do that sort of thing? And look at your lips. They look like a Botox job gone wrong.”

  “Thanks,” Demelza said, “think I need to visit the dentist so that he can pull the chipped teeth out of them.”

  “I think the gods have decided to take him early,” Kyla said, poking the man with her boots, his limp body appearing lifeless.

  “He's suffocated,” Demelza said, looking shocked.

  “Good! Hayley said. “Saves me wringing his neck!”

  Kyla chuckled as she pushed the man off the side of the buggy with her feet. “Let's drag him away from the buggy. I’m getting sick at the sight of him, wrapped up in that parachute like a cheap mummy.”

  The worst of the storm had passed them by as a watery Sun sank below the horizon.

  “Come on girls,” Hayley said, “spit that sand out of your lungs, and guts, and get digging. I will get this little carb cleaned up and ready by the morning.” As night fell, and the sand settled, allowing the supernova to sparkle overhead, the girls slowly dug their buggy out as their bruises ached, and their minds worried of what tomorrow would bring.

  Loud Surprise in the Box

  “I wonder what we would have been in the old world. I mean, we, us two, we could have been anything, couldn’t have we? Like teachers, policemen, movie stars, anything really.” Jeff said as they rested on the terrace of the wooden house. They had spotted it from the road and had come to take a look, but there was nobody at home so had decided to make it theirs, at least for a while.

  “Well, that’s not something we need to worry about anymore, I guess?” Skylar replied as she relished the warmth of the early morning Sun.

  “No. I often wonder, though. It would be nice to be somebody,” Jeff said. “You know, have some kind of identity.” You could have been someone brilliant, like someone who cured cancer, or royalty, or both!” he rambled on.

  “We are somebody. You have an identity; you’re Jeff, for crying out loud,” Skylar giggled as she smoothed down his unkempt red hair.

  “Yes, but…”

  “And there’s only one Jeff,” she smiled.

  “Thanks, I know, but sometimes I feel like a burglar hiding in the shadows.” He frowned as he looked at Skylar.

  “A burglar in the shadows! What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t know, like we’re scroungers, spongers, not earning our keep.”

  “You’re talking shit,” Skylar said, shaking her head.

  “But we’re not contributing to anything,” Jeff moaned.

  “How can we! We’re half-starved and thirsty. It’s either too hot or cold, and we spend most of our time avoiding robbers or muggers. It’s a struggle just to stay alive. Anyhow, there aren’t many opportunities out there at the moment, and I don’t foresee any soon.” Jeff stared blankly out into the distance, across the barren fields saying nothing, looking far away, deep in thought. Just as Skylar thought the conversation had ended, Jeff’s eyes suddenly widened and came to life.

  “There must be something useful we can do?” he suddenly said.

  “Like what?” Skylar asked. “You’re starting to make me feel bad.”

  “Exactly! That’s how I feel,” Jeff quickly replied. “We were born to do something, something good. Out of this mess must come something good.”

  “I wish we could do something,” Skylar pleaded, “but I don’t see it happening. Do you? I mean, how?”

  “Anything, even if it’s just a little thing, we must do something with our lives. Something to help others, otherwise what’s the point, we’re like, well nothing.” Skylar looked at Jeff, his hair unkempt again from his anxious hands.

  “One day, we will do something brilliant, you’ll see, you just need to be patient,” she said.

  “Patience is not something I have,” Jeff said, breaking into a laugh.

  “Oh really, I never noticed,” Skylar said sarcastically, laughing also.

  “Wait and see, if you want it enough, it will come to you,” she continued.

  “Yeah, really, now you’re talking shit!” he replied.

  “Listen, you hear that?” Skylar asked, whispering. Jeff turned his head slightly, listening in the direction to where Skylar was looking. He shook his head. Skylar stood up and pointed towards the window, hiding by its side, up against the house’s wooden beams out of view from within.

  “There's sod all in there,” he said, convinced there was nothing to be worried about. She peeked through the window, but the reflection of the rising Sun was too strong to see through. She beckoned Jeff to rise, but he stayed put, crossing his arms in defiance.

  “There’s nothing in there, I tell you. We stayed the whole night. It, or what, would have introduced itself then, surely.” Skylar took another peek, shielding the reflection of the bright morning Sun with her hands. She looked back at Jeff shaking her head.

  “There, I tell you, there’s nothing, relax, the day is young,” Jeff said. Skylar was just about to sit back down when she heard it again.

  “There, again,” she whispered, “you’re friggin’ deaf if you missed that one.” Jeff stood up quickly, looking like he hadn’t missed the scratching sound that was coming from within the house. She beckoned him to take a look inside as the scraping became more frequen
t. Jeff pointed at himself, his expression asking, why me? She beckoned him again, this time more urgently.

  “The hooded man perhaps?” Jeff asked, Skylar immediately shaking her head. “Pull back your hood and reveal yourself,” Jeff kidded. Skylar rolled her eyes.

  Jeff reluctantly opened the door and peeked into the large room they had stayed the night in. He walked in slowly holding Skylar's hand as she unwillingly followed. Sunlight streamed in from the windows and door, revealing air laden with dust that silently hung in the air, almost motionless. They both stopped, standing still as a whining sound came from the corner of the room. They looked at each other with surprise.

  “Not sure I want to know what that is,” Skylar whispered as she looked to exit the door. He grabbed her arm and walked them slowly to the corner of the room. Silence.

  “It knows we’re here,” Jeff said quietly as he looked curiously at a red and black tartan blanket that had been slung into the corner of the room.

  “That wasn't there last night,” he whispered. “Whatever it is, it’s under that blanket.” Jeff gave Skylar a nudge towards the blanket.

  “No, you,” she whispered. Jeff looked at the blanket for a few moments, took a deep breath and grabbed the crumpled top, gripping it firmly. Skylar held her hand over her mouth wide-eyed as he pulled it up quickly, the airborne dust swirling violently in the air. There in the corner of the room was an upside down cardboard box. They both exhaled momentarily with relief before looking at each other as their tensions began to rise again, neither knowing what was there, inside the box. Jeff then looked back to the box, eyeing it nervously, his adrenaline rising as he anticipated picking it up.

  Skylar nodded, “Go on,” she whispered. Jeff scowled at her before slowly leaning down, the dust still swirling around him in the Sun’s morning rays. He grabbed either side and lifted the box up, daring to look at what lied underneath as he did so. Jeff jumped out of his skin as a sudden yelp broke the tense silence, dropping the box back onto the floor in terror. Before he knew it, he felt warm paws rubbing down his shins as he screamed, stumbling backwards in fright, the yelping following him back across the room as he fell onto his back. Skylar opened her mouth in awe and then burst out into hysterical laughter. Standing on Jeff’s stomach, looking down at his face with cute curiosity was a black puppy with his tongue hanging from its mouth, panting happily. It barked as Jeff raised his head from the floor, dazed, looking back into its affectionate big, brown eyes. The dog barked again before licking Jeff’s face.