Sandstorm Box Set

by T. W. Piperbrook

  His captors wound through more caves than he could count, bumping into walls. The world around them was dark. Samel couldn’t tell where he was headed, or how far he’d gone. Of course, he couldn’t ask through the hand pressed against his mouth. After a while, they set him down.

  One of them restrained him, while the other lit a torch.

  Samel blinked, his eyes adjusting to the sudden light.

  A scraggly, blonde-haired woman leaned close, holding a knife under his chin. Her lips curled back into a sneer. “Do anything stupid, and we’ll cut you. Understand?”

  “Yes,” Samel whispered.

  He recognized the dirty woman standing in front of him. She was from the Left Cave, though he didn’t know her name. He blinked, as if she might realize she’d made a horrible mistake, but her eyes held no sympathy.

  “No screaming, no fighting,” whispered the woman holding him. “Got it?”

  He said he understood.

  “I’m going to walk next to you while Jodi leads you along, so we can go faster,” the knife-wielding blonde said, motioning to the other woman, Jodi. “Try anything, and we’ll stab you.”

  And then the hand was off his mouth, and Jodi was next to him, tugging his arm. He glanced over, catching a glimpse of her dark hair and her nervous, darting eyes.

  They walked forward—Jodi herding him, the blonde lighting the way beside them. Thoughts catapulted around Samel’s head. He desperately wanted to run, or scream, but the thought of a knife piercing his flesh filled him with terror. Instead, he followed his strange captors through the winding tunnels, praying at every fork that Neena would arrive with her spear and rescue him.

  No one came.

  They traveled for what felt like a good part of the night, taking several branching tunnels, as if they were trying to lose someone.

  Maybe Neena? he thought.

  Every so often, his captors peered nervously over their shoulders, searching for pursuers. And then they came upon on a tunnel that was long and narrow.

  Risking a whisper, Samel asked the women, “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see soon enough,” the blonde lady hissed.

  Chapter 46: Neena

  “Samel!” Neena screamed into the crevice.

  Fear snaked around her heart. With a knife in one hand and a torch in the other, she stepped inside the narrow passage, frantically leading with her torch. For the first ten feet, the twisty, jagged rock opening was barely wide enough to fit her, but farther down, it widened.

  “Samel!” she yelled again, peering into the darkness.

  In the time she’d discovered Samel missing, a handful of people had congregated behind her, hurriedly searching. Almost everyone had heard her panicked cries. Those who hadn’t had quickly been alerted.

  “Do you see him?” Kai asked from her heels.

  “No!” Neena said desperately.

  Her awful feeling worsened as she squeezed through the crevice, hurrying toward the wider portion of the passage, where the air smelled even staler. Something squished under her boot. Neena looked down to find a half-rotten rat carcass, crawling with insects.

  The sight of the dead animal intensified her fear for Samel.

  How long had it been since she’d last noticed him? Amidst her preparations, she hadn’t paid close enough attention. The only thing of which she was positive was that he wasn’t in the chamber.

  The others stuck close to her heels. Their solidarity would’ve impressed her, if she had time to acknowledge it.

  Neena moved faster. The passage curved for a while, thinning and widening, before emptying out into a larger cave. Entering the new tunnel, she looked left and right, but could only see as far as the edge of her torchlight.

  She’d warned Samel not to stray. She’d warned him to stay close. Why had he come here? Nothing about his disappearance made sense.

  “Samel!”

  She took another step, but quickly stopped. Had he gone left or right? She studied the ground in both directions for any indication he had been here, but she saw no boot prints or scuffed gravel. The floor was too hard.

  This part of the cave system was foreign to her.

  A few dozen Right Cavers emptied out around her, calling her brother’s name, joining the search, while the others hung back in the main chamber with the children.

  Standing among those in the cave, Kai said, “Let’s split up! Neena and I will take a group left. Samara, you lead a group right!”

  They agreed, splitting their parties into a dozen each and continuing.

  Neena and Kai led their group left down the unfamiliar passage. Those with torches shone them in all directions, illuminating the cave’s ruddy walls, its craggy ceiling, and its firm ground. With more space to maneuver, they moved at a faster clip, getting farther from where they’d entered.

  They traveled for a while into uncharted territory, with no sign of Samel, until they reached another fork.

  Dammit.

  Neena shone her light in the direction of each new tunnel, searching for clues. Nothing. Each moment without her brother deepened her fear.

  What if something else lurked in these tunnels, and had taken him?

  Her knowledge of the Abomination made anything seem possible.

  “A few of us will go this way,” Kai suggested, pointing left down one of the new tunnels. “Why don’t you go the other?”

  Neena hated the idea of dividing the group further, but what choice did they have? She rushed ahead with three men at her side, searching the new tunnel’s fissures and shadows, alert for threats, combing the passage.

  And then she saw something.

  Just ahead, wedged between some craggy rocks on the wall, was a thin piece of fabric. Neena’s heart leapt in her chest as she rushed over and removed it, finding a knife jabbed through the center. She took out the blade and held up what looked like the sleeve of a shirt. Not just any shirt.

  A boy’s shirt.

  Samel’s.

  Chapter 47: Neena

  Within moments, the others had heard Neena’s cries of discovery and come running. Those who hadn’t were quickly rounded up and summoned. They stood rigid and close, clutching their torches and their spears, their eyes reflecting her panic.

  “She has him,” Neena said in a quivering voice, holding up the sliced piece of Samel’s shirt. “Sherry is sending us a message. She wants us to know what she’s done.”

  She glanced around at the shifting crowd, who looked anxiously in front of them and behind.

  “What if this is a trap?” Kai asked. “She might be leading us this way for a reason.”

  A murmur of panic went through the crowd.

  “For all we know, they left this here and went in another direction,” Samara piped up.

  Despite the possibility of that statement, Neena couldn’t shake the idea that Samel might be just up ahead.

  “If Samel is alive, I have to reach him,” she insisted. “If something happens to him, I’ll never forgive myself. Let’s keep going!”

  Rallying her people, she led them in a tight formation down the cave, holding their weapons. They called Samel’s name, scanning the crooks and crevices, checking behind them. Every so often, a Right Caver bumped into a neighbor, causing a brief, panicked stir. The sweat and footsteps of a few dozen people in such a small area gave Neena a claustrophobic feeling. She wanted nothing more than to get out.

  Too many horrific possibilities plagued her mind.

  What if Samel’s kidnappers had hurt him?

  What if the shirt sleeve wasn’t a message, but a taunt, and they’d killed him instead of doing whatever else they planned?

  If Sherry had harmed him in any way, Neena would make her pay. She’d ram her spear into her throat and make sure she never hurt anyone again. Her wrath wouldn’t end until the woman was dead.

  They scoured the tunnel for a long while, moving as quickly and quietly as possible, reaching another fork. This time, Neena couldn’t help her
self. A frustrated cry escaped her lips.

  Another branch. Another choice.

  Neena took a step, ready to divide everyone and plunge down another tunnel, until Kai stopped her.

  “Neena, wait!” he said, grabbing on to her.

  “We have to hurry!” she shouted. “We have to—”

  “We don’t even know where we’re going,” Kai said, doing his best to restrain her. “What if this is a trap?”

  Neena tried ripping her arm away, but Kai kept hold of her.

  “For all we know, they didn’t come this way at all, like Samara said,” Kai warned. “We might get lost.”

  “These tunnels aren’t marked, like the ones we took to get to our chamber,” added a man. “We could die before we ever find Samel.”

  Neena’s frustration was at a boiling point. The group waited, looking at her.

  “What do you want to do?” a woman asked finally, fright in her voice.

  Kai let go of Neena’s arm.

  Silence permeated the tunnel.

  All eyes remained on her.

  Looking at all the people around her, Neena resolved, “We’re heading back to our chamber, taking the tunnels to the Center Cave, and marching on Sherry. We’re getting Samel back.”

  Chapter 48: Raj

  Raj lay in his bedroll, clutching his knife in his shaky hands. Ever since his conversation with Ed, he’d been unable to concentrate on anything. He hadn’t eaten. He’d barely slept. The Comm Building felt like a place of monsters, rather than a place of friends. His eyes darted around the torch lit room, where most of Bryan’s people slept. Every so often, a cough punctuated the silence, startling him, or someone’s conversation disturbed him. Each hushed whisper made him paranoid. It took every effort to finish the spears he’d started sharpening, say goodnight to Ed, and hurry back to his bedroll. The times he’d tried sleeping, he’d failed.

  His heart thudded wildly.

  He couldn’t believe what he thought he heard.

  It didn’t take a fool to understand Ed’s implication. The more he thought on it, the more Raj was certain that Darius was dead. Flashes of memory circled through his brain—Ed’s smug expression, Bryan’s strange demeanor, and Ed and Louie’s private joking. Those clues felt even more obvious now.

  Bryan had told him Darius wasn’t in that cove when he retrieved the weapon, and he’d believed it.

  Or maybe he’d wanted to.

  An angry, confused tear fell down Raj’s cheek. Bryan had lied to him. Of course, he had. He hated Darius as much as he hated Neena, Kai, or the rest of the Right Cavers.

  As much as he hates me, Raj thought miserably.

  If Bryan came across Darius, things would’ve gone really badly.

  He couldn’t stop thinking of the old man’s kind face, sharing stories of his travels, or the way he’d helped Raj and the other Right Cavers to safety.

  Whatever had happened to Darius, it was Raj’s fault.

  Raj let his tears flow. He deserved to feel the pain. Peering around the room at what felt like strangers, regrets flooded him. If he’d never marched down here, Darius might be safe and asleep in the Right Cave. And Raj might be there, too, next to his friends and family, instead of lying in a den of people who’d never quite accepted him anyway.

  His anger toward Neena was a consuming, blinding rage.

  He shouldn’t have succumbed to it.

  Those memories led him to think of another.

  All at once, he was back on the ledge outside the Right Cave with Neena, after he had lashed out at her. Despite his foolish behavior, Neena had apologized to him.

  She’d never treated him poorly like these others. She’d always been there at the end of the day, smoothing out their arguments, ending their disputes with a hug or a kind word. She’d never condemned him, like these people had.

  To Bryan and his people, Raj was an annoying rodent, constantly proving his worth.

  His family loved him.

  Maybe living in the Right Cave hadn’t been so bad, after all.

  Unable to dam his falling tears, Raj shook under his blankets.

  This is my fault, he thought. I’ve made an awful mistake, and now I’ll never be able to take it back.

  The question was, what would he do about it now?

  Chapter 49: Bryan

  “Louie,” Bryan whispered, motioning quietly through the doorway of the large man’s quarters.

  Louie immediately sat up from bed, looking over at him.

  “Were you sleeping?” Bryan asked.

  “No, I was just dozing.” Louie wiped his eyes. Whether it was the look on Bryan’s face, or the time they’d spent together, he deduced something important was on his mind. “What is it you need?”

  Bryan couldn’t hide his enthusiasm. “I need you to arrange another trip out to the colony.”

  Louie rose. “Of course.”

  In a confident voice, Bryan gave his orders. “I need you to go to the edge of the desert, to the place where the rock spires crumbled from the monster’s body. If my hope is correct, you will find more of the creature’s quills, just like the one you located the other day.”

  Louie refrained from voicing a question.

  Continuing his instructions, Bryan added, “I’ll also need some tools from the blacksmith’s shops.” Bryan informed him of which tools they’d require, making Louie repeat them back.

  “Is that all, sir?”

  Looking at Louie’s arm, Bryan made a decision. “Perhaps Ed and a few Watchers are best suited for the task. Let’s keep the group small. We don’t need any unnecessary risks.”

  Louie nodded. “I understand. I’ll relay your instructions to Ed, so he can prepare his men for the morning.” Watching Bryan at the doorway, he finally voiced his question. “Are we almost ready to fight the monster?”

  “We are close,” Bryan said with a smile.

  Chapter 50: Louie

  “Ed.” Louie peered down over Ed’s bedroll, stirring him.

  “What do you need?” Ed asked, grunting awake.

  “Bryan needs you to go back out into the colony first thing in the morning. He has a job for you.”

  Ed watched Louie with curiosity and trepidation.

  “Remember the quill we found in the colony, near one of the broken dwellings?” Louie asked.

  “Yes,” Ed replied.

  In a hushed voice, Louie passed along Bryan’s requests.

  Ed furrowed his brow. “We only saw one quill.”

  “Bryan has an idea where you can find some others,” Louie said, telling him the location.

  “Okay,” Ed affirmed. “I’ll do my best.”

  Chapter 51: Sherry

  Sherry paced the dark, empty section of the cave. Her thoughts tumbled over one another. Each glance at the walls brought her back to happier memories in the shadows with Bryan, falling into his arms, venting their frustrations. When she closed her eyes, she could still feel his touch, hear his whispers, and imagine his embrace. She yearned for those tingles of pleasures and pain.

  Their trysts felt as if they’d happened months ago, instead of days.

  Digging her nails into her hand, she tried replicating those feelings, to no avail. Frustrated, she grabbed the torch and thought about scalding herself, until she saw a light in the distance.

  Immediately, Sherry pulled her knife.

  Voices and boot steps echoed off the walls.

  A flickering torch moved closer.

  Sherry headed in the direction of the noise, walking until she saw three silhouettes coming around a corner. Tanya and Jodi’s faces were covered in dirt and grime. In between them was a child.

  “What’s going on?” Sherry called.

  She moved toward them at a hectic speed, stopping short as she recognized whom they herded. Sherry blinked, as if she might be imagining a miracle.

  But Samel’s whimpering proved that he was real.

  The boy’s face was dirty and scratched. One shirt sleeve looked as if
it had been cut, or torn. He looked at Sherry as if she were a ghost, or a monster, coming to torment him. All at once, Sherry’s pining for Bryan was forgotten. Relishing in the boy’s panicked expression, she slowly held out her knife, resting it beside his nose.

  “Please don’t hurt me,” he whispered.

  Ignoring his pleading, Sherry asked Tanya and Jodi incredulously, “How did you get him?”

  “We found him by a crevice in his cave,” Tanya said, prodding the boy’s bare arm with a knife. “We grabbed him while no one was looking. We had to.”

  “What do you mean?” Sherry asked.

  Tanya exchanged a glance with Jodi. “The Right Cavers are planning to march on us.”

  “They had a meeting,” Jodi continued. “We couldn’t hear everything, but we heard enough. They’re coming for us.” Jodi swallowed. “We were worried about what might happen to our children. And then we saw Neena’s brother, lingering near a crevice. We saw an opportunity. We grabbed him and ferried him back here, so we can stave off their attack.”

  “If we hold him among us, perhaps we can keep our children safe.” Tanya looked wildly over her shoulder. “We left a piece of his shirt tucked in the wall with a knife through it, so they will know we are serious.”

  Silence overtook the cave. Sherry looked from Tanya to Jodi, to the quivering boy. If not for the gravity of their discovery, she might’ve been angry.

  “If they are coming, we need to get ready,” Sherry said resolutely, pulling her knife away from Samel’s face.

  A prickle of fear and excitement coursed through her. She looked past Jodi and Tanya, prepared for a barrage of incoming lights and people, but the tunnel was dark.

  Jodi’s face wrinkled with emotion. “They’re going to hurt us,” she worried.

  “No, they won’t,” Sherry said with a grin. “Now that we have Samel, we’re in a far better position. You have done good work.”