The Sands of Borrowed Time

by Jeffry Winters

  “But there must be more. We never see them ‘cause they fly by day, riding the breeze above the sandy haze.”

  “It’s a good way to get around, as you say, flying high above the dust storms, covered from danger, away from sharp seeking eyes.”

  Carla pulled up in a buggy, Cain smiling and nodding his head, pointing at her to switch to the passenger seat. He turned to look at Bayliss.

  “Catch us up, once you’ve got that heap of shit working,” he said, looking at the bike ditched in the sand. He got in the buggy and adjusted his shades.

  “Why do we fucking put up with this shit,” Cain protested as he throttled the buggy across the valley floor, enjoying the struggle to control it as it bounced around on the cracks of the baked ground.

  “Put up with what?” Carla replied serenely, holding tightly onto the roll bars, pretending not to understand.

  “This fucking shit,” Cain repeated, slamming his fist into the steering wheel. “I feel like a bastard maggot looking for shit to eat,” he continued.

  “A maggot?” Carla asked, surprised that he could compare himself to such a creature.

  “Yes!” he exclaimed as a pool of dust sprayed up from under the buggies tyres either side of them.

  “A maggot doesn’t care what it eats, but you clearly do. Thus, your feelings contradict your nature,” she continued with a sly look.

  “A maggot doesn’t have much choice, and considering the predicament we’re in, nor do we!” Cain shifted down a gear to gain more speed as the wind began to buffet them from ahead.

  “Talking about maggots, I don’t think Kyla would have strayed so far away from this shit; do you?” Carla mentioned self-assuredly. Cain decided to play her game his way.

  “I guess the brighter maggots, those that make it, turn into flies, and embark on a life of their own.

  Carla looked rattled, “Yes, but they still eat shit!” she replied, spitting and snarling her teeth at him. Cain looked as cool as he could possibly be as he swerved the buggy through the sandy hurricane.

  He replied in a relaxed manner, “I guess you’re right.” There was a subtle, confused look from Carla before he continued softly, barely audible against the roaring buggies engine, “But some feed on the sap of plants, and the smartest feed on the nectar of flowers.”

  “Yes, and some become parasites, feeding off the blood of others,” she added hastily.

  “I guess that’s why she looks so sweet,” Cain replied with a dreamy smile, pretending to ignore Carla’s comment, raising an eyebrow as he glanced across at her, giving her a wink.

  There was a huff and a shake of the head from Carla before she bluntly said, “Well, she certainly knows how to work the system, that’s for sure.”

  “She’s a child, its natural behaviour. Don’t all children seek to get the best from their parents or guardians?”

  “There’s nothing natural about that child, and I am not her guardian,” Carla trailed off into a sulk.

  Cain floored the accelerator as the wind swung behind them, taking advantage of the extra power. The sandy haze seemed to thin, and the light brighten, Cain enjoying her silence as she battled to conjure up a further reply.

  “She’s a smart girl,” Cain said slowly and seriously. “She would have gone north in search of life, enchanted by the rumours of what lies there, but away, as you say, from this shit.” Carla remained silent, doing her best to look unamused as the buggy rattled ever faster across the plains. Cain continued pragmatically, “She has received help, that is for sure, getting as far as she has. From who, I cannot tell, but they would have been harmless, also, like she, otherwise she would not have gone with them, and them with her. A chance encounter, a roll of the dice in her favour, perhaps. We will see where this leads. If we catch her in time, she could be our scout for the North, our eyes in hers, to see what is really up there.” Carla looked across at Cain, her soft blue eyes revitalising, her face looking more vivacious. He could tell she liked the idea.

  “A scout for the North?” Carla asked, putting her finger between her teeth, gently biting her nail.

  “A scout for the North, indeed. All the movie stars are moving there,” he said in a more jovial tone, “and if it’s as good as they say, so should we.”

  Carla looked at Cain, caressing her cheeks, contemplating the idea before finally saying, “What? Now! What about our home?”

  “It’s drying up, Carla.”

  “It snowed just the other day?”

  “But for the first time in three years,” Cain replied despondently, looking across at Carla sternly before continuing, “Remember, it used to rain a couple of times a month. Now all it rains is fucking sand, every day, all day long. I fucking shit sand, it is in the food, the water. Aren’t you getting tired of it?”

  “It’s an acquired taste perhaps?” Carla replied, still thinking of the implications of going north. “Anyway, a move north would upset the status quo,” she continued, furling her lips.

  “We may have to say goodbye to our little set up back there,” Cain replied ominously as the buggy hit a few bumps, Cain holding tighter onto the steering wheel.” He wiped the sand from his face.

  “Look at this,” he said, showing Carla his sandy hand.

  “If we stay, the desert will consume us, and we will die, for sure,” he continued.

  “You want to give up on all that we have worked for?” Carla snapped.

  “Can’t you see, it doesn’t work anymore, Carla,” he complained. “If the desert doesn’t consume us, others will, even our own kind.”

  “I don’t know?”

  “I see it in their faces, their eyes. They are weak, tired. They will bolt. They have seen Kyla go and not come back. Others will follow; it’s just a matter of time.” Carla did not reply as she contemplated what Cain was saying. It was true the weather was getting awful. There was no food left. If it had not snowed the other night, there would be no water either. Maybe Cain was right, maybe it was time to move on, but the thought frightened her. She wanted to take the people with them, her people, but without food it would be impossible. Without a food supply to drive them, there would be no spirit, no hope, utter chaos, and despondency.

  “What about the Others?” Carla asked, “Have you considered them in your little plan?”

  “Fuck them,” Cain said, growling. “Fuck them all. They can all crawl back to hell.”

  The storm lightened, and a watery Sun appeared above them through the dusty mist, its large and yellow orb pulsating heat down through the clouds. Cain took advantage of the lighter weather, taking the buggy even faster through the valley ahead.

  “The Others, just a fairy story, invented to keep the people in check,” he continued, concentrating on the road ahead, weaving back and forth through the bumps.

  “Really?” Carla replied, looking across at him surprised.

  “Not long ago, you told me about them in some detail,” she continued. “Never look into their burning blue eyes or they will spellbind your mind and take you with them, enchanting your soul until you roam the desert like them, forever in pain.”

  “I’m a convincing man. People believe what I say, even when it’s nonsense,” Cain replied with a smug look.

  “Oh, really now,” Carla laughed, leaning over to pat his bald head.

  “And your encounter with them?” looking him straight in the eye with a sardonic smile on her face. Cain was about to say something when she continued,

  “You were white as a ghost when you came running back that night, trembling with fear, unable to say anything. Then when you could, you talked about the Others; guardians of the South, blue eyes as bright as the supernova!”

  “Oh, shut up, Carla!” Cain exploded. “Shut the fuck up!” There was a pause. Carla wiped away the sweat that was dripping down his brow. “Ok, I admit it! I was spooked by something, some strange looking people, but the name, the Others, and the shit that I dosed out with it, I made up. Or at least someone else made it al
l up.” Carla slumped back into her seat, looking a little stunned.

  “So, it’s true then, they exist?” she asked, looking across again at Cain with her hands in the air. “Who and what are they?” Cain said nothing, staring blindly into the yellow haze ahead. “And why the rush north, it can’t just be the weather if they’re guardians of the South? Tell me that?”

  “How the fuck do I know, maybe they’re going on holiday,” Cain replied, looking across at Carla with his nostrils furled. “If we ever bump into them, we’ll ask them,” he continued. Cain saw the fuel indicator blink in the corner of his eye and walloped the brakes, sending Carla forward. She managed to grab the bottom of the seat before she went over the impact bars and into the engine.

  “For such a big man you’re a childish little shit!” Carla wailed. “You could have fucking killed me! she yelled as she punched Cain in his side.

  “Calm down my dear, just keeping you on your little toesies,” Cain replied with a smile as he jumped out of the buggy to retrieve the petrol canister from the boot. Carla slumped back into her seat with a huff, before jumping out herself, staring at Cain with malicious eyes, her arms crossed tightly across her chest.

  “Fuck you, you big, ugly cunt!” she stammered, her body trembling. “Fuck you,” she huffed again, breathless from shock. Cain filled the tank with petrol savouring its smell, before tossing the canister back into the boot of the buggy. He looked back at Carla, laughing at the state she was in.

  “Come on sweetie, get over it,” he said mockingly, pulling his shades back down over his eyes. Carla was startled by something, suddenly turning to confront whatever it was. “What was that?” she stuttered nervously, her breathing erratic. She looked back towards Cain for a response.

  “Just the wind,” he said as he jumped back into the buggy.

  “That was not the fucking wind,” Carla said distressed as she got back into her seat, looking at Cain, searching his face for an answer. Cain looked back at her and run his finger down her face.

  “You’re so cute when you’re angry,” he cooed. “Very, very cute,” feeling the heat in the sweat on her skin.

  “Oh, fuck you! Just forget it! Forget I’m here! Just carry on looking for your little, pet bunny!” She pushed Cain away. There it was again, a long, deep drone, unmistakable from the wind, Carla thought. She continued to look at Cain saying nothing, clutching his arm, squeezing it, demanding an answer. The drone continued ominously, getting louder.

  “It’s a horn, is it not?” Cain said, flinging her arm away. “The sound of a horn?” Cain asked again softly. He leant across towards her and whispered in her ear, “Guess who?”

  “Who?” Carla replied, also whispering, her eyes darting back and forth the plains, feeling his breath on her neck.

  “My travelling friends from the north?”

  “The Others?”

  “Who else?” Cain looked at her with a manic smile, caressing her chin. She felt scared.

  “And?” she demanded.

  “And what?” Cain asked as he shifted the buggy into gear and floored the accelerator, sending a plume of sand skywards behind them.

  “And!” she repeated hysterically, shaking her hands before her face.

  “You want to meet them? Is that what you’re asking?” he shouted back. She tried to reply, attempting to regain some composure before Cain continued, “It’s a shame, I know. I would so much love you to meet them, but time is short, and if we are to catch Kyla, we need to keep moving, I’m afraid. Apologies. Hope you can look deep within your heart to forgive me someday for this awful transgression.” He looked across at her, a wide grin breaking out across his face and rubbed her knee. Carla pulled her skirt forward, not amused. Cain hit the accelerator harder, turning away from the direction of the horns.

  “Maybe next time babe!” he cried out with a hideous laugh. “Next time for sure!”

  On Shaky Ground

  “Steady on there!” Jeff shouted out as he leant over and tried to grab the wheel from Callee. A gasp of panic could be heard from Laren behind them as she held on tightly to her seat, watching the van serve one way and then the other, crisscrossing the road.

  “Shit, it’s not me,” Callee protested as the van violently shook. “What is this, the ground is shaking beneath us!” Jeff looked in all directions as Callee screeched to a halt, seeing and feeling the ground tremble, the road ahead of them cracking, then lifting and disintegrating, leaving a large pit in the road. The shaking got more violent, Laren now screaming with her hands to her cheeks as Callee held onto the steering wheel as it juddered, her bones feeling the strain until she let go with a cry, leaving her bouncing around in her seat.

  “Fucking hell! Jeff screamed out as he grasped the door handle with one hand and wrapped an arm firmly around his seat as Laren held onto its top. A blast of sand smashed into the windscreen before dispersing in the strong wind, more cracks in the road appearing and extending out into the desert until they were lost in the sandy fog. The van began to lean as the road opened up beneath them, Callee falling into the door as she tried to grab onto the steering wheel again.

  “Shit!” Callee cried. Then suddenly there was only the howl of the wind and everything was still again.

  Callee got back into her seat, panting from panic, looking to Jeff and Laren for answers.

  “An earthquake, had to be an earthquake,” Jeff remarked as he struggled to open the van’s door as it fell back shut with the lean of the van. He tried again, more careful to hold it open, this time. He thrust upwards towards it, peering out to the ground below and seeing a broken slice of the road beneath them that had risen up during the quake.

  “The road is fucked,” Jeff said as he let go of the door, jumping back into his seat as it swung shut behind him. “Completely trashed.” Callee looked through the windscreen, seeing a step in the road immediately before her several feet high.

  “We’re stuck,” she said, pointing at it. “This van isn’t going anywhere.”

  “Go around,” Laren said, peering through the passenger’s window. “Drive around, across there, look,” she said pointing out towards the desert. There was a small shudder, everyone looking at each other until there was stillness again.

  “Aftershocks,” Jeff remarked looking dazed, “let me get out and take a look around.” He reopened the door and clambered out, jumping onto the uneven ground and into the stuffy, warm air. Callee followed through the driver’s door, coughing as she breathed in the dust that was swirling in the breeze. Jeff walked around to meet Callee, surveying the devastated road, its cracks and crevices revealing the dry brown earth below and the dead, brittle roots of trees long gone.

  “What a mess,” Callee remarked, looking at Jeff, who simply nodded in stunned agreement.

  “Sure is,” he replied. “This throws a spanner in the works,” he continued, looking around at the devastation. He climbed up the broken piece of road in front of them, holding onto the broken edge, dragging himself up until he was onto the cracked tarmac kneeling. He looked ahead as he got to his feet, out into the misty haze, looking at the twisted, cracked road ahead of him. Like someone has rolled a huge ball bearing down the road, smashing it up as it went along, he thought.

  Callee walked across to the verge to look at the same sight, holding her hand above her eyes to shield them from the sandy air blowing ferociously around her. She shook her head, looking back up at Jeff. Again the Earth trembled, Jeff getting back onto his knees as Callee ran back to hold onto the van’s side. Laren quickly slumped herself down on the back seat, face down, covering the side of her eyes as if to block out the world from view. Jeff could see more cracks opening up in the road before him as the ground shook violently back and forth below him. Then as suddenly as the tremor began a comforting stillness fell upon them, the wind continuing to wail around them.

  Jeff jumped back down to Callee, “This isn’t good, there are cracks in the road and surrounding desert as far as the eye can see,” he r
emarked.

  “Shit!” Callee replied, thumping the bonnet of the van. “Shit, shit, shit!” She looked up at Jeff again with frightened eyes, searching his face for hope, but there was none, he was as terrified as she. They were stuck with nowhere to go.

  “Let’s get back in the van and think about this carefully,” he finally said, making his way to the passenger door. As they got back in they looked immediately behind them as they heard Laren sob. She was still lying face down on the back seats.

  Callee reached out to her, and shrugged her shoulders, “We’ll be fine, don’t worry,” she said in a panicky voice.

  “Will we, you don’t sound too confident?” Laren replied, looking up at her with tearful eyes.

  “Of course we will. We just need to work a few things out first,” Callee replied, wiping the tears from Laren’s face with her finger, leaving trails of wet sand down her cheeks.

  “Ok, guys,” Jeff began. “We can’t be too far away from the north. We’ve been traveling non-stop for days. We have plenty of food and water, so I guess we could walk the rest of the way?” There was silence as Jeff looked at Laren and Callee, both not looking too convinced as terror spread across their faces.

  “No way,” Laren protested, “it’s not possible, we’ll die out there.”

  “If we stay, we’ll surely die here anyway, eventually, when the food and water runs out,” Jeff replied.

  “And how are we supposed to take all that with us,” Laren replied, pointing back at their supplies. Jeff took a deep nervous breath knowing his plan was a desperate one with little hope.

  “We all carry a little bit each, enough to get us to the north. When we’re there, there should be more,” he replied.

  “Should be?” You don’t sound too certain,” Laren remarked worriedly.

  Callee looked reluctant to go, “Why don’t we stay here for a few days, have a think, see if anything crops up?”

  “Putting off the inevitable,” Jeff quickly replied, folding his arms.

  “What if the tremors continue, what then?” he continued in a gruff voice. “What then hey, the Earth will surely swallow us alive? Look, we have no choice. Let’s sleep on it and see how we feel in the morning.”