The Sands of Borrowed Time

by Jeffry Winters

  “No, please,” Jeff pleaded, giggling with relief as he grabbed the dog by its flanks, lifting it into the air and giving it a friendly shake.

  “I always wanted a cat,” he said, looking up at the dog as it stared back down with its innocent face.

  “How did it get here?” Skylar asked as she lifted the dog from Jeff’s hands, looking at its cute face as it attempted to lick hers.

  “How in hells bells did you get here?” she asked. The dog barked again as she put it down on the table. It looked excitedly towards Jeff as he struggled up from the floor, barking incessantly.

  “I think you’ve made a friend there,” Skylar said. “You’re his hero,” as she stroked the dog’s back. Jeff gave the dog a smile as it continued to give him friendly little barks.

  “That blanket, that box, and certainly you, my new little friend, were not here last night!” he gently exclaimed. Otherwise, I think we would have heard your little yelps and pants. Skylar quickly walked across to the back window, looking out across the prairie.

  “Then how did he get here?” Skylar suddenly asked, her voice beginning to sound worried. Jeff looked across to the window, peering out also across the dusty plains. He glanced back at the dog, shrugging his shoulders.

  “Hey dog, what’s the story?” Jeff asked. “You can’t just turn up like this.” The dog turned its head, ignoring Jeff and jumped off the table, running eagerly towards his rucksack.

  “Hey!” Jeff shouted as the dog nuzzled its nose deep into the contents of his bag.

  “Hey, now! Hey!” Jeff repeated as the dog dragged a can out onto the floor, looking up at Jeff, barking.

  “Poor thing. He’s hungry,” Skylar said, forgetting who may be lurking out on the prairies.

  “Me too! Everyone is hungry,” Jeff said.

  “Your golden chance to do some good,” Skylar said.

  “Wait, I didn’t mean helping little, abandoned dogs,” Jeff quickly replied. “They can help themselves as you can clearly see,” Jeff continued as they both looked down as the dog rolled the can towards Jeff. It glanced up at Jeff and barked again.

  “You help a friend, and he will help you back, you’ll see,” Skylar said.

  Jeff looked at Skylar and smiled.

  “We share,” Jeff said. “The portions decided by me.”

  Back into the Prairie

  We’re like three desperate mice, running north through the plains and storms, living off the scraps of those who have perished, our only inheritance their rotting flesh and clothes. Their possessions now covered in dust and strewn across the desert, having endured the test of time better than themselves, Kyla thought as they walked back to the buggy, through the once again deserted streets. The air was clearing as the storm moved northwards, the setting Sun in the East disappearing with a flash of golden light as the winds died to a gentle stir.

  “Can’t trust anyone these days, “Demelza said nervously, still shaking as she looked around with paranoia written across her eyes. Kyla and Hayley said nothing, still deeply reminiscing the day’s events. “I mean, what was he hoping to gain?” she continued.

  Apart from instant gratification, not a lot, Kyla thought as she saw his dark staring eyes in her mind. That madness was beyond repair. There was no soul, no life in those eyes. He was already dead; his soul had jumped ship, petrified by the insanity of the captain.

  “What will become of us? Will we become madmen also?” Demelza continued to rant.

  Yes, what will become of us indeed as we wander north, not knowing what is around the next corner, every nerve constantly on edge. Is this what they call freedom? Kyla thought solemnly, are we experiencing bare reality as the animals do?

  There were flashes of purple and blue across the North as lightning split the sky, the dry storm rumbling ever northwards.

  “No one will protect us, Demelza,” Hayley said. “Not even God. We have to look out for ourselves, be wary, every step of the way.”

  Yes, but wary makes us weary, until one day we will be so tired, so numb, that we want know who, or what is creeping up behind us, and then there will be nothing. Death will set us free. Kyla looked around thinking she had spoken out her feelings, but the others seemed oblivious to her thoughts. Until then, we must play every roll of the dice, like pawns of chance, but can we break its mighty will, to forge our own destiny, spit in the face of death and construct our own freedom?

  “We have to have faith in ourselves,” Kyla said. “We have to believe there is a future, a good future waiting for us.”

  “And if there’s not?” Demelza anxiously asked.

  The poor girl looks so tired like she’s ready to give up, Kyla thought before speaking again.

  “Then we will have to create our own future. It sounds hard, but a little belief in ourselves can go a long way.”

  “And what of the hoards and rapists, the faceless souls who want no future.”

  “Then, they are lost. They think of themselves only. That is why they are afraid. The fools will defeat only themselves eventually, like weeds dying back from overgrowth.”

  Hayley hugged Demelza, “Come on, we got one, he wasn’t too difficult, was he?”

  “I guess not,” Demelza replied, not looking too convinced.

  “Be strong, be positive, have faith and everything will come our way, I promise,” Kyla said, also not too convinced, at least of her own philosophy. So easy to be the victim of your own delusions, merely being wishful when your blindly positive. There has to be some self-reflection, some cynicism, but then your left where you started, riddled with doubt and fear.

  “We’re warriors now,” Hayley said, throwing her fist in the air. “Sovereign and strong.”

  “Think of how much we can learn from their mistakes,” Kyla said, her eyes lighting up. “A constant reminder not to be like them, a boundary to bounce off, a way to keep our own sanity.”

  “Yes!” Hayley exclaimed. “We don’t need to make apologies or feel guilty about these guys. If they want to take, then they need to go, plain and simple!” Demelza started to laugh, “Ok, I guess that’s our inevitable path, let’s see where it leads.”

  There were still the distant rumblings of thunder as they walked back into the parking lot, its grey walls still stinking of stale piss.

  “There’s our sleeping beauty, looking relaxed and innocent, blind to our crimes,” Kyla said, relieved that the buggy hadn’t been stolen.

  “I’ll drive,” Hayley said as they threw their booty onto the back seats.”

  “I could do with letting off some steam,” she continued.

  “Does this mean a journey of petrol-powered debauchery, then?” Kyla asked playfully.

  “My foot, it’s just too heavy, it can’t be helped,” Hayley replied with a smirk. “Anyhow, the engine doesn’t settle in properly unless you’re doing at least 80.”

  Kyla nodded, “It’s true, so true. She was made for speed.”

  “Indeed, she was, and she’s not happy otherwise,” Hayley added. Hayley hit the ignition and released the clutch, the tyres squealing on the smooth concrete surface as she turned for the exit ramp.

  “Not bad for a day’s work,” Kyla said as the buggy accelerated up the ramp, “a nice day out at the shops.”

  “Indeed, perhaps we will get some bonus points for expiring the weirdo,” Hayley replied.

  “The world is certainly a safer place without him,” Demelza added. Hayley exited the ramp and shifted up a gear as she headed out onto the road, blissfully listening to the engine begin to purr as it gained speed. The buggy etched two lines through the sand-covered streets as it headed for the city limits.

  “Sh…it,” Hayley stuttered as a body slammed into the buggies bonnet and up the windscreen, his terrified face sliding back down the glass, his wide and startled eyes empty of comprehension. The buggy wavered violently as the man fell under the tyres with two dull thuds.

  “Who the fuck was that!” Hayley exclaimed, looking in her mirrors at the
lifeless lump in the road behind her.

  “How do I know; he didn’t introduce himself?” Kyla replied, looking shocked as she turned to check on Hayley.

  “How rude,” Hayley laughed.

  “How can you laugh,” Demelza cried out.

  Hayley shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know, his face, he looked more surprised than us.”

  “Surprised, didn’t you see him in the road?” Demelza responded as she leaned angrily towards Hayley.

  “No, did you?”

  “Well no, I’m not driving, though.”

  “Maybe he was pushed, I think there were others,” Kyla said.

  “Others?” Demelza shouted from the back.

  “Perhaps, it happened so fast, like he was pushed from a ledge or something,” Kyla added.

  “He wasn’t on the road, I would have seen him,” Hayley insisted. “The first thing I knew was his face rudely appearing on the windscreen,” Kyla sniggered, holding her mouth to her hand in the hope that Demelza wouldn’t hear.

  “Not you as well!” Demelza cried out furiously as she kicked the back of Kyla’s seat. Kyla continued to snigger, feeling like a naughty student trying to hold back her laughter in class, Hayley appearing to do the same. They dared not look at each other in fear of aggravating the situation. Their mirth was soon extinguished as a rain of bullet fire exploded into their ears, all three ducking as the buggy glanced off the central reservation in a shower of sparks. Hayley struggled to stop the car from going sideways as it’s back end wavered and screeched uncontrollably across the dusty road. Hayley looked across to Kyla stunned, seeing the shock in her eyes. She gulped and hit the accelerator harder as she looked nervously in the mirror.

  Be wary? It’s just luck so far, Kyla thought, and there’s only so much of it. We are still under the power of the rolling dice.

  “Any more surprises to come today?” Demelza asked irritably as she looked behind her.

  “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I could answer that one,” Hayley hit back as she thundered the buggy out of the city limits and onto the highway north.

  “It should be safer out here in the wilderness,” Kyla said calmly.

  “I hope so,” Hayley sighed, “my right ear has gone deaf from the gunfire. Kyla sniggered again.

  “How can you two be so calm about it all,” Demelza asked, raising her hand annoyed.

  Kyla turned around to Demelza and widened her eyes slowly, “It’s called a macabre sense of humour,” she said as she playfully slithered her tongue in and out of her mouth.

  “You’re weird,” Demelza said.

  “Gets me through my busy day,” Kyla replied, turning back to look at the road ahead. Hayley checked her mirror to see if anybody was following, but just saw darkness.

  “Ah, we’ve hit the sweet spot,” Hayley said contentedly as she saw the dial on the speedometer touch the 80 mark. “Listen to our baby purr.”

  “Sounds like a faulty moped,” Demelza said bitterly as she curled up on the back seat amongst the shopping bags. Kyla put her finger to her mouth, turning to look at Demelza and shook her head.

  “Ssssshh,” Kyla said, “she’d be very upset if she heard you say that.” Demelza crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

  Kyla slumped back in her seat and looked up at the supernova above her, it's brilliant ring of colours looking like an explosion frozen in time, millions of light years across.

  If we’re so insignificant, why should anything matter? she pondered. We’re just like the sand, blowing in the wind, here today and gone tomorrow. What are we working towards, if anything at all? Like a computer game, and when the game is over, the computer gets switched off. It doesn’t matter who wins or loses, because when the light gets turned off, we all disappear back into the darkness. Demelza was already asleep when Hayley noticed Kyla fall away into a slumber, her chest breathing deeply. She floored the accelerator savouring the cool breeze in her face, leaving the city of surprises behind them.

  The Bright Eyes of Life

  Cain watched the end of the cigarette blaze to a bright orange glow in the evening twilight as Carla inhaled. He was always amazed how long and hard she took each drag as if there was some deep-seated need to do so. It was beyond mere addiction he thought.

  “So?” she said, feeling uncomfortable in Cain’s stare. Who knows what goes on in this mad man’s head as I doubt he does, she thought.

  Cain shrugged his shoulders, “You’ll choke on one of those, one day,” he said with a smile, pointing at her cigarette with a sharp jab of his finger.

  “The sooner, the better,” she replied, throwing the cigarette over the rails of the ship, not caring where it ended up. Cain turned his head, following the stub as small embers broke free from it, drifting in the air until they extinguished one by one, leaving small trails of smoke. He turned again to look at Carla, walking towards her until she could smell his rancid sweat. She hid her repulsion, pretending to wipe her nose several times, the smell of nicotine on her fingers masking his ungodly scent.

  “So, what is one to do when one is stranded in the middle of nowhere,” he said with a wry rise of an eyebrow as he ran his finger down her sunburnt face.

  “Think of a plan to get to the middle of somewhere, I guess?” she said, pushing his hand away. She smiled, turning to walk towards the ship’s bow, looking out deep into the desert and out towards the dark horizon. The sky, a dark navy blue, was quickly fading to black as the stars began to wink into their nocturnal presence.

  Bayliss came out from the living quarters, yawning, “It's well cosy in there, guys. They have kitted it out quite well. There’re even pillows for one to rest their weary head among."

  “Good to hear, as it looks like we may be sailing on this, well beauty, for some time,” Carla said sarcastically, still looking out deep into the twilight. Bayliss laughed, looking across to Cain, who began to laugh also.

  “And I’m sure she sails beautifully,” Bayliss replied, rubbing his hands as he looked up high towards the limp sails.

  “But not till morning,” Cain said.

  “Charming,” Carla said as she lit another cigarette, turning to look at the guys smirking faces, wishing she hadn’t let Kyla take their buggy. Carla suddenly looked to the North, past the ships bow. Is there something there? she thought. She had sensed a shadow flitter across the road, near the horizon.

  “You look startled,” Bayliss said, turning to follow her gaze.

  “It's nothing,” she said as she sharpened her focus.

  “Nothing?” Cain added, turning to walk to the edge of the ship. “You look spooked?”

  “I thought I saw something, but I guess it was just shadows flirting in the twilight.”

  “Let's take a little look. One can't be too careful now. It is the post-apocalyptic World, after all, full of thieves, beggars, and all sorts,” Cain replied as he leant over the rails of the ship, checking that no one was hiding down its side. Bayliss quickly did likewise, on its opposite side.

  “Nothing?” Cain said as he looked to Bayliss, who simply pursed his lips while shaking his head, looking even less convinced than Carla was of herself.

  “It was further away than that, out towards the horizon, by the road,” Carla said. “I suspect somewhere near there,” pointing into the distance.

  “So you did see something?” Cain asked, starting to feel a bit spooked himself. Carla shrugged.

  “Either you did or didn't?” Bayliss added, looking over his shoulder, paranoid that every glimmer of the retreating evening light was something vibrant and alive.

  “Okay, just to be on the safe side, let's say I did,” Carla replied, folding her arms, wishing she hadn’t said anything. She dropped her cigarette to the floor before kicking it through the rails, this time in a blaze of sparks that left charcoal skid marks on the deck.

  The atmosphere suddenly felt static as a peculiar drone vibrated through the air. It was loud and powerful, pulsating through their bodies but barely audibl
e, just out of range, too deep for human ears.

  “You feel that?” Carla asked, her blood draining from her face with fright. Cain nodded as he ran to the bow, looking north along the road to the horizon.

  “What in fucks hell, was that?” she continued, looking to Bayliss before running to the end of the bow. She looked along the road with Cain, again pointing to where she thought she saw the shadows. All they saw was a darkening horizon, the road and desert now barely visible. Again the drone pulsated through their bodies.

  “I do not like that,” Carla said. “Any ideas guys?” Carla held her hands to her face, watching Bayliss shake his head, a look of bewilderment on his face she had never seen before. She thought he looked like a kid who had lost his mum in the shopping mall. Cain said nothing, still staring north along the road.

  She tapped Cain on the shoulders, “Any ideas, I asked. Did you not hear me?”

  “I heard you,” Cain replied, without changing his gaze. “Loud and clear, as always.”

  “And?” Carla demanded as the drone grew more powerful, the boards of the ship beginning to vibrate. Carla looked down at the deck, watching the brittle boards rattle up and down.

  “I don't suppose you remember my travelling friends from the north,” Cain said calmly.

  Carla nodded her head, “Of course; I was afraid you were going to say that.”

  “What, whose travelling friends from the North?” Bayliss asked, his bewildered face beginning to look cast in stone.

  “His blue-eyed circus freaks,” Carla said, stabbing her finger into Cain’s shoulder as she said each word. Cain slowly turned to face them.