Hello readers!
If you haven’t already, please read the first installment of Of Dust and Dreams.
The man glided down a long back hallway. The walls were lined with hand painted square tiles. There were scenes of apple trees and still life dinner plates. Stick figures held hands and orange suns poked out from behind white clouds dotting a blue sky.
Manny, 7… Karlene, 52…Gerald, 23…
“So many people have lived here,” Lauren whispered.
I turned to her betraying the pit in my stomach and the momentary panic in believing we were walking through the town’s graveyard.
The man’s shoes clicked like a heartbeat, steady, and firm against the floor. We were not even sure where we were going.
“Hi, I’m Ray, this is Lauren. We’re from Killian just about 40 miles west of here.”
“I’m Raul. General manager, greeter, historian…” He trailed off and playfully rolled his eyes.
“Right…”
“Sir, where are we going?” Lauren asked.
“Here.”
Raul stopped in front of two solid iron doors about 10 feet high. He brought down the knocker with a force that echoed deep within the space behind it. The door creaked open and a cool, fragrant breeze blew into the vestibule. Lauren took one last look straight through to the street outside and followed us inside.
He led us down stone steps and I could feel the humidity rising. Water beads formed on my top tip. It was a momentary treat.
At a landing Raul turned into a small room lit with a single swinging bulb. Enormous glass jugs were neatly arranged in a far corner. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and turned on a faucet, filling up a jug and fogging the warm glass. The sound of crashing water started low and hollow before rising to a squeal. Raul put on a plastic cap and tapped the belly of the jug.
“Here you go, friends!”
“Wow… thanks!” I took a quick grab of the jug which didn’t budge. I squatted down and puffed out a big breath, lifting it slowly off the ground.
“If it’s just water you want, come back when you’re out. If you’d like to stay, then that’s something a little different.” Raul raised his chin, searching our faces for an answer and clearly confident we’d be back one way or another.
Lauren and I looked at each other. We had our home, however scrappy it was and the life we knew with no bother. We still hadn’t really seen a soul except Raul. The whole town was eerie.
“Uhh… We’ll be going, actually. We’ll see you some other time,” I said, turning with a quick smile and pounding up the steps with our precious cargo on my back. Lauren scurried behind me to make sure it didn’t drop.
Outside was just as deserted as ever. Not a sound except blowing wind and gravel clapping the stone facades. At the edge of the turf I set the water down. My arms were cramped and my back ached. It was sweltering near midday and the jug called to us as a heavy and imposing reminder of just how parched we were.
“Ray, let’s get a sip,” Lauren said.
The cool nectar rolled down my throat and plumped every cell on its way down. The sweet relief overtook me as I patted my face and neck with some. I let drops course to the small of my back and shivered with glee.
Lauren excitedly took her turn, gorging herself, letting it drip onto the front of her tan shirt. She plopped onto the turf with a satisfied belly.
“We can’t drink it all here or we’ll have to go back,” I chuckled.
“Yeah, we should consider that.” Lauren looked over toward the ridge, pensive and silent, with droplets resting on her face.
“Let’s get back to the car. The jug is just too heavy. I need to get a strap or sack to carry it.”
The water sloshed with golden, splintered light captured inside. The waves of cool shone onto the turf and suddenly I was scared. Who else knew about this place?
A scrawny man leaned against the hood of our car, looking out onto the plain landscape. We had seen no one for months on these roads.
“What are you doing out here?” He said. He titled his head just enough to spit onto the ground but didn’t face us. We were silent. The man seemed coated in the dust, consumed and wrinkled by it. His cheeks were like sinking sand but with cutting eyes that kept searching.
“We’re starving,” I stuttered. “Thought we’d drive until the gas ran out.” Maybe if we showed we were the same, he’d move on. No one needed enemies out here. Lauren pinched my side.
The man tensed his jaw and finally turned to face us. His fists were clenched and his stance wide.
“Well, then you won’t mind if we take your car.”
“Not at all.”
He nodded, satisfied.
“Gentlefolk.” He playfully tipped his hat.
“The hell are you doing—“ Lauren protested.
“Keep her quiet.” His skeletal, pointed finger shot toward us.
“Look, we can take you where you want to go,” Lauren was already walking toward him, slipping through my fingers.
“That’s not necessary. I’ll need the car. Not you.” He shuffled over to the driver side.“This is bullshit!” Lauren followed him.
For such a slight man, he held a deceiving power. He barely laid hands on Lauren and she was tumbling toward me on the passenger side.
“Let’s make it nice and easy. No trouble.” His voice strained with the warning.
I helped Lauren to her feet. Her pride was ruffled, but not much else. Her face was tight and bitter, looking at me with a bit of betrayal.
“Sir…”
“Daniel.”
“Daniel… my partner here wants us to both get what we want. Can we do that?”
Daniel came from behind the open door with a tire iron. “I need to get going. You’re in my way.”
I shored up and dug my feet into the dust. I swallowed hard and rolled my shoulders back. The man approached and shook the tire iron, smirking.
“I didn’t want to have to do this…”
He swiftly swung the tire iron toward my head. I ducked and my forearm took the hard blow, bringing me down to my knee where I muffled a pained cry. I gathered up some dust and threw it into Daniel’s eyes. He stubbled back and I charged forward, knocking him to the ground with a crash. We tangled limbs like strands of a braid and kicked up clouds of brown-red earth. He slipped out from beneath me, dropping the tire iron, and settling onto my face with his fists.
“We have water!” Lauren screamed.
Daniel jerked his head around in wide-eyed amazement, long enough for me to strike him on the head. We scuffled and I held the iron to his neck, pressing harder and harder. My head was throbbing and fun of rage. I heard a sickening crack and his body relaxed and settled.
The cool water on my face was replaced with salty sweat. I was out of breath and dizzy. I looked up at Lauren whose mouth was contorted in disgust with what I imagined was the same wide-eyed stare Daniel gave her. I laid down next to the body, hearing no rattles in his chest.
“What the hell do we do now?” Lauren asked.
I closed my eyes for a moment to slow my breathing. The darkness behind my eyes swirled with bright gold lights and pink, pulsating waves. I was floating outside myself with fading memory of that lonely road.
I felt a nudge to the shoulder.
We dragged the body out behind a large boulder, into a crevice in the land, and covered it with rocks. I stopped to look at the spot and in a daze, it looked like the body had been swallowed up.
Lauren was shaking and fidgeting with the drawstring on her pants.
“There’s no law out here. He attacked us and we defended ourselves. Snakes and scorpions. Nothing else.”
“Ray, I don’t think I want to go back home. What if that man has friends? They’re expecting him to come back with a car.”
“Let’s pull it toward the side of that ridge. We’ll cover it with a tarp.”
“Should we go back to the town?”
“Yeah. We’ll have to.”
Hmmm… it’s getting a bit strange but are you worried yet? Ray and Lauren face real danger outside and are going back to finally see the underground town that seems oblivious to the suffering on the surface. What questions are lingering for you?
The third and final installment will be in the next newsletter where we will see what the townspeople might be hiding…
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