Hours into our hike the heat is unbearable, and I remember how foolish I was to be excited about this journey. I begin to long for the cave. You don’t really know what you have until you go without it for a bit.
A cool wind dances on top of the hills twisting and spiraling erratically before whirling back into the desolation. My legs begin to ache as the sand trapped in my boots slides from my toes to my heels and back with every step forward. I’m dying, or at least it feels like it. The sun isn’t just killing me physically. I can sense my mind taking a beating as well. This isn’t what I expected on my first adventure for the tribe. This is work. The struggle is real.
You never really understand how long the days are until you spend all of it watching the sun sail through the clouds. Time doesn’t stop. It just kind of melts. The sun, directly over our heads, shines brighter than I ever remember it before. Images of Kalli scar my
mind. She’s in our old bed waiting for me, smiling. Her sweet smell of home lingers in the air around me. I’m finally happy and she’s gone, so why am I torturing myself?
The wind blows a bit harder as it spells her name in the sand at my feet.
“Just stop!” I scream aloud.
Our squad, all at once, turns and looks at me oddly.
Shit. I’m losing it.
“Okay. How about we take a quick break,” orders Cyrus as he motions for me to follow him.
Embarrassed, I trail him a few paces away from the group before he asks in a low voice, “What’s going on man? Everything okay?”
I try to fake a laugh.
He doesn’t buy it.
“It’s nothing. Eyes are just playing tricks on me.”
“Well, take a minute, get some water in you. We need you to keep it together.” He pats my back, and I surprisingly feel a little better. I can tell why Xander relies on him.
I gather myself for a few minutes, noticing something different in the air. The wind picks up abruptly as dark grey skies brew overhead. I nearly forget the heat as I watch the clouds ravage through the electric sky.
“What is that?” he asks staring at the dunes far behind me.
It takes a second for my eyes to find what he is talking about, but sure enough, something is out there. A black mass crawling over the tallest hill of sand quickly becomes the only thing my curious eyes will let me focus on.
Thunder roars all around us.
The wind is blowing pretty hard now.
Cutting my eyes towards Cyrus I realize he has already run back for the others. I still can’t figure out what’s coming for us. It’s just out of range.
Cyrus points and screams in my direction. The whirling wind steals every word before they ever reach my ear.
I assume he means to follow, so I comply as I try to keep my balance from the continuous gusts.
The further we march, the worse the storm becomes. Keeping my balance becomes nearly impossible as the sand becomes alive twisting and swirling all around us.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” asks the memory of Kalli mockingly as she twirls her dress in the wind beside me.
I wipe my eyes and ignore her. She’s not real.
She persists, whispering in my ear, “Save them, Palin.”
I lift my head and she’s gone.. just like that.
Dark grey clouds have swiftly taken the sky. I flinch as thunder growls angrily from above. When we top the last dune, her message becomes clear. The black mass... it’s people.. dozens of them, beaten and tattered trying desperately to escape their doom. My heart stops as I witness what’s behind them. A monolithic moving wall of debris and sand that stretches as far as my eyes will let me see.
“Ghost storm!!”
Absorbing anything in its path, it moves straight towards us. Even Cyrus is stricken with awe, momentarily paralyzed by its might.
“Run!” he shouts, inches from my face. “Run!!” His look of absolute terror, unhidden.
Lightning crashes beside us. The air sizzles as I trip, tumbling face-first into the sand. A stampede of frightened strangers races past me. I stumble to get back to my feet, but with every attempt, I’m knocked further into the sand.
The ground behind me erupts. Sand flies everywhere. People behind me claw and scream, but the storm shows them no mercy, swallowing them whole, spitting them miles into the blood orange sky. Their cries, barely audible amidst the shriek of the ghost storm.
It quickens its pace. Breathing right down my neck. The feeling of helplessness engulfs me. People pass left and right of me; one by one they’re swallowed whole in its wake. With every quantum of energy I possess, I run.
A whirlwind of sand and debris touches the ground in front of me. A funnel cloud spirals from the sky to my right.
This can’t be happening!
Its shadow stretches over me.
I feel my feet begin to lift off the sand.
No..
The ground from under me has stripped away.
I force all of my weight to my knees, but I feel them too
