An Unforgiving Desert – Chapter 12

We beat a hasty retreat from the site of our crash, and every time I put my hand down in the sand to climb a dune, I wonder what I’m touching. What was that? Was it an animal that looked like sand? Was it just an illusion? I have no idea.

I have a terrible feeling about this situation we’re in. It was one thing to wait for rescue when the rescue team could spot the life pod. It’s another to cross a desert and be totally stranded with no way to signal where we went. And now there’s some kind of alien life in the sand we need to worry about, too?

We are fucked.

Am I strong enough to get us to the rocks? I hope so.

Sweat drips down along my chin, past the collar of my shirt, and forms a river on my back. God, this is gross.

In an attempt to distract myself, I let my brain filter through everything that happened right up to the hijacking. Cressida is a problem, but I’m going to hope she forgets all about me. I’m also worried about what happened to everyone else.

But our instructor, Damian, bothers me — his reaction, his lack of outrage, his silence. Option one is he was scared out of his mind, and he froze up. I would understand that from anyone but him. He was a military man before he retired early to be a flight instructor. He’s always bragged about his nerves of steel.

Option two is much more plausible. He needs money, and he sold us out to Cressida and her crew. For the last year, I’ve suspected that he’s been purchasing expensive Athens Industries anti-aging drugs and treatments because the man has been getting younger and better looking with each week. Physically impossible for someone in their late fifties. He looks like he’s in his late thirties instead. He might have debt, too. His distracted nature and bouncing knee in the cafeteria? Yeah, he was nervous.

“Fucking shit,” I mutter.

“What’s that?” Kalvin asks.

“Nothing. Where do you think we are?”

“We’re back on track,” he says from the top of our dune. He blinks his eyes a few times and squints into the distance before looking down at the compass. “We got going in the wrong direction, but we’re good now.”

I stop and pant for a moment about a meter below him. I’m beat. He snaps his attention to me and offers a hand to pull me up. I don’t want to give him any ideas, but I take his hand, anyway. Kalvin is the last person I wanted to be stranded with, but I think we’re better off this morning after our previous conversation.

“What say you, fair princess?” He squeezes my hand once before letting go. I’m not sure where to put that physical contact in the grand scheme of things. Was it platonic? “You’ve been really quiet.”

“I’ve been thinking.” I take a few deeper breaths and adjust my headscarf. I can’t talk about Damian yet, so it’s time to change the subject. “We tried to colonize this continent about a hundred years ago, and the colonies didn’t succeed.”

“I think I was taught that in school.” He puts his hand over his eyes to shield himself from the harsh sunlight. “But I figured, hey, it’s a desert. Who would want to live here, anyway?”

“Yeah.” I turn and gaze out over the desert. The ochre sand stretches to the horizon, and the waves of dunes ride far off into the distance. Sometimes they appear to be moving, but that may be a trick of the eyes. “It’s beautiful, though. I could see why some would want to live here. Plus, lots of silicon.” I kick at the sand and watch it dissipate into the wind. “Good raw material for industries.”

Kalvin points off in one direction. “We need to go that way. Maybe in another twenty or thirty kilometers we’ll be able to see the rocks we’re heading towards. If we stay on top of the dunes, it might be easier going.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I nod my head and decide to go full-on nerd. “So with desert walking, you need to move slow. It’s always best to take the path of least resistance. Don’t overexert yourself, or you may end up sweating too much like I am right now.” I close my eyes and try to think cool thoughts. “Don’t take off your shoes unless you can elevate your feet, or they may swell up, and you won’t be able to put your shoes back on. Also, you should put on a headscarf. You’re losing moisture off the top of your head.” A heat shimmer hovers over his hair. “I can literally see the steam coming off your hair.”

Kalvin breaks into a thready laugh. His voice is already cracking in the heat. “I didn’t see that coming when I asked you what you were thinking about.”

I shrug my shoulders. “I read a lot, and I have one of those ‘good memories’ people talk about. It’s like my only superpower.”

His eyes travel down my body. “I think you have more superpowers than you give yourself credit for.”

I drop into a karate stance. I only did one or two sessions with my brothers, but not enough to be proficient in any kind of way. “I use my body as a weapon.” I wink at him. “In many ways.”

I love throwing people off, and this time is no exception. Kalvin blinks for a moment before smirking.

“Okay, Kalvin.” I drop the bag next to me and take out another thin towel for him. “Protecting against sunstroke is as important as everything else. Pull the towel out and form a little brim to give shade to your eyes. You’ve been squinting a lot.”

He takes my advice and covers himself, pulling the towel around his face and neck and tugging down his sleeves, too. There’s not much we can do about protecting our hands. But I try to withdraw my hands into my sleeves as far as possible while we’re on the move.

We start walking again, Kalvin taking the lead over the top of the dune. “Tell me more about the colonization efforts here, if you know anything more.”

He has no idea how many reports, books, and scholarly papers I’ve read about Sonoma… and every planet in the Duo Systems.

“It’s a bad idea to talk too much. We let out a lot of water when we talk, but…” I can’t help myself. “There were five colonization attempts on this continent. Sand storms that lasted weeks impeded two of the attempts. They were so long that each time the teams gave up and left. The storms always dissipated a day or two after they were gone, though. It was dreadful luck.”

We cross the top of one dune for another and keep going.

“Two attempts didn’t work out because equipment kept going missing. Then finally, Sonomans established a small town near the sea to the east. That one was wiped clean by a two-week sandstorm. A hundred and twenty lives were lost.”

I debate whether to tell Kalvin this. “Uh, then there were three people who tried to cross the desert on foot. You know, a little expedition type thing.”

“What happened to them? Or maybe I shouldn’t ask.”

“They were never seen again. Even with trackers and tons of safety precautions.” And after seeing what the sand did to our life pod, I have a good idea of what happened to those people. The sand scares the crap out of me.

Kalvin is quiet for a while.

“Sorry. I should have kept that last bit to myself.”

“No. I should know what we’re up against. I’m just… I’m gonna think on this for a bit.”

“Sure.”

And suddenly, I’m not a fan of silence.

I’d rather we talk to each other.

But I press my lips together and keep walking.

—-

“Let’s take a break and rest,” Kalvin says after a long period of walking.

“Oh, thank God. I thought my legs were going to fall off.” I plop down onto the sand, despite wanting to stay as far away from it as possible.

I’m no dummy. I passed every standardized test for secondary school and flight school with one-hundred percent marks. Universities in both Duo Systems courted me and tried to bribe me to study at their schools. I may not have majored in exo-biology and xeno-biology, but I can tell when something’s alive. I’ve gone over it, again and again, on this last two-hour trek across the dunes. That was no mistake, no illusion. That sand moved with purpose.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Kalvin carefully rubs at his eyes. He looks beyond tired. About as tired as I feel right about now.

“What’s that?”

“Well, I think it’s safe to say we’re not making fast progress here, and I doubt we’re going to make it to the rocks if we hold off to walk in the daytime again.”

“You’re thinking we won’t survive a third day of hiking in the sun with very little water.” I say it like the absolute statement it is because I know it’s true.

“Third? I don’t think we’ll survive tomorrow either.”

We’re both exhausted and already dehydrated because we’re rationing our water. My hip hurts enough that I’m limping along, and Kalvin needs to take a break about every twenty minutes. He’s struggling more than I thought he would, so something is amiss that he’s unwilling to talk about.

“I have a proposal,” he says with a sigh.

A smile teases at my lips. Something tells me he’s been practicing this in his head for the last few hours, thinking of ways to appeal to my logical side.

A good idea since I’m pretty practical, even if I love high heels and clandestine adventures.

“Shoot.”

“We rest now. Pick up the walking again in the late afternoon. Walk to sunset. Rest to eat and then walk through the night.”

I open my mouth to object, but he holds up his hand.

“I know the nighttime in the desert can be dangerous. We won’t be able to see where we’re going, and predators could be out looking for easy pickings. But it’ll be cooler and easier on our bodies. If we follow the compass’s direction, we should be fine.”

“It’s super dark here at night,” I point out, “and there may not even be a moon to light our way. We could miss the rocks.”

Sonoma has three moons — Selma, Brea, and Coloma — but they vary in sizes, and they aren’t always visible. They’re the primary reason Sonoma doesn’t have weather control, and this desert exists. The Novato Desert would be a green desert if weather control worked here.

I stop my protests when I see the hopeful expression on his face. We both need a win, but he needs it more right about now. I hope everyone else is doing better than we are.

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

He lets out a held breath and smiles, grateful I wasn’t a pain in the ass. Let’s face it. I’m a pain in the ass, but sometimes it’s fun, and I enjoy tormenting people. Other times, like now, it’s uncalled for. I’m still learning the difference.

“Here.” Kalvin sets down the backpack and pulls out the parachute. “Let’s make a little tent on the side of the dune.”

I rest upon the crest of the dune while Kalvin slides down and picks a spot for us. Grabbing the shovel, he buries two ends in the dune’s side and pulls the parachute forward to give us a space to sit under. It’s not perfect because we have no stakes or poles to hold up the parachute like a tent. We’ll have to just pull it over us.

I shade my eyes and stare off to the horizon. I still don’t see the rocks we’re heading towards. At least, I hope we’re heading in the right direction. Pulling the wrap over my eyes, I slide down the dune, half on my butt.

“Your five-star accommodations await,” Kalvin says, gesturing to the tiny amount of shaded space we’ve just created. The sun is traveling over us, and this side of the dune will be in the shade soon as well. If we rest for an hour or two, we might be able to walk in the shade for the rest of the day.

“Ah, thanks.” I plop down on the sand next to him and grab a corner of the parachute to pull over us. “Water?”

“We have three bottles left. We should ration.”

“Okay. Half a bottle each now?”

He hands me the bottle. “Ladies first.”

I’m tempted to push it back to him. His lips are dry, and I can see his heartbeat pulsing away fast on his temple. But I know he won’t let me. I sip at the water and keep my eyes shielded.

“You haven’t heard any signs of rescue, have you?”

He shakes his head. “I’ve kept my eyes out looking, but I’ve seen nothing.”

I finish my half of the bottle and pass the rest to him.

“Thanks.”

I let him sip at the water while I rummage around in the medkit until I find the wound salve. “Here,” I say, passing it to him. “Put it on your lips, or they’ll crack and bleed.”

His eyes squint and water as his smile pulls at his cracked lips. “Thanks. Good idea.”

He slathers it on and sighs. “I didn’t realize how much they hurt.” He hands the salve back to me. “Sorry I’ve been so quiet all afternoon. I’ve been thinking about how to get us out of this alive.”

I shrug. “Well, the good news is we’ve already beat the odds and survived for longer than others. And we haven’t run across any of the wildlife yet.” I point at him. “Also, good. Our biggest problems will be the storms, the sun, and dehydration. If we can make it through those things, we should survive long enough to be rescued.”

Data and information — those are the things I use to battle terrible odds.

“Are we going to talk about the sand?”

“What do you mean?” I try to play dumb, but once people get to know me at all, playing dumb doesn’t work. I may be a pretty face, but I have the brains to back up everything I’ve ever accomplished.

“Don’t play air-headed princess with me.” He shakes his head, lamenting my attitude in Spanish. I’m not sure if he realizes how prolific my Spanish is. “I should have nicknamed you ‘queen.’”

“I like queen a lot more than princess.” I grab a handful of sand and let it run through my fingers. “I don’t know what’s going on with the sand. It moved with strength and purpose, and it seemed like it knew what it wanted.”

I try to wet my lips and find that even my tongue is dry. That’s grosser than I thought it would be.

“Is it everywhere in the sand? Here?” I gesture to the very sand we’re sitting on. “Or is it something else?”

Kalvin eyes the sand warily. “I don’t want to think about this sand being ready to gobble us up.”

“Me neither.” I shift the backpack behind us, up the wall of the dune. “We should rest and raise our feet. Turn around and prop your feet up on the backpack.”

We both turn around and lie back with our feet up the dune and on the backpack. Ahhh, my feet stop pulsing with my heartbeat. We’re still under the parachute, so I pull it up over my face, like a blanket, and tuck it behind my head. It’s a little claustrophobic, but the setup is doing the job. Even Kalvin seems happier.

I glance over at him, and his face is slack with relaxation, probably feeling better with his feet up, as I am.

This last day has changed how I feel about him. I used to think he was arrogant and an asshole. Sure, he was cultivating a persona as a hot-shit pilot, but now it’s clear he’s doing what he’s doing to get by or get a job after all of this. I admire someone willing to listen to helpful, sound information and adapt based on what he learns.

I reach over and find his hand. He squeezes my fingers in his.

“Thank you for hearing me out and not judging me based on what you learned of me from Cressida.”

“That was a ‘consider the source’ moment,” he says with a weak laugh.

“And thanks for not lumping all the responsibilities on me once you knew I was…”

“Smart. Yeah, you hide it well.”

“I just don’t shout about it.” My heartbeat kicks up, ready to get defensive, but I take a breath through my nose and try to hold back. “I do what needs to be done, and I don’t brag about it, you know?”

Only my family knows I’m too smart for my own good. Everyone else sees a pretty face and a curvy body. I use those as a shield to keep the true parasites away. I’m sick of men wanting me for my parts instead of the whole me. I’m sick of men using me to get what they want.

“I see that.” He pauses to sigh. “And I’m sorry. I guess I’m just like other men out there. I judged you unfairly.”

If this were any other day, I would tell him it’s okay, that I’m not offended. But for once, I’m just going to take his apology and leave it.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “Let’s rest until the sun goes down some.”

I don’t know whether to release his hand until he rearranges our hands and laces his fingers with mine.

“Just in case you get sucked away by sand,” he says and yawns.

“Sure.”

But we’ve crossed a line from enemies to friends, if not more.

Maybe men can like me for who I really am?

Ugh, don’t get mushy, Skylar. Go to sleep.