Sandstorm Box Set Page 18

  “Where did you come from?”

  Kai shifted uncomfortably under the glare of so many eyes. He sucked in a breath. “I’m from a colony called New Canaan.”

  A murmur of disbelief made its way through the crowd. Gideon and Wyatt, one of his Heads of Colony, exchanged an unreadable glance.

  “I was out hunting, when Neena found me,” Kai continued, filling the uncomfortable silence. “I got lost in a sandstorm. Neena helped me.”

  The Heads of Colony turned to Neena, as if she might refute his story. “I found him when he was nearly dehydrated,” she confirmed.

  “You should’ve let him die,” Gideon said coldly.

  The crowd gasped as if they’d been struck. Mothers recoiled, hiding their children.

  Before Neena could voice her confusion, Gideon raised an arm.

  “Detain them!” he yelled, shocking everyone with his unexpected command.

  Neena’s heart pounded.

  A small army of Watchers rushed past Gideon and The Heads of Colony, in Neena and Kai’s direction. Neena threw her hands up, but not before several pairs of rough, grabbing hands locked on her arms and shoulders, clenching her tightly. Kai kicked and yelled as a group of men violently took hold of him, taking no care for his wounded wrist.

  “What’s going on, Neena?” he shouted. “What are they doing to us?”

  Panic rose in her stomach as she realized she had no answer. Neena looked between the crowd and Gideon, suddenly feeling as if she was the stranger, or that some waking nightmare had taken hold of her.

  “I don’t understand!” Neena protested, looking between Gideon, his Heads of Colony, and his Watchers. “What’s happening?”

  “Let me go!” Kai yelled, as the men jostled him.

  Hearing Kai’s screams of pain and protest, Gideon turned angry. “Silence that man! Bring him to the annex. That criminal doesn’t deserve to walk among us.”

  “Criminal? What are you talking about?” Neena asked.

  “Neena! Tell them I mean no harm!” Kai yelled.

  Ignoring his pleas, The Watchers dragged Kai kicking and screaming up the path, where the surprised bystanders leapt from the way, gasping in fright and disbelief.

  Before Neena could defend herself or explain further, Gideon jabbed a finger at her and yelled, “Take her, too! She can join him in jail!”

  CONTINUED IN “WINDSWEPT “BOOK TWO

  WINDSWEPT

  A Dystopian Sci-Fi Story

  Book 2 of the Sandstorm Series

  Preface

  Welcome back to Ravar.

  If Book 1 was the construction of a mud brick hovel, Book 2 is where we knock it down.

  In SANDSTORM, we encountered new threats to the people of Red Rock—both from outside and within. Through the eyes of Neena, Raj, Kai, Darius, and Gideon, we learned about a ravaged world, and a population of colonists struggling for each breath.

  In WINDSWEPT, secrets are uncovered, relationships are forged and tested, and blood is spilled. Will Neena and Kai survive to deliver their warning? Will Raj outlive his vicious attack? And how will Darius react to the terrifying and emotional discoveries he’s made in the cave?

  Be ready for lots of answers, and hopefully, lots of surprises, especially by the end!

  Enjoy Book 2!

  Tyler Piperbrook

  October 2018

  Chapter 1: Samel

  “I still don’t see Raj.”

  Samel looked from the open door of Helgid’s squalid hovel out into the bright midday sun, scanning for his brother. All around the Red Rock alley, people bustled from the river to their homes, carried buckets, or pushed carts. A group of children clapped their hands in rhythmic play. If Samel weren’t so worried, he might’ve joined them. He looked up at the large, looming cliffs on either side of the colony, but the glare of the sun prevented him from seeing The Watchers.

  Behind him, Helgid cleaned the last remnants of lunch. Each clatter of her bowls and utensils reminded Samel of the meal his brother had missed.

  Occasionally, Raj took morning walks, but rarely did those walks last until midday.

  It was strange for him to be gone so long.

  For much of the morning, Samel had looked around outside the hovel and in the adjacent alleys, thinking that Raj would saunter up at any moment, but he’d seen no sign of him. He turned to face Helgid. Worry and guilt bit his stomach. He wanted to open his mouth and spill the secrets of the things that had happened the last few days with the older boys, but Raj had told him they’d handle their own problems.

  What if he was overreacting, and Raj simply wanted time alone?

  Samel didn’t know what to do.

  Watching him at the doorway, Helgid smiled knowingly. Not for the first time, she said, “He probably went to visit Adriana. They certainly took a liking to each other when they met yesterday.”

  Samel wanted to believe it. Ever since Raj met Adriana, Raj had been focused on her and the strange metal keepsake. Several times, Samel had asked to hold the fascinating object, but his brother had cupped it tight, refusing to let him do anything but glance at it. He’d never seen Raj so protective—not even with his knife, which he let Samel hold occasionally. Helgid must be right.

  Still, Samel couldn’t help his growing worry.

  Staring out at a few older kids, who laughed at an unheard joke, Samel said, “Maybe I should go to Adriana’s and look for him.”

  Helgid set down the bowl she cleaned, crossed the room, and put her hands on his shoulders. “That’s sweet of you. But you should wait for me. If he’s not back by the time I’m done cleaning, we’ll look for him together.”

  Samel fidgeted impatiently. He didn’t think he could last another moment. “I’ll check Adriana’s and make sure he’s there. If he’s not, I’ll come right back.”

  Helgid hesitated.

  “I’ll be careful,” Samel promised. “I’ll stay away from the cliffs. And I won’t go near the river, or the edges of the bridge.”

  “He might not want to be bothered.”

  “I won’t bother him,” Samel said convincingly. “I’ll come back, if he tells me.” Recalling the way Raj sometimes spoke with adults, Samel added, “You don’t have to worry about me, Helgid. I’m getting older. I’ll be seven before the river gathering, remember?”

  Helgid watched him a long moment, before relenting. “Okay, but be careful. Your sister would never forgive me if anything happened to you. To Adriana’s, and right back.”

  “I promise.”

  Samel barely had her permission before he was out the door, heading in the direction where Raj said Adriana’s house had been. He passed a few of the clapping children, making sure to catch a few of their eyes. He felt as if he was on a mission, where success meant he might be allowed to take more tasks on his own. Pride swelled through his worry.

  He wouldn’t fail.

  He’d find Raj.

  Cutting down a nearby alley, he spotted a woman with long, stringy hair, whose name was Harmony. Stopping her, he asked, “Have you seen Raj?”

  The woman shook her head. “I’m sorry, I haven’t.”

  Samel kept going. His feet could give him a quicker answer than most adults. He skirted past a few people sharpening knives, folding laundry, or pushing carts. His eyes wandered to the cliffs, even though he knew Raj wasn’t up there.

  After traveling through a few more alleys, he reached the vacant space where the old woman had died in the sandstorm. Only a few piles of stones remained where her house had been. Mud brick dwellings sat on either side, with laundry lines hanging between. Samel didn’t know which of the two houses was Adriana’s.

  Emboldened by his mission, he stepped up to the dwelling on the left, knocking. The door opened.

  His guess was good.

  Adriana stood before him, her dark hair pulled back in a bun. She looked much different from the crying, grieving young woman from all those days ago, but he recognized her. Immediately, Samel saw why Raj had been
taken with her. Her blue eyes were pretty.

  “Have you seen my brother?” he asked, looking into her hovel. Immediately he saw his answer. The sparse, orderly dwelling was empty.

  “I’m sorry, I haven’t seen him since yesterday,” she answered.

  “Okay. Thank you,” Samel said.

  Before she could ask a question, Samel hurried away, shards of nervousness spreading through his stomach. He looked in every direction, thinking he’d find Raj, but he saw only other people he didn’t recognize. He’d promised Helgid he’d return right after checking Adriana’s.

  But he’d only been gone a short while.

  He needed to complete his mission.

  He cut diagonally between some houses, ignoring a few scolding women who didn’t like him cutting so close to their dwellings, and headed for his hovel—not Helgid’s, but the one he shared with Raj and Neena, when his whole family was home. Perhaps Raj had gone there for some quiet.

  Samel headed for the door, opened it, and rushed inside.

  No Raj.

  No sign of him, either.

  Looking around, he saw a few piles of clothing and dishes, but nothing was disturbed. If Raj had been here, he left no clues.

  Heading out the door, Samel found a neighbor named Silas. Managing half a breath for a question, he asked, “Have you seen my brother?”

  The old neighbor scratched his chin. “I think I saw him down by the river this morning.”

  Samel raced toward the end of the alley. Soon, he reached the intersection with the sloping main path toward the river. He bent, clutching a stitch in his side.

  Clusters of people mingled everywhere—enough that he couldn’t see past all of them. People toted buckets, carted game, or gathered in circles to talk. Children played everywhere. Even the Crop Tenders took a break from their duties to have lunch; the vegetables were unmanned, save a few Crop Supervisors on the far eastern edge of the river.

  Samel ran and scanned faces. Several times, he thought he heard a familiar laugh, only to stop and find that it was a stranger, and not Raj. He darted onto the bridge, curved his skinny arms over the rail, and looked up and down the northern riverbank, like he did while pretending he was a Watcher of the river. Nearby, a young man held onto a girl with blonde hair.

  “Be careful,” the man said, with a coy smile. “You don’t want to climb too high and fall over.”

  Ignoring the warning, Samel asked, “I’m looking for my brother. He has long, curly dark hair. He’s older than me. Have you seen him?”

  The man furrowed his brow. “That isn’t much of a description.”

  Something familiar registered in the girl’s eyes. “Was he alone?” she asked.

  Samel thought on it. Raj had no real friends. He assumed he’d be alone. “I think.”

  “We saw someone that could’ve been him this morning, after breakfast.” The girl gestured past the Green Crops and toward the edges of the cliffs. “The boy of whom I’m thinking went that way.”

  The sun was bright and hot as Samel crossed the rest of the bridge, his boots clopping on the wooden planks. The bridge gave way to sand as he rushed into a patch of desert. He glanced on either side of him at the rows of unmanned Green Crops and the Crop Supervisors, deep in the distance.

  Operating on a last guess, Samel headed for the western corner of the craggy cliff formation on the right, following the path they’d taken with the funeral procession the day before. More of the area past the cliffs came into view.

  His heart leapt in his chest.

  Something lay in the desert, about fifty feet from the edge of the graveyard.

  Not something.

  Someone.

  Raj.

  Samel fought for breath as he narrowed the gap, reaching the figure and confirming that it was his brother.

  His heart slammed against his ribcage as he knelt. Sand covered Raj’s hair and clothes, making him blend in with his surroundings. He wasn’t moving.

  “Raj?” Samel cried, unable to stop his frantic tears. “Raj, can you hear me? Please wake up!”

  He poked his brother, fear lancing his heart. Raj’s head was turned sideways; his eyes were closed. Sand crusted his face and spittle caked to his mouth. It didn’t take a genius to realize he had been here for a while. Maybe even since this morning, Samel thought frantically, putting his head down and listening for his brother’s breathing.

  Don’t be dead…don’t be dead…

  “Raj?” he asked, tears rolling down his cheeks.

  He thought he heard a thin wheeze, but he couldn’t be sure.

  The wind kicked sand up over the distant gravestones and over Raj, covering him with another layer of silt. Samel couldn’t tell if he was alive. He couldn’t be certain of anything. He tried rolling his brother over, but Raj was too heavy. Whatever had happened—was happening—Samel needed help.

  Swiveling, he looked behind him toward the bridge, where the couple he’d spoken with embraced and kissed. They were the only ones on the bridge at the moment. Samel leapt to his feet and ran toward them.

  His heart thumped as he ran the steps back to them, crying out, “Help! My brother needs help!”

  His frantic shouts drew their attention. The couple let go of each other, taking a few tentative steps across the bridge. Samel doubled over, holding his stomach and gasping for air.

  “You have to help my brother Raj!” he spilled desperately, thrusting a frantic finger in the direction of the graveyard. “He’s hurt! He might be dead!”

  Hearing the insistence in his voice, the couple followed him across the sand toward the western cliffs, getting closer to Raj, who was little more than a speck in the distance. A surge of fright coursed through Samel as he thought of yesterday’s procession.

  What if the next ceremony was for Raj?

  “What happened?” the young man asked, while they ran.

  “I’m not sure.” Samel’s breath heaved as he struggled to keep up on shorter legs. “I found him lying there. He isn’t moving!”

  Eventually, they reached his brother and knelt beside him. The young man pressed a finger on the side of Raj’s neck, the way Samel had seen the healers do, and bent close, listening for breath. The gusting wind settled, making each heave of Samel’s lungs seem louder as he waited for the tragic proclamation that he’d already heard too many times in his short life.

  After a long pause, the young man surprised him and said, “He’s alive.”

  “Alive?” Hope and doubt coursed through Samel.

  “I think he has sunstroke,” the man said. “He’s passed out.”

  The couple tried gently propping up Raj’s head. A groan escaped Raj’s lips. He blinked a few times, moving his hands toward his sand-covered cheeks.

  “Raj?” Samel asked, his voice quivering with relief.

  Raj murmured something unintelligible, reaching weakly for his stomach.

  “Take it easy,” said the young man, retrieving a flask on his belt, while the woman helped him sit up. “We’ll give you some water.”

  Raj let go of his stomach, making a weak attempt to fight them. He was afraid.

  “We’re here to help,” the woman reassured him.

  More sweat rolled down Raj’s face as he struggled to open his eyes under the fierce glare of the sun. The couple managed to give him a small sip of water before he fell back into his delirium, mumbling. Water dribbled down his dry, cracked lips.

  Shielding Raj from the sun, the woman said, “We should get him in the shade, before the sun bakes him worse.”

  “We’re going to carry you,” the young man told Raj, prepping him for the short trip. “And then we’ll find you a healer.”

  Raj didn’t answer, other than groaning. The young man and woman hoisted him, carrying him across the barren sand in the direction of the closest cliffs, where the midday sun created a short shadow. Samel hurried next to them, while Raj continued his pained noises. For most of Samel’s memorable life, Raj had tended his scrapes
and cuts, or warned him away from danger. He rarely got sick, and even when he did, he healed quickly.

  Samel had never seen him like this.

  Guilt tore at his insides.

  Maybe if I had convinced Helgid to look for him sooner, this wouldn’t have happened, Samel thought. This is my fault.

  Reaching a shadowed area of sand, the young couple set Raj down gently. Samel looked up the gigantic rock formation and past some craggy ledges, looking for Watchers. He saw none.

  “Over there,” the man said, pointing in the direction of the Green Crops. “A few of the Crop Supervisors are coming back from lunch. Maybe they’ll help get a healer.”

  Samel followed his gaze to the distant riverbanks, where the men he’d seen earlier walked the outermost rows of vegetables.

  “I’ll go get them,” the young man said.

  The young man darted across the desert, the wind blowing through his loose clothing. Looking at Raj, more tears rolled down Samel’s cheeks. What if Raj didn’t wake up again, and this was the end? How would he forgive himself?

  Seeing the pain on his face, the young woman reached over and touched Samel’s arm.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Samel,” he answered.

  “I’m Bianca,” she said, with a nervous smile. “My boyfriend’s Marco. It’s going to be okay. We’ll make sure your brother gets help.”

  “Thank you,” Samel managed.

  “Where are your parents?”

  Hoping to avoid a more complicated discussion, Samel said, “We’re staying with a woman named Helgid. She’s like our grandmother. She lives in the middle of the colony, about fifteen rows north of the houses closest to the river.”

  “We’ll get her, after we help your brother,” Bianca promised. “You don’t have to worry.”

  “This is my fault,” Samel said through his tears.

  “What do you mean?”