The Sands of Borrowed Time (32 page)

Where is Everyone?

All three sat on the sand at the bottom of the rocket, their backs up against a broken wooden fence, gazing out towards the coast.  The sea out in the distance appeared flat, looking like a large shimmering mirror.  Isla and Summer had decided to hang out around the rocket for a few days, thinking it was cool, and David had agreed to keep them company.  They were still on the lookout for people coming from the South, but so far, all was quiet.  Maybe they had taken the coastal route, Summer thought, straight up the deserted highway.

The forsaken freeway, where the bandits ply their trade,
she thought. 
Are the storms that are coming, really going to be that bad?  There’s not a soul to be seen.  They’re running from something.
 

Dagger was asleep on the warm sands, his chest rising and falling slowly.  The Sun had already set, and the air was beginning to cool.  David took a deep drag on his cigarette, savouring the nicotine rush to his head.

“Don't you think it a bit peculiar that the supernova took out everything?”

Summer narrowed her eyes, replying, “Not really.  Why do you say that?”

“Well, the blast would have come from one direction only.  Only one side of Earth would have taken a direct hit.”

“Yes, but there the atmosphere was smashed to bits, the effects rippled to the other side, our side,” Isla added as she took a comforting sip of the tea they had made.

“But I’m still breathing, you're still breathing, it wasn't as bad as that.  Sure, the places that got hit directly were annihilated, but that wasn’t everywhere.”

Summer shrugged, “But that’s what happened.”

“Wait a minute,” David protested, “it's been 15 years, and in that time there's been no radio signals, no television broadcasts, no search parties, no boats in the sea, no planes in the sky, nothing.  How do you account for that?  There's been nothing from anyone, from no government or authority on the planet in fact?  Where is everybody?  It's like someone flicked a switch and all the lights went out, every single light on the whole fucking planet!”

“Maybe a bit peculiar,” Summer conceded, watching David exhale smoke from his mouth, blowing thick, grey rings into the still, cool air.

“Maybe they are hiding from us,” Isla suggested.

“Exactly! Exactly! David said excitedly, tapping his hand on the sand.  “They are all fucking hiding in their cosy little holes somewhere.”

“Sounds a bit far-fetched, though, don't you think?” Summer said.  “Not all the governments could be hiding, surely.”

“Yes, perhaps,” Isla added. “Anyhow, something would get out, whistleblowers, etcetera, etcetera.”  David pulled gently on his beard. 
Good point
, he thought. 
The power struggles within a government under stress would surely have produced some kind of political signature that would have been spotted by now.

“I just can't believe it, that's all,” David said as he buried his cigarette stub in the sand with his finger, frowning with frustration.  “I mean, all the plebs that had nothing are running around doing well, at least struggling well, but those high and mighty folks with all their sophistication, and what have you, are surprisingly absent from the game, including their technology.”

“Well, just look behind you, David.” Summer said. “That rocket, it's fucked.  It's buried in sand.  They need radar, computers, all wiped out in the blast.”

“A bad example,” David protested.  “I’m sure that was a museum piece well before the supernova.”

“It's so obvious,” David continued, holding out his hands with a grin.  “They were prepared, a long time before the supernova.  The high and mighty knew what was coming, and they got organised to protect their status, and it has been so exquisite, so clandestine in its execution.”

“So, shall we dig some out?” Summer asked, not sure if she was joking or not.  David nodded eagerly with a laugh, “Yes, let's dig the bastards out!”

“If true, what a bunch of cunts,” Isla said with a sigh.  “I mean, letting us all go to hell.” 

David nodded again, “Yes, but one day they will slip up, and somebody will see them.”

“Where do you think they all are?” Summer asked, quickly gaining interest in the subject, seeing some opportunities to exploit.

“Has to be underground,” David replied.

“Underground, deep under the sea,” Isla said with a grin.  “No fucker would find them there.”

“No, it would be much simpler than that,” David said, his face animated with excitement.”

“Really?” Isla asked surprised.

“They are probably walking and breathing just below our feet.  Maybe they even pop up from time to time for some fresh air.”  Isla and Summer laughed. 

“What if someone finds them, someone like me for instance?” Summer asked with baited breath as she gently stroked Dagger’s back.

“I’m sure they wouldn't let that happen, but if it did, they would have to kill you to protect their game.”

“Maybe I’ll kill them,” Summer replied, not liking the thought of being slain to protect someone's lies.

“But first they would torture you, to retrieve all your secrets,” David joked.

“I don't have any secrets,” Summer giggled.  “They would be wasting their time!”

“Then you would have to make something up; something dark and juicy, just to save yourself,” David said with a raised eyebrow and a wry smile.

Isla giggled, “I have loads of steamy gossip I could tell them about her...”  Summer quickly slapped her hand over Isla's mouth before she could say anymore.  Dagger barked as he awoke from his slumber, startled by the slap.

They all joked as the skies darkened, all looking up as a group of ravens settled on a dead tree beside them to roost for the night, staring down at them curiously with their dark and beady eyes.  Dagger yawned, glancing up at them with suspicion before falling back asleep.

Shopping Trolley

              Skylar slowed the bike and pulled up onto the verge.

              “Hope pooch will be alright back at the cottage by himself.” she said as she took a sip of water from her bottle, passing it back to Jeff.

              “I’m sure he will.  We should make him a little seat for the bike,” he joked.

Skylar laughed, “I’m sure he would like that.” Jeff poured the water from the bottle into his mouth not giving a shit if he wasted any.  He was so exhausted that he felt he was beyond caring about anything anymore.  Skylar quickly snatched the bottle back, shaking her head. 

She got off the bike and looked around.  There were a few birds circling overhead which Skylar thought unusual.  Jeff looked up also, wondering if they cared anymore, if they ever did.

“Come on, a few miles more,” Skylar insisted, “you never know what may turn up.”  She got back on the bike and cruised slowly down the road.

              “Maybe it's not a good idea you know, that we travel together; Laren, Callee, then Tawny and Dawlis,” Jeff said despairingly.  “Everyone I befriend either dies or disappears.  It's like I’m cursed or something.  It could be you next, anything could happen; there one minute, gone the next,” he rambled on, looking at Skylar for some comfort. 

Skylar patted Jeff on the head, “I guess you have been unlucky, but it's an unlucky World at the moment, just realise that.”  Skylar suddenly stopped, staring gobsmacked at what was in the road ahead.  Jeff wondered why she pulled over again so soon and followed her rigid stare down the road until he could see what had startled her.  A shopping trolley, standing proud in the middle of the tarmac, stuffed with someone’s possessions.  Jeff tugged Skylar's blouse. 

She looked down as he whispered, “Do you think we have company?” He paused, waiting for her to answer, but she seemed bewildered, distant he thought, so continued to regain her attention, “Not often you see a shopping trolley full of someone's belongings in the middle of the road.  I mean, it's not normal, surely?  It used to be, perhaps in the time before, but not now.  First shopping trolley I have seen in a long while, and it's full, full to the brim; looks like clothes, a bit of food and some other shit.” Skylar put her finger over Jeff’s lips to shut him up, then tugged him across to the verge. 

She bent down and looked him in the eye with a serious concern in hers, “I think it's a trap.”  She got back up, turning around, surveying the road and desert for signs of activity, but there was nothing and nobody apart from the old shopping trolley.  It had a huge dent in the front and a bright orange handlebar, looking conspicuously out of place on a deserted highway, even if it was a post-apocalyptic highway, she thought.

“You think there is someone hiding somewhere, to ambush us when we get to the trolley?” Jeff asked. 

Skylar shrugged her shoulders, “It's a bit weird for sure?” 

Jeff looked around across the wide open prairie, “But where is there to hide?”  Skylar looked south down the road, the heat shimmering upwards from the tarmac, then looked north until her eyes met the escarpment of the snowy hills. 

“You know, it could be a trigger device,” she said, looking at Jeff, noticing how red and burnt his skin had become. 
The incoming radiation is probably getting stronger the further north we go; something is going to get us sooner or later,
she thought.
“
Look at the metal bars, all bent or broken.  Some are dark and charred, even melted in parts like it's been used as one before.”

“You mean as a bomb!”  Jeff looked at Skylar and then at the trolley, “You're saying you get to it, have a rummage around, and bang, your flying through the air in pieces.” 

Skylar folded her arms looking intently at the trolley, “Perhaps,” pursing her lips. 

“Sounds a bit far-fetched, though.  There’s no one here.  What would they gain?” Jeff replied.  Skylar looked back south, down the road, through the warm wavering air that was slowly rising above the road.

“They, as you call them, are waiting for someone.  Waiting for someone to come this way; someone they want rid of, and this is their trap.” 

Jeff threw his hands in the air, “But there is no one here!” 

“They don’t need to be,” Skylar quickly replied. “They’re like hunters, leaving a trap at night in the area where they know their prey roams.  Then, the following morning they’ll come back to see if there’s a meal waiting for them.” 

Skylar put her hand out across Jeff's chest to stop him from walking any further, “Stop!”  The trolley’s not the trigger, but the bait.”  She looked down the road and around the trolley, looking for any evidence of recent activity, but could see none.” 
Not even a scratch. Everything looks perfect; no footprints, tyre tracks, signs of digging.  Fuck!  Maybe Jeff is right.  Maybe it's just an abandoned trolley.  But why?  Why leave all your stuff unless you were abducted, and even then the bandits would have taken the stuff with them anyway? 
Jeff patted Skylar on the back and pointed down to the road behind him.  There lying on the road was a piece of wire, its red insulation trimmed at one end as if it was primed to connect to something. 

“Shit!”  Skylar cried out, “Maybe we are already in the danger zone.” 

Jeff stayed as still as possible, “You mean we could step on something at any moment and well...?”  Jeff thought Skylar was going into meltdown, her face looking confused with fear.  “I have an idea,” Jeff said, looking at their footprints behind them in the dusty road.  “We just walk back to where we came from, over our own tracks.”  Skylar nodded.  They both slowly turned and followed their steps back south down the road. 

Skylar put her hand to her brow feeling the sweat,
They’re already here.  The cunts and bastards from the south.  Probably breeding more cunts and bastards; will we ever be free? 

It was several minutes before they felt they were out of the danger zone.  They glanced back, looking at the trolley; stationary, creepy and mysterious. 

“Be good to know what’s in that trolley, though.  It’s really starting to bug me.  What do you think; gold, silver, champagne perhaps?”  Jeff asked as Skylar gave out a quick giggle.

“Perhaps.  Maybe it's worth the risk then if you went and had a look,” Skylar said.

Jeff looked at her with a wry smile, “Maybe, and if I get there alive and back, I will surely keep everything for myself.”  Jeff realised what was coming next and shook his head, waving his hands, trying to stop Skylar from speaking.  “No, no, no,” he insisted. 

Her smile widened, “And if you don’t, I will have no choice but to keep everything for myself.”  Jeff stood there still shaking his head, laughing.

“Ok, ok.  I would hope for a good burial, though, considering my friends good fortune.” 

“If I could find all the pieces of you, of course I would oblige.”

“No, don’t, stop it.”  Jeff covering his eyes at the thought. 

“Who do you think is the intended victim?”  he asked.  Skylar shrugged her shoulders, looking north towards the icy mountains.

“I don’t know, but whoever he or she is, must want something really bad, so bad that someone is prepared to put an awful stop to it all.”  Skylar turned her head south, looking back down the lonely road, “Can you hear something Jeff, coming from the South?”  Jeff looked down the road, holding his hands above his eyes, shielding them from the fierce Sun.  He shook his head before lying down on the road, placing an ear to the road.  Skylar smiled nervously.

“Anything?” she asked.

“It’s certainly a very warm road.”  He put his finger to his lips, focusing hard on the ground with his ear.  There was a long silence before he swiftly jumped onto his feet, looking south again.

“Let’s get out of here!” he suddenly remarked, looking spooked.  “Sounds like vehicles approaching, and many, too many!”

They both ran back towards the bike as a motorcade appeared on the horizon; dark blue diesel exhausts towering above them in an ominous, hazy mist.

“Quick get on,” Skylar said as she kick-started the engine into life.  Jeff just managed to jump his arse onto the seat behind her as the bike lurched forward, its back wheel spinning, digging into the dry soil, the bike sliding frantically away from the road and into the dusty plains.  The bike rattled onwards west as Jeff looked over his shoulder to the south, the motorcade becoming clearer.  There was a tanker, some large buggies and several bikes cruising slowly northwards.  Skyla also looked and slowed the bike, turning it behind a ridge before coming to an abrupt stop.  They both looked again, enthralled at the vehicles moving north at a steady speed, the groan of the tanker’s engines suggesting it was pulling a full load as it spurted thick, black smoke into the air.

“I once thought I saw some sort of oil wells on my travels north,” Skylar said.

“Thought of sort you saw?” Jeff asked, looking at Skylar with a confused frown.

“Well,” Skylar smirked, “from a distance, you know, and through the haze, I could see those things that move up and down.”

“Pumps?”

“I don’t know what they’re called.  They looked like giant pistons that slowly moved up and down.”

“Yes, pumps; they pump the oil from the depths of the Earth, upwards to the ground.”

“Okay, pumps then.”

“And you rode on by without checking them out.”

Skylar shrugged her shoulders, “Not much a girl can do by herself.”

“Black gold, the cause of all our problems still,” Jeff said philosophically.

“Well, there’s more to go around now, you would have thought,” Skylar replied, watching the convoy come to a stop.

“These don’t look like the sharing type, though,” Jeff replied.  “Looks like they’ve spotted the trolley, though.  This could be interesting.”  They both watched as men jumped from their vehicles, congregating into a group, looking and pointing at the trolley.  They pushed one guy forward to take a look.

“Doesn’t seem too keen to go, does he,” Jeff said.

“Not keen at all,” Skylar added as she watched the man reluctantly walk towards the trolley, looking back in panic at his fellow men.  He walked slowly, and then turned around with his hand on his hips, shaking his head.  There were shouts as the men waved him onwards, one guy with a gun pointing at him.

“Damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” Jeff said with a smirk.

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you,” Skylar sniggered.

“Best entertainment since those darned gamma rays fucked with the TV waves.”

“Poor guy.  I wonder what he did to deserve this?”

“Probably looked at the boss’s daughter’s tits.”  Skylar slapped Jeff on the back as the guy pushed the trolley with a defiant grunt.  Time stopped for Skylar as a roar of light and sound rocketed down both sides of the road as if in spurts of slow motion, engulfing the tanker as it exploded into balls of flames consuming the other vehicles.

“Think they parked up a bit too close,” Jeff said, his eyes wide with excitement.

“You’re really enjoying this for Christ’s sake,” Skylar said, her mouth opening wide with shock.

“This is much better than TV, even reality TV doesn’t get this good.  This is a ringside seat, up close but not too close to get our fingers burnt.”  Skylar slapped Jeff on the back again.  “Looks like the gimp is still standing.  Nice cards!” Jeff sniggered as they both watched the man look at the destruction around him in bewilderment.

“It’s your lucky day, dude!”  Jeff shouted out, bursting into a fit of laughter.

“Be quiet!” Skylar hissed.  “You’re worse than the devil himself.”

“No, no; the devil went away.  There are no men left to corrupt.  Look at me; am I behaving normally?” Jeff said, pointing at himself.

Skylar curled her lips, “He just watches now through our eyes…”

“…lying back with a bottle of Jack and a cigar,” Jeff interrupted.  The man turned around full circle before putting his hands on his head in disbelief.

“Don’t know why he’s looking so surprised?” Jeff said, shrugging his shoulders.  “Appears your instincts were right, Skylar.  I would have fared better by the looks, though, than you would have if I had rummaged through that stuff in the trolley.”

Skyla looked at Jeff with sly smile, “Come on, let’s get out of here, before whoever set the trap comes along to see what they’ve snared.”

“I think I’ve snared something unexpected,” a man’s voice said sharply as they began to walk back towards the bike.  Skylar and Jeff suddenly turned to look who was behind them.  “However, I doubt the surprise will amount to much,” the man continued.  Jeff gasped, Skylar standing still with shock as they saw the men and a woman standing in a line behind them.  The man who spoke wore a hood over his head, his face barely visible.  Only his blue eyes and mouth could be seen, one eye scarred such that its white was a bloody red.  It looked dry and sore.  The face of the other men, three in all, were exposed above their neck scarves, their expressions were of surprise and curiosity.  The woman, tall and blonde, looked out of place in the group, Jeff thought, an underlying air of tension in her face.  Skylar noticed a red scar, prominent on her cheek.  It reminded her of the crucifix as if it was stamped there with the blood of Christ himself. The hooded man eventually laughed.  Skylar gulped as she glanced at Jeff’s pale face.