The dune drifter saved me. In the beginning, I wasn't sure why. But after awhile, I realized that perhaps it was because he had found someone who lost almost as much as he had. Someone who carried that guilt all day, every day.
I was walking alongside the silent nomad when he suddenly halted. I looked at him and saw that he was straining to hear. He put his hand out to signal me to stay still. Then I heard it. A cackling sound perhaps from the other side of the dune.
My heart sank when I saw the fear in his eyes. I made a stance to run towards where he hid the car. But when I saw that he wasn't moving, I ran over to him.
"We should-"
"-Shh," he cut me off. "It's too late, they'll see us."
He motioned for me to back up towards the debree of the plane we just ransacked.
He frantically looked around. I followed his lead and found a spot, beneath a beaten peice of metal. He tilted his head at me, seemingly weighing the option of hiding with me or finding his own place. After eyeing his surroundings, he got beside me and we held the metal over us, laying in the sand.
The noise was terrifying. It sounded like a group of buccaneers joyriding in a self-made kart made of electric chainsaws. We would never know because they were gone as quick as they appeared.
Even though they were probably light years away by now, he and I laid perfectly still, not willing to risk it. After a few more minutes he moved the metal cautiously. Looking at me, he nodded. One nod. It was okay to come out.
As I followed him back to where he hid his car, I walked across something that was wooden. It felt strange compared to endless sand and metal...it was almost like a hatch inside the dune. Upon closer inspection, I could see an outline of brick. I backed up and carefully stomped my foot on the wood. It was dried and gave way immediately. Sand poured into a vast dark chasm beneath my foot. I backed up, staring into it.
I looked up, startled to see that he was standing next to me. He was looking at the chasm with equal curiosity. He handed me his gas can to hold, then very carefully, he edged himself into the hole and allowed the sand to help slide him downward.
I watched him move out of site. I waited, and I contemplated following him. Just as I was about to set the gas can down, he appeared at the bottom of the chasm and held out his arms motioning me to slide down. As he helped me down I couldn't believe the room I saw!
It was a place very different from all the others we've found. I slowly walked around noticing that we had just come down a chimney. There was a dining room and a large bookcase. So many mundane things that we hadn't seen in years. A chandelier, a couch. It was surreal. He walked around looking at it all. I know he was just as stunned as I was. We've found and bunked in a ton of strange little hidey holes for who knows how long now. But never had we found a place like this before.
As we ventured away from the light source above, he lit his match. There was an ordinary hallway with bedrooms, closets. A bathroom! We looked at eachother in awe. He continued to search every room, looking mostly for dead bodies. For once, we found no death. I followed him into a bedroom that was for a child. Drawings and toys were all over the floor. It was decorated with blue wallpaper and bright yellow stars. He paused for a long time, taking it all in.
He did not meet my eyes in this room like he had in all the others. I looked at the floor in morose understanding. He circled around and walked out. I followed him to the opening and watched him climb out.
After a few minutes, he came back with some supplies. He'd dragged a large metal peice from above with some rope. When he handed me the supplies, he pulled the metal over the opening. I had lit the lantern he brought before he could shroud us entirely in the dark.
It was the middle of the day, the time we usually slept. Nights were when we had to keep moving. When the chaos began. While he had been gone, I'd found cans of cashews and a large can of clam chowder. I offered it to him which he gladly accepted. He opened the can and placed it over the fire he had started just so we could actually enjoy warm food for a change. It was odd to start a fire in a fire place. The darkness and the wind blowing above combined with being safe inside, hidden from the world was the most peaceful feeling I'd felt in ages. I'm guessing he felt the same because fell asleep on the floor before he could finish eating.
I curled up on the floor beside him. After all this traveling and sleeping in the sand, it felt strange using a bed much less being in a room. And it would feel even more strange sleeping apart from him.