Sand Red

22

We were marched to the camp, me hanging off the necks of my friends. The place was closed and empty and the wind whistled through the buildings nestled together, as one would expect at midnight. The group left us behind at the perimeter and only the big man and a boy remained. I noticed none of them had rifles. They must've been poorer than us.

'You can bed here,' the man said, showing us a broken building. We stepped inside carefully, surveying the rubble.

'Sorry, it's all we have left. This place is small.'

'We're okay,' Yul nodded.

'Syenin will keep an eye on you.' He gestured to the boy. He grinned. 'I think you have some weapons left.'

'We gave them all to you,' Yul said coolly.

The man shrugged. 'No matter. He will guard you.' Guard them from us more like.

Syenin eyed us distastefully, hand on the hilt of his sword.

'Don't underestimate him,' the man said airily and then turned around and walked away as though it were every day he welcomed strangers into his camp. Who knew. Maybe it was.

Yul put me down heavily. I sat down on the ground, gritting my teeth against the fresh wave of pain. I've been shot twice before and I swear there's no place for a bullet like a rib if you're looking for the most painful experience there is.

Syenin marched off to the outside of the broken walled waste without a backward glance.

'We can't sleep in here,' Aida said.

'Aye,' Yul agreed. 'This roof could cave in tonight.' Neither of us spoke about the death of our campers and the cannonball in our roof, though I knew Yul was thinking it too.

'We'll bed down outside.'

The two of them left to dig us sand holes outside and I was left with Syenin. 'You should face us if you're here to keep us in line,' I told him casually.

'I am here to keep you safe,' he said stiffly. He didn't turn. He spoke Russian haltingly, stumbling over the sounds as though he were used to more flowing vowels.

'So, can you make glass?'

He was silent for so long I had abandoned the conversation, then he said,'We can't. But the farming that other man talked about, that sounds like something.' He turned towards me, then hesitantly, 'Is it possible?'

I nodded.

'So there is hope?'

'We can live a long life, but mankind is still going to die.'

He seemed to think about this. 'I don't understand why you would go to all this effort then.'

'So we don't die.'

He looked straight at me. His eyes were strangely blue against his tan skin, I noticed in the moonlight. 'I know I will die thirsty. I don't mind.'

He was young, just a child. 'We are doing it for the children of our people.'

He looked at me another moment before turning his back to me again. I waited by the sacks for Yul and Aida to come get me.

When they had helped me out onto the sand, I lay down on my back and the stars shone down bright on my face and the pain had become my constant companion. Yul and Aida nestled down beside me, speaking lowly among themselves and in the gentle lull of their chatter, I fell deeply and tiredly asleep.