Reaper's Lullaby

Gus: Shred

"There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread."
— Mahatma Gandhi

The excitement, the rush, of being on his own had worn off about an hour ago. Now Gus was just cold and scared. He was more afraid than he'd been on Skid Row, where he was surrounded by dangerous and unpredictable people. The open and empty desert was somehow more terrifying than the thought of being robbed or beat up. It was so still and silent. And dark. Like another planet.

The only sound came from Gus's shoes as he stepped over rocks and dodged cacti and little scurrying night animals. He heard a long, wolf like howl from far away, the sound of it like a lonely ghost filling the night with sadness. Gus paused when he heard it. It could have been a dog, but what if there were wolves out here? Real wolves? He didn't have any protection and had only thought to grab four water bottles before making his escape. He was easy prey for anything big and hungry.

He shouldn't have left.

He shouldn't have done this.

He should turn back.

Or was it left? Right? He didn't know, and he didn't want to admit he was lost.

Maybe it was time to make camp. There was a massive rock formation he'd been following for awhile, and one of its cliffs provided deep shadows of safety; safety from whatever lurked out here tonight and safety from the sun tomorrow if he wanted it, but he knew it would be best to keep moving if he wanted to find civilization.

Gus unzipped his bag and spread his blanket on the ground, making sure to avoid any spiny cacti or ant's nest. Then he took off his coat and spread it over himself. He was shivering, and his teeth chattered. Overhead the stars were gathering in the night sky, a million dazzling clumps of diamonds scattered across the smoky white breath of the Milky Way.

"Mahaylia," he whispered. "Do you see this?"

"'Course I do, dummy," she responded in his head, her smile pinned up with those dimples he loved so much.

"Adam, what about you? You see it?"

"I'm dead, not blind, Mouse," Adam said flatly.

Gus chuckled. "Why y'all gotta be dead? I need you."

"You need somebody dat's alive," Mahaylia said gently. "Like dat Lucas kid."

"Him? Psh. Don't listen to her, Gus. That guy's no good for you," Adam said.

"He's straight, Adam. You don't gotta be jealous," Gus said.

"For now. I know you could turn him if you keep on smilin' at him like you do. Nobody can resist that smile you got," Adam said, frowning.

"I know dat's right," Mahaylia chimed in.

Gus rolled his eyes. "So if not him, who? You told me to find someone else so you could go to the light."

"I know, I know... I'm still thinkin'."

"Oooh, Gus, you know whatchu need?" Mahaylia asked.

"What?"

"You needa new image. Like, getchu some tats and piercings. New threads. Getcher hair did. Get dat bad-boy vibe goin' on. Dem white girls'll eat you up."

Gus laughed. "Bad boy vibe?"

"Dat's what I said! I wanna see you lookin' like a rock star!"

"I'm too tired to even think about it. Guys, I'm gonna fall asleep," Gus said.

"Okay, sweetie. You sleep tight," Mahaylia said. She blew him a kiss and was gone.