Timber

Chapter Thirty-Two: Winds of Peril

The term 'sandstorm' felt like too benign of a word to describe the monstrous entity advancing upon them. The howling of the wind seemed to carry the screams of a thousand lost souls. The storm's fury began to swallow the landscape, erasing the distinction between earth and sky.

At that moment, Hazel understood the true meaning of insignificance. Against the might of such a storm, their plans, their conflicts, and even their very lives seemed inconsequential. The realization that they were mere specks in the face of such an overwhelming force was both humbling and terrifying. She had never experienced anything remotely close to it. The threat was so foreign, an unknown language of nature to her.

Her initial shock gave way to a deep, visceral fear. Hazel and Silus followed as Aaron ran to Mia; his clothing billowed around him. Mia hoisted herself to her feet, head turned, taking in the onslaught about to be unleashed. The world began to warp, and the first fingers of the deluge seemed to reach out, thrashing the edges of their reality, ushering in a haze of sand that clawed at Hazel's throat and eyes.

"We have to run!" Silus's voice pierced through the roar of the storm; his face drained of color as he craned his neck up at the towering wall of sandy air. It loomed closer, a relentless tide of destruction promising to engulf everything in its path.

"No!" Aaron countered as he shook his head. "We won't be able to outrun it. We have to find shelter."

Hazel glanced back toward the cave, but the swirling sand had masked its entrance, erasing any sign of their former sanctuary.

"Where?" she called out, her voice barely audible. Disorientation engulfed them like the swirling sand as the first layers of the storm showered down.

Silus seized Hazel's hand, his palm clammy, gritty, and slick with perspiration, as he dragged her away. "We have to get out of this tract."

Aaron and Mia followed behind, Aaron's strained voice echoing through the wind. "I told you. You won't outrun this. You'll just become disoriented, and we'll become separated."

Hazel tugged on Silus's hand, raising her voice to be heard over the raging gale. "Silus, wait!" He paused, fear glinting in his eyes as he glanced back at the approaching tempest. "We've never dealt with anything like this. They're from the desert; they know what to do."

Realization dawned on Silus's face as the wind continued to buffet them. Relenting to Hazel's suggestion, he slowed his pace, allowing Aaron and Mia to catch up. Aaron scanned their surroundings, his gaze fixed on a point in the distance. "There, let's go there!" he shouted, pointing to a nearby ditch.

With no time to spare, they hurried to the trench in the earth, the storm's full wrath unleashed around them. The boundaries of their temporary haven blurred as the landscape reshaped under the relentless onslaught. Sand particles stung her exposed skin as they huddled together.

"We need to hunker down. Do whatever you can to keep the sand out of your mouth and nose," Aaron yelled.

Silus's voice was faint with his hands over his eyes, "We need a miracle." Surrounded by a tempest, Hazel found herself coughing, the air thick with millions of particles that invaded her lungs and coated her skin. She wiped her face; her fingers came away gritty. Mia was coughing and hacking, her shirt pulled up over her nose and mouth. It was then, amidst the storm's fury, that a spark of realization ignited within her. Fill your bellies, not the air. The air will fill itself. Thank Festus! We have a miracle, well, two miracles. But we need four.

With a newfound sense of urgency, Hazel darted behind Silus, tugging at the zipper of his backpack. The zipper yielded to her, revealing the contents they had almost forgotten—the two face coverings gifted by Festus. Her hands trembled as she clutched the precious fabric. She reached behind her and pulled out an axe from her waistband.