The Trail

Chapter 2 | Mirage

A warm gust ripped up a stream of sand before it was pushed forward across the ground in a thickening formation. It swept across the wastelands like a rough wave, clutching to anything that was caught in its way. Succulents and trees, the only plants resistent enough to the heat, nearly laid flat against the ground as the force of the wind persistently increased.

Somewhere far away, I could feel dust particles blowing into my eyes and dry mouth. It swept over my stretched out legs and created a small pile of sand against my side. I closed my hand that rested beside my leg and gripped a handful of the warm grains. Yet, I barely felt its rough touch against my skin.

I was present, yet everything felt so distant. I was certain that I was still asleep, caught in a lucid dream. I was even further convinced that so were the case when a familiar whisper reached my ears, slowly making me open my eyes. Tears flooded them to rid them of the dust that had got caught in my lashes.

My eyes flew open, which made them sting terribly, when I heard the softness of my mother's voice call out to me. It traveled with the winds that wore the shade of burgundy and gold, coloured by the sun and rising dust. As I blinked, I thought myself to see the thin fabric of my mother's blue dress, slowly waving in the distance. The mirage rose from the ground, floating over the hot, humid surface before it made its course towards what the compass most likely would have shown as West.

That's when I saw it.

The small eucalyptus tree, that I was seated below, was engaged by a thick wall of sand that moved in rapid speed. That was when I felt Juniper licking and nudging my hand in a desperate attempt to try and wake me up. I wondered why she hadn't just barked right into my ear.

Quickly, I got on my feet, grimacing as I felt every sore part of my body resist at once. There was no time to stretch, however, as we needed to get moving. I quickly gathered my things before I threw the backpack, that probably weighed as much as Juniper, over my shoulders.

I left the tree untouched, with no time to gather the leaves that would have been utmost useful, and started to run after Juniper. I needed to build as much distance to the storm as I possibly could to give me the time needed to find shelter.

Getting caught in a sandstorm would be a nasty way to go. Your lungs would fill up with sand, making you, literally, choke on it. The threat of virus spores being transported through the atmosphere was also greatly increased. For all I knew, I could already be infected.

As I kept moving down the dry road I pulled out my green scarf from my back pocket and tied it around my head, only leaving my eyes exposed. It was the best I could do with what I had in case there wasn't enough time.

Juniper's odds were certainly greater than mine. She could not only run a lot faster, but her duration was also ten, if not more, times better than mine. She was also a lot smaller, which would make it easier for her to find somewhere to wait out the storm. She wasn't one of those typically big and bulky Labrador retrievers that you would see on a dog show. Her body was slim and strong, with tall legs and a beautiful head with deep, amber eyes. I suspected that she was a mixbreed, but with what, I did not know. Whatever her ancestors had looked like, they must have been just as beautiful. I only feared that her loyalty to me would keep her from surviving if I wouldn't be able to keep going. I had to remind myself that it wouldn't be an option.

After all this time, my father's words still echoed through my head. Whatever you do, you must survive.

And so, I remembered the dream. The dream that always began as a cherished memory, but ended in terror. The vision of my mother crying blood flashed before my eyes. With the vision flashing before my eyes I felt a nudge of anxiety behind my ribs and picked up my pace in a pathetic attempt to try and numb it.

Perhaps you can outrun a storm, but you can not outrun yourself, I thought as I kept moving through the barren landscape.

Juniper ran a few metres ahead of me with her tongue dropped. It was still just as hot, if not hotter, as it had been earlier that day. My head felt clogged from dehydration which made it hard to focus on the task at hand. I had to remind myself to keep going, to put one foot in front of the other.

Streams of sand blew past me on both sides as if it, too, wanted to flee. The wind was intensifying and the desert wall could be heard, roaring with fury, as it grew increasingly larger behind us.

My heart felt as if it was going to explode against my chest and my lungs protested by not letting enough oxygen reach my blood flow. It was also getting more difficult to see because of the sand that had us surrounded. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep running for much longer.

"Shit", I panted as I had to slow down.

Juniper glanced back at me with a worried look. She then gave up what sounded like a combination of a howl and a bark before rushing back to me. She squinted her eyes towards the rough wind and pulled her ears back.

"I know, love, I just... I can't keep going", I wheezed due to the lack of air.

I had to stop. The wall of dust had finally caught up with us, tearing and ripping away at my clothes. I bent forward as I tried to gasp for air. The sand was everywhere. It found its way inside of my clothes, into my hair, my eyes and even in under the scarf that I had tied in an attempt to cover my face. I desperately pressed my right hand against it to minimize the intake of sand, while I squeezed my eyes together.

I was screwed.

Juniper barked again, rushing forward for a bit before she returned to my side. All while giving me a begging glance. She always did that when she wanted something...

Or when she had something to show me.

"What is it, girl?", I shouted as I tried to drown out the sound of the raging sandstorm.

It was a lost cause as my words were gone even before they had left my lips.

She gave up another bark and I quickly began to follow her while I bent forward against the wind that did its best to try and hold me back. I couldn't see shit, so I followed what little instinct I had and listened for Juniper to give up another bark.

After what felt like an eternity of staggering in the dark, I felt something hard hit the surface of my palm. I moved my hand across it, thinking that it must be another of my illusions. It were not.

I felt Juniper's soft side against my leg. I bent down, and grabbed her collar, as I let her lead me through a gap between two large boulders clashed together. I opened my eyes, removing my hand that had covered my face, and slowly tried to stabilize my breathing.

The gigantic rocks provided shelter from the storm, but wasn't enough to keep us out of it entirely.

"Be grateful for what you get", I mumbled, reminding me of my own rule.

We had been more than lucky.

I took of my backpack and removed my shirt, leaving me with bare arms as I wore a grey tee shirt beneath. Then, I took the checkered fabric and wrapped it around Juniper's head in order to protect her from further exposure to the sand.

As I leaned my shoulder against the cold stone, I pressed her warm, soft body against mine.

"Thank you", I whispered.

Then, we waited.