Chapter 10

Uncertainty

Dust stared uneasily as four men stepped into the large culvert. He kept Sammy behind him. Todd must have realized that this could also be dangerous as he had disappeared back into the car and was crouched down in the seat. Glancing back and forth, Dust waited to see which one spoke first. 

“That was some fancy driving for a boy,” an older man reflected. 

Dust noticed that he stopped about four feet away, keeping a safe space between them. The man looked to be in his early fifties. He was partially bald on top and had a weathered face like he had spent most of his life outside in the sun. He was dressed in a pair of faded jeans with a dark red button up shirt and a pair of well-worn boots. There was nothing unusual about the man’s clothing. What caught and held Dust’s attention was the rifle in the man’s hand.

“Thank you,” Dust murmured, shifting to the left a little when another man tried to get a good look at Sammy. 

“Where you from?” The man asked.

“South,” Dust replied.

A soft chuckle from another one of the men drew Dust’s attention. He stiffened when the younger man pointed his gun at him. Instinctively, his hands clenched in preparation.

“He doesn’t talk much, does he, Beau?” The young man chuckled.

“Shut up, Alex, and keep your damn gun pointed down,” Beau replied in a curt tone. “How many times do I have to tell you that? You’re going to shoot somebody one of these days.”

“What’s the girl’s name?” Another one of the men asked, trying to get a better look at Sammy.

Dust turned to look at the man with a piercing stare. “Why do you want to know?” He asked.

“Back off, Howard,” Beau said with a wave of his hand. “If you haven’t figured it out, my name is Beau. I’m in charge of the compound. That is Alex, Howard, and Randolph.”

Dust turned to look at each man as Beau pointed to them. He nodded his head to each man, but didn’t say anything. These were the first people other than Sammy and Todd that they’d met. They appeared normal, but then again, so did he. At least, he thought he did. It took a minute for him to realize that Beau was waiting for him to respond in kind. Wiping his right hand down his pant leg, he drew in a deep breath before he spoke. 

“I’m Dust,” he said in a husky voice. “This is Sammy. Todd’s in the car.”

Dust watched as Beau nodded and glanced in the car at Todd. Todd murmured a quiet greeting when he said his name. His lips tightened when the man looked appraisingly at Sammy before he looked through the back window of the car at the items they had gathered.

“We might as well get back to the compound,” Beau commented. “We got caught out in the storm as well. Randolph and I will ride with you while Alex and Howard drive the trucks.”

“Aw, Beau,” Alex grumbled, shooting Sammy a grin. “I wanted to sit with the girl.”

Beau pursed his lips. “That’s why you are driving the other truck.”

“No,” Dust said in a husky, but determined voice. “We’ll follow you, but no one rides with us.”

“Like hell…,” Alex started to say, but stopped when Beau chuckled. 

“No, the boy’s smart. He knows to be cautious. I wish I could say that about some of the others,” Beau commented.

“Others?” Sammy asked, speaking for the first time. “How many others?”

Beau smiled at Sammy. “Ten,” he replied.

“Ten,” Sammy repeated her eyes widening at the thought of there being so many others in one place. 

Dust reached back and touched Sammy’s arm. It was just enough for her to know that he wanted her to get in the car. Sammy understood his silent message and slid along the car so that she could crawl through the driver’s sit to the passenger’s side. Only when she was safely in the seat did Dust step up to the door.

“We’ll follow you,” he told Beau with a nod of his head.

“Let’s go boys,” Beau said, jerking his head to the others. “Just drive forward. This ditch goes along for about a half mile before there’s a cutoff where you can drive out.”

Dust nodded and started the car, inching it forward behind the men. He blinked in the bright sunlight. Ahead of him, he could see another large culvert where the other section of road crossed over. It was hard to see what the land above looked like after the tornado. It took a little while for the men to turn the trucks they were driving around. They must have seen the storm coming and headed for the gulch as well, only from the opposite direction. 

“Do you think it is safe?” Sammy asked, staring at the two trucks. 

“I don’t know,” Dust admitted reluctantly. 

“I don’t like this, Sammy,” Todd said, leaning forward. “You couldn’t see the other guy, but he kept staring at you.”

“He wasn’t the only one,” Dust muttered under his breath. 

Sammy giggled and reached over to lay her hand on his thigh. An intense wave of possessiveness swept through Dust at her touch. She and Todd were his to protect. Sammy may not have seen Randolph’s intense look, but Dust had. A part of him wanted to take off, just keep heading north, while another part of him wondered if he was just being paranoid. 

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“Thank you, both of you, for looking out for me,” Sammy replied in a quiet voice. “Why don’t we see what it is like? If we don’t like it, we take off and keep heading north.”

“I think we should do that now,” Todd said in a sullen voice before he sat back in his seat. 

Dust looked in the rear view mirror at Todd. The little boy sat with his arms crossed and a mutinous, stubborn pout on his face. He winked at Todd to let him know that he felt the same way. Still, if Sammy wanted to give it a couple of days, it might be worth it. They could all use some decent sleep and a hot meal. 

“Todd, hide the food we’ve found under the other stuff,” Dust ordered as another worry struck him. 

“Why?” Todd asked, already undoing his seat belt so he could start moving things around. 

“You’re afraid they’ll take our food?” Sammy asked, biting her bottom lip and turning to watch Todd.

Dust nodded. “We just need to be careful. If they take our food, who knows when we’ll find any more,” he said, glancing at her. “I want you and Todd to stay close to me. We can’t let them separate us.”

Sammy nodded. “Okay,” she whispered, glancing back out the front window as they began to slow down. 

None of them said anything else as they drew to a stop along a flat area with the remains of several buildings. The truck in the front paused in front of a long half domed building. It looked like it had been half buried on each side except the front. 

“What is it?” Sammy asked, leaning forward and bracing her hands on the dash.

Dust shook his head. “I’m not sure,” he muttered, bending forward as well so he could see better. “Just, stay close to me.”

“We will,” Sammy promised, sitting back and resting her hand on his leg again. 

Dust swallowed when he saw one of the men open the double doors. He eased his foot off the brake and let the car roll forward behind the other two as they entered the building. There was something about Sammy’s touch that calmed him while at the same time confused him. 

He thought about the kiss he had given her earlier. He didn’t know why he had kissed her. Heck, he didn’t even realize what he was doing until his lips touched hers. It had been… amazing! He was startled when he felt a warmth deep inside him and his… Dust glanced down at his lap in shock. 

“Dust, stop!” Sammy said, moving her hand to brace against the dash again.

Dust’s head jerked up, and he slammed his foot on the brake just inches from the truck in front of him. He felt his cheeks warm and was thankful for the dark interior of the building so that Sammy couldn’t see him blushing. Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, he hoped that the rest of his body returned to normal before it was light enough to see. 

“I don’t see no one else,” Todd said, breaking into his thoughts. 

Dust looked around the interior of the building. Dozens of large crates were stacked along the walls. Further down, he could see two more trucks parked. They were larger box trucks used for moving and hauling stuff. He reached for the door handle and pushed it opened. Twisting, he breathed a sigh of relief when he felt his body return to normal. 

He grabbed the back door when Todd pushed it open and slid out. Closing it, Dust glanced over at Sammy as she got out of the passenger side and closed the door. Reaching down, he pulled the keys out of the ignition and pocketed them before pressing the lock button on the door and closing it.

“This way,” Beau said, nodding his head. “The rest of you unload the trucks and bring the items downstairs.”

“Downstairs?” Sammy whispered, reaching out her hand to grab a hold of Todd’s cold fingers.

Dust blinked. Now, he remembered where he had seen a building like this. It had been in one of his games. He reached out and stopped Sammy when she started to walk ahead of him. 

“It’s an old military silo,” he whispered, nodding to the end of the building. They had buildings like this. They must have moved this one in front of the entrance to the silo.”

Fear swept across Sammy’s face and she pulled back, dragging Todd with her. Dust could feel her trembling and she was shaking her head. He slid his hand down her arm and grasped her free hand. 

“I’ll be with you,” he promised, squeezing her fingers. “I told you I’d protect you and Todd.”

Sammy visibly swallowed and nodded her head. “I know, but aren’t they really deep? This isn’t like the storm shelter behind the house. This goes way down in the ground, doesn’t it?” She asked in a barely audible voice.

“Come on, Dust,” Beau called out. “I’ll introduce the three of you to the others.”

“Yeah, it does,” Dust responded before he started forward. “Together.”

“Together,” Sammy and Todd murmured at the same time as they stepped up to the narrow staircase leading down into the ground.