Dust

Eight: Into the Desert

It gets everywhere. In your hair, beneath your clothes, into your shoes. It finds its way into your mouth and under your fingernails, and you can't really get rid of it. As soon as you do, more will come to take its place. It's gritty, and uncomfortable, and to be quite frank, annoying as crap.

Your feet sink as you walk into it, making you feel like you've got weights attached to your feet. Plain and simple, sand sucks.

With Felix singing weird traveling songs behind us, Callista by his side, I struggle to catch up to Kyros. We've been walking for about two or three hours now, the dome I grew up in no longer in sight. Titus has been a few feet behind us the whole time, discussing something with Mikhail and Thea.

"We're stuck out here, now. You mind telling me about the Burning?" I ask Kyros, and he just barely glances down at me.

For some reason I can't quite place my finger on, Kyros' prescence is magnetic. Perhaps it stems from his mysterious aura, or maybe it's his elusive answers to my questions. Either way, I'm always intrigued by what he tells me.

Even if he does avoid most of my questions.

"You'll see. It's not something you can really describe. Just..." he starts, but trails off. I can't really read his expression right now; a weird mixture of concern and anger.

"Avoid killing them for as long as you can. They were people, once." he tells me, leaving me even more confused than before. I open my mouth to ask another question, but he speaks before I can say a word.

"Enough. Talk about something else," he commands, and I close my mouth.

The look he shoots at me tells me he won't answer any more questions, so I focus on the steps I take.

"Okay. You got a family?" I ask him, after a few moments of contemplation. A slight smile spreads across his face, and he lets out a chuckle.

"An adopted sister, Kara. She's probably around your age," he tells me, a smile on his face. He obviously cares for her, though I can sense there's a deeper story to the name.

"How'd you end up in the Outside?" I ask him, after a few more moments of silence. Well, kind of silence. Our footsteps, Felix's singing, and Titus's conversation with Mikhail still make noise. Kyros' face grows solemn, and he shoots me an uncomfortable stare. For a few moments, he says nothing, glancing down at his feet.

"I broke a law, sort of. I was too curious about journeying out to find other survivors, and kinda got myself into trouble. Stole some classified stuff and whatever. They kicked me out. In my dome, more extreme lawbreakers are sent out to see what they can find in the desert, but it's really a death sentence. I'll be the first one to actually make it back," he says, and I process for a few moments before letting out a slight scoff.

"If we make it back," I huff, and he shoots me a glare.

"With that attitude, we ain't getting anywhere near the dome, little miss Crankypants," he chuckles, and I raise an eyebrow. Crankypants?! I punch his shoulder, and he winces before bursting out into laughter.

"Relax, Ari. Save your energy," he laughs, obviously teasing. I roll my eyes, but a smile spreads across my face anyway. Kyros is odd, because while I know almost nothing about him, his presence is warm and comforting. I can't say I trust him, because that would be a lie, but I do consider him a friend

My mind drifts back to Mikhail, and I push those thoughts away. Not really the time, Ari. At all.

Felix hits a high note in his song, and Callista shoots him a pointed look.

"Felix! You'll get dehydrated quicker if you don't stop singing!" Callie shouts, and Kyros freezes in his tracks, eyes wide.

"Listen!" he yells, holding up his hand for us to all be silent. Nothing. Complete and utter silence, apart from a wind that blows sand around. It blows over our exposed bodies, and I raise an arm to cover my eyes. The small cloud of dust passes quickly, leaving us standing there with nothing but endless miles of sand in sight.