Enough daylight broke through the storm to reveal waves of dust as they scattered across the abandoned landscape. Our only landmark was the side of the mountain. No roads. No signs. Just dust and silence. The National Guard patrolled only the exterior of the Great Salt Bowl. They wouldn’t have come into the Salt Lake Valley unless they had known we were here.

I shook my head. These thoughts wouldn’t save us.

Mel needed someone to carry her. While I’d thought myself strong, my body didn’t respond well to the day drinking and lack of food. I hesitated as I stood, not wanting to leave her alone for long. I limped to the overturned side-by-side. Each step reignited the fire in my hip. The wind howled.

Chuck and Todd remained unmoving. I swore Todd groaned before I left him. I kicked the frame of the side-by-side. My hands trembled at the clasps of the emergency pouches on the back of the side-by-side. Dirt and salt caked the plastic clasps like an unbreakable sealant. The one that gave got stuck halfway. I slammed my hand against the bag in frustration.

Todd groaned, and I dropped to a knee. He was turning his head back and forth, which was good.

“Please tell me you’re alright,” I said.

Todd dragged his hands to his head and made another awful groaning sound before a burble warned me that something else was about to happen. Well, a sound was better than nothing. The crash shredded the side-by-side’s exterior, and only fragments of the plastic shell remained at the roll cage’s bolt points. Todd’s vomit splattered on the ground as I turned and fought nausea. I searched my pocket for the seatbelt cutter and waited until it sounded like Todd had finished spitting.

“I’m going to cut you out,” I said.

My vision spun as I turned around and had to steady myself for a moment. The alcohol couldn’t still be in my system, right? Following the same approach I used, I cut Todd’s seatbelt, and he collapsed into his vomit in a heap.

“Todd, you need to get up fast. Mel broke her arm. I can’t carry her over here.”
Todd pushed up onto his hands and knees before crawling out of the side-by-side. Maybe I shouldn’t be bossing him around, but he’s clearly the only person who can help me right now. I didn’t think she’d be trying to walk soon.

“Todd, why aren’t you answering me?” I asked.

Todd held up one of his hands, still on hand and knees, and waved it at me.

“Give me one damned second.”

I took an involuntary step back. Todd had never spoken to me like that. His voice was so ragged, and so close to the edge of a yell. I think he might have yelled if he hadn’t been so sick. He was much more forgiving when I broke his phone in high school. Todd rose to his knees and took a deep breath. I tried not to look at the sopping wet spots on his knees. At least he didn’t fully fall into his puke. Then, he opened his eyes, and I recognized the determined man who always prepared himself. The first sense of relief washed over me like rain since I woke up.

“Chuck, are you awake?” Todd asked.

Todd dropped his head and muttered under his breath. I don’t think I was supposed to hear.

“Tolerate and survive.”

I was a little hurt that he didn’t ask if I was okay, but besides my limp, which he wouldn’t have seen, there was nothing visibly wrong with me. Chuck didn’t reply, though, and the wind dried out that relief. Todd moved to the driver’s side and reached for Chuck’s neck. After a moment, he nodded.

“He’s got a pulse,” Todd said.

Todd pressed the base of his palm to his forehead as he leaned against the side-by-side. He cursed. I watched in silence, afraid that anything I might say would send Todd into a person I’d never seen before. I needed my Todd right then, not anything else. The Todd who always prepared and who knew exactly what to do. Thunder clashed. Dark-brown clouds rolled across the land. Todd stepped in front of me and held my chin.

“You need to wake Chuck up, and fast.”

Todd waited until I nodded before he let go of my chin. Luckily, I turned away before the tears fell down my cheeks. Did he see them welling in my eyes?

“Where’s Mel?” Todd asked.

I turned, head down, and pointed to the bush up the short incline. I didn’t have time to say anything before he left. A sudden heat filled my face and mind as I stomped, winced, then limped over to Chuck, still hanging upside down in his seatbelt. This wasn’t my fault. If Chuck hadn’t come, we wouldn’t have had the side-by-side. We might flip the side-by-side, but the missing hood revealed a missing engine. Probably somewhere on the mountainside.

Chuck hung motionless as a stuffed animal. There’s one way to wake him up that might be better than whispering into his ear. I hooked the seatbelt cutter under Chuck’s restraint and tugged. He crashed to the ground headfirst and limp as a sock monkey. I bit my bottom lip. I might have been able to handle that better. Though all regrets disappeared as Chuck swore and rolled out of the side-by-side.

“What the hell happened?” Chuck asked.

Hands on hips, my anger surged, picturing my best friend with a broken arm in a bush. I tried not to wince at the burning pain in my hip from the pressure. I pointed up the mountainside only now realizing how far we’d rolled. The seatbelts had saved us, but how and when did Mel fall out? If she wasn’t wearing one, then why would she be so close to us? My head ached as the thoughts pounded in my skull.

“You drove us off a cliff, you idiot,” I said.

A sudden chill settled in my chest, and Todd walked past without his usual brush of his fingers.

“Nobody is an idiot,” Todd said. “Or we all are. Alice, you’ve woken Chuck up, now go stay with Mel until I can pull this first aid kit out.”

“I-”

“Mel needs you, Alice.”

Todd’s voice didn’t carry any warmth, even with the heat of the day rippling across the sand. Was there a tinge of hate as well? I searched his eyes, but he turned away too fast for a full assessment. He faced Chuck, and I wasn’t sure if he said something or glared at his friend.

“Todd, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Chuck said.

I didn’t hear what Todd said, but I’m sure he was already blaming me for all of this. An unfamiliar ache bulged in the front of my skull, and I had to stop walking. No, Todd wouldn’t talk shit about me behind my back. Would he? I turned back. Todd was hammering at one of the larger pouches on the side-by-side with a rock.

“Alice? Todd? Someone?” Mel yelled.

I shook myself from my concerns and broke into a limping jog toward my friend. She was still right next to the bush, but a small, dark, wet spot forming under her arm. The trail of blood from the open wound made it clear what it was. I forced my gaze to Mel’s eyes, which stared into the sky as she continued to yell.

“Mel, I’m right here.”

I walked around her broken arm and kneeled next to her head. When I finally got in her line of sight, she smiled. A sudden concern burst from my lips as she opened her mouth to speak.

“Did you hurt your neck?”

I hoped that’s why she hadn’t moved when I walked over. Mel shook her head, but I instinctively reached out and held her head center. My one summer working as a lifeguard made me more useful than nothing. Mel swatted at my arms with her unhindered hand. Her face screwed up into a pained expression, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I held on as long as possible. So much spinning. I can’t remember. Moving hurts.”

I laughed with relief. Mel might mumble madness, but she would be okay. Chuck was awake, and everything would be fine. A flash of light drew my attention back up to the sky, and the thunder followed immediately after. Not fifty yards away was the same dark brown wall that glittered in the sunlight. My stomach dropped as I unconsciously screamed for Chuck and Todd to run. It didn’t last long though, as the wind that preceded the storm whipped away any silence.

Todd was pointing somewhere behind me, but when I turned, I couldn’t react fast enough to his warning. The dust wall swallowed them a few feet away from me, before I too found myself surrounded by the wind and sand that cut at my exposed skin. I cried out only to gag as the foul-tasting muck filled my mouth. There was a hand on my arm, and I didn’t really care whose it was. I let them drag me further up the mountainside. I slipped once on something wet on a smooth rock, but whoever was holding my arm hoisted me back up. Thank you, Todd, for not completely hating me.

A gap in the storm freed me from the chaos, and I stumbled to a wind-hollowed alcove. As I tried to push myself up, my groping hand found a hole in the ground, and I almost broke my arm. I looked up to find Chuck bent against the small cave he’d thrown me in, wincing at each gust of wind.

“Todd needs help with Mel,” Chuck said. “You’ve already inhaled enough of the toxins, but you should probably try breathing through your shirt from now on.”

Without giving me time to ask questions, Chuck raised his own shirt to cover his mouth and nose, and turned back into the storm. I mirrored his movement and fought the urge to freak out. Everything around me fell silent except for the wind, and for a moment I was worried they’d abandoned me.

At first, I cried because my mind couldn’t process everything going on around us, and then because the tears stung my raw and cut cheeks as they rolled down. Toxins? What toxins was he talking about? I knew I had the answer somewhere in my mind, but something in my mind bogged my logic down. The ache returned to the front of my head, and I focused on getting into a comfortable position. Arm freed from the hole in the ground, I thought I heard whimpers of an animal, but couldn’t see any. It must have been the wind blowing across the hole.

Todd and Chuck emerged from the thick wall of dust carrying a crying Mel into the alcove. They pushed me to the side. My fists clenched at my side as they forced me to the edge of the alcove where the wind was the loudest. I chided myself for that thought. Yet, I couldn’t stop these little things from getting to me. Something in my gut felt wrong, but I tried to be more worried about my friend than myself for the moment. A little stomach upset after a day of drinking wasn’t uncommon.

A shimmering sand cast covered the once exposed white bone protruding from Mel’s arm. The red-tinted edges gave way to oozing blood, which made the cast more like a false protection. Todd pulled out a brown plastic bottle and poured the clear liquid onto the false cast. Mel screamed.

“It’s burning!”

Todd pulled the bottle away and set it next to him.

“Shit, if we can’t clean it, it’s going to get infected. I should have brought alcohol instead. Dammit.”

Todd punched the ground next to Mel, who had resorted to whispering. Chuck had crouched next to the dark trail in the dirt. A set of howls in the distance that definitely didn’t sound like the wind. Chuck’s gaze went back and forth between Mel and the trail leading into the storm. He looked at me. I pulled my shirt up to cover my mouth and nose. I felt like a child who’d been caught not listening to her parents. Chuck nodded, then pulled his own shirt to cover his mouth.

“Todd, you need to splint that so we can move,” Chuck said. “Mel’s blood might draw animals, and the faster we close it up the better.”

I should have been nicer when I cut Chuck out of the seatbelt. That knock on his head almost seemed to have reprogrammed him. Todd pulled a flat, foam-looking thing he bent around his arm before setting it gently on Mel’s arm. Mel whimpered and shook her head.

“I don’t want to move.”

It was my turn to help my friend, who had always supported me. Todd put a wad of gauze on Mel’s exposed bone before wrapping a bandage around her arm. Each time he applied pressure to the wrap. Mel cried out. Blood still oozed through the fabric and dripped onto the ground. What did Chuck mean by drawing animals?

Nothing actually survived out here anyway, at least nothing big. I remembered that bit from my science project in high school. Remembering the safety of those times made me wish I’d stayed up on campus for the fall-break weekend. Todd finished the splint and moved Mel to a sitting position. When I finally got close enough, I didn’t have to yell.

“We’re staying right here until Mel can travel.”

Todd rolled his eyes before they settled back on mine. I put all the determination into my glare. It almost seemed that Todd didn’t recognize Mel’s injury. She needed time to heal. Todd let out a heavy sigh before breaking our staring contest, and he leaned back against the windswept alcove. Mel whimpered in pain. Chuck stumbled into the alcove. He looked ready to yell, but then stopped dead and pointed to the hole in the ground that Mel had covered.

“We really need to leave. That looks like a coyote den.”

Howls that branched from the gust of wind silenced us. They were loud and close. Two figures emerged from the storm wall. The coyotes were mangy, covered in patches of fur coated in thick chunks of sand and salt. Yellow and black teeth peaked out from malformed lips. The larger of the two stepped forward and snapped its jaws with a vicious bark. That’s when I remembered the whines from earlier. We were in a nest, den, or whatever they called it for coyotes.

“What’s our options, Chuck?” Todd asked.

Chuck swore and pulled Mel to her feet. He never took his eyes off her.

“You need to run now,” Chuck said.

Mel shook her head. Crying.

“Now, Mel!”

Chuck pushed her, and the smaller of the coyotes leaped after Mel. Todd dove at the coyote with a blow that sent it whimpering and rolling into the storm. As if knowing something distracted him, the larger coyote leaped onto Todd. Its fangs dug deep, and blood spilled around the coyote’s lips. I couldn’t move. We were going to die, and I couldn’t stop it. Chuck grabbed my arm and pulled me after him.

“Todd will catch up with us.”

I’d lost sight of Mel for a minute, and we came up to her at a slow trot. Mel braced her arm against her side and was still crying. Chuck grabbed her good arm and was dragging both of us at this point.

“Keep running!”

Chuck’s hand clamped onto my arm like a vice grip. I fought to catch up to prevent Chuck from dragging me behind him. A glance over my shoulder showed the sandstorm enveloping Mel, who stumbled forward, empty hand extended. I screamed so loud that my throat stung from the strain.

“Mel!”

She replied with her own screams, but they came and went with the surges of the wind, making it impossible to tell where she’d gone. I tugged at Chuck’s grip, but it held strong. He wouldn’t let go of me. I couldn’t abandon my best friend. I stopped fighting Chuck and searched the torrent of sand that blasted at my eyes and made it hard to keep them open. The cough that started earlier hadn’t stopped yet, and the new tears blew away after burning at my cheeks. Todd emerged from the storm and ran into us, wrapping his arms around us to keep us from falling. He’s always been a considerate man.

“Where’s Mel?” Todd asked.

Chuck waved for Todd to follow as if he were leading him to Mel. His grip tightened on my arm and pulled me to follow. I didn’t blame him. What could we do? There was no way to tell where Mel had gone until the storm passed. I stared at the spot where I thought Mel last was and went with Chuck at his next pull.
I wanted to cry, but the memory of the pain stopped me. It also wouldn’t help the guys think I’m stable if I kept breaking down every time we stopped. I’d let Mel disappear. I should have been the one holding her hand. Chuck let go when I wouldn’t have. Why did I run away knowing she had an injury? Chuck dragged us on though, more like a bull pulling a cart than a shorter nerdy guy that I’d dismissed. We broke out on the other side of the storm wall like we’d stepped through a doorway into peace and serenity.

“We need to wash the blood scent off us, see if we can find some water,” Chuck said.

Todd stepped in front of Chuck. The wall of wind and sand didn’t show any signs of dissipating soon. The beautiful flicker of the sand in sunlight acted as a cover for its promise of destruction. Todd’s knuckles whitened around the straps in his hands.

“Whoa, wait a second. Where’s Mel?”

Chuck’s head dropped, chin to chest. I dropped my gaze to my feet. Tears welled when I looked at my shoes to find dark wet splotches. Mel’s blood. I’d kick off the shoes right away if I had my other pair nearby.

“The coyotes have most likely killed her by now,” Chuck said.

The bitter detachment in his voice made me clench my jaw. He’s already jumped to her death? Where’s the story of how he fought to hold on to her? The pack of coyotes had a better hold on her, and Chuck was too weak. Of course, the nerdy guy would be too weak.

“She’s probably the cleanest meal they’ve had in a long time,” Chuck said. “I know that’s heartless, but we’re surviving now. I told you it was a stupid idea to go to that campsite.”

Chuck shouldered past Todd and kept walking down the slant of the mountainside. Todd didn’t react. His stare bored into the ground as if he could find the answers between the grains of sand. Chuck continued, not waiting for us to follow. The freshest meal? Who did this asshole think he was? And it wasn’t Todd’s fault for the campsite. I hadn’t given the others an option.

I stopped walking for a moment. My feet sank into the sand just enough to make me feel rooted as much as I wished I could run.

“I caused this.”

Todd walked up to me, his gaze still on the ground.

“Mel might still be here if you’d just let her be,” Todd said.

He shouldered past me without apology. They’d warned me, told me it was too risky to camp there anymore. But that campsite had been our favorite even when we were kids. We’d never had any accidents, never been caught, never doubted the quality of our secret campsite before. That was before they’d blocked it off with a military cordon. And now, Mel was dead because I hadn’t listened to their concerns.

The Great Salt Bowl Chapter 1

The Great Salt Bowl Chapter 3