“I was thinking about DNA.”
He laughs. “That is not what I was expecting you to say.”
“I remember the first time I saw a DNA strand, the double helix that all of life is built from. I realized that no matter how much I knew, there would always be more to learn. It sparked something inside me, and I never considered anything after that.”
“I’ve always wondered about my own DNA, where I came from,” Tai says.
“You never met your parents?”
“No memory of it. Can’t miss what you never had.”
Daisy’s steps slow, and she comes to a stop. Tai flicks the reins and nudges her flanks with his feet.
“What is it, girl?” I ask and pat herneck.
In the distance, a low rumble shakes the ground under us. The sand vibrates from the sound. Behind us, a tall brown wall approaches. The sky darkens from the sand being kicked up.
“What the fuck?” Before I can finish that thought, Daisy starts digging. The forward shift flings Tai and I off over her head. I land hard on my side, gasping for air.
The rumble grows into a roar, and sand violently swirls around us.
FORTY-ONE
Tai
“Sandstorm!” I shout over the howling wind.
I crawl on hands and knees towards Bri. She’s on all fours, her hair whipping around her face when she looks up. The sand below me gives out, and I scramble to not sink down with it.
In the blink of an eye, she’s gone.
I frantically spin around, but I can’t see more than a few inches in front of me.
“Bri!” I bellow into the wind.
After a dozen or so steps, I stop and yell for her again. I can’t lose her. Not after all this.
“Bri!”
Somehow through the wind I hear her call my name. I blindly sprint in that direction, barely able to keep my eyes open.
“Bri!” I get a mouthful of sand. I spit it out and call for her again.
For a split second, the wind clears and I see her huddled on the ground, sand coating her body and piling up around her.
I pick her up and pull her into my pounding chest. Her eyes are plastered shut, her hands clinging to me.
I put her hand on my waist and wrap her fingers around a belt loop. “Don’t let go!” I have no idea if she heard me. Her hair has pulled free from the long braid and is whipping her face, getting caught in her mouth and around her neck.
I pull off my backpack and fumble around for the tent pouch. Hopefully, it’s strong enough to withstand the storm.
I let go of her hand to pull the tent out of the pouch. It breaks free from the bag and pops into shape in front of us. I hold down one corner of the tent with my foot. Sand is pelting the fabric and piling up on the sides. I grab Bri’s kaftan at the chest and push her into the tent ahead of me.
Using sand as an anchor, I half bury the tent in the ground and hope it’s enough to keep us from blowing away. I get in the tent with Bri and collapse against the ground.
It’s still loud, but at least we have a barrier between us and the pounding sand. Bri is on her hands and knees sputtering, trying to get sand and hair out of her mouth. I reach over and pull her hair away from her face and wipe away the sand from her cheeks.
“Are you hurt?” I ask, examining her for injury.
