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Another person hurried past, knocking her forward. Aidan rushed to catch her before she fell. “We’re going back to the ship,” he told her.
She shook her head. “I have to find Caryn!”
“These storms are deadly. We have to go,now.”He spotted a set of workers by an information booth rolling out a cart full of emergency breathing units. Frightened pedestrians rushed the cart, grappling for the life-saving devices.
Aidan took Onnika’s hand and then elbowed his way through the masses, managing to snag the last breathing unit. “Here, put this on.”
She wasn’t paying attention, still scanning for her sister. The huge tent visibly swayed. Sections of canvas tore open by some unseen projectile and snapped violently in the wind.
“Onnika, put this on!”
“I have to find Caryn,” she repeated, her eyes flashing silver in the light.
“I’m sure she’s with Lear and the others. They’ll take her back to the ship.”
“I have to make sure she’s okay. Please.” She ripped her hand from his grasp and raced through an oncoming wave of bodies. Aidan hurried behind her, nearly losing sight of her more than once. He yelled her name as she cried out for Caryn.
“We cannot delay,” he warned.
Just then, they both heard a lithe voice calling for Onnika. They both froze, gazes darting for its owner. Caryn and Lear stumbled out of the crowd, both wearing breathing units. Onnika and Caryn ran to embrace each other.
“Great,” Aidan hollered above the uproar. “We found her. Now put this on and let’s go.” He handed the breathing unit to Onnika.
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine if we hurry.”
Finally she slipped the device over her mouth, and they joined the mass exodus. With the exits bottlenecked by a sea of bodies shoving and trampling their way through, panic-stricken people began crawling underneath or tearing holes in the canvas walls to get out. Once more Aidan gripped Onnika’s hand so that they wouldn’t be separated. He saw that Lear did the same with Caryn.
All around, the large tent poles groaned ominously. The structure wouldn’t withstand the wind for long. It was nothing more than a huge sail, billowing with the wind’s frightening power.
He spotted an open path toward one of the improvised escape routes. “This way!”
Just as they shot through the canvas into a cloud of choking sand, a volley of snapping sounds went off behind them. The huge tent toppled inward. How many would be trapped under that heavy tarp? He could do nothing to help them.
Wind whipped his skin and sand blasted his face. His lungs burned from breathing it in as they raced in the direction of theDragoon.
The place looked nothing like it had when they’d arrived. The fierce storm had already torn away many of the smaller tents that had surrounded the big top.
He couldn’t even transform into his dragon form to help speed their progress. The wind was too strong and would catch his wings with the same devastating force that had toppled the tent. As they trudged through the sandstorm, he noticed his boots sinking into the sand deeper and deeper with each step.
The wind was building a dune right on top of them!
He shared a knowing look with Lear, and the two of them ramped up their pace. The girls struggled to keep up, managing only because they were being half-dragged by the two larger males.
Aidan labored furiously to breathe through the thick layer of grime that coated his flaming lungs. He coughed and hacked, but it was no use, he only took in more grit until he felt suffocated by it. He began to grow lightheaded.
Fearing he wouldn’t make it, he considered passing Onnika over to Lear, but thenDragoonemerged like a blessed phoenix from the wall of sand.
The others were standing just inside the open bay doors, waving them forward up the ramp, all of them wearing breathing units. Aidan was grateful for that.
The moment he crossed the threshold, he collapsed, sucking in what air he could manage, but that deadly sand still swirled around him. Someone covered his mouth with a breathing unit full of pure oxygen, and he sucked in great heaps of air. Finally, he heard doors lock into place. The wind died, and the sound of the raging storm was muted.
The burning in his lungs lessened somewhat, and he took inventory. Ignoring the stinging grit in his eyes, he opened his eyes to survey the group. Everyone was here. They hadn’t lost a soul. And no one appeared to be seriously wounded.
He nearly passed out from relief.
He would have chalked it up to luck, but his crew was great at rallying in a crisis.
