Chapter 3

Well… here I am… seems like just seconds ago I had, everything…That was gone. My only joy was wiped off the face of the planet, Lettuce… The stock market had just crashed only a couple of days before. I know the day as if it was yesterday. October 29, as if only saying the name sent shivers down my spine. It was only a couple of days ago, but it’s felt like an eternity… Waiting…

A few days ago I was loving life.  Heck, I could make it rain for hours. Such good times, but now I’m ruined; the crash happened so fast, almost like a tornado. Perfect one day, the next, well, destruction.

I had swarmed the banks along with others; we were like moths and the bank was light. Some people were beat up right in front of me because they got pushed, or they cut me. Big deal, either way we weren’t getting our lettuce.

“Ahhh..” I said agonizingly as I slumped out of my dirt bed. I could already smell the rotting stench of dead animals outside, which obscured my smelling. My eyes hadn't adjusted to the light yet, but even then there was nothing to adjust to accept dirt and trash. My eyes stung from the penetration of all this garbage. I guess you could say it was another day in paradise.

I strutted through an opening of my “door,” which was just a board pressed against some dirt and wood and trash. This was my so called home. Outside, feces littered the ground, making a distorted Picasso. But I wasn’t alone, which gave me the only sense of happiness I could muster. My friends were also involved with this tragedy. Sure, not all of them had it terrible, but at this time it was hard to find someone with a dollar. The Hooverville I lived in was okay; I mean I wouldn’t called a five-star hotel.

My Hooverville was made out of wood and dirt, just like all the rest in the community. Yep, I remember that sad look from that old man when he realized his son’s wooden treasure chest was gone. I got him while he wasn’t looking, took it right from under his nose. Like a mouse in a cheese shop. I wasn’t the first one there though; you could tell the first raid party had come ;the trash had been ransacked, and some walls were barren.

I lived a little while away from the old man’s house, about a couple of miles. It was a medium sized haul to get to my house in the Great Plains; but trust me, I had a good haul. More metal! I could finally renovate my roof! I have been tired of waking up to find my house consumed in sand. That had been a bad thing about living in the Dust Bowl, the dust storms.

My closest friend lived about a mile away, which made it difficult, but most time perseverance carried me there. We met up a lot and supported each other, and since we were together, I had to share my hauls. The walk was sometimes long and painful; it felt sometimes like walking on spikes. This time it felt worse.

Worse than spikes. The bottoms of my feet cried after every step, I don’t think I can make it. In my head the only thought was, Oh god, Oh god no!  I was on the verge of tearing up; every step felt like my last. I pressed on.

I wandered for what felt like an eternity, waiting ceaselessly, only to realize I was lost. I thought things couldn’t get any worse, but boy, was I wrong.

About seconds later, I saw what appeared to be a brown tornado, but that wasn’t right. I knew it, the moment I heard the eerie screams of the wind, a dust storm. I knew I was in the heart of the Dust Bowl, but not anything like this had ever happened. Usually it’s just enough wind to knock down my shack, but this was more. Much more.  This was as if a demon had come out of hell and was ransacking the place. Sure, there was nothing to reform, but the dust was ready to hunt, and I was the prey; and as soon as it appeared, the metal seemed to whip away in the wind as if knocked out of existence.

The devil was in front of me now; the wind sounded as if someone was snickering at me. Time seemed to be standing still; the only movement was the dust. But in seconds I was covered. The dust flushed over me, covering me like a blanket. I occluded my eyes and knew my time was over. The only sounds were the vigorous roars of the winds and my gentle sobs as I lay in a cocoon of my fear and sweat. But as I waited for death it stopped.

Like a switch it miraculously got switched off. My sobs were now of disbelief. I looked around and nothing stirred. Sadly the terror didn’t stop there. I looked down at my leg that was seeping with blood. I could make out a gash where a rock had been whipped up and hurled into my leg. I could see the stone as it was severely deep; the blood filled it like an overflowing canyon. I knew like this I could never make it, and I still couldn’t even go back. I got up and started limping but collapsed into my sad carcass and laid there.

I think I started hallucinating because after a while, I could have sworn I heard my name.

“Robert.”  It started faint, but it seemed like it was coming closer.

“Robert.” It seemed closer. I looked up and saw a faint disfigured shape.

“Robert!” I could hear it now, and it raced towards me. The simple voice gave me the perseverance to stand up. And as the cry grew closer I could miraculously walk (more like limp). I felt the grip of their arms as they gripped tightly around my frail shoulders. My bones were brittle, but I could stand. There weren’t any words I could muster, only feelings. The stone in my leg felt abortive, and I was filled with happiness, like a glass overflowing with joy. Nothing could ruin this. As the last grain of sand fell, I saw her pale blue eyes stare into me, and I gripped her golden blonde hair, my mind too abundant that I couldn’t think of anything, nor say.

The demon had failed, and now I was in heaven, with an angel. But as I continued to stare into her pale, blue, beautiful eyes, I heard the faint sound of sand rustling.

-Hayden Amazon