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silence as a dust cloud from the north slowly grew to become three sand-cruisers.  The loud and clumsy machines carried three young men in their late teens to early twenties swiftly across the beach.  The motors were loud and smelly, putting out huge amounts of exhaust, and the propulsion systems polluted the air with the jets of sand the vehicles left in their wake.  They had been outlawed after the Automotive Unit for Transportation-Corp was shut down, and so their use clearly defined their riders as outlaws.  In patches where the sand was dry, the sand-cruisers kicked up tall clouds of dust, giving the appearance of smoke plumes from a shoreline fire.
    The three young men came to a halt in front of the group and turned off their engines. 
    “Change of plans.  We’re meeting in District 89148 tonight.  Hop on,” one of them said.  He patted the back seat of his sand-cruiser.  He had multiple piercings and visible tattoos, and his hair was multiple shades of red and orange.
    “Where are we going?”  Shelley asked, afraid to move.
    “To a party,” the young man said with a chilling smile.  “There’ll be plenty of cigarettes and alcohol, and maybe even some food.”
    Charlotte sprang over to vehicle and sat down behind the young man.  The rest of the group looked among one another, not sure what to do.  The girl and the taller of the boys joined Charlotte and her friends, but Shelley and the second boy remained uncertain.
    “Coming or not?”  Charlotte asked as the group started their engines.
    “I’m cold . . . and it’s getting dark,” Shelley said, backing from the sand cruisers.
    “Suit yourself,” the young man said.  Whipping up a six-foot arc of sand at Shelley, he spun the vehicle around and then took off, returning to the north.  The two other drivers followed suit, and soon the three were nothing but a hum and a low haze vanishing in the distance.
    Shelley and her companion stared off into the horizon until there was nothing left to see, and then they began to glance at one another, dazed.
    And what of Charlotte?
    “We should start walking,” Shelley said.
    At her prompt, the two began their long trek back to the shuttle garage.
    In what felt like a vindictive act of God, it began to rain.  It came just a few drops at a time at first, but within just a few minutes, the two hiked through heavy sheets of water.  The rain quickly grew cold and relentless, and visibility went to nothing.
    Water began to pool all over the muddy ground, and as the two sloshed through it, their clothes grew filthy and ragged.  Their bare feet became cold and raw.  Still, they continued on, having no nearby shelter in which to wait out the storm.  Dark clouds blanketed the sky, and lightning began to crash far off in the north.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    VIRGINIA made chicken nuggets and vegetables on Fridays.  She set the table late, having expected Shelley home with her school shuttle.  She had disappeared with her friends before, so the family did not worry about her as much as they groaned over a late dinner.  By the time the sun set, Kurt and George both began complaining about how hungry they were, and the three sat down and ate without her.  Virginia cleared the table, then sat and waited.
    When eight o’clock came, she reluctantly turned out the kitchen light.  She returned to her seat at the kitchen table, the glow of the wall heater turning her into a silhouette before Kurt’s and George’s dimly lit faces.  She turned to Kurt.  “Time to get ready for bed.”
    Kurt got up, but remained by his seat.  “I don’t want to go!”
    “Mommy’s tired,” she said.
    “But the bathroom and the hallway are dark, and if there’s a monster in my room, I wouldn’t know it was there!”  Kurt looked over at George.  “Daddy, will you sit with me while I brush my teeth?”
    George got to his feet.  “Sure, buddy.”
    The two filed out of the room, and