Dust: Before and After by S.E. Smith

before, and if he had to guess, Sammy had never been kissed either. He wasn’t real sure what to do, just that he liked the feel of her in his arms as they wrapped around her and the soft touch of her lips against his. He would have taken more time to explore if he hadn’t felt a tug on his left arm.
    Pulling back, he looked to the side with a dazed expression. Todd was staring back at him with an expression that was a mixture of distaste and amusement.
    “Why are you kissing Sammy?” Todd asked, tilting his head and staring up at Dust.
    Dust turned to look down at Sammy. She was looking away from her little brother and had bowed her head so he couldn’t see her face again. His hand rose and he ran his fingers down along her cheek.
    “Because I wanted to,” Dust murmured.
    Sammy’s head jerked up and she stared at him in silence. A look of uncertainty and worry darkened her eyes. He wished he could wave his hand and erase it. He was about to say something to her when a sense of warning swept through him. Turning, he pushed Sammy protectively between him and the car. He turned his body and held his hands up, palms facing outward to show he was unarmed, as several dark shapes appeared on both sides of the culvert.
    “I told you I saw a car coming down the road,” a deep voice said from the front of the car.

Chapter 10
     
    Uncertainty:
     
    Dust stared uneasily as four men stepped into the large culvert. He kept Sammy behind him. Todd must have realized that this could also be dangerous as he had disappeared back into the car and was crouched down in the seat. Glancing back and forth, Dust waited to see which one spoke first.
    “That was some fancy driving for a boy,” an older man reflected.
    Dust noticed that he stopped about four feet away, keeping a safe space between them. The man looked to be in his early fifties. He was partially bald on top and had a weathered face like he had spent most of his life outside in the sun. He was dressed in a pair of faded jeans with a dark red button up shirt and a pair of well-worn boots. There was nothing unusual about the man’s clothing. What caught and held Dust’s attention was the rifle in the man’s hand.
    “Thank you,” Dust murmured, shifting to the left a little when another man tried to get a good look at Sammy.
    “Where you from?” The man asked.
    “South,” Dust replied.
    A soft chuckle from another one of the men drew Dust’s attention. He stiffened when the younger man pointed his gun at him. Instinctively, his hands clenched in preparation.
    “He doesn’t talk much, does he, Beau?” The young man chuckled.
    “Shut up, Alex, and keep your damn gun pointed down,” Beau replied in a curt tone. “How many times do I have to tell you that? You’re going to shoot somebody one of these days.”
    “What’s the girl’s name?” Another one of the men asked, trying to get a better look at Sammy.
    Dust turned to look at the man with a piercing stare. “Why do you want to know?” He asked.
    “Back off, Howard,” Beau said with a wave of his hand. “If you haven’t figured it out, my name is Beau. I’m in charge of the compound. That is Alex, Howard, and Randolph.”
    Dust turned to look at each man as Beau pointed to them. He nodded his head to each man, but didn’t say anything. These were the first people other than Sammy and Todd that they’d met. They appeared normal, but then again, so did he. At least, he thought he did. It took a minute for him to realize that Beau was waiting for him to respond in kind. Wiping his right hand down his pant leg, he drew in a deep breath before he spoke.
    “I’m Dust,” he said in a husky voice. “This is Sammy. Todd’s in the car.”
    Dust watched as Beau nodded and glanced in the car at Todd. Todd murmured a quiet greeting when Dust said his name. His lips tightened when the man looked appraisingly at Sammy before he looked through the back window of the car at the items they had gathered.
    “We