“Won’t there be other people?” Bash saw a worry-line form between Sean’s brows, but unfortunately, he couldn’t offer too much reassurance.
“Maybe, maybe not.” Bash shrugged. “If so, we’ll deal with that when we come to it, but right now, we don’t have a lot of options. Which is my fault. I never considered nature throwing us a curveball like this.”
“Neither did I,” Sean bit his lip. He returned his gaze to the map, then pointed at an Arabic notation a bit north of where Bash thought they were. “This says ‘Fadahl Petrochemical Facility’. Do you think that might work?”
“We don’t have much choice.” Bash considered, then nodded. “We’ll turn north and see if we can find it. If there’s anything there at all, it’ll be better than nothing.”
He flipped off the cab light and put the truck in gear again, turning until the compass indicated they were headed due north. He was fairly confident about their location, since he’d noted time, speed, and direction since they’d left the road, but in the almost total blackness, it was going to be like finding a tiny needle in an enormous haystack in the dark.
“I would kill for a GPS receiver right about now,” he muttered after almost half an hour, scanning the swirling dust outside, hoping for a glimpse of something man-made. Suddenly there was a louder pinging of objects striking the truck.
“What is that?” Sean gasped, eyes wide as he stared at a divot in the windshield.
“Gravel, maybe.” Bash increased speed, going as fast as he dared. “The winds are high enough to pick up anything small and loose on the ground, carry it up high and then drop it.”
“Do you think it might break the windows?”
Even though Sean kept his tone even, Bash could hear the worry in it.
“Possibly. Can you reach behind the seat and get one of the jugs of water? We’ll need them even if we find shelter, but we can be ready just in case we get dust inside. Take off your keffiyeh and wet it. If the windows break, put it over your nose and mouth and breathe through it.”
Sean did as Bash asked. “What about you? Should I wet yours as well?”
“If you don’t mind.” Bash pulled off his headscarf and handed it to Sean. “I’m hoping this is just a precaution, but if we get out of the truck, we’ll need them.”
Sean dampened Bash’s keffiyeh, then placed it on the seat beside him. Suddenly, he leaned forward, staring intently out the window. “I thought I saw light reflecting on something!”
Bash hit the brakes, straining to find what had caught Sean’s attention, but all he could see was the swirling dust. He started forward again, barely pressing the accelerator, and that was when he saw it, too — a flash of unmoving silver in the blackness. After another twenty feet, they were close enough to see they’d found a large silver pipe, scoured free of paint and rust by the wind-driven sand.
“Somebody up there likes us,” Bash said, grinning playfully at Sean. “So there’s probably a rectangular field of these pipes and various buildings, if it’s like the places I saw in Afghanistan. The only question is… do we go left or right?”
“Left.” Sean spoke without hesitation, then returned Bash’s smile sheepishly. “I don’t know why.”
“Just because you felt it is as good a reason as any,” Bash replied. He moved the truck closer to the pipe, then set off almost due west, asking Sean to keep the pipe in sight.
The pinging of debris against the truck grew louder, and now that they were headed almost directly into the wind, more divots quickly appeared in the glass. “I think the wind is getting stronger,” Bash said grimly. “Let me know the moment I can turn to the right. And pray we find a building soon.”
Sean focused his attention out of the passenger side window, while Bash fought the truck into the buffeting of the wind. Then there was a particularly loud impact on the windshield, and Bash scowled as a crack formed on his side of the glass. “Anything yet? I think we might be running out of time.”
“Now! It looks like the pipes just turned away from us!”
Bash turned the wheel hard to the right, and the wind seemed to catch the vehicle from beneath. For a moment, the driver’s side lifted from the ground, and the truck seemed poised to flip over. Throwing his weight to the left, Bash fought to keep control, and to his relief, all four wheels came back down to the ground, though they bounced hard, and the single crack in the windshield became a network, connecting the divots and obscuring Bash’s view.
He looked at Sean. “We need to find a building, any building, before the windshield blows out.”
“I only see pipe! How big is this thing, anyway?” Sean’s voice sounded strangled. “Wait! Stop! There’s a big blocky structure, but I don’t know what it is.”
Bash hit the brakes, then threw the truck into reverse, and he spun the wheel to bring the lights to bear directly on what Sean had seen. Peering through the cracked windshield, Bash drew in a breath. “Looks like it could be a pump house or some other utility building. Not ideal, but any port in a storm, right?”
“I agree completely.” Sean sagged against the seat in relief. “What do we do?”
“We don’t do anything, not yet,” Bash replied. He backed the truck up again and maneuvered the vehicle so the driver’s side door was close to the building’s door, hoping the truck would provide a buffer against the wind. “I need those flashlights. I’m going to try to get the door open, and when I do, you need to be ready to get inside as fast as you can. We’ll get only one shot at this, so we need to bring everything we can with us.”
Sean nodded in understanding. “All right.”
Bash tied the dampened keffiyeh securely over his nose and mouth, wishing he had goggles to protect his eyes. At least the body armor would give him some protection from flying debris, but he’d have to work fast. He drew out the thickest of the guitar strings and readied one flashlight before looking at Sean again. “Make sure you have the map and the water. Move into the driver’s seat once I’m out, and be ready to jump.”
“Got it.” Sean looked tense but ready, and he offered Bash a slight smile. “Should I wish you good luck? Or is that bad luck?”
