Free A Wind of Change by Bella Forrest

pulled out the flashlight, tucked it into my belt and flung the bag back over my shoulders. Then I positioned the hood of my dark-colored jacket so that it covered my face as much as possible.
    I began making my way down the slope. Of course I couldn’t use my flashlight or I would attract their attention. That was just in case of an emergency. I had to go by the light of the moon and stars.
    When I was level with the tanks, I could already hear better. I was just about close enough to begin making sense of their words when two men turned toward me. I dropped to the ground, hoping that they hadn’t noticed. And that I hadn’t just dropped down near some kind of deadly creature.
    I remained still for several moments, turning my head to look toward them from my position against the ground. Although two men were still looking in my direction, it seemed that they either hadn’t noticed me, or just weren’t interested. They turned their backs and headed back toward the rest of the crowd.
    I breathed a little more easily. Raising my head higher, I stood up slowly.
    I began to move closer, but to my dismay, the conversation had died down by the time I was close enough to hear. Most of them were now staring northward in silence, guns in their hands and those odd red flashing boxes scattered around the area. I looked north myself, trying to understand what they were all staring at. I couldn’t see anything but endless sand dunes.
    What are they all waiting for?
    I decided to start walking in the direction where they were staring. I kept down low against the ground, careful to keep an eye out for creepy-crawlies. I had to catch my scream in my throat as a hideous black scorpion scuttled out from a hole in the sand about a foot away. It nearly crawled over my feet.
    After that, I remained standing, praying that I wouldn’t encounter another dangerous creature before I returned to the truck.
    I swerved out wider, further away from the men to avoid being seen, and continued walking north, looking back every now and then to be sure nobody had noticed me.
    I was about to see the futility of my attempt and return to the vehicle when a sharp pain filled my skull. It felt like I’d just walked headfirst into a wall. I staggered back, cursing and clutching my forehead.
    What in the world…?
    Reaching out a hand, I was shocked to find something hard.
    I’ve got to be hallucinating.
    I stretched out my other hand. That also touched something hard. It was the most bizarre thing I’d ever experienced in my life, like some kind of invisible barrier. I moved my hands along the hard surface. It felt neither rough nor smooth… I didn’t even know how to describe its texture, if it even had a texture. It just hurt like hell to walk into.
    Blinking hard, I looked toward the truck still parked up on the mound of sand. Then I looked back at the tanks. I didn’t think that I was hallucinating.
    What is this? I walked further, keeping my hands against this strange invisible force field. After twenty minutes of walking, I was about to run back to the car to get Fariss and ask what he thought when I heard a voice. A male voice, speaking English.
    “No, Marilyn.”
    It sounded like it was coming from behind the barrier and yet, when I looked straight through it, I saw nothing but sand. Where is it coming from? It sounded so close.
    Then there was a wailing—presumably a female’s.
    The male voice spoke again. “Why don’t you go and spend the night with your boyfriend for a change?”
    “Because he’s not mine anymore! He’s got a new girlfriend!” She sounded hysterical.
    Where on earth are these people? I found myself looking in all directions, even down at the ground, wondering if there was some kind of bunker beneath me. No. It was coming from behind this strange invisible wall.
    Clenching my fists, I called out, “Who are you?”
    The man and woman fell silent.
    Rapid footsteps crossed the sand, and then I heard deep breathing only