Haboob

 

     It was too hot. The heat hit my face like opening an oven door as I left my office building. What else could you expect during the monsoon season in Arizona? I had left work early because the afternoon storms were rolling in. We could expect a dust storm followed by heavy rain. I worked far from my office and I wanted to get a head start. The winds were already kicking up as I walked across the parking lot I felt the heat radiating through my shoes. 

     I got in my small Toyota. I could see the cloud of dust in the distance, but it was still pretty far away. I thought of the road closures and hours of delays and I headed out as quickly as I could. The visibility was acceptable. I did notice that the cloud seemed to be moving towards the valley more quickly than I expected. You could never tell how fast the dust cloud would roll in.

     The giant haboobs were an annual event in Arizona. There were typically three or four during the season. They reminded me of photos from the dust bowl. The dust bowl resulted in the destruction of the ecology of the areas impacted. Nothing would grow and people had to migrate away from those areas. It was estimated that 7000 people died from dust pneumonia. Our dust storms came from the dry desert. We had been in a drought for the last several years. The wall of red dirt could reach up to 3300 feet and could stretch for miles. 

     I was halfway home when it hit. I had lost track of the cloud. One minute I saw the freeway, and the next I was surrounded by a spinning cloud of black with paper debris floating past my windshield. I wanted to pull over, but I didn't know where the drop off was from the freeway. I had no choice, I pulled the car over. Fortunately, the shoulder was level with the freeway. I could not see if there were other cars in front of me or behind me.

     I sat in my car and listened to music while I waited for the cloud to pass. If it stretched for miles, it could be hours before I would be able to try to get home. The sand fell on the window like rain. As I watched the dirt cover my car I started to feel claustrophobic. The glass of my windshield started to make cracking noises. I wasn't sure if it was the wind or the weight of the dirt pouring on to the car. I heard a snap and the windshield cracked. 

     I held my breath, afraid that even the smallest breath would shatter the windshield. My eyes teared as I kept playing the scene of me getting smothered by the dust with no place to run. I heard a scream. The glass shattered and the dust came into the car floating all around me. A gaunt arm reached through the windshield and grabbed my neck. A second arm appeared and held my neck. I could not move. I tried to scream, but its hand slid from my neck to my mouth.

     My eyes burned from the sand and I choked on the dirt. The creature crawled through the window by moving its torso back and forth like a snake. It would not release me. It was gaunt and the color of red earth. Its skin was cracked and dry as if it had formed from the drought. It had flat dead eyes like a shark and razor-sharp teeth. It kept shrieking. I prayed, because I didn't know what else to do. 

     The demon would not let me live. The sand continued to pour around me until all that was uncovered was my face. The taste of earth began to fill my mouth and the dust continued to pour in. There was no end to it. I felt like I would vomit, but I couldn't even do that. I could do...nothing. 

     The dust blew into my nose and then above my nose. The demon's stare gave away nothing, but it's grimace spoke volumes. I felt my chest tighten and I gave up. I closed my eyes to prepare for my eternal damnation. Tonight the demon would have my soul, and it wasn't even offered.