Survive the Dunes (A 'Dune' story)

chapter 2: The first glitch

My name is Zira Ashdu.

The next few days passed by in a blur.

But the days grew slower after the first glitch on Monday.

The doctors of our tribe were doing their daily check-up on my mother, and I was sat on the mound of sand outside House Ashdu, looking over our busy village.

My thoughts kept turning to the boy of my dreams.

I never knew his name, but I wanted to, no matter how much I tried to forget him, he kept crawling his way back into my mind.

Who was he? I didn't know.

As my thoughts consulted each other, I looked into the distance and saw my friend, Urska, painting a sheet of cloth with spices mixed with water.

She was a really good artist.

We have been friends since we were babies, born into the foul, but exceptional home of the Oromens.

As we locked eyes, she waved and smiled at me from a-far. I returned the action, and looked off into the distance again, letting my thoughts return to consulting.

"I want to know you, boy." I muttered under my breath, talking to the boy who wasn't there.

I knew I would find out who he was. Someday or another. I will find out.

As the sun heated the sands and beamed down upon my village, I found myself wondering if the Fremen were living nearby.

"Zira!" I was snapped from my thoughts by my village nurse, Shakuro Mendol. She was calling to me from a-far.

I turned my head to look at her.

"Your father wishes to see you! It's urgent!" She called.

As I stood from the hot sands, I dreaded what my dad was going to say or ask of me.

I strode towards my dad's conference room which was now empty and just my dad remained.

As I saw him, his head hung low, one hand resting on the conference table, I took slow steps towards him.

"Father? You wanted to see me?"

"Zira, there's something I need to show you. But I should warn you... It might be a bit of a shock."

My father's words made me shudder.

My father brushed past me and slowly spoke. "Follow me." He said.

I reluctantly followed my father down the winding hallways of house Ashdu, until we eventually came to our hospital wing.

As the doors slowly opened, allowing my father to stride into the hospital wing, I awkwardly trailed behind him as the nurses and doctors stared at my father and I.

My father approached one of the hospital beds and slowly came to stop and stood beside it.

I slowly approached the bed and I eventually saw them.

Ahmend, the village farmer, was lying on the hospital bed, pale-faced....

Dead.

His bulging eyes were overcome with a jet black and the veins leading up from his neck were slowly turning from grey to black.

"We found him like this near the borders of our village. Do you know what the cause of this could be... Zira?" My father spoke as I stared at Ahmend, my mind slowly carving the image of Ahmend into my brain that would last forever.

I couldn't speak. My words were stuck in my, now, dry throat.

I shook my head in response to my father's question.

"My lord," Zhuni, the head nurse grabbed my father's attention. "We were able to retrieve a tiny fragment from Ahmend's organ system."

Zhuni led us both over to a miniature table with a glass jar on top of it.

Inside it was a miniscule, dark cloud of black dust. It swirled and twisted inside of the jar, with frequent thunder cracks from inside the cloud, bellowing their low melodies.

"Zhuni, what is this?" I asked, looking up at Zhuni with curious eyes.

"That we have yet to discover, but I believe that was what killed Ahmend." Zhuni replied, her voice growing soft and whispery.

The first glitch is the one that will stay with a person....

Forever.