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    The Before Building
    The Before Building
    The Before Building
    Ebook37 pages36 minutes

    The Before Building

    By Dwayne Phillips

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A dust storm leads a wandering man to literally bump into a building. Pulled inside to save his life, the wanderer learns that this building has kept several hundred people alive for a generation. The building was built Before a deadly event, and these people are struggling to survive in the world After.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDwayne Phillips
    Release dateFeb 23, 2011
    ISBN9781458115706
    The Before Building
    Author

    Dwayne Phillips

    A systems and computer engineer since 1980. A short story fiction writer.

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      Book preview

      The Before Building - Dwayne Phillips

      THE BEFORE BUILDING

      by

      Dwayne Phillips

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      * * * * *

      PUBLISHED BY:

      Dwayne Phillips on Smashwords

      The Before Building

      Copyright © 2011 by Dwayne Phillips

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

      * * * * *

      THE BEFORE BUILDING

      Dust crawled into his ear. It started to creep into the crevices of his head, or so it seemed. He could no longer stand it, so he pulled his hand from his eyes to scratch and claw his ear. That only made it worse. Now dust crawled under his eyelids and irritated his already dry eyes.

      He gave up.

      He tried to curl into an ever tighter ball of a body while still walking. All he could manage was one small step after another. The dust and the wind were relentless, but so was he. He wasn't going to stop walking. He resolved that last night. A tree stump was his last temporary refuge. He curled up next to the tree to sleep during the night - at least he thought it was night. Nothing was sure any longer.

      He had been in this dust storm for a sun-moon cycle or maybe two. He couldn't remember and he wasn't sure of moon or sun. Sometimes the world outside his clenched eyelids was darker, sometimes lighter. Maybe it was night, maybe it was thicker dust, or maybe it was the shadow of a tree or rock.

      He felt his way along one small step at a time. For a while he extended one hand to feel his way along, but that allowed the dust to penetrate his ears, nose, mouth, and eyes. That was too painful, so he used his hands to seal his head as best as he could. He took one small step after another. The ground was level - that was a blessing. He bumped into what he thought were trees. Their surface was hard, rough, and curved.

      He was adapting to this situation. As long as he didn't lead with his head or walk too fast his collisions with the world didn't hurt his body too much.

      If only the dust storm would subside. He could see where he was. Maybe he could find some water or food. For now all he could do was keep taking one small step after another - and pray.

      He prayed and prayed. He kept repeating the prayer that his mother taught him as a child.

      "Oh fatha in

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