The sand awoke before Adam did. Stray particulates, masked by the darkness on the inside of the van, levitated into the still, stuffy air and began to coalesce. By the time that Vida was sufficiently awake to begin panicking, enough of the sand had accumulated a few inches above the floor near Adam's feet to form a little shape. Though anyone squinting closely enough through the invasive darkness would be able to see it was a four-legged creature of some sort, its identifiable characteristics stopped there. This animal shared the characteristics of a number of others, having a doglike body, very angular years, a forked tail, and a curved snout--a Typhonic beast. Once fully formed, measuring about a foot long and eight inches tall, the sand creature padded its way toward Adam's head to nuzzle it, grating its coarse surface against the middle-aged man's stone-gray stubble. Even when Pat's low voice broke the smothering silence present in the van's interior, the animal pursued its task.

Finally, Adam awoke. He emerged from a dreamless, thoughtless void of darkness to a crowded, overwarm, confined darkness lined with his own sand. With a grumble he raised both palms to his forehead, kneading the skin there to chase away the sluggish, early-morning feeling. His mouth was bone-dry, probably from sleeping with his mouth open yet again. Adam quickly realized that the chances of there being coffee in this place were slim to none, so he slowly sat up against a smooth wall to rub the forced sleep away. A nudge in his side distracted him from this task, and when he blearily looked down he found the little sand animal rubbing up against him like a pet that wanted attention. Ignoring the other people in the van -or perhaps simply not aware of there existence yet-, he tentatively stroked its long head with a forefinger and middle finger. In response, the creature stretched lazily, much the same as a dog. Just as Adam was beginning to enjoy the construct, however, the van hit a slight bump and whatever force held the animal in cohesion was broken, scattering the sand on the floor again.

For the first time, Adam realized he wasn't alone. He stared at the other humans with a look of worry etched upon his features; he wasn't sure whether to feel afraid, guilty, or just embarrassed for so shamefacedly exposing his secret. None of them seemed [i]particularly[/i] malicious, particularly not the young woman who seemed to regard him as a danger, recoiling in horror. Still, Adam couldn't shake the feelings of confusion and helplessness that were really starting to upset him. The others were asking the same questions he thought to, however, so he remained quiet.