The Golden Fountain
Page 17
Benjamin turned his head and kept his eyes on the slaves. They were all dashing towards the eastern gates, fighting their way through. The overseers were powerless against them, especially the ones still locked inside the building, roaring and cursing their misfortune.
“JUST RUN!” called Sebastian.
Benjamin tried to keep up with him.
The exit was there, right in front of them.
All they had to do was go forward.
To the exit.
Just there -
“Come on!” Sebastian called once more. “Faster! Run! Your life depends on it!”
“We’re all right behind you!” Edgar yelled back.
A deafening crash reverberated through the air as the statue of Prince Ra wobbled from the impact of the rhino’s horn and fell, smashing into smithereens. Benjamin felt Sebastian tug him, indicating that they should run even faster.
Benjamin whimpered as he saw another statue, grander and bigger, falling right in front of them; Osiris, by the look of it. It was tall and doubtless heavy, going by the speed at which it plummeted towards the ground. How could they avoid this? It was impossible!
Benjamin wanted to run around the danger, but Sebastian wouldn’t have it; there was something he knew that the others didn’t. Forward only, that was the plan – the only one he had made.
Legs pulsating and lungs bursting, Benjamin ran with his brothers and the slaves. Their sandals repetitively slapped the ground and they couldn’t stop – the falling statue of Osiris was descending upon them, its shadow darkening their path, almost touching their heads as it crashed to the ground.
More dust and sand rose into the air. Benjamin coughed and found he was still running. He was alive, and so were his brothers and the slaves who were right behind him. More than twenty elephants held the statue of Osiris to prevent it from crashing onto them. Once all the men had passed, they dropped it on the ground and followed the slaves onward with the rhinos.
“Put me down!” shouted Kevin. “I can run!”
“You’re too slow!” Herman shouted back.
“No, I’m not! Just put me down!”
Not wanting to argue, Herman lowered Kevin, but kept his brother’s hand firmly in his. Suddenly the royal servants appeared, riding on camels, heading for Benjamin and his family. They knew who had started this!
Kevin saw the look on Benjamin’s face and turned around. Alarmed, they shouted in unison.
“Sebastian! There are men chasing us, Sebastian!”
“Don’t look back!” snapped Sebastian. “Just keep running! We’re nearly there!”
Alby was bawling at the terrifying things happening around them. The elephants were brandishing their deadly tusks from side to side to keep the overseers at bay and the rhinos were roaring to the heavens, all deadly beasts that could kill in seconds. Hundreds of slaves were milling forth, sometimes crossing Sebastian’s path, and he shoved at them, frustrated by the delay it caused him. They had to get through. They were nearly at the open gate; they could almost taste freedom.
“Sebastian!” called Benjamin. “They’re gaining on us!”
Sebastian knew what he was doing or so Benjamin hoped, seeing the sweat dripping from his face. He was looking up at the quivering scaffoldings that were jolted sideways in both directions by the crazed animals who rammed their natural weapons at the base. They finally fell towards the direction of the servants as planned, alongside the tumbling statues, and all that could be seen was smoke, sand and rubble.
It was a close call for Benjamin and his family. They finally passed through the open gate with three thousand slaves, emerging from the crumbling city.
“That should keep them busy,” Sebastian panted.
They were all free at last. They had escaped.
Chapter 18
The Red Tents
Over the golden dunes of the desert towards the east, they kept running. Benjamin was tremendously tired from going up and down the wave of hills, but his brain wouldn’t allow his legs to stop. He had to go on, no matter how difficult it was.
Glancing behind at the slave city surrounded by large walls, Benjamin realised it had grown smaller now that they were further away. Thankfully, Alby had ceased to cry. It had been annoying to listen to his wails even after they had escaped. Benjamin was glad that they had got out of that horrible place. Even better was the clear river they found, flowing from the south. This river wasn’t particularly broad nor was it narrow, but about as wide as a road. It was a fast-flowing current and therefore drinkable, and it looked very inviting.
Sebastian was the first of the family to dip his head into the water. Alby followed suit, while Benjamin crawled towards them. He buried his head in the water and drank his fill, quenching the thirst in his dry throat. The bank was teeming with slaves drinking and resting to catch their breath. When they’d all drunk as much as they needed they fell flat on their backs, feeling as if they had drunk the whole river dry. They were reinvigorated by the healing liquid. Benjamin listened to his own breathing for a while, in and out, like a pump inflating and deflating, until he had finally caught his breath.
“The river’s going that way.” Kevin was peering over the bank. “All the way down there.”
Further to their left was a waterfall, flowing down to the sandy dunes. They couldn’t tell where they were nor which way to go.
“We’re in Egypta, so we need to go east,” panted Sebastian. “That’s where Aradia lies. That’s our way home. If only we knew which way east lies.”
“Benjamin, why don’t you use that compass of yours?” Herman suggested.
Benjamin nodded and took out the Unique Compass to find the blue needle facing downwards. He wanted badly to go home and didn’t need to say anything; his heart did the talking. In response, the blue needle swung upward to face the east and then spoke to him: To cross the river is dangerous. Find another way. Best to go north.
Benjamin sighed as he put away the compass. “That way is east, across the river,” he said, pointing.
“Where did you get that compass?” Sebastian came over to have a look.
“Herman gave it to me.” Benjamin was telling the truth, if not all of it.
“I took it from a man on the battlefield last week,” Herman quickly added.
Sebastian didn’t say anything, nor did he take the compass away as Benjamin had feared he might. He was too exhausted.
“Right, then, no time to waste,” he muttered. “Have one last drink and we’ll go on.” Sebastian raised his hand to signal the slaves, elephants and rhinos to drink before resuming their journey.
They nodded and did as they were told, drinking as much as their stomachs could hold. Their problem was now lack of food, as they hadn’t eaten since that morning. When they would eat again was a mystery, and Benjamin hoped that it wouldn’t be too far in the future.
Before Benjamin could make a move, he accidentally slipped off the bank and fell into the cool river with Kevin and Alby, realising with horror that the current was so strong that they wouldn’t make it back.
The three cried out to their elder brothers who quickly dived in, heading towards the waterfall. Haroon and the slaves screamed. They tried to reach them but their hands didn’t reach that far. As Benjamin went over the edge, he was knocked unconscious. He saw and remembered no more.
*
Benjamin had a very strange dream, probably the most frightening one of his life. A pitch-black tunnel surrounded him, with railway tracks sprawled out beneath. Where he was he didn’t know, but he was running and he was not alone.
There were two others trailing beside him, children as young as himself: a blond-haired boy and a red-haired girl; both looked scared.
Benjamin didn’t know who they were, yet he felt connected to them in a way he didn’t understand.
Gasping for bre
ath, the three ran side by side, skipping over the large wooden planks intersecting the train tracks.
Why were they running?
Were they trying to get away from something?
Choo-choo!
A light suddenly appeared, shining dimly from behind. Benjamin looked around and his heart jolted with fright. They were being chased by a large black train, a steam locomotive, which was gaining on them. Benjamin could hear it chugging away with steam bursting out of the top.
“Come on, Billy! Come on, Zephraim!” shouted the red-haired girl.
“Don’t worry, Emily, we’re right beside you,” said the blond boy.
“We’re nearly there, Emily! Look!” Benjamin heard himself shout. Why did he shout these words? Who is Zephraim?
Looking at the two other children, Benjamin felt that they were his friends; yet he’d never met them before. The feeling grew in his heart while he ran side by side with them; it was something that he couldn’t explain. It was warm, like the light at the end of the tunnel.
Whiteness covered him and Benjamin was blinded. Everything had vanished. Billy and Emily weren’t there anymore, and neither was the train nor the tunnel.
He could see nothing except his naked hands and feet and body, all floating in mid-air.
Then the whiteness disappeared. He was plunged back into the body of the boy he was possessing, Zephraim, but this time he was elsewhere, perhaps in a classroom of some sort. He looked around and found himself in a workroom, with several tables fixed to welding machines. He looked down to check if he was wearing a school uniform and found that he was. There was a black blazer over his white shirt, which was tucked inside a pair of black trousers. He wore heavy boots, and his tie was an interesting blend of black and green stripes.
He heard peals of laughter. He wasn’t alone. Was it Billy and Emily? No.
It was someone else, two girls, both wearing the same uniform with ties of black and red stripes. The colours seemed to represent their school houses.
Who are they? thought Benjamin.
They were sitting on the tables, having a good laugh at a joke he didn’t understand. It was all incomprehensible until he realised that he must be having a dream, then he calmed down.
“Zephraim, Zephraim!” said the first girl with a wave of her hand. “Remember the detention that Barbie got from Mrs. Idris?”
Benjamin burst out laughing. He must be going mad. What was funny about that?
“It’s not funny, Mariam!” said the second girl.
Who are Barbie and Mariam?
“Want detention? Want detention?” Benjamin found himself saying, mimicking a retired teacher known to them all.
They laughed again.
Now another voice was calling out to him from a distance.
“Benjamin! Benjamin!”
It sounded very like -
It couldn’t be. Opening his eyes, he saw that he had been right. It was none other than Prince Adam. He was here.
*
“Am I still dreaming?”
“No, Benjamin. It’s really me.”
Benjamin sat up straight. How long had he been unconscious? He rubbed his eyes and looked down at himself. He was no longer dressed in his ragged man-skirt but in a pair of shorts and a buttoned T-shirt, and his feet were covered with a pair of ankle socks, everything in a shade of brown. He looked around to see where he was.
He was in a large velvet tent, dark and smelling of Aradian perfumes. The floor was covered with sheets of embroidered fabric and heaps of cushions. Prince Adam was kneeling before him with a smile on his face. Kevin and Alby were standing behind him, wearing the same clothes as himself and holding hands with an older girl. It was Kaileena. Benjamin smiled at the sight of her; it warmed his heart.
“Adam?” Benjamin mumbled.
“Are you all right, Benjamin?”
“I think so. What happened? I was falling over the side of the waterfall, and then I –”
Benjamin stopped, reluctant to recount his dream. It would have his friends thinking he was weird. But it had seemed so real!
“Don’t worry, you’re safe now,” Prince Adam reassured him. “You’re in the safest place you can be.”
Benjamin responded with a questioning look.
“Two of our patrol guards found you and your brothers by the river nearby. You were the only one who remained unconscious. We were starting to worry, but thankfully you’re back with us again.”
Benjamin must have been so immersed in the dream that he’d found it difficult to return to reality. Then he gasped at the realisation. “And the other slaves?” he piped up. “Are they safe?”
“They were left behind when you were washed away. I’ve sent a few soldiers to bring them here. They shouldn’t be too long. Ten wagons of food and water went with them. It should be enough”
“And my sisters and uncle?”
“They’re all safe at home.”
Benjamin blew a deep breath of relief. They were safe.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“It’s Friday, the nineteenth of October, at six o’clock in the evening,” replied Prince Adam.
Benjamin nodded his thanks. He would remember that date.
“You escaped this afternoon,” Kaileena added. “No days have passed; only a few hours.”
At the sound of her voice, Benjamin’s heart melted. It felt like home. “Are Sebastian and the others okay?” he asked, realising they were nowhere to be seen.
“They’re fine. They’re with the other generals,” said Prince Adam, handing him some fruit to eat. Benjamin thanked him and fell on the food. “Other generals?” he queried, puzzled.
Prince Adam turned to Kaileena with a smile. “Let’s show him what we’ve brought with us.”
None of this was making any sense. Benjamin didn’t understand how his friends had ended up in Egypta, but if it was the same day, where else could they be?
Grabbing Prince Adam’s hand to help himself up, he rose and walked unsteadily towards the entrance. Opening the flap, he gasped loudly at what he saw. It was so different from the last time he’d been awake, he might as well have travelled to a different world. Hundreds of red tents covered the ground, some small and some larger, all spread out in rows from one end of the area to the next. The ground was covered with red carpet, joined up to leave no spaces in between.
Sitting nearby were the soldiers of the Aradian army, hunched over fires which blazed from piles of sooty wood in black grates, and alongside them sat the Orellions and birds.
“Welcome to the Red Tents,” said Prince Adam, smiling, “a gathering of Aradian armies.”
Before Benjamin could question him, he heard a voice cry out and gasped once more. They were here, too, his band! The girls: Kelindra, Amberina, Ruby, and the boys: Musab and Hamish, they were all here.
“What’s going on?” Benjamin asked, blinking rapidly.
“We’re rescuing you, of course!” chuckled Kelindra.
“Prince Adam gathered us all to go and get you,” Hamish added.
“Jordanna and Nadine returned to Springhaven with your uncle from Hearth village,” Kaileena explained. “They came to me first, then I went straight to Prince Adam and told him everything.”
“So here we all are,” finished Musab, clutching Benjamin’s shoulder.
Benjamin was finding this very hard to believe. “You all came to rescue me and my brothers?” He tried breathing deeply, but it didn’t help much.
“Don’t look at me,” said Kaileena. “It was all Prince Adam’s doing.”
Prince Adam grabbed Benjamin’s shoulders and turned him around to face him. “You promised you’d rescue me if I got kidnapped, and you did. Now I’m returning the favour; I’m rescuing you. No matter what, I’ll always keep you and your family safe.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“You should thank Kaileena too,” Prince Adam pointed out. “If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have known about the abduction.”
Benjamin turned to her and looked deep into her eyes. Her hands held Kevin and Alby and this tenderness for his brothers touched him. She was also his true friend. How could anyone not feel lucky to know her?
“No one’s ever done anything like this for me,” he stuttered. “Nothing like this.” He took another look at the armies of the Aradian Empire, admiring its power.
Everyone smiled in response.
“Thank you, I really do appreciate it. What’s going to happen now?”
Prince Adam sighed. Benjamin looked around to see everyone fidgeting nervously.
“Adam?” Benjamin persisted. He wondered if he had somehow said the wrong thing. Why this sudden silence?
Prince Adam looked at him with an anxious expression. “My father’s here,” he explained, “and he’s very angry.”
This was rather frightening, but there was no denying the look in Prince Adam’s eyes. It was true.
Benjamin heaved a deep breath.
“My father intends to punish the pharaoh for violating the law of freedom.” Prince Adam folded his arms and looked down at the ground in worry. “I’m afraid I have some bad news that we need to discuss.”
Benjamin frowned at his words. What could it be? Everything had seemed to be fine now that they had come, and his friends and family were safe.
“Benjamin, try not to get upset.”
Benjamin’s frown deepened. He looked at his friends, who were all staring at the ground. They looked sad.
Prince Adam drew a deep breath. “There are still some children who need to be rescued.”
Benjamin was sure he must have misheard. That wasn’t possible; it just couldn’t be true. His throat was dry as he shouted, “No!”
Everyone stepped back.
“I won’t believe it!” he went on. “I won’t!”