by ammyford1
We began to make our way alongside the castle, but there were spot lights on the ground casting their light onto the walls and it made me feel exposed and vulnerable.
The sound of male voices echoed through the still night air and we froze against the castle wall in a shadowy corner away from the lights. We stayed there for several minutes hardly daring to breathe. After what seemed like forever a boat’s engine started up and the voices disappeared along with the boat. We breathed a sigh of relief and Elaya indicated for us to continue. She took hold of my hand as we neared a corner of the building and poked her head around the corner cautiously. When she was satisfied that the coast was clear she looked back at me and mouthed, “Ready?”
I nodded. We sprinted towards some undergrowth by the edge of the water and ducked behind the reeds. My chest felt like it was about to burst. It must have been a good hundred metres and my heart had been in my throat the whole time. I’d expected to hear gun shots at any point.
“Well done!” Elaya said.
“Won’t they have seen us on the camera?” I asked, still waiting for men with guns to come storming out of the fortress.
“No, I disabled that one over there.” She pointed to a camera above the spot where we had begun our sprint. “They won’t realise the picture on their screen hasn’t changed until it gets light,” she said with a cheeky grin. “The boat’s just over there.” She pointed to another patch of reeds further along the shore.
“Are you ready to make another dash for it?”
I nodded. “As I’ll ever be.” I was still out of breath but running on adrenaline.
We kept to the shoreline this time, it was dark and out of the light. Sure enough, there was a little wooden rowing boat, tucked in the reeds.
“Jump in,” she directed. She stood in the water and held the boat steady.
Once I was in she pushed us away from the water’s edge and the movement caused something in the bushes to stir. It was highly likely that there were crocodiles and all manner of flesh eating predators hiding in the murky depths of the swamp. Crocs and piranhas versus Bazeera’s thugs with machine guns? It was a tough call.
I climbed in and settled on the bench seat. The boat hardly moved as she jumped in and took up her position between the oars and opposite me. She began to row and we glided smoothly across the water. It was still dark although there was a hint of dawn fast approaching. We didn’t speak and I sat listening to the rhythmic sweep of the oars.
With Elaya’s powerful stroke we were across the water and bumping into the bank on the other side in less than ten minutes. I hopped out this time and pulled the boat as far as I could onto the shore. I may not have been as strong as Elaya but I was keen to show willing.
She joined me on the bank.
“I’m afraid it’s a bit of a walk to the truck.”
Now that the initial adrenaline had subsided and we seemed to have made a successful escape without being stunned or peppered with bullets, my head hurt and I felt weak with exhaustion. I looked back at Bazeera’s fortress and sent up a little prayer for Galius, Ahran and Toby. I had never asked for God’s help as much as I had in the last week. I just hoped he was listening.
Feeling like I had lead boots on, I let Elaya lead the way. She had torn up her sweatshirt and bound my feet to offer some protection against the thick undergrowth but over the next couple of hours the fabric of the sweatshirt offered little protection against some of the sharper sticks and debris on the jungle floor. By the time we came across the truck sitting under a camouflage net, my legs and feet had been ripped to shreds.
“We’ll see to those when we get to the safe house,” Elaya said sympathetically.
She pulled off the camouflage net and we both got in. I laid my head back against the seat not quite able to believe we had got out alive. Elaya reversed out of the truck’s hiding spot and we bumped along uneven ground until we finally came across the gravelly surface of a more established track.
“Where are we going?” I asked, stifling a yawn.
“There is a vacant farm cottage belonging to a friend of Galius’s, you should be safe there until we get back.”
“You’re not staying with me?” There was a panicky edge to my voice.
“No, I’ll need to go back and pick the boys up.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for them?”
“Galius hasn’t called me yet and it’s better that I get you to safety first. They might have to wait until nightfall again before they can attempt to leave.”
Where were they? I was pretty sure that the picture of Ahran bound and beaten was going to haunt me for the rest of my life.
Once we had left the jungle behind, we drove for another forty minutes. By the time we got to the cottage it was almost light. I felt more tired than I had ever felt. We turned off the road down a farm track and came across a detached cottage nestled in an overgrown garden about half a mile down. Elaya jumped out and got a bag from the boot. I carefully climbed down out of the cab and she helped me to the cottage. The front door had been left on the latch for us. Inside it smelt slightly musty like it hadn’t been lived in for a while and it was basic with the minimum of furniture.
“I’ll switch the hot water on so that you can have a bath,” she said as she eased me down onto a couch in the kitchen.
“Thanks.”
“Let me make you a hot drink whilst the water heats up.”
“No let me do it,” I said, standing up.
“You stay there,” she insisted. “I can manage.” She smiled and turned to switch the kettle on.
“There should be something in here to help with the pain,” she said rummaging around in her bag. She pulled out a small black bag with a zipper.
“Here put this on your tongue,” she instructed, shaking a disc of paper out of a small plastic dispenser. “It should make you more comfortable.”
I laid the disc on my tongue. Within thirty seconds the pain in my legs, feet and head started to ease, but not only that, I didn’t feel quite so tired and felt mildly more cheerful. It must have been the same thing I had been given in the doctor’s emergency clinic.
“I’ve had this stuff before,” I explained. “It’s amazing.”
Elaya nodded but made no comment. I suppose Ramian medicine was commonplace to her. She made me a cup of coffee for which I was grateful although I would have almost swum back across that swamp for a decent cup of tea. She tested the hot water and satisfied that it was hot enough, filled a bowl.
“Put your feet in here and I’ll clean your wounds,” she said as she knelt down in front of me.
I felt embarrassed by her attentiveness. “No, don’t be silly you don’t have to do that,” I said and reached down to take the gauze she was soaking from her. She was probably just as tired as I was.
She swatted my hand away. “Sophie, don’t be difficult,” she said with a hint of humour in her voice. There was little fight left in me so I gave in.
Elaya gently dabbed at my wounds, I braced myself, waiting for the sting but it never came.
“I feel I owe you an apology,” she began.
“What for?” I couldn’t for the life of me think why she should be apologising. If anyone should be apologising it should have been me.
She paused. “I had no right to say anything to you about your relationship with my brother.”
“Did you tell him about our conversation?” I asked a little surprised.
“He wanted to know why you were upset yesterday at the hotel.”
And I thought I had done a good job at covering up my feelings.
“I told him I had asked you about your relationship with him, he was really angry with me.”
“Don’t blame yourself Elaya, you were only looking out for him, he’s your brother.”
“I know but it was none of my business. He cares about you Sophie, I have never heard him talk about anybody the way he talks about you.”
My heart joyfully pole-vaulted around in my
chest.
“If you make him happy then none of what I spoke of matters.”
I sighed. “But I couldn’t live with myself if he lost everything, he has worked so hard to get what he wants.”
“He’ll find a way of making it work, he wants to be with you and that’s all there is to it.”
“I can’t see how it can work, we are literally worlds apart,” I said forlornly.
Elaya looked me in the eyes.
“Just follow your heart, Sophie, and everything else will fall into place.”
“If only it were that easy,” I said with a sigh. “But thanks anyway. That means a lot.” I felt Elaya and I could be friends but I wasn’t going to let Ahran ruin his life for me even if it meant mine would never be the same again. I had made up my mind that I would walk away once this was all over. It would be best for everyone.
“There, that’s better.” Elaya gently patted my legs dry.
“Thank you,” I said.
“My pleasure.” She jumped up and took a small canister from her bag. She sprayed a fine mist over my legs. “This will help the healing process. Why don’t you go and have a bath and try and get some sleep?”
“You must be just as exhausted as I am Elaya, I can wait. You go and have a soak,” I urged.
“I need to get the truck back in case Galius and Ahran decide to make a run for it,” she said.
She returned to her bag. “You’ll be safe, but I’ll leave you with a gun just in case.” She pulled out a small handgun and handed it to me handle first.
“Just point and shoot,” she said as casually as if she was explaining how to use a digital camera.
“Okay,” I said, taking it from her. It was contemptible how quickly I had been forced to accept the use of a firearm, but then my life had changed beyond all recognition in the space of a few days.
“I better get back.” She hesitated.
“Don’t worry about me, you go on,” I said. The quicker she got going the quicker they would all return, God willing.
She bent down and gave me a squeeze. “Try not to worry.”
Now that was easier said than done.
I sat there listening to the sound of the truck’s engine as she drove back down the track until I couldn’t hear it anymore. I could be seeing Toby and Ahran in a matter of hours. Please, please, please let them be safe. I was putting all my faith in Galius, a man I had only just met.
I began to search through the kitchen cupboards in search of something to eat and found some unopened but stale crackers. I made myself another coffee to help wash them down and then went upstairs to the bathroom to run a bath. I placed the gun on the floor next to the bath, took off Salara’s blood-stained nightdress and lowered myself into the steaming water. The cuts on my legs had already begun to heal.
Closing my eyes I savoured the heat, it felt so good. I had a long soak until the water had almost gone cold and then I got out and wrapped myself in a towel. I washed Salara’s nightdress with some shampoo I’d found and picked up the gun before padding into the bedroom and spreading the nightdress out on the radiator to dry. Someone had made up the bed with some fresh bed linen and I slid between the sheets grateful to whoever had been so hospitable. It was heartening to know that there were at least some people in this world who were kind and thoughtful and good.
Chapter 22
I don’t know how long I had been asleep but it was dark when I woke up. It took a second or two to remember where I was and how I’d got there.
Where were they? I couldn’t hear any noise downstairs. Surely they should be here by now? I switched the bedside lamp on, and sat there for a few moments. Where the hell were they? My anxiety increased as the seconds passed. Something must have gone wrong. My mind raced through a number of scenarios none of which ended well. I tried to take a few deep breaths to calm my rising panic. Okay, Sophie, breathe! Elaya did say that Galius would probably wait until it got dark again before he attempted to rescue Ahran and Toby. There was no clock in the room, it may have only just got dark. I got out of bed, took Salara’s nightdress off the radiator, and slipped it over my head.
I picked the gun up from the bedside table and went downstairs into the kitchen. If the kitchen clock was correct it was eleven o’clock. “Where the bloody hell are they?” I muttered to myself. I had slept for over twelve hours and it had been dark for the last three, why weren’t they here yet?
I had no way of contacting them. All I could do was wait. My hands shook filling the kettle as I mechanically went through the motions of making a coffee. My imagination flashed with all sorts of terrifying images and the room started to spin. I gripped the edge of the kitchen surface to steady myself. I drew in some shaky breaths and blew out my cheeks to try and combat the swimmy feeling that had come over me. I resisted the urge to cry. Perhaps I should go to the nearest farmhouse. Wherever that was? I could try to get hold of Halsan, it was better than sitting here fearing the worst. I started to go through the cupboards to see if there was an old coat or something that would be more presentable than a nightdress. There was no coat but a pair of old overalls hung on a hook in the cupboard under the stairs. I stepped into them and wrinkled my nose at their musty smell. I went back into the kitchen and started to rummage through the drawers hoping I might just be lucky enough to find a torch.
I heard the latch go on the front door and stopped in my tracks. My heart lurched hopefully and I straightened waiting to hear the babble of voices that would undoubtedly follow.
Nothing.
My heart started to beat faster with that now all too familiar feeling of fear. I hadn’t heard a vehicle arrive.
I snatched the gun off the kitchen table and aimed it at the closed door leading to the passageway and the front door. My heart beat in my ears as the door handle turned and my finger hovered over the trigger ready to pull it the second the intruder was in. The door swung open making me flinch.
“Don’t move!” I screamed.
The young man standing in the doorway nearly jumped out of his skin, his face freezing into a mask of horror when he saw the gun. His hands flew up automatically in a gesture of surrender.
I hesitated as we stared at one another. Who was this guy? He couldn’t have been much more than eighteen and was wearing a worn t-shirt, jeans and work boots. He wasn’t like any of Bazeera’s people I had seen and he looked as startled as a rabbit in the headlights.
He spoke to me in Ramian but didn’t take his eyes from the gun in my hand. I didn’t have a clue what he was saying and stood there debating whether it was safe to lower the gun.
The boy was getting more and more agitated as he spoke. He shook his head in frustration. Warily he lowered his hands. He didn’t appear to have a weapon and I didn’t feel overly threatened so I followed suit. “Galius!” he cried, pointing to his watch and beckoning for me to follow him.
“You know Galius?” I asked.
He nodded and tapped his watch impatiently, turning towards the front door and beckoning for me to follow him again. He was literally hopping from one foot to the other. Wherever he wanted us to go, he wanted us to get there quickly.
“Okay,” I said and followed him to the front door. He looked back a couple of times to check I hadn’t changed my mind, his anxiety was almost tangible. I wondered whether it was too early to feel relieved that he seemed to have had some contact with them. Parked outside the front of the cottage was a state of the art hover bike, it looked like a quad bike but with no wheels. That’s why I hadn’t heard him arrive.
He straddled the machine, started it and held out his hand to help me on. I climbed on board and grabbed his waist as we sped off. We flew down a series of farm tracks and as we approached an open gateway, I was pretty sure I could hear the distant rumble of an engine. We raced through the gateway and into a large field with an airstrip running down the middle of it. There was a small aeroplane at one end, its engine idling loudly. As we got closer I noticed there was nothing state of the art
about the plane. Even to my untrained eye it looked old. The boy stopped the bike by the wing of the plane and indicated for me to get off.
Suddenly, another vehicle screamed through the gateway approaching us at speed and the boy all but pushed me off the bike. I didn’t even have a chance to say thank you before he spun round and took off in the opposite direction leaving me standing by the plane wondering what the hell was going on.
The approaching vehicle had made it to almost half way across the field when a second vehicle roared through the gateway. To my intense relief I recognised the first vehicle, it was the pickup truck Elaya had used, and then to my utter horror I realised they were being chased.
The plane’s engines revved as the truck got nearer. It came to a screeching halt in front of me. Ahran and Elaya jumped out leaving the doors wide open in their hurry. I cannot describe how good it was to see them running towards me with Toby in Ahran’s arms. And then their pursuers opened fire on them.
“Get in the plane!” Ahran yelled as the electric sound of lasers rained down around us.
Without hesitation I turned and scrambled up into the plane. It started to move and I looked around to see how far the others were behind me. How they missed the laser fire, I do not know. Ahran threw Toby into the plane and Elaya jumped in behind him. The plane began to pick up speed and Ahran just about managed to scramble in through the door himself before we lifted off the ground, the lasers continuing to hit the plane’s fuselage.
Ahran pulled the door shut. “That was close,” he said out of breath.
I could hardly take in what had just happened and simply sat there staring at all three of them speechless. Bazeera’s men were rendered helpless on the ground.
“Auntie Sophie!” Toby threw his arms around my neck and burst into tears.
I hugged him back so tightly, my own tears streaming down my face.
“Oh my God Toby,” I cried into his hair. “Here, let me have a look at you.” I held him away from me so that I could have a good look at his face. He looked pale and frightened, but apart from that he was alive and well. I hugged him to my chest again. “Are you okay? I’ve been so worried.” I held him tightly as we both continued to sob. I never wanted to let him out of my sight again and silently thanked God for answering my prayers. He had seriously gone up in my estimation.