Chapter 17

The Rescue

Present day.

Tamina was lying on the hot sand, parched and tired. Her skin was burning and the sun had took the last drop of water from her body. Her mind was hazy and her body ached like she had been ran over by a truck. Under the hot, merciless sun, she lied there, on a desolate, unknown part of the desert Bukhara, unable to move or think. Slowly, her breathing slowed down and she was slowly loosing her consciousness. Suddenly, a shadow appeared above her which saved her temporarily from the scorching heat of sun.

‘ Owais, I fooled you. ‘ Tamina said with the last energy left in her and then blacked out entirely.

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Kaidan rode his horse as fast as he could, but kept quiet while he followed Tamina and Arham. He had found out that the child which Owais was hunting for was his dearest friend col. Barnes’s and vowed to save the child at any cost. Kaidan reached first the Battle ground of Restum before Tamina and was secretly watching the mother and the kid. He saw a fragile girl hiding her kid in a Barrel and bravely misleading Owais and his men to the other direction. He saw her praying to the God, screaming her heart out for her son's safety. It brought tears to his eyes, but he knew that he can’t afford to save both of them from Owais and he choose to save the child. He picked up the kid from inside the barrel after shoving off the sand and Arham was fast asleep even in that heat. Kaidan looked closely at the baby to make sure it was breathing and heaved a sigh when he found that the kid was alive.

‘ You really are a tough guy, aren’t you? ‘. Kaidan asked with a small smile on his lips.

He noticed the rosary that hung on Arham's neck and took it out and put it in his pocket. Then carefully tying the baby to his chest, Kaidan mounted his horse and rode towards the South, away from Belgarath, towards Bayadar.

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Tamina slowly opened her eyes, and the only thing she could see was darkness. She slowly felt her surroundings using her hand and found out that she was lying on a mattress made of some course material. She tried to sit up on the bed and from there she could see a small slit of a door through which light was sweeping in. She tried to move, but her body was sore and ached like hell. Suddenly, she remembered her son Arham and tried to run towards the door to get out of the room. But her fragile body was failing her and she fell on the floor making a loud noise. She tried to walk but her legs felt like jelly, so she tried to crawl towards the door. Suddenly the door opened and a chubby woman entered into the room.

‘ What are you doing on the floor? ‘. The woman asked in her rough, manly voice.

‘ My son, I need to see him. Right now. My son. ‘ Tamina mumbled.

‘ I don’t think you can walk right now. You have numerous wounds and scratches in your legs and some of them are infected.’ The woman said.

‘ Where am I? ‘. Tamina suddenly asked.

‘ You will soon find out. Now rest. ‘ The woman said and then exited the room, giving Tamina a pitying look.

‘ Wait, I.. ‘ . Tamina called from behind but the woman had already left the room.

‘ No, my son. ‘ Tamina hyperventilated and again tried to stand up and walk towards the door but all in vain.

Her legs were initially numb and now, she have started to feel the pain. She sat on the floor and raised her tunic to take a look at her legs.

Tamina's soles had no skin on them and numerous cuts and scratches had made her pale skin turn into red. Somebody had applied medicine on the wounds, but it burned like hell. Tears filled her eyes, as she felt helpless.

‘ God! You should have left me to die, but saved my son. Please keep him safe. I beg you’. Tamina prayed silently as tears rolled down her cheeks.

She collapsed on the floor, unable to move. She didn’t know how long she had stayed like that, but to her it felt like ages. Worry was killing her on the inside. The door to the room again opened and the same women appeared again, this time with a tray in her hands. Placing the tray on a nearby table, she looked at Tamina, who was now collapsed on the floor.

‘ You are still here? ‘.The woman asked.

‘ I can’t move’. Tamina said helplessly.

‘ Yes, you can’t. Have you seen your legs.? They don’t have skin on some places. It will take weeks to heal. Seems like you have been running through the desert without any sandals. ‘. The woman said.

‘ Who are no … where do… no.. How did I end up here and who are you? What is this place? ‘. Tamina asked confused, a thousand words spilling out of her mouth at a time.

‘ You can call me Aahida. I am a matron here. The rest of your questions, somebody else will soon answer them for you. Just wait a little. ‘ Aahida said helping Tamina of the floor, into the bed.

Then she inspected Tamina's wounds and then left after properly dressing them. After a few minutes, the door again opened and this time, four men entered into the room. One of them was an old, shrivelled man with a long white beard, one was a middle aged man, tall and well built with a square jaw. The other two men were very young, probably in their twenties.

‘ How are you young lady? ‘. Omar asked in his soft voice. Tamina was afraid to see the group of men, but when she saw Owais was not among them, she relaxed a bit.

‘ Who are you? ‘. Her voice trembled as she spoke.

‘ Oh kid, don’t be afraid. We are not here to harm you. Relax. ‘ Omar said.

‘ Who are you and what is this place.?’ Tamina asked gaining more courage.

‘ I am Omar Divit. People call me the great leader. My men found you amidst the desert, dying. Seems like somebody was chasing you and you ran all the way even without a shoe. ‘ Omar said.

‘ Where am I? ‘. Tamina asked.

‘ We rescued you from the desert while patrolling. You are at one of our camps.’ Omar said.

‘ What camp? ‘. Tamina asked.

‘ We are the Sharia's.’ Guzman spoke this time.

‘ You are the Sharias? ‘. Tamina asked, her voice trembling.

‘ Are you afraid? Oh god! Why is everyone looking at us with terror in their eyes when they hear that we are the sharias.? Don’t worry, we won’t harm you. ‘ Omar said with a slight chuckle.

Tamina remained silent, overwhelmed by all those things happening to her. At first, she lost her brother, then her lover left her with his baby, then she abandoned her son to save him, and now she had ended up in a hide out of the terrorist group sharias somewhere in the middle of the vast Bukhara desert. She was now face to face with her brother’s murderers and she was crawling on fear.

‘ Where are you from, girl.? What’s your name? ‘. Omar asked sitting at the edge of her bed.

‘ Why do you want to know?’. Tamina asked, with a little disrespect.

‘ This wench! Do you know who you are talking to?. This is how you spoke to the person who saved your life? ‘. Guzman sneered at her but Omar stopped him.

‘ Calm down Guzman, can’t you see, the girl is afraid of us. Give her time to adjust with everything in here. ‘ Omar said and then turned to Tamina.

‘ Take rest. We will talk again after your wounds are healed.’ Omar said and then left the room. Guzman glared at Tamina before leaving the room and it gave her chills.

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‘ She is not even telling her name. ‘ Omar said thinking deeply.

‘ We shouldn’t have brought her here. We should just have left her there to die. Ungrateful wench! I really don’t like her way of talking'. Guzman said irritated.

‘ We don’t know anything about that girl. What if she is a spy for the government? We can’t trust nobody at this time. The last battle with the Army had left a huge impact on us and we are in a huge crisis, you know that. So Guzman, investigate about the girl and report to me. Ask your men in Belgarath and Bayadar and collect everything on her. By the look of it, she must be from either two of the villages. Let’s find out if she is dangerous or useful to us. ‘ Omar said.

‘ Yes, great leader. ‘ Guzman bowed and then left the room.

‘ Oh god! Why would you send a girl to us at a time of hardship like this? ‘. Omar asked, staring at the darkness of his room.

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Dr. Amir rushed to the OP as soon as he got the call informing Col. Barnes got admitted due to alcohol intoxication from the hospital. As soon as he reached the ward, he saw two gentlemen waiting outside the room, talking to each other.

‘ Is this col. Barnes's room? ‘. Dr. Amir asked.

‘ Yes, and you are. ?‘ One of the men asked.

‘ I am Dr. Amir, his friend. You are? ‘. Dr. Amir asked.

‘ Oh, I am Timothy Dalton, and this is Francis Wilbur. We are from the police. ‘ The two men introduced themselves.

‘ May I ask the reason.. ‘. Dr. Amir asked.

‘ Your friend has been drinking all day and made a mess on the street and smashed somebody’s head with a beer bottle. He has been arrested for assault. Somebody has to settle the case, Doctor. ‘ Timothy said.

‘ I will do it. ‘ Dr. Amir said heaving a sigh.

‘ Are you sure, Doctor?. As I have heard, this is the third time in two weeks. That man is dangerous. ‘ Francis said.

‘ Yes, I am sure. Please lead the way. ‘ Dr. Amir said.

After settling the case, Dr. Amir returned back to the hospital where col. Barnes was admitted. He opened the door and saw col. Barnes sleeping peacefully after making a ruckus. He sat beside on a chair and watched his friend, and his heart ached for him. Dr. Amir thought that col. Barnes would get better each day, but as the days passed, he got addicted to alcohol and now there is no way out from this.

Col. Barnes stirred on his sleep, mumbling something.

‘ I am sorry, Tami, forgive me. ‘ Col. Barnes mumbled and then went back to sleep.

Dr. Amir's eyes filled with tears seeing how miserable his friend's life has become.

‘ I am sorry, buddy. I can’t be of any help to you. I know you are in pain. I am really sorry. I can’t imagine you like this, colonel. You are no longer the old, brave and young man I know. Come back, Jacob. Fight. Fight for her and live. ‘ Dr. Amir said staring at his sleeping friend.

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Dear readers,

First of all thank you guys for choosing this book to read. Your support has been a great inspiration for me. Now, it's time for me to take a daring step forward in my writing career. The book is going to be paywalled from the next chapter on onwards. Kindly show your love and support by unlocking the chapters and as a writer, looking forward to it.

Thank you all.