It is twilight. I review the plan with each step I take, lest I make a mistake. I go toward the red group’s base through the buildings, which are just some walls rather than the building. Once in a while I stop to check the situation.
I almost reach the building which Samirana drew it for me and I saw it from afar. This is just in front of me. A big building which like all other buildings, its upper floors are ruined and as far as I can see only three floors of the building are useable. The rear parts of the building are completely ruined and there is no other building within a 20-meter radius of this building.
I move forward from the margins slowly and stop at a distance of a few meters from the base. I hide behind a wall and wait. I can see two soldiers who stand guarding in the third floor. At the margin of 20-meter radius four soldiers also are guarding just within a five or six-meter radius.
I pause for a while both to keep cool and the necessary situation appears. I close my eyes and empty my mind. I stay this way for a minute, then take a deep breath, use autosuggestion, open my eyes and take the first step.
It is very harder than what I thought. It is like one hundred people pull me with a rope from behind and just by one person from the reds’ base. I think of Vorarin, and the fire.
I take another step hardly, but guiding my feet is not under my control. I take some steps until I reach behind a thick iron beam. I have to wait a little until the red soldier be in front of me. He approaches me calmly and slowly, while he doesn’t care about around more. He sometime looks downward and then looks at the sky. He also shakes his head or hand for his teammates.
It seems I am lucky. He stops in three steps away from me, and his teammates are in the farthest point from us. Thanks to an iron beam and a wall, I am out of his sight. I close my eyes for the last time and take steps at full speed toward him.
I jump at him who is subjected to my sudden attack, and we both roll on the sands. Before I can react, I see in absolute belief that he gets up from the ground sooner than me and comes toward me with the fisted hands. I feel like someone pulls me from behind. His fist passes by my face at a distance of some centimeters, but when I come to myself, his leg lands on my breast and after slightly flying in the air, I come down on the sands on my back. I feel no energy in my body. My eyes become dim and I suffer vertigo. I feel as if my heart beats in my head.
Hurry up! Get up! Sit on your knees!
I open my eyes hardly and look at the red soldier who has a mask on his face.
Hey! What’s the matter?
I hear two footsteps who come toward us.
I said sit on your knees!
He shows me to obey him with a kick on my side. I hold my breath while I sit with the help of my right arm and push my other and on my breast to mitigate its pain. I close my eyes and sit on my knees with the help of my hand.
Who’s he?
The first soldier who still aimed his gun at me, says:
I don’t know. He suddenly went at me.
One of those two soldiers comes toward me, he smiles while appraises me and says:
I know him. We were looking for you in the heavens but now found you on the earth!
The best reaction is to be silent.
Surely you’ve come to save your friend!
I stipulate:
I came to make a deal.
He says angrily:
A deal?
He sneers:
Thanks God I didn’t blow your brains out.
I say with a sardonic tone:
I don’t think Baltin has the same idea about the fire.
He stops appraising me and stares at me without motion. Time passes in silence for a while until I feel that I am lifting from the ground. The same soldier grabs my collar and lifts me.
Come in, I see what’re you saying.
Suddenly the first soldier says insistently:
I’ll take him in.
The second soldier push me ahead and says indifferently:
No, you stay here. I myself will take him. I wanna see how he wants to deal.
He pushes me forward with his gun every two or three steps. Now that we are close to the entrance door of the building, I can see four personnel carriers on the right side of the building. One soldier is guarding between them. As we approach there, he looks at us carefully.
We go toward the door and stop in front it. Four support beams hold the door from two sides. The corners of the door are rough casted and two steps are made with arranging two rows of stones. The outer side color of the door has turned to yellow-orange and many holes can be seen on it.
The wicket on the door is pushed aside and two red eyes appear. The handle is pulled and the door opens. Three soldiers, who are gathered around the fire, rise as we enter. Three other soldiers are guarding in the first floor. Two other soldiers at the end of the building, one standing and one sitting, turn toward us as we enter. The right side of the door have been out of my sight. Two soldiers are sitting on two almost intact wing chairs and are talking to each other.
His gun is pressed on my back and guide me toward them. One of them rises and makes the other one rises. Then they stride the remained steps toward us and stop one step away.
How did you find him?
The soldier removes his gun from my back and says:
He himself came here.
Those two soldiers who have not mask on their face, look at each other in wonder and then the soldier who is in front of me, clasps his hands behind his back and while his cold look goes with his face, says:
What do you mean?
When I arrived I saw him fighting with one of our soldiers.
The soldier who is in front of me turns his eyes to me and while frowns, says:
Well?
The soldier behind me replies instead of me:
He says that he’s come to make a deal.
He has his own tongue and can talk. You can go now.
Yes sir!
The sound of opening the door is heard and he gets out through the door.
Well?
I try not to look in his eyes lest I can talk more easily.
I want to talk with your chief.
The corner of his lips slightly lifts up:
Baltin isn’t here. You can make deal with me!
I guess he should be Lasfor. I just look at him. The sound of burning firewood and the wind are the only sounds which can be heard. It seems all are looking at us.
Send him where his friend is!
One of those soldiers who are sitting around the fire, comes toward me with no delay and takes me dragging to the end of the base. In some parts a few threadbare chairs and furniture are seen. But a very big luster still hangs from the ceiling. Just the door and the windows has made here like a building unless it is rather like a niches.
In the front are two doors at the end of the building where those two soldiers are guarding. As we approach, one of them who is sitting on the floor, rises and along with the other one comes toward us.
Throw him where his friend is.
The soldier who takes me over, says:
Move along!
We go toward the right door, it opens and I am pushed in. At first, I think there is dark but the light is as other parts of the building. All of a sudden I see Vorarin who rises from the floor and approaches me. His vision is sand-blind and his face is loose. As I look at him, he lowers his head and looks at other point.
I’m really sorry. I did my best but I didn’t think things go this way. They showed up suddenly. I tried to get away but they caught me.
It doesn’t matter anymore. We should think of get away.
He lifts his head and looks me in the eyes, and says with regret and sympathy:
If we stayed together, we’d be caught.
It doesn’t matter. I said forget it. We should find a way to get out.
I go toward him and ask him whispering:
Where’s the fire?
He reaches out his hand to h
is coat to take it out but I hold his hand in midway and say slowly:
No, keep it by yourself
He looks at me with wide open eyes but obeys me without question.
Well, what do you want to do now? Any plan?
I shake my head and while I try keep cool, say:
We should wait.
I feel this plan is slightly problematic. Something unexpected has happened which is unknown to me. A bad feeling trembles each single cell of my body.
Wait for what?
I shrug my shoulders foolishly and say:
I don’t know…maybe for an event…I don’t know, we should wait.
One of his eyebrows is lifted and he looks at me in wonder.
Is there any hole?
I checked the room, there’s no way out. Although the wall is a rather thin, I don’t think we could use it. There’s a big hole on the wall but…
Where?
He shakes his head hopelessly and says:
Unfortunately it’s out of the room on the left side, but they have covered it with a piece of debris.
I shake my head to confirm and I say:
Yeah I saw there.
Time passes in silence for a while until he says:
What’re you thinking about?
Nothing!
You’re so cool! I can’t realize at all what do you want to do. Would you tell me something about your plan? I’m getting mad!
I try to elude replying:
Be quiet! They may hear us.
I go toward the door and look for a hole. I find one easily. Two soldiers are still sitting there and talk to each other. The last orange rays of sunshine are fading away and now the reflection of the fire can be seen on the wall. The shadows of the soldiers come along with the fire and are drawn with trembling flames on the wall.
As far as I can see everything is the same as before. All of a sudden door opens and a soldier, while carries a rather big box, goes toward the same man who is the chief in the case of Baltin absence. He disappears behind a wall and I can’t see them anymore.
Before I stop watching, suddenly my eyes meet the first floor. The ground and the first floor have not any ceiling! Now our work has become harder than we guessed.
What happened?
Anxiety has changed his face completely.
I don’t know what happened.
All of a sudden the sound of an explosion and collapsing buildings are heard. Then the earth quakes and makes all the people aghast. With this blasting sound there wouldn’t be any way to return and we should only trust in God. I go quickly to the hole on the door to check the situation.
What happened? What’s going on?
His voice trills clearly. I try to calm him without I turn to him:
Nothing, just be calm. We should wait.
Vorarin groans:
What do you mean?
I say persistently:
Just be quiet and calm and listen to me, do whatever I say.
As I guessed, the event caused a commotion in the soldiers. All the red soldiers are standing cautiously and up in arms.
What’s that?
Hey what’s going on? What happened?
One soldier who I can’t see him, says:
It’s not clear but I can see so much dust in the air. It seems a building is exploded.
Their chief comes one step ahead.
Go and see what happened. In case of any danger, call us. One of you also go with them. And you! Keep them company.
One of two soldiers who are guarding in front of the door, joins those three soldiers quickly. The other soldiers jump down from the first floor and before they exit, lower their head in sign of salute and then get out.
Vorarin loses his patience and while he groans, says:
Hey, would you tell me what’s going on here or not?
I see a soldier who comes toward us.
Move away from the door, Vorarin!
I also go aside with Vorarin and sit on the floor. It takes more time than I guess until I hear the door flies open. I sign Vorarin with my hand to stay there. Then I go to the door half-raised. The door stands ajar and no one enters. I look outside through the hole to be sure.
There is no sign of the soldier who stood guard here, and also of the soldier who was coming here. The number of soldiers is reduced to four. Two of them are in the ground floor and two other in the first floor. I call Vorarin with my hand to come near me:
Follow me with no question!
He shakes his head. I open the door slowly but I can’t prevent the creaky sound of the door. I move my hand slower to reduce the sound. With each creaking of the door, I gnash more tightly insomuch my jaws ache.
I open the door so that we can exit and I step out of the room. I see the shadow of a soldier in the ground floor who is guarding near the fire, but there is no sign of the second one.
There is no way to return anymore. I wish I had not any heart in my breast. This way that it beats in my breast, makes a sound which causes all notice us. Luckily, Vorarin is behind me and he can’t see my face. I gulp my saliva and take another step.
Six steps to escape or two steps to take risk! I don’t know which way I should choose. Now that the way of escape is in front of me, freedom has closed my eyes. I am overcome by temptation to take the next step but suddenly the spell is broken and it brings me to reason. So I take two risky steps and reach the next room.
Leave the door completely open and come in the room with me.
Vorarin winces to show me his opposition and roars:
What’re you saying? We can get away from here now!
I control myself hardly and say:
I said listen to my words. Hurry up, come with me.
Suddenly the shadow on the wall stops moving and reaches out his hand to his gun. I jump into the room and when Vorarin sees this, he also dives into the room. I close the door quickly but quietly and keep away from it. I seek refuge in a corner along with Vorarin, keep close to the wall and hide ourselves in the dark.
I hear a footstep. He takes step almost fast and I hear the sound of his gun which he replaces in his hands. Vorarin bites his lower lip and his face is tensed. As far as I hear he takes step toward us. Maybe he has heard my heartbeat! The foot step stops a few meters away from the door and a shout is heard:
They got away!
I heard the second footstep which after passing a distance in running, stops near the first soldier and asks in wonder or out of fear:
How did they escape?
I don’t know but they’re not in the room.
All of a sudden I feel that my stomach crumples up. I gnash my teeth and stare at the door.
We must go for them. We shouldn’t lose them so easily. I don’t think they’ve gone away from here.
Their chief says out of disability:
We should find them. We shouldn’t lose them. Do whatever you can to find them.
Then he shouts:
You two, come down from there!
All of a sudden the earth quakes and then those two soldiers say together:
We’re ready!
You take these two and with all the guards go and find them. Just find them!
Hurry up! Let’s go.
I go to the door to be sure. I check the situation through the hole on the door; nobody is there in the building. Then I signal quietly Vorarin, who is still near the wall, to come toward me. His face clearly shows that he is still in consternation.
We should get out of here before they return.
I open the door and we go toward the hole on the wall. The light of the fire is so weak that just can move the darkness away once in a while. Now we can get out of here with no trouble.
I sit on the ground to kick the debris, which has blocked the hole, more easily. I bend my leg to beat the wall with all force that Vorarin voice stops me:
Come, take this from me. It’s a heavy responsibility. I don’t want to get the jitters anymore.
I a
m afraid of taking it too, as if I have a grenade in my hand. I take the “fire” from him with a blink and thanks him, then put it on a pocket behind my neck. I hit the first beat with all force. The wall trembles a little and the blocked part slightly moves. Luckily this makes less sound. I give the wall the second hit and the blocked part heels.
Eventually the blocked part falls like a cut tree by the pressure of Vorarin’s hands at a 30-degree angle. A hole within an almost one meter radius and one meter from the ground appears in front us.
You go first.
He lies on the ground without any resist and passes through the hole and I do the same as he did. Suddenly I see a red soldier who held his gun toward Vorarin.
Sit down on your knees quickly! Damn you! Didn’t hear what I said?
Suddenly a shout is heard from behind:
Catch them! Don’t let them get away! Come, they’re here.
I see him running. I look at those two soldiers dumbfounded and in disbelief. My body is stiffed. My eyes just move on those three soldiers. All of a sudden Vorarin blinks at me and jump on the first soldier who held his gun toward him:
Get away!
I take step immediately. It seems I am a marionette in the hands of the puppeteer. I can’t do anything for Vorarin. I take my steps fast and long. I get away in opposite direction of the soldiers, to the end of the building. I should go far from here as much as I can. I run to the buildings which surrounded the main building like the wall. I hear a soldier asks help from two other soldiers to follow me.
They run fast, one can say they run double a common person. So they reach me sooner than I thought. I should enter the desolated buildings to get away from them.
Suddenly a cloud of dust rises in the air in front of me. I turn my head to check the situation. Those three soldiers are shooting toward me. I am just ten meters away to get out of open space and enter the ruins.
I try to swerve while I am running to bewilder them. Eventually I reach a building and with the help of my hand dive into the building through a window. Then, pushing my body on a door, I enter the room. I go up stairs to the second floor. I go to another building over the ruined part of the wall with a long jump. Then I jump down from the rooftop and enter a side street.
Upon this escape, now they are far from me. I enter other buildings in the same manner and bewilder them by changing my direction. But they are still around me. I reduce my speed to both gather my attention and get my breath back. My breast stings and I cough.
I bend on my knees and press my sides. Then I take step tottering and pass through a building. I should take a rest. I feel nausea. I go toward a wall, sit and lean on it. I feel lack of oxygen. I have to take deep breath to prevent of suffocation.
The footsteps of the red soldiers are closing to me sporadically. I hear their shouts cursing each other. I make no attempt to escape and just sitting here. I am so thirsty. Maybe darkness helps me.
Hey, are you sure he came this way?
Yeah, I myself saw him. He was going this way, he couldn’t go too far. He seemed to be wounded.
Search everywhere carefully. He may hid somewhere.
I close my eyes and say:
My God help me.
When I open my eyes, I see Samirana standing in front of me.
Are you okay?
I try much to avoid frowning but I can’t control my voice:
Where were you?
Stay here. Now is my turn.
She disappears behind the wall. I hear her footstep which changes to running.
I found him! He’s getting away from here! Come this way.
Then I hear their footsteps in chase of samirana.
The diluted air flows in my lungs little by little. Now I breathe almost easily and regularly and my body fills with energy gradually so that I can move my feet again. My body is sticky and my palate become coarse. My shoulders slightly aches but luckily my wounds don’t. I should have a look at them. They may be infected during this period of time.
Although the weather is calm, I feel cold which increases momentarily. The moon is upper than the horizon line of the buildings and I can see it easily. I bring out my insignia and turn it on. Then I enter the “group members” option and, looking for a turned-on insignia, I review the list. All is off except for one: Saidan. He is almost two hundred meters away from me and is moving. With an approximate and assumed line, I draw a pathway for him. As I see, he is going to the place which we arranged.
I stand on my feet with the help of the wall and remain that way to get my balance. Then I take step in the dark and go for Saidan. The earth is slightly lighted under the moonlight and I can recognize my way.
I go toward that point from each way which shortens my way, but at a fixed speed to be able to react in case of danger. When he reaches that point, I am just twenty meters away from him. At a distance of five meters, I stand just behind a wall of a building. Then I go toward a wall which is full of the holes and cracks and look inside. I see Saidan sitting on the debris and is busy with his insignia. He pushes a button and brings it close to his mouth:
Where’re you Zairas?
I go toward the entrance door and enter without replying him. As he sees me, Saidan stands up and asks frightened:
Are you safe?
Yeah!
He takes a deep breath and says:
What happened to you? How you managed to escape?
I ask in wonder:
What? What do you mean how I did escape?
All of a sudden a shadow appears at the door and, while she pants continuously for breath, says:
The mission accomplished.
Then Samirana enters the building, while she put her hand on one of her kidneys.
Where’s Vorarin?
I bethink myself of Vorarin with Samirana’s question. I had forgotten Vorarin completely.
I’m here!
Vorarin gets out of the room in front of my wondering eyes and while he has a flask of water in his hand says:
What a plan you made!
Hey! What’s going on here?
I can’t avoid asking this question. Samirana, while one of her eyebrows is lifted, says:
What’s happened then?
What’re Vorarin doing here?
Where he supposed to be? We had gone to save Vorarin, if I’m not wrong!
Vorarin was caught in the last moment.
Saidan interferes and says:
Hey, hey wait a minute. There’s a problem. How did you escape from there?
Samirana is confused, so she says:
Let me see, what happened? You talk slightly strange. Didn’t you act according to plan?
I say:
Saidan is speaking a little strange.
Saidan says excited:
I thought you understood.
I open my arms and say:
What?
Do you remember when you jumped at me?
Yeah.
After I caught you, I tried to take you into their base but that guy came and prevented me.
Well?
Then I tried to find a way but I couldn’t approach the base. I had to stand guard. They were watching me from the first and second floor. If I made a suspicious act, they would find out.
I don’t realize at all what do you mean.
When Samirana exploded the building I wasn’t there.
You mean you didn’t open the door?
He lifts his hands and says:
No way. When the building was exploded, a group of them went out. I take advantage of the opportunity and went to the base. I turned around the building and I came where you and Vorarin were supposed to get away from. That time, I saw you coming out through the hole. Unluckily, that moment, the soldier who was protecting the vehicles, saw us. vorarin jumped at me and I was constrained to arrest him. After that those three soldiers followed you, I took advantage of the opportunity and went away from there with Vorarin.
I feel that I have faced w
ith the hardest mathematical problem.
So who opened the door for us?
Saidan shrugs. Samirana asks:
How did you escape?
While I try to concentrate my mind, I say:
After the explosion, the door was opened according to our plan. One of the soldiers did that. But there was a problem which was the first and second floor hadn’t roof, that is, I mean there was an empty space through there the soldiers in those floors could see downstairs easily. We were constrained to enter the next room and make them imagine we escaped. All of the soldiers got out of the building. We took advantage of the opportunity too and got out through the hole. You know the rest.
When I finish my word, all sink in thinking about our savior. I can’t believe that a spy from the “Hope” group is among the reds, or maybe the matter is something else. Maybe the reason for he helps us is something else. Maybe, maybe…there are thousands of reasons for someone to help us. Vorarin reaches out the water flask to me:
I think you need some water.
I take the flask from him and then he continues:
He might be anyone but he’s been a chance for us.
I can’t forget that soldier. It seemed that he knew us and was aware of our plan, or without knowing the plan, he conformed to our plan by the chance.
There’s no sign of Nabidak and Parkad and others. What should we do now?
We all come down to earth with Vorarin’s words. Saidan, while shrugs, with a loose face and half-opened eyes, says:
I don’t know anything at all. My mind is blocked. I’ve never been in such situation. They’re caught on one hand, and the fire on other hand…
Vorarin says:
What about we search for them? Maybe we could find them. There’re three hypotheses; they’re prisoner of the blue group, prisoner of red group or, they managed to get away.
I say:
In my opinion, we should get out of here; this is the law of our group: if one is caught, we shouldn’t go to save.
They turn and stare at me as I guessed. Saidan leers at me while he frowns. Although he says nothing, his face remains frowning.
A mild smile can be seen hardly on Samirana’s face. She looks at me with her eyes alight.
I agree with Zairas. The fire is more important.
Her words correspond with her face mood. Vorarin also agrees with two of us.
I agree with you too. Our goal was to keep the fire away from them.
Saidan shows his opposition at last and says:
Maybe the need our help. We can’t leave here this way.
Samirana folds her arms and says:
You seem you’re not of our group. Don’t you know the laws of the group? When you have a big goal, even your friend doesn’t matter at all. This is a brief of the laws.
Saidan shows no resist and, while hold his hand in front of her to show his deference, says:
Well…okay. I have nothing to say anymore.
I show them my empty hands and say:
We can’t get out of here without our knapsacks. We need foodstuff and tools.
Saidan goes toward the entrance door and says:
So let’s go.
Chapter 26
The savior