A dangerous smirk broke out across the warrior’s face and as he stepped menacingly towards the little figure he took a swipe at the felon, but the boy ducked around him and weaved past the other stunned warriors with such speed and agility that he had breached their protective barrier and was inside Baal Malii before they knew what was happening.
The sudden change in environment took Dramble by surprise and almost winded him; the lush vegetation and ordered streets of a thriving city stood reaching far beyond the horizon in all directions while the air moved as if driven by the wind and smelt clean and fresh, unlike the polluted sulphur of the ruins.
The sounds of angry footsteps closing in on him, clicking on the dry concrete paths as they ran, shook him from the shock and forced him to seek shelter.
The looming presence of a well manicured park, partially hidden by thick trees, caught his eye and right in the middle was a statue of some robed dude with water falling from his hand and spilling into a concrete tarn immediately below him. Dramble fixated on the concrete reservoir and hoped it was deeper than just a wading pond.
In a run for his life, he sprinted like lightning across deep green grass and dove across the fountain’s decorative low wall, aiming directly for the waters’ soothing bubble splashing into the depths of the fountain’s lagoon. With an expert dive, his entry into the water was almost faultless and left only a ripple breaking the surface and nothing of consequence to point to the fact he had taken refuge below its calming facade.
Feeling the exuberant luxury of soft, clean water almost stunned the small figure. The tepid cool of the fountain’s depths kept him submerged for a long time, enjoying the cleaning freshness, rubbing away days of dusty existence and only the straining of his lungs eventually forced him to the surface. He let out the trapped breath slowly from his complaining lungs and gasped in new air quietly, but keeping a low profile just in case he had been detected.
Glancing around the striking gardens, Dramble waited and listened, straining for the sounds of his pursuers. After nearly fifteen minutes of quiet, he felt assured he had shaken them off and in a smug moment of luxury, he dove for the fountain’s depths again and frolicked in its cleansing opulence.
*~*~*~*
Chapter 21
“Where is your master?!”
A huge black robed figure standing over the blonde girl bored down into Elly’s frightened eyes, demanding an answer, while his huge, hulking companion was silent in anticipation of her reply and concerned to the extent the warrior would go to force her to speak.
“Answer me!” the broken English flared again, while his big arm raised above his head in a threatening pose and just before he delivered his heroic blow, another arm arrested his movement in mid strike.
“I told you not to bruise her! Malhalem will have you executed if his play things are damaged in any way before he has had his picking,” the other huge black robed figure warned.
The cold, staring eyes searched disgustedly at the enormous man holding back his violence. Hesitatingly, he lowered his weapon against the petite woman and then turned back to Elly, his eyes alight with hatred.
“You are fortunate, kafiri, that the commander lends favour towards you, but there are other ways to extract an answer without damaging the mighty leader’s filthy play toys.”
The emphasis made it very clear Elly and the heroic warrior were somehow on opposite sides of an open wound, a battle she didn’t understand.
“Unless of course you cooperate!” the harsh voice offered.
The small woman peered back up at the huge build and quavered with fear; her big blue eyes were moist and had turned a petrified tinge of grey. Her mouth was dry and it took all her concentration and strength just to form an answer that wouldn’t enrage the snorting bull.
“I... I don’t have a master,” Elly shivered.
“WHAT?!”
The raging bull drew the frightened young woman into his sights, snorting dryly. Elly’s innocent reply had enraged him and she was sure he was going to charge. He came within millimetres of her face and erupted.
“It is a disgusting thing and expressly forbidden by the Koyarwar for a woman to roam without permission and unaccompanied by a man! No woman is free to do as she wants; she is a man’s possession and must obey his every whim! This is the law!”
Elly cowered from the angry face, his nostrils flaring with abject hatred, certain if the commander wasn’t in the room with her, she wouldn’t live to see another day.
A gesture between the two black robed men confused Elly and they gathered in a huddle, whispering among themselves. As they bent into the whispers, an ugly, identical mark engraved on their foreheads came into plain sight, sending an urgent shudder up and down Elly’s back. She didn’t know what the mark represented, but the sheer anger sculptured into its artwork was enough to alarm her.
In a moment of bravery, Elly glanced around the room, looking for comfort. It was tastefully furnished and with not too much imagination, it could even be described as opulent. To one side, a fine, see-through gossamer curtain hung lazily across a divide and Elly stared at it with confusion, but glancing warily back at the whispering brutes and momentarily keeping them under her full attention. Elly’s staring gaze peered into the curtain and her curious, but alarmed features concentrated on a silent black blob behind it.
Suddenly, a part of the black blob moved and Elly realised it was a group of black robed women congregated together, their faces completely covered and watching the interrogation through slits in their facial attire but their identities hidden by the semi-opaque curtain.
Her gape was abruptly interrupted as the commander approached her, making her instinctively tense her muscles in preparation for a different tact.
“You must forgive Rashid’s harsh manner, kafiri,“ the smooth baritone voice of the commander drifted over Elly and lulled by its texture, she relaxed just a fraction. “He is used to dealing with the lies and deception of the common kafiri; but you, you are not common. You have been selected to indulge the great leader, an honour not many women have the pleasure of. Now, if you will answer just a few of my questions, then we can get on with something much more pleasant.” He pointed beyond the gossamer curtain to the women beyond. “Massages, beauty treatments, perfuming and even fine clothing and jewels.”
Elly’s eyes riveted onto the curtain again, following the pointing figure.
The commander peered back to Rashid, who was concentrating on a small screen, quickly acknowledging that the commander’s tact was working. “Now, just tell me where the kafiri family is hidden; we know it is somewhere around the place we ‘rescued’ you from this morning.”
Elly’s eyes were blank; she had no idea what the softly spoken commander was talking about. “I don’t know of this kafiri family,” hiding her indignant feelings and well aware she had been ‘abducted’.
The eyes of the commander began to smoulder and Elly could sense the atmosphere was about to change for the worse until a glance from the commander to Rashid evaporated his anger.
“So if you don’t know the location of the kafiri we seek, then how did you come to be in possession of our treats left behind for the family to enjoy.”
Elly defiantly held the gaze of the commander; nothing he was saying was making any sense. She pulled in a frustrated breath and was just about to explain the crazy story of the last few days when a loud wailing voice echoed from outside the window, chanting in a harrowing monotone across the world beyond the room.
The room abruptly emptied, leaving Elly completely alone and bewildered by the strange happenings.
The booming monotone continued and she seemed totally free to roam around at will; the women behind the curtain had disappeared as well, but a soft female voice entering the quiet, changed Elly’s mind.
“Hello. My name is Eliana; what’s yours?”
The petite form of a pretty young woman entered the room, seemingly unconcerned at the distress
Elly was under. Her small frame was adorned in a flowing white dress and her bare feet were tastefully decorated with the clinking jewels of anklets. Her appearance was distracting and elegance flowed around her, while her perfume was gentle, but persuasive. She wasn’t like the black hooded women but Elly was wary anyway and her distraught gaze locked onto Eliana’s beautifully sculptured features, noting her brown eyes were compassionate and inviting.
“E... Elly,” she managed, wondering what new surprise this woman would bring.
“Don’t worry, Elly, Jehovah has everything under control and somehow He will rescue us from Malhalem before he has a chance to violate us,” the unconcerned young woman’s matter-of-fact statement both brought comfort and dread.
“Violate us?!”
Eliana took Elly’s hand and then sat down on the rug next to her, studying Elly’s frightened blue eyes. She had never seen someone so innocent and ignorant of the situation. “I can see why you were chosen; you are stunning, Elly, and after your treatments you will be even more attractive.”
The frustration was beginning to upset Elly; she had no idea what was going on and she became indignant. “I don’t understand anything you are saying or the questions those men were expecting me to answer; why do they keep calling me kafiri or whatever it is?! My name is Elly and where am I and why was I abducted?”
Eliana watched tenderly as the frustrated tears flowed over Elly’s eyelids.
“My friend, Dramble, will be searching for me too,” she sobbed. “Please tell me what’s going on and how I can get out of here.”
*~*~*~*
Dramble’s soaking form kept a low profile, stealing from tree to tree, making his way to the edge of the manicured park. He couldn’t afford to cross a dry path or road until he had dried enough to conceal his direction, but as he stood peering into the dim night and down towards a vast sparkling metropolis, a strange phenomenon vexed his eyes. Stars were prickling in the sky and the hint of a moon began to rise from behind the city skyline.
Then from out of nowhere a low, monotonous voice bellowed out across the city and chanted a disturbing monologue, amplified throughout by some type of sound system. Far away in the distance, black robed figures scurried about into a huge building resembling a temple. Dramble quickly realised the city was being called to worship and if that was the case, he would have free roam until the monotone ceased.
Making good use of the protection offered by the disturbing voice and the absence of sentries, Dramble quickly made his way into the vast city. The sights were overawing him, but he couldn’t afford to ogle too long and in his current outfit, he was a sitting duck.
He noticed a group of houses nearby and made a scurrying beeline for the closest one, wondering whether he could borrow a child-sized black robe and safely blend in.
Peering through a gap in a wooden picket fence, he checked the first house for washing lines, the most obvious place to find the fashion statement he was looking for. But as he searched, the focus of his endeavour was nowhere to be seen. Patiently, he searched the row of dwellings until finally, the last house fulfilled his desire; a small black robe hanging from its hem, supposedly drying in the warm evening air, was his for the borrowing.
Under the cover of darkness and cloaked by the haunting chant bellowing out into the night, Dramble breached the fence and snatched at the robe, dragging it to the ground, spitting wooden clothes pegs from the line in all directions and leaving the rope itself bouncing precariously.
Away from prying eyes and hidden behind the fences, Dramble threw the robe over his small figure and pulled up the hood. His face and body were completely covered; only a small slit for his eyes gave any indication that a live human body was incarcerated within. Feeling less vulnerable in the disguise, but something was still bothering him; the outfit didn’t look anything like the warriors’ he had seen in the past. The warriors’ faces weren’t completely covered and it wasn’t until the monotonous voice stopped and people began to return to their homes, did he realise what was different.
He was disguised as a girl.
*~*~*~*
Chapter 22
It didn’t take many minutes in Eliana’s company for Elly to feel a degree of comfort, but she was suspicious it was just another tactic of the angry hooded men. The confusion that surrounded these men only made Elly more uncertain of their intent, while the questions they were asking her, expecting her to know the answers, frustrated her even further.
Outside the window, the chanting monotone reverberated without end, plunging the confusion to a deeper level and making her feel nauseous.
Eliana must have read the fear in Elly’s eyes and her calming voice broke into Elly’s thoughts. “Don’t be concerned, Elly; just have faith in Jehovah. I know He will deliver us before we have to go anywhere near Malhalem in the morning.”
“Who is Malhalem?” Elly asked, adding to the angst and focusing on Eliana’s brown eyes, searching for signs of treachery.
A concerned battle flared in Eliana’s mind, holding Elly’s piercing blue-eyed stare; either Elly was playing a convincing game or she really didn’t know. After searching Elly’s innocent gaze, Eliana decided it was the latter.
Pulling in a large breath, Eliana settled herself on the rug next to Elly, while the blonde woman followed her every move. The petite Eliana was beautiful to behold, but beauty was deceptive and it would take more than a few kind words for trust to become a valued companion on this new stage. The fact she was dressed in plain white and not the dowdy black Elly saw everywhere, filled her mind with further questions.
“Okay, Malhalem is considered to be one of the mystics of the moon god and is the vassal leader in this region for the one world government. The Alama Masu...”
“The who?!” Elly interrupted, her mind becoming more confused with every new discovery.
Eliana stopped the explanation abruptly, challenging her own appraisal of Elly’s apparent innocence to the world she inhabited. Her eyes narrowed and held Elly’s gaze again, searching for signs of duplicity and then she remembered the tainted grey food crystals and Rashid’s response to the questions the commander was asking.
Eliana’s uncertainty evaporated. The specially adapted grey food crystals didn’t lie and it was nearly impossible for a human being to control their bodies to the extent needed to outwit the cunning tool.
Many of the resistance people had been tripped up by the Alama Masu’s clever weapon and butchered for their subversion against the Alama Masu and the mark. The grey crystals were manufactured by the kafiri as a high nutrition food source and the cylinders were its normal storage receptacle. But the kafiri, forced by the Alama Masu, had added a cocktail of chemical additives to nominated capsules that effectively turned the normal food source into a high-tech tracking device and internal body scanner, until it was evicted by the body some days later. Eliana’s own parents had succumbed to the deceitfulness of the altered food; being discovered without the mark they were immediately executed, and Eliana’s capture and story was closely interwoven with the same sedition.
Eliana glanced to the locked door trapping her and Elly inside the formidable room. Evening worship would be over soon and the Alama Masu interrogators would have been wound up by the Koyarwar, making their return into the harem even more unpredictable and threatening.
“Maybe my own story, Elly, may throw some light on your questions.”
Elly noticed Eliana’s concerned glance to the door and mimicked her action, then with a subtle nod of consent, her gaze rested on the troubled brown eyes once again.
“Not many years before I was born, a great and terrible conflict erupted around my parents’ home, Israel. A great attacking horde swept down from the north, accompanied by enemies to the west and east. The rest of the world had suffered harshly under a catastrophic financial collapse, but Israel prospered under the watchful guiding hand of Jehovah. The horde coveted the exuberant wealth of Israel and the technology she was fa
mous for, but in a collaborated attack sanctioned by most of the world, the horde rattled its warring sabre at the tiny country and unleashed a great rain of nuclear terror aimed at conquering the jewel of Jehovah’s heart and her wealth.
“Needless to say, under Jehovah’s protection, the weapons fell well short of their target and Israel was unaffected, but once the weapons began to launch, countries around the world joined into the fray, using the distraction of the Middle East to exact revenge on neighbours and continents far across the world with their nuclear retaliation. The devastation was terrible and as you have witnessed for yourself beyond the glass walls, it left a trail of destruction and death never before seen.”
Elly swallowed hard as stinging tears erupted and realisation suddenly dawned. The ruins that she and Dramble had been sheltering in were a result of a deliberate act of aggression against a peaceful people unable to defend themselves. A normal city going about their peaceful business, annihilated in seconds.
Eliana watched Elly’s eyes spill over tears onto her face and with a sigh of compassion, she reached in and wrapped the distraught blonde woman in her embrace, but at Elly’s insistence, Eliana continued with her story.
“After seven years, the radioactive fallout more or less settled, but it was still impossible to live in much of the world’s devastated city ruins. There were many who survived but they lived under horrific conditions, immediately converted from suburban city dwellers to jackals living among the ruins or in caves. Some Israeli scientists came up with a radical idea to use a geodesic glass dome to construct complete cities within its glass walls, controlling the atmosphere and environment so people could resettle in destroyed areas. Baal Malii, the city you are now in, is one of them. My father was one of the scientists working on the geodesic design, and he and Mother were sent by the Israeli government to construct it. Many Israeli people came to work on the project, but the project was shrouded in suspicion by the rest of the world. Once it was finally complete and it began to function as it was designed, a band of plundering Alama Masu invaded and captured the dome, setting it up as a captured city.