Kamal's Death

The crew of seven and Captain Naguib set out on the scout ship The Hunter before lunch the next day.  There was a small bit of fanfare surrounding them as they boarded the ship with their supplies and bid their loved ones farewell.  Mariah was ecstatic to be a part of such a serious expedition.  The fact that she could help and that they let Lady accompany them on a military strike meant a great deal to her. 

         The sun was portside as they let out the sails and headed north.  There was not a cloud in the sky and Mariah felt like it was the perfect start to things.  She turned her attention to the duties that Kaysem had given her while they were aboard The Hunter together.  Everyone had to pitch in and pull their weight or they would make it.

 

        Far off in the distant Northern Wastelands, a young man was chained up and brutally beaten for trying to escape once again.  Kamal had no idea how much time had passed since he’d been taken a prisoner of war and taken to Fort Odaiba.  Had it been days? Weeks? Months? He had couldn’t remember.  It felt like an eternity until he’d figure out how to pick the lock on chains and slip by the sleeping foreman of the mines.  The foreman woke up, found him gone and gave a good chase to get him back. 

         Kamal’s only friend in the mines was a young man named Terry.  He had been named Terrance the Traveler and he came from a far off land he called Gaul.  Terry’s ship had blown off course and he’d been taken prisoner by the Venusians as well.  Now he was doomed to work in the kitchen at the fort the rest of his meager days.  Despite orders not to, Terry brought Kamal food and water whenever he could.  The two of them would talk and tell stories about their homelands.  Terry had an accent and did originally speak Rushlin, but he’d picked up enough to communicate quiet well between talking to Kamal and listening the Venusians talk to other prisoners.  Terry’s favorite stories revolved around Kamal’s sister named Mariah. 

       After the first attempt at escape, Kamal was isolated and Terry had a difficult time visiting him.  The Venusians were up to something that much Terry knew but what?  Why had they taken all these prisoners of war to work in the mines?  Terry didn’t know what they were mining or why, but he didn’t like it�"not one bit.

 

 

        Sea mist sprayed up around Mariah and droplets of water glistened on her dress like diamonds.  Watching her, Kaysem remembered that the name Mariah meant the sea.  It was no wonder she felt at home there.  Several dolphins swam up along side the small scout ship and played along its bow.  Mariah smiled and reached out her hands toward them as they sprayed her with more water playfully.  This made Mariah laugh.

       Zev was also watching Mariah play with the dolphins.  He couldn’t help but think of how much he was still in love with her.  She was a truly radiant beauty who’d captured his heart.  He didn’t understand why she had to let him go.  He was very tempted to join her when she stood up from the side of the boat and began dancing on the deck.  He missed singing, dancing and touching her.  Oh, how he missed touching her.  It was torture to be so near her and yet so far away.

        As the moon rose high in the sky that night, the crew disappeared below deck to eat their dinner.  They drank, laughed and were merry for the most part despite the solemn occasion that had brought them together.  When dinner was over, they retired to their hammocks to sleep.

        The next morning they approached Melsa bay.  It was a rocky coast that was not easy to navigate through at all, but Abdul did his best.  They dropped anchor in a shallow spot just off the coast and took row boats the rest of the way to the island.  Snow capped peaks greeted them, but they knew they would not make it that far in land. The fort lie at the foot of the mountains and was at least a day’s hike from the coast.

        All of the crew put on their packs and pulled the boats up onto the rocky land.  They turned over the row boats and began their long walk inland.  The land was rocky and a short, pale green grass covered the hard ground.  Silence seemed to fill every boulder and every blade of grass.  Where were all the birds and animals that should have lived there?

        Mariah wondered if she could really save her brothers.  They had always gotten her out of trouble and saved her when she needed it.  Now it was her turn to get them out of trouble and she wasn’t sure she could do it.  She hadn’t signed up for a life in the military like they had.  She was a woman and a Lady of the Castle.  Mariah certainly hadn’t been trained for such things, but she found herself wanting to do it anyway.  She felt not only obligated to save them, but obligated to see if she had what it took to be tough.  She wanted to know she could step to the challenges that life threw at her and she wanted to know that she was more than just a beautiful face.  She wanted to be capable and useful to those around her. 

       It was nearly nightfall when Kaysem said to the crew, “Let’s stop here.”

      As built a fire, ate and then settled for the night, Mariah couldn’t help but wonder why the Venusians had to cause so much trouble.  Why did they target the peaceful people of Rushmal Shalin?  Some said that they felt Rushmal Shalin was a threat somehow, while others thought the Venusians believed that the melting pot of people there were not good enough to survive.  No one really knew their motivations for sure, but Mariah wished there was a way to get through to them.  She shivered in the cold and pulled her cloak around herself as the sun set another day.  It felt like the Venusians just didn’t value human life at all and that made Mariah most sad. 

       That night, Zev heard Mariah crying herself to sleep.  He moved over to where she was lying and asked if she was all right.

       “I’m fine,” she sniffled.

       “Are you sure?”

       “Yes,” she said quietly. 

       “I could lay here with you if you’d like.”

       “No, I said I was fine,” she insisted scooting away from him subtlety.

       “If you are sure,” he said quietly.

       “Absolutely,” Mariah assured him. As she drifted to sleep she found herself longing for him to put his arms around her.  She hadn’t let him because she didn’t want to give him the wrong idea.  As nice as it would have been to feel him close, she didn’t want him to think it meant they were getting back together.  She was just going to have to be strong on her own.  That was all.

        In the morning they put out their fire and packed up camp.  It was time to move on and the fort was in sight. As they climbed steadily uphill, Zev caught up to Mariah once again and tried to talk to her.

        “How are you doing this morning?” he asked as he walked beside her.

        “Fine and you?”

        Zev was silent for a moment before he said, “Do you remember when I gave you the Broue Braco Stone?”

       “Yes, and do you remember how Nida came up to you and kissed you after that?”

       “That was a misunderstanding,” Zev insisted.

       “She misunderstood that your date wasn’t until later that day,” Mariah said angrily.

       “I told her that you and I were together and that I wasn’t interested in her.”

       “Then why did she act as if the two of you had been together for some time and were still together?”

        “I do not know,” was all Zev could say.

         Mariah sighed.  “Everyone wanted us to get married, but you wanted to play around and have fun.  In all honesty, we are both too young to worry about marriage right now.  I left you and Falcon Castle so that I could grow up.  I suggest you take the time to do the same.”

       “Maybe someday we can be back together again then?” Zev asked hopefully.

       “Someday!” she laughed.  “And when that someday comes, I won’t need your love any more Zev.  Why can’t you see that? You are the one who is going to lose out because you couldn’t make a commitment.”  And with that Mariah took several extra long strides in order to get ahead of him.  She didn’t wish to speak to him any longer.  She’d said what needed said over and over, and yet he refused to listen.  Why was that?

        That same morning Terry awakened early on his bed of rags in the corner of the kitchen.  He pulled himself up and started making the morning meal.  This was a special day for the Commander of the Venusians daughter.  She was to be made an honorary warrior in the army.  She was a strong woman, but often cruel and petty.  In fact, Terry dreaded her presence in the kitchen more than the Commanders.  At least the Commander had sense enough to stay out of the business of making meals, where as his daughter didn’t.  She was always trying to tell Terry what to do and how to do it, which got on his nerves a great deal.  But that didn’t matter that day, for Terry was going to the diversion of the ceremony in order to sneak back down into the mines to check on his friend Kamal.  He hadn’t seen Kamal in several days and was quite worried about him.

 

        The fort was a black square building that rose from the gray, rocky ground.  Its small four battlement towers were silent reminders of the strict and solemn eyes that watched over the whole of the land.  Mariah thought perhaps it was looked like a giant solider standing guard, protecting whatever secrets might lie within.  The rescuers came to the back of the fort, which was built into the side of the hill and found an entrance hidden among the boulders and outcroppings.   The slipped down into entrance area only to find themselves confronted with an iron gate that was solidity locked.   Abdul smiled and dug out a couple of pins from his pocket and picked the lock in no time.  Before they knew it, the Iron Gate swung open with a loud conspicuous creak. 

       “How did you do that?” Mariah asked as she slipped pasted Abdul and into the fort.

       “I specialize in lock picking.  The Venusians aren’t very creative in their locks either, so that helped.”

        Mariah smiled and said, “Good work,” as Abdul closed the gate behind them.

       The seven of them crept through the long, narrow halls of the simply designed fort.  There was a ring of outer rooms and a ring of inner rooms both connected by one long rectangular hallway.  The entrance to the mines was somewhere in the back of the building, but they weren’t sure exactly where.  It didn’t take long to follow the hallway to the first room with an open door�"the kitchen.

       Pots and pans tumbled and crashed to the floor in a loud clang.  Someone yelled at the man to keep working and clean the mess up.  He muttered something and set about picking up the mess.  The person who had yelled left through another door and the kitchen was virtually empty once again.

       Mariah caught a glimpse of the man picking up the pots and pans and her heart skipped a beat.  His fine pink lips were drawn into an almost comical smile and his muscles bulged silently under his dark green tunic.  It had once been a fine tunic with gold embroidery and jewels for buttons.  When he spotted the stunned part, he only stared back at them.  He did not yell for anyone to come and arrest them or anything.  Instead, he laughed softly to himself as if Mariah and company were yet another joke to be played on him that morning. 

        Terry thought perhaps he was imagining the beautiful woman standing before him or that he not yet woken up from a very pleasant dream.  “Who are you?” he finally managed to ask.

        Mariah put her finger to her lips to indicate that he should keep quiet.  “My name is Mariah and I am here to rescue my brother.  Will you help us?”  She didn’t know why, but she felt as if she could trust him immediately.

       “Sure thing, who is your brother?”

       “His name is Kamal and he was taken prisoner when the Venusians attacked the Jinoan Islands at Rushmal Shalin.”

       “I know Kamal,” Terry said.  “I am not completely sure where he is at, but I have a good idea.  Would you like me take you to him?”

       “Yes!” Mariah said.

       “Hold on a minute, how do we know we can trust him?” Kaysem asked Mariah.

       “Because my name is Terry and I am also a prisoner here.  All I ask is that you take me with you when you leave.  I have nothing to gain by turning you in,” he replied. 

       “We’d be happy to help you,” Mariah smiled.

       Zev rolled his eyes in jealousy.  He could see the obvious connection between Mariah and Terry and he did not like it at all.

       “In here,” Terry said pointing toward the pantry.  He opened the door for them and they just stared at the empty shelves. 

      “You want to hide us in an empty pantry? You are really killing us here.  The least you could do is provide some food for us!” Abdul cried.

      “I am not hiding you in here,” Terry insisted.  “There is a secret passage that leads down into the mines from here.  Now, are you going to follow me or not?”

      Mariah stepped inside the pantry and Kaysem followed.  Abdul, Abzeem, Farook and Zev reluctantly squeezed into the small space.  Terry shut the pantry door behind them and then pushed on the back shelves.  A door swung open and the hot, dirty air came rushing up at them from the mines. 

      “See, secret passage,” Terry said starting down the steep passage way.

      “Guess if you showed us, it can’t be all that secret,” Abzeem commented.

      “No, but it won’t matter once we are all out of here will it?” Terry said feeling his way along the sides of the dark cavern.

      “I can’t see a thing,” Mariah commented.

      “Don’t worry, we will come to the main shaft here shortly,” Terry assured her.

      “What is that smell?” Kaysem asked covering his nose. 
      “The gas that escapes the ore they are mining down here.  I believe I heard them call it Ty,” Terry replied.  “You get used to the smell after a while.”

      “Isn’t Ty gas what we need to cure Caleb?” Kaysem asked Mariah.

      “Yes, but how do we take it back with us?” Mariah asked.

      Everyone came to a stop at a black wall in front of them.  Terry pushed on it and it swung open to reveal a large mine shaft before them.  Many tired and dirty men walked the length of the shaft, up and down pushing carts full of ore from back of the mine to the surface. 

       “Won’t somebody see us?” Mariah asked as they started walking down the main shaft together.

      “The slave drivers have rounds they have to make and we should be safe since it is between rounds,” Terry replied.

       The group continued down the smelly, dark and slippery slope.  The main shaft split off into two shafts and Terry led them down the left path, past the echoing sound of pick axes.  The chained men were so oblivious that the never turned to see who walked past them�"nor would they have cared.  The combination of back-breaking labor and inhaling the poisonous air had made them all sleepy to the world.  The path narrowed considerably before they came to a halt beside a cart.

        Someone moaned, but they could not see who.  It was Mariah who looked down and saw her brother lying in a heap beside the broken cart.  He was beaten badly, bleeding and unable to move from his spot.  Mariah’s heart broke the moment she realized who he was and what had happened.  She dropped down to the ground beside him and took his head in her lap.

       “Kamal!” she cried. 

       “Mariah?” he asked looking up into her eyes.  He wasn’t sure it was really her.

       “It’s me.  I am here.  Oh, what have they done to you?” she asked noticing how broken and bloody he was in her arms.

       “I tried to escape,” he said reaching up to grab her cloak with his bloody hand. 

       “You’ve got to hold on.  We are going to take you home,” Mariah said, tears escaping her eyes and dropping onto his dirty face.

       “He needs a doctor,” Terry said.

       “They just left him in here to die?” Mariah cried, “Savages!”

       “Come on, lets get him up into a cart and then we can haul him out the front gate,” Terry suggested.

       “I don’t want to die here,” Kamal said.  “It is too dark and cold.”

       “Don’t worry,” Mariah said as she helped everyone pick her brother up and gently place him in the ore cart.  They placed rags over him and asked that he remain quiet so that they could escape.  Terry led the way back up the steep slope toward the main shaft.  It took them nearly a half an hour to get up to the warm, bright surface again.

       The light grew brighter and brighter as the neared the exit of the mines.  They found themselves on the left side of the fort, alone and undisturbed by anyone.  They had begun using the right exit, which emptied directly into the fort for security.  The left one had not yet been boarded up, but it was nearly abandoned.  The sun was setting in the west as the men pulled Kamal from the cart and set him on the ground.  Kamal moaned, closed his eyes and did not move from his spot on the hard ground.

       Mariah knelt down next to him and picked up his head and hands again.  “You can’t die on me!” she pleaded.  She knew that he was fading fast and there was no doctor to patch him up.  The prospects of returning him back to Falcon Castle alive were slim, but Mariah tried not to think about that.  “Remember when you cut my hair while I was sleeping? I threatened to have Mother and Father give you up for adoption?”

       “I sold your hair so I could buy you your swing,” Kamal said weakly.

       “I know.  You messed up, but you meant well.  Just like you messed up getting caught, but you meant well.  Let’s go home and forget about this mistake like we did you cutting my hair.”

       “Not going to….make it home.”

       “No, no! Don’t say that.  Of course you’ll make it home.”

       “It’s too late,” he said, the light fading from his eyes. 

        Blood stained Mariah’s dress and cloaked but she didn’t even notice.  “It’s not too late.  No, Kamal.  Stay here with me.  I need you,” she sobbed.

       Kamal closed his eyes and drew one last, rattled breath. 
       Mariah pulled him toward her chest and continued to sob.  She couldn’t believe that he was really and truly gone.  Her insides were turned upside down and inside out.  She couldn’t breathe through her sobbing.  It was just too much to take.  “It’s too late.   It’s too late,” she cried over and over.  “I couldn’t save him.”

       “There is nothing you could have done,” Terry said softly as he touched her on the shoulder.  He wished he could take away her pain.  He really felt for her.

       “It isn’t fair,” Mariah cried still holding Kamal in her lap.  She put her dirty, bloody hand up to her face.  “It isn’t fair!”

        Kaysem and Terry tried to pull her away from her brother’s lifeless body.  Terry took her in his arms and let her cry.  Mariah wrapped her arms around this mysterious stranger and felt his strength and warmth surround her.  Though they barely knew each other, both felt comfort from the embrace.  Terry was not without sadness at the loss of his friend.  After Mariah had cried all the tears she could, she pulled back and looked into Terry’s kind eyes.  It mattered not that six other people stood there watching.  There was just the two of them.  Terry’s lips descended upon Mariah’s in sweet, tender kiss.

        Zev watched in bitter surprise.  How could Mariah allow a stranger to touch her and comfort her like that? It was his job to help her feel better, not his.  Anger rose inside of Zev and he clenched his fists eager to take a swing.  Before he knew what came over him, Zev shoved Terry away from Mariah and then hit him with right hook.  Terry stumbled back completely stunned by the blow.

        Mariah was stunned as well.  “What in the hell was that for?”

       “He had no right!” Zev shouted.

       “Ssshh,” Kaysem said.  “We could still be caught!”

       Mariah moved over to make sure Terry was okay.  He thought he might have a painful and good size bruise, but he was fine otherwise. 
       “Jealous b*****d,” Mariah muttered as she caressed Terry’s face.

       “It is all right,” Terry said.  “We need to worry about getting out of here though�"and fast.”