National Exile: A 21st Century Novel about Nobility, Poverty, and Cruelty
Page 12
Chapter 11
Rain’s a Peacekeeper
Few days had passed and no one knew why Waseem was killed. They received news that the new commander was on his way to the Burj. After he finally arrived, no one was there to welcome him. Most of the crews were in the break room of the Burj.
“So, we are not going to say anything to him?” Rafil asked.
“I could care less. You can go if you want.” Rayan said looking at his cup of coffee.
“I don’t think I care either. Where are Sidra, Rain, and most importantly, Yazan?” Rafil asked.
“I think I saw them in the lab. They have been acting strange ever since Waseem’s funeral.” Mai said.
“I’m sorry. Did you just call that a funeral? We dug a hole in the middle of nowhere and put him in it.” Rayan commented with an angry tone.
“I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry.” Mai said.
“Sorry about what?” A strange voice from behind asked.
They all turned around and saw this tall-scary looking man.
“And who are you again?” Rafil asked.
“I’m your new commander. Now… GET UP… And call everyone for a meeting, NOW…” He shouted.
“Yes, Sir.” Rafil said with an obvious annoyed face.
Fifteen minutes later, everyone was gathered in the main conference room. The new commander sat at the front of the long table. He did not say anything for minutes. He just kept looking at everyone. All 47 workers of the Burj were gathered. He finally said something.
“I’m commander Basam. Starting this moment, I am the commander of this unit. Everything comes and goes by me first. No unauthorized access to any of the labs. You will resume normal orders and instructions for your missions starting next week.”
“Sir, even though we are trained soldiers, we never go out on real missions due to our work in the labs. We’re mainly researchers.” Yazan said.
“This is about to change. You will put your xxx on the lines just like everyone else out there. I don’t care what kind of crap you are developing here…” Commander Basam said.
“If I may interrupt, the crap we develop is what this administration rely on to survive against who you call terrorists.” Sidra said.
“You must be Sidra. I was warned about you. Weren’t you arrested for killing a man and possibly engaging in some terrorists’ activities?”
“They released me which proves that I am innocent.”
“Are you now? We’ll see about that. Now, who is that lady over there?” Commander Basam said pointing at Emma through the class walls of the conference room. He pointed at her with his finger asking her to enter the room. He asked again who she was.
“My name is Emma, Sir. I’m the house keeper.” Emma replied.
“I’m sorry, what? A house keeper? Since when do soldiers get housekeepers?” Commander Basam said with a laugh.
“Sir, few years back, people were dying because of the diseases that superadded due to the lack of medications. That was the time that Emma lost her husband and only daughter. She was homeless, so we took her in, and we gave her a job. The former commander was ok with it.” Yazan explained.
“I don’t care who approved what. I want her out of here… Effective immediately.” Commander Basam ordered.
“But Sir….” Sidra tried talking, but she was immediately interrupted by the commander.
“That would be all for the day. I expect all of you to be up around 5 AM. Is that clear?”
“We wake up at 6 AM every day. I guess one hour earlier would not be a problem.” Rafil whispered to Rain.
“What does he want to us? This man has trouble written all over him.” Rain whispered to Rafil and Sidra.
That night, Sidra and the others had to say goodbye to Emma. They failed to convince the new commander to let her stay. Rain gave her an address in some city and asked her to go there. He told her that it was an address for a mansion and its owners would hire her as a house keeper. She was very grateful for his help, but at the same time, she did not want to leave them.
“Open your hearts and never give up. I know that this country will get back on its feet because of young souls like you. Keep in mind that you will indeed change things around here.” Emma said that as she was leaving the Burj.
She hugged Sidra one last time and told her to take a better care of herself.
Around 5 AM of the next morning, everyone had to be up and ready. The new commander started treating them as soldiers.
“After your morning training, I want a written report of what you worked on the past six months. Be careful what you say. At least half of you will be transferred to the military base in the capital. We need more men, and you are the perfect candidates. Those of you who will get chosen will serve as Peacekeepers in the capital.”
Sidra leaned towards Mai and whispered,
“Peacekeepers? Don’t you think it is a little late for that?”
“It is a great honor for those who get chosen to serve the country at the front lines.” The commander added.
“Yep, just like I expected. He is a total idiot.” Sidra thought.
Not long after that, the new commander released the list of people who actually had to serve as what he called “Peacekeepers.” The list included 25 names, none of which were people we had talked about so far except one name, Rain. Rain was not surprised or upset at all. He knew that the new commander did not like him because of his father’s position in the military. The people on the list had to leave the next day.
“How can you be calm about this? Besides, what ‘peace’ is he talking about? You are going to get yourself killed for sure.” Sidra said.
“I’m totally with her on this. The general public hates the administration and anyone who works for it. It’s totally messed up in the capital. Chances are… that most of you will end up either killed or severely injured.” Yazan added.
“It’s my chance to get closer to the main base and find out what they have been up to. I can take care of myself. Just worry about yourselves.” Rain said.
“I can think of a lot of scenarios and, trust me, none of which include you getting out of there a live. Your plan has stupid written all over it.” Sidra said with a tone.
“Yeah, I really will miss your jokes and sense of humor.” Rain said with a smile.
“What jokes? I never tell jokes.” Sidra said.
“I’m sorry, but I’m going. You cannot stop me.” He came closer and whispered, “In the meantime, finish what you started on “SIWAAR.” I will be back as soon as you do.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She replied.
“Take care everyone… We will leave first thing in the morning, so this is goodbye.”
“Do as you please. If you want to die, die. Just don’t ask us to go to your funeral. Have a good night, and good luck killing your own people.”
She said that and left the room upset. She fully understood that it might’ve been the last time she would ever see him. He, obviously, knew something about what she was hiding. She just could not give it a lot of thought. She could not get why he would leave as easily as that. He did not argue or seemed upset at all. What she did not know is that he had a whole new agenda that involved keeping the peace for real. He texted her asking if she could come down stairs again. She just ignored the text and decided to call it a day.
Next morning, at the main gate, Yazan tried talking to Rain one more time.
“I still think that you’re going to get yourself killed. If you survive for whatever reason, it would be because you killed someone. It’s kill or be killed my friend.”
“I will do everything I can to not hurt our people. Tell that stubborn girl to not do anything senseless while I’m gone.”
“Yeah, like that’s going to happen. Her name should be Trouble, if you ask me.” Yazan said and smiled.
“Just do me a favor and make sure that she keeps working on her project. I cannot
give you details, but please help her as much as you can.” Rain said as he walked out.
“I’ll do my friend… Peace.” Yazan said as he shook Rain’s hand.
“I will send emails every time I get internet access. Take care.” And that was the last they heard of Rain for a while.
He looked around for one last time before he left hoping to see Sidra. He wanted to give her something that might have explained a lot to her. She was not there. He just assumed that she would not care anymore. The truth is that she did care. However, she could not forgive him for agreeing to just leave and stand against the people that they swore to protect.
Few days had passed, and every time she got a chance to sneak into the lab, she would. She never stopped working and had a lot of hope into her project. One day, she received an email from Rain that had nothing but the following:
Glory, Shine, Birds, Light, and Clouds
Amazingly beautiful
With my best wishes, Rain A.
GSBLC