National Exile: A 21st Century Novel about Nobility, Poverty, and Cruelty

by Rusul A. Altaay

  Chapter 23

  Launch a Warning

  “After saying that, I would marry him if he were a lady.” Samir said with a laugh.

  “I had no right dropping this on you like that, so take as much time as you need. Think about what I said. We may not have another day to live. Once you are sure about someone, skip the drama.” Rain said.

  “Ah…. I do… not… know to say.” Sidra mumbled.

  “Just say that you do see in him what he sees in you.” Samir said.

  “Do you?” Rain asked.

  “Do not ask a question when you already know the answer.” Sidra said.

  “Is that a yes?” Samir asked.

  “It… is.” Sidra said smiling.

  “Thank you for agreeing to spend your life with someone like me.” Rain said.

  “You’re welcome. You are a terrible person to be with anyway.” Sidra said sarcastically.

  “I really missed your sense of humor.” Rain said, “Due to the situation we live in for the moment, please forgive me for not having a ring.”

  “THIS IS GREAT… FINALLY SOMETHING HAPPY…” Yazan shouted from outside the tent.

  “What on earth were you doing there?” Rain asked.

  “Oh… Sidra give me a huge. I’m so happy for you…” Mai said while hugging Sidra.

  “Why was everyone here listening on us?” Sidra asked.

  “And miss your reaction when Rain proposes? I just wished I could see your face when he asked you to marry him.” Yazan said.

  “Yazan… Did you tell everyone?” Rain asked.

  “No, only half of the camp. The other half probably knows by now.” Yazan said laughing.

  “Why would you do that?” Rain said.

  “Because everyone needs to hear something happy every now and then.” Mai commented.

  “It is so good to see you all. I missed you guys.” Sidra said.

  “Great… She did not even tell me that she missed me.” Rain said.

  “Because you were yelling at me the moment you saw me.” Sidra said.

  “Are we getting jealous already?” Yazan laughed, “No worries. She probably had a heart attack once she found out you were shot.”

  “I did not have a heart attack…” Sidra said.

  “Of course not, you were just concerned for a friend who is now your fiancé. I think you two should make a public announcement and tell everyone the good news.” Yazan said.

  “Speaking of which, why did you not tell me that you and my brother were shot?” Sidra said looking at Rain.

  “Because it’s nothing.” Rain said.

  “Really? Let me test it myself. Take this….” She almost punched Rain on his wounds before he stopped her.

  “You would not have stopped me if it was not serious.” Sidra said.

  “Oh my God… This is going to be such an interesting marriage.” Jenna commented.

  “I just love watching these two fight all the time.” Samir laughed.

  “At this rate, we will have many fights to come.” Yazan said.

  “I’m very sorry to interrupt, but I just heard that the administration is throwing exploding containers on the people in the capital.” Laith said. “I’m telling you this because if they’re bombing the capital, we could be next. It wouldn’t matter if we are outside the borders.” He continued.

  “They just threw bombs on people?” Yazan asked.

  “Lion has gone mad. He is willing to kill everyone who stands in his way. He’d indeed gone crazy.” Laith responded.

  “What are we waiting for? Let’s warn everyone and leave.” Samir said.

  “Go where and do what?” Yazan asked.

  “Go get the Burj back. It is the only place where we can have control over some things.” Sidra said.

  Rain and the others explained to Sidra what happened when they had to escape the Burj. They told her how Rayan betrayed them. However, it was all Sidra’s planning. It was time that she explained her side of the story.

  “Rayan works for us. The whole thing was staged.” Sidra said.

  “What on earth are you talking about?” Rain asked.

  “You guys getting shot was an accident. I’m sorry about that. Rayan should have done a better job protecting you all.” Sidra said.

  “You are the one who exposed us? You better have a good explanation sister.” Samir said.

  “Well… It was not my plan to get you out of the Burj. But… It was my plan that commander Basam gets full access to the Burj. I wanted him to make it a new base for the administration rather than just a research center. The part where you had to leave was Rayan’s decision. He needed a very strong reason to gain commander’s Basam trust. So… He exposed you.” Sidra said.

  “That does not make any sense. They were in a very bad shape when I joined them.” Laith said.

  “I studied everyone’s profile that lived at the Burj. I knew you were too smart to work for Basam. Joining Rain and the others was a great addition, and I am very thankful for your help. Rayan told me everything.” Sidra said.

  “So, if Laith hadn’t switched sides, we would have been dead or even worse… Oh… I don’t know… like captured by the commander. And all of that so you can turn the Burj into a base. Yes, that makes perfect sense.” Samir said sarcastically with a tone.

  “Like I said, it was Rayan’s decision. I was really mad at him. That’s why I went to the Burj before coming here. He said that there was a guy with Laith who was not going to hurt you guys, but one of you threw him off the stairs.” Sidra explained.

  “So, what is the plan now?” Rain asked.

  “Rayan said that Basam had brought many new weapons to the Burj, just like we’d predicted. There are many new soldiers who joined the uprising. Rayan said that at least half of them joined only because they want revenge for their families who were killed.”

  As Sidra was explaining Rayan’s situation, they heard the sound of the bombers aircrafts. The sound was getting closer and closer by the second. They all rushed outside to see what was going on.

  “I have never seen a huge aircraft like that before. It’s flying at such a low level too.” Samir said.

  “Launch a warning… Evacuate the camp immediately. They must have found us.” Rain said.

  “Wait a second… We are not the targets. The aircrafts are headed south.”

  “We need to know where the aircrafts are headed exactly.”

  “It’s getting really dark right now. There is nothing we can do.”

  “What cites are in the direction of the plane anyway?”

  “It’s just a matter of time before we hear which exact place was bombed, or should I say whipped clean?”

  “We need to start planning for how exactly we are going to get the Burj back, but before that… I have to visit someone in the capital.” Rain said.

  “Did you not hear what Laith said? The capital was bombed as well.” Sidra said.

  “They would not bomb their own headquarters. They must have bombed the poor neighborhoods only.” Rain pointed.

  “Actually, he is right. According to satellite signals, only two places were hit. The majority of people living there are civilians.” Laith said.

  “I really think we should go and help with what we can. We will get the Burj later.” Yazan said.

  “I agree. Let’s get as much supplies as possible. I’m guessing there are many injured who need help. Rain, they could use a doctor.” Sidra said.

  “Yazan… please tell people at the camp what happened. Ask them to donate what little supplies they have, so we can help the injured.” Rain said.

  “On it.” Yazan replied.

  “Sidra… I’m sorry our happiness did not last an hour.” Rain said.

  “Helping people is priority one. We have the rest of our short or maybe long lives to be happy.” Sidra said with a smile.

  “Let’s get ready to leave.”

  Fifteen minutes later,
Yazan was able to get some needed supplies. However, the main problem was the vehicle.

  “The car, I came in with, is almost running out of gas. If we can fill it up, we can get to the capital before sunrise.” Sidra said.

  “Well, that’s a problem. We don’t have gas.”

  “What about the cities that were just bombed? Aren’t we going there as well?”

  “We don’t know what exactly is happening there. For now, all we know is that the people in the capital need help.”

  “Gas… people… we need gas… What are we going to do about that?” Sidra interrupted their discussion.

  “There was an old tank, half buried, few miles from here. If it uses a normal gas and still have some, we can use it.” Yazan mentioned.

  “Great… Where is it?” Sidra asked.

  “Ok, Samir, Laith, and I will go get the gas. The rest stay here and help Rain. There are people who still need help in the camp as well.” Yazan said.

  “I’m coming with you. Besides, Laith needs to stay here and look after some patients with Rain. I know nothing about playing doctor.” Sidra said.

  “Fine… Ms. Engineer… you go with them, but do not do anything reckless. Anything dangerous coming your way, you come back immediately.” Rain said.

  “Don’t worry. We know how to take care of ourselves.” Sidra said.

  “You got it man.” Yazan said taping Rain at his shoulders.

  “No time to waste, let’s go.” Samir said.

  They had to walk for miles before getting closer to where the tank was.

  “Are you sure it’s in this direction? All I see is empty land. Besides, it is getting really dark.” Sidra complained.

  “Yes, I am sure. Just keep walking.” Yazan said.

  “Do you think the tank might still be operational?” She asked.

  “I have no idea. If it does work, that would be a great thing to have.” Yazan said. “You know… we will need to have some sleep at some point.”

  “I could not agree more.” Mai apparently agreed.

  “Mai… Why did you come in the first place? You could have helped Rain.” Yazan said.

  “I asked her to come. So, the two of us stay and work on the tank while the two of you go back with the gas.” Sidra explained.

  “Making the tank work is a very long shot, don’t you think?” Samir asked.

  “I do, but it’s worth a try.” Sidra said.

  “We’re burning daylight. Hopefully, the flash lights will last enough.” Samir said.

  “Sometimes, I wonder if what we do is worth doing.” Mai said as she looked at the sky while walking.

  “What do you mean?” Sidra asked.

  “I mean that people are fighting among each other and not just against the administration. Sometimes, I feel that they just want to fight. They don’t care about the change. Most of them are all about … me, me, and more me.” Mai said.

  “You do have a very good point. However, there are always innocent people who just got caught up in the middle of the civil war.” Samir said.

  “Just because we can escape the war, does not mean we should. Yeah, the whole thing makes zero sense to me, but what can we do? Someone has to help. We just happen to be part of few people who want to stop the madness. They will wake up one day realizing the huge mistake they have made. Turning against each other killed more people than ever.” Sidra said.

  “Guys… HIDE…” Yazan screamed at everyone.

  “What’s going on?” Sidra said after hiding behind a big rock.

  “I believe those hummers belong to the Peacekeepers. They will kill us if they saw us walking here. We are way pass curfew.” Samir said.

  At the time, in all of Estil, people were not to walk, drive, or be on the streets after a certain hour. They thought by enforcing such laws, no uprisings would occur. They were dead wrong.

  “Great… how are we going to get there now?” Mai asked.

  “Let’s find a good place to hide until they are gone.” Yazan said.

  “I don’t know if you have noticed, but we are in the middle of nowhere.” Sidra had a good point.

  “I know that. Our best chance is to stay hidden behind that small hill of garbage. If they do find us, we will fight back.” Yazan said.

  After hiding in the trash, which was thrown in the middle of nowhere, they all started to smell like, you guessed it, garbage.

  “Who said our beloved administration does not do good for us. They don’t take the trash, so the locals have to dumb it here, so we can come and use it to hide form the Peacekeepers. See, makes perfect sense.” Sidra commented sarcastically.

  “Your sense of humor drives me crazy sometimes. This is serious.” Yazan said.

  “Please… They are more afraid of us than we are of them. Besides, it’s not me who’s talking. It is that garbage smell. It has a special effect on my brain.” Sidra said.

  “You are not the only one. I feel like I am dying here.” Mai said.

  “That’s it. I think they are going away.” Samir noticed.

  “You guys know that there are no showers at the camp at all. We will have to go to the river and wash the smell a way.” Mai said.

  “They are gone. Let’s go find that tank. Then, find the river and wash up.” Yazan said.

  After walking for about an hour, they were able to find the tank.

  “Great… Sidra… do you think it is useful?” Yazan asked.

  “It is hard to tell. There is some gas left in here. Lucky us, we can use this kind of gas. We should have enough in here for few hundred miles. We will put that in the empty containers we brought. You and Samir can go back and bring the others. Then, we will all go to the city together.” Sidra said.

  “You want to be here and Mai by yourselves? What if you get attacked?” Samir said.

  “We will be fine. We just need you to go and come back as soon as possible. We will try and see if this thing can be of a use to us at all.” Mai said.

  “Guys, this container is almost full. Please leave as soon as you can.” Sidra said.

  “I really hope you do know what you are doing.” Samir said.

  “I’m hoping the same thing.” Sidra said back.

  Half an hour after they left, Sidra and Mai realized that the tank would not be of any help.

  “This thing is useless. I don’t think we can make it work at all. There are so many parts that need replacing. I was hoping we could use this piece of junk.” Sidra said with an angry voice as she kicked the tank.

  “People are dying as we speak because of the exploding containers that are getting thrown at them, and the most painful part… is that we can’t do anything about it.” Mai commented.

  “Welcome to Estil, where people get killed, ‘Just because’.” Sidra said as she used her figures as quotation marks.

  “I know.” Mai said feeling hopeless. “Let’s rest until they get back.”