12 years earlier
Sefrou, Morrocco
Thanks to rumours it really wasn’t difficult finding where exactly Dante was being held but before she found him, she found the American base. At first they wouldn’t allow them into their camp but after she ahd told them her story, they let her in. They fed them both and gave them a place to sleep. These Americans treated them nicely and promised to get them both to safety.
It was at the base that she understood what was truly going on, and she hated the Sheik even more, both she and Tamara were treated with respect unlike the other soldiers who had abused them both.
They found themselves drawn to a lady soldier, her name was Gale. Gale was fierce and pretty much a tomboy, she was the only female on their team and she was fierce and very funny. Gale thought them a lot about weapons, how to defend themselves, how to disarm a weapon.
At first everyone seemed suspicious of both Dassa and Tamara, they thought they were spies and it took a lot to convince them they were innocent, one of the things that made their story more convincing was the raffia bag. Dassa spoke of Dante and Leia and how they had both helped her. She was determined to find Dante. The American's seemed to know where he was held but said nothing. One evening the soldiers went out armed, they didn't return till after two days and when they did, they came back with three soldiers, among those three was Dante. He had grown so lean and was very weak. He had scars all over his body, evidence of torture. They wouldn’t let them near him and that was understood.
"We're getting out of here in three days and you two are coming with us, you will have a chance to life in America"
"No!, take Tamara with you but I am staying, I need to find my brother"
"I'm not going without you" Tamara said.
"No Tamara, you need to go with them, you are young, they would put you with a family who would love you, you would get to go to school, graduate, get married…..please go with them"
"No!" Tamara said and hugged her so tightly as she cried.
"I'm staying with you Dassa"
"And so am I" It was obviously Dante, his voice gave him out.
Tamara let go of Dassa and she rushed to him and hugged him.
"How many more times will I have to see you like this?"
Dassa said.
"I'm going to help you find your brother…..i know where he is"
"You do?" Dante nodded.
"We are with you then" One of the soldiers said.
"I appreciate it guys but I can't let you risk your lives"
"It's what we do Dan" Gale said.
"Three days?, Hell no….you need to rest"
The captain, a black well built man said.
"We don't have much time, I'm good" Dante assured.
"Four days tops, if we do this right, we could take the Sheik down too"
Gale said.
"I second that" The captain said.
"Fine, four days and we are going gaga over that son of a bitch"
"You got that right" Gale said.
Dassa watched them, these men, strangers, ready to give their lives for her brother, she was moved.
"Thank you" She said "….all of you"
"Our pleasure ma'am"
The next few days saw them working around the clock to gather information. They had managed to get an informant within the Sheik's walls, how they did it, no one could tell. After all they were Americans. They had confirmation that indeed Jamal was one of the Sheik's students. Jamal was a rebel however, he would not be forced into accepting the Sheik's religion and for that he was tortured mentallybut the Sheik would not give up. No one knew why the Sheik kept him or what he had seen in this boy but he never got rid of him like the others.
He admired Jamal for a reason and Jamal hated him for all the right reasons.
Jamal had been told that his family was dead but he also hang on to hopes of at least one of them being alive. Jamal had gotten the attention of the Sheik's daughter Salma. She always wanted to be around Jamal but he would not mix with her. He hated the Sheik and he hated his blood. Salma was younger than him and obviously did not know what her father was into. Once she approached Jamal, sat before him and said.
"I know you don't like me and you hate my father even more, I know you are mad at him for taking you away from your family, but he said they were bad people and they hurt you, why do you want to go back to them, is my father so bad for taking you away from bad people?"
Jamal had gotten so mad he had clenched his fist but he held back from saying anything.
"Why won't you talk to me?"
"Why won't you leave me alone?"
He retorted and she adhered and walked away.
Salma gave him his space from then on till one day he woke up to screams coming from Salma's room. He didn't know why he jumped out of bed but he did and rushed to her room. Her parents were already there but no one got close and it took a second for him to realise. Her room floor was covered with snakes, very poisonous snakes.
"Stay calm Salma" Her father said as the servants tried to get to her.
"Do something!" Her mother screamed to the Sheik.
Jamal watched as the servants dilly dallyed with failed attempts in trying to reach her. He bravely stepped forward.
"Stay calm, they won't harm you if you remain calm" But Salma could not remain calm especially when she noticed a brown looking snake on her bed. She screamed so loud it could bring down the ceiling and the snake reacted, it struck once and bit her clinging to her arm.
At that both her parents screamed. Jamal ignored the snakes on the floor and rushed to theb bed. He got on it and kicked of the snake then he tore a piece of her sheet and tied above her arm inches above the bite.
"Am I going to die?" She cried.
"No" He said.
"I need a knife and argan oil please hurry"
A servant rushed to get them and returned seconds later with the items. Using a stick and a bucket they got the items over to Jamal. He lit a candle that stood on her bedside, sterilized the knife with it and picked up the glass bowl with a few strawberries in it. poured the berries out and soon got to work.
Her hand had begun to swell up. He cut the swelling and filled his mouth with some argan oil then he began to suck the poison out spitting the contents in the bowl.
"Please get a doctor here as fast as possible"
A man had arrived and began to gather the snakes, he put them inside a pot and when he was sure he had caught everything took the pot out poured a significant amount of fuel into it and set fire to the snakes.
The doctor arrived and immediately attended to Salma and assured them that she was fine.
The Sheik had her room changed, she was put into a new room and laid to rest.
When the commotion was over, Jamal turned to walk back to his quarters.
"Jamal!"
The Sheik called him. He stopped and turned, The Sheik called him over and he walked to him.
"I have you to thank for saving my daughter"
"I didn't do it for you" Jamal said and turned to walk away.
"Don't walk away from me!"
The Sheik said firmly.
Jamal stopped once again and turned.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore, I wonder why you even keep me alive, you may think that I should be grateful but the longer you keep me alive, the more time you give me to plan your demise" Jamal said. The Sheik only smiled cunningly. Jamal walked away again but this time the Sheik watched him go.
***
Jamal returned to the servants quarters and into his room. He lay down on his mat and took his bible and began to study the Torah. It was given to him as a gift from one of the servants who happened to be a Jew too who remained in hiding.
"Make sure no one finds it, within these walls, no one is your ally"
He had said.
Jamal read for a while then he shut his eyes and rested the book on his chest, putting his hands behind his head with his head facing the ceiling he began to think of his family.
Jamal had grown into a handsome young man. He had lost the baby fat. A thin line of moustache was beginning to appear. He had grown taller and the chores he did gave him a manly outlook. His body looked built up and he got the attention of a few of the servant girls who smiled at him or stole glances but he ignored them, giving himself not the slightest chance to even admire any of them lest he found himself tempted.
He replayed the events of the day in his mind and found Salma lingering in his thoughts. He genuinely hoped she was okay. She was such a sweet innocent girl, she did not deserve a father like the Sheik. Jamal felt sorry for her.
The Sheik's castle was huge. He lived like a royal and only God knew where he had his riches from.
The Sheik's wife had informed them that they would be having some very important guests the following day and preparations were being made towards the dinner. Jamal could careless, he did what he had to do, finished his chores and returned to his quarters to read. He heard a knock on his door and immediately hid his bible.
"Who is there?"
"It's me" A familiar voice said.
What was she doing here? he thought.
"Come in"
The door opened and in walked Salma holding a box. She looked very pretty and still had her arm bandaged.
"What are you doing here, you are not supposed to be here"
"I know, don't worry, no one saw me"
"What do you want?" He asked.
"I just came to say thank you" Salma said and got closer. She sat beside him on his mat and stretched her hand to him.
"Take it" She urged him. He looked down at her hand and took the box from her.
"What is it?" He asked and she giggled.
"You would have to open it to see" Salma said.
Jamal opened the box and it was a pretty wrist band, they were beautiful.
"Put it on, come on"
But Jamal would not put it on. Finally fed up of watching him just stare at it she snatched the box from him and took out the band. Just when she took his hand to put it on, he snatched it back….
"Don't" He said.
She stared at him.
"It's just a gift"
"I don't want it, if your dads money bought that, keep it"
His words seemed to have gotten to her. She placed the box down and stood up.
"You can hate my father, but don't hate me because I am his daughter" A tear escaped her eye and she wiped it quickly, spun on her pretty shoes and walked out.
Jamal felt a tug at his heart that should not have been there, he sighed and lay back down.
Two days, and he hadn't met Salma's eye. She pretended he did not exist. Maybe it was for the best but that guilt anytime he saw her was still there. Maybe he had been too harsh. He should apologise. The Sheik had left on a sudden trip and he was to be away for two days.
Jamal saw her seated at the fountain with a maid, they were both staring at the sky and giggling. He took the first step towards her when suddenly he heard gunshots. Salma stood and so did the servant.
"Jamal!" She screamed . The soldiers barged in killing the guards who fired at them, bullets flying and hitting a few servants. Salma stopped when she felt the maids grip on her loosened, she turned to see her fall. Jamal took to his heels and got to her, grabbed her and together they took cover inside his room.
She held unto him shaking, he could literally feel her shaking. He wrapped his arms around her
"It's going to be fine" He kept assuring.
"My mom, what are they going to do to my mom, who are they, what do they want?"
"I don't know Salma"
Then the shots stopped just when they began to smell smoke.
"Jamal!" A male voice screamed.
"Jamal are you here, your sister asked us to get you, Dassa right….?"
He was in shock.
"Dassa" He whispered.
Was she alive, How did Dassa know these people?"
"You know them?, are these your people?" Salma asked.
"We need to go with them" He stood pulling her along. He ran out.
"I'm Jamal" He screamed as the soldiers drew closer.
"Who is she?"
"She's with me" Jamal replied.
"We need to get out of here"
"I'm not going without my mom" She snatched her arm back.
"You decide and I won't stop you" Jamal said to her.
"Who is she again?"
Salma took a moment to process what was going on, she finally made her decision within a matter of seconds, one that may change her life forever.
"I'm….a servant girl, I'm a jew too" Salma said.
"Let's get them out of here"
CHAPTER NINE
Dassa waited at the camp for them to return but fate had its plans.
"They have him"
Dante walked into her tent smiling.
"Jamal?" She hopped from the hammock which she slept in made of fibre and cloth.
"Yes, they have Jamal, and they should be here in not less than 24 hours.
"Is he that far?"
Dante smiled and walked closer.
"They will get here as fast as they can" He took both her hands in his, she realized they were sweaty.
"What is wrong?"
She mustered courage to ask.
He sighed.
"Dassa, I can't imagine what you have been through over these years, I'm glad you are okay and I want more than anything to get you out of this place…..
"You must" She said, her voice shaking, her eyes widening with fear of what he was about to say.
"In case anything happens, we are going to try as much as possible to get you to the border but just in case we can't….
"What are you saying?, you helped us this far to let us fend for ourselves now?"
"We have a mission and while some of us want to help you, we can't risk compromising our mission"
"Isn't your mission to help those being terrorized by the Sheik and his Caliphate?"
"Dassa please listen…"
"No…you listen!, if it weren't for you Leia would still be alive…..she died because of your carelessness and if I never came back to look for you, I would never have had to go through two years of agony and pain, this place, it's not my home anymore, I need to get out of here, IfKaseem is out there he would find me and Tamara and they will kill us just like they killed Leia…you have to help us, you just have to!" She clasped both her hands in front of him as tears rolled down her face at an uncontrollable pace.
"I will…." He drew her into his arms and gave her a comforting hug.
"I am a wanted man Dassa…..you need to be strong, I know you are but you need to be ready to face anything, listen to me…..he broke the hug….In case we are not able to get you to the order, find it, and get there it’s a few kilometers north…..can you read a compass?"
He took one out of his pocket and handed it to her. She nodded.
"Good girl….get to the border, and find a man named Ahmed, tell him I said, its about time he repaid his debt, he would understand"
"Can I trust him?"
Dassa asked.
"Don't trust anyone" He answered.
She wiped her tears.
"Listen to me, never say too much to anyone especially at the border, you can't let them know that you are Jewish, the Sheik has sworn allies in there. Never wait if you are asked to for more than three minutes, and never let your guard down, you need to survive, these people they hunting down Jews, Christians, people they call infidels, they torture them in gas chambers, burn them alive and if you are lucky you may find yourself in the midst of a suicide bomber who can gift you a quick death. All your senses need to be alive, watch out for the signs and pay close attention to people, watch their eyes, their hands for communication, understood?"
Dassa only hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but just in case.
She nodded.
"Ahmed is going to help get you into Spain. When you get into Spain, call this number it’s a friend called Caffery, he works in the embassy, he would help you get into America and see you through all the processes. I will find you"
"Please don't leave us" Dassa wept. He kissed her on the forehead and said.
"Someday, this will all be over, someday, I promise"
Dassa could hardly sleep that night. Anytime she closed her eyes, she had nightmares, she preferred to stay awake. She hugged her raffia bag which still had the oil in it which wasn’t nearly half.
"I miss you Ma" She whispered and tears streamed down her face.
Then she thought, 'soon, Jamal will be here, everything will be okay, we will both find you, just be strong for us.
If God is still with us, he will protect us and reunite us, just stay strong. She shut her yes and decided not to open them, she filled her mind with memories of her family and allowed those memories send her drifting off to sleep.
***
The Sheik had never been so mad in his life. His wife was dead and his daughter kidnapped.
The Americans had made the worse mistake of their life.
"We found the spy" One of the Sheiks most trusted solders said as he threw one of the servants to the floor. He was just a kid, not more than twenty one.
"Have mercy Sheik….please have mercy" He begged, shaking.
"I put a roof over your head and yet you betray me!"
The other servants watched on scared to death of their fate as well.
"Give it to me!" The Sheik screamed at his soldier who handed him a machete, it was neatly sharpened its edges were obviously sharp reflecting the rays of the sun that peeped into the courtyard.
"Sheik please…..you won't kill your kind…in the name of Allah please forgive me"
"He is just a child the Sheik's sister who had arrived to comfort her brother said.
"Don't tell me that Fathiya, a traitor is the worst scum. Now you all watch what happens to anyone who betrays me. He lifted the machete as the boys cries were head, most of the servants turned their heads as the Sheik's hand dropped with so much force into the right shoulder of the boy. That didn't kill him but the pain was unimaginable, his hand went up again and came down as the boy continued to cry till he was silent. His body gushing out blood, he looked nothing human once the slaughter was over, he was pieces of meat.
"Feed him to the dogs!" The Sheik said and spat on the remains. The soldiers quickly gathered the pieces in a sack and did what they were told.
"Get me my generals, if its war they want, it is war they will get"