Chapter 12

The last battle

Part 2

The news of the Sharia planning to attack Belgarath spread throughout the village. The villagers had assumed it when they saw the US forces leaving Belgarath to the Bukhara Desert and confirmed the attack when Major Ibrahim arrived with the native army forces in Belgarath.

The Belgarathian Redemption Army effectively helped in making people aware of the forewarned attack and with the help of the military, the evacuation had begun. People from the far west border of Belgarath were being evacuated to the east end, away from the Bukhara desert were the Army forces had camped. The evacuation process was not very hard as the population density of Belgarath was very low and the evacuated people were asked to stay in a school which was now converted to a refugee camp.

Tamina soon find out about the attack by the Sharia and she knew col. Barnes had to leave for the battle. She knew he was a soldier and going to war like this is nothing new to him, but sending him for the battle knowing that there is no guarantee of return was something she couldn’t do that easily. Men might be brave, but sending their loved ones to fight in battles were a nightmare for every woman who was in love and they have to be more braver than men to let them go. Her heart felt heavy as she kept on sighing every minute.

‘ The cut is on the same finger, but the other hand‘.Dr. Amir said seeing a zoned out Tamina wrapping the bandages on the wrong finger of the patient who was digging holes at her face with his stare.

‘Oh, I am sorry. I will do it right now. I apologize. ‘ Tamina said and began to unwrap the bandages but Dr. Amir took them from her hands and started wrapping it on the other hand.

‘ Go, see him before he lives. I think he is leaving at six in the evening. Go before that. ‘ Dr. Amir said still wrapping the bandages.

‘ Can I leave now?’. Tamina asked standing up from the chair. Dr. Amir was not expecting that at from her as his eyes bulged out.

‘ During the working hours? We have a lot of patients today. It’s only two in the noon. ‘ Dr. Amir objected.

‘ I am sorry. I have to go now before it’s too late. I will do extra shifts, Doctor. ‘ She said and without waiting for his reply, Tamina exited the emergency room leaving a bewildered Dr. Amir behind.

‘ Look what love does to people! Even the naïve become the brave when in love. ‘Dr. Amir said shaking his head and continued to wrap the bandages Without noticing the patient's stare.

‘ What are you staring at? ‘. Dr. Amir asked the patient who lifted his hand in front of his eyes.

‘ I am staring at the artist who made this'. The middle aged man said showing Dr. Amir's wrappings on his finger. Dr. Amir had carelessly wrapped so many bandages while talking to Tamina and now the finger of the patient looked thick, like a piece of log.

‘ Ummm… I am sorry. I will call nurse Martha. She will do it properly. ‘ Dr. Amir suddenly stood up from the chair and was about to look for nurse Martha but the patient suddenly took off all the bandages from his finger and handed it over to him.

‘ I would rather die from this cut than to have treated by scammers like you. Don’t even know how to treat a cut. God bless all those who visit this hospital. ‘ The middle aged man said and left the room.

‘ Why is not anything working out for me today? ‘ Dr. Amir heaved a sigh in frustration while waiting for the next patient.

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Tamina went straight to Col. Barnes's house from the hospital hoping that he still haven’t left for the battle. Her heart felt like it was made of iron and it weighed her down. She couldn’t just let him go like that. It was true that her love for col. Barnes had made her more brave and strong that she was no longer afraid of the world’s opinion. The gaurds let her Inside the house after getting col. Barnes’s permission.

Jacob was at his study hoovering over the maps and attack strategies. To be honest, he was depressed too. He became a Legate because he didn’t wanted to see more blood on his hands anymore, but he has to play the role of a soldier again now and he had no other options. He was sick of the war and bloodshed, but now he was in a situation where he had to fight to save something precious to him, Tamina. So, he decided to take the responsibility of his men as the chief commander of the US Delta forces in Belgarath. As Tamina entered, she saw Jacob carefully looking at some papers on his desk and when he felt her presence, he stood straight with a smile on his face. Tamina's eyes welled up at that sight and she engraved that moment in her memory. Jacob was looking at her with so much love in his eyes and she felt it too.

When she couldn’t explain the feeling to him in words, she ran towards him and embraced him with her petite figure. Col. Barnes was caught off guard seeing her eyes glistening with tears.

‘ Don't go. Please stay. ‘ Tamina said even before Jacob could ask her what was wrong.

‘It’s okay. This is not my first time. Don’t worry. I will be fine. ‘ Jacob tried to comfort her by hugging her back.

‘ I know it’s not your first time and I know you are very brave too. But I can’t let you go when there is no guarantee of you returning back. So stay, please’. Tamina pleaded hugging him more tightly.

Col. Barnes slowly lifted the niqab off her and wiped her tears with the tip of his fingers.

‘ Is that how you comfort me saying that I am never coming back? ‘ Col. Barnes said teasing her.

Suddenly Tamina let go of him and took a step back. She stood there with her amber eyes staring deep into his soul.

‘ I came here to see you because after hearing about the attack, I haven’t been able to get a wink of sleep for the past few days. You know why? Because I was sacred, so scared that I might loose you too. The Sharia, they took everything from me. My brother, my mother’s happiness, my father’s health, my friend Rabia's life, and each and every other Belgarathian's normal life. And now, you are going to fight against them. How could I not be bothered about that?. Everything was a loss for me from my brothers death to my father being sick. But then you came and I was happy after a long time. And now you are leaving to fight them when there is no gaurentee that you would return. I will not allow them to take my only happiness from me. So I am begging you, stay here with me and don’t go. I don’t wanna afford to lose you too. ‘ Tamina said with her voice cracking at the end and then she burst out letting all those pent up emotions out in front of the man she trusted and loved.

Jacob at first, thought that it was only just fear that made Tamina to ask him to stay. But seeing her like this, he felt the pain behind her words and he felt suffocated. She had lost a lot even at a young age and now she was pleading him to understand her pain and loss. Jacob stood there looking at her and then without any notice pulled her towards him and suddenly kissed her giving all of him in the kiss. Tamina was bewildered at first, but she was too emotionally exhausted to resist and at last gave in too. Her lips were warm and salty because of the tears but Jacob kissed her like she was his lifeline. They both were too much invested in that kiss as they didn’t notice the passage of time. The kiss got deeper and more passionate and both of them went with the flow. They didn’t care about the rest of the world or the terrorist attacks or the miseries in their lives. All that mattered at that moment was their love and trust for each other.

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Jacob and Tamina were lying in the bed, both embraced in each other’s bare warmth. He couldn’t still believe that the woman lying on his chest was his and prayed it won’t turn out to be a dream at the end of the day.

‘ Are you awake?. ‘ Jacob asked Tamina.

‘ Mmm'. Tamina murmured in a sleepy voice. Jacob slowly lifted her chin to face him.

‘You have beautiful green eyes. ‘ Tamina said mesmerized by them.

‘ My mom’s eyes. She was very beautiful too.’ Jacob said proudly.

‘ I can say that. ‘ Tamina said looking at Jacob lovingly.

‘ Tami, always remember this. You will never be loved by anyone as I love you right now. I love you the most and I want you to know that. ‘ Jacob said staring at her amber eyes.

‘ I love you too, maybe more than myself.’ Tamina said with her tone full of love.

Jacob kissed her forehead and the prayer from the mosque was heard through the loudspeakers. Col. Barnes knew it was time for him to leave for the battle.

‘ Tami, listen to what I have to say. I know how much pain you have gone through all these years and how much you have lost. But please have faith in me. I promise you that I will come back to you in one piece after the battle. Trust me. I cannot die in there when you are still waiting here for me. I promise that I will return. Trust me.’ Jacob pleaded staring at her eyes with his green ones.

Tamina slowly nodded her head half heartedly.

‘ Wait for me and have faith in me. I will come back to you. ‘ Jacob promised again, sealing it with a kiss .

Then he got off the bed and went on preparing for his departure. When he came back, Tamina was ready to leave as well.

‘ Let me drop you at your house. I want you to be the last person I wanna see before I leave for the battle.’ Col. Barnes said.

The drive to Tamina's house was silent. Jacob kept looking at Tamina to say something, but she was sad and lost in her thoughts. She came back to reality when she sensed the vehicle had stopped. She saw Jacob staring at her with a worried expression.

‘ We are here.’ He said.

‘Thank you’. Tamina suddenly tried to get of the vehicle but Jacob stopped her.

‘ I know you are worried and upset but there is nothing more I can do about it. All I can say is to believe in me. I will be back before you know that I even left. ‘ Jacob said.

‘ Whatever you say is not going to calm me down. I can’t get used to the idea of you going to the battle even if I had tried a thousand times to come in terms with it. All I have to say is be careful and don’t get hurt, for my sake. Please’. Tamina said and her eyes welled up again.

Jacob leaned in and gave her a goodbye kiss and her face turned into a tomato.

‘ Are you shy or is it because of crying?. ‘ Jacob asked chuckling.

Then he covered her face with the niqab and kissed her forehead.

‘ See you soon. Wait for me. ‘ Jacob said and waved at Tamina who now stood at the gate of her house.

She waved back at him as he drove away. Tamina stood there watching the vehicle till it disappeared from her view.

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The battle with the Sharia's lasted for almost three weeks and this time, it was more fierce and violent. The ground shook with the explosion of grenades and the air above the desert was full of dust and smoke. The Sharia’s were showing the government how capable and powerful they were but they always had one disadvantage. They always run out of the ammunition while the military had abundant supply of ammunition. After nineteen days of intense battle, the Sharia’s withdrew from The desert Bukhara as their ammunition had ran out. The soldiers didn’t celebrate their victory as many of the soldiers had lost their lives and both the parties suffered huge losses.

While the army had secured their western border from the terrorists, the refugee crisis in the North had gotten out of the government’s hands. The entire country protested against allowing the refugees into their lands and the government failed to control or to take right decisions regarding the crisis.

The protests from the citizens soon became a nightmare for the government and as a result, it’s administration became unstable. The protests soon turned into massive violence at the capital as the citizens ambushed the government offices and buildings. Within a short time, the whole country was in total chaos and the government used force to supress the protests against them. This happened at the capital during the time when the native army was fighting against the Sharia and within that time of three weeks the population of the refugees plummeted and this created clashes between the refugees and the fellow citizens at the North. The native government had no other options than to pass laws to restrict the entry of the refugees in the North as they struggled financially and politically with their rule. As a result, they lost support of the foreign nations who helped the refugees and they soon withdraw their financial and political support to the national government. The government was failing miserably with their rules and policies and when the foreign supporters also withdraw their support, they had no other options other than to concede to the demand of the natives in order to survive.

The US knew that the native government was at the verge of collapse and they would soon consider the citizens demand of driving every foreigners out of their country to create a nation of pure blood. The citizens had already turned against the US soldiers as the news about their rule in Belgarath had spread throughout the capital. They portrayed the US soldiers as monsters who rapes their woman and the public hatred for the foreigners increased day by day. The US government, considering the situation, soon passed laws to withdraw their forces from Belgarath as well as their support to the native government in order to protect their soldiers. The documents containing the laws regarding the withdrawal of US Delta forces from Belgarath was sent to minister Alan’s office. Many ministers from the national government had resigned from their posts as they knew the political instability, financial and economical crisis and the massive protests against the governments policies were dragging the whole nation down to it’s ruin.