Chapter nine

Mohamed went without delay to the bloody tracks left by his Luna, which were never-ending and which frightened him enormously.

Ndeye, on the other hand, walked along looking behind her every two minutes. After one of Khadim's men had come to tell him that they were under attack and left, he had not hesitated to take out his anger on her. After throwing her against the wall, he beat her until he could no longer feel her hands before leaving and locking her in his office. It was then that she remembered what the famous guard had said to her and Coumba: 'Just know one thing, your suffering will soon end'.

Was this what he was talking about?

There was a good chance of that. So his efforts should not be in vain, she thought. So after struggling for almost fifteen minutes to stay conscious and find enough strength, she got up and then, driven by her will to be free, went to the door. She tried to break it down but realized after three attempts that she could not. So she went to get Khadim's gun, which he always kept in the first drawer of his desk and which he had forgotten to take. With it, she took the ax intended for cutting off the heads of traitors and with it shattered the windows of the office, which looked out onto the large courtyard. As the office was not too high up, she did not waste time thinking too much and simply took the momentum to jump into the void. Not being able to balance well because of her condition, she fell headfirst and lost consciousness. When she came to, she saw many of her fellows gathered in the courtyard not far from her and became frightened. She thought that the attackers had lost to Khadim and his men, and so many of them who had managed to get out were being rounded up and taken back to their cells. She would never allow herself to be tricked into falling victim to this monster again! she thought. After looking for Coumba for a while, hidden behind one of the statues in the courtyard, but not finding her, she burst into tears.

Had her friend escaped?

Had she been caught?

Or even murdered?

So she wanted to go looking for her when, like a sudden breeze, the memory of a part of one of the many discussions they had had about the possibility of one day running away came to mind:

_ Promise me that if one day you have the chance to run away, to finally be free, you will take it without looking back or trying to come after me! Demanded Coumba.

_ But... I...

_ There are no buts about it. We may be like sisters, but if it were to be me, that's how I'd act, so just promise me!

_ I can't promise you that. I can't even think about escaping or going out without you.

_ Didn't you hear me? If I have the chance, I will do so. Promise me, then that you will do it!

_ Okay. I promise.

_ Try not to forget it.

Reluctantly, she gave up the idea of going in search of Coumba and, taking advantage of the commotion, she picked up the cloak of one of the murdered men and, after covering herself with it, slipped through the wolves and humans without being recognized until she managed to get out. She kept the cloak on until she was sure she was far enough away from the estate not to be easily caught before she got rid of it. She then paused for a moment to enjoy the mundane things she had missed in her long years of captivity, such as feeling the sun on her skin, seeing and hearing birds flying, and even just seeing what the day looked like. In that short time, she forgot all her sorrows, pains, sufferings, fears... She was just soothed and happy. However, she, unfortunately, had to come to and take the road again, a road that took her to who knows where. All that mattered to her was to be able to go as far as possible, to get as far away from Khadim's domain as possible, to find refuge somewhere where she could ask for help to go and look for the others, despite the doubts that were inside her.

Mohamed had been following the blood trails left by Ndeye for hours, but he still hadn't seen her, which worried him a lot because the sun had been down for more than an hour. Where could she be?

What state was she in?

Would she be able to keep going with the amount of blood she had lost until he found her?

Would she...

His train of thought was interrupted by the fact that he had finally found her. There she was, less than a hundred yards away from him, sitting at a public fountain. She was physically present, very unwell but her mind was elsewhere. Not knowing how she would react to the sight of him, he slowly moved forward until she became aware of his presence and jumped, falling into the water of the fountain. Mohamed then tried to help her out, but she backed away and tried to do it on her own without success. He pulled her out despite her protests and threats. However, as soon as she was out of the water, she took the gun and pointed it at him. To give herself confidence and prove to Mohamed that she was serious, she raised her head to look him in the eye. But it was a very different effect when they plunged into each other. They found themselves cut off from the physical world and in a timeless bubble, overwhelmed by the feeling of wholeness, happiness, peace, .... love? Immediately, Ndeye broke the eye contact, much to the dismay of Mohamed, who could not help but growl.

_ Mine!

At this word, Ndeye fainted from shock.