Survival

The next day in the morning, the video Muktar posted was trending on different social media platforms and international news stations. He used different fake social accounts and the dark web to broadcast the news. The whole world had their eyes on the United States government waiting for their response. Shawn and Captain Velazquez informed the Maine military base about their rescue and the threat was neutralized.

John, Alex and Toby were sitting in a room at the base eating their breakfast. Alex was curious about how John survived after Dr. Donald and his men pronounced him dead.

"Man, how the heck did you survive, what happened? They said you were dead man," said Alex

"Yea man, we all thought we lost you man. What happened?" Toby added

"Well after I got hit in the head and passed out, I woke up feeling dizzy at the back of the truck so I stayed down and didn't move. Then the idea of playing dead popped into my head. I played dead hoping they would see that before they reach their destination so that they will just toss me out in the desert to rot," replied John.

"How did you find this outpost?" asked Toby

"After they took me to a small trench not very far from the place…," said John before getting interrupted

"How do know it's not far from the place?" interrupted Alex

"Well it was like a thirty minute drive and they were moving pretty fast…I guess it's far," replied John

"Anyway, they threw me into the trench, I landed pretty badly but I still took the pain so I don't get caught. They poured some sand on me then zoomed off. I waited for about fifteen minutes before shaking the sand off me. I climbed out of the trench and looked around me; there was nothing but the mountains and sand. I then just picked a direction and headed straight. I spent about a day walking without food or water then. The next day in the morning, as luck will have it, I saw a small village far away. On my way to the village, I met Captain Velazquez and some of his men going to the village. They picked me up and brought me back here. I told him about you guys, ate and freshened up. We then planed a rescue mission and here we are," added John

"Damn man, wait. How did you remember where the house was?" Toby asked

"Well, we went sightseeing, we retraced my steps to the trench and we followed tire tracks from there," replied John

"Nice man, at first I thought maybe you died of fear you know" teased Alex.

"Yea, beloved soldier dies from shitting himself," added John

The three of them laughed and teased each other more.

Meanwhile, Chess was carefully walking around the village early in the morning looking for where she could change her clothes so she would not draw attention to herself. On her way, she mistakenly bumped into a drunk man.

"Hello pretty lady, where are you going" said the drunk man

Chess ignored the man and tried to go another way. The drunk man then grabbed her by the arm and held her waist. Chess removed his hand and kicked him in the groin. When the drunk man kneeled to the ground, three other drunk men who were sitting around looking at what was happening started chasing her. She ran through small roads and tight corners. Until she bumped into an elderly man. They both fell to the ground and the drunk men quickly surrounded them. The elderly man stood up from the ground and dusted of his clothes. He then looked at the drunk men and shook his head.

"Aren't you boys tired of looking for trouble?" said the elderly man in Arabic as he cleaned himself.

"Now go away, leave this innocent girl alone," he added

The drunk men all grumbled and walked away. The man then turned to Chess who was standing beside him.

"I hope they did not harm you?" He asked Chess in Arabic

Chess didn't understand what he said so she just stared at him. The man looked at her from head to toe then looked around as if he did not want anybody to see them.

"Quickly, come with me" said the man.

They walked for some time before reaching a small mud house. The man opened the door for Chess and looked around to make sure nobody saw them before closing the door. They both sat down on the carpet and used big pillows for support.

"Are you American?" the man asked Chess

"Yes, do you know any American here?" replied Chess

"They come here once every month to check for those that ran away because of the war," said the man.

"What is your name and how did you end up here?" the man added

"My name is Sarah. Some terrorist kidnapped us and I escaped. Can you help me go to Azraaq?" Chess replied

Just then, a door in the room opened and a woman walked in holding a tray of food and water. She was the elderly man's wife.

"Good morning. You are back early today," said the woman to the elderly man in Arabic before looking at Chess

"We have a guest. Good morning" said the woman to Chess but this time in English

"Good morning ma" Chess replied.

"Can you please give her some food? She looks hungry," the elderly man said to his wife in Arabic

The woman then placed the tray of food in front of the elderly man and left. Chess stared at the woman until she left the room.

"That is my wife Hadiza," said the man when he noticed how Chess was staring at her.

Chess smiled a bit embarrassed.

"You have an amazing wife sir," said Chess

"My name is Mohammed, I am the chief of the village" said the man while slightly nodding

There was silence in the room for a while and Chess started to feel awkward about it.

"So when are the Americans coming?" Chess asked

The man thought and calculated for a while and then replied, "They should be here the day after tomorrow"

"Have plenty of time to rest and regain your energy for the journey when they come," he added

"How do they look like?" asked Chess

"They look like you" he replied

"Like me?" said Chess who was confused

"Yes, they wear uniforms that looks like yours." The man replied.

Just then, his wife returned with another tray of food and placed it in front of Chess

"Thank you so much," said Chess to the woman

"Great, now we can eat," said the man. He did not touch his food until Chess was also served.

"What about you?" said the man to his wife in Arabic.

"I have eaten already. I am cleaning the kitchen now" the woman replied in Arabic.

"When you are done, I will take you to the bathroom so you can take your bath. There is hot water ready for you," said the woman to Chess before leaving the room again.

"Where are your children?" asked Chess

The man stopped eating and thought for a while. As if, he did not know what to say

"I had two boys; their names were Sadiq and Hamza. They were taken away by the Al-Hukuma when they invaded our village. We have not seen or heard from the ever since. Some say they were killed and others say they were forced to join the group," replied the man.

"I'm sorry about that sir," replied Chess

"I'm not sure but I might have heard the name at the house they took me," Chess added

"Really, did you see the person?" The man asked curiously

"I'm sorry no," replied Chess while shaking her head in disappointment.

"It's okay. Let us finish our food so you can change, I want to show you the village" said the man.

They both finished eating and Chess helped clean the dishes took her bath and went round the village with Mohammed.